Joe Aguillard was elected president of Louisiana College in Pineville – effective immediately – during a called meeting of school trustees on January 17. Since that time, he has dialogued with various college groups – students, faculty, staff and outside supporters.
Joe Aguillard was elected president of Louisiana
College in Pineville – effective immediately – during a called meeting
of school trustees on January 17. Since that time, he has dialogued
with various college groups – students, faculty, staff and outside
supporters. As part of that process, he agreed to a question-and-answer
session with the Louisiana Baptist Message. It
appears in full below.
Aguillard, 48, is no stranger to Louisiana College.
A 1977 alumnus, he joined the faculty in 2000 as chair of the LC
Division of Education. Still, last year, as his name emerged as a
presidential possibility, opposition was evident. Faculty members voted
to oppose his election, and members of the college community lined up
on either side of the issue. Trustees eventually voted 17-13 to elect
Aguillard.
Aguillard assumes office as the Louisiana Baptist
school enters a year of academic probation. Last fall, the Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools accrediting agency cited problems
related to governance and academic freedom at the college and gave it a
year to address the issues. Part of the concerns involve
trustee-approved policy changes on the selection of classroom materials
and the hiring of faculty. (The faculty hiring policy since has been
rescinded.)
Aguillard also comes to office amid continuing
unrest among some Louisiana Baptists about the direction of the
college. Some donors reportedly have informed officials they no longer
will support the college financially. A group of alumni and friends
also have filed suit seeking to invalidate Aguillard’s election, saying
trustees acted improperly.
Aguillard repeatedly has said he believes
communication and the working of God can solve the problems – and he
reiterates that belief in the Baptist Message interview.
Aguillard is a Louisiana native. In addition to
being a Louisiana College graduate, he received a pair of master
degrees in education from McNeese State University in Lake Charles and
a doctor of education from Nova Southeastern University in Ft.
Lauderdale, Fla. He was involved in parish school administration from
1977 to 2000, almost all of that time in the Beauregard Parish school
system – as a teacher, assistant principal, guidance counselor,
instructional supervisor, director of personnel, assistant
superintendent and superintendent. As superintendent from 1998 to 2000,
he was responsible for overseeing 6,220 students, 1,300 employees and
an annual budget of $43 million.
At Louisiana College, Aguillard served as an
associate professor of education and also coordinated the Department of
Teacher Education, a popular effort that has received high marks from
various quarters. He is a member at Dry Creek Baptist Church in Dry
Creek, where he served 26 years as minister of music and worship. He
resigned that position upon election as LC president.
Baptist Message: What would you want Louisiana Baptists to know about Joe Aguillard that they might not know yet?
Aguillard: I
think, with regard to Louisiana College, it’s important to know that I
have a longstanding connection with LC. My mother and father – Harry
and Helyn Aguillard – came to LC back in the ’30s. It was totally of
the Lord because they had no money to come – my mother was the daughter
of a poor Baptist preacher, and my dad had $4 to his name when he came.
Had he not been able to come here on an athletic scholarship, he would
not have been able to come.
They met, fell in love, were married.
My dad’s two sister later came to LC – and one died
here. She was stricken with appendicitis. My dad was a trustee. He also
taught here briefly.
I came here after going to McNeese (State University
in Lake Charles) for a year. I went on a track scholarship, and I was
unhappy. I transferred to LC and just fell in love with everything
about it. I met Judy Collins, and we fell in love and were married. We
have three daughters – two have graduated from here and our youngest is
a junior here.
I think the next thing to know is that I accepted
the Lord as savior when I was nine years old. It has been an awesome
journey with him that I never thought would lead to this point. This
was not a career goal of any kind, but miraculously, the Lord has led
step by step to bring me to this point.
I’ve shared that when I was superintendent of
schools and in a very comfortable employment situation – financially
and otherwise – the Lord began to speak, and I realized the Christian
life is not about how comfortable we are but how in control the Lord is
of where we are.
