The Sad Story at Marquette University

Most Catholics just don’t realize what’s going on at many of our Catholic universities: They need to read the sad story of Marquette University as told by Anne Hendershott in the Wall Street Journal. 

Marquette had made an offer to Jodi O’Brien to assume the position of Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.  The offer was rescinded, presumably beginning with pressure from Milwaukee Archbishop Listecki.

Father Robert A. Wild (see above), president of Marquette, had to reach a financial settlement with Ms. O’Brien, a “sexuality scholar” for changing his mind about her appointment.

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Of the three finalists for the position, Ms. O’Brien was the first choice, even though her publication record was minimal in comparison with the others. Though all three had led academic departments, the two male candidates also had grant-writing success and prestigious publication records.

Ms. O’Brien published articles such as “How Big is your God? Queer Christian Social Movements.” One of the male finalists wrote a book on the French Revolution that won an award from the American Historical Association. Ms. O’Brien published a “gender switching” article describing online homoerotic behavior entitled “Changing the Subject.” One of the other finalists received funding for 17 major research grants and listed dozens of publications on his 19-page vitae.

From reading Hendershott’s account, it becomes clear that both O’Brien’s sexual orientation and her dissenting beliefs were the reasons she was chosen over the better qualified candidates.

Yes, this is how perverse things have become at many of our Catholic universities.

 

 

Author

  • Deal W. Hudson

    Deal W. Hudson is ​publisher and editor of The Christian Review and the host of “Church and Culture,” a weekly two-hour radio show on the Ave Maria Radio Network.​ He is the former publisher and editor of Crisis Magazine.

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