Image from Spectrum article
According to a recent Spectrum article, the court case involving three La Sierra University employees who have filed suit for wrongful termination (Dr. James Beach, Dr. Gary Bradley, and Dr. Jeffry Kaatz) will proceed to trial.
]]>In the final analysis, Judge Taylor sided with the defendants’ claim that the plaintiffs did not sufficiently demonstrate the recording to be illegal (but allowed the plaintiffs to amend and replead the complaint), and sided against the defendants on the First Amendment-based demurrers. The judge sided with the defendant Ricardo Graham that he could not be held personally liable for the plaintiffs’ dismissal, but sided against Graham by finding sufficient facts to allege emotional distress. The judge denied all motions to strike, meaning that the case will proceed.
La Sierra University’s Board of Trustees took two actions during an October 11, 2011, meeting. Both actions relate to a currently circulating document titled “Joint Proposal of individual La Sierra University Faculty and Trustees.”
Affirmation of document approach
The La Sierra University Board of Trustees has been addressing the issues surrounding the teaching of origins and has emphasized a balanced approach that encompasses the Church’s belief of origins as well as a presenting a rigorous scientific curriculum.
The conceptual framework outlined in the “Joint Proposal” is not inconsistent with faculty efforts, but failed to recognize normal and established governance protocols. The Board of Trustees affirms the working document, prematurely published as the “Joint Proposal” in the Adventist Review, and encourages the La Sierra faculty to integrate it into the work of the Task Force on Seventh-day Adventist Beliefs and Values that is proceeding through the standard university curriculum processes.
The board will continue to attend to this matter.
Concern over document distribution
The La Sierra University Board of Trustees expressed its concern to the officers of the North American Division over the precipitous action taken to publicize the “Joint Proposal” without adequate prior consultation with the La Sierra University administration and board, especially in light of the ongoing discussions with Adventist Accrediting Association and Western Association of Schools and Colleges over issues of university governance and institutional autonomy.
Statement released at La Sierra University’s website.
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By Shane Hilde
According to the Adventist Review a “joint statement, prepared and signed by six LSU biology professors and a group of trustees, offers hope of a peaceful resolution to tensions….” Really?
Whatever hope there may be is slim to none, and LSU biology professors don’t appear to have changed their tune. The joint statement proposes they teach “Creation as a faith conviction, rather than as science.” This is what they’ve believed all along.
The joint statement goes on to say “Creation is not a scientific construct. It is a faith construct. The conviction of Divine Creation lies beyond the purview of the methods of empirical science, and cannot be subjected to them.” This is nothing new. This is one of many mental gymnastic acts performed by Seventh-day Adventists attempting to embrace contradictory world-views–evolution and creation. The evidence for creation is completely ignored, which only highlights the obvious evolutionary bias in which this statement was created. What exactly about Divine Creation do they believe is beyond the purview of the methods of empirical science? They merely offer the status quo as something new and viable.
Despite faith and science having little to do with each other, they suggest the two “can and should constructively interact.” Their approach is based on two core principles. The first principle immediately pits a Biblical concept of creation with the Seventh-day Adventist understanding of creation. The “Biblical concept of creation” and “the Seventh-day Adventist understanding of Genesis 1 and 2” will be incorporated in the classroom? What does that mean? Are they not Seventh-day Adventists themselves, and don’t Seventh-day Adventists believe their understanding of Genesis is Biblical?
There is nothing mentioned in the joint statement about what affirmation of the Adventist position means in the classroom. Will it be presented as the position or a position among others and of no particular consequence except that it is what Adventists believe? The answer is simple. The LSU biology department doesn’t believe in the Seventh-day Adventist understanding of Genesis 1-2. All they can offer is an affirmation, whatever that means, and a mention of what Adventists believe when origin discussions arise. This approach is something you could get at a secular university.
The second principle says they want to continue to teach and research in the “various disciplines of the modern sciences according to the most up-to-date and rigorous standards of the published science.” What does modern, mainstream science teach? Overwhelmingly evolutionary theory. Now the core contention is not that the theory of evolution is taught, but how it is taught in relationship to creationism. The principle concludes with their desire to include “the data which highlight the strengths and weaknesses of various models.” While this statement sounds hopeful, there are number of problems with it. First, they already said creation is not a scientific construct, thus there wouldn’t be any scientific evidence for creation, which means none would be offered. Second, they believe the data supports evolutionary theory.
