Faculty meeting peer pressure but no apology

Yet faces a logical dilemma

As faculty, we are not to use our meetings for personal religious and political advocacy. It should go without saying that faculty should not use these meetings to insult entire religions or political groups. But it happens all the time to Conservatives, and no one says anything about it because the vast majority of the faculty hold to a radical political agenda. That is why I am bringing this to the attention of parents, students, donors, and legislators.

You might remember I wrote about a colleague who said at our last faculty meeting that GCU professors aren’t scholars because they are Evangelicals. On Friday, that professor was given time at our faculty meeting to say “someone” wrote about them on substack, and they want it to stop. They know about this because other faculty brought it to their attention. Meaning the faculty knows it is me—the Socratic gadfly.

This professor lied about me in the meeting and said I named them. I didn’t. I generally don’t use names. And I always tell my readers to be respectful and kind when they have discussions. And yet, this colleague was confrontational by doing this at a faculty meeting. If they don’t want what they say in faculty meetings to be mentioned here, they should stop using faculty meetings to insult Evangelicals and Conservatives.

So, what was their argument? They said I should not mention them on substack (I don’t. I report what they say). Why? Because they dream of an ideal scholarly world where we have a give-and-take of ideas and stop by each other’s offices to chat. Ok, they never stopped by my office to chat about this or anything else, and they are always free to do so. And how does my pointing out that faculty insult Evangelicals in their meetings keep them from having their ideal scholarly community? Does an ideal scholarly community mean a place where you can insult Conservatives and Christians without anyone in the public knowing? His argument is unsound.

Consider his formula: “they aren’t scholars. They are Evangelicals.” Now, consider what this means for any Evangelical student who attends this professor’s class. Either they remain an Evangelical and do not become a scholar and so presumably can’t pass his class. Or they become a scholar in his class and, to do so, must stop being an Evangelical. Which horn of this dilemma is my colleague suggesting for Evangelical students at ASU?

Do you know what my ideal scholarly community is? One where Christians and Conservatives aren’t insulted by faculty. One where faculty meetings and university resources aren’t used to promote a radical political agenda.

It would have put an end to the matter if, instead, they had simply apologized: “I said something that was offensive last meeting, and I’m sorry.” But they can’t bring themselves to apologize because they aren’t sorry. They believe their insult about Evangelicals. And I believe the parents, students, donors, and legislators should know about this.

So, while I will continue to keep names out of it, I will also continue to speak up about discrimination against Conservatives and Christians at ASU. Our faculty meetings should not be used to push personal political agendas. Parents of Evangelical students, you need to know what these professors think of you and your student.