Wounded in body and soul
An open letter to SPU students
October 27, 2022
This is my 28th year teaching at SPU, and every September I have been excited to return to campus and reconnect with students and colleagues. It has always been a source of joy to re-engage in a learning community where we help each other understand the world as well as we can so we can live in it as faithfully and justly as we can. I cannot imagine any work I would rather do.
That has always been my experience until this year. This September, I feel like I am met by resistance every time I come to campus. Instead of joy, I have felt more stressed and sad with every step closer to my office. Once classes started, the joy of being with students quickly returned, but upon leaving the classroom, my energy and motivation evaporated. I know that I am not the only member of the SPU faculty that has been feeling this way. If students have noticed, I hope that you understand that this is not a reflection on you or on our commitment to you but a natural response to the wounding in body and soul to this community where we have lived out our calling.
We have been wounded to our very souls by the events of the last year and a half. Faculty have believed in and worked toward a vision of Christian education that sees diversity as the realistic representation of the good world that God created, and therefore, diversity in the membership of our campus community is a necessary foundation for our work. We have believed in this and worked for it, only for the board to respond on multiple occasions with a resounding “no!” This rejection of the very soul of SPU has been deeply wounding to faculty, to all students, staff and administrators who have invested in helping SPU live into this vision. This wounding has been especially painful for those in our community who not only feel the rejection of this vision but the rejection of their very identities as well.
When faculty returned to campus after the summer break, we experienced another blow, this time to the body of our community. We were informed that due to a budgetary crisis there would be a process of “program reduction” that would cost 50-55 faculty lines over the next two years. The thought of losing 25% of the current faculty was a brutal shock. It seemed impossible to imagine the loss of so many beloved colleagues in such a short amount of time. It seemed impossible to imagine what would remain of SPU after the loss of those faculty, the classes they teach and the majors and minors they sustain.
As a result of these wounds suffered in body and soul, many faculty have been experiencing a form of collective grief as we confront the loss of our vision and the loss of jobs and programs into which we have invested so many years of our lives and so much care and commitment. So, if your professors have not seemed themselves this fall, this is why.
In this woundedness, it has been easy for me to feel like I have failed as the work I have spent my life doing appears to unravel before my eyes. My sister reminds me that my work has not been primarily for an institution but for students. No matter what the board does, no matter whether or not SPU survives as an institution, what matters is whether or not we, as faculty, have been faithful to you – our students.
Have we taught you well, have we prepared you to care for those on the margins, are you open to love all the diversity that God has created? If the answer is yes, then we can accept being wounded in body and soul because you are seeds that will scatter in the wind, and what you are prepared to do in all the places you will go will matters far more than whether or not SPU survives these painful days.
I write this letter to you not so you will feel sorry for me or my faculty colleagues but to thank you and all the students through the years , who have enriched my life, who have taught me to be better than I was and given me the joy of participating with you in learning to love a God-created, beautifully diverse world. It may not seem possible, but I believe that love will win because God is love. The board will not win because they have chosen the side of fear. Fear will never defeat love.
Joy • Nov 1, 2022 at 3:59 pm
Hi Pierce, Thanks for responding. I’m one of the few vocal ones of the silent majority because I see all the positive aspects of the school by virtue of working with numerous departments as a contractor.
Here’s a recent update we just made to the engineering department web page which you can read in full if you search engineering on the main site:
“SPU’s unique interdisciplinary engineering senior design capstone course sequence mimics a high-tech incubator requiring students to work in interdisciplinary, diverse teams while developing professional skills necessary for success in the real world.”
Or this fact, not based on emotion, just facts: Ranked nationwide as #33 in Best Value Schools U.S. News and World Report, 2023
Seattle Pacific University was named BEST NATIONAL UNIVERSITY for the sixth year in a row and named one of the top national universities for diversity. U.S. News and World Report 2022
And if SPU is so bad, why do “major companies with Seattle campuses, such as Amazon, Microsoft, Cray Inc., Blue Origin, Boeing, Zillow, Google, and others located around the nation like SpaceX, Tesla, Apple, and Oracle hire Seattle Pacific University students launching successful careers and developing industry leaders.”
At a certain point, the lawsuits will be settled and we’ll still be left with a school that turns out leaders who attempt to change the world for the better in whatever field they choose regardless of whatever obstacles they feel they’re facing. I refuse to narrow my view of my alma mater to one issue.
