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In Reply to: Re: Stan State prof suspected of cult link posted by BNM on December 16, 2006 at 22:02:02:
You are correct: Instructor is the low man on the totem pole. Because this is a regional university with an emphasis on undergraduate teaching (as opposed to a graduate school research emphasis), it's not that unusual for someone with a Master's degree to get on into a tenure-track faculty position.
His teaching load suggests to me there's no way he'd be doing research. He's what the sociology department calls a community practitioner. As in, this is the kind of work that people with a BS or MS on sociology do for a living, e.g., develop nonprofit parenting programs.
The university spokesperson is doing a total CYA on the business about checking out the background of new hire beyond verifying the instructor's academic credentials. Most probably, Predergast has a friend associated with this university and/or this particular sociology department who wrote a glowing letter of reference. Who he knows is at least as important as what he knows.
Secular academia is a liberal environment, so his association with TFI doesn't necessarily work against him. The sociology department may see his religious affiliation as little more than a matter of diversity. If he keeps his personal issues out of the classroom--e.g., no one complains about being proselytized or recruited or approached inappropriately in some way--the school may not take much interest in his Family background. You & I may think it is ludacris for someone like Prendergast to end up teaching a course on sociology of the family, but if he sticks to the textbook as far as content is concerned and no one complains if he gets a little wigged out on the subject of polygamy or polyamorous relationships, then he may very well find acceptance on the faculty at Stan State.
At the same time, the Modesto Bee has put the school & sociology department on notice that Predergast's supervisors need to watch very closely for complaints from students & staff.
