Bob Jones University terminates relationship with G.R.A.C.E.

Allegedly abused people. All we have are stories.

And how many “alleged” stories does one need before one decides that maybe it’s worth investigating? Maybe when it happens to YOUR kid or YOUR niece or YOUR sister? Until then, it’s just “alleged?”

Love: It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

And how many “alleged” stories does one need before one decides that maybe it’s worth investigating?

Investigation? Yes - by all means.

Condemnation before investigation? No.

Let’s be honest, this GRACE thing, no matter what their final report revealed, was never going to end well for BJU.

1. DavidO pointed out something that everyone else seems to have missed: “The reason(s) for termination stated in BJU’s letter to GRACE [“the ongoing challenges of leadership change”] are not the same as those in the BJU official announcement [“we grew concerned about how GRACE was pursuing our objectives”].” This requires some explanation. There may be a legitimate explanation, but none has been given.

2. The fact that both ABWE and BJU terminated GRACE proves nothing either way. All we have are ABWE’s unproven complaints about GRACE’s mishandling of that investigation and GRACE’s unproven defenses of its investigation. We have even less than that much information about the BJU termination. It could well be that GRACE has mishandled both investigations. But it could just as well be that GRACE did its job in both instances and both ABWE and BJU wanted to avoid a negative report. Given the subject matter of the investigations that GRACE exists to do, it’s entirely foreseeable that sooner or later one or more client organization is going to have a change of heart, and in that situation the client is unlikely to concede that GRACE did a good job but the client just doesn’t want the report to come out. I am NOT saying that’s what happened with ABWE or BJU. I am saying that it’s silly to presume that BJU must be right about GRACE because ABWE also complained about GRACE.

I would be slow to say that Stephen’s public announcement and the letter do not square with each other. The letter mentions that they would like a new contract that will enable them to fulfill the objectives cited in the letter. Sure, it does not directly charge GRACE with deviating, but it puts the issue of unfulfilled objectives on the table. That allows the two statements to be harmonized, especially since: (1) Stephen said that they had been seeking to have a meeting to explain their concerns; and (2) it is true that leadership changes at BJU have now entered into the equation. I don’t see anything contradictory here.

(I posted this in both threads in response to the same post in both. Not sure if that is proper protocol, so I’ll defer to the moderators on how to handle it.)

[James K]

Enough people believe there was abuse that occurred for BJU to contract a third party to look into it. Remove BJU from the equation. Some other school has a group of people accuse of abuse, yet the school counters with a “trust us” attitude after terminating the independent investigation. Where does this leave BJU? If BJU implies that GRACE was incompetent, then what does that say to BJU’s ability to do their own due diligence? Is that a better alternative than how their current spin is? Their alleged incompetence is the reason for the audit.

I’d rather admit to not hiring the right agency or not doing due diligence than release a report that was either incorrect or misleading, ESPECIALLY in a matter as sensitive as child abuse and ESPECIALLY if the allegations of malfeasance in their methodologies were recurring in an investigation of my organization. And that goes for BJU, NIU, SharperIron, or anywhere else. It is far more important to get an accurate and truthful report on what happened than it is to finish any investigation.
As an aside, G.R.A.C.E. seems to have removed the letter from Stephen Jones from their website. I wonder why.

As an aside, G.R.A.C.E. seems to have removed the letter from Stephen Jones from their website. I wonder why.

No, GRACE has not removed the letter.

http://www.netgrace.org/wp-content/uploads/Termination-Letter.pdf

You have to know where to look.

As an aside, there are inconsistencies between BJU’s “Termination” letter (signed by Jones & Jackson) and Dr. S. Jones’ video posted on the BJU PR page.

Thanks - it wasn’t loading in Chrome, but it did load fine in IE / Firefox.

Usually Chrome & Firefox work & IE craps out.

Interesting letter - very different “tone” to it than the Dr. S. Jones video.

“He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.”

During the past week, representatives of GRACE and BJU have continued to communicate for the purpose of working out a time for an in-person meeting. The parties were recently able to schedule such a meeting for next week. The purpose of this meeting is for the parties to articulate expressed concerns, as well as to dialogue about the possibility of GRACE completing the independent investigation process started last year.

GRACE will post another update shortly after the meeting next week. We ask for prayers for everyone involved in this upcoming meeting. We also ask that we continue to pray for God to work mightily on the behalf of all the amazing individuals who have been impacted by this most recent development.

Via Twitter

Posted on bju.edu at 10:00 AM

Greenville, S.C. (February 25, 2014) – Bob Jones University today announced that it has reached agreement with GRACE to complete the independent review of the University’s response to sexual and other abuse. The independent review was initiated by the University in response to a series of national news stories about abuse at other institutions. The purpose of the review was to assess past responses by the University in support of victims and identify policies and procedures that could be enhanced.

Bob Jones University suspended the review on January 27, 2014. Bob Jones University met with GRACE on February 18-19, 2014, to discuss any issues that might stand in the way of GRACE’s completion of thorough, transparent and objective review. GRACE satisfactorily addressed the University’s concerns and Bob Jones University is confident the review can be completed in a timely and professional manner. To be clear, GRACE and BJU are united in their commitment to a review that is thorough, transparent and objective. As the process moves forward, regular updates will be provided.

BJU appreciates our former students and others who participated in the review with GRACE. They demonstrated great courage to share their stories in an effort to help us improve. We appreciate how important this review is to everyone who cares about the University and we apologize for the added anxiety caused by the temporary suspension of the review.

––– Moderator Note –––––- [Jim Peet] ––––

Added this link

BJU Reengages GRACE To Complete Independent Review

–––- END –––––––––––––––––-

Temporary suspension. I see.

It’s the right move, anyway.

Observation: Good move

Prediction: BJU will get a clean review. (No one likes audits (I can attest to that having been audited by the IRS once 25+ years ago). But when the audit is complete .. sigh of relief)

BJU agrees to reinstate GRACE to complete independent investigation under the terms of the original agreement. No changes. GRACE to post formal announcement early this afternoon. Looking forward to completing this process with excellence!

(from the GRACE Facebook page)

I wonder what all the people who were accusing BJU of “coverup” are going to say on SharperIron and the blogs now. Anyone in particular want to weigh in?

I’m not going to hold my breath.