By Kelly Boggs, Editor
“Within any important issue, there are always aspects no one wishes to discuss,” said George Orwell. I suspect the English novelist and critic, best known for his books 1984 and Animal Farm, is correct.
However, in light of all that has transpired in reference to Louisiana College over the past year or so, I feel the need to discuss a few things.
Let me begin with last May. Just a few days after the LC Board of Trustees voted in favor of LC President Joe Aguillard in regard to whistleblower complaints brought against him by two of the college’s vice-presidents, I wrote an editorial offering my opinion of the situation.
I want to reiterate, it was an editorial and not a report, wherein I offered my two-cents worth. The title of the column was “Leaked documents, ballot votes and being Baptist.”
In the first portion of the column I dealt with the issue of confidential documents that had been leaked to The Town Talk. A law firm report, that concluded Aguillard misappropriated funds and mislead the LC board, was given to Alexandria’s daily newspaper and it in turn reported on it.
What was not leaked to The Town Talk was a folder of information that Aguillard had compiled which was at odds with the law firm’s findings. I was told that all of the trustees had seen Aguillard’s information.
Based on what I had been told, I concluded that the trustees who had leaked the information to Alexandria’s daily newspaper chose not to provide The Town Talk with information in the folder that, at the very least, cast some doubts on the law firm’s conclusions.
I went on to say the only reason I could imagine for the selective leaking of information was in an attempt to force trustees into a corner to vote against Aguillard and to also make the president look bad. I even said the leaking trustees should repent and resign.
They say hindsight is 20/20. As a result, I recently was told that all the trustees did not have access to Aguillard’s information. I had a conversation with a board member who told me he never saw the folder that I referenced.
I now know it is very likely the trustees who gave the information to The Town Talk did not know about Aguillard’s folder. Thus, they did not selectively leak information; they gave the newspaper only what they had in their possession.
Had I known then what I know now, I would never have written the editorial in question. I came to a wrong conclusion based on false information. I was wrong. I would be happy to offer a personal apology to the trustee or trustees who leaked the information, however, since they remain anonymous to me, all I can do is say I am sorry in this column.
I was talking to someone recently and he said to me, “I was told the Baptist Message has turned on LC and the president because you had a friend who was at the college and he was dismissed due to adultery.”
I said, “I don’t even know how to respond to that information.”
“First, I don’t have any friends at LC.” I laughed and said, “That doesn’t sound good does it.” I went on to explain that I don’t have any social relationships with anyone at LC, save my family, and I have no idea if anyone has been released by LC because of adultery.
Let me say this, if anyone has told you the aforementioned it is false.
The Baptist Message has not turned on any one for any reason. What we have attempted to do is report the torrent of information, previously unknown to our publication, concerning LC and Aguillard.
We have done our best to present only what we have been able to document and verify and further we have sought to do so in a manner that has been fair and free from bias. Has the reporting been perfect? Probably not, but it has been an honest attempt to inform Louisiana Baptists as to what is transpiring at their college.
Rumors, gossip and speculation have only added to the most recent controversy at the school. As I said in a recent column, at times the situation has reminded me of Malaysian Airlines 370. Every day, and even every other hour, some new rumor has emerged. At times, I have no idea what to believe.
As I learned in the column that should have never been written last May, even our best attempts at verification can fall short.
One thing that is not a rumor is the infrastructure needs at LC. It has been reported the cost to repair and update the housing need of the college are $12 million. At the 2012 LBC Annual Meeting, messengers approved allowing LC to make a direct appeal to the churches in an effort to raise the necessary funds.
A source close to the LC fund raising effort recently revealed to the Baptist Message the Student Housing Capitol Campaign has to date had $303,300.00 pledged and has collected $171,380.89. Pray and Pledge Sunday, conducted on Feb. 23, resulted in $31,050.00 in pledged money and collected $19,312.59.
I don’t know quite what to say about the results of the fund raising. It would seem the amount raised thus far is not very encouraging.
The Caskey Divinity School was once a very bright spot on the LC campus. However, due to the controversy that raged last year, the Cason family chose to stop giving money to the school, and since they were the primary source – perhaps the only source – of funding, there has been much speculation about the future of the divinity school at LC.
New Orleans Seminary announced on April 16 the establishment of the “Caskey Center for Church Excellence,” according to a news release from the school.
“The initial gift will provide up to $6,000 per year for up to 100 Louisiana students – the equivalent of a full scholarship for these students,” the release indicated.
“To qualify for the program, students must be serving as a paid or bi-vocational pastor or staff member in a small church with an average worship attendance of less than 250 people. Bi-vocational is defined as paid employment from a church and from a secular or para-church employer. Particular preference is given to those serving as lead or senior pastor – full-time or bi-vocational,” the released reported.
“We are grateful for the vision God has given this donor,” said NOBTS President Chuck Kelley. “We are a seminary in a city and state in which the overwhelming majority of churches are small churches. We want all Louisiana churches to have access to trained leadership and for all of those God calls to have an opportunity to get quality theological education. Launching the Caskey Center is a huge step in that direction,” the release said. The release also indicated the donor’s desire to remain anonymous.
The Caskey School for Church Excellence sounds almost like a carbon copy of LC’s Caskey School of Divinity. Though no announcement has been made by LC, it would seem the divinity school will no longer be a reality there.
It has been a month of Sundays since there has been any official mention of the law, medical and film schools that were announced by Aguillard. With new leadership will come new vision, and perhaps a new president will provide definitive answers of the fate of the previously announced schools.
None of the aforementioned topics are necessarily what anyone wants to talk about. However, I felt I needed to bring them up just for the sake of discussion. There is a transition coming at LC and, I for one, hope future important issues concerning Louisiana Baptist’s crown jewel will be exciting and enthusiastically discussed. Let’s pray to that end.