Faculty at Sterling College, a private religious school in central Kansas, have raised concerns about President Scott Rich’s leadership, unilateral policy changes, forced religious beliefs and discrimination against LGBTQ+ students. (Andy Giorgetti)

When Sterling College faculty and staff received an updated employee handbook in August 2023, they quickly became concerned about changes being made without their input.

Those concerns sparked a year of frustration with President Scott Rich’s leadership, frustration that continues as a new school year approaches.

In April, a majority of the faculty voted to express a lack of confidence in Rich after months of meetings, letters and complaints. Of the 49 faculty members eligible to vote, 29 said they had either minimal or no confidence in Rich. Nine said they had a lot of confidence, and only one expressed full confidence. Ten abstained from voting.

One of the biggest concerns for teachers was new language in the handbook that they said created confusion and a chilling effect on what they could say and do, both at work and in their private lives. Many were concerned about creating barriers to LGBTQ+ inclusion on campus.

“There are all these things that are in the back of your mind,” Assistant Professor Todd Vogts said. “How long can I continue to be okay with some of these decisions that seem to directly affect not only my faculty colleagues but the students in a negative way?”

Sterling faculty have left the college, located in the central Kansas city of Sterling, and some suggested the exodus would continue if the concerns remain unaddressed.

Several employees said they were frustrated by a systematic lack of cooperation on key decisions in recent years, including the administration eliminating a diversity initiative and pushing back on a Catholic student group. These frustrations were exacerbated as budgets decreased and enrollment declined.

“It seemed like the will of everyone involved was thwarted by the president without any type of transparency or discussion,” said former Sterling staffer Andy Giorgetti.

Rich is less active around campus, faculty members said. He lives in Hutchinson, a 30-minute drive from Sterling.

“It’s that lack of communication, that unwillingness to listen to concerns,” Vogts said. “Even when it looks like someone is listening, nothing changes. And it’s just created a lot of frustration.”

Tony Thompson, a Sterling graduate and former two-decade member of the board, said he believed a change in leadership was necessary for the college.

“I definitely love Sterling College and have supported her for over 50 years,” he said. “Unfortunately, I do not currently support the current leadership, and there needs to be a change.”

He said his decision was based solely on performance, citing deteriorating faculty relations, declining enrollment and poor communication. Thompson has been a longtime supporter and donor to the college and in 2006 won Sterling’s Distinguished Service Award.

Rich said in a statement that he was not aware of the faculty vote, but the college’s board of trustees held its own unanimous vote affirming support for the president.

Randy Henry, president of Sterling College’s board of trustees, said the board fully supports Rich.

“We want everyone to feel valued and the board has tried to do everything we can to try to get these faculty members and the president to a place where they can work together, which has been the case for almost all of Dr. Rich’s tenure, he said.

A Kansas Reflector investigation — based on interviews with half a dozen current and former Sterling College employees and a review of documents detailing complaints — found widespread concerns about unilateral policy changes, enforced religious beliefs, the administration’s unwillingness to listen to concerns and discrimination against LGBTQ+ people students.

A cooling effect

Employees received a new handbook in August 2023 and were asked to sign a statement confirming that they would abide by its contents.

Many of them have still not signed the agreement.

Several faculty members expressed concern that the wording would allow the school to fire them for being too liberal in their beliefs or because they come from a denomination that differs theologically from the school.

The handbook included new wording requiring staff to “exhibit habits and actions consistent with biblical standards and consistent with Sterling College’s mission statement, statement of faith, and faith perspective.” Staff risk disciplinary action including dismissal if they breach the requirement.

According to Sterling’s website, the college is “thoroughly Christian, but not in any sense sectarian.” Several faculty members said the new staff handbook jeopardizes that idea by forcing faculty to personally subscribe to certain beliefs or face punishment.

“When we have these issues and we can’t talk about them, faculty and staff don’t feel safe in this community, in our jobs, if we can’t actually know where we stand on these issues,” Giorgetti said.

The handbook also added a section on using social media that said staff should consider their social media presence an extension of their classroom or office. Several faculty said they were concerned about how the policy could be interpreted. The ambiguity left them wondering if they could be fired for personal activity on social media like adding a pride flag to their profile picture.

The Faculty Welfare Board — faculty members who serve as liaisons with the administration — began hearing concerns as soon as the handbook was released. They compiled the questions and sent them to the staff, Rich and the board.

At each stage, they said they were met with an initial willingness to discuss changes or clarification before being shut down.