Because we’re so much more…
Tami Anderson • Oct 28, 2022 at 10:18 pm
Thank you to Dr. Neuhouser, a gracious courageous human with more love and integrity than almost any I’ve encountered. You have been a light and inspiration over so many years and seasons to so many, including myself. Your work, vision and influence is a precious gift and ripples of your intention and care (and so many others pouring sacrificially their energy and lives into students and staff) will continue to reach and grow far beyond what you can fathom.
I can only assume sooner or later (or too late?) SPU leadership will unify in understanding and proclaiming through words, policy and actions that all lives are to be valued, nurtured and flooded with unconditional love. Sadly, it seems to currently evade the most powerful (and privileged?) group who perhaps blindly damage with these traumatic movements without enough accountability. However justified they feel in this present moment, we know from history that they grasp with fear to an unraveling way and will find less and less support and boldness. I pray that day is not so far off.
May we follow in the footsteps of Jesus who in radical love and wisdom did not exclude, turn away or against folx but rather worked tirelessly to break down the human-made barriers of economics, politics, cultures and every sort of “diversity” to create compassion, insight, healing, restoration, redemption and mend brokenness – on so many levels. May we hope and beg our creative God and the Spirit of all things Holy and good to guide SPU to unify in this same pursuit.
Joy • Nov 2, 2022 at 1:10 pm
Hi Tami, Sometimes I think people forget to read what the Bible says and assume God is just a fairy godfather approving whatever we deem, by our own estimation and worldview, is ok when it’s not.
However, if we return to scripture, it’s very clear as stated in Galatians 5:19-21 here: 19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;
20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions
21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
As Pastor Rick Warren says, “I fear the disapproval of GOD more than your disapproval and society.”
“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.” Phil 3:12
This is what attending a Christian Liberal Arts school, and living a Christian life out in the world means to me and many others. Striving to achieve GOD’s standards, not man’s. Not seeking the approval of man, but God’s approval.
“1Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Col 3:1-2
And to both of you Tami and Dr. Neuhouser,
“23Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, for the Lord and not for men, 24 because you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as your reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Col 3: 23-24
Ultimately, God will judge those in leadership, not us, not a court, not a judge. “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” —James 1:12
So, in the meantime, maybe consider this verse as a guide to how you choose to operate as long as you’re employed at SPU: “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account.” —Hebrews 13:17
God is a just God. He cares about everyone’s salvation. Our lives should uplift His values, not the world’s values no matter how popular, how pervasive or how threatening they may be.
Joy Kennelly • Oct 28, 2022 at 8:32 pm
Dr. Neuhouser, It doesn’t seem you understand that colleges across the country are facing budget cuts, and reducing programs, professors, and staff in general due to students not attending college as much due to so much online learning. I’ve worked for numerous schools and everyone is facing the same situation.
To quote Best Colleges, “After a continuous rise from the 1970s, college enrollment has generally declined since 2010.” And let’s not forget the pandemic… “The U.S. experienced a college enrollment decline during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Total college enrollment (graduate and undergraduate) fell 7.4% since the pandemic started in the spring of 2020.
Undergraduate enrollment decreased by 9.4% during that same period.
Community colleges have lost almost 20% of students aged 18-to-24 and 16.2% of older students.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1 1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.
And one of my favorite verses is Joshua 1:9 9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
And I leave you with this encouragement: Philippians 4:6, 7
6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
God is in control. He founded this college all these years ago and it has gone through similar tough situations before and come out the other side.
Sometimes, we have to let go of what we think things should be and return to what the Bible has to say about what is to find peace.
I hope we all turn to God, His word, and prayer to help as we continue this year. I’m so impressed with what SPU, my alma mater, has going on and I’m sure this is going to be a great year for the students who have made the decision to attend.
I have lifelong friends from my experience attending SPU and know everyone will cherish their experiences too.
God bless you! JOY
Pierce • Oct 31, 2022 at 1:54 pm
I’m not sure if I agree with the “I’m so impressed with what SPU, my alma mater, has going on.” The administration at SPU has let down the SPU students and faculty in many ways, and the continual employment discrimination perpetuated by the Board of Trustees is not only embarrassing, but greatly affecting the university both culturally, systematically, and financially (need I mention the several legal battles SPU is facing?). I am not proud of what SPU has going on. I am proud of the Students and Faculty who choose to fight for love and rights amidst discrimination, but not of the institution and administration known as SPU.