3.6 Faculty Responsibilities, Expectations, and Academic Freedom
3.6.1 Commitment to the Mission of the College
Calvin College has a long tradition of thought and exposition concerning its mission. In its briefest form, the College's mission statement reads as follows:
Calvin College is a comprehensive liberal arts college in the Reformed tradition of historic Christianity. Through our learning, we seek to be agents of renewal in the academy, church, and society. We pledge fidelity to Jesus Christ, offering our hearts and lives to do God's work in God's world.
Beyond this and other concise mission statements, the college community has published comprehensive statements of purpose, most notably the Expanded Statement of Mission (1992, rev. 2004), and An Engagement with God's World: The Core Curriculum of Calvin College (1999). Faculty members of the college are expected to become familiar with the content of these documents and to accept and work in accordance with these statements of the College's commitments, outlook and aims.
The College community has addressed particular issues of concern relating to its mission, and has issued interpretive and policy-setting statements. Most notable among these are the Gender Concerns Task Force Report (1991) and From Every Nation: The Revised Comprehensive Plan for Racial Justice, Reconciliation and Cross-Cultural Engagement at Calvin College (2004). These documents are important to any faculty member seeking to know the current collective mind of the College and to commit to Calvin's mission. they are attempts to interpret the Word of God, the ecumenical creeds and the Reformed confessions and apply their truths to contemporary educational purposes. These documents therefore are derivative in nature, subject to revision or replacement, and are not confessional.
More foundational to the College's mission is its identity as a confessional Christian institution. It seeks to carry out its mission in fidelity to the Word of God as interpreted in the ecumenical creeds and the Reformed confessions. Membership in the Calvin College teaching faculty therefore requires adherence to these standards of faith and engagement in the ministry of God's people who gather under them. This adherence serves not as a bond in forming the academic community, but also as a basis for the responsibilities of the faculty. In particular, the following are requirements for faculty membership.
3.6.1.1 Signing the Form of Subscription
Calvin College faculty members are required to sign a synodically approved Form of Subscription in which they affirm the three forms of unity - the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort - and pledge to teach, speak, and write in harmony with the confessions.
The current form of subscription* [*footnote: To be signed by professors, ministers, evangelists, elders, and deacons when ordained and/or installed in office. The original Form of Subscription was adopted by the Synod of Dort in 1618–1619. The translation appearing here was approved by the Synod of 1912 and modified by the Synod of 1988.] reads as follows:
We, the undersigned, faculty of Calvin College, an institution of the Christian Reformed Church of North America, by means of our signatures declare truthfully and in good conscience before the Lord that we sincerely believe that all the articles and points of doctrine set forth in the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort fully agree with the Word of God.
We promise therefore to teach these doctrines diligently, to defend them faithfully, and not to contradict them, publicly or privately, in our preaching, teaching, or writing.
We pledge moreover not only to reject all errors that conflict with these doctrines, but also to refute them, and to do everything we can to keep the church free from them.
We promise further that if in the future we come to have any difficulty with these doctrines or reach views differing from them, we will not propose, defend, preach, or teach such views, either publicly or privately, until we have first disclosed them to the Board of Trustees for examination. We are prepared moreover to submit to the judgment of the Board of Trustees, realizing that the consequence of refusal to do so is suspension from office.
We promise in addition that if, to maintain unity and purity in doctrine, the Board of Trustees considers it proper at any time—on sufficient grounds of concern—to require a fuller explanation of our views concerning any article in the three confessions mentioned above, we are always willing and ready to comply with such a request, realizing here also that the consequence of refusal to do so is suspension from office. Should we consider ourselves wronged, however, by the judgment of the Board of Trustees, we reserve for ourselves the right of appeal; but until a decision is made on such an appeal, we will acquiesce in the determination and judgment already made.
This Form of Subscription is based on the form used for church office-bearers, but clearly spells out that the college’s Board of Trustees, rather than a faculty member’s church council, is the body charged with confessional oversight for teaching, scholarly activities, and other college-related work.
Faculty members who are also church office-bearers sign a slightly different form with respect to their work as office-bearers which names the church council as the oversight body. In this situation, the faculty member works under the authority of two complementary oversight bodies: the college’s Board of Trustees provides oversight for the teaching, scholarly activities and other college-related work of the faculty member; the congregation’s council provides oversight for work related to the life of the local congregation. At the same time, the college recognizes that while these functions may be distinguished, they are also difficult to separate. For this reason, the Board of Trustees requests that when a faculty member who is also an office-bearer has “a difficulty with these doctrines or reaches views differing from them,” that this concern be disclosed both to the church council and to the Board of Trustees. The board commits to work with the church council to maintain the authority that is appropriate to each body.
