by Mark Wiggins
BAYLOR - Ken Starr had a busy first official day as the 14th president of Baylor University.
Appointed after a unanimous vote by the Baylor Board of Regents in February, the Vernon, Texas, native succeeds Dr. David E. Garland, who served as interim president for the last two years.
Students and faculty endured the afternoon heat Tuesday for the chance to meet and shake hands with their new leader.
It was also a day full of meetings for Starr, which included conversations with Bears football coach Art Briles and former Waco mayor Virginia DuPuy.
Starr says one of his first priorities at Baylor will include working with the former mayor to further strengthen the bonds between the Baylor community and the community of the City of Waco.
Chief to that effect, he claims, will be the Baylor School of Social Work's move to downtown Waco. There, he hopes the 250 students, along with staff, will be able to make a positive impact on the city's social needs.
Starr briefly met with press late Tuesday afternoon, where he outlined his plans for the future of Baylor.
Among the plans is finding a way to make a Baylor education more affordable through expansion of the school's endowment.
"The effort is worthy and noble to make sure that we build the endowment of this university so as to provide a much more robust array of scholarships. I would say that's the biggest challenge right now, and it's also the biggest opportunity."
Starr was also joined Tuesday afternoon by his wife, Alice.
A former fundraising advisor for the nonprofit sector, Starr said he hopes to see her become a key asset in fundraising for the future of Baylor University.
