By Mackenzie Grizzard | Assistant News Editor
Vice President and Provost Dr. Nancy Brickhouse announced she will step down in an email Wednesday, marking an end to her seven-year tenure at Baylor.
“I’ve known since my appointment in 2019 that I would make Baylor my final stop,” Brickhouse said in the announcement email. “I also knew that I would want my final years to be engaged in the work that attracted me to the professoriate at the beginning: teaching and writing.”
University President Dr. Linda Livingstone said in an email that Brickhouse will step down effective July 31 and, following a year-long sabbatical, will return to Baylor’s faculty to focus on teaching.
“Provost Brickhouse was integral in the successful completion of ‘Illuminate,’ and she helped shepherd the development of ‘Baylor in Deeds,’ Baylor’s last two strategic plans,” Livingstone said in the email. “In all, by working collaboratively with deans and faculty across disciplines, Provost Brickhouse has helped lay a solid academic foundation for Baylor’s next chapter.”
Brickhouse was a champion of Baylor’s strategic plan Baylor In Deeds, which launched in 2024 and will direct the university through 2030. Additionally, during her tenure, Baylor received Research 1 designation in 2021, something that Brickhouse worked to grow throughout the years.
“While I will not be the Provost who leads the way in the completion of this work, please know that I will be your greatest cheerleader, and I will pray for your continued success,” Brickhouse said.
Livingstone said that Dr. Lee Nordt, outgoing dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, will serve as interim vice president and provost upon Brickhouse’s departure this summer.
“Dean Nordt is a familiar face to many faculty, staff, and students after serving in this leadership role for more than 20 years,” Livingstone said. “He has overseen nearly half of the University’s academic enterprise in his Deanship, and his leadership has been both steady and strategic. I am confident he will ably guide our academic and research endeavors during this season of transition.”
Baylor will announce a national search for Brickhouse’s permanent replacement at the conclusion of the spring semester, Livingstone said.
Looking forward, Brickhouse said she is grateful for her time at Baylor and will cherish the memories and accomplishments from her time.
“Together, we transformed Baylor into the country’s premier Christian R1 university,” Brickhouse said. “We laid the foundation, and now it is the work of the next cohort of leaders to build upon and improve on that work.”
