# Patrick Henry College Controversy



## VirginiaHuguenot (May 20, 2006)

5 Professors Quit Religious School
Some Complain of Academic Constraints at Loudoun Institution

By Michael Alison Chandler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 19, 2006

Nearly a third of the faculty members at Patrick Henry College in Loudoun County are leaving the school because of what they described as limitations on their academic freedom, causing unusual introspection at the politically connected Christian liberal arts college.

They claim that Patrick Henry College, established in 2000 to attract academically gifted home-schoolers with the hope of send them on to work on Capitol Hill or at the White House, does not value equally both parts of its mission: to offer students a strong biblical perspective while educating them according to a classical liberal arts curriculum. In one case, the professors said, faculty members were reprimanded for writing that the Bible "is not the only source of truth."

"I'm leaving the college because I want freedom," said David C. Noe, assistant professor of classics. He said he came to Patrick Henry in its first year expecting to find "a liberal arts college that will be the new Ivy League" -- as the school bills itself -- but instead found a place where classical works by non-Christian authors are sometimes considered suspect and where there is an increasingly narrow view of Christianity.

The departure of five of the school's 16 full-time professors follows the forced resignation last year of Jeremy Hunley, a library clerk who promoted the idea that baptism is essential for salvation, a violation of the 10-point statement of faith that all faculty members and students are required to sign when they come to Patrick Henry. According to the statement, and to many evangelical Christians, salvation is found only through faith in Jesus Christ.

The rebellion reflects the recurring tension at many Christian colleges between adherence to articles of faith and the free-ranging spirit of academic inquiry. Some departing faculty, alumni and students say it calls into question the future of a college that was established as an "evangelical Ivy League" that would prepare conservative Christian students for influential positions in government.

College President Michael P. Farris, a lawyer and home-schooling advocate who founded the Purcellville school, said Patrick Henry is a place that encourages "a free flow of ideas" beyond some core principles on which everyone must agree -- principles such as the existence of God and Satan and the infallibility of the Bible.

"The only problem I have when there are two schools of thought is that there are too few," he said.

But Noe and government instructor Erik S. Root, who is also leaving, said that they have encountered additional "arbitrary limitations" set by the president when they raised issues that do not contradict the belief statement.

Root said his contract was temporarily withdrawn this spring in part because of an article he wrote for a school publication about a Christian saint that prompted the president to question his loyalty to a biblical worldview. In a letter to Root, Farris questioned whether Root shared the views of a Darwinist he had quoted. Root called Farris's concerns "guilt by association."

Noe co-authored an article in March arguing that the Bible is not the only source of truth and that students can learn valuable lessons from non-Christian writings. The 900-word story led to a 2,600-word response by the chaplain -- endorsed by the administration -- detailing its "harmful implications" and saying it "diminished the importance of" Scripture.

Noe, who has been ordained by the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, said that the article was not meant to challenge the Bible but to defend liberal arts.

The college has ambitions to place conservative Christian graduates in positions of influence, where they will help reshape American culture. Since the school opened six years ago, its student body has grown from 88 students to 300, and it has sent students to prized internships at the White House and on Capitol Hill.

This summer, Farris will step aside as president to become chancellor. In his new role, he said, he intends to focus on increasing the student body to 1,500, and he wants to create new majors and a law school.

At a groundbreaking ceremony earlier this month, the students gathered on the lawn to celebrate the construction of a 106,000-square-foot student center, which will double the combined square footage of the campus's six existing buildings.

Throughout the ceremony, some professors were notably absent.

In addition to Noe and Root, the other departing professors are J. Kevin Culberson, assistant professor of history and literature, who co-wrote the controversial article with Noe; M. Todd Bates, assistant professor of rhetoric; and Robert Stacey, associate professor of government and a former department chairman. Stacey was terminated days after he announced his intention to leave, for discussing the matter with students.

Two of the professors have been at Patrick Henry since it opened. Only one had another job lined up when he announced his decision.

Balancing a broad liberal arts curriculum with a deeply religious world view is a challenge at many religious schools, said James Burtchaell, author of "The Dying of the Light: The Disengagement of Colleges and Universities From Their Christian Churches." Over the years, scores of religious schools have become secularized.

For schools that maintain a strong religious line at the real or perceived expense of academic freedom, he said, it could be more difficult to attract talented faculty and students or to earn accreditation by mainstream associations, which Patrick Henry intends to do.

David Shaw, a 2005 graduate who lives near Chicago, said he worries that the school is becoming more fundamentalist. He appreciates his alma mater as a place where his "horizons were very much expanded," he said.

