A description posted on the Web site for Regent University’s School of Psychology and Counseling says the program’s mission is to train people “who are skillful, caring, and can help develop the spiritual and emotional well-being of those with whom they interact.”
These days, however, the Virginia Beach school is struggling with its own spiritual and emotional well-being. In the past year, turmoil has led to the exodus of respected faculty members and sent morale plummeting among many students in the master’s degree counseling program.
Nearly half the program’s professors have resigned in the past year, and some students say that they’ve been punished for raising questions about policies and that they fear further reprisals if they’re identified publicly.
Sanctions can include failing a course or dismissal from the program as a result of critical comments in a “professional development form,” or PDF, used to rate students in areas such as self-control and ethical practice.
More than 50 people have signed an online petition since it was posted in late June asking that “peace, professionalism and integrity be restored to our program.”
The students’ complaints focus more on the way they have been treated by administrators than on issues of academic content.
One of the professors who quit, Jacqueline Gatewood, a nationally recognized expert on ethics issues, described a “climate of fear and intimidation” within the school.
 Mark Blagen |
The controversy has also raised questions about whether a culture of academic insensitivity has been fostered at the university under Regent’s founder and president, Pat Robertson, said several former faculty members, including Gatewood and Mark Blagen, another counseling professor who, like Gatewood, resigned in June.
Blagen shared his views not long before packing for a new job at Adams State College in Alamosa, Colo. He said professors were upset about what they felt were unfair teaching loads, a tenure system in which all faculty members must sign annual contracts, and general working conditions at Regent.
“It’s a question of the administration not valuing our opinions,” Blagen said. “The climate is contrary to Christian values rather than embracing them.”
Regent officials last summer notified faculty and students that a “president’s commission” had been created to review the counseling program, without publicly acknowledging that the action was in response to the controversy.
The commission recently concluded its work and forwarded its recommendations to Robertson, said Randall Pannell, the university’s acting vice president for academic affairs. Pannell told students and faculty in September that the commission had been formed “to enhance the excellence in the school.”
Requests for interviews with Regent faculty and administrators were directed to Pannell, who acknowledged in a recent interview that some students in the counseling school are unhappy.
“You won’t ever have 100 percent satisfaction,” he said. “It’s not that unusual to have criticisms; a university is like that.”
Last Tuesday, more than 100 students and faculty in the school attended a meeting at which the dean, Rosemarie Scotti Hughes, offered an apology to those who felt they had been wronged and asked for forgiveness, said several students who attended.
Hughes spent about 20 minutes reading a statement called “Moving Forward Together,” said the students, who requested anonymity.
Changes in school policy will include better e-mail communications with students and written notice before they’re evaluated in a professional development form, or “PDF’d,” as one student put it.
The students, however, said that the changes did little to address student angst and that they were disappointed that no members of the commission attended the meeting.
“Needless to say,” one student wrote in an e-mail, “after our months of persistence and pursuit for a higher quality of administration and education in the Regent SPC, the minor changes that were presented to us today were almost insulting.”
The problems came to the surface one day in June, when a standing-room-only crowd gathered in a Regent classroom after students demanded to know why five of the 11 full-time professors in the master’s degree counseling program had suddenly resigned.
When Hughes, the school’s dean, said privacy laws prohibited her from commenting on the matter, one of the departing professors spoke up, according to several people who were at the meeting.
“I have resigned my position … because the workplace atmosphere has become unacceptable,” said Gatewood, who said she also spoke for an absent colleague, Lori Burkett. “I cannot in good conscience continue to participate in this unhealthy and toxic environment.”
After the meeting, Gatewood said, she received an e-mail from Hughes ordering her to leave campus. Gatewood said Hughes also mailed a copy of the notice to her, and another copy was taped to her office door. Burkett – who like Gatewood had tendered her resignation but was still on staff – also was banned from the university by Hughes.
Gatewood said the current environment in the psychology and counseling program did not exist when she arrived in 1996. She said the conflict is especially troubling within a department charged with teaching students to advise people in how to deal with interpersonal-relationship issues.
Robyn Rennie, now on the faculty at Northern Kentucky University, left Regent in 2005 “because conditions had become so stifling I felt I had no future there …
“The thing that has been most difficult for me is that the Regent program had the potential to be the best counseling program in the nation. I would have stayed for life.”
