Now this second "wondering" from Asbury faculty and administration:
The flurry of reports and narratives dating from 1 September 2006 has shed light on and generated heat regarding the critical situation in which Asbury Theological Seminary now finds itself. We are left with a number of questions. This is the second.
We wonder why the Chair of the Board has begun the process of considering appointing an investigative committee to consider grounds for President Greenway’s termination before the Board of Trustees as a whole has had opportunity to consider the facts of this case.
Granted that President Greenway’s contract cannot be terminated apart from a recommendation from a special investigative committee and that the Chair of the Board of Trustees is the person authorized to appoint such a committee (The By-Laws of Asbury Theological Seminary, Article 7, Section E), the By-Laws are silent regarding the point at which such a committee is to be appointed. The closest analogue concerns the dismissal of faculty, the "dismissal proceedings" for which are "to be undertaken as an expedient of last resort. Only after reasonable efforts have been made to resolve issues and correct wrongs in accordance with the Seminary’s 'Grievance Procedure' and/or other appropriate administrative actions such as professional growth plans, should dismissal proceedings be initiated" (The By-Laws of Asbury Theological Seminary, Article 8, Section M).
We are hard pressed to imagine how the dismissal of a president would involve procedures less demanding than those regarding a faculty member. We are concerned that a special investigative committee might be appointed and called upon to begin its work prior to a decision having been reached by the governing body under whom the president performs his duties — namely, the Board of Trustees, meeting as a whole — regarding whether his performance merits contractual termination.
Signed:
Kenneth A. Boyd, Ph.D., Professor of Instructional Design
Allan Coppedge, Ph.D., Ralph Waldo Beeson Professor of Christian Theology
Ronald K. Crandall, D.Th.P., McCreless Professor of Evangelism and Sundo Kim Professor of Evangelism and Practical Theology
Richard L. Gray, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Leadership and Christian Ministry
Joel B. Green, Ph.D., Professor of New Testament Interpretation
Chuck Gutenson, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Philosophical Theology
Virginia Todd Holeman, Ph.D., Professor of Counseling
Eunice L. Irwin, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Mission and Contextual Theology
C. Reginald Johnson, Ph.D., Roy and Weezie Anderson Professor of Prayer and Spiritual Formation
Tapiwa Mucherera, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pastoral Counseling
Terry C. Muck, Ph.D., Professor of Missions and World Religions
M. Robert Mulholland Jr., Ph.D., Professor of New Testament
Christine Pohl, Ph.D., Professor of Church in Society
Ruth Anne Reese, Ph.D., Professor of New Testament
Lester Ruth, Ph.D., Lily May Jarvis Professor of Christian Worship
Michael A. Rynkiewich, Ph.D., Professor of Anthropology
Daryl Smith, Ed.D., Associate Professor of Mentored Ministry and Christian Leadership
Catherine Stonehouse, Ph.D., Orlean Bullard Beeson Professor of Christian Discipleship
Thomas F. Tumblin, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Christian Leadership
Robert G. Tuttle, Jr., Ph.D., Professor of World Christianity
Jerry L. Walls, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy of Religion
Ben Witherington III, Ph.D., Professor of New Testament
Laurence W. Wood, Ph.D., Frank Paul Morris Professor of Systematic Theology
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10 comments:
In my opinion, the power structure at Asbury is really wonky--WAY too much power focused in a single individual. This should be corrected once the board is appropriately shuffled at the end of this crisis.
You are assuming there will be a reshuffling of the board...?
Of course I don't know that and I suppose I'm actually a bit pessimistic that anything like this will actually happen. But even if all parties acted completely aboveboard, there should be a shuffling just for good form. The EXCO should resign and then be re-elected just for good appearances, even if they are re-elected exactly as they were before. And unless there is some sort of miracle reconciliation, there should be a clearing of the deck all the way around. Just to preserve good appearances, Smith should at least return to the broader board with a new chair elected.
I vote for reconciliation, with Smith, Johnson, and the big four hugging Greenway before he undergoes a fair and complete evaluation in a fair fight. But frankly, I have little faith. I hope but don't expect either a miracle nor justice to be done.
I wonder why there are two new names on the list? I find it interesting since one is one of my "3-4" in the last comment I made on your last post.
Maybe they checked their email?
Actually, now that I look at it more closely, there are more than two. But still just one in my "3-4" :-)
I hate to gunk up your comments with mine, but I've got another question which may seem elementary but I beg your patience. Dr. Green said that tenured professors were asked. Can an "associate professor" be tenured?
I honestly have no clue.
If a place has tenure, it occurs as a person moves from associate professor to full professor. Tenure is a kind of security that makes it very difficult for a university or seminary to fire you unless you do something really, really out of line. The reason only tenured faculty were asked to sign is no doubt because they didn't want to put any of the untenured faculty at risk of losing their jobs or not getting tenure in some sort of grudge match. If any of these fears are legitimate, then I am deeply ashamed of where Asbury's governance is right now.
Two responses to questions:
(1) New names are added in part because some of our colleagues were away from email over the weekend and in part because some took longer to decide whether to participate in this way.
(2) At Asbury Theological Seminary, tenure can and often does take place before promotion from Associate Professor to (Full) Professor. / Joel B. Green
I suppose that's obvious if I had looked at the list. Thanks for clearing that up.
IWU actually did away with tenure a number of years ago. Keep us on our toes, you know. But in the end it only shoots the institution in the foot. When you've been here as long as I have (10 years) and are a full professor, you have de facto tenure in the eyes of the law. So we have the legal benefits of tenure, without feeling the security of the term and without having the label to help in hiring. So basically, the institution has cut off its nose to spite its face on this particular topic. It has gained nothing it thought it would gain by doing away with tenure, but has lost the benefits of having it in the process.
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