(Source: Anonymous Leak. Added emphasis in red text below.)
Faculty Committee to the President (FCP)
Report to the Faculty: Initial Meeting with Dr. Thomas White
July 1, 2013 at 2pm
President: Committee’s First Impressions
Goal: Dr. White would like Cedarville University to make “as big an impact for the kingdom of God as possible.
1. How he wants to operate:
- Desires openness, honesty, transparency, and trust
- Wants faculty input
- Cast vision
2. What he would like to do:
- Invite guest speakers who can provide quality, Biblical chapel sermons that are both intelligent and stimulating to help students grow spiritually
- Attempt to conduct open forums with all groups (i.e., schools, departments, all faculty)
- Be involved in classroom teaching and continue his own scholarship
- Enable the faculty to focus more on teaching, research, and mentoring
- Continue to develop online courses that, at the same time, maintain the quality and integrity of Cedarville’s identity
- Assist faculty to assess their fit with the doctrinal statement. If there is not a fit, assist faculty in transitioning without negatively impacting their ministry.
- Take time to get a sense of who we are before initiating major changes
- Strengthen ties to the local community and church
The Role of FCP:
- Communicate information and vision to our colleagues, creating openness and transparency
- Directly communicate issues, problems, and faculty perspectives to the President
- Meet twice a semester with the President
Misconceptions Clarified by the President
1. Contribution of women is valued; Joy White will teach a class in the fall.
2. Not becoming an SBC institution
- Independent, self-perpetuating Board of Trustees
- Encouragement expressed for the direction of CU from GARB individuals
3. Not returning to a “rules-oriented system”
Prayer Requests/Concerns:
- For Dr. White: wisdom and time-management
- For the university: wisdom in dealing with future issues (fiscal, political, social, technological, educational)
“Take time to get a sense of who we are before initiating major changes”……..How far into his presidency are we? And we’ve seen how many major changes already???