The June meeting followed months of turbulence during which, students and faculty said, they were subjected to humiliation by administrators in the school. With an enrollment of 418, it is one of seven graduate-level programs at the Christian-based university begun in 1978 by Robertson, who also founded the Christian Broadcasting Network.
The petition, addressed to Robertson and other administrators, notes that 10 members of the school’s faculty and staff had resigned in the weeks prior to the petition’s filing, including the five professors in the counseling program.
The document’s authors wrote: “We yearn to see an environment of safety and autonomy in our program where dissent from students does not result in punishment and where the experience and discernment of faculty is honored and respected by the dean.”
The authors of the petition said that they have not posted the names of those who have signed the document because of fear of reprisals.
The petition raises questions about the practices and behavior of Hughes and Rosemary Thompson, the program director of the counseling department. Thompson was hired and promoted to program director by Hughes without consulting faculty, a violation of protocols within the school, according to the petition.
When it was posted, the petition also claimed that Thompson had used “politically incorrect terms in our classes that are offensive and insensitive” – including “brothas,” “hoes” and “homos.”
The petition’s authors said Thompson had told her students during class, “Did you know there’s five levels of hoes? Regular hoes, dirty hoes, skanky hoes …”
Several students said in interviews and e-mails that they believed the remarks were offensive, but others disagreed, saying Thompson made them in an academic context.
Thompson’s name was deleted in October by the owners of the Web site, iPetitions.com. A spokesman for iPetitions notified the petition’s author of the change in an e-mail, explaining that unspecified concerns about litigation had arisen.
The petitioners say that leadership “has created an environment that currently feels unsafe, fearful, and helpless” and that “'dissent among the ranks’ will result in punitive measures.”
One student said in an interview that she and her fellow students “were crying in the halls and hugging to console each another.”
Pannell declined to discuss specific faculty members, citing privacy issues.
“We’ve never penalized anybody who’s spoken up,” he said, adding that the commission determined the school’s “current leadership is effective and well-respected.” As to concern that a culture of fear and intimidation exists, “I don’t see it as valid,” he said. “But I take seriously someone’s concerns. We need to respect and respond to that.”
On Sept. 7, during a meeting at the Regent law school, Pannell told students and staff of the creation of the president’s commission and its mandate.
Pannell opened the session with a prayer, then announced that the commission had been formed “to enhance the excellence in the school in every way possible.” Pannell did not mention the concerns addressed in the petition and raised by departed faculty members.
He said the review would include interviews with randomly selected students by outside facilitators. He also announced that a session would be conducted the following week during which students could voice concerns. He said students would be required to submit copies of their comments before making their presentations.
Eleven students spoke during that gathering, some criticizing leadership at the school in stark terms.
One student said that during a meeting with Hughes, she was given no opportunity to tell her side of the story. The dean acted in a “belligerent, unyielding, and tyrannical” manner, she said.
“In my shock, sadness, frustration … I began to cry,” the student said. Hughes then berated her for crying, she said, telling her “it’s not professional.”
Two students said that because of the turmoil and leadership issues, they could no longer recommend Regent to prospective applicants. The Virginian-Pilot obtained copies of the statements from a student who took part in the meeting. The speakers’ names had been deleted.
One said the June town-hall meeting at which Gatewood spoke did nothing to allay concerns about leadership:
“A classroom full of hurting and confused students sat there, hoping for clarity, comfort and peace. What I feel that we received instead was defensiveness, authoritarianism, and denial. …
“I was in a Christian graduate program, where our Philosophy was 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself, (Matthew 22:37-39)’ ...
“I ask you, Where is the love?”
Bill Burke, (757) 446-2589, bill.burke@pilotonline.com
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A Balanced Perspective continued
. In short, the risk of further damage, the toxicity, harm to others if exposed, must be understood, appreciated, acknowledged, and recognized. Without that, discovery is useless, meaningless, has been in vain. Only then, can a solution be affected.
When we have beneficial products of much good use to our fellow man that break down into toxic chemicals, we don’t “throw the baby out with the bathwater” and halt production and usage of it. So, too, with Regent University. Violent reactions that decry the institution’s validity entirely, and that verbally set the place in flames, constitute a mob or lynching mentality that is just as inappropriate and as skewed as that of sweeping it under the rug, the dirt, the penumbra of denial or minimalism.
