That job is threatened by a new policy the university is enacting requiring all staff and faculty to sign a Faith and Personal Lifestyle statement in which they agree, among other things, to “reject as acceptable all sexual activity not in agreement with the Bible, including, but not limited to, premarital sex, adultery and homosexuality.”
Wilson is gay. School officials never asked him about his lifestyle when he was hired on April 20, 1998, which is also his father’s birthday, he said. But he thinks they probably knew when he was tenured in 2006.
Wilson signed his contract, but he marked out portions of the statement and sent it to the provost. He also sent a letter to Shorter University President Donald Dowless.
“I believe, for reasons that should be obvious, that the provisions therein constitute a grave violation of the principles of academic freedom and tenure, core values in academe that were formerly embraced by the university’s administration,” Wilson said in his letter. “I am aware of your intent to dismiss anyone, regardless of tenure status, who may express any disagreement with these provisions. Nevertheless, I would like to appeal to you, as a fellow academic, to reverse this significant departure from academic norms by creating an atmosphere in which faculty may teach, and students may learn, without these ideological restrictions.”
If a staff member doesn’t sign the statement of faith, their employment will not continue, according to Dawn Tolbert, Shorter University spokeswoman.
That leaves Wilson with the real possibility that he will be without a job in the next few weeks. But he plans to fight for the job he has loved so much, he said.
It’s a small department, he said, and it has given him a chance to do “a lot of everything,” he said.
“I’ve been everything from janitor to head librarian,” Wilson said. “I’ve learned so much and I made this job my own.”
Shorter University’s handbook states that, “tenure is the reasonable expectation of continued employment on an annual instructional term basis as long as, and only as long as: 1) The tenured faculty member does not breach his/her current contract or any subsequent annual instructional term contract; 2) Shorter is financially able to continue to employ the tenured faculty member; and 3) There is sufficient demand at Shorter to justify the need for performance by the tenured faculty member in his/her particular field.”
While as of today Wilson still works for Shorter, his name is on a list provided by the website SaveOurShorter.com of 53 staff and faculty members who have left or are expected to leave the university this year, mainly because of the faith statement passed by the Board of Trustees last October.
When asked if the number was accurate, Tolbert said in an email, “We don’t have a final number on who is leaving yet; faculty contracts are still out. We are interviewing for positions that are open and will announce new hires as they are finalized.”
Wilson hopes there is a way he could stay.
“I genuinely care about the library, my students, and the well-being of the university, and I am concerned that my sudden departure would create hardship for all involved,” he said in his letter to Dowless.
If Shorter wants to become a Bible school, churning out worthless degrees, then all future athletic recruits must be informed of this change before they "sign" with Shorter. A letter writing campaign to all Georgia high school counselors, athletic directors and coaches is in order. (football, basketball, baseball, lacrosse, tennis, volleyball, cheerleading, track, bowling, cycling, soccer, wrestling, softball)
Half of Shorter students are athletes. In terms of revenue, those athletes pay approximately $10 million to play sports at Shorter.
In addition, Shorter has the contract to host the NAIA National Football Championship. It's a big, money making event. Why would Shorter want sinners from other states spending money in Rome? Will the out-of-state football players be required to sign a lifestyle statement, along with their coaches, parents and fans? Those out-of-state folks might do some naughty things. A letter writing campaign to the NAIA football leadership is in order as well. I'm sure Rome businesses wouldn't mind losing the revenue from those naughty people.
Looks like Shorter's new President wants to play the Pied Piper for all the homosexuals in Rome and Floyd County and play his flute and ship them away to Cartersville, just so long as they aren't near his school. What a continuing joke that makes normal minded people flee from the land of anal retention that is Rome.
You all probably agree on little else, but I reckon they feel the same way!
I have the right to burn an American Flag. I have the right to be a racist. I have the right to go to a soldier's funeral and protest. I have the right to drink myself to death. I have the right to do a lot of things but I have a question for all of you who are defending Shorter.
