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| College Students for Illustration only - not SBU |
Various news sources have reported difficulties at a Southern Baptist University in Bolivar Missouri (Southwest Baptist University; SBU).
What’s
going on behind the decisions? Some stories portray at least some concerns as a
battle over academic freedom in the context of a conservative Christian
university.
**********
Zach
Manis was a tenured
philosophy professor. The SBU board of trustees decided to close the philosophy
program (Weinberg,
2020 Sept 18).
Previously,
an SBU professor was terminated. According to Kaylor writing in Word & Way (2018):
“On Nov. 28, officials at Southwest Baptist University fired a tenured
associate professor after that professor met with Missouri Baptist Convention
leaders over the past three years in an effort to drive out other professors in
the school’s Redford College of Theology and Ministry.” Kaylor provides details
of the actions and issues.
Wingfield
reported news on October
22, 2020: “Southwest Baptist University president resigns in struggle with
Missouri Baptist Convention.” The lead paragraph exposes the heart of the
conflict.
Missouri Baptists continue to find themselves at the epicenter of the
struggle between fundamentalism and non-fundamentalism that has dominated the
Southern Baptist Convention publicly since 1979.
The latest casualty is Eric Turner, who abruptly resigned as president
of Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Mo., Oct. 20, just two years after
being elected to the post.
Earlier
this year, 26
February 2021, Ogle
filed a report on the local KY3 News Site about protests at SBU. Ogle offers results
from interviews. In addition to the end of the philosophy program, concerns
about the behavioral sciences are relevant to my posts about psychology and
religion. Ogle interacted with Brian Kaylor who believed the Behavioral
Sciences were the next target (see more on this below).
Brian Kaylor observes May
14, 2021 that two decisions could make a difference in the future of the
school. The Polk County Circuit Court and the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) are
making decisions. Here’s what Kaylor wrote about the court case:
After MBC-appointed trustees at SBU adopted new governing documents last
fall to give more legal control of the school to the MBC, a former trustee, a
professor, and a student filed petitions in February and March to block the
documents. A judge heard oral arguments in the case on March 5. The various
parties continued to file claims and counterarguments after the hearing, but
the last filing came on March 16.
The HLC has
two investigations in progress. Of interest to academia and faith-based
institutions is the commitment to academic freedom. A second investigation
deals with the denial of tenure and termination of the director of the Social
Work program (Kaylor,
2021).
Most recently, Redden posted a story in Inside
Higher Ed with an intriguing headline “A ‘Hostile Takeover’” (2021, May 25).
Her lead paragraphs report questions the trustees asked a professor of social
work. The questions involved creationism and homosexuality. Redden identifies what
faculty need to affirm. Thanks to her work, I will include the links to the documents.
The
Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy
Again,
relevant to this blog is the denial of tenure to psychology professor, Debbie
Walker.
**********
Those of us
on the outside will likely never know the details of the struggle at SBU. The
list of documents that faculty must affirm offer some insight into the
importance of beliefs faculty must affirm and support. Indeed, a look at the
documents reveals a set of beliefs consistent with what most would call
Christian fundamentalism. Of course, not all fundamentalists agree since there
are obviously a variety of Christian groups. Nevertheless, there is a pattern
of reading the Bible like other Christian conservatives do with an emphasis on literal
or near literal interpretations of the texts.
A word of
caution is in order. Faculty, staff, students, and parents supporting their student’s
expenses should look carefully at the official positions of a college or
university on matters of faith and morality. Several years at a place where one
is at odds with the official positions of the school can lead to considerable
distress.
In the case
of SBU, it appears things have changed. That can be difficult to plan for. One
thing people can do is look at the official positions of the church or
denomination associated with a particular college or university with the idea
in mind that faculty and staff might be required to demonstrate their loyalty
and faithfulness to the way the denominational leaders interpret the Bible and
reason about science and culture.
**********
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