Falling enrollment, faculty cuts, and administrative resignations — Bob Jones University appears to be a college in turmoil. While some alumni are critical of recent decisions, they are also cheering for change in hopes the school they love can survive.
An entrance sign at Bob Jones University in Greenville, S.C. Photo by John Foxe/Wikimedia/Creative Commons
Last May, Bob Jones University (BJU) in South Carolina named Josh Crockett as president. Crockett recently announced that, after only 10 months on the job, he has sought to be re-hired as senior pastor at Morningside Baptist Church in Greenville, the position he held before taking the reins at BJU.
He told students on Tuesday (April 8) that he recommended the board bifurcate the leadership of the university. He would remain as president in a more pastoral and spiritual leadership capacity, while the school should hire a CEO to run the business side of higher education.
In response to an inquiry about its timeline to hire a CEO, BJU Public Relations Director Courtney Montgomery told MinistryWatch, “The search for a new CEO will be led by the BJU Board of Trustees following a thorough and deliberate process to ensure the selection of the best candidate. The Board is identifying key qualifications, such as strong leadership skills, an understanding of higher education, and a commitment to the University’s core values and mission.”
Crockett said he’ll remain as president and CEO of BJU until a new CEO can be hired. He also sought to allay rumors that the university is dealing with serious issues and may be looking to close.
“The university is not going to close, and I have not resigned,” Crockett told students.
A group called “BJU-New Contract” has proposed a series of actions they say the university must take if it is to survive.
In an open letter to Crockett and BJU Board Chairman Dr. Sam Dawson, the group described themselves as “a robust network of BJU alumni and friends who have some connection to the university and desire to see [it] survive and thrive.”
Two primary actions they recommend are the resignation or termination of Dr. Bob Jones III as chancellor and the replacement of the entire board of trustees.
According to “BJU-New Contract,” Jones has been exercising undue influence to undermine the leadership of the university. This behavior became evident during events that led to the eventual resignation of Dr. Steve Pettit as president in 2023.
Jones signed a 2022 letter from the Foundations Baptist Fellowship International, a fundamentalist group, criticizing BJU’s “change in direction” under Pettit’s leadership. The letter cited concerns about policies including inviting chapel speakers who are “not representative of biblical fundamentalism,” allowing students to attend “SBC churches and churches that are attractive in worship style,” “cultural accommodation regarding music and in the fine arts department,” and “lack of enforcement of the campus dress and appearance standards.”
Pettit became president in 2014 and was the first president not from the Jones family. Brian Fuller, a leader of “BJU-New Contract” described the campus atmosphere under Pettit as a “culture of grace” and a place where alumni would consider sending their children.
However, the board of trustees got the upper hand, leading to Pettit’s eventual resignation because of a “dysfunctional” and “irreparably broken” working relationship with then-chairman John Lewis, who died last week on April 11.
Board members who were more moderate and sympathetic to Pettit’s changes and leadership were not renewed as members of the board. Instead, leadership chose very conservative board members loyal to Jones.
Fuller said Jones now has a super majority on the board that will agree with Jones’ views about BJU.
Rick Altizer, who is a BJU alumnus and served on the associate board from 2012 to 2019, said the current board of trustees doesn’t represent the overall constituency of BJU, but is an echo chamber for Jones. They don’t accept input from BJU graduates, Altizer said, and put too much value on secondary and tertiary matters.
“BJU-New Contract” has asked for a town hall meeting on April 25, and Fuller said he is optimistic that Crockett may meet with them.
But in response to MinistryWatch’s inquiry about plans to meet with the group, Montgomery wrote, “We communicate regularly with our alumni through various channels, such as the Alumni Relations office, newsletters, email and social media, etc. While we respect the views of all stakeholders, the leadership of BJU is committed to making decisions that are in the best interest of the University’s future. The president and the board are focused on the long-term success of the University and are taking steps to ensure its continued stability.”
Adding to the turmoil, several administrators have reportedly resigned in the last couple months, including Gary Weier, the provost and executive vice-president of academic affairs; Doug Garland, director of assessment and acting director of institutional effectiveness; and Kevin Taylor, chief human resources officer.
Camille Lewis, a BJU graduate who also taught there 1992 to 2007, has been tracking the faculty cuts in what she calls the “BJU brain drain.” She has counted 70 out of 267 “reduced” or otherwise departing faculty members, about 40% of whom have terminal degrees — the highest degree in their academic discipline.
“The scholars that made BJU credible are leaving,” Lewis told MinistryWatch, adding that not only is it a blow to the faculty who lost their positions, but some of the faculty have had their class load tripled.
BJU would not comment on “personnel decisions” and said it “remain[s] committed to maintaining a highly qualified and dedicated faculty.” Weier did not reply to a request by MinistryWatch to explain his resignation.
In his address to alumni in the fall, Crockett reported significant staffing cuts of at least 10%. He also said BJU Press has been subsidizing the university financially. Over the past five years, it provided $100 million in gross revenue to the university, he said.
According to an audited financial statement of BJU, it operated in both 2023 and 2024 with a deficit. Its expenses exceeded revenue by about $2 million in 2023 and by about $1.5 million in 2024.
The university has $106 million in assets and about $26 million in liabilities.
One of the reasons for the financial struggles is falling enrollment, which had fallen from 4,998 total enrollment in 2008 to 3,375 in 2018, but was inching back up under Pettit’s tenure to 3,622 in 2022. According to Pettitt, BJU had 2,734 students enrolled in the fall semester of 2024.
Some of the enrollment challenges may be attributable to leadership changes the last few years, but BJU also has faced other issues, like a 300-page GRACE report in 2014 that found the school’s emphasis on discipline and approach to biblical counseling was harming student abuse survivors.
While BJU claims it has significantly strengthened its response to abuse disclosures over the past decade, some abuse survivors are skeptical. They say the university continues to implement a biblical counseling method critiqued in the report and to employ faculty members the report says promoted harmful practices.
In his March 2023 letter, Pettit raised issues about how the board was handling sex discrimination matters. He said then-Chairman Lewis was “thwart[ing] the trustees’ decision…to report a matter to the University’s Title IX coordinator as required by law.”
The matter involved alleged comments by a trustee about whether female athletes’ uniforms accentuated their “boobs and butts.” The alumnus, who reportedly heard the comments, wrote a letter of complaint to the board alleging the trustee may also have taken photos of female students without their consent.
Title IX is a federal law that protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs.
Both Lewis and Fuller hope to see BJU succeed, but they aren’t necessarily optimistic about its future without significant changes. Lewis would like to see BJU have a robust academic program with credentialed faculty that keeps its evangelical beliefs at the center.
Altizer believes alumni should be optimistic about the new bifurcated leadership structure if the CEO who is hired can lead organizationally and operationally. The challenge is getting a qualified leader to accept the position in a complex situation like BJU is facing, Altizer said.
When asked about actions the board of trustees executive committee is taking to ensure the long-term stability of the university, Montgomery wrote, “The Executive Committee serves at the pleasure of the Board of Trustees which is responsible to formulate and maintain a strategic plan that is prepared for the Board by the President and his staff. During our scheduled fall and spring Board meetings, the Board monitors the progress being made on the plan with the executive team. In addition, standing committees of the Board meet with appropriate administrators throughout the year to continue to monitor the strategic plan’s progress as it affects their particular areas. These actions are taken to help ensure the long-term stability of BJU.”
MAIN PHOTO: An entrance sign at Bob Jones University in Greenville, S.C. Photo by John Foxe/Wikimedia/Creative Commons
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