I spoke to a deacon in my church who had a dream
that I was going to come here and be a dean of education. Well, about a
year later, I got a call from (then-President) Dr. (Rory) Lee to come
to LC. Judy and I prayed about it. And about a year after that – it
took almost two years – we prayed about whether we could afford to come
on the salary. I knew it would be less, but no one would mention what
it was. And on my last interview, Judy and I put out a fleece about
what we thought we needed to be paid in order to come here. She let me
out of the car right there in front of Guinn Auditorium. I came in for
the interview, and we had prayed about a certain amount we needed to
pay our bills. After the interview was over, (then-Vice President of
Academic Affairs) Dr. (Ben) Hawkins wrote across a piece of paper and
said “Here’s the amount, the salary, that we’re prepared to offer you.”
And it was the exact salary – to the penny – Judy and I had prayed
about before I got of the car.
I knew the Lord was speaking.
I went back to my office and told my assistant
superintendent that I thought I’d be coming to Louisiana College. And
as I began to bring that up, she began to cry. And she said, “I didn’t
know how to tell you, but just a couple of nights ago, I had a dream
that you were going to leave and go to Louisiana College and be
president there one day.”
I said, “Well, they’re not asking me to be
president; I’m going to head the teacher education division.” And that
never crossed my mind much again until very lately. And it gives me
chills to think about the journey that’s brought me this far.
Baptist Message: Obviously,
you’re still getting your feet on the ground as president, but at this
point, what do you see as the greatest challenge facing Louisiana
College?
Aguillard:
After January 17, I’ve been awfully busy doing all the things I thought
I needed to do immediately, including going to the dormitories – Judy
and I have been going in at night. We’ve met with every resident
student on campus in small-group settings, just sitting on the
fireplace and talking, answering questions.
I’ve also met with the faculty in small departmental
meetings. I’ve also been meeting with the staff, other groups, in the
same small settings – student government groups, etc. Now, I’m
venturing out, and I’ve begun to ask the (associational) directors of
missions to help coordinate associational meetings in clusters. Our
first one is Feb. 15 where I’ll meet with Mt. Olive, Vernon and
Beauregard (associations) in a setting. And the others I hope to be
setting up subsequent to that.
Right now, what I see as our biggest challenge
includes, of course, that we have to address the (Southern Association
of Colleges accreditation) issue and hit it just right up front and
deal with it realistically, pragmatically, accurately. So, we’re
spending a lot of time making sure that we’re doing all the things that
SACS would look upon as appropriate to get us off probation.
In addition to that, we need to heal. We need to
come together with the Lord being first. If he’s high and lifted up, he
draws all men unto him, so we’re putting him first as the focus, as the
foundation of everything.
Then, we come together – with all our differences
and diversity – to work together, united under him. I think that’s
where we are. We’re coming together as a faculty, a staff, a student
body – and I want to bring the greater LC audience across our state
together to support us.
Number one is prayer. Prayer moves God, and we are
planning an official prayerwalk on Feb. 19 to say, “God, you’re number
one here, and we’re asking you to anoint every square inch of this
place in your name.” And we’ll walk the dormitories where the students
sleep, the classrooms where they learn, these offices where decisions
are made so that everything is under the authority of God. And we’re
publicly declaring that.
We’re asking for further blessings of students – in
recruiting them from our schools and churches and communities. And
financially, we’re in need of scholarship money. We have an initiative
called “Churches Alive in 2005.” We’re asking churches to consider an
unrestricted scholarship that would go directly to our students. We
want our churches to feel that association with us, to feel that
heritage with LC.
Baptist Message:
Do you foresee the college being fully restored in terms of
accreditation by the end of the year – or will it take another year?
Aguillard: I
feel that we’ll accomplish it by the end of the year. That’s our goal.
I’ve spoken with (officials) at the SACS office and told them my
complete pledge to do whatever’s necessary and asked for advice on how
to accomplish that. SACS gives you areas to work on, but they don’t
give you the action plan, the steps to take.
We’ve had two consultants in to help begin
developing that action plan. I believe the board will take some crucial
steps in some decisions they’ll make in March to enact that, to take
visible steps. And we want to follow through in every capacity here on
campus.
