<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To the School of Theology at Seattle Pacific University,</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Last year, Seattle Pacific University (SPU) hosted the Evangelicals for Racial Justice service held at First Free Methodist Church. SPU made the following commitments at this event:</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">1) </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">To educate our congregations and organizations to learn more about racial injustice in our society and the Gospel mandate to work for Biblical justice.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">2)</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">To participate in specific strategies to pursue racial justice in our community.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">3)</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">To foster relationships with people of other races in order to increase awareness, facilitate conversation, and develop joint programs for mission.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Recently, President Dan Martin released an open letter addressing the topic of racial injustices that have been occurring across campuses nationally. He emphasized the fact that SPU is an institution that is devoted to racial justice, reconciliation, and diversity. His open letter states, “I am committed to help nurture a campus environment where everyone is safe, where diversity is appreciated, and where deep divisions are reconciled.”</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In light of these assertions, it is with deep disappointment that we have learned the School of Theology is preparing to hire white professors for its newest theology appointments. Racial justice and reconciliation are of utmost importance, especially in light of current events and race relations in our nation, and indeed, our school. It is </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">essential</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that we hire people of color who value racial justice and reconciliation as core values of their Christian discipleship.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When students matriculate they often are disappointed to find that what the school proclaims and what the school embodies in reality are very different things. This was communicated by current students at the forum President Martin facilitated last week and is also expressed on a peer level amongst the student body. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">SPU contends that it values students of color and wishes to provide them with a campus environment that is safe, as well as reflective of its value of diversity. We are aware that retention rates of students of color at SPU are significantly lower than that of white students. We are aware that at the seminary level, there has been difficulty retaining students of color, and there are students currently enrolled who are committed to leaving the university if a person of color is not hired for a faculty position in the School of Theology. According to a study performed regarding the retention rates of students of color at the university level, it has been shown that a “lack of diversity in the student population, faculty, staff, and curriculum often restricts the nature and quality of minority students’ interactions inside and outside the classroom, threatening their academic performance and social experiences” [1].</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">This study concluded that low retention rates of students of color are linked to these poor experiences. In order for universities to retain students of color at their institutions and improve their educational and social experiences, the American Psychological Association recommends hiring faculty who are racially and ethnically diverse [2]. With the number of students of color enrolled in PhD programs in theology in the United States and Canada according to data provided by the Association of Theological Schools, [3] we do not accept that there are no possible candidates of color who could fill the currently available faculty positions. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">In light of the promises that have been made by President Martin, the values and goals of SPU generally and the convictions that the School of Theology purports to uphold specifically, we ask that the hiring process be halted immediately and that the School of Theology take seriously the significance of hiring a faculty of color who upholds the values of racial justice and reconciliation that the school espouses. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As it stands, 4 of 21 School of Theology faculty members are people of color, with one of those being only part-time. This is not an adequate representation for what an institution working towards reconciliation should look like at a university that proclaims its mission to be “engaging the culture and changing the world.” The School of Theology is the pillar of Seattle Pacific University. Undergraduate students are required to take theology courses to fulfill their degrees, and at the seminary level the Reconciliation Studies program is gaining increasing attention. This is indeed an important position of leadership the seminary has assumed: to model to other institutions across the nation what a commitment to racial reconciliation and social justice looks like in concrete ways.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As students, as stakeholders in this community and as tuition-paying members, we are led by a responsibility to hold our school accountable to what it says it values. We want more. In fact, we need more. We call for the following demands to be met:</span></p><p> </p><ol><li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Given that the current candidates are all white, we demand that the hiring process be halted and that the search committee actively seek people of color to fill the available faculty positions in the School of Theology.</span></li><li><span style="font-weight: 400;">We demand that there be complete transparency as these candidates are sought, including the formation of search committees, when the hiring process begins, and when the final offer is given. We demand that students who are committed to the values of racial justice and reconciliation be included in the hiring process, and that these students be invited to observe final candidates in a teaching setting. (Students for this process can be identified through participation in student groups devoted to racial justice and reconciliation, commitment to community organizations exemplified through employment or volunteer work, or leadership in a racially diverse congregational setting.)</span></li><li><span style="font-weight: 400;">When a faculty of color is hired, we demand that they be connected with the resources they need in order to thrive in an institution that remains predominantly white. This includes connecting them with other faculty of color on campus for vocational and social support and identifying pastors of color in the area that can connect with them to offer spiritual support and advice.</span></li></ol><p> </p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We send this letter with a sense of urgency, understanding that the School of Theology is far along in the hiring process, but we cannot go unheard. We truly value the friendships we have made with faculty here, and we have developed a deep respect for them. But it is this admiration for them, and for what they have taught us, that has provoked us to take action in response to this issue. </span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sincerely,</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Students and Stakeholders of SPU</span></p><p><br /><br /></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">[1]</span><a href="http://www.educationalpolicy.org/pdf/Swail_Retention_Book.pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400;">http://www.educationalpolicy.org/pdf/Swail_Retention_Book.pdf</span></a></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">[2]</span><a href="http://www.apa.org/education/undergrad/ethnic-minority.aspx"><span style="font-weight: 400;">http://www.apa.org/education/undergrad/ethnic-minority.aspx</span></a></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">[3]</span><a href="http://www.ats.edu/uploads/resources/institutional-data/annual-data-tables/2014-2015-annual-data-tables.pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400;">http://www.ats.edu/uploads/resources/institutional-data/annual-data-tables/2014-2015-annual-data-tables.pdf</span></a></p>
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