Updated at 2:47 p.m.: Revised to include the latest information.

WACO — Top Baylor officials offered a rare update on their efforts to reform a university under siege Friday, as the school's protracted sexual assault scandal hit its 18-month mark.

Baylor has responded to 85 of the 105 recommendations laid out by the law firm Pepper Hamilton, which unveiled Baylor's failure to respond to sexual assaults last year, interim President David E. Garland said.

Baylor has seen a "small drop" in donations since the scandal, he said, but the number of people contributing annually has actually increased — to more than 13,500.

The board of regents, which governs the school, has made changes that chairman Ron Murff said would make Baylor's leadership "one of the most responsive and transparent of any major private university." At the same time, Murff dug in his heels on one of the most controversial aspects of the Pepper Hamilton investigation and said the board was unlikely to ask the law firm to create a much-demanded written report.

"The important thing is we're focused on moving forward," Murff said.

Baylor Board of Regents chair Ron Murff ((Courtesy of Baylor University))

Their comments came during two short press conferences during and after a board of regents meeting Friday. It was the first time Baylor, a private university, hosted the media on site during a board meeting.

The event was a marked change in tone for Baylor, which has been under attack for its secretive handling of the sexual assault scandal. But it may not be enough for the school's most vocal critics, who want top-to-bottom reform.

"What transparency?" John Eddie Williams, a major donor and president of the Bears for Leadership Reform group, said Friday.

He and others in the group were "deeply disappointed" that school regents rejected their proposal to overhaul the board's structure to give more power to alumni.

Instead, the board voted Friday to make a series of subtle tweaks to be more inclusive. For example, representative students, faculty and athletics will now have voting rights. The board also will have to consult with non-regents when recruiting new members.

"The vote was overwhelmingly positive and affirmative," Murff, the board's chair, said afterward.

1 / 3Greg Brenneman (left), chair of the governance task force, and Ron Murff, Baylor Board of Regents chairman, address the media. (Jerry Larson/Waco Tribune-Herald) 2 / 3Dr. David E. Garland, interim president Baylor University address the media, Friday Feb. 17, 2017, in Waco, Texas. (Jerry Larson, Waco Tribune Herald)(Waco Tribune Herald) 3 / 3Ron Murff, Baylor Board of Regents Chairman address the media, Friday Feb. 17, 2017, in Waco, Texas. (Jerry Larson, Waco Tribune Herald)(Waco Tribune Herald)

Bears for Leadership Reform had asked regents to equalize power on the board by boosting the number of regents elected by alumni from three to 10.

Murff said a task force had already begun researching best practices and making recommendations by the time the group's proposal came out.

Williams blasted Friday's changes as "baby steps, not the real reform the Baylor family wants or deserves."

"We are 18 months into this tragic crisis and there seems to be no end in sight," he said. "It's clear that failed leadership was at the root of this tragedy."

Garland, who has served as interim university president since regents ousted former President Ken Starr in May, has guided the university as it implemented the Pepper Hamilton recommendations. He said he hopes to have all 105 in place by May.

He also said Friday that the university is cooperating with an NCAA investigation and welcomes any "verification" of the progress it has made.