Over the last few years, the nature and content of higher education has become a subject of conversation and controversy beyond the halls of academia. The Wofford education is no exception. There have been complaints about the positions Wofford faculty have taken or statements they have made on issues of contemporary interest. Some have raised concerns to me about statements faculty reportedly made in class or about assignments they have given. While such complaints are not frequent, they circulate widely via email and are magnified by social media. Recently, they have also appeared on the editorial page of a prominent South Carolina newspaper.
Without context, these complaints run the risk of creating an uninformed caricature of what is happening on Wofford’s campus. From my perspective, as someone who’s taught and worked at Wofford for more than 20 years, what has changed in recent years is not the powerful, transformative fundamentals of a Wofford education so much as the rise of social media and a new, highly charged political atmosphere that magnifies a statement, decontextualizes it, and then situates it into a predetermined, confirmatory narrative.
Indeed, Wofford continues to do what it has always done very well. Our students go to class. They study hard and play hard. They take courses in economics and sociology, history, philosophy, religion and government. They attend science labs, and some of them operate on the brains of rats or the hearts of frogs. They create works of art, join numerous clubs and organizations, and compete on the athletic field. Our students engage with the broader Spartanburg community and travel the country and the globe. They go out into the world, succeed spectacularly, and make us proud.
On this campus it is our duty to explore issues deeply with our students, to explore our unexamined biases and to ask sharp questions of the society in which we exist rather than providing reaffirming narratives that bear little relationship to the actual complexity of the world around us. Wofford College will therefore remain steadfast in its support for the academic freedom of its faculty to interrogate issues from a variety of perspectives, even those that might stir discomfort or provoke objection. The college adheres to the University of Chicago’s 2014 Report of the Committee on Freedom of Expression, which notes that “the University has a solemn responsibility not only to promote a lively and fearless freedom of debate and deliberation, but also to protect that freedom when others attempt to restrict it.”
I am honored to serve as provost of Wofford College. Guided by its mission statement and core values, this fine college continues to educate its students with dedication and care. A liberal arts college focuses on teaching students, offering a wide variety of perspectives, and preparing its graduates to problem solve, adapt, reason, and draw their own conclusions. One of the reasons I’m so proud to be a member of the Wofford community is that we do this work, and we do it in ways that encourage our students to be critical thinkers, lifelong learners and global citizens.