Board in Wren Cross fiasco targeted
'It will take a decade to repair the damage'
A campaign has been started at the College of William and Mary in Virginia to shake up the school's governing Board of Visitors after a debacle involving the display of a donated Christian cross in the historic Wren Chapel.
Lance Kyle, AB '89, contacted WND after it reported that a local independent newspaper had called for the Board, which runs the school, not to renew the contract of college President Gene Nichol, who triggered the fiasco.
His decision to arbitrarily remove the cross from its historic display setting launched a petition with more than 18,000 signatures of school alums, students and supporters who wanted it return. It also triggered the cancellation of a planned donation of $12 million.
Now Kyle says perhaps the Board of Visitors, whose members are appointed by state officials, also have some answering to do.
He said, for example, while competitor University of Virginia saw undergraduate applications increase 10 percent, and Rice was up 15 percent, William and Mary's rose less than one percent. The academic performance of incoming students has dropped, and the law school fell four places, he said..
"Nichol's loss of the McGlothlin $10-12 [million] bequest may keep the school from reaching the $500 [million] goal by the June 30, 2007, close," Kyle said.
The campus committee decision to restore the cross to the chapel, but place it inside a special glass case, still is discriminatory treatment of the Christian faith, he said.
"Fact is, neither UVa nor any other U.S. university with a historic chapel puts their cross in a glass case," Kyle said.
He said many of those signing the Wren Cross petition now have "turned their backs on the school forever" which indicates a serious failing in relations with alumni.
And what once was a growth rate of 12 percent in the endowment fund now is about two percent.
"The school sustained serious damage to alumni relations, fundraising and reputation under the current Administration and is in serious danger of falling further in the rankings… The competition is coming up fast and it's all about money."
"I implore the BOV not to renew Nichols' $400k+ contract in June 2008 and to tell him now that 'it's not working out' so that both sides can make a smooth transition," he said.
In a letter to Katherine Hanley, in the office of appointments for the state, he asked officials to withhold second term reappointment for John Gerdelman, Anita Poston and Henry Wolf "based on ethical considerations, poor judgment in the presidential selection process and failure to resolve the Wren Cross crisis…"
"The BOV surely knew we were falling in the endowment rankings back in 2003 and they still selected a new president in 2005 with a poor fundraising track record," he said.
"Does our BOV think that our low tuition and historical assets are going to carry us forever? We can't even count on these competitive advantages now that Nichol has antagonized the General Assembly and has taken a wrecking ball to the Wren," he said.
"Gene Nichol doesn't 'get it.' He doesn't understand how basic economic principles dictate which American universities are successful and which are not. Some schools 'trade' on their sports teams or successful alumni while others … 'build on their history.' Thing is, we don't have a major sports team, medical center or lots of successful, contemporary alumni which we can leverage to lure students and endowment dollars," Kyle said.
"What we do have, though, is unmatchable historic assets," he said. "You see, you can't just bulldoze the Wren Building and think nobody will notice. The place is sacred and is responsible directly or indirectly for every student, faculty member and endowment dollar we take in," he said.
"It is time for us to leverage our amazing academic traditions and historic capital (comparable to Harvard) and our relatively low tuition … and take our case to the money centers," he said. "We need to raise our standards and move the school to its 'rightful place among the world's' top universities."
WND earlier reported on the local newspaper's similar stance, and duplicate call for the Board not to keep Nichol around.
A telephone message from WND requesting a comment from Nichol was not returned
But it was last fall when the story broke on WND that Nichol was creating a furor by arbitrarily ordering a Christian cross removed from the school's 275-year-old Wren Chapel.
Nichol said he'd gotten a complaint about the cross, and ordered it removed without consultation. But alumni and students launched a website campaign, called Save The Wren Cross, and collected names demanding the cross be restored.
As the number of names on the petition rose, Nichol at first admitted he "acted too quickly and should have consulted more broadly" and dictated that a plaque would be installed in the chapel.
The move failed to satisfy those who wanted the donated bronze cross restored to the historic chapel, and the university eventually assembled a special committee to deal with the crisis.
The issue only now, months after the dispute erupted, is being resolved. The college confirmed this week the antique cross will be placed in a glass display case at the front of the chapel. "The display case, which is still under development, will be accompanied by a plaque commemorating the College's Anglican roots and its historic connection to Bruton Parish Church," the school announcement said.
The cross had been given to the university by Bruton Parish Episcopal Church in the 1930s, and had been in the chapel since. The Wren Chapel, built nearly 275 years ago, became an integral part of the university when it was a Christian school.
Subjects: Alternate Philosophies, Ecumenism, News
Don't mess with the cross.
Perhaps this liberal College Professor will be shown the door. I am glad to see events moving in this direction. The odd thing is this guy did this totally on his own. NO ONE ASKED THE CROSS TO BE REMOVED. NO ONE.
Ping
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Some liberal Cross-Hating yahoo made a major goof! Nobody asked that the Cross be removed. Feh, some "contemporary" folks think they can take it upon themselved to be "sensitive" and mess with Religion so those of other religions won't be "offended" when nobody has been offended or said boo. Nannyism at its worst. I hope the schmendrik gets his caboose handed to him and shown the one way exit door.
BTW, the job offer I got at the end of March has been delayed. They can't bring me on until the FBI signs the new contract, and the FBI keeps delaying things by funding the old contract for various bug fixes. The company wants to bring me on, and I want to start with them, but until the FBI signs and activates the new contract.....could be as long as another month, so I've reactivated my job search. Prayers needed, please. Meanwhile, the company I worked for from 2002-2006 called me in last week to do some consulting work as needed for a new proposal they are bidding on, plus I may be able to help with some other things, so at least a bit of money can come in. The greeting I got from all my old friends and my former boss last Thursday was worth it alone, I was greatly blessed by the way they greeted me.
Dixie
It sounds like they miss you. Our prayers go out to you.
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Hang in there Dixie! I'll keep you in my prayers.
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The job ended up bombing at the last minute. The customer kept throwing money at the company's old contract for little things, which delayed funding the new contract. Then, a week and a half ago, they told the company they only wanted them to hire people who already had active clearances, which meant a reneging of the offer made to me, since my clearances are not active.
So I reactivated my job search a week and a half ago, have a number of promsing prospects, and an interview this coming Thursday with an organization in Old Town Alexandria that sounds like it will be a great opportunity. Plus, a week and a half ago, the company I worked for from 2002-06 called me and asked if I'd like to come back as a consultant on a part-time, as-needed basis. So I worked for four days and am back again this week to help them with materials for their ISO 9000:1 recertification that will take place later in May. So while I do my job search, I can at least have a bit of income.
Bret