Ken Starr to Leave Law School Deanship to Become Baylor President
Former independent counsel Kenneth Starr will give up his post as dean of Pepperdine University School of Law to become the new president of Baylor University.
In his six years as dean at Pepperdine, Starr helped raise the law school’s ranking in U.S. News & World Report to 55th place, a jump of 45 spots, the Waco Herald-Tribune reports. He will head to Waco, Texas, for his new job that begins on June 1.
Starr is the former independent counsel who investigated the Whitewater land deal and Bill Clinton’s statements about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. He is also a former member of the ABA Journal Board of Editors.
Baylor law school professor Mark Osler told the Herald-Tribune he had some problems with the Clinton investigation and he wasn’t inclined to like Starr. “But as an academic, and seeing what he’s done at Pepperdine Law, I’m really an admirer now.”
Osler told the Herald-Tribune that Starr has as “a disarming warmth” that will help in fundraising.
Baylor is a private Baptist University. Starr’s father was a Church of Christ pastor, the Baptist Standard reports, and is currently a member of that church, according to the Waco Herald-Tribune. He plans to find a Baptist church to attend in Waco.
Starr told the Los Angeles Times that he looks forward to returning to Texas. “I adore Pepperdine and continue to love being in service at Pepperdine, but Texas is my home state,” he said.
