Shorter University president Don Dowless is defending the university’s renewed commitment to Christian principles amid the departure of at least 36 faculty members, a number of whom have refused to sign Shorter’s new lifestyle statement.
The north Georgia university, with 3,000-plus students, is affiliated with the Georgia Baptist Convention. Shorter graduated 485 students May 4.
Last October, trustees approved a suite of faculty and staff guidelines that draws the university closer to a biblical worldview also being embraced by the state convention’s two other colleges. Those employees were given until this spring, when contracts for the fall 2012 semester were offered, to sign each document indicating their acceptance as partial terms of their employment.
Dowless was inaugurated as Shorter’s 19th president Nov. 11, a month after the new guidelines were approved. He came to the post from North Greenville University, where he served for five years as vice president of academics affairs.
The four-point lifestyle statement states that university faculty and staff should:
– Agree with the university’s statement of faith.
– Be active members of a local church.
– “Reject as acceptable all sexual activity not in agreement with the Bible, including, but not limited to, premarital sex, adultery, and homosexuality.”
– “Not use alcoholic beverages in the presence of students and – will abstain from serving, from using and from advocating the use of alcoholic beverages in public (e.g. in locations that are open to use by the general public, including as some examples restaurants, concert venues, stadiums and sports facilities) and in settings in which students are present or are likely to be present.”
Dowless, in acknowledging the resignations, told The Index May 21 that he and Shorter’s trustees “realize there are strong feelings on both sides of the issue surrounding these new employment policies.”
“Our university was at a crossroads to either take steps to regain an authentic Christian identity in policy and practice or we would become a Christian university in name only,” Dowless said. “The board made the decision to reclaim our Christian roots knowing that it would have consequences in terms of losing current faculty and staff.
“While we hate to lose members of our community, we wish them well as they pursue new opportunities. Through this time of transition, we continue to remain committed to providing our students with an academically excellent Christian education.”
Shorter University is one of three institutions of higher learning affiliated with the Georgia Baptist Convention. The other two are Truett-McConnell College in Cleveland and Brewton-Parker College in Mount Vernon.
– Westbury is managing editor of The Christian Index, the newsjournal of the Georgia Baptist Convention.