"Right-sizing" at Covenant College...

(Tim) A few news items related to the PCA's Covenant College. First, Inside Higher Ed ran an article a couple months ago titled "Broken Covenant" which reported on Covenant's financial crisis and the initiatives being planned by Covenant's administration in response to that crisis. Those initiatives include downsizing of academic programs and staff (labeled "right-sizing" by Covenant's President Nielson), along with spending $500,000 for a new building and to beef up athletics--both efforts to attract more students...

A key component of the athletic plan is Covenant's petition to the NCAA to move over from the NAIA to the NCAA's Division III.

Asked about concerns regarding redirection of funds from academics to athletics, Scott Quatro, a management professor who chaired the strategic planning working committee said, “That is a logical conclusion that folks could reach. And let me also acknowledge that any time an organization goes through a strategic planning process, the inherent nature of strategic planning is that it involves tradeoffs."

More recently, Covenant's student paper reported the quite-costly move to Division III is likely. The newspaper also reports that, in the history of the school, there has never been a professor removed for doctrinal failure.

Here and here are additional links reporting on the crisis.

Comments

[Cliff Foreman]

I work at Covenant and know nothing abour a new $500,000 building.

[Tim Bayly]

Thanks for the correction. It's the creation of a new Center for Vocation that's getting the $500k--not simply a building. Also, athletics isn't sharing the $500k with the new Center for Vocation, but getting an additional $500k itself.

This brings the total to be dropped into this new Center as well as athletics to $1,000,000.

Inside Higher Ed reports: "A draft version of (Covenant's strategic) plan obtained by Inside Higher Ed identifies about $1.5 million in savings from the right-sizing, and investments of about $500,000 each in athletics and in a new Center for Vocation, to focus on career development and internships."

[jgrigs]

Has there ever been a clear need to remove a prof. for heresy or other doctrinal reasons? I really don't think that should be a complaint... that's something to brag about!

[Tim Bayly]

>that's something to brag about!

Actually, not. But it's no surprise some would see it that way.