Baptist Message: What do you see as the greatest strength that Louisiana College has going for it?
Aguillard:
The greatest strength we have is that we receive our authorization, our
marching orders, our mission from our Christian faith – and that’s what
we’re founded on. And if we can keep plugged into God and his
authority, everything else is going to fall in place.
Under that authority, we have such great things –
like a great academic program, great faculty and staff, the best
students in the world. Faculty, staff, students, the academic strength
– coupled with the integration of the spiritual aspect – is unbeatable.
It’s the combination that you struggle with, that you never have
perfectly in place, but you’re always working toward that combination.
And I think we must always seek to enhance that. We’ll never be there.
It’s a journey, and it’s a journey that requires the utmost in
communication. I think that’s where we’ve been lacking – in sitting
down at the table and talking about how we can best integrate faith and
learning.
We’re a liberal arts college. We’re not a Bible
college or a seminary. We prepare students to go out in diverse
careers. That diversity brings about challenges for the integration of
faith and learning because culture and society are placing demands on
us that are of giant proportions to deal with. We live in a secular
world, but we are bringing forth a faith-based curriculum. So, the
integration of that is a challenge, but that makes it all the greater
opportunity to teach, to provide instruction in such a way that our
students can see that they can model the Christian walk in a secular
career.
Baptist Message: That
gets at another issue – and that is, how do you define Christian
liberal arts education? How do those two go together in your mind and
in the approach you’ll take as president?
Aguillard:
There are 30,000 Christian denominations in the United States, so
there’s a varied definition of what a Christian is. For us at Louisiana
College, we define a Christian as someone who has accepted Jesus Christ
as their personal savior and Lord. In our bylaws, it
states we are to teach in harmony with – and not contrary to – the
Baptist Faith and Message 2000. That’s in our bylaws and our policies
and procedures. Those Scriptures in the Baptist Faith and Message help
define the authority of Christ – and all teaching on campus comes under
the authority of Scripture. It’s very clearly stated.
Now, a liberal arts education is one that provides
training in and education in and degree programs in the arts and
sciences – including law, medicine, teacher education, social work,
coaching, athletic training, nursing, all of those that many consider a
secular type of career choice. Well, God calls us into those careers.
We also have the pastoral preparation in the religion department.
But all of our students go through Old and New
Testament (courses) and our values study course. And when we teach, we
teach those aspects of the career field of choice that the students are
in through the lens of our Christian worldview. That’s our mission. So,
while we might teach very sensitive topics within each career field or
curriculum choice – and those need to be taught because we’ll have to
deal with them in the world – we teach them through the lens of a
biblical worldview. And that’s where we’re different from other
institutions.
Baptist Message: Another big area of concern these days is academic freedom. Describe your philosophy of academic freedom.
Aguillard: That is an issue that brought about the SACS (accreditation) probation, not by itself, but it’s a significant part of it.
Recently, we had consultants in – Dr. Bob Agee and
Mr. Jim Guenther. Dr. Agee was 16 years as president of Oklahoma
Baptist University and now is executive director of the Association of
Southern Baptist Colleges and Schools. He works with institutions with
SACS problems just like ours. Jim Guenther is an attorney for the
Southern Baptist Convention. We spent almost three hours (with them)
with the board on academic freedom to under-stand its role, the
administrative role and the faculty role.
There’s two kinds of academic freedom.
The institutional academic freedom is the first –
and that’s determined through the board of trustees. They set the
policies and the philosophies that determine the overarching philosophy
of academic freedom. And that’s been done. That’s in our policies and
procedures, our handbook. And a part of that is our doctrinal
statement, which is the Baptist Faith and Message. That helps to put
the parameters on where we are in our teaching.
The second type of academic freedom is individual,
where each faculty member is granted academic freedom to teach
creatively, to teach in accordance with how God leads he or she to
develop the curriculum and transfer it to the students. That is not
without boundaries, and it’s not without authority. It’s under the
authority of the Scripture as espoused through the philosophy, mission,
beliefs and identity of the college and, probably more specifically,
the doctrinal statement, which is the Baptist Faith and Message. That
helps the faculty determine the parameters for academic freedom within
the classroom.
