Another Baylor President Fired

Baylor University fires President John Lilley

by Scott Farwell and Sam Hodges

The Baylor University Board of Regents voted today to fire the school’s president, John Lilley.

AP File 2005 Dr. John Lilley (right) embraced his former mentor, Baylor University music professor Dr. Robert Young, after Dr. Lilley was announced as Baylor's new president in November 2005. Baylor's Board of Regents fired Dr. Lilley for unspecified reasons Thursday, less than three years after he was hired.

The board, meeting in Grapevine, decided “the decision was necessary in order to unite Baylor’s many constituencies and move the university forward,” Howard K. Batson, the board chairman, was quoted as saying in a written statement.

Later, in a conference call with reporters, Dr. Batson was reluctant to link the board’s decision to one event in Dr. Lilley’s term, but suggested tension with the school’s faculty may have contributed.

"A lot of the faculty members were upset, and our faculty is important to us," said Dr. Batson. "The progress has not been as swift as some of us on the board would have hoped, in terms of bringing the Baylor family together."

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