Columbia Seminary Housing Policy
On August 13, 2012, President Steve Hayner of Columbia Theological Seminary announced the report of the seminary's Housing Policy Commission:
In May, a CTS Housing Policy Commission was created by the chair of the Board and the president to review the current standards and policies as they relate to housing within this very diverse community. The mandate for the Commission was to establish a fair and administrable housing policy which will serve all of our students and be in accord with the ethical standards of our community. The president indicated that the work of the Commission should be completed if at all possible by the beginning of the 2012 Fall semester.The Commission consisted of 13 members:* 3 members of the Board of Trustees, appointed by the chair of the Board;* 3 members of the faculty, chosen by the Executive Committee of the Faculty;* 3 students, chosen by the SCC officers; and* the Dean of the Faculty and the Dean of Student Services.The president and the chair of the Board of Trustees co-moderated the Commission.The Commission reviewed all of the current policies related to housing at Columbia. After prayerful consideration and extensive conversation, the Commission established the following new housing policy:Students, their qualified domestic partners (e.g. those in civil marriages, civil unions, or domestic partnerships as established by the laws of any state, the United States or a foreign jurisdiction), and their children are eligible to live in campus housing. Appeals may be made to the CTS Housing Committee.Questions regarding the policy may be addressed to the Dean of Students or the president of the seminary.Sincerely,The Columbia Housing Policy Commission:Bill Scheu (co-chair) Steve Hayner (co-chair)Lane Alderman Steve Montgomery Lucy StrongJohn Azumah Deb Mullen John WhiteMark Douglas Charles Nash Marcus YatesBeth Johnson Sheldon Steen
President Hayner has explained further that "our community is committed to being a place of open theological and biblical inquiry and hospitality for all who attend":
The new policy brings our housing policy into alignment with our admissions policy which does not exclude students on the basis of sexual orientation. Students from a wide theological and ecclesiastical spectrum come to Columbia for a quality biblical/theological education, and it is our desire to provide equitable student services for all students who attend here. The new policy treats all students who are legally joined in civil unions or marriages the same.The commission who wrote the policy was given the authority to do so by the administration and the board of trustees of Columbia, and the policy went into effect as soon as it was approved. There are currently no same gender couples on campus who have qualified under the new policy, nor do we have any applications.