"I came in a smart high school student. I left a more thoughtful person," he said. "I thought I knew what was right and that college would fill in the details. . . . But at college, I realized I not only didn't know the answers but I wasn't even asking the right questions."

Jeremiah Lorrig, a senior from Colorado Springs, said he thinks there is "tons of room for debate" about political and religious issues on campus. He said the professors' decision to leave has caused a deep emotional response among students -- with as many as 10 deciding to transfer (a number not confirmed by the school) and others eager to see the professors gone so the campus can be unified.

At the groundbreaking ceremony, Graham Walker, Patrick Henry's incoming president, addressed the student body. A former associate professor at Catholic University who will take office in July, Walker said he is dedicated to supporting an environment where students can "revel in intellectual liberty."

He also announced the hiring of a new academic dean, who would be committed to the college's classical liberal arts curriculum, Walker has said. Gene Edward Veith writes a column about faith and culture for World Magazine and is the former dean of arts and sciences at Concordia University Wisconsin.

Walker reminded the students, "He who unites us is greater than that which divides us."


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## VirginiaHuguenot (May 20, 2006)

Shakeup at Patrick Henry College
New president and academic dean announced after 5 of school's 16 faculty quit in protest.

Christianity Today, Week of May 15, 2006

by Sheryl Henderson Blunt in Purcellville, Va. | posted 05/15/2006 

A contentious debate at Patrick Henry College that began over theological differences, the interpretation of Scripture, and academic freedom has prompted 5 of the school's 16 full-time faculty members to announce they will not be returning to the conservative, Christian college next year. The announcements bring the total number of departing professors to nine in the past year, not including two adjuncts, as well as four senior executives who left in the past 18 months, departing professors say.

In the wake of the departures, the school announced significant changes to the school's executive staff. Effective July 1, Graham Walker, previously vice president for academic affairs and dean of Oklahoma Wesleyan University, will replace Farris as president, while Farris will assume the college's chancellor position. Gene Edward Veith, currently the cultural editor of World Magazine and a former English professor, will also begin that day as the college's new academic dean.

Founded with the high hopes of becoming an "evangelical Ivy League" institution dedicated to producing the next generation of Christian politicians and leaders, the Northern Virginia-based college in Purcellville has received national attention for its conservative Christian theology and mission. It draws a majority of its students from home-schooling families.

Michael Farris, a constitutional lawyer and general counsel of the Home School Legal Defense Association, founded the school in 2000 as a "Christian college blending classical instruction with apprenticeship methodology." It prides itself on the high number of White House internships secured by its students, whose SAT scores average over 1300.

"We were brought here on false pretenses," said David Noe, assistant professor of classics who has taught at Patrick Henry since its founding. "We are leaving due to a long train of abuses by Farris in violating both academic freedom and due process, as well as many other issues relating to Farris's running of the college."

Departing professors also cite Farris's treatment of government instructor Erik Root and his March firing of Robert Stacey, the chairman of the college's department of government, as additional reasons that confirmed their decisions to leave the 350-student college.

Noe, Root, and rhetoric and theology professor Todd Bates agreed to go public with Christianity Today earlier this month, they said, after Farris repeatedly denied their requests to respond to accusations that beliefs they had expressed were biblically unsound. "Farris said that we threatened the college's fidelity to its mission and vision," said Noe. "He spoke to the press, but told us we couldn't."

Farris did not respond to multiple requests by CT for an interview, but told The Chronicle of Higher Education that he wonders why the professors are still leaving now that he is no longer president. "If I'm the problem"”well, I'm going to be gone," he said.

Walker, the new president, told CT the high faculty turnover in one year was regrettable. "These gentlemen made good contributions to the growth of the college," said Walker. "It's regrettable to lose them. I also know that turnover is a fact of life at every collegiate institution."

The Lifeboat
The debate reached a head when Root published an article entitled "Of St. Augustine, the Teacher, and Politics" in the campus publication The Source. The piece argued that St. Augustine "deserves to be called a Saint because he was instrumental in making political philosophy palpable to Christians and vice versa. "¦ [He] taught Christians how to engage the culture around them."

Soon after its publication, Root learned his contract was being "temporarily withdrawn" based on the article as well as a complaint from a student's parent over his use of the "lifeboat example" in class. Root said the illustration was used to explain Thomas Hobbes's state of nature argument. "Acting academic dean [Marian Sanders] told me I couldn't use that any more," said Root. "She said that there are some questions we can't ask in class or entertain."

In a February 28 e-mail message, Farris asked Root to respond to seven "questions."

