Houghton’s sole music industry professor Kevin Jackson has been placed on administrative leave, effective last Friday. According to Provost Jack Connell, Jackson’s employment “will be terminated” at the end of the academic year. “Practically speaking, he has no further duties or responsibilities at the College,” Connell said.
Jackson joined the Greatbatch School of Music faculty in 2007, and was “instrumental” in bringing the industry standard Pro Tools certification program to the music school in 2009, according to the faculty bio on the Houghton College website.
His termination took place on Friday, February 24. Tahsha Keith ‘17, Jackson’s former tech assistant, said she and other music industry students were faced with “utter confusion” when they heard of his mandatory leave. For most students in the program, Friday morning was the first they’d heard of any issue between Jackson and his superiors, Keith said.
Keith believes that Jackson was wrongly terminated. She said she was made aware of apparent issues between Jackson and his superiors before his dismissal, and said she offered to be a character witness on his behalf. “I asked Dean Connell to let me know if a meeting would be helpful,” Keith said. Keith said neither she nor the other two students were invited to speak to college administrators.
A petition to President Mullen and the administration of Houghton College began circulating on social media, and as of Tuesday, March 7, had garnered 263 signatures from students, faculty, staff, parents, and alumni.
The petition stated: “We, students and alumni of Houghton College, parents, and many others, have signed this petition in full disagreement with the actions taken against Professor Kevin Jackson on Friday, February 24th…We students, alumni, parents, and many others, understand that legally we are not informed of the details of the situation. However, we are also aware that Professor Jackson’s current students’ voices were not heard, which we believe could have helped prevent his termination.”
According to Connell, a meeting took place on Monday between six students and himself, President Mullen, Vice President of Student Life Rob Pool, and Dean and Director of the Greatbatch School of Music Armenio Suzano. “The petition was presented to President Mullen” at the end of the meeting, he said.
“The decision is final,” Connell said. “I appreciate the opportunity to know what people are thinking. I am always grateful for communication. It doesn’t mean we are able to change the decision because of it, but it’s helpful communication.”
Students continued to protest Jackson’s termination. A sit-in took place on Tuesday, beginning at 7 a.m. on the steps of the Luckey Building.
A fifth-year senior music industry student Matt Grim ‘16 participated in the protest. “Jackson was the only professor in the music industry department. We were given no reason as to his termination,” he said. “We have no answers. We feel like our voices are not being heard. We are out here protesting looking for answers. We feel he was wrongfully terminated.”
Grim said his goal in the protest was to, “make sure this incident isn’t swept under the rug, that it’s made known to the campus that we are not okay with what’s happened, that we are not okay with not having answers.”
Fellow protester Hendrik de Smit ‘19, also a music industry student said “We want transparency and we want them to be held accountable for what they’ve done.” He continued, “There’s a very heavy attitude at this school that we just have to trust the administration and lay down, roll over, and be happy with what they do. I really couldn’t care less, because this is bulls–t.”
“I simply want to encourage students to be cautious about assuming that they know the reasons for this decision,” said Connell. “I do understand the frustration of losing a professor in the middle of a semester, but I hope students know that the administration would never make a difficult decision like this without compelling reasons. We are of course not able to share what those reasons are, but I think the student frustration about this situation would dissipate if students understood the full story.”
“There seems to be a lot of misinformation, rumor, and speculation among students as to why this particular decision was made,” Connell continued. He noted that the college “do[es] not believe there was any sexual misconduct by Professor Jackson.”
Jackson said, “While I am not in any kind of agreement with the administration’s decision, I understand the complexity of the situation. My heart goes out to the music industry students who have been deeply impacted by this. My thoughts and prayers are with them. My hope is that during this difficult time, the student body will unite and support their fellow brothers and sisters within the school of music- praying for them, reaching out to them and being the Church and people Christ would have us be. I am praying for God’s leading and direction for the students, and Houghton College, during this time.” He stated he cannot comment further as he is in consultation with legal counsel. Jackson’s wife Carrolin Jackson said she and her husband care “first and foremost” for the students affected by Jackson’s termination.
“I’m set up to graduate,” Keith said. “But for [underclassmen] it’s not the easiest to transfer out of Houghton. How is this going to affect them?”
Student Government representative Sergio Mata ‘19 also attended Monday’s meeting between students and administrators. According to Mata, two adjunct professors are sharing the responsibilities Jackson previously held. Connell said, “Our expectation is that everything will continue with minimal interruption. The college remains fully committed to this academic program, and so we will begin a search shortly for a person to fill this role long-term.”
As for Keith, she said, “This whole situation will taint my degree. I can’t proudly say I received my degree from this place.”