If I were an employer I would be concerned that an LU grad would be dogmatic.
Yes, BJU is still around.
http://www.bju.edu/
If you mean Dewitt (DeWitt), no he is not first rate, Web of Science records his co-authorship of 10 rather ordinary journal articles in over 20 years, which is fine for a 2nd or 3rd tier university, but would never get him hired by a research-intensive institution. The fact is that the real top scientists are not creationists.
I suspect that there are some really top-notch creationists, but they would not be at Liberty.
I think I would probably advise my own child to avoid any school that clearly identifies him religiously, regardless of whether the school is academically strong or not. This would especially be the case if my religion were not mainstream. My viewpoint as a middle class person is that while I value education for its own sake, I also need the university degree to open doors to employment for my offspring. Given that college is a huge investment of money and time, I would prefer not to give a biased HR person or interviewer any reason to reject my kid other than his credentials.
Gosh, zekesima, for all the supposed anti-Christian bashing, no one is bashing Notre Dame or Georgetown or Boston College. Why do you think that is?
So you wouldn’t want your kids to go to Notre Dame or BC?
Not the GFG, but going to ND or BC doesn’t “mark” the person as Catholic, as they are open to and welcoming of all faiths and there is no belief-test they have to swear to.
Well, the name of Boston College does not sound religious, though of course many people know that it is Catholic. I would probably consider it, but only if it was the absolute best fit for my child. However, Notre Dame parents are the most scarily partisan sports parents I have ever encountered. They seem to have attached some religious fervor to their support of the school and its football team. A definite no on ND for that reason. Holy Cross looks like a great fit for my D and we plan to visit next week, but the very religious name does give me pause, yes. In fact, I spoke to a CCer I “met” on the athletic forum about Holy Cross who said that his son’s prep school friends are scared away from the school because of the name since they are not religious. And yes, they do realize the nature of the school, but there are atheists and generally secular individuals who seem to have a problem with the sound of the name, even though I personally do not. For my other two kids HC would have been a no since they had plenty of options, but the youngest is so unique it’s been very hard to find a school that has what she needs.
Living where I do, I know a lot of ND people, including one of my closest friends and my daughter’s best friend. The first is sort of nominally / culturally Catholic and the second isn’t Catholic at all. It is true that they are rabidly into supporting sports teams, but so is USC. Another way of interpreting their loyalty to ND is - “strong alumni network.”
I would be concerned with any school that starts with the premise that a religious text is the literal truth and that all scientific inquiry should be geared towards the re-engineering of events in said text and any contradictory scientific theories or discoveries are discounted because they don’t match dogma.
My BIL is of that mind. He is otherwise a kind, decent, intelligent, gentle man.
However I do know some very pious people, who have very firm religious beliefs who recognize that the world of faith and the world of science are separate but not necessarily contradictory.
GFG- Holy Cross is a highly respected academic institution in the corporate world- (as is ND by the way) so if the school is a good fit for your D then I don’t think you have to worry about employer’s perceptions. I seem to remember your D is interested in majoring in Classics? The Catholic colleges take the study of dead languages/culture very seriously, and if she plans to become a teacher, Holy Cross is a wonderful launch pad. (but her options wouldn’t be limited to teaching). I have colleagues who graduated from Holy Cross and they are a diverse, intellectually driven group of people whose education seems to have opened their minds, not closed them. They are respectful of other faiths (not all of them are Catholic to begin with) and are very well versed on other cultures and belief systems.
I agree completely, blossom, and I do know that these schools are welcoming to all and are not religious in an imposing way. S applied to Georgetown, and D visited BC, as a matter of fact. I respect the Catholic Church and most of my friends are Catholic, even though I am Protestant. That said, I grew up in a part of the country with a strong anti-Catholic bias so I am aware that there are plenty of people who are not favorably disposed to the religion, and there are also plenty of people who are not favorably disposed to any religion. My point is that when there are so many great schools to choose from, unless there is a compelling reason to select a school people consider “religious,” I wouldn’t. No need to risk bias if you don’t have to.
As for ND fans, I swear that if you don’t like their football team they act as though you hate the Blessed Virgin.
In North Carolina, college basketball is a religion and you risk bias if you went to Duke and the hiring manager went to Carolina. You can never know what will be a positive or negative tipping point, but it seems a bit extreme to exclude any school considered “religious”, especially if that school has a large population that are not members of the particular religion. There are so many great Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Quaker, Jewish and other schools out there that teach great critical thinking skills, which is what employers say they are looking for. Liberty is on the fringe, as is Bob Jones - but the vast majority of religious based schools offer great education without indoctrination.
WE know that, but not everyone does. There are thousands of schools in our region, so we can be as picky as we want with no ill effects. People discount schools because of all kinds of factors that would never have any bearing on employment, like their school colors or whether there’s a certain fast food joint near campus. There are places in America, like where I grew up, where you’d be better off with a degree from Liberty than one from Holy Cross. Your own context and goals are what matter.
Liberty may potentially be a fine choice for some careers in some markets (to the OP’s question… don’t know about business). However, for science and especially biology employment at a place that values science, a Liberty degree would be a large detriment.
“That said, I grew up in a part of the country with a strong anti-Catholic bias so I am aware that there are plenty of people who are not favorably disposed to the religion, and there are also plenty of people who are not favorably disposed to any religion.”
Having grown up in the Northeast, it’s so odd to me to think that there is “anti-Catholic bias” in parts of this country! Was this the deep South?
Pizzagirl, one of my friends grew up in a (quite liberal) Baptist family in the Northeast. They experienced bias from their predominantly Catholic and Jewish neighbors because of their religious affiliation. Having grown up in the South, it is odd to me to think that there is “anti-Baptist bias” in parts of this country, but there is.
OP: Most people here, even including many conservative Christians, don’t consider Liberty University to be a regular university. I would be very reluctant to hire a Liberty graduate, no matter how nice and otherwise qualified he/she was. If anyone has any questions about the Liberty curriculum, read The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose.
I do have a business client who went to Liberty and then another place for a graduate degree. He’s an executive VP at a tech company you all know I note that he leaves off his undergrad in his LinkedIn. I know he is pretty serious about his Christianity but he’s never proselytized and has always been appropriate in a work setting.
One reaction to a Liberty degree might be “parents made you go there.”
In some parts of the Protestant community (such as my father’s family/culture), there is a huge anti-Catholic bias. I’ve tried to explain to my boss, who is Muslim, that in some Protestant circles, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists would be more welcome than Catholics, and it is the truth.