Robert Cloud

"Wherever you go and whatever you do, you are desperately needed. Don't ever forget that," Dr. Robert Cloud (MS '66, EdD '69) tells his first-year student services administration master's students, who will one day work in college settings. "Before we get through with this class, I'll ask you to let me go with you in spirit."
Dr. Robert C. Cloud, known as R.C.C. to his students, has seen several thousand pass through his classes since he began working at Baylor in 1988.
Julia Dimmick (BA '05), who had Cloud for class last year, says, "One of the many things that Dr. Cloud's class taught me was that ... young people face a variety of challenges before, during and after their time in college, and it is up to us (as future professionals) to help shape and mold their experiences while they are on our campuses."
Cloud, the acting chair and professor in the School of Education's Department of Educational Administration, has a long history in education. One month after graduating from Baylor with his doctorate, he tells how he helped open College of the Mainland in Texas City. "I went from a well-known, prestigious university like Baylor that had stood the test of time to a brand new college that didn't have any background, history or frame of reference." 
Before returning to Baylor, Cloud served in four community colleges at all levels of administration and instruction for 20 years, including as president of Lee College in Baytown for 10 of those. During that time he exchanged ideas about working in higher education with friend and then-Baylor President Herbert H. Reynolds.
Cloud returned to the classroom and to Baylor to spend more time researching, writing and sharing with colleagues and students. "For good or bad, I've had a lot of experiences." 
He often writes on topics that have caused him stress, hoping to help others who may benefit from his experiences. In addition to books and monographs, he has written extensively on legal issues for West's Education Law Reporter. His most recent research includes topics such as student loans as a hardship, extracurricular activities and liability in higher education, safety on campus and offsetting Social Security benefits to repay student loans, an article due out later this year. Also upcoming is a topical monograph on governance in the community college to appear in New Directions for Community Colleges, for which he is serving as co-editor. 
"It's very gratifying," Cloud says of having peer-reviewed work accepted, giving it validation that it will be useful to others in higher education.
"I value that he cares enough about his students to point out what he has learned from his long tenure in this field," Dimmick says. "By the tears in his eyes and the tone of his voice, any student can easily see, feel and know that they are cared about."
Cloud says he hopes to share with colleagues and students for several more years. "I want to continue teaching as long as I can make a contribution."