So, we have those two types – and there’s always
concern as to what’s too far, what is acceptable. That can’t be
determined by individuals outside the institution. It has to be
determined within the institution. I think where we’ve been lacking –
what SACS noticed in mentioning dysfunctionality – is the communication
of what that is for me as a classroom professor in teaching my
curriculum to students and what the expectation of the institution is
as set forth in its mission, identity and belief system.
That’s a conversation that we need to have, and we
will have shortly – but it’s not one we have had in-depth here on
campus. There have been more issues of violations of academic freedom
without the definition of the parameters for each of us regarding
academic freedom. We all do have parameters – and it is within those
parameters that faculty can experience it, should experience it, and we
want them to experience that freedom and creativity.
Baptist Message:
That touches on another issue that has been a big one in the last year
and a half – classroom materials, selection of materials. Will the
current policy stay in place? Under a Joe
Aguillard presidency, will books like the two that started
the whole conversation on materials – “The Road Less Traveled” by Scott
Peck and “A Lesson Before Dying” by Ernest Gaines – be allowed? Where
will the line be drawn?
Aguillard:
Right now, the board’s policy includes a procedure that allows for the
faculty to submit those materials through their department coordinator,
their division chair and the academic vice president. I believe the
board will probably rescind that policy in March and allow me and the
academic vice president to work with the faculty to monitor and
determine those materials that are appropriate. That issue came up
because of concerns about the use of certain pieces of materials,
books, etc., that had been used in the past.
Now, no one is curriculum expert in every area
taught at the institution. Our experts are in the classroom teaching –
they are the faculty; they are the individual professors. And they need
to be the individuals to select and generate those materials taught.
But that has to be with parameters. It cannot be without any oversight.
And what my job is now is to bring together – through communication,
very open communication – what is acceptable and what’s not. And
that’s not through a dictate from me, but it’s through a working
together, a struggling. Those are the kinds of things that bring about
great results – brainstorming, talking, discussing, all those things.
And that’s what we will be doing in order to alleviate fear – I think
SACS said there was a fear on campus by faculty that they might teach
something that someone would deem inappropriate. Whatever that may be,
we need to talk about it – very openly, specifically.
I’ve been meeting with every department. We’ve
talked very candidly about materials. It’s not an end-all effort – it’s
just a beginning, just the beginning of a conversation. And we’re going
to bring Dr. Agee back in to have the same discussions with the faculty
that he’s had with the board so that we all receive the same
information to be on the same page. And we’ll be doing that to bring
together that consensus on what is acceptable and what is not.
Baptist Message:
So, it will not be black-and-white lines as much as a fluid type of
situation – a “here-are-the-parameters-you-can-operate-within”
framework.
Aguillard: I
think that we will all leave the table at the end of the day very much
aware of what kinds of materials are out there that would not be well
received here. And that still allows faculty to make all those creative
choices they would like to (make) to support what needs to be taught in
the curriculum. But they’re seeking those parameters as well, because
they don’t want to bring a problem upon the campus or upon themselves
individually. So, when we can come to consensus as professionals of
what is within those parameters, LC will win, faculty will win,
students will win. And we’ll be doing what the mission of the college
says – teaching under the authority that we’ve been given and
established through the board.
Baptist Message:
There is a lot of talk and concern about particular areas of the
school. One of those involves reports of donors saying they will not
give anymore to the school or support it because of changes that have
been made in recent years. Do you have a goal or a plan for trying to
win back some of the people?
Aguillard: We have a multi-step plan that we’ve already put into action, and it’s growing and developing.
