In final report, trustees offer nine recommendations and eight prayers.
Wheaton College has published its final report on the “same God” controversy that culminated in its high-profile parting with tenured professor Larycia Hawkins.
In a 15-page Trustee Community Report released today “with a spirit of both lament and gratitude,” trustees reflect on a task force’s final findings of what went wrong and who bears responsibility. They also offer nine recommendations for how the Illinois school can improve, as well as eight prayers for what good can come of the controversy.
CT previously reported in January how many faculty asked Wheaton to drop its attempt to fire Hawkins over whether her views on Islam fit the school’s faith statement. This culminated in February with the surprise announcements that provost Stanton Jones had withdrawn his recommendation that Hawkins’s tenure be revoked, yet the associate professor of political science would still be leaving Wheaton after nine years of service.
Ever since, ”[we] have heard the heart cries of our college family about the issues that led to the parting of ways,” the trustees state in their final report. “We grieve over the pain and confusion caused by these events. … In particular, as our community is identified around the world with the name of Jesus Christ, we lament any ways that conduct and actions in our college family might have dishonored, rather than glorified, His name.”
Thus, the final findings have been published on the college’s website. “We find courage in the fact that our Father loves to bring broken things in his creation back together,” state the trustees. “We present this summary praying that it will further His renewing and restorative …