Often, when abusive people are confronted, they abuse further. If, however, they are open to change and capable of receiving instruction, they get help- help to change, and even precursorally, to identify behavior that constitutes abuse. Because Regent personnel are God-fearing people, who fear God in fact and not just in theory, I believe they will exercise the latter option.
Comment control
I'm with Poco, how does this site's commenting work? I have made several attempts to post the rest of my comment which was cut off midstream. Please, give a word limit and/or a warning of exceeding it. I put alot of thought into my comment, just to have it cut off? I won't be returning to this site's blog.
A Balanced Perspective
While the allegations about the behavior and motivations of Regent and its agents, conscious or otherwise, may be true, other behaviors and motivations, less nefarious, and in fact noble, are also true- and often within the same individual. Perhaps, paradoxically, the Christian tenets that set the bar of behavioral comportment, philosophy, and standards so high, causes, in some, a repressive reaction to the less desirable aspects of one’s humanity resulting in sublimation or repression of those tendencies. Just as an athlete’s training injuries are “caused” or have at their root a desire and (albeit failed) attempt at excellence, so it is, or can be, in striving for Christian character.
Repression, as we all know, means kept in- but kept, nonetheless. Not uncommon to storage, it eventually escapes its containers and leaks out. This happens in a variety of ways, is never good, and can be toxic to any and all who are exposed. While explanation is good, containment is what is needed. Cleaning up a mess can only be achieved by an awareness that it exists. In other words, it must be discovered. That happened. Then, it must not be allowed to continue.
(cont.)
From my perspective, all that has happened here is that the cause of Christ has been horribly damaged, and satan is having one of the biggest parties of his existence and believe that the Administration, departed faculty, and SPC students have all played a role in accomplishing his purposes. What a sad day!!
I am absolutely overwhelmed
I am absolutely overwhelmed with this horrible situation. I am a graduate of 3 different universities w/ Regent being the most recent. Those 5 professors played a role in changing the course of my life in such positive ways. I don't agree with some of the behaviors and statements of the SPC Admin but I also feel that all parties involved have played a role in how horrible this situation has become. I am now a practicing professional in another state and can say that my education stands head and shoulders above many of my peers in the counseling community. From my perspective, all that has happened here is that the cause of Christ has been horribly damaged, and satan is having one of the bi
Concerns continued
as constructive criticism and it does not appear that it is being used.
However, this does not discredit the education provided by professors other than Dr. Thompson or Dean Hughes. The school is CACREP accredited and does have to follow the same standards as any other accredited program. The classes are not a cakewalk like some individuals have implied.
Concerns
To be honest, concerns should be more focused on what can be done to right the injustice that has occurred under the leadership of Dean Hughes and Dr. Thompson. (The article mentions Pat Robertson but does not focus on him.) There are problems within the School of Psychology and Counseling, especially when five loved and respected professors resign. There are even bigger problems when individuals are taught to have open and honest communication but cannot do so with the faculty that is teaching it. It is wrong for any faculty or staff to be disrespectful, vindictive or downright mean to students who pay a great deal of money to obtain a solid education in counseling. There is such thing
So Very Glad!
When "lies, innuendos, and wild conjectures" make up your life at Regent University, go and get thee to a "real" academic institution. You don't need this school at all! Glad this has come out. So very glad! Wonder how much money was "gifted out" for accreditation.
I Will Not..
..tell you about the group from CBN who called me "baby-killer" while in uniform one morning while I ate breakfast at the Waffle House. I will not tell you about working for a company in VB who supposedley wanted a "christian" company and proceeded to "not pay" my unemployment benefits wherein I had the state make a call to the company. I will not tell you about "me" not being affiliated with any church or religious group because I will lie to be hired or accepted into your little band of "spiritually weak" "do-gooders" who are white collar thiefs and liars. I will not tell you of hosting a table at little Pat's Xmas dinner for the homeless, only to see people bedecked with furs,jewels and m
Christian honesty
I am a Christian. Yet I do not believe that the best answer is to sweep this occurance under the "God is in control" rug. People can sin, and that is what happened here. A counseling dean can cruely tell a student to stop crying because it is "unprofessional," a program director can refer to people God loves as "homos" ... These are not actions that I would be comfortable ignoring. I would hope students at Regent are of a similar mindset, and do not allow injustice to continue.