For the work of the college, the meaning of subscription shall be determined according to the church order of the Christian Reformed Church (e.g., Church Order, Article 5, and its supplements), which currently reads:* [*footnote: From the majority report of the study committee reporting to the 1976 Synod of the Christian Reformed Church, edited for gender inclusiveness.]
The person signing the Form of Subscription subscribes without reservation to all the doctrines contained in the standards of the church, as being doctrines which are taught in the Word of God. The subscriber does not by subscription to the confessions declare that these doctrines are all stated in the best possible manner, or that the standards of our church cover all that the Scriptures teach on the matters confessed. Nor does the subscriber declare that every teaching of the Scriptures is set forth in our confessions, or that every heresy is rejected and refuted by them. A subscriber is only bound by subscription to those doctrines which are confessed, and is not bound to the references, allusions, and remarks that are incidental to the formulation of these doctrines nor to the theological deductions which some may draw from the doctrines set forth in the confessions. However, no one is free to decide for one’s self or for the church what is and what is not a doctrine confessed in the standards. In the event that such a question should arise, the decision of the assemblies of the church shall be sought and acquiesced in.
The confessions are documents that belong to the church. For the ongoing life and work of the CRC and its agencies and educational institutions, the authority to make binding judgments about the meaning and implications of the confessions is assigned to synod. Under the authority of synod, the church assigns authority for the life of the college to the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees, in turn, assigns authority within the college’s governance system, in which decisions about personnel and confessional interpretation are assigned to the Professional Status Committee (PSC).
When the Synod of the Christian Reformed Church has issued a formal interpretation of the confessions, that interpretation shall be binding for Calvin College. When a disagreement about confessional interpretation arises, PSC may, after reviewing prior synodical action on the topic and in consultation with experts in confessional interpretation, theology and church polity, recommend to the Board of Trustees (a) that the board issue a judgment about the meaning and implications of the confessions for the work of the college on the topic in question, and (b) what that judgment should be. PSC shall seek to make a recommendation that is consistent with the Christian Reformed Church’s approach to confessional subscription in general and to the issue at hand. Any judgment of the Board of Trustees is in turn subject to the judgment of the synod of the Christian Reformed Church.
3.6.1.1.1 Procedure for Expressing Confessional Difficulties
The Form of Subscription specifies that faculty members who do not agree with a portion of the confessions are required to communicate their views in writing to the Board of Trustees, either at the time they sign the Form of Subscription or at any later time when a disagreement arises. The Board of Trustees assigns to PSC the duty to receive these communications, following appropriate consultation with the faculty member, and to advise the board about the appropriate action. PSC will ordinarily include a member of the Board of Trustees in its deliberations on these communications.
PSC will normally make a recommendation to the board about the faculty member’s correspondence. PSC may recommend, for example, (1) that the faculty member’s disagreement is within the bounds of subscription as described by the CRC’s view on subscription, (2) that the disagreement is acceptable, provided that the faculty member not teach or write to promote his or her views, (3) that the disagreement is acceptable, given that the matter in question is not directly related to the faculty members’ work at the college and is not sufficiently weighty, or (4) the position proposed by the faculty member is unacceptable for a faculty member at Calvin College. PSC may also take note of the disagreement and ask the board for permission to table the matter for the purpose of engaging in a period of study. PSC may also request the faculty member to develop a confessional difficulty or revision gravamen through the approved ecclesiastical channels.
PSC will inform the faculty member and the department chair of its recommendation. Once PSC has communicated its recommendation to the faculty member, faculty members are expected to conduct their teaching and research in compliance with the recommendation until the board has taken action on PSC’s recommendation.
Faculty members who disagree with PSC’s recommendation may (a) request that PSC reconsider or clarify its recommendation in light of additional information, or (b) request that the Board of Trustees not accede to PSC’s recommendation.
If the president disagrees with PSC’s recommendation, the president may (a) request that the board ask PSC to reconsider its recommendation in light of additional information, or (b) ask the Board of Trustees not to accede to the recommendation.
If the Board of Trustees disagrees with PSC’s recommendation, the board may (a) request PSC to reconsider its recommendation in light of additional information, or (b) decline to accede to its recommendation. If the board does not accede to the recommendation of PSC, the matter may be referred back to PSC for PSC to develop an alternate recommendation prior to the next regularly scheduled board meeting. If an alternate recommendation is not subsequently approved by the board or if PSC does not offer an alternative recommendation, the board could choose to develop its own judgment for the topic or position at hand.
The board shall communicate both its decisions and supporting rationale to PSC and to the faculty member in question. During all deliberations, the president and provost serve the Board of Trustees by ensuring the best possible expertise is available to the board and by being present during its deliberations.
