Houston Christian University President Robert Sloan Jr. Dies At 77
HOUSTON — Robert Sloan, Jr., president of Houston Christian University, died on the morning of July 4, the school announced in a press release.
HCU Board Chairman Ramiro Peña commented on Sloan’s tenure as the school’s “most monumental and glorious years impacting countless lives of students, faculty, alumni, staff, trustees, and friends.” Peña further credited Sloan with “unprecedented growth” at the college in terms of academics, campus construction, national visibility and “incomparable spiritual awakening.”
The statement described the 77-year-old Sloan’s death as “sudden,” though giving no cause. Heights Church in Houston, where Sloan served as a pastor and scholar in residence, said he died from “a major health event” suffered on July 3. Other media outlets described it as a massive stroke.
“All medical efforts to save his life were ineffective and he died early this morning surrounded by his family,” wrote Edward Crowell, executive director for Heights Church.
Sloan was the president of Baylor University from 1995 to 2005, serving as chancellor in 2005 and 2006. He attended the university from 1967-1970 and was a member of the baseball team his freshman year. Sloan was named Houston Baptist University’s third president in August 2006.
In comments sent to Baptist Press, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President David Dockery recalled his determination more than 45 years ago, as a SWBTS student, to take as many elective courses in theology as he could even though he had completed the requirements for a Master of Theology. One of the most formative was taught by Sloan, who was in his first year at Southwestern.
“Robert had written an impressive dissertation, focusing on the teachings of Jesus in Luke 4,” Dockery recalled. “… The research behind this doctoral work shaped this terrific class as we heard brilliant lectures on the teachings and kingdom work of Christ.”
Only four years Sloan’s junior, Dockery became friends with Sloan, and the two bonded over Texas Rangers games and an overall love for baseball, theology, Christian education and Baptist history. When the HBU presidential search team contacted Dockery in 2005, he suggested they reach out to Sloan.
Sloan, Dockery said, “left a legacy as a bold and articulate champion of distinctive Christ-centered higher education, touching numerous individuals, institutions, and organizations in this country and around the world.
“Many of us have lost a good friend. Robert was my teacher before he was my friend, and I have continued to be immensely blessed for more than four decades to learn from his godly wisdom and his faithful example.”
HCU was created as Houston Baptist University by the Baptist General Convention of Texas in 1960, eight years after the Union Baptist Association authorized a study on the feasibility of a Baptist college in Houston. The school changed its name in 2022 to welcome “the many students enrolled who come from many different denominations of the Christian faith as well as those who claim no faith.”
The university is autonomous, though it continues to share a “cooperative relationship” with the BGCT and a “fraternal relationship” with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, according to its website.
Others offered their condolences and memories of Sloan.
“A proud Baylor alumnus, Robert Sloan faithfully served Baylor University as a member of our religion faculty, founding dean of George W. Truett Theological Seminary and as Baylor President for nearly a decade,” said Baylor President Linda Livingstone. “His greatest contribution was the adoption of Baylor 2012, a 10-year vision that placed Baylor on the path to become a top-tier university while remaining committed to our historic Christian mission.”
Ed Stetzer, dean of Talbot School of Theology at Biola University, reflected that he had been texting with Sloan only recently.
“Robert was a faithful Christian leader, a thoughtful scholar, and someone who invested deeply in people,” Stetzer said. “His influence reached far beyond the institutions he served, and his legacy will endure through the countless lives he shaped.
“He will be greatly missed.”
Sloan is survived by his wife, Sue, seven children and 24 grandchildren. A celebration of life service will be held Friday at 11 a.m. in the Dunham Theater on the campus of Houston Christian University.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the university’s Robert B. Sloan Jr. Memorial Fund.
This article was originally published by Baptist Press.
Scott Barkley is chief national correspondent for Baptist Press.