"The overall question is the fidelity to the biblical worldview in your role at PHC," stated Farris. The letter claimed "the well-known 'lifeboat' game" was "a recognized tool of those who wish to contend that there are no absolute values." It further asked for an "explanation about this episode and the underlying philosophy that this represents."

"I thought it was an academic freedom issue," said Root, adding that he did not respond to Farris's questions as his contract had already been pulled.

In March, five professors resolved not to sign their contracts for the following year based largely on Root's suspended contract. The decision stemmed from a previous agreement nine professors made last fall, said Noe. "Many of us, including the five of us who left, made an informal agreement to do everything to defend anyone who was wrongly terminated, including leaving."

Among them were Root, Noe, Bates, Stacey, and history and literature professor Kevin Culberson, and Robert Stacey. "The gravity of this decision is underscored by the fact that, at the time, only one of us had a job lined up for next year," said Culberson.

General revelation
On March 8 another Source article, this one by Noe and Culberson entitled "The Role of General Revelation in Education," again prompted the administration's response.

"A common misconception among American evangelicals, and one that cannot be supported by the Scriptures themselves, is that the Bible is the only source of truth," the article began. "We argue that this misconception amounts to a blasphemous denial of Christ's words in Matthew 5 that 'he sends rain on the just and the unjust.'"

The 900-word article argued that "a Christian must refuse to view special and general revelation as hostile to one another. Nor should he hesitate to learn from a pagan. There is much wisdom to be gained from Parmenides and Plato, as well Machiavelli and Marx."

The article prompted a 2,600-word response by college chaplain Raymond Bouchoc, sent to students, faculty, and staff. The response, endorsed by Farris and Sanders, discussed seven "harmful implications" that could be drawn from the professors' article and claimed the piece "diminishes the import of Scripture."

The official response prompted Noe, Root, Culberson, Stacey, and, later, Bates to turn in letters of non-intent stating they would not be signing their contracts for the following school year. The next day, in a March 17 "Q&A" with the campus newspaper, The Patrick Henry Herald, Farris said the resigning professors "quit because the leadership utilized academic freedom. If somebody wants to quit because they believe we have too strong of a view of the Bible, then so be it. I believe God's going to bless us for standing up for his Word."

"For the president to say this implies that these men were somehow guilty of blasphemies or heresy," said Paul Bonicelli, PHC's former dean of academic affairs and government professor. "That's not something any Christian should say about another Christian unless you are absolutely sure they have uttered blasphemies or heresy, and we are terribly far away from that here."

Scriptural fidelity
Farris again took aim at the professors in a March 23 letter to the parents of current students. "Some of their teaching and on-campus publications raised what I believed were legitimate questions about fidelity to the Scriptures," the letter stated.

"Two of us are ordained in conservative denominations, and the notion that we have a low view of Scripture shouldn't in fact be tolerated without evidence," said Noe, who is ordained as a ruling elder in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and preaches in nearby churches. Culberson is ordained as a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church in America. "There is a strong sense that the charges made against us and our Christian beliefs have detrimental ramifications in our respective churches."

Noe and Root said Farris repeatedly denied requests to respond to the public charges. "He accused us of being less than Christian, then told us we couldn't respond," said Noe.

Stacey's firing
Amid the controversy, on March 31 Stacey read the school's statement of faith aloud in his class and asked students to decide if he had been unfaithful to it. If they agreed, they could leave. "He said, if you think I have an unbiblical worldview, you shouldn't be listening to me," said one student. Another student then immediately left the classroom to report the comments to Farris, multiple sources confirmed.

"At 2 p.m., Farris cut Bob's phone and e-mail while he was in class," said Noe. "Then he called him to a 4 p.m. meeting where he fired him. He told him he had until 8:45 a.m. the next morning to apologize and recant; otherwise he'd lose his job. What Bob did in class was attempt to publicly address this after repeated requests to the president, and when he did he was fired. "¦ We believe that Bob's firing was Farris's attempt to keep us quiet."

Farris told reporters that he fired Stacey because "he asked students to take sides."

The gag order
On April 5, professors Noe, Culberson, and Root received a written response from Farris declaring that it would be "unprofessional and unchristian" to publicly declare their reasons for leaving.

"A public declaration would serve only your personal purposes to appear to be vindicated in the eyes of the students," he said. "That is an unprofessional and unchristian motive. "¦ In short, no, you do not have my permission to publicly discuss your reasons for departure."

The professors then asked in a reply if Farris would make the gag order public "so that [students] can understand why we may not answer their questions, though they continue to ask us with much anguish and sometimes suspicion."

In an abrupt turnaround on April 7, Farris sent an e-mail to faculty, staff, and students, stating that previous press statements he had made about the professors' departure "did not fully reveal my heart."

