Ken Starr: Savior Of Baylor University?

Clinton-investigator Ken Starr's name stopped making headlines about a decade ago, and the lawyer faded into a quiet life in academia as dean of Pepperdine's law school. But after a tumultuous succession of presidents, Baylor University in Texas tapped Starr for the head spot at the school -- with hope that the man who is often described as "gracious" and "likeable" will provide the college with some much-needed stability.

The Chronicle of Higher Education this week published an in-depth article on Starr's emerging role in academia, and revealed more about the man behind the eponymous report. Here are some things you may not know about the man famous for delving into presidential affairs.

His leadership style:

Mr. Starr describes himself as an "encourager." He likes the metaphor of making decisions at a round table, and was pleased to learn that the conference room where Baylor's Executive Council meets comes equipped with a literal one. He says his role as an administrator is finding the money to enable faculty members and students to pursue ideas they are excited about.

His demeanor:

In person, Mr. Starr is humble, soft-spoken. He has a calm, even voice that would be a natural fit on public radio, and it's difficult to imagine him ever raising it. The polarizing former independent counsel is also disarmingly friendly.

His work at Pepperdine:

Mr. Starr's tenure as dean at Pepperdine Law School, his position since 2004, is widely considered a great success. Pepperdine has darted up the U.S. News & World Report ranking of law schools, climbing from No. 99 in 2005 to No. 55 in 2010. It's an achievement any number of faculty members and administrators there take with a grain of salt--many of them are no fans of the rankings--but one that clearly matters to some of their students.

How his faith informs his work:

He goes on to reflect that the way the two states approach business growth is just like the parable of the talents, the story Jesus tells in the New Testament about a master who returns from a trip and asks his servants to account for what they have done with the money he gave them.

Read the article in full here (subscription only).

Comments

[DAVROS1]

08:54 AM on 05/20/2010

Another reason I will NOT be sending my daughter to Baylor.

[stevebol]

11:02 PM on 05/19/2010

I don't know who's more pathetic, this dude or Linda Tripp.

[stevebol]

10:58 PM on 05/19/2010

Ken Starr. The only guy in the world who never lied about s(e)x. What a hero.

[supergenius02]

08:40 PM on 05/19/2010

Ken Starr did an amazing job at boosting Pepperdine Law School's reputation. Under his leadership the school soared up the national rankings. He's a great leader and Baylor is lucky to have him.

Don't blame Starr because Bill Clinton couldn't keep his fly zipped away from his wife Hillary.

[Rubyfoo]

02:54 PM on 05/19/2010

Baylor can now expect some more bad Starr-ma.

[Clevelandinwi]

01:38 PM on 05/19/2010

Oh sorry. I see. Ir's Texas.

[Clevelandinwi]

01:37 PM on 05/19/2010

Kinda forgot 'right-wing regressive wing-nut, didn't we?

[imajoebob]

10:53 AM on 05/19/2010

Ken Starr practices law as a weapon, a cudgel. He finds the parts that he likes and ignores the ones he doesn't. He's a lawyer much more invested in the result than the law. Using the law to win is his goal; justice isn't part of his equation.

[FarOutFish]

11:48 AM on 05/19/2010

Just like every other Lawyer out there. The job of an Attorney is to do everything legal to zealously represent their client. Court rooms are like Pro-Wrestling. We have an adversarial judicial system. After all the dust settles it seems to work better than most.

[tellthetruthalways]

11:59 AM on 05/19/2010

Starr's job in the Clinton inquiry wasn't to defend a client, but to determine the truth. He proved to be a partisan bully who had little regard for justice. There is little that is gracious or likable about this very evil man.

[imajoebob]

06:49 PM on 05/20/2010

No, Starr zealously promotes his politics, his cronies, and his "morality." He chooses cases, causes, and clients based on whether they will serve his purposes, not the purpose of justice.

[blueskybigstar]

10:53 AM on 05/19/2010

Ken Starr's job, as a CIA member --his uncle worked extensively with the OSS and brought AIG, a drug laundering bank when things got hot in China, his uncle started CVSpharmacy-- his job was to cover up the crimes of the Clinton administration which are the same as the Bush administration and the CIA.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCiiB1_OGUE

He argued to keep incriminating evidence out of the public record and lost.

