Wow, sounds like Marquette better call their lawyers...

Hmmm. Sounds a bit like Marquette's Anglican Church of North America vs. Episcopal Church avoidance policy. It's O.K. to be a woman or gay (heaven forbid, both), but you can't be in a position of leadership. Maybe that's their motive.

I don't think so, Dialection (1). But maybe the Father-General of the Society of Jesus will want to take a look at Seattle. It is on the Left Coast.

Seattle = seemingly reasonable and appropriate academic freedom, Marquette = not. Unless of course there is something more to the withdrawal of the offer than this typically superficial CHE piece provides?

Ms. O'Brien seems like a very nice, intelligent and articulate person. The story says she was thrust into the national spotlight. Well, if so, it is the Chronicle that seems to be trying hard to thrust, and re-thrust, her there. I have not seen any evidence offered that Marquette's reasons for rejecting her were not exactly what it says they were. All I see are a series of insinuations, i.e., this is what Marquette "says" the reason for rejection was, but Seattle U. does not agree, and of course she is openly homosexual... so I guess the Marquette administration must be homophobic liars? For those of you who pride yourselves on being broad minded, fair, and liberal, you had better take a reality check. Apparently Ms. O'Brien can never be rejected for any job, or maybe for any credit card, without veiled insinuations that it is connected with her homosexuality. Show me some evidence. My experience as a person with a good amount of experience with Jesuit education is that Jesuits tend to be quite liberal, social justice oriented, extremely tolerant, and the very opposite of reactionary. In fact, they are famous for being that way, read up on the Jesuit order in history, and in the world today. As a conservative, I always get mad at them for being so liberal and overly tolerant, although I still respect them and still sent my children to Jesuit schools. Also, Marguette to my mind "should" reject administrators who advocate policies and positions in staunch disagreement with Catholic Church positions and beliefs. Shouldn't they? Shouldn't they reject a President or Provost who openly advocates for unfettered abortion rights? Shouldn't a Jewish university reject a high ranking administrator like a Dean who advocates policies in direct disagreement with basic Jewish teachings? The odd thing here is that Jesuits are constantly making me mad by being so liberal politically and culturally, and so tolerant of what I view as controversial positions (I know many readers here will not agree with what I view as controversial - my point is that I have my own views on that, as we all do). To see them accused of intolerance seems so odd. Again, I just wish that was why they rejected her, I would be pleased. But there has not been one twit of evidence offered that that was the reason, just snide insinuations.

What's fishy here is the timing. No one would have known or cared if they hadn't made an offer in the first place, but presumably the hiring process allowed time to review her scholarship, so it's odd that they suddenly discovered its content after she had been offered the position and accepted it. That's what makes people suspicious about the politics.

Excellent comments, softshellcrab. As a loyal alumnus, I believe Marquette University is world-leading crucible of learning. There and at most great universities, not all learning takes place in the classroom. Nor is all learning neatly defined by curricula, symposia, syllabi or textbook discipline. Sometimes, learning, like democracy, is messy, and takes place in residence halls, student club meetings, the basketball court, the student union, neighborhood taverns, alumni golf events or -- imagine this! -- administration offices. A century ago, Marquette became the first Catholic university to offer coeducational learning, and 40-some years ago Marquette was one of the first universities to offer an education opportunities program aimed at minority students. I suspect and expect Marquette will give this situation the full educational treatment that it deserves.

Rescinded offers do happen. I know that from personal experience. Live with it!

Received my MA and PhD at Marquette. It's a great institution, and I would recommend it to anybody.

The mistake Marquette made was making an offer for a high level administrative position, then withdrawing it. That will always be news, so softshellcrab's paranoia regarding CHE's role in pursuing this is a bit off center. In an administrative hierarchy, one always serves at the pleasure of who's further up the line. Apparently, someone in the chain was not comfortable with her appointment for reasons of their own, which may or may not have do to with her sexual orientation. Whatever their motives, it's better to pull back and re-examine than put Ms. O'Brien in an administrative position where she would not enjoy the full support of the administration hierarchy. Marquette would do well to examine the motives of those responsible for this embarrassment to see if it's time for some adjustments in its administration.

However the decision to rescind the job offer was made, it was not "Marquette" or "the Jesuits" who made the decision. It was either one person (the president) or a small group of people including the president who made the decision to overturn an offer made by a representative search committee. In fact, a good case could be made that the original offer is more representative of Marquette than the subsequent withdrawal of the offer. Complex organizations such as universities and religious orders are anything but monolithic. I'd be interested to know just what sort of pressure to rescind the offer was put on the president. If it turns to be the president's own decision, I'd be curious about how he arrived at such a stupid decision.

