Baylor Vice President Returning To Private Business
David R. Brooks
David R. Brooks, vice president for finance and administration at Baylor University, will step down at the end of July to return to private business, President Robert B. Sloan Jr. announced today.
Brooks, who was named to the chief financial officer position in August 2000, came to the university from a successful career in banking, real estate development and investments. He will resume a more active role in McKinney-based Independent Bank Group, of which he is founding chairman. Additionally, Brooks intends to make investments in Central Texas, including a banking opportunity in the near future.
"I am profoundly grateful to David Brooks for temporarily suspending his leadership of a very successful business enterprise four years ago to come help his alma mater prepare for and navigate one of the most significant financial transitions in Baylor's history," Sloan said. "I believe his contributions in this important arena, while appreciated by many today, will be recognized by even more Baylor constituents in the future for the role they have played in moving this university forward."
Brooks, 45, has been principal architect of the financial model associated with Baylor 2012, the university's 10-year vision to position the institution among America's top 50 universities.
Brooks is credited with:
Leading Baylor to take control of the investment and management of its endowment, which had been outsourced for more than 50 years;
Transforming the university's financial revenue model by moving from an hourly tuition model to a single or "flat rate" model used by most of Baylor's peer institutions. Net tuition revenue - after deducting scholarships - increased 40 percent, from $120 million in FY 2000 to $168 million in FY 2004. During that same period, institutionally funded scholarships and fellowships for students increased by 138 percent, from $26 million to $62 million annually;
Leading Baylor to access the public tax-exempt debt market, which has allowed the university to construct a world-class sciences building, the first new residential community in almost 40 years, parking and office facilities, and to purchase key real estate contiguous to the campus;
Overseeing the most prolific construction and campus expansion in the history of the university, including:
o Stacy Riddle Forum
o Dutton Avenue Office and Parking Facility
o Mayborn Museum Complex
o Baylor Sciences Building
o North Village Residential Community
o East Campus Parking Facility
o and completion of the Baugh-Reynolds Campus of George W. Truett Theological Seminary and the Sheila and Walter Umphrey Law Center;
And reorganizing the information technology area of the university, bringing it under a newly created position of chief information officer and facilitating a comprehensive technology strategy that has allowed Baylor to keep overall expenditures down by preventing duplication and investment in incompatible systems and hardware.
"Over the past four years I have been privileged to be part of a truly exciting period in Baylor's history," Brooks said. "It has been particularly gratifying to work with dedicated faculty and staff who have invested 10, 20, 30 and 40 years of their lives in this institution. They are the true heroes of this university.
"When I came to Baylor I felt called to serve the cause of Christian higher education. It has been one of the most fulfilling periods of my career. Our family has thoroughly enjoyed living in Waco and we plan to keep our residence here. I also look forward to remaining active in my support of Baylor University and President Sloan."
A 1980 graduate of Baylor's Hankamer School of Business, Brooks also holds a master of business administration degree from the university. He and his wife, Carolyn, a certified public accountant and 1981 Baylor graduate, have two children, Ryan, 16, and Reece, 14. They are active members of Harris Creek Baptist Church.
Sloan said Dr. Reagan Ramsower, associate vice president, chief information officer and dean of libraries, will provide interim leadership for the finance and administration division while a national search for a new chief financial officer is conducted.