I’ve written a letter to each of our donors to
explain my vision for LC, to share my love for LC and to ask them to
continue giving to LC, to the students who are at LC, to the same LC
they have loved and cherished over the decades. We also are stepping
out and asking churches of the state – especially at this time, as
we’re going through some hard times – to step up and help us with an
unrestricted scholarship. If the 1,600 churches come forth with just a
simple $1,000 unrestricted scholarship, it will revolutionize our
ability to recruit and to maintain students here. The admissions office
tells me there is no shortage of students wanting to come to LC;
there’s simply a shortage of scholarships to make it possible for them
to be here and stay here.
I really want to communicate to our churches that
they are the people who are the reason this college began. It’s their
identity and heritage that we’re proud of – and their scholarship money
is not going to lights, is not going to the electric bill, is not going
anywhere but directly to the students so they can get a Christian
liberal arts education. And we need them. We need our churches to step
forward immediately. That’s a group we’re addressing.
I’m also establishing an advisory foundational board
for fundraising – about 10-12 individuals who are significantly
positioned financially to lead in an initiative to bring in private –
as well as business and corporate – giving. We’re in the early stage of
getting that going.
Baptist Message:
You also have talked of eventually reaching an enrollment of 2,000, of
full coffers, of reduced tuition. Is there a time frame for that – and
will it get worse before it gets better as some predict?
Aguillard: I
can remember back in the late ’70s when LC had well over 1,500 students
in attendance. We know those days. When I graduated in ’77, it was
approaching the years of the greatest student enrollment in the history
of the college. That’s our goal. Our goal is 2,000. It doesn’t need to
happen overnight, even if it could. We need to take our time and
structure a foundation that will support that kind of a population. You
don’t jump from 1,000 to 1,500 in a semester and provide the kinds of
services we need to provide for our students.
Incrementally, I think that can happen between the
next five and nine years, because you have to have all the services, as
well as faculty and facilities, to support that. You provide the growth
when you have the numbers. And as they come and as they grow
financially, I see individuals claiming ownership of LC so that they
feel like their money is going to be well used. And with money comes
students, and with students comes money. It’s a catch-22. You can’t
have one without the other.
But we can’t finance LC’s future on the backs of our
students tuition. If 80 percent of our students are coming from
Louisiana, we know our competition – the state schools. We have to be
concerned that tuition cannot rise in an inordinate rate to what the
state schools are because students will go there. Now, we do compare
favorably with other private institutions across the country. But right
now, that’s not our competition in regards to students. It’s Louisiana
Tech (University in Ruston), it’s Louisiana State University at
Alexandria, it’s LSU in Baton Rouge. And that’s who we have to compete
with.
Baptist Message:
You also have emphasized the need to reestablish avenues of
communication, to open lines of communication. What are some of the
steps you are taking to establish those lines and to start that process?
Aguillard:
I’ve started here – in this president’s office – meeting with almost
every department just to share my vision and hear a response. I tell
them, “Just ask any question that you want to – there’s no bad
question. There’s nothing to hide.” And that has begun a great two-way
communication between me and the faculty.
I’ve done the same thing with the students. It’s
amazing how close we are, and the perceptions that were out there were
erroneous, and when we leave, we’re so close to the same place, it’s
phenomenal. That has to continue. That’s just started. You don’t just
sit down once and have a conversation and call it communication.
I’m also glad to be invited to churches around the
state to speak from their pulpits. My Sundays and Wednesdays and
weeknights are open to our churches across the state to come and speak.
I hope through this avenue, churches will call my office and schedule
me to come and speak, to let them know it’s their LC and what we’re
doing to foster quality Christian liberal arts education here.
I’ve been in the media quite a lot lately in an
effort to share our message, and I hope that continues as well.
Baptist Message: Obviously,
you were elected with a majority of faculty members on record as
opposed and some trustees and others opposed. What drove you to be
willing to face that and willing to accept the presidency even without
an overwhelming vote.
Aguillard:
That journey began awhile back. I’m not sure what the first day of it
was – maybe, it was the day I was born. It’s hard to go back and define
it.
