Editor’s Note: The news article below, entitled “Faculty panel discusses new mission statement”, was written by then Editor-in-Chief Josh Grimm and then Culture Editor Daniel Stephens for the November 2008 issue of The Erskine Mirror. The article reveals some of the disagreement among the Erskine faculty concerning the motivations behind the new, Christ-centered mission statement, what it means, and how (and if) it can be properly interpreted.
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A faculty panel discussed Erskine’s new mission statement at convocation on Thursday, November 8th. Dr. Charles Emery, Dr. Brad Christie, Instructor of Athletic Training Mr. Adam Weyer, Dr. Sandra Chaney, and Dr. Brooks Kuykendall formed the panel. SCA President Phillip Bunch and SGA President Sarah Hope asked the panel several questions designed to spark constructive conversation about the new mission statement. SGA President Sarah Hope told The Erskine Mirror that, “I thought [the panel discussion] was productive. I wished science faculty in particular could have expressed their opinion on some subjects. I was encouraged to see a lot of faculty members present [at convocation].”
One of the key questions present during the discussion was how the new statement would affect day-to-day operations in classroom. Mr. Weyer said that nothing will change in his classroom, since he already viewed it as part of his “job to minister to students. Its easy to draw correlations between [studying] anatomy and God as the Creator.”
Dr. Emery responded to this question by suggesting that we really don’t know the answer to this question because the mission hasn’t been broken down into objectives. “Once the objectives are determined along with the actions to achieve those objectives, we’ll know its effect on the day-to-day operation,” he said. Dr. Emery then expressed disappointment that the mission stated a commitment to an excellent liberal arts education without mentioning professional studies. He also asserted that it is understood that the liberal arts form the initial two-year core of an Erskine education, but that it should be the mission of the College to support excellence in its professional programs as well.
On the question of what the phrase “the integration of learning and biblical truth” means, Dr. Chaney asked, “What does that mean? How will this affect day-to-day classroom discussion? In my positive moments I think it won’t be affected at all…But if you assume there is one biblical truth that suggests that there is one truth everyone agrees on…Terms such as ‘biblical truth’ or ‘Christian worldview’ have a marvelous universal ring to them. They sound authoritative, but serve as a mask” for particular agendas. Thus, she said, “they seem to leave no room for discussion, which flies in the face of what we want [at Erskine].”
Dr. Kuykendall responded to the same question by asking, “I’m not sure what it adds to put ‘biblical’ in front of ‘truth.’ I believe in absolute truth, but I’m not sure that the human mind can comprehend it…. I think that the new mission statement is clearly vague, and that’s a good thing. It has to be interpreted.”
When asked, “Is there more or less academic freedom under the new mission statement,” Dr. Christie responded that academic freedom is of paramount concern to the faculty at Erskine. He stated that he is not aware of a time at Erskine where a faculty member was told what he or she could and could not teach and say, unlike many secular institutions where it can even be illegal to teach from a certain viewpoint. He believes that “Erskine is dedicated to academic freedom and that will not change for a second.”
Similarly, Dr. Kuykendall said that he feels he has greater academic freedom in a Christian environment: “Everything is under the sovereignty of Christ, and the darkness is not going to overcome the light; so I can examine everything—to look under the rock without being afraid of what is going to crawl out.”
Later, Dr. Christie added that the mission of the college has not changed since its founding, although the language used to describe the mission has. Dr. Christie remarked that students suggested the word “flourishing” be included in the new statement. He also noted that the “flourishing” language makes the point that, “The value of the liberal arts is lifelong learning, not just four years of school.”
The consensus among the panel seemed to be that there are many questions about how the new statement will be interpreted, but also hope that the mission and identity of Erskine remains unchanged.