Ep. 501: Liberty University, SBC’s New Abuse Hotline, Remembering Dr. James Dobson

On today’s program, a former employee sues Liberty University, claiming she was given heavier work loads, less pay, and was passed over for promotions. In the end, she claims she was fired for being a whistleblower. We’ll have details. Plus, email scams are targeting churches…in some cases, scammers pose as pastors seeking donations. How can churches and members protect themselves? We take a look. Also, the Southern Baptist Convention launches a new abuse helpline. We’ll also have a remembrance of Dr. James Dobson, who died on Thursday. First, a lawsuit leveled against Grand Canyon Education has been dropped. The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. We get database and other technical support from Stephen DuBarry, Rod Pitzer, and Casey Sudduth. Writers who contributed to today’s program include Kim Roberts, Tony Mator, Daniel Ritchie, Yonat Shimron, Isaac Wood, Jessica Eturralde, Laura Erlanson, and Aaron Earls. A special thanks to Lifeway Research and Baptist Press for contributing material for this week’s podcast.   MANUSCRIPT:   FIRST SEGMENT Warren: Hello everybody. I’m Warren Smith, coming to you from Charlotte, North Carolina. Christina: And I’m Christina Darnell, in for Natasha Cowden this week, and we’d like to welcome you to the MinistryWatch podcast. Warren: On today’s program, a former employee sues Liberty University, claiming she was given heavier work loads, less pay, and was passed over for promotions. In the end, she claims she was fired for being a whistleblower. We’ll have details. Plus, email scams are targeting churches…in some cases, scammers pose as pastors seeking donations. How can churches and members protect themselves? We take a look. And, the Southern Baptist Convention launches a new abuse helpline. We’ll also have a remembrance of Dr. James Dobson, who died on Thursday. Christina: But first, a lawsuit leveled against Grand Canyon Education has been dropped. Warren: The Federal Trade Commission first brought the lawsuit during the Biden Administration, claiming Grand Canyon Education—which is the for-profit marketing arm of Grand Canyon University—misled prospective students about how much it would cost to complete their doctoral programs. Christina: Also, in November, Grand Canyon secured another victory after the court found that the Education Department had used the wrong standard when it denied the university’s application for nonprofit status in 2019. All that led to last week, when the Federal Trade Commission formally dismissed their case. Warren: That’s right. In a statement, the F-T-C said the case presented “consumers very little upside relative to the cost of pursuing it to completion, especially given the developments chronicled above.” They said it would be “imprudent to continue expending Commission resources on a lost cause.” Christina: Grand Canyon Education praised the decision. Warren: They did. Grand Canyon University President Brian Mueller—who is also president of Grand Canyon Education—says the accusations against them have always been false. Christina: Still, Grand Canyon University isn’t out of the woods yet. A civil case brought by former doctoral students is still ongoing in federal court. Warren: In June 2024, Tanner Smith and Qimin Wang are two plaintiffs—both former students who claim they were lied to about the cost of the doctoral programs. They say they were both required to take continuation courses that added over $8,000 to the cost of their degree programs. Christina: Our next story takes us to Liberty University, who is facing a discrimination and wrongful termination lawsuit from a former employee. Warren: Erika Woolfolk, a black woman, worked as a civil rights investigator in Liberty’s Office of Equity and Compliance for Title IX. She is a graduate of the school and worked there from 2014 to 2024. She filed a lawsuit on August 12,