About 140 students, alumni and local clergy protested silently during the weekly convocation at Samford University Tuesday, Sept. 20. The group stood outside the university’s Wright Center — some bearing posters — to protest the administration’s recent decision to exclude…
Is it possible for a Baptist school to maintain top-tier recognition and still discriminate against gay students?
Although this time it’s Samford University in the news for discrimination against the LGBTQ community, walking the line between religious heritage and academic aspirations is nothing new for faith-based schools. Last year, it was Baylor University making headlines as it…
We are hurt by Samford’s exclusion
Baptist Church of the Covenant in Birmingham, Ala., is a vibrant, Spirit-filled Baptist congregation that was formed out of protest. In 1970, when a Black mother and daughter were refused membership at First Baptist Church because of their race, roughly…
100 clergy who are Samford grads urge president to reverse exclusionary policy
More than 100 clergy who are alumni of Samford University have signed an open letter to university President Beck Taylor asking for a reversal of the school’s new policy to exclude from campus ministries churches that affirm same-sex marriage. “We…
Samford, how long will you remain silent?
It is difficult to fathom the ineptitude that would cause a top-tier Christian university to become so blinded to its rightwing constituency that it throws away decades of ecumenical goodwill and then doesn’t even have the wherewithal to acknowledge what…
Samford University excludes Presbyterians and Episcopalians
Last fall, Samford University made national headlines for disinviting historian Jon Meacham to speak on campus in response to protests from pro-life activists. Less than one year later, the Baptist university again finds itself in national news, this time for…
$100 million gift to Samford is state’s largest to higher education
The largest single gift to higher education in Alabama will support student scholarships and a center for ethics and leadership at Samford University. Samford is a Baptist-affiliated school based in Birmingham. Founded in 1841, Samford currently enrolls 5,758 students in…
Samford’s fine arts dean named president of Campbellsville University
Campbellsville University has named a fine arts administrator 12th president of the Baptist-founded liberal arts school. Joseph “Joe” Hopkins, dean of the School of the Arts at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala., will become president at the central Kentucky school…
Samford cancels Jon Meacham speech after ‘pro-life’ activists spark challenges
Baptist-affiliated Samford University has uninvited Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jon Meacham to speak at inauguration ceremonies for the school’s new president, after anti-abortion activists created an online petition that has garnered nearly 1,000 signatures and the Student Government Association passed a…