President Livingstone Appoints Clemson’s Dalton to New Chief Business Officer Position

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WACO, Texas (May 29, 2018) – Baylor University President Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D., has appointed Brett Dalton as Chief Business Officer, a new position at Baylor that will lead progressive systems of financial planning, reporting and control as the University moves forward under the Illuminate academic strategic plan. His appointment is effective July 1.

Dalton will join Baylor from Clemson University, where he serves as executive vice president of finance and operations and manages the institution’s $1.2 billion budget. As a top 25 public “Research 1” institution in South Carolina, Clemson is an historic land-grant university, emphasizing research, service and a commitment to strong teaching as an integral part of its mission.

“We cannot be more excited to welcome Brett Dalton to Baylor University and our leadership team. He is truly one of the top creative financial minds in higher education,” President Livingstone said. “I am confident that Brett, in this critical, new position of Chief Business Officer, will bring tremendous energy and new, innovative ideas to provide the financial components and infrastructure for Illuminate, as we move forward as a preeminent Christian research university. He is a man of great faith with a deep understanding of the academic enterprise and what it takes to attract faculty to move Baylor into tier one status.”

“We thank President Livingstone and her team for the warm welcome into the Baylor Family,” Dalton said. “Our family is blessed, honored and excited to join Baylor. The ability to integrate my Christian faith with my professional experiences and responsibilities is a unique and rewarding opportunity. Joining President Livingstone and her team in helping Baylor to be a ‘light’ in a world that desperately needs ‘illumination’ is a high calling that we cannot ignore.”

As Clemson’s executive vice president, Dalton has provided leadership and management of the university’s strategic planning, resource planning and utilization, and strategic partnerships and programs. He also serves as an adviser to the President on financial strategy and resource development and is responsible for assessment, accountability and management of financial resources, working closely with Clemson’s leadership to develop long-range financial plans and strategies to support the university’s vision and goals.

Dalton’s accomplishments at Clemson include the successful implementation of three five-year financial plans during a time of major state budget cuts and an economic downturn through which he helped Clemson respond and rebound strongly. During this time, Clemson moved from a third-tier ranking to a Top 25 ranked public university, achieved an R1 Carnegie classification and completed the university’s first $1 billion capital campaign. He also successfully co-led the development of Clemson’s strategic plan, oversaw more than $800 million in capital projects and achieved and maintained the highest bond rating in the history of the university.

From 1996 to June 2007, Dalton was executive assistant for finance and administration to the vice president for academic affairs and provost, where he managed financial, human and space resources for the entire academic portfolio of the university. In this position, he helped the university seamlessly integrate the finance and operations division and the academic community at Clemson, working collaboratively to achieve the mission, vision and goals of the university. Before that, as director of financial planning, he created Clemson’s first comprehensive financial plan.

Dalton’s professional and civic activities include serving as a board member for the Clemson University Research Foundation, Clemson Research Facilities Corporation, Pickens County Red Cross, Palmetto Conservation Foundation and Ten at the Top, a South Carolina regional economic development leadership organization. He is an ex-officio director of the Clemson University Foundation, Clemson University Real Estate Foundation and Clemson University Land Stewardship Foundation.

Dalton earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics from Clemson. He and his wife, Lisa, of 30-plus years will move to Waco with their 15-year-old son, Stewart. Their daughter, Mattie, a May 2018 graduate of Clemson, will spend the next year working at George Mason University in Virginia. The Daltons are members of the First Baptist Church of Pickens, S.C., where they taught 3-year-old Sunday school for more than 15 years.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.