After publishing their controversial spring issue of The Baylor Line titled “The Real Story,” the Baylor Alumni Association has filed a countersuit against Baylor University alleging the university failed to uphold an official contract between the two entities.
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Members of the Baylor Alumni Association can expect to see the Baylor Line get back on the production horse sometime this spring.
Baylor Alumni Association members around the globe can now vote without having to be present after amendments to BAA bylaws were made Saturday that allow for electronic, mail and proxy voting.
“This is a good idea to expand the number of members that can vote,” said BAA President George Cowden III before the decision was put to a vote during the meeting at the Paul W. Powell Chapel in Truett Seminary on Baylor’s campus.
The Baylor Alumni Association board met on Nov. 9 and decided to take a membership vote on changing BAA bylaws.
Chad Wooten, executive interim vice president, said a BAA membership meeting is scheduled for Dec. 7 at the George W. Truett Theological Seminary.
“The sole purpose of the meeting is to allow remote voting,” Wooten said. “Back in the summer, there was a lot of talk and concern about not allowing people out of state, who couldn’t be there in person, to vote.”
By Ada Zhang Staff Writer The Baylor Alumni Association appointed ten new BAA members to its board of directors at…
Of the 1,800 Baylor Alumni Association members who responded to a survey sent to BAA members last Friday, 50 percent said they are in favor of reorganizing the BAA.
The survey asked members how they would like to proceed now that the BAA is no longer permitted to use the Baylor name.
The survey outlined three options for the BAA in terms of their next steps. Members were asked to indicate which option they preferred.
The Baylor Alumni Association board members have a scheduled meeting on Saturday Oct. 5 on campus at the McMullen-Connally Faculty Center. Chad Wooten, BAA interim executive vice president, said the purpose of this meeting is to continue open discussion about the future of the BAA.
No votes will happen, Wooten said.
The university has hired former Baylor Alumni Association employees to manage previous BAA programs that are now a part of the Baylor Alumni Network.
Former BAA employees Jan Dodd, Bob Anne Senter and Tessa Jamerson are now employed by the university, said Tommye Lou Davis, Baylor vice president for constituent engagement.
The Baylor Alumni Association board members did not make any concrete decisions regarding the future of the BAA during their phone conference meeting this past Saturday.
This was the 10th time the BAA board has met since May 31, BAA President Collin Cox said, and the board plans to meet again within a couple of weeks. Cox said the meeting will be in person in Waco. The exact date and time of the meeting has not been set.
The Baylor Alumni Association board of directors is meeting Saturday to discuss future plans for the BAA now that Baylor has terminated its license to use the Baylor brand.
Collin Cox, BAA president, said an official statement regarding future plans of the organization will not be released until after the board meeting.
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.
President Ken Starr announced today 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 of its use of the Baylor brand.
The Baylor Alumni Association remains an independent voice after members voted Saturday not to pass the Transition Agreement that would merge the BAA with the Baylor Alumni Network.
This will mean the termination of the BAA’s license to use the Baylor name, according to a letter sent by the university on May 31.
Tensions built up for months leading up to meeting as some alumni wished to remain an independent entity while others wished to dissolve and become a part of the university.
Alumni wishing to remain independent voted no to the agreement and those wishing to dissolve voted yes.
I am disappointed that there were no means by which I could cast my vote for the Baylor Transition Agreement this past weekend.
A few weeks ago I received a mailer stating, “You will come to Waco Hall to cast your vote.” Much as I love having any reason to visit Baylor, this trip was an impossibility both for myself and I’m sure countless others.
I find it hard to believe that with Baylor alum like myself scattered around the country and world (and in our technologically-driven time) that there were not more options considered for casting our votes.
The Transition Agreement did not pass based on a vote by members of the Baylor Alumni Association.
A total of 1,499 votes were cast. There were 830 ‘yes’ votes and 668 ‘no’ votes. One vote was counted illegal for being in favor of both yes and no.
Two thirds of the votes, in this case 1,000 votes, needed to be ‘yes’ in order for the agreement to pass.
Based on a vote by members of the Baylor Alumni Association, the Transition Agreement did not pass.
A total of 1,499 votes were cast. There were 830 ‘yes’ votes and 668 ‘no’ votes. One vote was counted illegal for being in favor of both yes and no. Since 1,000 ‘yes’ votes were needed for the agreement to pass, the BAA will continue as an independent entity.