[dax49]

09:36 AM on 05/19/2010

If there is any justice in this world, starr will end up broke and cruising the men's room at the bus station, which is his idea of a good time, anyway

[rambot02]

09:30 AM on 05/19/2010

I don't know what Baylor offered Starr, but it would take a truckful of cash to get me to move from beautiful, balmy Malibu to Waco. On the other hand, he'll feel more comfortable in Jesusland where most folks agree that oral sex is grounds for impeachment.

[REDSTATEREFUGEE]

01:47 PM on 05/19/2010

Right you are, Rambot02.....The only problem is that your contrast would be plainly evident to most feeling people, but Ken Starr?? He will probably not even notice that he has been deposited on the singularly unremarkable Central Plains of Texas. In particular, Starr will most likely enjoy associating with the conservatives who populate the land between Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth.

I have always subjectively felt that KS was a consummate wimp who might even have secretly admired Bill Clinton for his unbridled, inappropriate sexuality, which he himself could never work up to. Baylor and KS....a match made in heaven...

[rambot02]

10:23 PM on 05/19/2010

Your point re, KS secretly admiring Bubba's unbridled, inappropriate sexuality is spot on.

"A puritan is a person who is haunted by the fear that someone somewhere is having fun." -- Anonymous.

[DavidF07]

09:28 AM on 05/19/2010

My undergraduate degree was earned at Baylor. The effect it had on me was experienced by many others at the time - came in as a Baptist freshman and graduated with an unBaptist or anti-Baptist religious viewpoint. It helped me become a Quaker.

I still find some humor in the Madrasah on the Brazos.

My experience in the 60s and 70s at Baylor was fulfilling in many ways (some of which would not be a focus of the university administration). There was a great student to teacher ratio with many undergraduate classes less than 30 students enrolled. Many of the professors were far more liberal than the administration preferred.

And we who protested the illegal war in Vietnam enjoyed the frustration and illogical responses by administration officials. The Dean of Students had on his book shelf a volume on dealing with student unrest on campus! Abner McCall, president of Baylor and former FBI agent and former justice of the state Supreme Court, did not respond to my legal action in the student government court system; he threatened the judges of the court (that he would not let them graduate from Baylor Law School).

With the appointment of Ken Starr, the tradition of unintended humor continues.

[Joeinloth]

12:39 PM on 05/19/2010

?Madrasah on the Brazos"!!? LOL!!!!! FANNED!!!!!

[branchwater1113]

10:45 PM on 05/19/2010

Baylor of the '60s and '70s was a quality, mid-level university, quaintly archaic in it's social rules, but academically quite open and independent. Since then, however, Baylor has become a theocratic mess, with Baptist loyalty oaths, faculty purges and all the forced othodoxy of DAVIDF07's madrasah.

Ken Starr was, perhaps, more pawn than leader of the Clinton witch hunt. If he can restore academic independence and quality at Baylor, then perhaps he can earn some bit of redemption.

[texastrixie]

09:25 AM on 05/19/2010

Baylor University is in no danger. Mr. Starr might actually be a draw since Baylor's primary student pool is Texas, and while President Clinton wasn't as hated as Obama is around here, Ken Starr is still a saint in Texas. Baylor itself is not as ultra right wing as some would think, although I think they still outlaw dances. The law school is excellent, and stresses the actual work of most attorneys (basic wills, divorce, civil litigation, etc.) over the esoteric pinpoints of case law alone. But Baylor needs Mr. Starr only in to the slightest degree, it is in no real danger.

[Ralph Noyes]

08:50 AM on 05/19/2010

The most famous Baylor alumnus is "Sir" Allen Stanford.

Baylor Law School is decent -- and very independent of what is otherwise a theocratic caricature of a university full of dumb, sheltered, rich, White fundamentalists.

Baylor is a Southern Baptist caricature of a university. They will be lucky to get an intelligent morality-meister like Ken Starr.