As a 41-year faculty member at Marquette, having spent 21 years as a chair in the College of Arts and Sciences, this is shocking. I am not Catholic, and would never have been associated with many Universities with religious connections because of Academic Freedom concerns. Marquette has also been at the forefront in that area to me, and this is shocking. It would not have been an Academic Freedom issue if they had not followed the recommendation of the search committee, in some sense, but to actually make an offer and then withdraw it after it was accepted is unconscionable, and to find now that it was due to the objections of the local archbishop is just an impossible situation. Those of us who have dedicated our lives to this place have felt good about helping a Church-related institution because we felt it was basically searching for truth in many ways. To find that our existence is primarily to support the directives of an official unconnected with the institution in a formal way is just intolerable.

Do Catholic Universities have the right (and the responsibility) to folloiw the teachings of their church, IF they want to claim to be Catholic? No one seems ti deny this right to Adventist, Jewish, Lutheran, Baptist, Quaker, or other religiously affiliated insitutions. Why then do folks get so upset when/if Catholic universities expect their leaders to reflect their teachings, values and beliefs?

To those who think that this is about rescinding an offer, read up: Marquette rescinded a contract, signed, sealed, and delivered.

Father Wild needs to go back to school, to his own law school, to take a basic course in contract law. He broke the law.

And to those who are concerned about the Catholicism of the school, what separates Catholic schools more than anything from others? The claim that ethics is at the core of the curriculum -- yet Marquette has acted not only illegally but also unethically. Father Wild needs to go back to school to take the core course in ethics, too.

And to those who think that this is about a Catholic school, excuse me, but this is a Jesuit school -- meriting the high national and international reputations of Jesuit universities as not vulnerable to local interference, so I was taught at Marquette -- so the long-term ramifications are horrifying for my alma mater. See jsonline.com today for the cause of the recission of a contract: the (new) archbishop.

Who wants to be the next person to get a contract from Marquette? And not just an academic contract . . . as is the next step with this new archbishop to cancel contracts with anything but conservative Catholic suppliers, too? conservative Catholic booksellers? conservative Catholic vending machine owners? There is not to be local interference with a Jesuit university, period.

Of course, there also are not to be broken contracts. Not by a university that acts not only legally but also ethically.

"Why then do folks get so upset when/if Catholic universities expect their leaders to reflect their teachings, values and beliefs?"

Because none of their leaders or potential leaders follow ALL of the Catholic church's teachings, values, and beliefs. American Catholic institutions know this, and so they enforce a few of the Church's standards, and let the rest go. That way, Catholic institutions can find at least a few people to work there.

Unfortunately, the standards that many instutions enforce happen to agree with right-wing American political rhetoric.

For instance, we don't hear about offers being rescinded due to the candidate's support of capital punishment. Potential eaders don't get pushed aside if they support the Iraq war, or if they ignore social justice & the dignity of the poor. These issues touch on arguably very important Catholic values (at least as important as homosexuality, which is not against Catholic teachings as long as it's not practiced). But for some reason, these issues never make the list of important traits in a Catholic leader, at least at American institutions.

In fact, many institutions feel free to ignore important teachings of the Church if it means that enforcement would make the pool of candidates impossibly small. Example: heterosexual married leaders aren't barred if they use contraception, and single heterosexual people aren't barred if they have live-in partners.

If Catholic institutions can only employ leaders who tow a strict Catholic line, they will be leaderless very soon.

Creamcity, if I understand your argument, other religiously affiliated schools don't "claim ethics as the core of their curriculum" and Marquette is not a "Catholic school" but a "Jesuit School"?

Maybe you need to go back and take a look at Marquette's Mission Statement, which says, "Marquette is a Catholic, Jesuit university dedicated to serving God by serving our students and contributing to the advancement of knowledge." (http://www.marquette.edu/about/mission.shtml.) Note that Catholic precedes Jesuit in that statement, and I would venture that is intentional.

