Baylor University in Waco, Texas, has been in turmoil since its 1990 attempt to free itself from the control of the Southern Baptist Convention. Herbert Reynolds, Baylor President at the time, continued to speak against the ultra-conservative SBC, restating in 1998 the importance of the university "seeking to chart its own course to stay true to our mission by avoiding the destructive influences of the leadership of the Southern Baptist Convention."

Reynolds further noted that fundamentalists controlling the SBC were more interested in "indoctrination" than education and prayed, "God help us to advance the cause of Christ by remaining a bastion of freedom for Baptists and for people everywhere."

Is Baylor Experiencing a Religious Identity Crisis?

That was the question asked ten years after Reynolds' retired in 1995,by Baylor Magazine, a university publication, noting in February 2005 that there seemed to be an "elephant in the room" that promised to haunt the legacy of Reynolds' successor, Robert B. Sloan, Jr., the architect of a futuristic plan called Baylor 2012.

If Sloan felt the "elephant breathing down his neck," as the magazine suggested, it was because Sloan's true direction was not always clear during his decade as President.

Was Sloan a "visionary leader" or a "secret fundamentalist"?

That question may have been answered in in 2004, when James Matthew Bass, a graduate student in Baylor's seminary, had his scholarship revoked, ostensibly for supporting gay marriage. Baylor 's "elephant in the room" made more international news in November 2005 after university officials ordered its campus Starbucks to stop serving coffee in cups bearing a quotation by gay author Armistead Maupin (see photo of the offending cup).

Out with Sloan, In with Lilley

In January 2006, President Sloan left a "divided constituency" and was replaced by John Lilley, a Presbyterian elder who felt that he had the full confidence of the trustees, since he was appointed by a unanimous vote.