Almost two months to the day after Louisiana College trustees elected Texas educator Malcolm Yarnell as president of the school, he declined the position because of an ongoing controversy over governance and accreditation of the Baptist college.
“After accepting the presidency at Louisiana College, governance issues which would significantly impact my ability to lead the school were fully disclosed during the subsequent negotiations over the contract, which the board of trustees desired,” Yarnell said in a Nov. 23 e-mail to trustees, news agencies and others. Because of irreconcilable differences with trustees over those issues, he said, he changed his mind about the presidency.
Yarnell will remain as an administrator and professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. “Except two be agreed, how can they walk together?” he said in the e-mail, quoting the biblical book of Amos. “Although the trustee chairman and the [trustee] executive committee and I have sought in good faith to resolve these issues to our mutual satisfaction, we have been unable to arrive at a ‘meeting of the minds.’ As a result, I have withdrawn my name from consideration as president.”
School leaders responded to the news immediately, voicing confidence that the college would continue forward and follow God’s leadership in finding a new leader.
Yarnell’s decision comes at a tumultuous time for a school awaiting word on the status of its accreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).
And there is a significant accrediting hurdle for the school to clear. A visiting team from SACS visited the campus in September. After the visit, they issued a report citing concerns about governance and administration at the school and the status of academic freedom. College trustees responded to the report Nov. 14.
SACS officials are set to make recommendations on the college’s accreditation after a December meeting. (ABP)
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