By Tyler White | Staff Writer
Curtis Reynolds, vice president for business affairs at the University of Florida, has been appointed as the vice president of business and finance and the chief financial officer at Baylor, effective March 1, 2024. In this role, Reynolds will be responsible for ensuring Baylor’s growth in financial strength and efficiency.
According to the press release, Reynolds said he looks forward to collaborating with the university to ensure Baylor’s standing as an R1 institution. He said he is humbled and grateful to be a part of the Baylor Family.
“I fully embrace Baylor’s commitment to judicious stewardship and financial stability, and I am excited to be a part of the University’s next phase in strategic planning and fiscal growth,” Reynolds said in the press release.
Dr. Robyn Driskell, vice president and chief compliance and risk officer and one of the co-chairs of the search committee, said the university was searching for someone who fit the job description and upheld the values of Baylor — someone who was qualified and lived out their faith.
“We live out our Christian mission on a daily basis, and we’re serious about it,” Driskell said. “It’s not just a mission that we put away or put up on a shelf. … We want to interview people who have alignment with our Christian mission, but also have their own personal faith that they can speak to, so that was first and foremost.”
Dr. Lee Nordt, the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said Reynolds’ experience at the University of Florida showed he was a strong candidate for the position, as he was able to work at a large R1 institution.
“Curtis Reynolds checked every box for what we were looking for and then some from a very strong pool of candidates,” Nordt said.
In addition to his expertise, Driskell said Reynolds was able to connect well with all the various groups during his visit to Baylor.
“He really connected well with the Baylor community, and he had a strong faith commitment that just speaks so well to his leadership and how he would lead,” Driskell said. “It’s more than just degrees and experience and qualifications, but the way he connected with each of the groups he met with — he connected in a meaningful way with each of them.”
Reynolds will step into his new role at the forefront of Baylor’s next strategic plan after Illuminate. Nordt said Reynolds’ experience with finance at a large institution will allow him to take his understanding of strategic plans and financial operations and apply them to Baylor’s growth as a university.
“He’ll have an opportunity here to really help shape some things, particularly from the ground up as we’re moving into our next strategic plan,” Nordt said.
