Questions regarding Faculty turnover
Excerpts compiled from The BGCT Seminary Study Committee

Most Southern Baptists are well aware of the purging of faculty or administrators who refuse to go along with the ideas and philosophies of the new SBC presidents and trustees.

Many faculty members wanted to talk to the Committee, but feared recriminations if they did. Fortunately, some were willing to speak, provided the Committee guaranteed anonymity. These faculty members report that many professors were reluctant to sign the new 2000 BF&M, a spirit of paranoia and isolation among some faculty exists on some campuses, and faculty morale is low among some faculty members. The administration and trustees officially deny that such conditions exist on their campuses.

Dates of employment for New Orleans, Midwestern, and Golden Gate were not available to the Committee. The following statistics are for the 1999-2000 school year.

Midwestern - online catalogue for the seminary shows only 7 faculty remaining with long teaching experience at the seminary.

Southwestern  -  out of 40 theology faculty, 15 are new since 1995 (or 37.5% of the theology faculty is new).

Southern - out of 27 theology faculty, 18 are new since 1993 (or 66.6% of the theology faculty is new).

Southeastern - out of 34 theology faculty, 30 are new since 1992 (or 88% of the theology faculty is new).

One has to wonder why there is such a large turnover.

October 2000