If the faculty member disagrees with the board’s decision, he or she may (a) request that the board reconsider or clarify its decision in light of additional information, or (b) appeal the board’s decision to the synod of the Christian Reformed Church, through the appropriate procedures described in the Rules for Synodical Procedure.
Copies of both the original communication related to the confessional disagreement and the board’s response shall be retained in the faculty member’s personnel file.
In all these matters, PSC and the Board of Trustees should be governed by a desire to promote confessional integrity, due process, and the kind of constructive engagement with difficult issues that will serve the Christian community at large.
In addition to these college procedures, faculty members may use the formal procedures designated by the Christian Reformed Church for expressing a difficulty with the confessions (a confessional difficulty gravamen) or proposing a change to the confessions (a confessional revision gravamen) as described in the church order of the Christian Reformed Church. Faculty members who do so should inform PSC of their intent. In some circumstances, PSC may also request that a faculty member pursue these processes.
3.6.1.2 Church Membership
Calvin College faculty members are required to be professing members in good standing and active participants in the life, worship, and activities of a Christian Reformed Church (CRC) or of any church which is a member of a denomination in ecclesiastical fellowship with the CRC as defined by its Synod. A current list of such denominations is kept in the Provost's Office.
3.6.1.3 Christian Schooling
Calvin College faculty members are normally required to provide their children with Christian schooling.
The requirement is applicable to grades K through 12. Christian schools that are members of Christian Schools International are expected to be the primary schools of choice for faculty. However, home schooling and sending children to other schools that base their education on the Christian faith could also fulfill the requirement when approved on an individual basis.
Further information about these requirements, their applicability, and possible exceptions is available in Section 6.13.
3.6.2 Faculty Conduct
Calvin College asks each member of its faculty to become part of a Christian community in which we are accountable to and responsible for each other. An essential element of our responsibility to the community and to one another is to strive always to "lead a life worthy of God, who has called you into his own kingdom and glory" (I Thess. 2:12).
Theological affirmation entails moral commitment. The Heidelberg Catechism, which is formally endorsed by each member of the faculty, describes the normal rhythm of Christian life as "dying away" and "coming to life." When our old self dies away, we grieve our sin, hate it, and flee from it. When our new self comes to life, we take wholehearted joy in God through Christ, and we delight to do every kind of good as God wants us to. The good that God wants has been expressed in the moral teachings of the Scriptures, explained in the Catechism's elaboration of the Ten Commandments, epitomized in the words and deeds of our Savior, and taught to the church by the apostles and by the theologians who have served the church in every age.
Faculty members at Calvin College are therefore expected to exemplify personal integrity, honesty, respect, humility, courage, liberality, gratitude, gentleness, kindness, patience and self-control in their words and actions. Many of these qualities are identified by the apostle Paul as the "gifts of the Spirit" (Col. 3, Ga. 5), and faculty members strive with God's help to demonstrate these virtues both in their professional activities and in their personal lives. In this way they invite others to know the reconciliation that is offered by God in Christ and to live up to God's demand for justice in society. It is part of the calling of the faculty to speak out against wickedness and injustice in society and in the world and to be agents of God's righteousness and peace. Members of the Calvin faculty are called to build one another up in faith and in virtue and to serve others as citizens of God's kingdom.
Implementation of these standards and expectations is both a communal and an individual responsibility, and each member of the Calvin faculty is accountable to his or her colleagues in matters of ethical conduct no less than in scholarship and teaching. When faculty members fall significantly short of these ideals, they should admit their wrongdoing, seek forgiveness from those whom they have offended, and strive to make restitution to those who have been wronged. When faculty members observe that others have fallen significantly short, they should seek to correct and restore them in a spirit of humility and mutual service. When these ideals are honored, formal disciplinary procedures, such as those set forth in Chapter 6, will seldom be needed.
3.6.3 Specific Responsibilities
The responsibilities which are specifically assigned to the faculty are those of teaching, scholarship, academic advising, and service.
The following statements of responsibilities in each of these areas are intended to guide the faculty in understanding the community expectations of the faculty. The definitions of responsibility are meant to give guidelines to faculty members in selecting appropriate ways to fulfill their responsibilities as faculty members. While all faculty members are expected to be effective teachers and lead an "active life of the mind," the extent of engagement in scholarship, advising, and service will depend to some degree on an individual's gifts and interests. While each faculty member has responsibilities in all areas, not all faculty are expected to be equally engaged or effective in each of them. Rather than having faculty members who are most effective in each of these areas set the standard for all others, the following guidelines are provided.
In considering which activities to pursue, faculty members are encouraged to select those that arise out of their calling - as teachers, scholars, and community members at Calvin College. The combination of these activities should have integrity, e.g., ideally the service should arise out of their expertise as teacher and scholar. Faculty members should also maintain an appropriate balance of activities that reflects individual interests and gifts as well as serves the needs of the college.