Thankful for truth
The truth about Pat Robertson is being told. He has gained wealth and power through deception. He exploits the most faithful and trusting souls. Now his adulterer son will continue the exploitations with drama, fake tears, fake words of knowledge, fake healings and fake holiness unless someone will hold HIM accountable. It is such a shame that it took so long for the truth to be told. Believers deserve TRUTH.
God is in control
Sometimes, God has to "clean house." Obviously, God does not want the aforementioned professors leading the Psych. school at Regent. Perhaps the students, former students, etc. that are complaining either can't make the grade or just are not private Christian university material. Regent is funded privately. One cannot compare it to publicly funded state schools in terms of standard operating procedures. Regardless of your viewpoint, God is in control. It is amazing that there are so many postings from people without any Regent connection (haters, athiests whatever), but Jesus loves you anyway.
Regent is a private Christian university...
that can set standards of conduct for its employees and students to follow. The standards are not unreasonable and are centered around Christian character. For those of you that think Dr. Robertson is asking for money for personal wealth reasons..wake up. He does not live a lavish lifestyle. He accepts donations from willing Christians, invests the money so it multiplies, then uses the money to help others. Don't post hearsay. Every workplace has a few disgruntled ex-employees. Get over it!
A Sad Commentary
Many comments thus far have leveled negative and probably unfair criticism at all of Regent University and its founder. The primary focus of the article describes what appears to be the ineffective and “toxic” leadership style employed by Dean Hughes and the current Counseling Department Chair, Dr. Thompson. With such a significant exodus of faculty and a large number of dissatisfied and apparently fearful students, it sounds like there’s much work to do before any real credibility or trust is established. Of all schools, shouldn't the counseling program understand healthy relationships best? While the “commission” seems to be standing behind its findings with a vote of confidence,
As a graduate of another
As a graduate of another respected law school in the Commonwealth of Virginia, I hate to think that I wasted time reading and learning from a great many resources available to me when I could have studied "one book" and been proficient in the law at Regent "University"
a long time ago
i believed in christianity at one time. then my eyes opened. for those that say pat is a good guy or that regent is fine....i'm sure that's true some of the time, but the track record isn't good overall. i've heard that to be a student at regent, you have to sign a form saying that you will conform and can't stray or you won't be a student or if employed, not employed. there's something wrong with that. open your eyes and you will see the truth too. this article is just the beginning.
Why the Secrecy?
"Where is the Love"? Good question!!! I challenge anyone who reads this article to learn the names & a way to contact the board of trustees at Regent University. For some reason it is a big secret. I'm doubtful that the petition from the students ever reached these people or Pat Robertson. I have yet to figure out a way to send a letter or email or any form of communication to the president or trustees of this university & know that it is received by them. Hmmm, wonder why? Something smells of hypocrisy. Sweep it under the rug, everything is fine in the counseling department. "It was God who cleaned house" when five gifted & respected professors walked away from loved position
More direct problem solving
It seems to me that blaming Pat is the quick answer, but not as accurate as looking at the immediate leadership of the dean Hughs and Tompson. Did I really read that the dean (leader) of the School of Counseling told a student to not cry because it wasn't professional? That insensitivity from dean of counseling sounds laughable and ironic? Secondly, referring to a people group as "homos" is horrible, the comment being within an academic setting is not an excuse for this sort of behavior. Lastly, if Panell is right and a spirit of fear and intimidation does not exist, why did 5 faculty resign stating otherwise and 50+ people sign a petition to the same end? Doesn't add up. Real answers are ne
1992
One professor requested I drive four hours from North Carolina to interview with him. There was no interview. He said the reason he wanted to meet with me was to make very clear in my understanding that Regent University did not want any "boat rockers" involved with their master's level counseling program. He further stated, he wanted to meet with me to make sure I wouldn't be a "boat rocker" while in his program. I watched as my First Amendment rights quickly sailed out the window and wondered too, why he didn't simply assure himself over the telephone? Just who did Regent's Brother Pannell say was on that "President's Commission?" And how did the appointments come about? What exactl
Proud to Attend Regent
I was so incensed by your comments that I had to sign up just so I could leave a comment.
