Board in Wren Cross fiasco targeted

A campaign has been started at the College of William and Mary in Virginia to shake up the school's governing Board of Visitors after a debacle involving the display of a donated Christian cross in the historic Wren Chapel.

Lance Kyle, AB '89, contacted WND after it reported that a local independent newspaper had called for the Board, which runs the school, not to renew the contract of college President Gene Nichol, who triggered the fiasco.

TRENDING: Voters blame Biden for border crisis, ready to punish Democrats, poll says

His decision to arbitrarily remove the cross from its historic display setting launched a petition with more than 18,000 signatures of school alums, students and supporters who wanted it return. It also triggered the cancellation of a planned donation of $12 million.

Now Kyle says perhaps the Board of Visitors, whose members are appointed by state officials, also have some answering to do.

He said, for example, while competitor University of Virginia saw undergraduate applications increase 10 percent, and Rice was up 15 percent, William and Mary's rose less than one percent. The academic performance of incoming students has dropped, and the law school fell four places, he said..

"Nichol's loss of the McGlothlin $10-12 [million] bequest may keep the school from reaching the $500 [million] goal by the June 30, 2007, close," Kyle said.

The campus committee decision to restore the cross to the chapel, but place it inside a special glass case, still is discriminatory treatment of the Christian faith, he said.

RELATED: Textbooks: 'Few followers of Jesus spread His story'

"Fact is, neither UVa nor any other U.S. university with a historic chapel puts their cross in a glass case," Kyle said.

He said many of those signing the Wren Cross petition now have "turned their backs on the school forever" which indicates a serious failing in relations with alumni.

And what once was a growth rate of 12 percent in the endowment fund now is about two percent.

"The school sustained serious damage to alumni relations, fundraising and reputation under the current Administration and is in serious danger of falling further in the rankings… The competition is coming up fast and it's all about money."

"I implore the BOV not to renew Nichols' $400k+ contract in June 2008 and to tell him now that 'it's not working out' so that both sides can make a smooth transition," he said.

In a letter to Katherine Hanley, in the office of appointments for the state, he asked officials to withhold second term reappointment for John Gerdelman, Anita Poston and Henry Wolf "based on ethical considerations, poor judgment in the presidential selection process and failure to resolve the Wren Cross crisis…"

"The BOV surely knew we were falling in the endowment rankings back in 2003 and they still selected a new president in 2005 with a poor fundraising track record," he said.

"Does our BOV think that our low tuition and historical assets are going to carry us forever? We can't even count on these competitive advantages now that Nichol has antagonized the General Assembly and has taken a wrecking ball to the Wren," he said.

"Gene Nichol doesn't 'get it.' He doesn't understand how basic economic principles dictate which American universities are successful and which are not. Some schools 'trade' on their sports teams or successful alumni while others … 'build on their history.' Thing is, we don't have a major sports team, medical center or lots of successful, contemporary alumni which we can leverage to lure students and endowment dollars," Kyle said.

"What we do have, though, is unmatchable historic assets," he said. "You see, you can't just bulldoze the Wren Building and think nobody will notice. The place is sacred and is responsible directly or indirectly for every student, faculty member and endowment dollar we take in," he said.

"It is time for us to leverage our amazing academic traditions and historic capital (comparable to Harvard) and our relatively low tuition … and take our case to the money centers," he said. "We need to raise our standards and move the school to its 'rightful place among the world's' top universities."

WND earlier reported on the local newspaper's similar stance, and duplicate call for the Board not to keep Nichol around.

A telephone message from WND requesting a comment from Nichol was not returned.

Historic Wren Chapel

But it was last fall when the story broke on WND that Nichol was creating a furor by arbitrarily ordering a Christian cross removed from the school's 275-year-old Wren Chapel.

Nichol said he'd gotten a complaint about the cross, and ordered it removed without consultation. But alumni and students launched a website campaign, called Save The Wren Cross, and collected names demanding the cross be restored.

As the number of names on the petition rose, Nichol at first admitted he "acted too quickly and should have consulted more broadly" and dictated that a plaque would be installed in the chapel.

The move failed to satisfy those who wanted the donated bronze cross restored to the historic chapel, and the university eventually assembled a special committee to deal with the crisis.

The issue only now, months after the dispute erupted, is being resolved. The college confirmed this week the antique cross will be placed in a glass display case at the front of the chapel. "The display case, which is still under development, will be accompanied by a plaque commemorating the College's Anglican roots and its historic connection to Bruton Parish Church," the school announcement said.

The cross had been given to the university by Bruton Parish Episcopal Church in the 1930s, and had been in the chapel since. The Wren Chapel, built nearly 275 years ago, became an integral part of the university when it was a Christian school.

---

Special offers:

Classic book on USA's Christian heritage: New edition of 100-year-old treasure reveals nation's true religious

Has the cradle of Christianity lost the will to live?

Criminalizing Christianity: How America's founding religion is becoming illegal

---

Previous stories:

Newspaper says Wren Cross university chief 'unfit'

Students want Wren Cross explanation

Cross ban could cost $12 million

Cross-snatching college holds porn show

Gingrich says Wren Chapel endangered

'Virginia legislature won't like cross dispute'

College prez backtracks on cross removal

Chapel cross issue stands 5,000 to 1, but who's counting?

College chief defends banishment of cross

2,000 names on petition seek restoration of cross

'Save the Wren Cross' campaign is launched

O'Connor new chancellor of cross-removing college

College removes cross – from chapel!