Since teaching is considered primary and an active life of the mind is necessary for effective teaching, faculty members have a responsibility to ensure that their service activities do not detract from this primary responsibility. The definition of responsibilities is intended to assist faculty in choosing activities which fulfill their responsibilities in each area without having activities in one interfere with the fulfillment of others. One's choice of activities in each area should be made with the support and encouragement of colleagues. Faculty members are expected to participate in departmental efforts to foster the antiracist, multicultural aims of the college as they relate to specific academic disciplines, and to assist the department in evaluating how these efforts bear fruit in teaching, scholarship, advising, and service that contribute to the attainment of the antiracist, multicultural vision of From Every Nation.
3.6.3.1 Teaching
Teaching is the primary vocation and responsibility of the Calvin College faculty. At Calvin, teaching is the intentional and systematic engagement of students in vigorous liberal arts and professional education. Effective teaching of college students includes exploring, transmitting, assessing, preserving, transforming, and shaping the intellectual, artistic, and moral achievements of human culture. Effective teaching also includes developing competencies expected of college-educated persons in society. The aims of teaching are to develop knowledge, understanding, and critical inquiry; to encourage insightful and creative participation in society; and to foster thoughtful, passionate commitments to do God's work in God's world.
Becoming an effective teacher is an ongoing and complex process characterized by striving, growth, and change. Nevertheless, some principles and goals of effective teaching can be articulated, and these are presented in the following paragraphs.
3.6.3.1.1 Commitment
Of first importance among the expectations for teachers at Calvin College is the commitment to profess the truth of the gospel as presented in Scripture, reflected in the Reformed creeds, and articulated in a Reformed worldview.
Effective teachers commit themselves to the truth: exploring, challenging, and testing ideas in order to discern the truth. They commit themselves to the discernment of the worldviews that inform ideas and to the development of ways in which the Christian faith can shape those ideas. Moreover, effective teachers are committed to a view of learning in which knowing entails responsibility, competence involves caring, and the mind and heart are one.
Effective teachers are committed to their students as God's image-bearers. With such a commitment, they acknowledge the gifts of students as well as the barriers to learning. They are committed to engaging students in ways which will enrich their lives and prepare them for lives of obedient service.
Effective teachers commit themselves to the mission of the college in education, scholarship, and community. They concern themselves with and are involved in scholarly pursuits, departmental responsibilities, college-wide tasks, advising assignments, and community service as an expression of their teaching.
3.6.3.1.2 Knowledge
Effective teachers are themselves enthusiastic learners. They have prepared themselves with educational and professional experiences to be practicing members of the academic community. Their acquaintance with a body of knowledge is active rather than passive, and what they pass on to their students is knowledge they have appropriated for themselves.
Effective teachers are intellectually alert. They are aware of developments in their academic field, understand the context of the ideas within the field, and are alert to changes in society that may shape the meaning and significance of the ideas. They read and contribute to publications; they participate in professional conferences. Their involvement in the broader educational community and its intersection with society should be a model of professional life for their students.
Effective teachers know their students. They understand student development and acknowledge the diversity of students' needs and abilities. Effective teachers foster a classroom atmosphere in which students can appropriate knowledge for themselves. Effective teachers know, however, that teaching sometimes causes discomfort, and respect for students remains within the context of respect for truth.
Effective teachers know, explore, and implement appropriate pedagogy. They organize class sessions thoughtfully, present concepts clearly, engage students effectively, and design relevant assignments. They also use a variety of teaching methods that address student diversity in development, cognitive ability, and learning style. In addition, they manage time and resources efficiently.
Effective teachers use various methods of assessment and evaluation appropriate to the educational goals of the course. They carefully consider student work and show sensitivity to and understanding of each student. They also engage in self-assessment and reflectively accept evaluative comments from colleagues and students.
3.6.3.1.3 Engagement
Effective teachers exhibit respect for people and show a congeniality and sociability that enables them to approach students with confidence and humility.
Effective teachers establish a relationship that invites students into the arena of academic study in which together they struggle toward discerning, claiming, and living the truth. These teachers model conviction, display enthusiasm for their subject matter, and engage indifferent students. Effective teachers have a compelling sense of mission that takes courses beyond the humdrum to memorable intellectual and spiritual experiences.
3.6.3.2 Research and Scholarship
All members of the Calvin College faculty are expected to be engaged in scholarship, which consists of the study, critical assessment, and creation of concepts, practices, perspectives, and theories. Scholarship includes, but is not limited to, research intended for publication for an academic audience in order to advance current knowledge and understanding. The college supports and strongly encourages, but does not in every instance demand, faculty involvement in research of this kind, which some departments have referred to as "advanced scholarship."
