Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia has reversed course, rehiring a retired general as a professor just a few days after it allegedly gave him the boot for quip that seemed to promote violence against the transgendered.
The reversal came less than three days after Gen. William Boykin made a Facebook post claiming he’d been fired for statements he made in March at The Awakening 2016 conference. At the conference, Boykin joked about transgender bathroom usage, saying “the first man who goes in the restroom with my daughter will not have to worry about surgery.”
Boykin, who also works as executive vice president of the Family Research Council, said LGBT activists targeted him for his Christian beliefs and pressured Hampden-Sydney into firing him.
But after rallying his own supporters online, Boykin was apparently able to win his job back.
“I am pleased to announce that I have been rehired as the Wheat Professor at Hampden-Sydney College,” Boykin said in a Facebook post. “I look forward to returning to Hampden-Sydney in the fall to continue my work equipping the next generation of young men to lead this nation. Hampden-Sydney College is a fine school with a proud history of young men who have led our country, and I am honored to be a part of shaping the next generation of leaders.
The about-face is interesting, since Hampden-Sydney, a small all-male liberal arts college in Virginia, originally claimed that Boykin had not been fired at all. Instead, in a statement, the school said that Boykin’s professorship was a rotating one and they had simply decided to give the job to a new person.
In a follow-up statement released Friday, Hampden-Sydney mostly stuck with that story, saying it would bring back Boykin for one additional year before making the Wheat Professorship a rotating one.
“After discussions with Hampden-Sydney College, Gen. Jerry Boykin has accepted another year’s contract to teach in the College’s Military Leadership and National Security minor as Wheat Professor. Boykin stated, he ‘loves the college and its students and would be honored to teach for another year,'” the statement says. “Interim President Dennis Stevens said he was pleased that General Boykin will be with Hampden-Sydney for one more year.”
In his statement, Boykin praised Hampden-Sydney administrators for showing “courage” by being willing to reverse their initial decision.
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