By Meredith Kreigh
Managing Editor
Last Friday, Dr. Steve Barnett, professor of natural sciences, received a letter signed by President Stephen Livesay rejecting Barnett’s contract. Barnett had signed his contract with the following addendum:
“My signature certifies that I accept, without reservation, the Statement of Faith as recorded in the Bryan College Charter. In compliance with the Charter, which states ‘ …this platform shall never be changed or amended, but shall constitute the religious position and belief of the institution as long as it shall endure,’ I neither affirm nor deny any statement of religious position or belief other than the Statement of Faith.”
Barnett said that he had always been willing to accept that Christians can think differently about the exact process God used to create man. But however it was done, Barnett believes in Adam and Eve as literal, unique individuals.
“When we sign our contracts we also must affirm the Statement of Faith ‘without mental reservation.’ By asking me to also include their changes, the board was asking me to exclude, even as a possibility, any other way of understanding Genesis than their view of what they think the founders probably thought,” Barnett said.
He added that his view has never changed since coming to Bryan. He was as willing to consider other possibilities when he first signed on over three decades ago as he is now. There are theological and scientific sacrifices no matter what model of origin one chooses.
“It seems that the college has violated its own policy in changing the charter, though they insist they have not. It also seems that right-thinking people would have considered what I said, but right-thinking people are sometimes hard to come by,” Barnett said.
Before Barnett received the rejection, which read, “Your employment will end at the expiration of your current contract, May 17, 2014,” he said that Chairman of the Board of Trustees Col. John Haynes said the Board wanted to achieve reconciliation.
“If that were true, it seems obvious that they would recognize the damage they have done and rescind their so-called clarification,” Barnett added.
Barnett has no job prospects and is not hopeful of any considering his age, 62, and the fact that his position has not emphasized research, which a typical institution would require.
He plans to file a grievance as outlined in the faculty guide.
“In a situation like this, no matter who wins, everyone loses,” Barnett said.