But I think God is always preparing us. My Christian
journey has not been about a destination or other jobs I’ve had or this
job. I don’t know what God has in store for me in the future, but I
feel there’s more beyond this job one day. Our destination’s heaven –
to worship him and glorify him. I used to think in my younger days that
getting my degree and my education, getting the career, getting set and
getting comfortable was what God had in store. But God doesn’t care how
comfortable I am. He cares how obedient I am.
And as the opportunity for this job began to unfold,
he spoke to me very clearly that he wanted me to be available. He never
told me I would get it, so to speak, or what would happen at the end of
it. But he told me that he needed me to be available for the journey.
And to be honest, I tried to take a detour. There was a time last fall
when my wife and I prayed about leaving Louisiana College and going to
another institution where we would be more comfortable and the heat
would not be as hot. But God wouldn’t allow it. He wouldn’t allow me to
leave, and he made it very clear.
I go back to Isaiah 43. He said this very clear to
me – “Fear not. I have called thee by thy name. Thou art mine.” And
when I think about that – if he’s called me into a journey, wherever it
leads, there’s no other place to be. When he calls us into a journey,
he never says there won’t be storms or there won’t be fires. He says,
“The fire won’t burn you; the storm won’t blow you down; the waters
will not flood you.” And that’s what not only he’s promised me but
that’s what he’s delivered to me. And all of the abuse and the
contention that brought Judy and I to this place has not been anything
about that – it’s been about God, his direction, his journey and his
protection.
And I have nothing but a great testimony to his
greatness through this journey, not knowing that it would end up in
this position, which is not, for me, a salary or a career or anything
else. It’s about what God would have me do every day to lead LC to
glorify him.
Baptist Message:
Louisiana College has gone through some rough years – and you’ve been
here for some of them. What is the source of tension and division
within Louisiana College? Is it vision? Is it leadership? Is it
strategy? What’s the dividing point between people?
Aguillard: When
I came here in 2000, I came from working in my church – I’d been
minister of worship and music for 26 years, real active in a Southern
Baptist church but not aware of all that was going on. I was removed
from it. I’d read about it, what was going on in the convention and at
the college. But I was not actively involved in it. So, when I got
here, I realized there was a division that I didn’t know about. I
didn’t know who the major players were on each side – conservative,
fundamentalist, moderate, those different titles.
One day after being shortly here, I went back to my
church and I had a conversation with my pastor, Bro. Don Hunt, and my
best friend, Curt Iles, who was on the board of trustees at that time.
I said, “Guys, let’s talk just a minute. I’m hearing about
conservatives, fundamentalists and moderates. Now, I’m a Christian, and
I believe every word of the Bible. I am not ashamed of that. It is
without error. It is the foundation for understanding and finding God’s
will for our lives. But I don’t understand these lines that different
people are drawing and (how they are ) placing others in under a
certain definition.”
But I soon found that certain beliefs and actions
one has would place one within a definition. I don’t define myself as
anything but a God-fearing, Bible-believing Christian – Southern
Baptist and proud of it. I believe the Word is inerrant, and I believe
in an almighty God – there’s nothing that he cannot do. And I know in
my heart, there are the greatest days for LC ahead, because that’s what
God would have. He would have himself glorified through this
institution. I use this Scripture I think is fitting to what God has in
store for us. It’s Jeremiah 32:17 – “Oh, Lord God, you made the heavens
and earth by thy power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too
hard for thee.”
Thus, to limit our ability to come together as an LC
family – inside these walls as well as outside in this state – to come
together and support LC and glorify God is to limit God if we don’t
think it can happen, totally and miraculously. And he has called me to
be in place for that miraculous coming together. It has already begun,
and it’s going to continue. It will continue as long as our faces are
in service to him. As Jehoshaphat said, “Lord, we don’t know what
to do, but our eyes are upon you.” That’s when God steps in and says,
“Set yourself aside. The battle’s not yours. It’s mine. See the
salvation of the Lord.”
And that’s what we’re seeing. Last week, we had 21
salvations on campus in our revival. We had 105 student rededications.
We had a janitor give his life to the Lord. It’s miraculous. It’s the
beginning of a great revival that I want to spread across the state.