I am not "conservative" by any measure, if you meant to use such a characterization to marginalize those who are conservative. However, I am a Catholic and one who disagrees with the Church on many issues. Nonetheless, I believe that colleges and universities that CHOOSE to call themselves Catholic, have the right and the responsibility to retain faculty and institutional leaders who respect and reflect the teachings of the Church. Thus, the issue is likely not Ms. O'Brien's scholarship, but the fact that she CHOOSES to live a life the is inconsistent with the teachings of the moral owners of Marquette University--the Catholic Church and the Jesuits who are members of that Church.

As for the Bishop's relationship to Marquette, I would suggest again that you go back and discern the Bishop's role and responsibility to ensure that institutions that CHOOSE to define themselves as Catholic are in fact such. Otherwise, they and he are perpetrating a fraud.

22079340, I am chastened. Okay, I ought to have been more clearly inclusive -- of both sides of the comma in the mission statement that you quote. Okay, it is not JUST Catholic; it is Jesuit.

Got it now? Or perhaps you do not understand the difference, from the start of the Jesuit order? Let's see: To whom does a diocesan school -- or a school run by an order under diocesan control -- answer? And to whom does a Jesuit school answer?

(Okay, you need help with this one, obviously. Answer: a Jesuit school does not answer to an archbishop. Only to the Pope.)

And can you answer the basic question about contract law -- about the process here? It's okay with you for Jesuits and/or other Catholics to break contracts? Not just rescind an offer, but break a contract? Really, you're okay with that, as a Catholic? Or perhaps you are not American? Then the contract laws of this country may not matter to you . . . but they will matter to Marquette when the lawyers here get hold of this case.

And I, as a Marquette alum, still hold to ethics as even more important. And Marquette has acted unethically -- not only toward Dr. O'Brien but also toward its faculty and students in continuing to refuse to tell the truth. The local paper had to do so.

Moving on to the questions that I wish that the Chronicle had asked (as Dr. O'Brien is not talking to other media, not near Marquette, anyway -- nor is Marquette talking about the process):

After Marquette rescinded the contract (not the offer; the contract, which she signed in April -- so it may not be rescinded, actually, depending upon what a judge and jury may say) . . . were you offered the opportunity to withdraw? If not, would you have preferred to be offered such an opportunity -- rather than be subjected, say, to the slanderous comments by the hundreds on stories about this debacle in Milwaukee media, at the least (and probably elsewhere, but one can only stomach so much)?

If Father Wild ever is willing to take real questions about all this, I also would want to ask him if such an offer to withdraw was made. It would have been the Christian thing to do -- if Dr. O'Brien wished it -- rather than subject her to the comments of so-called Christians on Milwaukee media and including some at Marquette.

Wow, some very excellent point of views shared; softshellcrab, cwinton etc. Sorry, I'm a bit cynical, I expected a lot more ranting about social justice (code word for "everyone must think like I do"...) Of course there was still those who prefer to lecture others on specific legalities rather than looking at the big picture of expectations from Marquette's constituents that this institution finds itself grappling.

Creamcity (17 inter al. )
Do you really think Marquette did this without consultation with General Counsel at the very least?

Creamcity,

Oooo, not the " Are you not an American..."ploy?!?! Because I disagree with you?? Get a grip!

Jesuit colleges and universities, like their other Catholic counterparts, are located in diocese, wherein the Pope appoints the local Ordinary, the Bishop. Among the Bishop's responsibilities is ensuring that Catholic colleges operate consonant with the teachings of the Catholic Church. Those institutions wishing not to do so can simply ask to be delisted, and they will not longer be identified as "Catholic" institutions.

It's all about choice, my friend, and as far as we know, Marquette made a choice consistent with its mission and values as a Catholic and Jesuit university. while you and I may disagree with that choice, we should admire your alma mater for having the integrity to stand by its principles--whatever the legal or financial risks.

As a Marquette graduate, perhaps you would do well to understand that Catholic colleges have the right and the responsibility to operate consonant with the expectations of the Catholic Church. We are not certain what led to the decision to withdraw the contract offer to Ms. O'Brien. As has been stated by others, however, you can rest assured that college counsel was consulted prior to he decision to rescind.

BTW Creamcity,

The relationship between Catholic colleges and the bishop to which I have referred previously is set forth in The Code of Canon Law 808, which makes it clear that no Catholic university may bear the title "Catholic university" except with the consent of competent ecclesiastical authority. The competent authority in each diocese is the bishop....

American Catholic universities have been trying for decades to disprove George Bernard Shaw's quip that "Catholic university" is a contradiction in terms. If Shaw were alive today, he'd probably thank Marquette's president for providing evidence that his statement was correct. I am proud and thankful that the Catholic, Jesuit university where I have worked for decades comes down squarely on the "university" side of the contradiction.