Scholarship also includes study of how to teach more effectively. It includes the presentation of the methods and accomplishments of one's academic discipline to non-academic audiences, through publication, public speaking, or other means. It includes becoming informed of significant current work related to one's discipline. It includes, in some disciplines, producing or performing artistic work. It may include consulting activity that is evaluated in appropriate ways and involves critical reflection on the application of theory to practice.
Activities such as these that are appropriate to each faculty member's experience and interests should be undertaken as part of a coherent plan for long-range professional and intellectual growth. Since scholarly work is usually communal, responsibility for individual scholarship is shared with the department and other colleagues. Each department should support such endeavors and recognize excellence, while each individual should pursue research that is appropriate to departmental needs and, when possible, contributes to larger departmental and interdepartmental projects.
It does not necessarily follow from the fact that scholarship includes all of these diverse activities that engagement in any one of them is sufficient to meet the college's expectations of faculty. It is not sufficient, for example, simply to keep up with developments in one's field. It is also necessary to be attentive to changes in culture and society that impinge on one's scholarly field and to subject them to critical assessment in the light of Christian commitment. Critical reflection on one's own teaching is a legitimate part of scholarship, but it is not sufficient to meet the college's expectations. Scholarship and teaching are interdependent, and excellence in one realm usually fosters excellence in the other; but neither can be reduced to, or put forward as a substitute for, the other. Expectations for scholarship go beyond the requirement of excellent teaching.
Even though an active program of research or advanced scholarship is not required of all faculty, each department does require either publication or another mode of dissemination of the fruits of scholarship to audiences outside the college. It is the task of the department along with the Professional Status Committee to identify the kinds of publication or production that constitute an adequate program of scholarship for reappointment and tenure, and to specify the ways in which such scholarly work can be appropriately evaluated and documented.
Underlying specific departmental guidelines are two general principles: all members of the Calvin faculty are expected to be actively engaged in the scholarly or professional work of their discipline, and all faculty members are expected to demonstrate that their scholarly work forms part of an appropriate plan for professional development. In their work as scholars, members of the Calvin faculty are fulfilling an important part of their responsibilities to the Christian community.
3.6.3.3 Community Service
The responsibility of faculty members for community service is essentially to be constructive participants in the life of the several communities in which they live. This responsibility is fulfilled in a great variety of ways, according to individual talents and community needs. Moreover, it is a responsibility that by its very nature eludes precise description or measurement against a single standard.
Through community service, faculty members demonstrate the conviction that their intellectual abilities and their advanced education are not possessions to be exploited for personal benefit but rather are talents held in stewardship for the benefit of others with whom they come into contact. Service is an essential part of the work of the faculty because it gives concrete form to the Reformed conception of vocation as the development of the gifts of each individual for the good of all. It also helps combat the temptation to withdraw into an ivory tower of academic isolation and engages faculty in the world outside the academy.
Faculty members may fulfill their responsibility for community service in four distinct but related dimensions.
- Service to the College Community
Faculty members contribute to the work of the college through service on committees (departmental, divisional, and college-wide), acceptance of special assignments, mentoring students and student groups, participation in college activities, and active support for the advancement of the mission of the college. Service of this kind is expected of all faculty members.
- Service to the Church Community
Faculty members are actively engaged in the life of their congregations, not only through regular attendance at worship but also through service on committees and councils, willingness to participate on regional and national church committees and in ecumenical outreach, active support for evangelism and community service, and other signs of their commitment to the work of the Christian church.
- Service to the Scholarly Community
Faculty members are expected to contribute, when opportunities arise or they are invited to do so, to the community of teachers and scholars locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. They do so by evaluating manuscripts and proposals, by planning scholarly meetings, and by serving on committees and boards that seek to advance teaching and scholarship.
- Service to Other Communities
Faculty members are active citizens of communities beyond the college, and they seek opportunities to use their skills and talents for the benefit of others. Among the ways in which they may do so are participating in civic life, contributing their time to service projects and community service agencies, serving on local committees and task forces, and supporting efforts to provide better education, housing, and nutrition for those who are in special need.
Community service may arise either from a faculty member's specific vocation, as a scholar and teacher on the faculty of the college of the Christian Reformed Church, or from more personal interests and qualifications. (Refereeing for journals, organizing a session at a scholarly meeting, speaking to schoolteachers about one's research, and serving on church study committees are examples of the former; volunteering at a food pantry and planning a neighborhood meeting would fall into the latter category.) While both may be appropriate kinds of service, the former is more nearly central to the college's purposes and will be given greater weight in the assessment of a faculty member's work.
