Baylor University in the Hot Seat
I'll say this for administrators at Baylor University in Waco, Texas: They certainly know how to provoke lots of free attention. But it might not be the kind of attention they want. The University's denial of tenure to conservative scholar Francis Beckwith is beginning to generate a buzz on the world wide web. But it's the type of buzz that carries a sting. Commenting on the Beckwith decision yesterday, Joseph Bottum of First Things responded with withering scorn:
Baylor has apparently decided to sink back into its diminished role as a not terribly distinguished regional school. President Sloan is gone, the new high-profile faculty are demoralized and sniffing around for positions at better-known schools, energetic programs like the Intelligent Design institute have been chased away, and the bright young professors are having their academic careers ruined by a school that lured them to campus with the promises of the 2012 plan and now is simply embarrassed by them.
For some of the other web articles commenting on the Beckwith situation, check out:
http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=9583
http://telicthoughts.com/?p=614
http://lufkindailymuse.com/?p=86
http://dallasmorningviews.beloblog.com/archives/2006/03/baylor_wars_aga.html
http://rightreason.ektopos.com/archives/2006/03/beckwith_balks.html
http://reformclub.blogspot.com/2006/03/amazing-outrage-baylor-denies.html
http://ateam.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2006/3/25/1840047.html
http://reformclub.blogspot.com/2006/03/dallas-morning-news-on-beckwith-tenure.html