A Calvin College professor has resigned in protest over a church membership controversy at the school, according to the Grand Rapids Press. Denise Isom, associate professor of education at the College, has left for another position at California Polytechnic State Institute after being told that she must attend a church with ties to the Christian Reformed Church. Isom had previously drawn public attention when she protested Calvin’s policy earlier last fall, arguing that she had tried attending CRC churches, but felt more comfortable at Messiah Missionary Baptist Church.

The College’s administration rejected Isom’s argument. Calvin requires that faculty pursuing tenure attend a church with links to the CRC.

"I’m sad for this situation, and it’s been very difficult for me," said Isom. "I’d love to see faculty, staff and students continue to push on this. Maybe this difficult moment will be part of the move to the future."

Two more education professors - Susan Hasseler and Rachel Reed - are leaving in protest. According to the Press, their departure marks an "exodus equaling one-sixth of the full-time faculty" in Calvin’s education department.

"I believe that the Calvin administration and board made a huge error in their decision about Denise Isom’s exception request," said Hasseler, a former associate dean of the department. "It is essential to the Reformed mission of Calvin College to do everything to do everything possible to keep committed Christian scholars of color like Denise. She is truly irreplaceable."

Bastian Knoppers, chairman of the Calvin College Board, called Isom’s departure "very disappointing," and noted that "it was our hope that Denise would stay at Calvin, and we were working very hard to keep her." Knoppers sits on a 16-member task force designed to explore the "confessional, philosophical and practical characteristics and features that constitute the Reformed identity and the mission of Calvin College."

Isom praised the existence of such a committee, but expressed doubt that it will "address all the important questions that my case raised."

According to the Grand Rapids Press, those issues include "Calvin’s relationship to the broader community and how the college hopes to achieve ideals of its FEN (For Every Nation) document, a 2004 plan for racial justice, reconciliation and cross-cultural engagement that includes the goal of increasing numbers of minority students and staff."