{"id":1361581,"date":"2022-03-07T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-07T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1361581"},"modified":"2022-03-07T07:56:40","modified_gmt":"2022-03-07T12:56:40","slug":"christian-university-bans-professor-from-campus-for-critiquing-its-dive-into-equity-and-inclusion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/christian-university-bans-professor-from-campus-for-critiquing-its-dive-into-equity-and-inclusion\/","title":{"rendered":"Christian University Bans Professor From Campus For Critiquing Its Dive Into \u2018Equity\u2019 And \u2018Inclusion\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fchristian-university-bans-professor-from-campus-for-critiquing-its-dive-into-equity-and-inclusion%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1361581&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/GWBatConcordia.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p>A professor was locked out of his classes and email account without warning in apparent retaliation for <a href=\"https:\/\/christiannewsmissouri.com\/2022\/02\/15\/woke-dysphoria-at-concordia\/\">criticizing <\/a>his Christian university\u2019s use of \u201cdiversity\u201d and \u201cequity\u201d as criteria for selecting its new president, he and several witnesses told The Federalist. <\/p>\n<p>The Rev. Dr. Greg Schulz was immediately and indefinitely suspended from his classes at Concordia University Wisconsin and banned from campus by interim college President William Cario on Feb. 18, a Friday. That was not formally conveyed to Schulz, however, until his lawyer obtained the suspension letter on Feb. 22, Schulz\u2019s Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty <a href=\"https:\/\/will-law.org\/will-represents-concordia-professor-suspended-for-criticizing-woke-direction-of-university\/\">attorney <\/a>Dan Lennington told The Federalist. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey told him to \u2018recant\u2019 in a memo that they never gave him,\u201d Lennington said in a phone call. Lennington also noted his public interest law firm, which <a href=\"https:\/\/will-law.org\/timeline-of-victories\/\">won <\/a>a high-profile 2016 academic freedom case in Wisconsin\u2019s Supreme Court, has \u201cnever heard of something like this\u201d swift ejection of a professor from campus for publicly expressing his views.<\/p>\n<p>Schulz found out about his suspension and campus ban from colleagues after he couldn\u2019t log into his work email on the weekend, said Schulz and his department chair, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cuw.edu\/academics\/programs\/philosophy-bachelors\/index.html#faculty\">Dr. Angus Menuge<\/a>. Menuge said Schulz\u2019s suspension meant that colleagues, several already teaching double courseloads amid a hiring freeze, had to suddenly pick up all of Schulz\u2019s classes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have since contacted the president and asked him to reconsider and I have received no response whatsoever,\u201d Menuge told The Federalist by phone on March 4. Menuge described the suspension as \u201cextraordinarily draconian\u201d and \u201cKafka-esque\u201d because of not only the reasons Schulz was suspended but also how it was managed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre we being told that you have to mute your Christianity so that it conforms to these ideologies of niceness and all of it? If so, that has a chilling effect on not only academic freedom but also on the Christian conscience,\u201d Menuge said. Especially in a time when many Christians are feeling increasing pressure from cultural Marxism, and amid current efforts to encourage Concordia faculty to stay bold in their Christian scholarship, he said, \u201cThis is such an own goal, it really sets us back.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"christians-not-happy-about-their-institution-endorsing-racism\">Christians Not Happy About Their Institution Endorsing Racism<\/h2>\n<p>Concordia Wisconsin is a university of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, one of the United States\u2019s largest Christian denominations, with approximately 1.8 million U.S. members. It has approximately 8,000 students, the majority of whom <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cuw.edu\/about\/index.html\">are not Lutherans<\/a>. The university is located in Mequon, Wis., an upscale suburb of Milwaukee.<\/p>\n<p>The institution with a $107 billion annual budget gets significant income from federal student loans. Accepting those loans requires accreditation, which mandates racial policies at odds with Christian teachings about the equal and priceless value of all humans, who are created in God\u2019s image.