NEW ST. ANDREWS COLLEGE MUST EARN
THE RESPECT OF OTHER ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS
By Nick Gier, Professor Emeritus, University of Idaho
The Many Sins of New St. Andrews College
A Personal Accreditation Report for New St. Andrews College
New St. Andrews College Among the Top 40 Bible Colleges
Before 2005, bright Christian students enrolling at Moscow's New St. Andrews College (NSA) knew that the school's unaccredited status would put them at a disadvantage for future educational opportunities. Recent NSA graduates have now learned that they are still at risk, primarily because NSA officials have, once again, chosen spiritual "purity" rather than academic principles.
Even though he scored a perfect score on his Graduate Record Exams, NSA graduate Brad Littlejohn was denied acceptance in a UI graduate program. The UI requires that graduate students have a degree from a regionally accredited institution. Roy Atwood, NSA's president, told the Lewiston Morning Tribune (2/13/07) that he chose not seek accredited regional accreditation, primarily because these academic agencies are "hostile" to NSA's biblical worldview.
Since November 29, 2005, NSA has been accredited by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS), which requires that only one third of a school's faculty have doctorate degrees. Among the schools accredited by TRACS are Word of Life Bible Institute, Shasta Bible Institute, the infamous Institute for Creation Research, and Jerry Falwell's Liberty University.
NSA recently proposed that it be treated the same as Northwest Christian College (NWCC), which is located on the campus of the University of Oregon. There are, however, important differences between these two Christian colleges. NWCC leaders apparently have not found the principles of the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities contrary to their institution's religious goals. The UI, NWCC, and most of our region's institutions of higher education are accredited by this fine organization. Nearly all of NWCC's faculty have doctoral degrees, while only 27 percent of NSA's faculty have PhDs. Two of NSA's senior fellows, equivalent to full professors, do not have doctorates, a credential required by all assistant professors at reputable institutions.
Contrary to all employee management principles, NSA founder Douglas Wilson has hired his brother, his son, and his son-in-law as NSA faculty members. I'm not sure if NCC President David W. Wilson is a relation, but I'm sure that there are no family members are on his faculty.
I'm also quite certain that President Wilson would not have called for the firing of any University of Oregon professors. In late 2003, when two UI history professors dared to criticize Douglas Wilson's booklet "Southern Slavery As It Was," Wilson wrote to Idaho's governor demanding that the two be fired.
I'm absolutely certain that NCC President Wilson would not have condoned any prank against the University of Oregon, but on April 1, 1999, NSA faculty and students, with approval from Pastor Wilson, were involved in an outrageous stunt, using the Provost's letterhead to announce a UI sponsored lecture entitled “Topless and Proud” by a fictitious feminist scholar.
The 2002 annual meeting of the Pacific Northwest American Academy of Religion (AAR) and the Society for Biblical Literature was held at the University of Oregon. NWCC was fully involved in organizing the conference, and NWCC faculty presented excellent papers. A good number of NWCC students attended the various sessions.
Inspired by NCC's enthusiastic participation, I extended a special invitation, as incoming AAR President, to NSA faculty to submit papers to the same meeting held in Moscow in 2003. When I publicly expressed disappointment that not a single NSA student or faculty attended the conference, Atwood's response was that NSA had "better things to do" than to attend the meeting.
In 1998, Pastor Wilson wrote an article “Why Evangelical Colleges Are Not” in the September issue of Chronicles, the journal of the far right Rockford Institute. The hostility displayed against reputable Christian colleges in this article not only shows blatant disrespect for these fine schools, but it manifests shameful disregard for the entire academic enterprise. I now wonder if Wilson includes Northwest Christian College in his condemnation?
Collegiality is an essential intellectual virtue which includes conformity to academic principles and respect for all persons involved in the academic enterprise. My conservative Christian colleagues and I disagree on many theological issues, but we are always collegial with one another, and we always learn from one another at our professional conferences.
If NSA wants to be accepted by other institutions, it must apologize for its past misdemeanors. It must also realize that respect is earned by collegial relations and full participation in academe, not by vicious polemics and juvenile behavior. NSA complains about "accreditation discrimination," but it has only itself to blame for its uncollegial behavior and its failure to conform to academic tradition and principles.