I am proud to attend Regent University. I moved here from another state miles away from Virginia just to attend this school. I take issue with those of you who have left comments generalizing the problems in the school. While there may some dissatisfaction in the Psych school, all of the Psych students are not unhappy. I am an Education student and I do not feel intimidated by Dr. Pat or anyone in administration. I also take issue with legitimate evangelists being called fakes. I hope that the same prayers you mock will be used to bring healing to you lives. Christianity is real and it is effective, b
Dr. Robertson is a good man...
Years ago when I was an undergrad., I waited tables in a restaurant that Dr. Robertson frequented. Others did not want to serve his table because they knew he would not run the tab up since alcohol would not be ordered. I always volunteered to serve him and his guests and he always tipped appropriately. Many times I was like "a fly on the wall." He and his guests always had honorable conversations. I am now proud to be a grad. student at Regent. I love the university. The faculty and staff in my school are awesome! This is my 2nd enrollment in the last decade. I'm glad to be back and would not rather be anywhere else. Those of you who are posting negative comments...how many of you have even
Regent U
Don't forget to drink the Kool-Aid and then everything will be alright. Pat R.
Bob Lakeman
Chesapeake
PAT ROBERTSON = TURMOIL
We should not be surprised that Regent is in turmoil. The founder loves meddling, gossiping, stirring up strife and causing division. We have all watched him use prayer and healing as a money-making tool on tv for years and now his fake holyman son is poised to bilk another generation of faithfuls! "Touch your tv screen for a miracle! Call our number for prayer and confess your sins!" Liars, Liars, souls on fire. WHY would anyone want to attend a school founded by a con artist?
Twisted Fundimentalist Values
This comes as no suprise. Regent, originally CBN University was founded by Pat Robertson as a way in training Evangelically oriented Lawyers to infiltrate and undermine our secular political structure. Robertson was also instrumental in the national effort to undermine tenure and to limit opinion expressed by professors though intimidation -- particularly those not toeing an extreme-right line.
Regent should never have been accredited as a legitimate ecucational facility. It is a front and an assault of the very concept of education.
MA Program Graduate
I am so thankful this story finally came out. When it first started emerging, I spoke with this author and I was too fearful to give any identifying information that could be used in this story. This is exactly the type of fear that Regent instills into its students. It was devastating to see our mentors and respected faculty depart. I see Regent as a shell of what it used to be. It still amazes me that a counseling program disregarded the concerns, feelings, and fears of their own students. To the entire faculty that left, we miss you dearly and I will never forget the positive impact you have left on my career and heart. Thank you for your courage in such a repressive environment.
Stand up for what is right
From a Christian school?The damage done from nuns at catholic school sounds similar to the faculty at Regent.Thank God for Lori Burkitt's courage to speak up.Students,get out of this toxic situation!It will not change.Others have set the path 4 you.Defend what u know is right.God will open a window for u 2 continue ur degree at another univ. Ironically,the ins.co across the st.operates the same way.A friend of mine spoke up of their unethical descrimination,fired the next day,banned from the property,told it can't be discussed for privacy reasons,so the rest of us, 2 afraid to speak up,just cried secretly.It is wrong to intimidate students who academically don't deserve it.
Also
Since it appears that we can now post more than one comment, what is up with the font? It is h a rd ly le g i bl e
This Is What You Get
When a man of the "prophet" turns into a man of the "profit". Way to go Fat Pat, run it right into the ground.
Dear Ol' Regent U! Same ol' same ol'
The only comment I take issue with in this article is Dr. Gatewood's comment that "Regent School of Counseling did not have these problems when [she] arrived in 1996." Even then, the first year of the Psy.D. program, the core requirement amounted to how to play politics with the Dean and the Administration in order to get an education, and at the same time fly low enough under the radar to get the degree in spite of the dean. Then, Dr. Gatewood's integrity was like a breath of fresh air, and we all prayed for her and the other faculty. Hurrah to her for lasting as long as she did! One professor often reassured us about the quality of the program by telling about the "half-vast knowledge" of
Editor
OK, the new comments function is officialy poor. It cut off my last entry without warning. The old system at least showed how many characters you had left.