The final blow came when the board responded to the faculty’s detailed concerns by saying it had voted to confirm Rich and scolding the faculty for bringing the complaint to the board.

“The board will not make a habit of addressing these types of issues,” Henry, the board chairman, wrote in a letter to faculty in May.

In a statement, Rich said handbook revisions are at the discretion of the human resources department. The changes were made, he said, “to further protect the institution.”

The new language, which faculty said was ambiguous and confusing, left them with many questions about what they could say or do, creating a chilling effect on both their professional and personal lives.

“I think it’s incredibly important to be open to all ideas and to weigh them and evaluate them,” says Professor Ken Troyer. “I’m not saying, you know, everything needs to be supported, but everything needs to at least be heard and discussed.”

struggling with LGBTQ+ inclusion

Some staff worried that the handbook change could create an unwelcoming space for LGBTQ+ students on campus. Staff were asked to affirm a statement on life, marriage, gender identity and human sexuality, which includes anti-LGBTQ+ language.

Sterling is a religious college, but students do not necessarily share the same beliefs as the college, especially since many of them are recruited for athletics.

“I think it’s our job to just welcome everybody,” Troyer said. “I mean, if Christianity is important and we want people to hear that message, that’s fine if you’re a believer. And if you’re not, cool, come along for the ride and enrich our lives by giving us different perspectives .And maybe we can do the same.”

Adam Moore experienced this tension firsthand as a student. In 2019-20, he was elected president of the student union. He was the first openly gay student to hold the role.

Growing up in nearby Hutchinson, he knew being gay and attending Sterling wouldn’t be easy. But he was drawn to the college’s debate team and liked that it was a Christian school where he could pursue his faith. He came committed to having difficult conversations.

His challenges began when he became a resident assistant for the dormitories. He had weekly meetings with the administration that he said felt like “conversion therapy.” When he was elected student body president, the students asked to start a gay-straight alliance. Clubs normally received student government approval, he said. Moore relayed his approval of the club to administrators, who quickly overturned it.

“Gay people feel ostracized from the religious community,” Moore said. – It has definitely affected me. But I have also seen a church community that can be welcoming and loving and caring for LGBTQ+ people. … If I had just talked to administrators about this, there is no way I would ever be part of a church community again.”

The fight for LGBTQ+ inclusion spread across campus.

When faculty at Sterling conduct research, they are supposed to follow the American Psychological Association’s standards, which say they must include an “other” option when asking about gender. But Rich only wanted to include “male” and “female” in surveys, Vogts said.

After a year, faculty members were allowed to add the “other” option to surveys after Rich took the conflict to the cabinet, a group of campus-wide representatives selected by the president who advises him.

Rich said staff members are aware of the college’s biblical foundation when they are hired. He said there were no personal interpretations involved and the board had laid out how the administration would run the college.

“If (faculty) violate campus policies, they may be reprimanded for violating such policies,” Rich said. “The board and the cabinet extend grace until grace is exhausted.”

But faculty said their concerns were not with the college’s religious foundations.

Because Christianity has different denominations, many were concerned that cracking down on what staff could say or believe would exclude certain groups. Before the changes, the handbook allowed for more diversity, they said.

“I’m a Christian. I don’t have a problem saying that,” Troyer said. work for the same common cause.”

Staff say they see a clear path forward: a seat at the table.

“I would just like to see more deliberation and more collaboration on these kinds of decisions,” Vogts said.

All in this together

Many of them believe Sterling is a place with a solid mission, but they say recent decisions have compromised the faculty’s ability to carry it out, rendering the college almost unrecognizable.

While many have left the school, those who stayed did so out of love for the college and its students.

“There needs to be a greater sense that everyone, all the staff, is all kind of in this together and moving forward in lock step,” said Troyer, who has taught at Sterling for nearly two decades. “But we have to get to the point where we’re at least like, ‘Oh, I understand why that decision is made.'”

Rich said he intended to address frustrations by reminding staff that “they are always welcome to visit the president about anything — including concerns.”

Moore said there are many lessons to be learned from the small college of less than 1,000 north of Hutchinson.

He saw many sides of the community during his time there, including with Rich. He said that while Rich held views that he saw as seriously damaging, he also saw a side of the leader that was caring and authentic.

“There’s a lot of trauma that’s created,” Moore said. “Ever since I left Sterling, I continue to wrestle with these two very different Sterlings that I know.”

Moore now lives in Emporia and is keeping an eye on the college in hopes that one of the two sides will win out in the end.

“Even though Sterling is a tiny little community,” Moore said, “I think there are so many others who like it that history can only help.”