A provost at Baylor University wanted to hire a diversity officer but there were objections.

Colleen Flaherty reported at Inside Higher Ed.

Divided Over Diversity

Baylor University has had its fair share of administrative turnover in recent memory: two of its last three presidents were forced out after clashing with the faculty and the Board of Trustees over such issues as how to advance its strong academic reputation while remaining true to its Baptist roots. But the campus has been relatively united under President Kenneth Starr since he took over in 2010. That’s despite some initial misgivings among faculty members.

Now the campus is again experiencing tumult. This time it’s over a diversity initiative, which faculty members say likely led to the abrupt resignation of Edwin Trevathan as provost after little more than a semester on the job.

“When Trevathan stepped down, it took a few of us by surprise,” said Jerry Park, an associate professor of sociology at Baylor who — unlike some of his colleagues — supported the former provost’s plan to hire a chief diversity officer. That officer was to oversee a diversity initiative aimed in part at addressing Baylor’s reputation as having one of the country’s whitest faculties, at 87 percent.

Surprises aside, Park said, “I’m pretty certain this must be connected to the [chief diversity officer issue]. He was only here eight months and this was the most widely broadcast thing on his agenda.”

Officially, Trevathan left for a vague combination of personal and professional reasons. “After prayerful consideration and consultation with my family, we have decided that the position of executive vice president and provost at Baylor University is not a good fit for us,” the former provost said in a statement earlier this month announcing his immediate resignation. “I have, therefore, decided to step aside from my role as [executive vice president] and provost.” Trevathan will stay on at Baylor as a professor of neuroscience.