DALLAS (ABP) — A bright spot has appeared amidst leadership turmoil at Dallas-based Criswell College: the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools has removed the school from its probation list.
The accrediting agency lifted the year-long probation at its June session, according to its website (www.sacs.org).
The agency placed Criswell on probation in June 2007 because the school had failed to demonstrate compliance with standards governing financial stability and “appropriate control” of financial resources.
Criswell officials believe an auditing error on the association’s part caused what they described as an “unnecessary” probation.
“In the audit report, they picked up a wrong line as a deficit. They listed a $3 million positive as a $3 million negative. That made it a $6 million error,” Criswell Provost Lamar Cooper explained Aug. 11.
Because officials of the accrediting agency act only once each year, Criswell administrators could contest the issue shortly after being placed on probation — but not get the action revoked until this year.
Cooper said the college has encouraged the association to provide an option between annual meetings for member schools to seek redress for rulings they consider unfair.
The provost emphasized that Criswell never lost its accreditation.
The news comes at a time of significant turmoil for the school, which was founded by First Baptist Church of Dallas and has long been a bastion of the conservative movement in Southern Baptist and Texas Baptist life.
The school’s former president, Jerry Johnson, resigned abruptly Aug. 5. The resignation came shortly after Johnson and at least one Criswell trustee publicly accused First Baptist and its pastor, Robert Jeffress, of planning to sell the institution’s assets. The proceeds, they contended, would go to fund a massive new sanctuary that the historic church has proposed.
First Baptist, under the guidance of its legendary then-pastor, W.A. Criswell, established Criswell College in 1971. The church must approve appointment of the college’s trustees, over half of whom must be First Baptist members, and the church’s pastor serves as the school’s chancellor. Criswell College is affiliated with the conservative Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.
“For six months, the chancellor has been trying to cannibalize Criswell College to fund his building program at the church, which will cost $170 to $240 million,” Johnson told the Dallas Morning News a week prior to his resignation.
The president also accused Jeffress of planning to stack the board with trustees who would agree to sell its campus and radio station, KCBI. The FM station and its two satellite stations broadcast over large portions of Texas and Oklahoma.
Criswell trustee Steve Washburn, pastor of First Baptist Church of Pflugerville, Texas, also accused the Dallas church of plotting to sell the school’s assets, in a letter released in late July.
According to news reports, Johnson and some trustees, such as Washburn, have pointed out that the college is meeting financial and enrollment challenges. But Jeffress has advocated for a study to determine whether a need for the institution still exists.
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Read more
Johnson resigns from Criswell after public spat with Jeffress (8/7)
Accrediting association reprimands Criswell College due to finances (7/6/2007)