Lawsuits, threats follow firing of president of Calvin University

Calvin University had high hopes when it hired alumnus Wiebe Boer as president two years ago. Now it is embroiled in a controversy over alleged improprieties

In mid-February, Boer resigned after the school’s board received complaints that he had sent “unwelcome and inappropriate” messages to the employee of a vendor who worked on campus. When confronted by the board, Boer agreed to step down, leaving the campus in turmoil, with anger and confusion over how things went so wrong, so fast. That anger has led to Boer being locked out of the school’s presidential residence, a lawsuit and alleged threats of violence against one of the school’s senior leaders.

“I want to be very clear; this must stop,” interim President Greg Elzinga in a video message sent to the campus community. “Regardless of how you feel about the board’s handling of Dr. Boer’s resignation, it is never acceptable to threaten or attack other members of this community or to joke about doing so in a misguided attempt at humor.”

Elzinga said the threat against a leader had been reported to local law enforcement, according to Religion News Service.

Boer and his wife, Joanna, filed suit against the school in federal court, alleging that Calvin violated his employment agreement and defamed the former president — and that the school failed to pay him $400,000 in severance or to prove that he had engaged in significant misconduct.

“Calvin, specifically the board of trustees as led by Chair Los and Vice Chair Tuuk Kuras, has diligently continued and perpetuated a harmful narrative about Dr. Boer to the campus and local community, irrespective of truth or fairness,” his attorneys alleged in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court. Joanna Boer, who is a Caribbean-American woman of color, alleged that school officials “undermined her, belittled her and unduly challenged her” because of her race and gender and sued for discrimination.

The school’s board of trustees denied the allegations and has said in the past that Boer’s actions made him unfit for president.

“In summary, the board emphatically rejects the accusations of breach of contract, defamation and discrimination laid out in the Boers’ lawsuit, and we are confident that further misrepresentations will be corrected through litigation,” the board said in a statement.

Affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church, Calvin is known for its high-profile alums such as former Secretary of Education Betsy Devos as well as influential professors such Kristin Kobes Du Mez, a historian and author of “Jesus and John Wayne.” The school has experienced tension in recent years over its rules on sexuality while the school admits LGBTQ students. A former Calvin professor who lost his job after officiating a same-sex marriage is currently involved in a legal battle with the school.

–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice