Baylor president emeritus Reynolds dead at 77

WACO, Texas — Herb Reynolds, the president who led Baylor University into the Big 12 Conference and founded George W. Truett Theological Seminary, died May 25 in Angel Fire, N.M. He was 77. In a statement, Baylor President John Lilley called Reynolds “a renowned Texas Baptist and one of Baylor’s great leaders.”

Reynolds earned a bachelor’s degree from Trinity University in San Antonio in 1952 and completed four years of active duty in the U.S. Air Force. After his membership with a technical advisory group to the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force, Reynolds went to Baylor in 1956. In 1958, he completed his master’s degree in psychology, followed by his doctorate in experimental psychology and clinical psychology in 1961.

In 1969, Reynolds joined Baylor as executive vice president and became president in 1981. In 1986, he was named one of America’s 100 most effective chief executive officers in a study funded by the Exxon Education Foundation. Reynolds retired from the presidency in 1995 and became chancellor that same year. He retired as chancellor in 2000.

Reynolds was the 11th president of Texas’ oldest continuously operating university. He is survived by his wife, Joy, and three children. He is also survived by two daughters-in-law, a son-in-law and seven grandchildren. The Reynolds family holds a total of 13 degrees from Baylor, according to a Baylor press release.