Springfield Business Journal_2020-11-02

GreatSouthernBank.com /business Running your business while keeping up with changing needs can be a challenge. That’s why we developed lending solutions to help you grow and stay competitive, with flexible options for cash flow and expedited financing for that “need it now” equipment. Best of all, you get experienced business bankers backed by a full-service team that will be there for you every step of the way. Stay ahead of the game. 800-749-7113 Business & Commercial Lending SPRINGFIELD BUSINESS JOURNAL · 7 NOV. 2-8, 2020 NEWS SBU officials mum on president’s exit by Mike Cullinan · mcullinan@sbj.net Southwest Baptist University officials are choosing to remain silent regarding details of the resignation of Eric Turn- er, the school’s president for the past two years. Turner plans to exit the Bo- livar university Nov. 20, when the semester ends. He submit- ted his resignation to the SBU Board of Trustees during its Oct. 20 meeting, according to a news release. “As the university and Mis- souri Baptist Convention reart- iculate their long-standing relationship, I think it is vital for the two entities to have a fresh start with a new leader at the helm,” Turner said in the release. SBU spokesperson Charlotte Marsch said Turner’s comments about the Missouri Baptist Convention refer to the university’s updated articles of incorporation and by- laws. SBU, a Christian-based institution, is an MBC-affiliated entity. “The Missouri Baptist Con- vention has asked all entities to update these documents, and our trustees have spent the past few years working through the updates with the convention,” Marsch said via email. “Those documents are now finalized.” Turner and Ryan Palmer, out- going chair of the SBU Board of Trustees, denied Springfield Business Journal’s interview requests. Those familiar with the situation cite ten- sion between the parties. An Oct. 22 report by Baptist News Global pointed to disagreements on fundamentalism between SBU and the Mis- souri Baptist Convention, specifically citing interference in faculty decisions. Addition- ally, it cited reporting in the Word & Way monthly magazine covering the Baptist denomination-related news.  Word & Way cited leaders at MBC and SBU expressing dis- agreement over the trustee se- lection process and governance. The conflict came amid a con- troversy over SBU’s 2018 firing of theology professor Clint Bass for violating the university’s faculty handbook. Bass report- edly met in secret with MBC leaders in an alleged attempt to force out other theology professors. Ac- cording to Word & Way, a trustee committee upheld the dismissal of Bass. Prior to MBC’s annual meeting in October 2019, Baptist News Global reported the or- ganization replaced SBU’s slate of trustees to place five new people on the school’s 25-member board. According to Word & Way, Turner criticized the ac- tion as counter to past efforts of collaborative board nomina- tions by the two institutions. The magazine also reported MBC officially amended nomi- nation rules in August to allow the organization more author- ity in the trustee selection pro- cess. MBC spokesperson Rob Phillips said the organization’s leadership was unavailable for comment. However, a state- ment by MBC Executive Director John Yeats notes tension between the president See SBU on page 29 Eric Turner is leaving after two years, but officials won’t address issues surrounding the move John Yeats points to tension between SBU president and board. Eric Turne r plans to leave his job as SBU president Nov. 20.