There is nothing in this joint statement that suggests any changes to the status quo of the biology department. Clearly the dialogue from LSU isn’t any different than before. They have not changed and it appears they have no intention of changing.
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Educate Truth shares the following article from La Sierra University as a service to readers.
NAD President, Education Director Dialog with La Sierra Campus Community
By Larry Becker
Executive Director, University Relations
Dan Jackson, president of the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists, and Larry Blackmer, division vice president for education, conducted a 90-minute town hall meeting followed by two hours of additional conversation with the La Sierra University faculty and staff on April 20. The two division leaders visited the campus to share their perspectives on a wide range of issues related to the lengthy biology controversy and the recent Adventist Accrediting Association board decision. Their visit also gave them an opportunity to hear the thoughts and concerns of campus faculty, staff, and administration.-Dan Jackson
Elder Jackson used his brief opening remarks to express his personal regret for what has been at times an excessively hostile tone of media and online comments directed at the university, a theme he returned to several times during the campus conversation. He also reminded the campus community of the importance of continuing to clearly affirm support for church doctrines throughout the curriculum.
During the lengthy dialogue session, many faculty members prefaced their remarks by expressing appreciation to both leaders for their presence on campus. The spirit of the discussion was respectful and heartfelt.
“I’m grateful for the willingness of both Elder Jackson and Elder Blackmer to dialogue candidly with our faculty and staff,†said University President Randal Wisbey. “I believe it was helpful for La Sierra University’s people to experience the pastoral care and concern expressed by both of these church leaders.â€
PR Contact: Larry Becker
Executive Director of University Relations
La Sierra University
Riverside, California
951.785.2460 (voice)
UPDATE 6/13/11: An LSU faculty or staff recorded the meeting with a cell phone. The audio clips were posted on Wikisend recently. A commenter at Spectrum posted a link to these clips; however, the files are no longer available at the link posted. The town hall meeting was closed to the public and only faculty and staff were invited.
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Educate Truth shares the following excerpts from Inside Higher Ed as a service to readers. Opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Educate Truth.
April 12, 2011
By Libby A. Nelson
La Sierra University, in Riverside, Calif., has until the end of 2012 to resolve the clash to the satisfaction of religious accreditors or risk losing recognition from the Seventh-day Adventist Church, a loss that could put $4 million in financial support from the Christian denomination in jeopardy.
For the past two years, La Sierra and its campus of about 2,000 students have been at the center of a controversy about evolution, creationism and the role of religious belief in a science classroom. The university, one of 14 Seventh-day Adventist higher education institutions in the United States, adheres to the principles of its faith, including a belief that the earth and all living things were created in six days as described in the Book of Genesis.
…
As well as conferring official recognition, Adventist accreditation makes a college or university eligible for funding from the church or its regional branches. La Sierra receives about $4 million annually, he said.
He emphasized that the accreditation group’s actions so far were not intended to punish the university.
“They aren’t on probation, they’re not on any kind of disciplinary move by the church at all — none,” Blackmer said. “We have just said, ‘We want to see some tangible evidence that you’re moving forward, and we’re going to give you a year and a half — two years, basically — to show us that.’ ”
The university has taken steps to resolve the controversy, Becker said. They include a lecture series on faith and science and a broad review of freshman seminars, syllabuses and lectures. The biology department has written a statement of support for creationism, and La Sierra is recruiting a new faculty member for the department.
“We’re looking for ways in which we can teach science and balance the needs of the church, particularly by spotlighting and honoring the Adventist position on origin — creation,†he said. “We haven’t done as good a job as we’d wished in the past. We’ll try to do it better.â€
University officials are confident that they will satisfy the church accreditors’ requests, he said.
