Early in the morning on Aug. 4, Rachel Dobkin, a weekend reporter for Newsweek, published an article entitled “Conservative Campuses Are Facing Cancel Culture Problems.” In the article, she wrote mini-profiles of professors from different institutions who all claimed the reason for their departure was due to growing cancel culture trends among conservative Christian colleges. Joey Cochran, a former visiting assistant professor at Wheaton College, was one of those who was interviewed.
The college refuted his statement in the article, saying Cochran was not forced out of his position at the school.
The “cancel culture problems” refer to the growing number of Christian colleges terminating professors’ employment due to teaching ideas in the classroom that go against the “rising intensity of conservative politics on campuses,” said Dobkin in her article. Matt Warner from Grace College, Karen Swallow from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and Aaron Werner from Liberty University were among those who spoke to Dobkin.
“The line for what is and isn’t acceptable at these institutions has shifted,” said Dobkin in an interview with the Record. “The academics I spoke to pointed to social media posts or incidents within the classroom that they felt contributed to their departure, which all revolved around hot-button cultural issues.”
In Cochran’s case, Dobkin says “his departure was influenced by a few online incidents.” Cochran has been vocal about recent political issues, both on X and “The Anxious Bench,” a magazine devoted to the convergence of faith and culture, where he is an editor and columnist.
Cochran cited his article “And Come to the Defense of Those Targeted,” an evangelical response to the Israel-Gaza conflict that he posted on “The Anxious Bench,” as the original source of his being targeted. Cochran commends certain individuals in the college for siding with him but criticized the college’s lack of a public statement about the conflict in Gaza. “The absence of public support undercuts and weakens the perceived strength of an institution, like Wheaton College,” he said in the article.
Other professors have empathized with Cochran’s experience. Aaron New, a former professor from Central Baptist College, reposted Dobkin’s article on X, saying, “I promise you these stories happen far more than you think.”
The difference in Cochran’s case is that “he was offered a position for the 2024-2025 academic year, given it was a lower position than he currently had,” said Dobkin. Cochran expressed a similar sentiment, saying he was unable to accept a job with lower pay in the upcoming school year as he is married and the father of four children.
Joe Moore, the chief marketing communications officer for Wheaton College, said that Cochran was not forced out of Wheaton, as was suggested in the Newsweek article. “The College did not have any tenure-track positions open at the conclusion of our most recent academic year, and he took a position at another institution,” he said.
Moore declined to comment and pointed the Record to his official statement in Newsweek.
Cochran wrote a response to Dobkin’s article on “The Anxious Bench” entitled “On The Newsweek Article About Christian Colleges.” He affirmed Moore’s statement but hints there were other factors at play. “I agree that the administration did not overtly force me out of my position, but that does not mean that no forces were in play that acted upon me to leave my position,” said Cochran.
Between constant “bullying” on social media and increasing expenses for his family, Cochran said in his blog post that he had no choice but to leave the school. Because of his views and the consequences they have had on his health, Cochran sees himself as “one of an increasing number of academics claiming that they were forced out of their jobs because of the rising intensity of conservative politics on campuses.”
“These were not sustainable conditions for my mental, emotional and physical flourishing,” Cochran wrote. “These circumstances led me to perceive the idol-factory ways of my heart. I had no alternative but to force myself to leave Wheaton College, for I had fashioned employment at Wheaton College into an idol in my heart.”
Given the factors leading up to his departure, Cochran sees his break with Wheaton as a good thing. “Contrary to what some believe, I believe I have been sent out by Wheaton College, concomitant to its tradition of sending people out in mission,” said Cochran.
Cochran has since been hired at Purdue University Northwest as an instructor of teaching, and he said he is looking forward to a new school year.
