Will Wokism Cancel Hardin-Simmons University? The Texas "Christian" university is circling the drain

American Thinker ^ | 04/14/2021 | Civis Americanus

[SeekAndFind]

I reported previously how Hardin-Simmons University forced out a student who had published disparaging but accurate material about the Black Lives Matter movement. This is far from the only controversy that has happened on the watch of President Eric Bruntmyer.

The Baptist Standard reports that, prior to the "canceling" incident in question and for unrelated reasons, Jeff Sandefer, a member of the family of former President Jefferson Davis Sandefer Sr., asked the university to remove his family's name from campus buildings and to also move the remains of Sandefer Sr. to another resting place.  "This is a letter I never thought I would write; however, I believe HSU is headed for financial and spiritual bankruptcy due to poor leadership, unwise financial decisions and a disregard for HSU faculty, students and alumni." Sandefer did not use the word "disowned," but the extreme step of asking a university to remove the name of one's family from campus comes across as exactly that. The letter also alleges that 64% of the faculty and 550 alumni have stated that they have no confidence in President Bruntmyer or the board, and cites low graduation rates and poor starting salaries for graduates. "American Council of Trustees and Alumni Weighs In on HSU" adds that the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) cited issues such as threats to academic freedom and "ballooning construction costs." ACTA's own website elaborates further on these issues, and see also this page.

In fairness to Hardin-Simmons, its graduation rate actually seems a little better than the national average. The same goes, however, for Texas A&M (Central Texas) whose in-state tuition for 2021-2022 appears to be less than $7500 per semester ($15,000 per year) for most if not all majors

[vetvetdoug]

John and Mary Hardin are rolling in their graves in North Wichita County, Burkburnett, Texas. All they wished to do is further the education of the kids in West Texas. They were responsible for Midwestern University in Wichita Falls, the High schools and middle schools in Burkburnett, Hardin Simmons College, Mary Hardin School of Medicine at Baylor, and many other smaller educational venues.

John started out poor in Tippah County, Mississippi, and moved to North Texas around 1890 and lived in a dugout tent for a year. He lost his first wife and remarried which did not produce offspring. He bought up land through the profits of his dry goods store and was wealthy when engineers found that the area had an oil bounty. The oil boom in and around Burkburnett made Hardin likely a billionaire in today's worth. The Hardins lived in a modest home in Burkburnett and donated large sums to the universities and schools mentioned along with many others too numerous to count. By the early 1930's both of them passed on and are buried in modest graves in the Burkburnett cemetery.

Wokeness, is destroying another altruistic legacy.