<\/p>\n<p>Concordia Wisconsin has <a href=\"https:\/\/lutheranclarion.org\/images\/NewsletterSep2021.pdf.pdf\">come under fire<\/a> from <a href=\"https:\/\/steadfastlutherans.org\/2022\/02\/concordia-wisconsin-woes-administration-cancelling-its-own-professor-for-whistleblowing\/\">many <\/a>of its own pastors and members after instituting a Black Student Union and hiring a \u201cdirector of multicultural engagement\u201d in 2019. The Office of Multicultural Engagement that diversity officer oversees \u201cstrives to advance Concordia\u2019s efforts to embed diversity as a transformational force,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cuw.edu\/about\/offices\/multicultural-engagement\/index.html\">according to its web page<\/a>. That page also states the office trains faculty, staff, and students in \u201csocial identities, microaggressions, and implicit bias\u201d and in being \u201cculturally competent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The university\u2019s Black Student Union <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.cuw.edu\/black-history-month-5-ways-to-celebrate-2163\/\">recommends <\/a>the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nas.org\/academic-questions\/33\/2\/the-1619-project-believe-your-lying-eyes\">fact-challenged<\/a> and racially biased 1619 Project to students, as well as making purchases based on a vendor\u2019s skin color. It also recommended author Ibram X. Kendi\u2019s work. Kendi has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/is-the-cure-for-racism-really-more-racism-11602535839\">stated<\/a>, \u201cThe only remedy to racist discrimination is antiracist discrimination. The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. The only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Following Schulz\u2019s suspension, a local Lutheran congregation <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=GFkLynRAvJY\">held a service<\/a> praying and calling for repentance for the university\u2019s departure from Christian teaching about racial equality.<\/p>\n<p>Another pastor\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.change.org\/p\/concordia-university-wisconsin-board-of-regents-stand-up-for-concordia-wisconsin-professor-gregory-schulz?redirect=false\">petition <\/a>to university leaders to reinstate Schulz and repent of publicly endorsing the \u201cdiversity, equity, and inclusion\u201d ideology that encourages racial segregation had garnered more than 5,500 signatures as of March 6. Students also delivered <a href=\"https:\/\/sixtygig.dev\/news\/chronological-database\/\">their own petition<\/a> of support for Schulz to Cario, although some are concerned that expressing such support could get them blacklisted and ostracized, Menuge said.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"free-speech-advocates-with-lawyers-are-watching\">Free Speech Advocates With Lawyers Are Watching<\/h2>\n<p>Schulz\u2019s suspension also prompted letters of support <a href=\"https:\/\/academicfreedom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/AFA-Letter-to-Concordia-University-Wisconsin-regarding-Gregory-Schulz.pdf\">from the Academic Freedom Alliance<\/a> on Feb. 28 and, on March 4, <a href=\"https:\/\/will-law.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/FIRE-Letter-to-Concordia-University-Wisconsin-March-4-2022.pdf\">the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education<\/a>. Both organizations, which raise funds and pursue lawsuits on behalf of free speech in higher education, called for the university to reinstate Schulz immediately.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor Concordia University Wisconsin to punish Professor Schulz for engaging in a public discussion of matters of church principles and university governance would have a profound chilling effect on open discourse by professors on this campus and through the Concordia University system,\u201d wrote Princeton University professor Keith Whittington in the AFA letter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCUW\u2019s apparent suspension of Schulz without any semblance of due process violates university policy and the terms of Schulz\u2019s contract. FIRE accordingly calls on CUW to immediately reinstate Schulz and ensure any misconduct investigation adheres to CUW\u2019s binding commitments to due process and academic freedom,\u201d wrote FIRE\u2019s Aaron Terr, requesting a response from Cario by March 11.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"controversy-flares-amid-presidential-search\">Controversy Flares Amid Presidential Search<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/will-law.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Schulz-Bio.pdf\">Schulz is a <\/a>retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel who has two PhDs and teaches for a seminary PhD program. Awarded for his teaching prowess, Schulz has also presented his academic work in universities from England to Hong Kong. The 40th anniversary of his ordination as a minister, he said, will occur this coming summer. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a wonderful responsibility teaching immortal souls in this age group,\u201d he told The Federalist of his work at Concordia.