Christian Professor Resigns Over School's Divorce Policy

The resignation of a popular English professor at Wheaton College has many students talking at the prominent evangelical campus, especially over the cause of his leaving – refusing to discuss details of his divorce.

Kent Gramm, who has been at Wheaton for 20 years, is ending his marriage to his wife of 30 years. He knows he has to discuss the cause of the split with college officials due to an employment policy that requires the divorce to meet biblical standards. But he declined to discuss the details.

"I think it's wrong to have to discuss your personal life with your employer and I also don't want to be in a position of accusing my spouse, so I declined to appeal or discuss the matter in any way with my employer," he said, according to The Chicago Tribune.

Admitting that he was aware of the school's policy, Gramm decided to resign.

Every employee at Wheaton signs the school's Statement of Faith and "Community Covenant," which acknowledges Wheaton as a community of Christians dedicated to the service of Christ and His Kingdom and affirms biblical standards for godly Christian character and behavior, among other things. Derived from that covenant are the school’s guidelines for employment of divorced individuals.

The policy on divorce states that the college will consider for retention or employment divorced individuals "when there is reasonable evidence that the circumstances that led to the final dissolution of the marriage related to desertion or adultery on the part of the other partner."

Theological conservatives generally believe that the New Testament permits divorce only in cases of adultery or desertion.

Some reports say school officials were willing to allow Gramm to remain at the college for another year as he sought work, according to the local Tribune, but he declined.

Sarah Clark, spokesperson for Wheaton College, clarified that "no decision was made on the part of the college – except to accept his resignation."

"Each employee's particular situation is considered carefully, and administrators faithfully try to get to know the heart of the individual before making a decision," Clark explained to The Christian Post. "It's a process – in this situation, a process that was not even permitted to happen."

Wheaton currently employs a number of divorced individuals, Clark noted.

Still, Gramm's resignation has sparked debate over Wheaton's employment policy on divorce. Although the English professor understands the college is within its rights to set its standards, he indicated that like the high divorce rate among Americans, many students will someday divorce as well.

"And I feel that it's important for them to know that they're not somehow rejected by God for having more or less normal lives and for having lives that didn't work out the way they intended them to turn out," Gramm told The Chicago Tribune.

Although students on campus feel saddened by Gramm's leaving, the majority of them support the school's policy.

"We just hate to see him go ... But we just don't want to compromise the values that we hold," said Tim George, student body president, to the local Tribune.

Teaching students is the first priority of Wheaton's mission, said Clark, but the second is being a faith-based community.

"Wheaton is more than an institution of higher learning. Wheaton is a faith-based community, and with community comes accountability. That's why we have a Statement of Faith, a Community Covenant, and our employee policies," she told The Christian Post. "Anybody who's on staff needs to serve as a role model to students in all aspects of their life."

Gramm will be finishing out the spring 2008 term through commencement, which takes place in May.