February 4, 2005

Ohio Institution Drops Religious Litmus Test

By BURTON BOLLAG

Following protests, the Board of Trustees of Ashland University last week rescinded a three-month-old policy that had required new faculty and staff members to be Christian or Jewish.

In a written statement, the trustees of the Ohio institution said of their October decision: "We regret that these changes were not received in the manner intended."

The hiring requirement was extremely unpopular. G. William Benz, Ashland's president, said board members had wanted to make sure