THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 30, 1994 TAG: 9409300560
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ESTHER DISKIN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
Regent University - still reverberating from law school professors' complaints earlier this year about academic freedom - is pulling out the welcome mat this weekend for thinkers and theologians of opposing ideas.
Officials at the Christian evangelical campus have invited their political adversaries to a panel discussion today on ``Defining the American Culture.''
The debate is likely to produce more sparks than a shared vision. The speakers' list is a Who's Who of conservative religious and liberal groups. On the right, there's conservation columnist Don Feder and the American Center for Law and Justice. The liberal flank includes the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.
On Monday, the move toward open debate reaches into religious tradition: Bishop Walter F. Sullivan of Richmond will conduct a Mass on campus, followed by a question and answer session with students.
Sullivan, whose diocese includes Hampton Roads, is only the third, and the most high-profile, leader to conduct a Roman Catholic service on campus in the school's 17-year history.
The events are open only to students, staff and invited guests.
Regent's president, Terry Lindvall, said the events are part of a long-term effort to push the school into ``the marketplace of ideas.''
``It is a change of direction for Regent,'' he said. ``In the past, we have been antagonistic to culture. Now we are going to engage. . . . We need to be on the forefront of debating ideas.''
The purpose, he said, was best expressed by Nobel Prize-winning author Thomas Mann: ``Silence is what separates us. Even the most contradictory word preserves contact.''
The weekend's events are part of a dedication of a new law and government building, which is being named for former U.S. Sen. A. Willis Robertson, father of Regent founder Pat Robertson. Former Vice President Dan Quayle will be the featured speaker at the dedication on Saturday.
The building was completed a year ago, but dedication was delayed for several reasons, Lindvall said, including turmoil at the Law School over dismissal of Dean Herbert W. Titus. After Titus complained that he was kicked out because his political views didn't match Robertson's, eight law school professors in March filed a complaint with the American Bar Association.
Regent is in its fifth year of provisional accreditation from the bar association, and hopes to receive full accreditation this year. Nationally, academic freedom is considered a test of a university's integrity.
Participants in the debate hailed the effort. ``It does moderate their image and show they are willing to have some dialogue,'' said Barry Lynn, of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. by CNB