By Ada Zhang
Staff Writer
President Ken Starr announced Tuesday evening the official termination of the Baylor Alumni Association’s license to use the Baylor name after the Transition Agreement vote on Saturday failed to reach the two-thirds yes vote majority.
The agreement, had it passed, would have merged the BAA with the university and allowed The Baylor Line, the official BAA magazine, to continue using the Baylor name.
The termination notice was sent to the BAA on May 31 and became effective on Sunday, according to a university wide email from Starr. The university is giving the BAA 90 days to phase out its use of the Baylor brand.
Even though the agreement did not pass, the university is going forward with many changes outlined in the agreement, Starr said.
Starr said the university has offered qualified BAA members university employment and is trying to create an alumni advisory board.
“That board will be broadly representative of Baylor’s 165,000 alumni around the world,” Starr said. “Its members will provide invaluable input and guidance to inform our comprehensive alumni outreach efforts. We will work throughout the current semester to finalize plans for this suggested new entity.”
Previous BAA programs and services, including the Heritage Club, Lifelong Learning and marketing of Baylor’s Official Ring program, will now be managed by the university and will become a part of the Baylor Alumni Network.
Starr said the university’s main goal is to serve alumni.
“Now, with our focus on energetically serving Baylor alumni around the world, the University will go forward in building a comprehensive—and unified—alumni engagement program equipped to serve a broad range of alumni needs and interests,” Starr said. “We invite each of you to join with us in this noble effort on behalf of our beloved university.”
The BAA could not be reached for comment.
BAA members gathered Saturday to vote on the Transition Agreement, which would decide the future of the BAA.
Out of the 1,499 votes cast, 830 voted yes to pass the agreement and 668 voted no against the agreement. One vote was counted illegal for being in favor of both yes and no.
One thousand votes, a two-thirds majority, needed to be yes in order for the agreement to pass, according to the BAA bylaws.
