tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5776587.post3838850345023269651..comments2023-11-03T04:00:24.785-04:00Comments on Kentucky School News and Commentary: Stars Shine on Christian ResearcherRichard Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14586435007687942849noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5776587.post-27471705018536454562011-01-24T08:22:29.201-05:002011-01-24T08:22:29.201-05:00Fair points.
This seems to be a case where profes...Fair points.<br /><br />This seems to be a case where professors lacked the administrative accumen to handle their selection in a professionally acceptable manner. If emails did revealed the selection committee's acknowledgement of Gaskill as best qualified, right along side their religion-based reasons for denying him the position, UK had no choice but to settle.Richard Dayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14586435007687942849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5776587.post-77308372101561895502011-01-23T18:25:10.031-05:002011-01-23T18:25:10.031-05:00UK is certainly full of mainline Christians, Richa...UK is certainly full of mainline Christians, Richard, but when scholars allow their fundamentalist Christianity to taint their scholarship, red flags go up. I don't think most professors accept fundamentalist Christianity and expect those who profess to seek out positions at denominational schools.<br /><br />At this point, we can only wonder how many fundamentalists were quietly turned away from UK (like Gaskell) because of their religious views.<br /><br />I'm sorry UK employs people in the Department of Biology who send such damning emails. I think all my colleagues will now be more careful to censor their views about potential hires in university-generated emails.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5776587.post-60763661345892671542011-01-23T17:22:47.916-05:002011-01-23T17:22:47.916-05:00Hummm. Kind of a small n.
"Would you hire a ...Hummm. Kind of a small n.<br /><br />"Would you hire a professor who professed Christianity?" Well, somebody will. UK is full of Christians.<br /><br />It sounds like somebody has a narrow definition of what it means to be Christian. I can certainly see where the scientific community might reject that small segment of Christians who believe the Bible to be a science text. But when hiring, it is foolish (and probably against university policy) to use a candidate's faith as the test for fitness.Richard Dayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14586435007687942849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5776587.post-12922129403906345502011-01-22T10:43:06.589-05:002011-01-22T10:43:06.589-05:00While I was at the University of Kentucky persuing...While I was at the University of Kentucky persuing a graduate degree in the 1980's, the subject of religion came up during a graduate seminar. One of the professors stated matter-of-factly,"Christianity has long been exposed as myth." That was not problematic for me, but in another discussion, I asked another professor in the same department,"Would you hire a professor who professed Christianity?" That professor, now a high ranking dean, told me, "That applicant would gather from the interview that s/he would not feel welcome here at UK." <br /><br />Of course, I never thought much about until now. The University has damaged its image tremendously as a result of these hiring practices. Another nail in the coffin of Lee Todd's Top Twenty institition.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com