"There is no doubt in my mind that all the professors, past and present, at PHC are sincere born-again believers who truly embrace the college's statement of faith," he said. "Moreover, I believe they have a sincere desire to honor the Bible as God's authoritative Word."

St. Augustine in Hell
According to the school's statement of doctrinal neutrality, Patrick Henry College "welcomes all people who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ" and "does not take sides on certain doctrinal matters that often separate "¦ believers." The statement reads: "The College itself is neutral on the doctrinal distinctives which go beyond the points covered in our Statement of Faith and are outside the mission of the College."

Farris, a Baptist minister, has publicly expressed views that have shocked some professors and students.

"He said St. Augustine was in hell," said Root. "I heard it with my own ears." Other professors and students said Farris has repeatedly disparaged Calvinist theology.

"There is a sense that you face antagonism as someone who is theologically Reformed," said Bates, who sparred with Farris over a speech he was planning to deliver at the college's annual Faith and Reason Lecture, and again over the use of Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology textbook. According to Bates, Farris considered it "too Reformed."

"We are put in a hard position," said Bates. "We're told this is an open dialogue, but if you engage in open dialogue, you're in trouble. It's infuriating because you're an academic and want to engage in ideas."

Bates said that at a meeting with Farris, "He told me that a person of the Reformed position to which I hold cannot in good conscience sign the statement of faith. When I responded that I failed to see the discrepancy between the two, he replied, 'I define the statement of faith.'"

A new direction?
In an interview with CT, incoming president Walker spoke glowingly of the college's commitment to academic freedom. "We at PHC are not afraid of learning at any time because the facts are always on God's side," said Walker. "Our knowledge of error is important, so certain subjects being out of bounds is just not so." Walker said that he and Farris "welcome disagreement. It's part of the richness of an academic institution."

The large number of departures could impact the college's accreditation if changes are not made and positions filled. The Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS) is currently considering the college for accreditation.

Due to the young college's unaccredited status, students who leave the school may not be able to transfer their credits. Under Virginia law, the school has until November of 2007 to become accredited or risk losing the right to call itself a degree-granting college. Patrick Henry has so far sought accreditation from the American Academy for Liberal Education and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, but was denied. While it could still re-apply, the college is currently exclusively pursuing TRACS, according to its website.

Professors interviewed for this article said it was not revenge, but rather their commitment to the college's liberal arts vision that compelled them to go public.

Said Noe, "It seems to us that only public scrutiny will make this institution healthy."


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## Pilgrim (May 20, 2006)

> Farris, a Baptist minister, has publicly expressed views that have shocked some professors and students.
> 
> "He said St. Augustine was in hell," said Root. "I heard it with my own ears." Other professors and students said Farris has repeatedly disparaged Calvinist theology.
> 
> ...


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## turmeric (May 20, 2006)

Thank God for Walker & Veith! In the nick of time, too, from the sound of it.


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## Contra_Mundum (May 20, 2006)

I wish them well, but beside the troubling attitude taken by Farris toward Reformed thought, I always thought it misplaced values to seek positions of power and influence in Washington.

My alma mater (Liberty) was like that. I was a Government major, and I knew young men and women in my field who were at Liberty because it was a place where they could make those connections and get high-powered internships inside the beltway. Even then (in my young, naive, and idealistic days) I could not understand the lure. The place to "make a difference" is out in the mud. The Washington types are "above the muck." Don't we despise them for their "burdens," the ones that can only be borne with 6 and 7-figure paychecks, perks, limos, and junkets to Paris?

I walked off with my Government B.S. (that's, ah, _Batchelor of Science),_ and the conviction that the last thing this country needed was one more sap in Washington.


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## Pilgrim (May 20, 2006)

> _Originally posted by Contra_Mundum_
> I wish them well, but beside the troubling attitude taken by Farris toward Reformed thought, I always thought it misplaced values to seek positions of power and influence in Washington.
> 
> My alma mater (Liberty) was like that. I was a Government major, and I knew young men and women in my field who were at Liberty because it was a place where they could make those connections and get high-powered internships inside the beltway. Even then (in my young, naive, and idealistic days) I could not understand the lure. The place to "make a difference" is out in the mud. The Washington types are "above the muck." Don't we despise them for their "burdens," the ones that can only be borne with 6 and 7-figure paychecks, perks, limos, and junkets to Paris?
> ...



 That's what I was thinking as well, especially since that seems to be the whole orientation of the school.


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## turmeric (May 20, 2006)

Hmmm, vaguely theonomist goals with a gnostic mindset. Yup, I, uh..wish 'em well!


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