Other Documents

NWCCU’s irregular treatment of and response to the Faculty Council complaint about SPU governance created confusion for both Faculty Council and SPU’s administration. On November 13, 2023, Faculty Chair Dr. John Hossler and SPU President Deana Porterfield sent faculty a letter outlining more details about the communication between NWCCU and SPU.

On August 2, 2023, Dr. Leland Saunders, the Immediate Past Chair of the SPU faculty, received a letter from the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) regarding the governance complaint he submitted to them on behalf of Faculty Council in September 2022. The letter asserted that the concerns in the complaint had been addressed by NWCCU’s onsite Peer Evaluation Visit in May 2023 and that therefore NWCCU considered the complaint closed.

On August 4, 2022, the Chief Communications Officer for the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities, Amanda Staggenborg, published a letter to the editors of Inside Higher Ed, objecting to the characterization of SPU’s policies as “homophobic” in Josh Moody’s article “Seattle Pacific Sues Washington AG” (8/1/2022).

On July 27, 2022, SPU filed a complaint against the the Attorney General of Washington, arguing that the AG was targeting SPU for its religious beliefs and that its “probe inquires into confidential religious matters” that are “beyond the scope of authority granted under state law and the federal constitution” (par. 9). It also argues that “if the University changed its employment policies to permit employment of Christians in same-sex marriages, the University would be automatically disaffiliated from the Free Methodist Church” (par. 34). The complaint asserts that some in the community “believe the University should permit covenanted same-sex marriages,” that such “discussions have and will continue within the Church and at the University,” and that “the University seeks the freedom to hold theological discussions and make determinations of faith, doctrine, and policy without government interference” (par. 35).

On June 8, 2022, the Attorney General of Washington State asked SPU for information regarding their hiring practices. The Office of the AG later asserted on July 29, 2022, that “numerous Seattle Pacific University students, faculty, and others reached out to my office to file complaints or otherwise express deep concern that the University administration’s policies illegally violate Washingtonians’ civil rights.”

In March 2021, a former student of SPU joined a class action suit against the Department of Education brought by students of Christian colleges. The suit argues that because the colleges receive federal funding, the religious exemption allowing them to have discriminatory LGBTQ policies is unconstitutional.

On January 11, 2021, an SPU adjunct sues SPU, alleging SPU declined to consider him for a tenure-track position because he was in a same-sex marriage.

On June 6, 2001, the Associate Provost and Dean of Student Life sent a memo to the President’s Cabinet outlining several concerns regarding how the campus was handling LGBTQ issues in regard to students, staff and faculty. Stressing concern for students’ educational development, the memo argues that SPU was not “dealing with [the topic of homosexuality] in a meaningful and grace-filled way,” noting that “official [conduct] expectations materials” were obscure and conflicting, and “there is no public information about [the Statement on Human Sexuality’s] availability.” The memo also warns that “we cannot expect that a ‘don’t ask don’t tell’ approach will continue to help us avoid challenges on our stances regarding this issue.” Subsequent to this memo, SPU counsel met with President Eaton, the Dean, and a few other people; the decision at that time was “to leave the issue alone without any further clarification.”

On October 23, 1991, SPU’s student newspaper, The Falcon, published a story detailing the controversy surrounding a textbook used in a long-standing SPU health sciences class in human sexuality.