A recent editorial rightly praised the selection of Dr. Malcolm Yarnell as
president of Louisiana College.
A recent editorial rightly praised the selection of Dr. Malcolm Yarnell as
president of Louisiana College. Therefore, the fact that he found governance
conditions imposed by the board of trustees unacceptable and withdrew his name
from consideration should be a matter of serious concern.
More importantly, it indicates that the board of trustees must be held accountable
by Louisiana Baptists. The board should be replaced.
No person with the level of talent and integrity that LC deserves will agree
to be president of a college at which the trustees are intent on playing power
games.
The faculty have earned LC nationwide acclaim (for example in the US News and
World Report College Guide), but prospective students are now only aware that
LC is a place where the faculty are distracted and are afraid to teach for fear
that they will be reported for some misconstrued statement that does not toe
the party line. It is sheer lunacy to propose that an educated person should
not be exposed to the unpleasant as well as the pleasant realities of the world.
Christians cannot be prepared for spiritual battle in a secular world without
understanding it. The trustees are misguided.
Stephen Pruett
Bossier City, La.