Culture

The non-renewal of the contracts of Kevin McFadden, Ryan Lister, and Jason Hiles caused a real stir a few months back. This was especially true since the non-renewals coincided with public statements from President Aguillard about his position against “hyper-Calvinism”.  It was assumed by all that the non-renewal had to do with the tensions between Arminian and Calvinist camps within the Louisiana Baptist Convention. As more information became available and further conversations where had it became clear to me that Calvinism, at least in the case of Jason Hiles, was used as  a smoke screen to hide that Aguillard was trying to hurt Dr. Quarles for blowing the whistle. Aguillard chose to attack Quarles by attacking those under him. It is a little less clear with Mcfadden and Lister if the primary motivation was hurting Quarles or if they simply  got caught in the situation and it was more theological for them. If it was theological, it was also misplaced to fight over a secondary doctrine, or tertiary as McFadden argues.

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Since I reported last week that Samuel Camp of Pamlab pharmaceutical wealth was the new donor at LC, there have been claims to the contrary. At this point, I am uncertain of the truth. I have had additional sources confirm that Sam Camp is the donor and the information trail seems to lead all the way back  to President Aguillard’s office. On the other hand, two comments on my blog come from people who claim to know Camp and they say he denies he is the donor. So, at this point it is impossible to tell if Camp is denying true claims to continue to protect his anonymity or if the information that, according to multiple sources, came from the President’s office is incorrect.

Either way, the publication of Samuel Camp’s name uncovered some disturbing information. Two different sources sent me a link to a sexual harassment case which was appealed to the Fifth Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals. The Appeals Court upheld the juries conclusion that Pamlab was guilty of sexual discrimination toward Carleen Black stating, “We conclude that there was ample evidence to support the jury’s finding of sex discrimination” and “In sum, there was ample evidence by which the jury could conclude that Pamlab had a corporate culture hostile to women, that this discriminatory animus extended to Pamlab’s management, and that Black’s sex was a motivating factor in Pamlab’s decision to terminate her.”  This information is important whether or not Sam Camp is the individual who pledged $10 million to Louisiana College because Camp is a member of the Louisiana College Board of Trustees and a member who voted to exonerate Joe Aguillard from the whistle-blower charges. I think many people will find the text below very bothersome, especially as it relates to a a board member of a Christian College. The date on the legal ruling, which is the second appeal on the case, is July 2011. It is unclear if Sam Camp joined the Louisiana College Board of Trustees in 2008 or 2011. Either way this information should have been considered. If he joined the BoT in 2008 he was renewed in 2011 after this appeal was concluded.

The Court’s decision lays out the following information :

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Joe Aguillard, President of Louisiana College, has become infamous for his insistence on claiming that any challenge that comes against him is an influence of Satan. In my time at LC, I had heard plenty of slight insinuations of this but the most blatant was when, at a faculty meeting,  he called the Town Talk a “tool of Satan” after they had reported factually about some issues on campus. I’ve been told that he made similar claims about me after my letter was released in 2011. Recently, I’ve been told by reliable sources that he has made such claims about Divinity School Dean Chuck Quarles and Board of Trustee members, including Tony Perkins.

In my interactions with Aguillard in the Spring of 2011 I found it very difficult to gauge what action he was going to take. I found that he often made decisions which were not in his own self interest but satisfied what seemed to be a deep seated vindictiveness. Despite being arguably the most polarizing figure in Louisiana College history, he seems to have a strong desire to please and be liked which he seems unable to work  out in an honest manner and often devolves into Machiavellian maneuvers designed to manage his appearance at the cost of others.  He seems to be at it again.

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