It was standing room only at a Northwest College faculty/staff meeting Thursday, where employees voiced their concerns about a religious recruitment letter sent by President Paul Prestwich to about 1,000 Mormon students.Many of the NWC employees present said they were uncomfortable with the college recruiting students on the basis of religious affiliations.“Now that it's happened, I'd like to hear that it wasn't a good idea,” said Denise Kelsay, art and gallery specialist. “I'd like to know that there's critical thinking about the decisions being made, because it affects all of us.”

The letter's effect on Northwest College — its students, employees and the college itself — is a main concern among the faculty and staff.

Rob Koelling, chairperson of the Humanities Division, said pressures to remain economically viable and increase enrollment sometimes detract from the college's big picture.

“An underlying concern is the possibility of the character of this institution changing,” Koelling said during the meeting.

He also called the recent controversy a “monumental distraction” for students, faculty, administration — everyone on campus.

“Our mission is to deliver the best education possible to students. When administrative operations get in the way of that, it's clearly an example that we failed in some way,” Koelling said.

Students are now concerned with the college's administrative duties, and it shouldn't be that way, Koelling argued.

In regards to sending religious recruitment letters again, Koelling said, “As we move forward, let's not do it again.”

It remains unclear if the college will send recruitment letters to students of other faiths or target LDS students again in the future.

“We're reviewing that process. This is a fluid process,” Prestwich said.

Some college employees wanted a definite answer.

“What I wanted to know as a faculty member, and what I really want to know as a taxpayer: Are we doing religious recruitment or not?” asked Renee Dechert, associate professor of English.

Prestwich said he hoped that the staff would “give me more time to digest this,” adding that the purpose of the meeting wasn't to give employees a final answer, but rather, to get their feedback.

At one point in the meeting, he said that in hindsight, the college should not have included a letter from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the same envelope.

“I don't see that we'd include a letter in that same way,” he said.

Many faculty members would prefer that the college halt religious recruitment altogether.

“I don't think it was a good idea — plain and simple,” said Morgan Tyree, assistant professor of graphic arts.

Tyree added that he is worried about how the situation affects Northwest College's reputation, adding that he doesn't want to be associated with NWC's religious recruitment efforts.

Another concern addressed Thursday was that the backlash of the campus is a reflection of multiple underlying issues, such as low morale and firings of college employees. Some faculty members alluded to a climate of fear they say exists on campus.

Anthony Polvere, assistant professor of photography, said he understands individual personnel cases can't always be discussed, but he said the recent firings have impacted the campus community.

There's an idea of redemption, Polvere said, that a certain group can make a mistake and still keep their jobs, but another group of employees walks around with an X on their foreheads, worrying about their job security if they don't dot their I's and cross their T's.

“There needs to be more communication,” he said. “We all feel there's a big wall between here and there.”

During the meeting, Prestwich said no one has talked to him about those concerns.

Heather Kobbe, director of human resources, said communication goes both ways. Rather than talk to the administration directly about their concerns, employees are talking amongst themselves, she said.

“This is very disconcerting to me to see this divisiveness,” Kobbe said.

Fear is what keeps them from voicing concerns, said one faculty member.

The employees also discussed shared governance and questioned whether the administration is considering the college council's views in its decisions.

Prestwich said he considers the college council and president's advisory council, but ultimately, the buck stops with him.

(Editor's Note: Although more details were discussed during the meeting not all were covered in this article. This story is ongoing and we will continue to cover the issue as it develops.)