It wasn't cool when Roosevelt tried to pack the court, either

Baylor Board Votes to Increase Regent Membership to 24
GRAPEVINE, Texas -- Baylor Regents today voted to modify the size of its governing body, increasing its board size from a previous goal of 16 to 24 members. The vote came as the board was concluding its annual summer retreat, which this year was held in Grapevine.

Board Chair Howard K. Batson said the increase in board size was intended to position Baylor for future success.

"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 Governance Review Committee of the board, explained that the recommendation came after extensive study by his committee.

"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.

During the three-day retreat, Regents also received the university's annual report, noting the substantial progress on each of the 12 imperatives of Baylor 2012, the university's 10-year vision. The report included data and information on multiple achievements, including:

* continued increases in average SAT and GRE scores,

* undergraduates who are distinctively and strongly oriented to spirituality and community service,

* best ranking ever in the U.S.News & World Report 2007 rankings of national doctoral-granting universities,

* construction of the Paul L. Foster Success Center in the newly remodeled Sid Richardson Building housing Academic Advisement, Academic Support, Access and Learning Accommodation, Career Counseling and Career Services, and

* continued improvement in Baylor's student-faculty ratio, now 15:1, with fewer large classes and more small classes.