The size of the Baylor University board of regents will get bigger, not smaller.
Regents voted to increase the size of the board to 24—up slightly from the current 21 members and significantly larger than the targeted goal of 16 members.
For many years, the board was composed of 36 members, and it had been getting smaller through attrition.
But the increase back to 24 members is designed to position Baylor for success, board Chairman Howard Batson said.
“Our goals are ambitious, and we are going to need increased diversity of talents within our board structure to achieve the level of future success we envision,” Batson said. “Our board is strong now, and with this action, we believe we can create an even more representative governing body that will help Baylor to reach new heights in the coming years.”
Wes Bailey, chair of the regents’ governance-review committee, explained the recommendation came after study.
“We have spent significant time over the past several months looking at governance issues and considering an array of best practices in higher education,” Bailey said. “The board determined today it would revise its plans to downsize to 16 and instead adopt a plan to transition to a steady board size of 24.”
One-fourth of Baylor’s regents will continue to be elected by the Baptist General Convention of Texas. So, the move will allow the BGCT to choose six regents, instead of the targeted four.
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