Wheaton College (Illinois) - Criticism and Controversy

Criticism and Controversy

Wheaton College has received criticism in recent years from both conservative and liberal alumni. Areas of controversy have included evolutionary biology being generally accepted in the science departments. Wheaton College was prominently featured in the PBS documentary Evolution, which showcased Wheaton professors' acceptance of theistic evolution. This attitude contrasts with that in the 1990s, when science faculty were required to sign a statement that they reject human descent from hominid ancestors. Initially, those who declared they were 'unsure' whether or not humans had evolved were given one year to change their mind before facing dismissal; this was later relaxed, and scientists were allowed to stay on as long as they did not endorse human evolution.

In general, on issues of religion and science, the college holds the view that Christian faith and science are not at odds. One example of this is the college's hosting of a chapel address by climatologist Sir John Houghton in 2007.

On October 13, 2007, Wheaton College's Stanton L. Jones signed interfaith document A Common Word Between Us and You, agreeing that Islam and Christianity can be at peace with each other.

The school's mascot was changed from the Crusaders to the Thunder in 2000, as the image of a mounted Crusader was deemed potentially offensive and reminiscent of a controversial period in Christian history. The change was noted in the national press, and some alumni objected to the change. Other suggestions for a new mascot name that were rejected included the Mastodons — a reference to Perry Mastodon, which is a mastodon skeleton that was dug up nearby and is now on display on the college campus in the brand new science building. While still known as the "Thunder", in 2010 the mascot was officially changed to a mastodon named "Tor Thunder" to integrate the official and unofficial mascots.

Wheaton again appeared in the news when Joshua Hochschild, assistant professor of philosophy, was dismissed in 2004 for becoming Roman Catholic. Wheaton's president said his "personal desire" to retain Hochschild, "a gifted brother in Christ", was outweighed by his duty to employ "faculty who embody the institution's Protestant convictions".

In 2008, English professor Kent Gramm resigned after declining to give the college administration details of his pending divorce from his wife of 30 years.

Wheaton College was one of the schools visited by the 2006 Soulforce Equality Ride which sought to engage in dialogue with students at universities with policies barring homosexual behavior. According to Equality Ride founder Jake Reitan, the Equality Ride was founded after he met a gay student from Wheaton several years earlier. While Wheaton did not officially invite the group to campus, administrators responded cordially to the visit and worked with Soulforce to develop a schedule of events on campus, including a debate between members of the Equality Ride and members of the Wheaton community. Wheaton college was ranked the #1 LGBT-unfriendly school in the United States by the Princeton Review.

In 2011, OneWheaton organized in response to Wheaton College's chapel series titled "Sexuality and Wholeness" and the surrounding conversations on campus. The group's members believe that the classification of homosexuality as sinful is incorrect and damaging. OneWheaton's stated purpose is to provide support to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and similarly situated students and alumni at Wheaton and other colleges.