Blackmer said the church did not want La Sierra to be defined by controversy. “We’re only dealing with a finite number of individuals and it has a tendency to cloud the whole university,” he said. “That’s not a fair characterization of who they are.” (Read more)
Related article:
Inside Higher Ed
Creating Controversy by Jack Stripling
La Sierra University recently sent out a letter apologizing for a manner of teaching that left the majority of the (surveyed) biology students with the perception that the university and specifically its biology department did not support the Adventist position on creation. The letter and the survey will be parsed and recommendations for rectifying the situation discussed in this presentation by Paul Giem.
Giem runs the Faith & Science Sabbath School, which meets weekly at Mortenson Hall on Loma Linda University campus. Recent presentations have included “The Genesis Flood Account” by Brian Bull and “Whales and Evolution” by Giem.
March 26, 2011
Dr. Giem holds a B.A. in chemistry from Union College, Nebraska, an M.A. in religion from Loma Linda University and an M.D. from Loma Linda University. Dr. Giem has published research articles in the areas of religion and medicine. His current research includes work on carbon-14 dating methods. He is author of the book Scientific Theology, which deals with a number of science–Bible areas, including dating methodology and biblical chronology.
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By Educate Truth Staff
June 2010 the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) issued a letter to La Sierra University president Randal Wisbey, stating it would return for a special visit spring 2011, because of what WASC considered a threat to LSU’s institutional autonomy and academic freedom. There has been no word about exactly when WASC will visit LSU or even if it has already visited.
The Adventist Accrediting Association (AAA) gave LSU until Dec. 31, 2012 to demonstrate its faithfulness to church teaching on creation, according to the Adventist Review. After AAA’s visit, LSU issued an apology letter signed by president Randal Wisbey and LSU board chair, Ricardo Graham. The letter came almost two years after the initial allegations were made public in a letter David Asscherick wrote to the General Conference April 2009.
As LSU juggles WASC and AAA, it will be interesting to see how LSU complies with AAA without looking like it is giving in to what WASC describes as efforts that would compromise LSU’s academic freedom and institutional autonomy. The WASC letter to Wisbey states:
]]>In your communications with the Commission, both in writing prior to meeting and at the Commission meeting, you expressed the commitment of the board and the president to resist efforts that would compromise academic freedom and institutional autonomy. The Commission’s action, described below, is intended to assure that La Sierra University withstands this threat and continues to meet WASC Standards. (CFRs 1.4, 1.6, 2.2a, 3.8)
Given the above, the Commission acted to:
A. Receive the Educational Effectiveness Review report and reaffirm the accreditation of La Sierra University.
B. Schedule the Capacity and Preparatory Review for spring 2018 and the Educational Effectiveness Review for fall 2019. The Institutional Proposal for this comprehensive review will be due in spring 2016.
C. Schedule a Special Visit in spring 2011, focused on the issues surrounding the teaching of evolution in the science curriculum, including institutional autonomy, the appropriate role of the board and faculty, and academic freedom. The institution’s spring 2011 Special Visit report will be due eight weeks prior to this visit.
D. Schedule an Interim Report due Nov. 1, 2014, focused on the issues set forth in this letter, including strategic planning, assessment, student success, information technology and institutional research, and any unresolved matters related to the controversy about the teaching of science.
Educate Truth shares the following document La Sierra University as a service to readers.
]]>April 5, 2011
La Sierra University has taken a number of affirmative steps toward resolution of the controversy regarding how creation and evolution are taught in our classes. The AAA Board believed that it is necessary for more time to transpire in order for the University to demonstrate our determination to put in place the steps that the faculty and administration have agreed with the La Sierra University Board of Trustees to implement. This AAA action offers us time to demonstrate our ability to fulfill our commitments, while retaining our status as a fully-accredited Seventh-day Adventist institution of higher education.
The AAA Board affirmed the steps that the university is taking. The visiting team report indicated that we should expect an interim visit from the AAA prior to December 2012, and that has now been formalized in the voted action.
The university’s faculty, administration and trustees are already working together to ensure that we provide the outstanding Adventist education desired by our students, our constituents, and our Church. As we continue to refine our understanding of God’s ways and our ability to teach them effectively, we solicit your prayers and suggestions, the prayerful support of our constituents, as well as the counsel and assistance of our sister institutions and church organizations.
