Dr Linda Livingstone, New President of Baylor University

[Sandy]

https://www.baptiststandard.com/news/te ... -president

I think this will be seen as pretty good news for Baylor University.

[Stephen Fox]

a former colleague at Baylor has been saying great things about her on facebook.

In many ways true Baptist education is back on the rails at Wake Forest, Furman, Mercer, CN and now Baylor if presidential choices are an indication.

[JE Pettibone]

a former colleague at Baylor has been saying great things about her on facebook.

In many ways true Baptist education is back on the rails at Wake Forest, Furman, Mercer, CN and now Baylor if presidential choices are an indication.

And Stephen, ABC/CBF's Central Seminary led the way long ago, in the person of Dr. Molly Marshal.

[Tim Bonney]

a former colleague at Baylor has been saying great things about her on facebook.

In many ways true Baptist education is back on the rails at Wake Forest, Furman, Mercer, CN and now Baylor if presidential choices are an indication.

And Stephen, ABC/CBF's Central Seminary led the way long ago, in the person of Dr. Molly Marshal.

Dr. Marshal has to be one of the best leaders, preachers and teachers I've ever had the privilege of hearing.

[David Flick]

a former colleague at Baylor has been saying great things about her on facebook.

In many ways true Baptist education is back on the rails at Wake Forest, Furman, Mercer, CN and now Baylor if presidential choices are an indication.

And Stephen, ABC/CBF's Central Seminary led the way long ago, in the person of Dr. Molly Marshal.

Dr. Marshal has to be one of the best leaders, preachers and teachers I've ever had the privilege of hearing.



Amen to that. Oklahoma can claim Molly as their own. She hails from Muskogee and is a graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University.

[Sandy]

a former colleague at Baylor has been saying great things about her on facebook.

In many ways true Baptist education is back on the rails at Wake Forest, Furman, Mercer, CN and now Baylor if presidential choices are an indication.

I think Baylor could have saved itself many tears and a lot of heartache had they selected Dr. O'Brien as their president when they had the chance.

I don't think Wake Forest is anywhere close to offering "true Baptist education." It has a devout Catholic president, its promotional materials and website mention a Baptist "heritage" only in passing, and make it pretty clear that it is quite separate from that heritage now. Other than a very small divinity school, and a small church that rents the chapel on Sunday, only a handful of its board members, officers, and faculty are Baptist. The medical center still uses "Baptist" in its name, but it is a corporate entity, and any Baptist involvement is incidental. I don't know about Furman or Mercer, perhaps under moderate Baptist leadership they've retained enough of their Baptist identity to meet your definition. I don't know much about Carson Newman, though I've read about some of the issues it has had with the state convention, but I also know what kind of leader Dr. O'Brien is, and I'd say they do fit the definition of providing "true Baptist education."

Baylor has tried really hard to distance itself from its Baptist roots and identity, to raise money for its construction initiative. I have a lot of former students who've gone there, and I don't think any of them would categorize it as "true Baptist" or even "Baptist," though many of them are. Maybe this presidential selection is an attempt to move back a little closer to the BGCT, with which it still maintains an affiliation, and certainly a move to bring the religious emphasis back into a stronger position than it has had through the sexual assault scandal. If the selection of Kenneth Starr was a signal by the trustees of a broadening of its "Christian" heritage and the need to appeal to a well known political conservative to raise money from non-Baptist Republicans for new buildings, the selection of Dr. Livingstone may signal a desire to get back to its Baptist roots. Having a Campbellite president and head football coach didn't work out so well. Both the donor stream and the enrollment are suffering, so she has a lot of work ahead of her. I wish her well.