The future of Baylor alumni relations depends on how members of the Baylor Alumni Association Transition Agreement vote Saturday. Baylor has started a “Baylor Forward” campaign encouraging members to vote “yes,” but others are hoping for the contrary.
The alumni deserve an independent voice. However, we are not endorsing either a “yes” or “no” vote because we feel that neither adequately accomplishes this.
Everyone has seen the billboards that say “#BaylorForward – Vote ‘Yes’ on September 7th” and received numerous emails from Baylor about a big vote.
President Ken Starr sent out an email, containing a video of himself, to all the students telling them how important traditions are to the country and the university. In that video, Starr erroneously compares the transition agreement between Baylor and the Baylor Alumni Association with the writing of the United States Constitution.
What does “Baylor Forward” mean for us as students? It means that, finally, students will be included in a unified alumni network that reflects the unity of our student body.
For years, there has been a tense conflict between the administration and the Baylor Alumni Association. As a current student, I want to ensure that my friends and I will be included in a global network that cares about every one of us.
The face of Baylor alumni relations is changing.
After 10 months of negotiations, the leadership of both the Baylor Alumni Association and the Baylor Board of Regents drafted a Transition Agreement.
“They talked through all the things the university does and the association does and that resulted in the transition agreement you see,” Collin Cox, BAA president, said. “We got here because a lot of leaders on both sides spent a lot of time thinking about what is best for Baylor University.”
As the vote nears, some Baylor Alumni Association members expressed their concerns about losing the 154-year-old organization and their independent voice.
Thomas Nesbitt, who graduated from Baylor in 1994 and is a lifetime member of the BAA, said the Transition Agreement should not be passed.
“The Transition Agreement is bad for Baylor,” Nesbitt said. “It dissolves the 154-year-old alumni association.”
After the announcement of the Transition Agreement over the summer, various people have expressed their approval or concerns. While this matter is complicated, these opinions can be sorted into those that support a ‘yes’ vote on Sept. 7 and those that don’t.
Baylor’s administration and the Baylor Alumni Association’s leadership support the Transition Agreement.
Baylor President Ken Starr said the purpose of the agreement is to move the university forward.
If The Baylor Line magazine is to continue with the word Baylor in its title, the Transition Agreement between the Baylor Alumni Association and Baylor Board of Regents must receive a ‘yes’ vote from at least two thirds of the BAA member present at the meeting on Sept. 7.
The Baylor Line magazine began in 1946, and since then, it has been published by the self-regulating Baylor Alumni Association.
The Line’s mission statement says the magazine’s purpose is “to examine, from a wide range of perspectives, Baylor’s history, culture, institutional practices, aspirations, and identity as a private, Baptist university and to enable alumni to maintain their emotional, intellectual, and social bonds with the university and each other.”
Baylor Alumni Association members who joined the association after 12:30 p.m. today will not be allowed to vote at the BAA meeting Sept. 7, BAA President Collin Cox said.
The decision came after a unanimous vote during a conference-call BAA board meeting.
Members will be voting on the Transition Agreement, which was proposed by both the BAA and Baylor on May 31. The agreement would dissolve the BAA and allow Baylor to take over alumni relations and operations.
Alumni who graduated 50 or more years ago will celebrate Baylor pride and tradition with their graduating class at the upcoming Heritage Club event.
Heritage Club, a homecoming event sponsored by the Baylor Alumni Association, is in its 37th year.
The Baylor Alumni Association has confirmed that it plans to give a $1 million gift to Baylor University, the largest in BAA’s history.
On Jan. 26th, the vote came from the strategic planning committee that all funds had been finalized and that the BAA was to give the $1 million gift.
It wasn’t until Jeff Kilgore, vice president and CEO of the Baylor Alumni Association, made a call to the Waco Tribune – Herald on Friday that the committee’s decision went public.
Making a difference in the world is a small accomplishment for those honored at Baylor Alumni Association Hall of Fame.
Last week the Baylor Alumni Association held their third annual Hall of Fame ceremony, where they honored countless alumni for their impact on Baylor and the world around them.
The Hughes-Dillard Alumni Center is missing from a model of the proposed football stadium, the third such rendering depicting the north end of campus without the home of the Baylor Alumni Association.
Baylor graduate Dr. Cleophus LaRue has nearly a lifetime of books, research and academic honors to his name. If it wasn’t for his own drive and the willingness of a few people in power to take a chance, however, he might not have come to Baylor at all.
The Baylor Alumni Association will host its second annual Hall of Fame awards celebration at 7 p.m. Jan. 27 at the Convention Center in downtown Waco.
