A Wheaton College professor who wore a hijab in a photo on social media and said she stood in solidarity with Muslims in America was placed on administrative leave from her job.
Larycia Hawkins, a tenured political science professor at the private four-year Evangelical Protestant Christian liberal arts college, said she had planned to wear the hijab until Christmas after posting the photo on Facebook and Twitter on Dec. 10, reported the
Chicago Sun-Times.
"My actions were motivated by a desire to live out my faith. Period," said Hawkins on Wednesday in what the Sun-Times said was her first statement since Wheaton placed her on leave. "And live out my faith in solidarity with my neighbor, who is Muslim. That's what this is about."
Hawkins said she was told during a meeting in the provost office on Tuesday that she was being placed under administrative review and administrative leave until the end of the spring semester.
The university issued a
statement on Hawkins on Wednesday.
"Contrary to some media reports, social media activity and subsequent public perception, Dr. Hawkins' administrative leave resulted from theological statements that seemed inconsistent with Wheaton College's doctrinal convictions, and is in no way related to her race, gender or commitment to wear a hijab during Advent," said the statement.
"Wheaton College believes the freedom to express one's religion and live out one's faith is vital to maintaining a pluralistic society and is central to the very reason our nation was founded, enabling us to live together despite our deepest differences. Equally important is the freedom of religious organizations to embody their deeply held convictions."
Some of Hawkins current and former students rallied in her support on Wednesday, asking the college to reinstate the professor and offer an apology, said the Sun-Times.
"Dr. Larycia Hawkins, the first black faculty female member to be tenured at Wheaton College has consistently embodied what Wheaton students hope for from their professor, a deep faith matched by a deep intellectual rigor," said Wheaton graduate Clara Kent.
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