And I want everyone to see that that’s what we’re about here at LC.
Baptist Message:
Louisiana College has gained a reputation for its academic excellence.
Is there any wavering from a commitment to maintain that standing?
Aguillard: Absolutely
not. I think we need to continue to enhance that. We’re going to seek
the highest quality faculty to continue that tradition. We’re going to
seek national accreditation in our departmental areas. That is at the
top of our list – integrating faith with the highest quality academics.
Baptist Message: There
also is a lot of rumor and speculation about the faculty – that faculty
members are going to be asked to leave, that faculty members are going
to be pushed out. Describe your commitment to the faculty members who
are here now.
Aguillard: As
I have said, we have a great faculty. Some of the faculty here taught
me when I was here, and I’ve been so privileged to be a part of this
faculty for four-and-a-half years. And I have been meeting with them to
speak of my support of them and the great job they’re doing. If there
are concerns with any individuals faculty over any issues, those should
be dealt with individually and not with a shotgun. And that’s what I’ll
do if that should arise in whatever instance. But that’s not to shoot
our faculty or negate them as a collective faculty because they are
great. And we’re proud to have them here at LC.
Baptist Message: Describe your vision of Louisiana College 10 years down the road.
Aguillard:
My vision of LC 10 years down the road is that we would be right at our
2,000 mark in student enrollment. In 10 years, I really would like to
approach having doubled our endowment. There’s an old saying – if you
don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there. So, to not
have a dream and to not have a vision is to not have a future – and I
see those things happening. I see healing having taken place. I see
this state knowledgeable of – and proud of – what LC is.
We’re the only Baptist (educational) institution in
this state. We are a jewel waiting to be polished by all of the
Louisiana Baptist Convention and other institutions and groups and
denominations and alumni that love LC and want to be a part of her. And
I see that polishing and that shine getting brighter and brighter every
year – financially, student-wise, spiritually. And I know it’s a
challenge to continually strive at integrating faith and learning. As I
said earlier, we’ll never be there, but we have to be on that journey
with a focus to bring that together at all times. And God is going to
honor that. God honors people who put him first. As an institution, he
will be put first – and he will bless us. I’m just concerned that we
don’t have enough property close enough by to acquire, but he’ll make
that available for our needs in the future.
Baptist Message: You have said you see an end to the struggles of the last several years internally, as far as trustees and policies and such.
Aguillard: I
do – and I think communication is going to be at the heart of those. It
will never be without differences of opinion in Baptist life, because
Baptists are about independence. We don’t tell each other how to
believe, but we espouse certain truths that are absolute. And at LC, we
will espouse those absolute truths, and we will – I believe – be a
focal point to help this state come together in a healing manner. I
believe it. I would be so honored for LC to be the thing that brings
healing in our state – through the convention and otherwise.
Baptist Message: So, was this a necessary struggle for Louisiana College to go through – and it is stronger because of it or is it weaker?
Aguillard: I
think it’s going to definitely be stronger because were we not able to
come to the point where we had to grasp and grapple and struggle with
certain issues that need to be transparently understood by all
individuals, we would never get to that point. We would have continued
with decades – and there have been decades of back-and-forth issues at
LC, decades of it – and we need to go forward with open communication
and with who we are, what we are and where we’re going. And I think
this has forced an opportunity for that to come forward. We are
stronger, and we will continue to become stronger because of this.
Baptist Message: Is there something we have not covered or that you would like to say in conclusion?
Aguillard: I
think the only thing I might add would be that we cannot forget we are
here for the students. They’re our passion, and they don’t need to be
harmed in the struggle, because they’re the losers when that happens.
And all the people who love LC, I would challenge with an opportunity
to come together, to think about the students and what we can do for
the LC students to provide that quality Christian education. And that
would be to come together and unite under our most holy God who has
ordained this institution to provide a quality Christian liberal arts
education for the students of this state and elsewhere. We’re here to
serve those students – and I need to be the greatest servant on this
campus. And that’s my goal – to be the biggest, the greatest servant to
serve our students on this campus.