Student Online Petition Urges SBU Trustees to Reverse Tenure Denials
After
Word&Wayreported yesterday (Feb. 4) that trustees at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri, had denied tenure or promotion to five faculty members, an SBU student created a petition at change.org urging the trustees to reverse their decision.
The unusual move by the trustees came amid a two-year controversy over control and theology at the school, and as the school already faces an inquiry by its accreditation body after a complaint about earlier actions by the trustees and the Missouri Baptist Convention that elected them. Until recently, most of the controversy involved efforts to drive out several religion professors in the school’s Redford Division of Christian Ministry.
The Bolivar School district has a new superintendent.
Dr. Richard Asbill spent the last eleven years as the superintendent in Cassville.
He takes over for Dr. Tony Berry, who is retiring.
Here’s more from Bolivar Schools:
The Bolivar R-1 Board of Education Tuesday announced that Richard Asbill, Ed. D. has been selected to serve as the school district’s next superintendent. He will fill that role starting July 1, 2021, following the retirement of current superintendent Tony Berry, Ed. D.
“Dr. Asbill comes to the Bolivar community with high expectations, a wealth of experience, and a shared vision for our students,” said Paula Hubbert, board president. “We are so pleased that an educator of his stature wants to join us in continuing to strengthen the pillars of educational excellence implemented under Dr. Berry’s leadership.”
Accreditation Body Schedules Visit to Investigate Complaint Against SBU
An accreditation body investigating recent events at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri, recently notified the school of an upcoming focused visit to further investigate recent governance changes. The decision by the Higher Learning Commission also automatically changed SBU’s accreditation path.
(Brian Kaylor/Word&Way)
The investigation into SBU started after a complaint filed Aug. 21 by Russell Jackson, a St. Louis attorney who graduated from the school in 1987. His complaint included several citations to
Word&Way news reports about the two-year controversy as some leaders of the Missouri Baptist Convention sought to drive out several religion professors.