Loyola Marymount Dean Search Lands Finalists With Planned Parenthood Links

National Catholic Register ^ | 3/24/2014 | PETER JESSERER SMITH

[markomalley]

A Jesuit university’s first steps to reclaim its Catholic identity have stumbled, as a search committee for a new college dean has selected as finalists two professors with records of working with Planned Parenthood.

For Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, the search for a new dean of the Bellarmine College of the Liberal Arts began with seeking an “ideal candidate” that would advance LMU’s Catholic identity. The search culminated with two professors selected as finalists with past affiliations and positions at odds with Catholic teaching on the dignity of life, sexuality, and marriage, sparking criticism from concerned faculty and alumni.

The search committee, led by professor Shane Martin, selected professor Robbin Crabtree, Ph.D., dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at Fairfield University in Connecticut, and professor Ramón Gutiérrez, of the University of Chicago, as top finalists.

Crabtree had listed on a 2007 resume that she had served with the advisory board and media relations committee for Planned Parenthood of Putnam County, Ind., from 1991-1993. Gutiérrez also listed on a 2006 resume that he worked as a consultant for Planned Parenthood, specifically regarding “Hispanic attitudes toward sexuality.”