3.6.3.4 Advising
The responsibility of the faculty members in their role as academic advisors is to help students plan efficient and fruitful academic programs. They try to ensure that students are familiar with, and can make the best use of, the college curriculum. They encourage students' initiative, offer them accurate information, and provide a liaison to other resources in the college. Academic advisors make clear their concern for the students' academic and personal welfare. They are willing to listen to their advisees, strive to understand their goals and aspirations, and in the light of those help them evaluate their academic programs.
Academic advisors understand the nature of and the rationale for Christian liberal arts education at Calvin College. They are able to articulate this rationale and to explain to students how it is embodied in specific programs. Advisors understand the goals of the liberal arts core as well as the scholarly intentions and practical ends of the programs of their own departments.
Advisors provide students with accurate information about their academic programs, help students keep track of their progress toward degree fulfillment, and counsel that prerequisites are taken in proper order and that courses essential to the program are not neglected. Advisors provide active liaison between advisees and sources of help in other departments and administrative offices and make themselves available for consultation, both during advising days and in regularly scheduled office hours.
3.6.4 Academic Freedom
Every faculty member, whether tenured or untenured, shall be entitled to the right of academic freedom in the performance of his or her duties. The faculty member shall be judged only by the confessional standards of Calvin College, and by the professional standards appropriate to his or her role and discipline. A faculty member shall not be expected or required to retract or modify his or her utterances merely because a complaint against them has been received. Only complaints which allege a violation of confessional or professional standards shall be considered, and then only when the evidence supporting the allegation is more substantial than rumor or hearsay. By making this commitment to its entire faculty, Calvin College seeks to implement the Christian principles of justice and charity in its own community.
The faculty, administration, and Board of Trustees at Calvin College work to promote a common understanding of confessional subscription and academic freedom through regularly scheduled board-faculty workshops on academic freedom led by the Professional Status Committee through its designated subcommittee.
A staff member is entitled to academic freedom as defined above. It extends to the discipline in the classroom, to research, writings, and other public utterances in the field of professional competence. It does not extend to the expression in the classroom of opinions on controversial and partisan issues which have no relationship to his or her discipline or teaching subject. The classroom may not serve the teacher as a platform for causes unrelated to his or her profession as a Christian teacher of a discipline.
The Calvin College teacher is a citizen, a member of a learned profession, and a representative of Calvin College. When speaking as a citizen, the teacher should be free from institutional censorship or discipline unless his or her Christian character is compromised or Christian witness impaired. However, a special position in the church and in the community imposes special obligations. The Calvin College staff member should remember that the public will tend to judge the profession and the institution by his or her utterances. Therefore, he or she should be accurate at all times, exercise proper restraint, and respect the rights of others to express their opinions. The faculty member shall not attempt to politicize the institution in purely partisan matters, and shall dissociate the college from political activities.
Staff members are permitted and, normally, even encouraged to run for political office or hold memberships on civic commissions. Should staff members be elected or appointed to such positions which necessitate either partial reduction in or complete separation from service to Calvin College, they may retain their position on the staff, but then under the terms of the leave of absence policy.
3.6.4.1 Controversial Topics and Confessional Interpretation
3.6.4.1.1 Principles for Engaging Controversial Topics
3.6.4.1.2 A Common Set of Questions to Guide Informal and Formal Work on Controversial Issues
The college’s policies on confessional subscription and academic freedom naturally lead to a set of common questions of central concern for the faculty, administration, board, and constituency when facing any difficult, controversial, or misunderstood topic. When controversial topics arise, the college encourages each relevant entity (e.g., the Board of Trustees, PSC, academic administrators, the faculty senate, and individual departments or faculty members) to ask the following guiding questions:
- SCRIPTURAL, THEOLOGICAL, CONFESSIONAL RESOURCES. How can work on the topic in question be subject to and illuminate scriptural teaching? What scriptural texts and themes are relevant to the discussion? What are the most significant historical resources on and interpretations of those texts and themes? What theological resources does the Reformed tradition offer on this topic? What specific confessional claims are relevant to the discussion? What particular positions on a given topic may be inconsistent with the confessions? What wisdom do various positions that may not be consistent with the confessions still offer? Are there aspects of the topic that are scripturally and confessionally clear, about which Calvin faculty are not free to express contrary positions? How can work on the topic promote the integrity of confessional subscription (whether by working in ways that are consistent with the confessions, by seeking to clarify their meaning, or—when necessary—working through the approved channels to change or augment them)?
- CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY. How could work on a given topic promise to strengthen the church and the broader Christian community? What are the particular insights or strengths that the Reformed tradition and Calvin College bring to this topic? What are potential weaknesses in Reformed approaches? What marginalized or disenfranchised members of the community could be intentionally brought into the conversation? What particular wisdom do they offer? How can work on the topic be done to minimize unnecessary and unhealthy consequences? What individuals or other institutional structures could best promote transparency and accountability for all members of the community while the work is being done? Are proactive external communications needed while the work on this topic is being done?
