Wheaton College Alum Say They Will Withhold Donations Until Tenured Professor is Reinstated

Photo credit: Dr. Larycia Hawkins Facebook page

Over 800 Wheaton College alumni say they may not contribute donations to their alma matter in the future if Larycia Hawkins, a tenured professor who faces termination after stating Muslims and Christians worshiped the same God, is not reinstated.

Hawkins faces termination from the college after the tenured political science professor, who is a Christian, donned a hijab last month to show her solidarity with Muslims. She also made public statements that Muslims and Christians worship the same God. She is currently on administrative leave as the college in recent weeks says it will be moving forward with termination proceedings.

The letter from alumni has over 800 signatures from seven decades of Wheaton College graduates, the Chicago Tribune reports.

“...the unprecedented manner in which administration questioned and scrutinized Dr. Hawkins’s explanation of donning the hijab as an expression of her embodied solidarity with Muslim women during Advent, and her subsequent written theological response to Provost Jones’s concerns, brings us to seriously question Wheaton’s judgment and will to engage in discourse about complex and important issues of our time with civility and integrity,” according to the letter from alumni.

In a statement Friday afternoon, college spokeswoman LaTonwa Taylor wrote to the Daily Herald: “The college is aware of the letter from alumni and is committed to addressing their concerns.” Clara Kent, a 2014 graduate who e-mailed the letter to administrators, said this is the first large-scale effort made by alumni to show their support for Hawkins though smaller groups of alumni have also sent letters to the school, according to the article.

“We wouldn’t push back if we didn’t still love the college,” Kent told the Daily Herald. “We love Wheaton. That’s why we’re fighting so hard.”

• READ MORE: Wheaton College Professors Show Support for Tenured Professor Who Donned Hijab

The full letter can be viewed below:

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