HOLLAND (WHTC) — The latest volley by Hope College students, faculty, staff and alumni, is a website, Hope4Knapp.org.
Hope College President John C. Knapp’s supporters are actively campaigning to convince Hope’s board of trustees to drop an effort started last week to fire him.
Knapp supporters launched a social media campaign which included a silent demonstration, a Twitter account, suggesting Tuesday’s Scholarship Day of Giving as a way to show support through donations and an online petition at change.org to publicly pressure the trustees.
Trustees met in emergency session one day after Knapp announced the school’s highest academic officer, Provost Rich Ray, would step down and begin a year-long sabbatical. He would be allowed to return to teach in the summer of 2017, according to a campus-wide email from Knapp.
Leaked emails revealed by the journal Inside Higher Education show a trustees committee had recommended firing Knapp — who had been hired by unanimous vote three years ago. That suggestion has been tabled until the board’s meeting in May.
Though some students and alumni have spoken publicly, no spokesperson for the campaign itself has stepped forward. Knapp supporters have asked trustees to be more transparent about their decisions.