- PEER REVIEW. How can work on the topic benefit from collegial peer review both within and beyond the Calvin community, from those with expertise on the topic and from those with expertise in scriptural and confessional interpretation? What is the best current work on this topic in various Christian communities? Which disciplines have insights to offer? How might the Holy Spirit be using insights gained from scholarship in the disciplines to prompt the church to either strengthen or reconsider its approach on an issue, and how do we distinguish the promptings of the Holy Spirit from our own fallen desires?
- CULTURAL AWARENESS. How can different cultural perspectives shape insight on the topic? What challenges regarding cross-cultural or intercultural communication are present in work on this topic? How might the Holy Spirit be using insights from cross-cultural communication to prompt the church to either strengthen or reconsider its approach on an issue, and how do we distinguish the promptings of the Holy Spirit from our own fallen desires?
- TRANSPARENT COMMUNICATION. How can work on a given topic be explained in a transparent and constructive way to students and other stakeholders, including concerned ones?
These questions offer a constructive, confessionally grounded way for the college community to engage difficult and controversial topics.
3.6.4.1.3 Collaborative Work on Controversial Topics
At times, a specific topic may warrant special consideration for reasons such as:
- the prominence of the topic in cultural or church discussions,
- the frequency or quality of constituent complaints related to the topic, or
- substantive differences of approach to the topic in the Christian community.
When it judges that collaborative, proactive reflection on a given topic would strengthen the mission of the college, PSC may initiate a process for proactive reflection. PSC may do so by requesting the Calvin Center for Christian Scholarship or another appropriate organization or entity to organize a study group. Or PSC may commission a task-force to gather relevant information, identify the best resources for addressing the topic, clarify various positions on the topic within the Christian community, clarify any academic freedom issues involved in consultation with the academic freedom sub-committee of PSC, and describe the particular contribution Calvin College could make to the topic, normally using the questions found in 3.6.4.1.2. The task force will ordinarily include members of the faculty, administration, and Board of Trustees, and may also include additional experts on the subject from beyond faculty, administration, and the board. PSC will include information about any of these actions in its regular reports to the academic affairs committee of the Board of Trustees.
Collaborative reflection on controversial topics should not be a disciplinary process but rather a learning process. PSC should exercise care in discerning whether such a task force is necessary. This process should be reserved for significant topics worthy of the time that will be required for the work. The commissioned work should not duplicate past work. Processes commissioned by PSC should emphasize broad consultation within the Calvin community, including consultation with Faculty Senate and Board of Trustees.
3.6.4.1.4 Responding to Constituent Concerns
Throughout Calvin’s history, the board, administration, and faculty have regularly received commendations and complaints from constituents. At its best, this pattern of communication is a healthy sign of the covenantal commitment to the college’s mission by its stakeholders. The college views these complaints, commendations and expressions of concern as a significant opportunity for teaching and learning—to listen to its stakeholders, to learn from their responses and questions, to communicate the nature of the college’s mission, and to hone understanding on challenging topics in the broader Christian community.
Complaints about matters of confessional integrity, whether they arise from within or outside the college, should first be directed to the Provost’s Office. The dean conveys the concern to the faculty member, obtains relevant information, and clarifies any misunderstanding that may have led to the complaint. If the complaint raises a substantive issue, the dean, in consultation with the provost, works first through informal procedures, using the questions in (3.6.4.1.2) as guide. When these informal procedures do not achieve a satisfactory resolution, the dean, the faculty member in question, or other members of the Calvin community may request that PSC engage in a formal process for review (3.6.4.2.2). In cases of non-compliance with confessional subscription, the college shall follow the process described in (6.3).
In all personnel cases and in all matters regarding academic freedom and confessional subscription, it is the responsibility of all faculty members and especially all administrators (department chairs, academic deans, the provost, and the president) to (a) work to ensure that all parties have a common and correct understanding of the college’s governance structures, policies, and procedures, (b) help faculty members work collegially toward the best articulation of their views in light of a set of common questions (as specified in 3.6.4.1.2), (c) promote the integrity of confessional subscription and academic freedom according to Calvin’s stated academic freedom policy. No individual faculty member or administrator is in a position to issue a presumptive assurance about the eventual outcome of any judicial procedures, should they be necessary. Any request for an interpretation of the confessions should be directed to PSC. Any provisional judgment about the confessions offered by PSC is subject, in turn, to the judgment of the Board of Trustees and, ultimately, the synod of the Christian Reformed Church.
