The April 14 announcement that Thomas E. Corts would retire as president of Samford University at the end of the next school year caught many by surprise. He is only 63 years of age and in good health. More importantly, he is widely respected in the Samford community and beyond. One of his fellow university presidents summed up the feelings of many Alabama Baptists when he said during a January meeting that “Tom Corts is the gold standard for Baptist college presidents.”
But it is too early to eulogize Corts. He has another year to serve as president of Alabama Baptists’ oldest and largest institution of higher learning and much is happening on the Homewood campus. Along with Corts’ retirement, trustees announced a major building program and endowment campaign that usually mark the beginning of a president’s tenure, not the end. Obviously, Corts plans to finish as strongly as he has led these past 22 years.
Still it should be noted that Corts kept his promise to Alabama Baptists to make Samford University a place of academic excellence and spiritual vitality. The honors and recognitions speak for themselves. For 15 consecutive years, Samford has been listed as one of the top schools in the Southeast by U.S. News & World Report. The teacher-training program was selected by the U.S. Department of Education as one of the five best in the United States. On and on go the honors.
At the same time, Samford continues its reputation of being an unashamedly Christian institution. Dorm Bible studies, midweek worship, ministry programs, church leadership positions for scores of students, worship leadership teams and ministerial students — all continue the strong Baptist heritage of the university.
In 1994 when Samford moved to elect its own trustees instead of having them chosen by the Alabama Baptist State Convention (ABSC), some feared it was the first step to distance the university from the convention. Corts and the trustees promised that would not happen, and they have worked hard to make sure it did not happen.
Joe Godfrey, immediate past president of the ABSC, recently said, “Corts opened up the lines of communications to pastors and to Baptists to the point where our tie today is closer to the school than it has ever been. … I feel he’s done an excellent job of strengthening its (Samford’s) Christian prospective.”
From this writer’s perspective, I have worked with Baptist colleges in four states and none did, or does, a better job of being both university and Baptist than Samford.
Corts’ comments on the night of his retirement announcement provide hints. The first quality Corts listed for the new president was “The new president will have to be a committed Christian.” Exactly. The man or woman elected Samford president must have a personal, saving relationship with Jesus Christ. One cannot effectively lead a Christian institution without being a Christian.
Corts added the word “committed.” Again the new leader must be one who evidences that personal relationship with the Lord through a lifestyle that reflects the presence of God and who has a history of active participation in a local church.
The new president must be a Baptist, Corts said. Some denominational colleges and universities seem to think the denominational affiliation of the president does not matter.
It does. The president needs to reflect the history, heritage and values exemplified by the denomination whose institution he or she leads. How can the institution hold up such values before its students if those values are not part of the institution’s leader?
The new president must also see the role as Christian ministry, Corts added. The president is more than an administrator, more than a CEO. The presidency of a Baptist college is focused on the good for others and the good for the Lord.
It was heartening to hear Corts speak of the religious characteristics needed by the new president before he spoke of the academic necessities. Usually it is the other way around. Search committees concentrate on the academics and experience of candidates before examining religious commitments. More than once, this has caused the religious commitments of a candidate to get less consideration than other areas.
Of course, Corts will not choose his successor. It is the board of trustees who will elect the next president of Samford University, and that group has not yet announced the qualifications it will look for in the next president. When the board does, we are confident the religious qualifications and Baptist identity of the candidate will be as important to the board as they are to Corts.
Ultimately it was the board of trustees who promised Alabama Baptists in 1994 that Samford University would never move away from its Baptist identity and its Baptist heritage. A decade later, the school is as close or closer to the convention than ever. Now the trustees must make another major decision that demonstrates their commitment to be a part of Alabama Baptist life as the school and the convention go forward together. They must choose a new president.
All Alabama Baptists will want to join in praying for Samford’s presidential search committee. The decision will not only impact a great Christian university, it will impact all Alabama Baptists.
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