Southern Baptist seminary says woman prof can't teach men, fires her

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Southern Baptist seminary says woman professor can't teach men, fires her

Prof. Sheri Klouda files suit against Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

Continued from the page on the Southern Baptist Convention (Go back)

Court documents related to Klouda's lawsuit are here.

'To teach or exercise authority over a man'

Southwestern scholar was badly served

By Benjamin Cole, The Star-Telegram (Fort Worth), February 12, 2007

The tragic termination of Professor Sheri Klouda at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has raised again the issue of women's roles in the Southern Baptist Convention. At one extreme are militant fundamentalists who will settle for nothing less than head coverings and homemaking. At the other extreme are militant feminists who deny the New Testament teachings about church order.

One group thinks women should quietly remain in kitchens and bedrooms. The other group thinks they belong in Bradley tanks and Black Hawk helicopters.

But the Klouda case is not about resisting the challenges of militant feminism. Rather, it is about the perennial efforts of some Southern Baptist leaders to extrapolate narrow principles for church ministry. Continue.

Newspaper reports tenure refusal for Southwestern woman prof

Baptist Press, January 22, 2007

FORT WORTH, Texas (BP)—A woman who had held a tenure-track position was denied tenure at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2004, according to a Jan. 19 Dallas Morning News story.

The professor, Sheri Klouda, was given a tenure-track position to teach Hebrew in Southwestern’s school of theology when she received her Ph.D. at the Fort Worth, Texas, campus in 2002, according to the newspaper report.

Klouda, who also is a Criswell College graduate, now teaches at Taylor University in Indiana. Continue.

Sheri Klouda surprised at fallout from her ‘removal’ at Southwestern

By Hannah Elliott, Associated Baptist Press, January 25, 2007

FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP) -- Sheri Klouda, a former professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, said she lost her job teaching Hebrew in the seminary’s school of theology because she is a woman.

But she wasn’t prepared for the fallout that followed.

News of her story first broke on a Jan. 17 blog post by Oklahoma pastor Wade Burleson. In the entry, Burleson said Klouda, who had received numerous grants and awards throughout her collegiate and seminary years, was dismissed by President Paige Patterson because of her gender.

The school didn’t want women teaching men in the theology department, Burleson asserted. Continue.

Baptist Pastor Files Complaint Over Dismissal of Female Professor

Baptist pastor filed complaints after a female professor was dismissed from her seminary job allegedly because she is a woman.

By Audrey Barrick, Christian Post, January 26, 2007

Complaints were made to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and Association of Theological Schools asking them to probe into the dismissal of Sheri Klouda, now former professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. The letter of complaint was written by Benjamin Cole, pastor of Parkview Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas. Continue.

Accrediting agencies asked to probe seminary's dismissal of female prof

By Hannah Elliott, Associated Baptist Press, January 25, 2007

FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP) -- A supporter of a professor who lost her job at a Southern Baptist seminary -- allegedly due to gender discrimination -- has filed complaints with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and Association of Theological Schools asking them to investigate “a serious breach” of accreditation guidelines.

Benjamin Cole, pastor of Parkview Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, filed the complaints. He joined Oklahoma pastor Wade Burleson and prominent blogger Marty Duren in calling attention to Sheri Klouda’s case. Burleson is the pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Enid, Okla. Duren leads New Bethany Baptist Church in Buford, Ga. Continue.

Court documents related to Klouda's lawsuit

Professor Sheri Klouda's complaint against Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

To read Professor Klouda's First Amended Complaint (a PDF document) seeking redress for her firing from her tenure-track job, click here.

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary's responses to Prof. Sheri Klouda's lawsuit

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary filed several documents (all PDF files) arguing that the judge should dismiss Klouda's lawsuit. All of them argue that the court's can't interfere with doctrinal decisions about employment made by the seminary.