An Illinois evangelical college that suspended a tenured professor after she launched a Muslim solidarity campaign has moved to initiate termination proceedings.
Arise Chicago, a faith-based advocacy group that has represented Wheaton College professor Larycia Hawkins throughout her suspension, released a statement Tuesday announcing that the school’s provost notified Hawkins that termination of tenure and employment are underway.
Wheaton Director of Media Relations LaTonya Taylor confirmed in a statement to TPM that Hawkins had been delivered a notice of recommendation to initiate termination proceedings.
Arise Chicago’s statement alleges that Hawkins’ firing is directly related to a December announcement she made on Facebook, in which she vowed to wear a hijab throughout the Christmas season as a gesture of solidarity with Muslims. Hawkins wrote in the post that Muslims “worship the same God” as Christians.
Hawkins was suspended by the small, private college soon after publishing the statement. At the time, Wheaton administrators issued a statement saying that the “theological implications” of her comments would need to be reviewed before her suspension was reconsidered.
After students and online supporters pushed for her reinstatement, the college offered Hawkins the possibility to return to her position as a political science professor on the condition that her tenure be revoked for at least two years. She refused.
Wheaton confirmed in its statement that Hawkins then received a notification from provost Stanton Jones on Monday announcing that termination-for-cause proceedings had begun. The school said Hawkins’ case will be heard before a committee of nine tenured faculty members, considered by President Philip Ryken and ultimately decided upon by Wheaton’s board of trustees.
According to Arise Chicago, Jones’ notice stated that he sought Hawkins’ termination on the basis of an “unqualified assertion of religious solidarity with Muslims and Jews.”
I’m interested to hear what they consider cause. It sounds like the deck is stacked though- 9 faculty chosen by the school president, and the BoD having the final say. If the Board wants her gone, it doesn’t matter what the faculty says.
I’m thinking now the only real issue left here is the amount of money Wheaton’s going to have to pay Hawkins to settle her wrongful firing lawsuit.
It’s like this is some sort news stupid game in Illinois; like you’re not a ‘real’ post-secondary educational institute until you’re paying out a judgment for breach of contract.
The theological nitpickers are missing the big picture, just like they (pharisees?) did in the gospel stories.
This case was always about her statement and never about the hijab that TPM likes keep stating it as (even with the pic with this article).
When you sign a contract to teach at one of these schools,tenure means nothing when you break the religious oaths that you must take to work there. What she did was break the oath by how some of the board of regents read it.
It is sad, but this is how it is.
On the same note, I would like to see universities fire faculty, no matter how much tenure they have, for sleeping with their students.
“well we are a small Christian college and though we believe in the Bible’s tenets, we are a small Christian college and we try to stay out of political discussion. After all we are a small Christian college and politics and religion don’t mix well…”