3.6.4.2 Procedures for Clarifying the Meaning of Calvin’s Policies of Confessional Commitment and Academic Freedom
3.6.4.2.1 Informal Procedures
Members of the Calvin community with questions or concerns about the implications of Calvin’s policies of confessional subscription and academic freedom for any specific topic or position are encouraged to discuss the matter with their colleagues, department chair, and academic dean, using the questions in 3.6.4.1.2 as a guide to collegial inquiry. In most circumstances, informal collegial work carried out in harmony with the Reformed confessions should be sufficient to ensure that the faculty is serving the Christian community with timely and faithful teaching and learning on difficult and challenging topics.
3.6.4.2.2 Formal Procedures
If any administrator, faculty member, academic department, or the Board of Trustees as a whole has weighty concerns related to the implications of Calvin’s policies of confessional subscription and academic freedom for any specific topic or position, they should address their concern to PSC. (Allegations of confessional unorthodoxy will be processed according to the procedure in 6.3* [*footnote: PSC is currently working on revisions to this procedure.]; other concerns proceed according to the following process.)
The request should be accompanied by an explanation of the issue and an explanation of the reasons that warrant formal action. Whenever possible, the request should be accompanied by preliminary responses to the pertinent questions in 3.6.4.1.2. Additional communications from faculty colleagues and collaborators are also encouraged.
After deciding whether the request is sufficiently weighty to warrant formal review, PSC shall gather information necessary to make an informed judgment, through appropriate processes, including, for example:
- commissioning an academic dean or other designated expert to gather relevant information,
- consulting with relevant departments,
- consulting with experts in biblical and confessional interpretation, and/or
- consulting with Faculty Senate.
PSC should engage in as much consultation as is reasonable for the situation in question, preparing its response in both a consultative and timely manner. PSC will ordinarily include a member of the Board of Trustees in its deliberations on these topics.
PSC may respond to the request for clarification in several ways, including (1) asking the correspondent for more information or a clarification of the request, (2) requesting that the communication be withdrawn, (3) offering encouragement about how Calvin faculty can serve the larger Christian community with respect to the issue or position in question, or (4) recommending that the Board of Trustees issue a judgment about the implications of Calvin’s policies of confessional subscription and academic freedom with respect to the topic or position at hand. For especially challenging topics, PSC may recommend that a statement on the topic be prepared for inclusion in the Handbook for Teaching Faculty (e.g., the current statement on faith and science) according to the appropriate procedures for amending the handbook.
PSC shall communicate its response, along with accompanying grounds, to the correspondent, and provide copies of the communication to the Board of Trustees. The president ordinarily presents this communication to the Board. If the president does not concur with PSC’s response, the provost will present this communication to the Board. If neither the president nor the provost concurs with the response of PSC, PSC may appoint a faculty member to represent PSC at deliberations of the Board of Trustees.
When necessary, PSC will advise the president and provost about ways to communicate to the media and other audiences.
Faculty members who disagree with PSC’s response may (a) request that PSC reconsider or clarify its response in light of additional information, or (b) request that the Board of Trustees not accept PSC’s recommendation regarding a judgment about the implications of Calvin’s policies of confessional subscription and academic freedom for the topic or position at hand.
If the president disagrees with PSC’s response, the president may (a) request that the board ask PSC to reconsider the position in light of additional information or considerations not reflected in the grounds or explanation for the decision, or (b) request that the Board of Trustees not accept PSC’s recommendation regarding a judgment about the implications of Calvin’s policies of confessional subscription and academic freedom for the topic or position at hand.
If the Board of Trustees disagrees with PSC’s response, the board could (a) request PSC to reconsider the position in light of additional information or considerations not reflected in the grounds or explanation for the decision, or (b) decline to accede to PSC’s recommendation regarding a judgment about the implications of Calvin’s policies of confessional subscription and academic freedom for the topic or position at hand. If the board does not accede to PSC’s recommendation, the matter may be referred back to PSC for PSC to develop an alternate recommendation prior to the next scheduled board meeting. If an alternate recommendation is not subsequently approved by the board or if PSC does not offer an alternative recommendation, the board could choose to develop its own judgment about the meaning and implications for Calvin’s policies of confessional subscription and academic freedom for the topic of position at hand.
During these deliberations, the president and provost serve the Board of Trustees (a) by ensuring that the best expertise on both the topic and on the confessional interpretation is available to the board and (b) by being present during all board discussions of the topic. The board would communicate its decision, along with its rationale, to PSC and the members of the community who made the original request.
Faculty members or administrators who disagree with the board’s decision may (a) request that the board reconsider or clarify its decision in light of additional information, or (b) appeal the board’s decision to the synod of the Christian Reformed Church, through the appropriate channels described in the Rules for Synodical Procedure.
In all these matters, PSC and the Board of Trustees should be governed by a desire to promote confessional integrity, due process, mutual trust and the kind of constructive engagement with difficult issues that will serve the Christian community at large.