Just because they have the right to discriminate against gays does it make it right?
One must reject Adultery as well according the the Lifestyle Statement. Jesus teaches that remarried divorcees commit adultery.
How many remarried divorcees work on the hill, I wonder?
a job but hey don't attend or work there if ya disagree.
I am surprised it has not been chanlenged in court by some national group.
http://www.rn-t.com/pages/opinion_columns
http://www.romenews-tribune.com/view/full_story/18464559/article-GUEST-COLUMN--Shorter-s-broke--Rome-must-help-fix-it?instance=secondary_stories_left_column
Shorter is not behaving in a "Christian" manner. It is all terribly sad.
You will end up better off. You will find a position somewhere else where you will be valued and you will bond with your new home of employment and find happiness there, I feel quite sure.
It is Shorter's loss!
By painting those people who disagree with the behavior anomaly known as homosexuality (only 2-4% of Americans exhibit this behavior) it is not difficult to continue on and accuse them of "hatred" and "bigotry," and of being "discriminatory."
Yet how we are supposed to display bigotry towards a behavior, it is unclear. I have been told that in the absence of any evidence suggesting that I "hate" homosexuals, that there is no other possible reason for me to disagree with the homosexual lifestyle except "hatred" and "fear."
As I said, it's a very weak argument, if this can be called an argument at all. In closing, I will make a prediction that two regular posters to RNT forums will reply to this post with comments devoid of points of contention to refute my comments, and completely full of person insults directed at me.
OK, you guys are on the clock.
Augusta National does not allow women to become members. The United Negro College Fund would never grant a white person a scholarship. One could cite lots of other examples, as well. How is it, however, that a Christian institution draws so much fire while other, potentially more heinous offenders get a free pass?
Your choice is your choice. I do not condemn you one way or another. You made the choice; now live with it.
Why would you choose to go to a Baptist school and expect the school to condone something like homosexuality? You don't go to Burger King and order a pizza.
It's a free country and a free market, people. No one is forcing you to stay OR leave. Make your choice for your own reasons and stop crying once you have.
Bigotry at it's worst.
First, there seems to be the notion among many who have commented on articles regarding the unfortunate events at Shorter that "private institutions" can--and should be able--do whatever they wish. Does the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ring a bell? It prohibits discrimination on the basis of race and sex, even for private institutions--and it needs to be updated to include LGBT persons. This White Southerner is old enough to remember the turmoil that accompanied its implementation. I'm also old enough to remember how good Christian schools and good Christian churches treated African Americans. They were wrong about race then. They're wrong about sexual orientation now.
Also, it seems odd to me that I've worked for Shorter for nearly a third of my life, and for all that time I was accepted for who I am. It was only with the arrival of the new administration that I suddenly became an outcast. If this Baptist school was so worried about my sexual orientation, why did it hire me, grant me tenure, and allow me to do my job for 14 years without ever bringing it up?
Universities are not top-down organizations, as you seem to assume; the faculty, of which I am a part, is supposed to be involved in the governance of the university. Aside from the president, I can count on the fingers of one hand the members of the faculty and the administration who have a problem with me. The leadership of the institution, as a whole, is 99 percent in favor of my remaining in my position. I, then, am not the person who doesn't "like the way the leadership wants to do things," when you consider the leadership as a whole. Rather, it is our esteemed chief administrator who doesn't like the way our leadership does things. It is he who is at odds with the culture of the school. Perhaps we should say to *him*, "Then leave!"
Finally, I notice that it's awfully easy to say rude things to people in an internet discussion. I've had experiences with folks who, for whatever reason, don't like gay people. They tend to fall into two types: the ones who, when confronted with an actual gay person, seem to realize that they've directed their anger at an abstraction. I can work with these people because they're willing to recognize that we have humanity in common. Then there are those who will scream and spit in your face. I'm interested to know: which are you?
Yours,
Michael Wilson
Godspeed in all of your endeavors. For what it is worth, I am heterosexual...but that is my predisposition..:)