College's faculty council opposes effort to fire professor

WHEATON, Ill. (AP) - The faculty council of a suburban Chicago Christian college has recommended the school end its effort to fire a tenured professor who asserted while wearing a headscarf that Christians and Muslims worship the same God.

In a letter to her colleagues Wednesday, Wheaton College Faculty Council chairman Lynn Cohick said the group unanimously agreed the termination effort against Larycia (lah-REE'-shuh) Hawkins should "be withdrawn due to grave concerns about the process." College officials say they began the effort because Hawkins refused to participate in "clarifying conversations" about theological issues, something she denies.

In a statement Thursday, Wheaton said its administration respects the viewpoints of the faculty council. It added it is following the college's established process for handling employment decisions pertaining to tenured faculty members.

Hawkins, an associate professor of political science, said she continues to pursue reconciliation with college officials.