PR Contact: Larry Becker
Executive Director of University Relations
La Sierra University
Riverside, California
951.785.2460 (voice)
Educate Truth shares the following article published by the Adventist News Network as a service to readers.
By Mark A. Kellner
La Sierra University (LSU), a Seventh-day Adventist Church-owned school in Riverside, California, will have a year to demonstrate its faithfulness to church teaching on creation, at which time its current accreditation by the Adventist Accrediting Association, or AAA, will be reviewed. The school’s denominational accreditation has been extended to December 31 of next year, with reaccreditation subject to an on-site review by a AAA panel in the second quarter of 2012, and AAA board action in October 2012.
The unusual action followed two years of controversy that has roiled the southeastern California campus and generated extensive comment by Seventh-day Adventist leaders and members across North America and the world church. The La Sierra decision, during which a wide range of options were debated, came among several actions taken the regular biennial AAA board meeting held at the General Conference’s headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, on April 4, 2011.
“Although La Sierra University has deviated from the philosophy and objectives of Seventh-day Adventist education,†the voted action reads, “it is moved that the university be granted an extension of accreditation to December 31, 2012 in order for the university to act upon its commitments and implement changes and enhancements†involving the teaching of origins at the school. The action extending the university’s current term of accreditation did not address the prospect of a new term, up to five years in length.
Accrediting executives’ rationale
“This was a challenging and complex decision,” said Lisa M. Beardsley, director of the General Conference Education Department. “The AAA board took into consideration the report of the AAA team that visited the campus in November 2010, and events that have transpired since, such as the actions of the institutional board, the finding of its special subcommittee, and the open letter published in March by the university. After careful and prayerful consideration, the board expressed its will as a body by means of a written ballot so that all views could be honored.”
Ella Smith Simmons, a general vice president of the world church and member of the AAA board, said, “Given the recent acknowledgement made by the La Sierra University board and administration, this action seeks to create a bridge for the university to meet its stated commitments and the accrediting requirements to give priority to the standards of Seventh-day Adventist education in harmony with the Church’s official beliefs.â€
“The AAA Board has attempted to find a balance between punitive and redemptive help to the university in support of the LSU Board’s recent statements,” added Larry Blackmer, vice president for Education of the North American Division and another AAA board member.
Membership in the Adventist Accrediting Association board includes the director and associate directors of the General Conference Education department; General Conference vice presidential advisers for education; directors of education from each of the church’s 13 world divisions; one representative each from a college/university board chair; a college/university president; an academic vice president or dean; a registrar or admissions officer; a finance officer; an academic department chair of education; a union conference education director; and a local conference education director. Also included are three individuals with international Adventist educational experience; two education specialists not employed by the church; and the General Conference officers — specifically the president, secretary and treasurer.
What lies ahead
In order to retain AAA accreditation, the school administration and board of trustees will, among other steps, have to demonstrate that it is honoring its commitments to “continue to endorse the official Seventh-day Adventist Church statement on creation”; “resource and nurture faculty in an atmosphere in which official Seventh-day Adventist Church positions on creation and origins are taught and honored”; so that the Church’s creation position “is presented in instructional contexts” and also is “presented as the university’s position on origins.”
The university will also have to show it is fulfilling its pledge to develop “specific goals” to assist “LSU students of other faiths to find meaning in and understanding of Seventh-day Adventist values and official beliefs, including those regarding creation and human origins.” According to one of the examples set forth in the voted action, “decisions regarding faculty appointments and development [must be] aligned with board and university commitments to ensure the acceptance and teaching of official Seventh-day Adventist beliefs regarding creation and origins within instructional and co-curricular contexts.”
The AAA is also requiring that LSU’s “board governance structure and function are enhanced to provide fuller participation in its fiduciary responsibility for the university,” again, in keeping with a commitment the school has made.
