NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) — A nondenominational Christian university in Nashville says it will consider hiring non-Christian faculty from an art college it recently merged with.
Thomas Burns, the provost from Belmont University, had previously told students from Watkins College of Art that the university only hires Christians to teach. Non-Christian faculty at Watkins, a small, struggling art school, would not be hired at Belmont after the merger.
His comments, which were recorded and posted on YouTube, caused controversy on campus and made national headlines.
A spokesperson for Belmont said Tuesday (Feb. 4) that no decisions have been made about faculty hirings post-merger. The school won’t decide how many staff or faculty it will hire until it knows more details, including how many students will transfer.
If there are openings, Watkins staff will be able to apply.
“Because we recognize current Watkins employees could not control nor anticipate merging with a faith-based institution, it has been determined that special consideration will be given to current Watkins employees regardless of their position of faith,” the school said in a statement. “This exception to our hiring policy is only being made due to the nature of merging institutions and out of Belmont’s commitment to care for the Watkins community.”
Belmont’s nondiscrimination policy forbids discrimination based on “race, sex, color, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, military service, or sexual orientation” but does say the school “seeks employees of Christian faith who are committed to the mission of the University.”
Source: Religion News Service
All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source