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  • Boer Statement 4.17.24

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    From Wiebe Boer and Sarah Howard

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    From Wiebe Boer and Sarah Howard

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    9K views2 pages

    Boer Statement 4.17.24

    Uploaded by

    WXMI
    From Wiebe Boer and Sarah Howard

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 2

    Leading Calvin University as President was an incredible honor.

    I deeply care for


    the students, faculty, staff, and the broader community. For this reason, I was
    completely invested in my work and proud that Calvin experienced significant
    growth in enrollment, staff retention, faculty morale, and community enthusiasm
    during my tenure.
    That’s also why it was so difficult for my wife, Joanna, and me to file a legal
    complaint against Calvin. But after nearly two months of remaining silent in
    attempts to amicably and privately resolve our issues with the Board, we have been
    given no choice. The continued attacks on our character and one-sided storytelling
    compel me to further respond.
    As to the texts that I exchanged with a person I considered a friendly acquaintance
    over a short period, I will say this: I have made it a practice throughout my
    professional career to try to treat everyone in a nonhierarchical manner, seeking to
    develop authentic, friendly connections with people. What could be considered
    flirtatious by one person could also be considered simply friendly or light-hearted by
    another, but in no way did I intend the messages to be inappropriate or unwelcome.
    Had I realized this was the case, I would not have continued the discussion.
    The University says there are 100 texts at issue. Of course, many texts can simply
    be a word or two, and the context is critical to understand. In this case, I’m said to
    be responsible for roughly half – or 50 – of these over a ten-day period. This person
    was also texting Joanna in a friendly nature throughout this same time. None of
    this is as nefarious as Calvin’s Board would have you believe.
    I explained this to the Executive Leadership group. I disagreed with the conclusions
    being drawn about my intentions with respect to the texts, but I also made a good
    faith effort to try and understand how my communications could have been
    perceived differently from what I intended. However, these efforts are now being
    held against me as admissions, taken out of context.
    As for the remainder of the University’s statements and allegations, I only agree
    with one: “We [Calvin’s Board of trustees] would prefer to allow the court of law to
    decide the case on the legal merits.” So would I. That’s what I’ve been asking for
    since this whole painful situation began – a fair and unbiased review of the merits
    of the case, the reasonableness of Calvin’s response, and the fairness of the Board’s
    subsequent settlement terms. The Board’s position throughout this process has
    been frequently presented as nonnegotiable. It’s unfortunate that it took legal
    action to get Calvin to agree to that.

    I am also aware that Interim President Elzinga put out a video that claimed that
    threats have been made against a Calvin administrator after my legal complaint
    was filed. If that has in fact happened, I condemn any such threats against anyone,
    period, and I ask that they stop immediately.
    I am grateful for the outpouring of support my family and I have received from the
    community. I regret that the handling of this situation has caused such harmful
    ramifications for the Calvin Community. I still dream of a Calvin University that is
    the leading Christian University in the world – and despite my issues with the
    current Board, I will continue to support and promote the University as a whole.

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