Dr. Arbaugh fired for "misconduct"

In a surprising sequence of events, Associate Professor of Counseling Education, Dr. Thomas Arbaugh, Jr. has been released from his job for his relationship with another man, effective after the fall semester.

According to a statement from Interim President Beryl Brubaker to faculty members regarding Arbaugh's release, "The administration has raised an issue with Tom related to the Community Lifestyle Commitment (CLC) ... Tom's commitments and those of the institution are not compatible for the long term."

This explanation, however, did not mention any specific ways that Arbaugh was in violation of the CLC. By signing the agreement, Arbaugh agreed to "recognize [his] responsibility as a member of the community to refrain from sexual relationships outside of marriage."

That terminology is derived from the Mennonite Church's official position as stated in the "Purdue Statement" that came out of the Ninth Mennonite Church General Assembly. It states, "We understand the Bible to teach that genital intercourse is reserved for a man and a woman united in a marriage covenant … It is our understanding that this teaching also precludes pre-marital, extramarital, and homosexual genital activity."

Arbaugh, however, "stated to the Board that it was a celibate relationship. They never questioned that. My partner and I specifically decided to remain celibate so that I could sign the CLC in good faith."

If it is indeed the case that his celibacy was not in question, why the firing?

According to an EMU Bible professor, "My understanding is that, strictly speaking, [Tom] is within the guidelines." Arbaugh, as well, was under the impression that his actions were acceptable. The problem occurred while defining "celibacy."

"[At the cabinet meeting] each person asked me what is the meaning to be celibate." said Arbaugh. "[I said that] everyone has to define that meaning for themselves. I thought that when I told the administration I was celibate, they trusted my definition of celibacy. No one has officially said that they don't believe me. In that way we've never discussed the definition."

The trust that Arbaugh invested in EMU was evident in his interview published in the 2002 Winter edition of the Graduate Counseling Program Newsletter. "It is evident that the administration is trying to understand that faculty and staff have a life outside of EMU. From my first interviews with Joe Lapp and Beryl Brubaker, I quickly began to think that they cared about my life beyond academics."

Due to the nature of this recent action by the President's Cabinet, the well-known debate from last November has resurfaced in the minds of many. While the conversation centered around how a statement issued by the Board of Trustees would reduce "academic freedom," the statement was prompted by comments made about homosexuality. That debate showed that there was a need for some sort of clarification on school policy, which led to the creation of the Listening and Facilitation Team (LiFT).

There was, however, already a group in place called the EMU Facilitator Group (FG), which was founded to increase the involvement of faculty in making important decisions that effected the entire EMU community. Regarding the issue of employee termination, though, FG member and Associate Professor of Biblical Studies and Church History Nancy Heisey said, "We weren't given the opportunity to discuss the causes for termination, just the process of termination."

It appeared, however, that LiFT had broader powers. "LiFT was being given the space to work that we hadn't been given," said Heisey. "We decided that if LiFT is free to work on these issues, then let's let LiFT work on them." FG phased itself out soon after LiFT's inception.

LiFT's output was a statement regarding the participation of faculty members in public discussions, what they can and cannot do. So the issue of academic freedom was indeed addressed, but not homosexuality. In the e-mail from Interim President Beryl Brubaker to faculty members regarding Arbaugh's release, she ends with the words: " … we commit ourselves to be more explicit about EMU expectations in future hiring."

It has yet to be seen whether LiFT will be given the job of making a more explicit document of EMU's expectations of their professors, but it appears that it is indeed necessary.

With David Glanzer on sabbatical this year, and the release of Arbaugh, the graduate counseling program would have been left with Helen Benoit and BonnaSue to teach the entire course load. This was avoided when the President's Cabinet approved Arbaugh's request that he be allowed to finish out the year so as to minimize the effects on the graduate counseling students.

"I am trying to work with EMU so as to reduce the detrimental effects that my leaving would have on the students. They are a high priority," Arbaugh said.

The faculty, staff, and the graduate counseling program students were informed of this decision on Tuesday. Some were informed through e-mail while others received the news in class.

"I do know that for some people that statement didn't go far enough," said Arbaugh. "The e-mail was cleared through me before it went out and I was given the opportunity to suggest changes and veto changes that I thought were inappropriate. I appreciate being able to do that. And that's got to be the official statement for now."