<\/p>\n<p>Schulz was selected as one of 11 candidates the synod gave Concordia Wisconsin from which to pick a new president. The synod is the ultimate authority over the university. Yet the university\u2019s board of regents decided to dump the synod\u2019s candidate list and start a new search, adding social justice commitments.<\/p>\n<p>Schulz\u2019s article that preceded his suspension focused on the university\u2019s use of racially charged language in its criteria for a new president. That <a href=\"https:\/\/christiannewsmissouri.com\/2022\/02\/15\/woke-dysphoria-at-concordia\/\">article<\/a>, which came out in Christian News four days before Schulz\u2019s suspension and was cited in his suspension letter, criticizes the university\u2019s Board of Regents for \u201cpublicly announcing their determination to have a president who exhibits a \u2018demonstrated belief in and commitment to equity and inclusion\u2019 and who promotes racialized \u2018diversity in all its myriad forms.&#8217;\u201d These criteria are in the university\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/document\/563022209\/Presidential-Prospectus-May-2021\">Presidential Prospectus<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile there is no systemic racism at Concordia because we are committed to Christ incarnate and His universal justification of all human beings without exception, there certainly is systemic Woke-ism,\u201d Schulz writes in the article.<\/p>\n<p>In the Feb. 18 letter to Schulz suspending him, obtained by The Federalist, Cario accuses Schulz of \u201cInsubordination; lying to administration about actions taken,\u201d \u201cConduct unbecoming a Christian,\u201d and \u201cNot following faculty grievance or dispute process.\u201d The letter also refers to \u201cseveral complaints from students and at least one from a faculty member\u201d apparently through the university\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cuw.edu\/life\/diversity-and-belonging\/index.html\">bias and harassment reporting system<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"bias-reports-instead-of-repentance\">Bias Reports Instead of Repentance<\/h2>\n<p>While Cario declined through a university spokeswoman Federalist requests for comment, <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.cuw.edu\/president-update\/\">he wrote<\/a> of the situation to students and faculty on Feb. 24: \u201cDespite my effort to meet with the individual outside of class time to discuss the situation using biblical principles as outlined in Matthew 18, my request was rejected.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Menuge and Schulz said this, and claims Schulz did not bring his concerns to the administration before his Christian News article, are false. It was amid his attempts to schedule a meeting with Cario to discuss the article that Schulz was suddenly suspended, Schulz and Menuge said. Menuge said he was copied on multiple emails verifying this. <\/p>\n<p>Schulz said he also offered several times \u2014 via verifiable emails \u2014 to meet with the university\u2019s Board of Regents and with Cario to discuss his concerns about the university\u2019s dive into \u201cwoke\u201d policies and language. He said these attempts were ignored. So, because his university\u2019s endorsement of racism has been public, Schulz said, his criticism has also been public, in line with the Bible\u2019s command in 1 Timothy 5. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t practice woke procedures against people who are bringing up issues of urgent discussion,\u201d Schulz said. \u201cI suppose that maybe to make a point what I should have done was just kept entering complaints on that God-awful bias reporting system on the website. But that\u2019s not the way real people should operate.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"the-reconciliation-that-wasn-t\">The Reconciliation That Wasn\u2019t<\/h2>\n<p>Schulz and Cario attended a Feb. 25 \u201creconciliation\u201d meeting moderated by the most immediate church authority over the situation, Rev. Dr. John Wille. At the meeting, \u201cThere was no engagement with scripture nor was there any engagement with the arguments in my essay. In fact there was no discussion at all except this discussion of privileging and hurt feelings,\u201d Schulz said.<\/p>\n<p>Rev. Dr. Peter Scaer, a seminary professor who attended as Schulz\u2019s witness, told The Federalist that while the meeting did not resolve the conflict, it \u201cclarified things for me. It became patently obvious that the charges against Schulz are ridiculous. And by the end of the meeting I said, \u2018Is this all you guys got? I\u2019m not angry about these things, but when the church sees this, nobody\u2019s going to take this seriously.&#8217;\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Scaer described the charges against Schulz as \u201cpetty,\u201d based on \u201cfeelings,\u201d and most importantly ignoring the core issue of Concordia\u2019s apparent indulgence of anti-Christian racial separatism.