kent gramm

I got word, a few weeks back, that a favorite faculty member of mine, Kent Gramm has quit Wheaton due to his getting a divorce. The college has a policy of all divorcees having to go before a committee to talk about the situation of their divorce or lose their job. Dr. Gramm felt as though this committee, in a sense, was requiring him to blame his wife. Unwilling to do this, KG decided to leave Wheaton.

I worked for Dr. Gramm last year, as a sort of editorial assistant (sending out manuscripts, running to and from the post office, talking with publishers) and I always appreciated his genuine thoughtfulness, his humor and his deep honesty and insight. Dr. Gramm was and is loved by students, including me.

I've been thinking about Dr. Gramm a lot these past days. There's much debate at Wheaton whether someone who gets a divorce should have to make it a public affair, or if divorce should be a part of their private life. I don't really know.

I see both sides--the necessity of living a public life as Christians. Do Christians have a private life? I'm not sure that we do-- or should. That said, how much grace is there in a hearing, a committee? Both of these terms alone suggest cold and institutional dissection. Would the committee have given Dr. Gramm grace even if he (nobly) didn't blame his wife? We'll never know.

Grace and truth--it's the old battle.

One of the other English profs at Wheaton posted this response to Kent Gramm's departure: http://www.firstthings.com/blog/2008/05/02/the-bonds-of-community

At the end of the day, all I'm left with is that I'll dearly miss KG.