If you want to see the future of Catholic higher education if the religious ideologues have their way, look at the evangelical "brother sister" schools around the country. For the most part, they are small, obscure, and third rate.

So, NavyDad, your view seems to be that a Catholic university (or any religiously affiliated college) that adheres to the principles of its Church cannot be a true institution of higher learning? You refer to "brother sister" schools, but what of Notre Dame, Brigham Young, Boston College, or countless others.

Shaw also is reported to have said, "“We should all be obliged to appear before a board every five years and justify our existence...on pain of liquidation.” In the case of religious institutions, that "board" includes the religious communities that supported their creation., the religious orders who direct them, and, in the case of Catholic institutions, the Bishop as the "competent ecclesiastical authority" of the Catholic Church.

Most organizations and institutions start with a commitment to a specific mission and vision. Then they subsume their mission, values and visions to self perpetuation, or the obsessive desire be recognized by US News. Perhaps Shaw had it right when he observed, “The secret to success is to offend the greatest number of people....”

I would venture that some institutions might prefer to be considered "third rate," rather than abandon their principles to the mobs of the marketplace.

"So, NavyDad, your view seems to be that a Catholic university (or any religiously affiliated college) that adheres to the principles of its Church cannot be a true institution of higher learning?"

Nope, that's not my view. My view is that there is an inherent tension between the values of American higher education and the values of religion. Most American Catholic universities (especially the Jesuit ones like the one where I work) do a good job of maintaining a balance between those competing values. As a consequence, they provide important educational experiences that are much harder to find at secular schools. This is a difficult, dynamic, and messy balance to maintain and the tension never can be resolved, but it is worth the effort. My view also is that to the extent that any college tilts towards religion, it tilts away from academic legitimacy. Conversely, to the extent a school tilts away from religion, it loses its religious identity, which is exactly what happened with most private universities.

I graduated from a Jesuit high school, my son graduated from a Jesuit high school (and the U.S. Naval Academy), my daughter attends an all girls Catholic high school and I've worked at a Jesuit university for over 20 years. I also am committed to academic integrity and the unfettered search for knowledge and truth and I am an atheist. I doubt that anyone reading this is interested in my family's educational choices or my personal beliefs about religion. I put this in here to make the point that simplistic, black and white analyses of these issues just don't get it.

As long term colleagues of Jodi O'Brien, as well as a critical sexuality scholars, we have been reporting on this case at Sexuality & Society. (link below):

http://contexts.org/sexuality/2010/05/12/in-annuling-contract-with-obrien-marquette-can-assume-its-missionary-position/

Kudos to the students at Seattle University with their editorial today, calling for it and other Jesuit universities to condemn Marquette for this action.

Of course, someone here probably thinks that also had to be approved by the general counsel at that campus. Nope, and as to your comment: Read the links provided to see what really happened, not what ought to have happened. Father Wild ought to have consulted a labor lawyer, sure, re discrimination law.

Instead, he bowed to pressure from a guy in canon law. That will be quite a defense!

NavyDad. You are correct in making "the point that simplistic, black and white analyses of these issues just don't get it."

While there are intimations that Ms. O'Briens' scholarship was the cause for her contract being rescinded, there is no direct evidence to support this. There could be any number of reasons why Marquette rescinded its offer to Ms. O'Brien. Included among these is the possibility that Ms. O'Brien's choices about the way she chooses to live her life are in opposition to the way Marquette chooses to actualize its mission to be a Catholic, Jesuit university.

What does it mean that these two schools are "Jesuit universities"? I'm not being snarky or disingenuous - do the Jesuits control the universities, or are they independent universities "in the Jesuit tradition"? As I understand it, many Jesuit universities have officially disaffiliated from the Society of Jesus, just as many schools with historic ties to Protestant denominations no longer have legal connections to those denominations.

mhick255. The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (ACJU) includes 28 member schools, including Seattle and Marquette Universities. The ACJU website states that their "shared goal is to provide an excellent education to develop competent, compassionate and committed leaders in the service of the Church and society." The site addes that these institutions "are bonded together by a common heritage, vision and purpose...."

While I am aware that many institutions that were once religiously affiliated are no longer so (e.g., the University of Southern California was once affiliated with the Methodist church), I do not know of any US Jesuit universities that have "disaffiliated from the Society of Jesus."

Hope this is helpful.