Millionaire Donor to Belmont University: Christians Don't Fire Gay Employees

Mike Curb has given more than $10 million to Belmont University, and an event center on campus even bears his name. Now, Curb is calling on the University to make amends for decisions by school officials that have branded gay Christian students "disruptive," and have resulted in a lesbian soccer coach being fired because she chose to have a child with her same-sex partner.

"It's time for Belmont to change and to recognize that we have gay students, faculty and staff," said Curb, who is also a trustee emeritus at Belmont. "I want to see this board and the school leadership act like Christians."

It's probably the harshest criticism that has been leveled at Belmont University to date. And there's been quite a bit. Students and alumni have protested outside of Belmont buildings. The Faculty Senate passed a resolution saying that employees shouldn't be fired on the basis of sexual orientation. And local columnists have said that the school is fostering a culture of intolerance and discrimination, cloaked in a misinterpretation of religious values.

But the power of having a major donor to the University call attention to the LGBT problem on campus is pretty significant. Nothing quite catches the ears of administrators like a man with a $10 million wallet.

Curb went on to add that Belmont University has a choice to make about what kind of school it wants to be. Does it want to be the type of school that caters to a national audience, and builds a reputation that puts it among the elite schools of the country? Or does it want to be a school, ala Liberty University or Regent University, much more concerned about a stiff commitment to conservative religious values than on a national reputation for success?

"Belmont has to decide whether they want to be a national recognized university — particularly with their school of music business — or they want to be a church," Curb said.

That underscores a very important point. Nobody is denying the right of Belmont University to hold religious values. Indeed, some of the best schools in the country have deep religious traditions that frame their identity. But the question remains: Is Belmont the type of school where gay Christians, or those straight Christians who believe that homosexuality is not a sin, can feel comfortable? The University should say, so that faculty and staff know what's expected of them, and that students (both current students and incoming students) know what to expect on campus.

Photo credit: Belmont University