Brumley Resigns To Accept Mercer Administrative Post

by Lori Fogleman (254) 710-6275
Baylor University President John M. Lilley today announced that Larry D. Brumley has resigned as interim vice president for marketing and communications, effective May 31, to join the administration at Mercer University in Macon, Ga.

Mercer president-elect and former Baylor interim president William D. Underwood has made Brumley his first administrative appointment at the Baptist institution in Georgia, naming him to the position of senior vice president and chief of staff, effective June 1.

Before joining the Baylor administration in May 1997 as associate vice president for communications, Brumley served for six years as associate vice president for university relations at Mercer.

"I know that others in the Baylor family will want to join me in expressing appreciation to Larry for the contributions he has made to the university over the last nine years," Lilley said. "He has led a number of significant communications and marketing initiatives at Baylor that will yield lasting benefits for the university and the community. My colleagues and I wish him the very best as he returns to Mercer to work with Bill Underwood in this new capacity."

As senior vice president and chief of staff, Brumley will provide executive leadership as a senior adviser to the president and will work closely with other Mercer executive staff to facilitate overall university operations and direction. He also will counsel Mercer's University Relations Office on marketing strategies, direct presidential initiatives to enhance and expand Mercer's relationships with Baptist constituencies, and manage the operations of the Office of the President.

"I am very grateful for the opportunity to serve my alma mater over the past nine years. Baylor has undergone tremendous change during this period, and communicating those changes and accomplishments to the university's diverse constituencies has been both challenging and rewarding," Brumley said. "I believe Baylor has a bright future under the leadership of President John Lilley. I will miss Baylor - particularly the talented and dedicated colleagues I have been fortunate to serve alongside - but I look forward to the opportunity to work with Bill Underwood at this historic Georgia institution."

Brumley instituted an annual strategic planning process in the Baylor Office of Public Relations and implemented a national media relations initiative that resulted in a significant increase in coverage of the university by major print, Internet and broadcast media outlets. He also led the university's acquisition of local PBS station KCTF (now KWBU-TV) and established National Public Radio service on KWBU-FM in 2000. He served as executive producer for the award-winning "Christmas at Baylor," a one-hour HDTV holiday special that aired on PBS stations across the nation and was viewed by more than 10 million people over the last three years.

Brumley has also played a significant role in Baylor's bid for the George W. Bush Presidential Library and served as the university's liaison to the White House in planning and staging President Bush's August 2002 Economic Forum and the president's March 2005 trilateral meeting with Mexican President Vicente Fox and Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin. Both events were held on the Baylor campus. He also led a major marketing effort at the university that established new branding guidelines and contributed to record student enrollments.

His community involvement includes serving as chair of the Brazos Valley Public Broadcasting Foundation and president of the Midway ISD Education Foundation. He also serves as vice president of Friends of Big Bend National Park, a fund-raising organization for the state's oldest and largest national park.

A 1982 Baylor graduate, Brumley earned an M.A. in mass communication from the University of Oklahoma. He and his wife, Emily, also a Baylor graduate, are the parents of two daughters: Laura, a Baylor freshman, and Amy, a Midway High School sophomore. They are members of First Baptist Church, Waco.