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur goal is to make every effort to encourage and gain repentance from the other side,\u201d Schulz said. \u201cI don\u2019t accept this notion that everybody is at fault. That\u2019s a patronizing notion at this point. I don\u2019t think that I\u2019ve done anything wrong. I\u2019m still willing to accept correction if somebody can point something out scripturally, but I don\u2019t think that\u2019s going to be forthcoming.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"a-dispute-resolution-process-nobody-can-find\">A \u2018Dispute Resolution Process\u2019 Nobody Can Find<\/h2>\n<p>The university administration and leaders of its Board of Regents declined to comment to The Federalist for this article, referring inquiries to Lisa Liljegren, the university\u2019s vice president for communications. Liljegren sent this statement: \u201cRegarding the suspension of Rev. Dr. Greg Schulz, Concordia University is currently abiding by the Lutheran Church \u2013 Missouri Synod dispute resolution process, under the direction of Rev. Dr. John Wille, president of the South Wisconsin District of the LCMS. In conformity with the dispute resolution process, we can share no more information at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Asked for further details about that \u201cprocess,\u201d Liljegren could not provide any information, instead referring The Federalist to the LCMS. Two LCMS spokesmen contacted last week referred The Federalist back to the university and Wille. A voicemail requesting comment left on Wille\u2019s cell phone last week was not returned.<\/p>\n<p>LCMS President Rev. Matthew Harrison \u201cis well aware of the challenges the \u2018woke\u2019 culture poses to the church\u2019s very valuable institutions. He is deeply committed to the fact that CUW belongs to the congregations of the Synod, and these congregations have entrusted theological supervision of the Universities to the President of the Synod,\u201d an LCMS spokesman wrote in a Friday email to The Federalist. \u201cThis controversy erupted when the Board of Regents rejected the very capable, theologically competent candidates given to it by the Prior Approval committee. Under Harrison\u2019s leadership, the Church has elected similar, highly competent, theologically astute leaders at many of our beloved Concordias, and he intends to see the same at CUW.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>None of these entities responsible for the university\u2019s governance provided any information about the next steps for resolving Schulz\u2019s suspension. So far, a lawsuit has not been filed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hope they figure it out soon because everybody\u2019s thinking if that\u2019s all it takes \u2014 to disagree with the direction of the university \u2014 to suspend somebody, then academic freedom means nothing because you can\u2019t use it to robustly disagree when you think there\u2019s a problem,\u201d Menuge said.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">\n  Joy Pullmann is executive editor of The Federalist, a happy wife, and the mother of six children. Her bestselling ebook is &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/payhip.com\/b\/R1JL\">Classic Books for Young Children<\/a>.&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/DuLdAiwNAQqbw6RBA\">Sign up here<\/a> to get early access to her next book, &#8220;How To Control The Internet So It Doesn\u2019t Control You.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>Mrs. Pullmann identifies as native American and gender natural. She is also the author of &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Education-Invasion-Parents-Control-American\/dp\/1594038813\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&#038;qid=1486730068&#038;sr=8-1&#038;keywords=education+invasion\">The Education Invasion: How Common Core Fights Parents for Control of American Kids<\/a>,&#8221; from Encounter Books. In 2013-14 she won a Robert Novak journalism fellowship for in-depth reporting on Common Core national education mandates. <\/p>\n<p>Joy is a grateful graduate of the Hillsdale College honors and journalism programs.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A professor was locked out of his classes and email account without warning in apparent retaliation for criticizing his Christian university\u2019s use of \u201cdiversity\u201d and \u201cequity\u201d as criteria for selecting<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1361581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1361581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1361581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1361581\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1361581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1361581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1361581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}