16 Comments

Clyde Fant
February 15th, 2010 | 10:09 am

As a Baylor graduate, I can tell you that Mr. Starr and his backers on the Board of Regents have made a mistake. Pepperdine may be suitable for him, but Baylor and Texas Baptists are not: they are far too diverse and open than he and his backers believe. Chaos, followed by a no-confidence faculty vote are looming. Baylor will not become another Liberty University.

Ryan Young
February 15th, 2010 | 10:29 am

I think my degree just lost some value.

Craig Payne
February 15th, 2010 | 10:41 am

I have no vested interest in Baylor, and I think well of Kenneth Starr. However, given Mr. Starr’s most prominent past association in the public mind, doesn’t this serve to tie evangelicalism even more closely to a particular political party?

Sandro Farmosconinsky
February 15th, 2010 | 10:51 am

Starr’s credentials as a legal scholar, and his experience are exactly what Baylor needs. it looks like Baylor 2012 is here to stay!
Go Bears!

Robert
February 15th, 2010 | 11:07 am

Mr. Starr is an exceptional, and highly accomplished, lawyer and legal scholar. Furthermore, he’s done a very good job at Pepperdine Law. This is a very interesting, and good, hire by Baylor. If I were about to enter my senior year of high school, or researching law schools again, Baylor would definitely have moved up on my list.

John
February 15th, 2010 | 12:01 pm

As a Baylor alum, I must come out and state unequivocally that church of Christ doctrine is heretical from a Baptist point of view and has no place in a Baptist university. I don’t give a hang about his political past, his theology disqualifies him.

Ken Starr Goes to Baylor » First Thoughts | A First Things Blog | What is Buzzing Around the World
February 15th, 2010 | 12:02 pm

[...] from: Ken Starr Goes to Baylor » First Thoughts | A First Things Blog Post a comment | Trackback [...]

Eric
February 15th, 2010 | 12:58 pm

Agree with Ryan Young’s comment, first, and second fervently hope that Clyde’s correct about a no-confidence vote. When I started at Baylor in 93 it was a place devoted to a liberal education within a conservative tradition; seems like every big change since Herb Reynolds’s departure has bee another step down a road to some ugly combination of Liberty U, Regent U, and a vo-tech business and law school. A sad emblem of the advancing sclerosis of the Protestant intellect in his country.

Ken Starr to be President of Baylor University *Updated* | the big daddy weave
February 15th, 2010 | 1:01 pm

[...] on the hire of Starr over at the blog of the journal First Things and Christianity [...]

Ken Starr Goes to Baylor » First Thoughts | A First Things Blog < Read what Young Americans Read
February 15th, 2010 | 2:26 pm

[...] See the original post: Ken Starr Goes to Baylor » First Thoughts | A First Things Blog [...]

Jeff Wallace
February 15th, 2010 | 10:44 pm

My wife & I, my brother, and 2 sisters-in-law are Baylor grads. My daughter was accepted to BU, but has recently decided to get a broader education. This hiring is a sort of confirmation of her wisdom. Future fundraisers will fall on deaf ears.

Blake Pritchett
February 15th, 2010 | 11:25 pm

I hope Kenn Starr will endure a full term, and, create a confluence of good thingps for Baylor. I hope regents continue to forge concensus in discerning appropriate leadership. If another presidential selection fails you may consider your abilities as a team, regents.

Hunter Baker
February 16th, 2010 | 12:09 am

It is utterly absurd to say that getting a national level legal talent like Ken Starr takes Baylor down a level. How the heck long was Judge Abner McCall the president at Baylor????

Susan McGowan
February 16th, 2010 | 9:33 am

I have a very negative view of Ken Starr and the political person he represents. Why would Baylor choose such a figure and educate young people under this banner? Drop my alum status and forget sending the kids there.

Arlen R. Owens II
February 16th, 2010 | 3:16 pm

This is a very disappointing development. The level of cruelty leveled at Susan McDougal during the Whitewater investigation to extract information bordered on torture. I will never recommend Baylor to anyone I know, and will actually actively discourage anyone who may be considering a Christian College.

Ann
February 16th, 2010 | 11:53 pm

Possible insight into Mr. Starr– scuttlebutt from Pepperdine is the guy has been known to be a screamer. Let’s hope that is only a rumor and not true. To be in the hierarchy of Pepperdine you are expected to be a Church of Christ member. Mr. Starr only marginally fit that catagory when he came to Pepperdine–in his youth he attended Church of Christ. He may be a chamillion when it comes to religious beliefs. Pepperdine is considered very conservative politically, where Baylor has a more moderate reputation. This may not be a marriage made in heaven, and a not a plus for Baylor.