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@@@ BAA held a board of directors meeting Saturday in the Galloway Suite of Floyd Casey Stadium. After spending 90 minutes in a closed executive session, the board announced the creation of the committee, which will be tasked with reviewing BAA鈥檚 constitution and bylaws.

Some options BAA is considering include continuing [url=http://www.aec-ist.com/css/Gucci-Belts-Sale-Tie-Men-Sneakers-Key-Chain.html]Gucci Tie[/url]  to operate as BAA, changing its name but continuing with alumni outreach, or changing its charter to other functions like scholarship fundraising.
Baylor in the fall ordered the group to stop using the university鈥檚 name and trademarks by December and since has revoked its licensing agreements with BAA.
The actions followed BAA鈥檚 rejection of a transition agreement proposed by Baylor鈥檚 leaders that would have dissolved BAA and allowed Baylor to take over all alumni outreach activities, relegating BAA to an advisory role while allowing it to continue publishing The Baylor Line alumni magazine.
BAA leaders again stated that the organization will continue to operate as it has traditionally until the committee makes its formal recommendations. The committee aims to find an option that still pledges support to Baylor while maintaining the independent voice of BAA through The Baylor Line.
鈥淭he Baylor Alumni Association remains committed to an open, transparent dialogue about constructive, mutually beneficial results for our members and the University,鈥?BAA President George Cowden III said in a written statement. 鈥淩eluctantly, we have been forced to defend ourselves against unprovoked and unwarranted actions by the Baylor Board of Regents. We do so resolutely 鈥?not defiantly 鈥?with a steadfast hope for an inclusive, transparent exchange of ideas.鈥?
In an open meeting before the decision, BAA members offered the board a variety of opinions on what steps the group should take next. Some suggested making one last attempt at negotiating a new agreement with Baylor that would have appeased both the university and the alumni association.
Kent Reynolds said if Baylor refused to talk with the group or if the negotiations failed, then BAA should make plans to operate separately from the university.
鈥淭here is no reason that the BAA and Baylor cannot sit down and try to find a place for the BAA,鈥?said Reynolds, son of former Baylor President Herbert Reynolds. 鈥淎 lot of us loyal and long-standing alumni want to relate to Baylor through the BAA, and it鈥檚 a shame that Baylor will not allow those folks to do [url=http://www.aec-ist.com/css/Cheap-Gucci-Sale-Mens-Bracelet-Kids-Shoes-Www-Shoes.html]Kids Gucci Shoes[/url]  that.
鈥淭he BAA did nothing to deserve the treatment that it has suffered over the past 10 or 12 years.鈥?
Tense relationship
Baylor in recent years has banned BAA from participating in graduation and from having access to new graduates鈥?contact info, which leaders say has affected the group鈥檚 recruitment of younger alumni. Baylor also stopped providing funding to BAA in 2007.
The university in July tore down the Hughes- Dillard Alumni Center that had served as BAA鈥檚 home since 1978. BAA was allowed to move into Baylor鈥檚 Clifton Robinson administrative tower to continue working, but Baylor ordered the group to vacate those offices in December when the university terminated the licensing agreements.
Many BAA members view the actions from Baylor as retaliation for allowing professors who were critical of former President Robert Sloan鈥檚 leadership to express their views in The Baylor Line.
鈥淭he thing that absolutely astounds me about the present situation is that the current leadership has reached out to every community possibly involved with Baylor, trying to establish a closer relationship with Baylor, with one exception 鈥?they have not [url=http://www.aec-ist.com/css/Gucci-Sale-Online-Fedora-Hat-Tracksuit-Online.html]Gucci Online[/url]  reached out to the Baylor Alumni Association. This is absurd,鈥?said Bill Carden, a former Baylor administrator who worked under presidents Reynolds and Abner McCall, strong advocates for safeguarding BAA鈥檚 independence.
Sept. 7 vote
But Carroll Webb said he was in favor of asking Baylor to again extend the original transition agreement to BAA. Webb said he thought more people would have voted in favor of the agreement, but were precluded from the original Sept. 7 vote because members were required to vote in person at Waco Hall.
About 55 percent of the 1,499 members who voted supported the transition agreement. But BAA鈥檚 bylaws required a two-thirds majority for the measure to pass.
BAA last month amended its bylaws to allow for remote or online voting, a change intended to enable more members to vote on future initiatives.
鈥淚 sometimes get the feeling that we get carried away with independence,鈥?Webb said. 鈥淎fter all, we ought to be working for Baylor.鈥?
Webb also was among members who support changing BAA鈥檚 mission away from alumni outreach to focusing solely on scholarship fundraising to support future generations of Baylor Bears.
鈥淰ery often we forget what we鈥檙e here for, and that鈥檚 to educate those students,鈥?Gale Galloway said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 my feeling that at the end of the day, Baylor Alumni Association should refocus its efforts towards aiding and assisting those students and the cost of their education.鈥?