TEXAS
Washington Post
By Michelle Boorstein May 25
Reports that Baylor University’s board of regents had voted to fire former Bill Clinton prosecutor Ken Starr due to his handling of a sex assault scandal rocketed around political circles Tuesday, but the allegations were equally big for a different reason: Baylor is the world’s largest Baptist university.
The reports about Starr were explosive among many evangelicals — Baptists in particular — because they tap into a couple of the most basic contemporary debates at religious schools. What is the impact in 2016 of the honor codes many religious schools have around sexual behavior? Secondly, is there a conflict between being a religious school and trying to be a major athletic powerhouse?
Baylor University spokeswoman Lori Fogleman said in an email, “Ken Starr is president and chancellor of Baylor University,” the Associated Press reported, which also noted a separate statement by the university that said Baylor’s governing board is reviewing a report on how the school handled reports of rape and assault by football players.
The school maintains a status as one of the nation’s most visible, ambitious Christian universities. Some say Baylor is for evangelicals what the University of Notre Dame is for Catholics and Brigham Young is for Mormons; that is, their flagship.
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