Decision was a surprise
Following a protracted discussion that lengthened a scheduled three-hour meeting into four hours, the AAA board voted to extend the school’s current church-based accreditation, but did not offer the full new term La Sierra had anticipated. On February 8, La Sierra announced a AAA site visit team’s recommendation “that ‘in their opinion, and subject to AAA approval, La Sierra University should receive the maximum accreditation possible under AAA guidelines.’” The school has since removed that statement from its website.
The accreditation issue — which includes denominational recognition by the church and qualifies a school for certain appropriations from denominational funds — arose following a two-year controversy over La Sierra’s teachings on human origins. Beginning in 2009, critics, including some church leaders, laypersons and LSU students claimed that the school taught the theory of evolution to biology students as the explanation for the origin of life.
Seventh-day Adventists believe “God is Creator of all things, and has revealed in Scripture the authentic account of His creative activity. In six days the Lord made ‘the heaven and the earth’ and all living things upon the earth, and rested on the seventh day of that first week,” as noted in the church’s Fundamental Beliefs.
La Sierra responds
In a statement to Adventist Review, La Sierra spokesman Larry Becker said, “Although La Sierra University has taken affirmative steps toward resolution of the controversy regarding how creation and evolution are taught in its classes, the AAA Board believed that it is necessary for more time to transpire in order for the university board, faculty, and administration to demonstrate its determination to put in place the steps that the faculty and administration have agreed with the board to implement.”
The LSU statement continued: “University administration appreciates the extension of its current full accreditation as a Seventh-day Adventist university through December 31, 2012. The AAA Board has outlined a specific process moving forward, and we recognize the need for these steps. We look forward to the AAA visit to our campus next year. The board, administration and faculty are already working together to ensure that we provide the outstanding Adventist education desired by our students, our constituents, and our Church.”
La Sierra President Randal R. Wisbey and Ricardo Graham, Pacific Union Conference president and La Sierra trustee board chairman, admitted La Sierra’s shortcomings on the subject in a March 9 open letter.
“We found that only 50 percent of the students surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that our Adventist view of creation was presented, and only 40 percent agreed or strongly agreed that our Adventist view was supported,” Wisbey and Graham wrote. “This is not acceptable, and we apologize,” they added.
Further, “instruction at the university, while being strong in many areas, has not adequately presented the denomination’s position on the subject of creation,” according to the document.
And, “there is some evidence that students have not always been respected for their belief in the Biblical creation position,” the March 9 La Sierra statement said.
According to the AAA’s accreditation handbook, “Accreditation of an institution by AAA signifies that the institution has a purpose appropriate to service the educational needs of those in its constituency and has the resources, programs, and services sufficient to accomplish the institution’s goals.”
School’s history
Founded in 1922 as a Seventh-day Adventist academy, La Sierra grew over the years and became a full-fledged college in 1946. In 1967, it merged with Loma Linda University and became that school’s liberal arts wing, reorganizing as an independent institution in 1990.
In 2010, the school reported 2,098 students had registered at the start of the current school year. Last year’s registration of 440 freshman surpassed 2009′s freshman class of 348 by 26.4 percent, La Sierra said in a statement.
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Educate Truth shares the following excerpts from an article published by The Examiner as a service to readers.
By Adam Hendron
Adam Hendron
…humiliated students and frustrated parents want more than an apology; they want repentance. “I don’t think that an apology or a regret or a remorse really makes you accountable as when you ask for forgiveness,†said Gloria. “My own child was a student there, and I begged my second child to not even consider La Sierra.†The mother thought she was paying for an education in line with Seventh-day Adventist beliefs; including their understanding of the six-day creation account in the opening chapters of Genesis.…It seems that some faculty have been in denial about the contradiction between their evolutionary beliefs and the Church’s position. Some are not church members, while others are, and apparently have an agenda to redefine the faith.
Churches are sometimes guilty of gaining converts through social pressure rather than an intelligent appreciation for their religion. But at La Sierra, it is Darwinists who have taken that tactic … Along with the honesty issue, such bullying is another evidence that the teaching of evolution is not always just a question of presenting the facts.
While LSU leadership has pledged to be more supportive of the Church’s traditional views, it does not say that those views are correct…
Adam Hendron is the author of several books and has served in the communications department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Adam enjoys vegetarian cooking and songwriting as well.
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