It also shows the disconnect that evangelicalism has with many of its younger members. For many, intolerance is buried deep within their subconscious and quite often doesn’t manifest itself until some action makes it so. It is most often expressed through the everyday decisions that those in power chose to make. Intolerance doesn’t always accompany violence. However, once the conservative donors threatened to pull their support of the organization they quickly did a u-turn and changed their stance.Ĭornerstone’s situation illustrates several troubling issues, not the least of which is that white Evangelicals have little to no understanding of what inclusivity means and what it will take to achieve it. You may remember a couple of years ago that World Vision made the news for allowing people within the LGBT+ community to be allowed to work for them. This problem is not just at Cornerstone but exists in evangelical institutions all over the US.
Problems that those within evangelicalism are blind to despite their glaringly obvious existence to those outside of evangelicalism. So, who cares about a small, religious university buried deep in the Midwest? I chose to write this article not just to highlight Cornerstone’s situation, but to use it as an example of the larger problem that exists within evangelical institutions.
#Cornerstone university how to
In an article titled “ How to save American higher education” Moreno-Riano states that “American higher education’s insufficient focus on Western Civilization and its excessive attention to the oppressed is shaping students into vicious and intolerant individuals who are participating in the corrosion of US democracy.”īoth Moreno-Riano’s words and actions at Cornerstone (dismantling diversity efforts and dismissal of staff who support it) demonstrate what his true motivation is. This statement is bullshit and the board knows it. In a statement about the new president Carole Bos, chair of Cornerstone’s board of trustees said to RNS that the new president “is committed to continuing our diversity efforts and will lead the Board’s charge to build a diverse Cornerstone community…”. Moreno-Riano’s inauguration, 42 full-time faculty and staff submitted a non-binding, no-confidence letter to the board of directors, who apparently shrugged off the concerns of the faculty and staff (including 22 full-time professors). He has also banned the use of politically charged words like: “micro-aggressions,” “privilege” and “unconscious bias.” Moreno-Riano has managed to “create a culture of fear and intimidation.” He has allegedly, “opposed diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts and created a culture of fear by firing staff and professors with little or no warning.” Apparently, those involved in the effort for diversity in the university have either been fired or resigned from their positions because of Dr. According to a letter from members of the Cornerstone University faculty to the board of directors, Dr. Moreno-Riano only being president of the university since May, he has already developed quite a reputation. Regent University is the well-known university of Pat Robertson.ĭespite Dr. He is the former Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Chief Academic Officer at Regent University. If that name is unfamiliar, don’t worry, I had to Google him too. The university has come a long way from the days of their petty intolerances towards things like dancing and the casual use of alcohol to a place that is attempting to become more diverse and inclusive.īack in May, Cornerstone hired a new president named Gerson Moreno-Riaño.
Despite this heritage, it has fostered a somewhat more tolerant, inclusive stance towards its student body over the years – especially about racism and women’s rights. The university holds tightly to its Baptist roots – notwithstanding its generic university moniker.
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