To the Board of Trustees, Alumni, and Greater Olivet Community:

The University of Olivet was founded on principles of student-centered education, academic integrity, and social responsibility. That legacy is now being dismantled.

We, the undersigned students, alumni, staff, and community members, call for the immediate removal of President Steven M. Corey due to his direct role in terminating some of the most long-serving, student-beloved, and mission-aligned faculty members on campus.

These decisions - executed without transparency, community consultation, or even the dignity of an in-person conversation - have gutted the core of Olivet’s academic and emotional foundation.

The administration’s justification, dressed in vague language like “curricular realignment,” cannot hide the damage: this was a targeted attack on the arts, on mentorship, and on the very values that have long made Olivet a place where students were known, supported, and empowered.

These Are Not Just Job Cuts. This Is Erasure.

Among those removed or forced into early retirement are pillar faculty whose legacies span decades. They are not interchangeable. They are not redundant. They are irreplaceable:

Arthur Williams, Ph.D. – Professor of Theatre; Director; student mentor for nearly 30 years.

• “I enjoy the individual attention I can pay to my students.” “One of the joys of a small campus is the family atmosphere and overall closeness of the faculty, staff and student body.” - Arthur Williams
• Advisor to Greek society, Alpha Lambda Epsilon. Named Advisor of the Year for multiple years.
• 2024 SIREN/Eaton Shelter Volunteer of the Year 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• SIREN/Eaton Shelter offers emergency shelter and support to domestic violence survivors and homeless families in Eaton County. Proudly congratulating him was alum Kaitlyn Fales '14, program director at SIREN/Eaton Shelter in Charlotte.

Joanne Williams – Associate Professor of Media & Communication; Adviser of The Echo, national journalism judge; Respected faculty and mentor for nearly 30 years.

• Adviser for the award-winning student newspaper, The ECHO.
• Recipient of multiple advising and teaching awards, including the Drs. Gorton and Peggy Riethmiller Outstanding Faculty Member Award.

 

• Donor of a dollar for dollar match, up to $10,000 for the John Homer Scholarship Fund.

 

Cea Noyes, J.D. – Chair of Social Sciences; Professor of Sociology and Anthropology; Conflict Resolution Specialist; 30 years of Service to the students of Olivet

• “During my own time as a college student, I found that my education was enhanced by being able to just sit and talk with a professor. I feel that I have been put in a position where I can pay that forward, and I can only hope I can do for my students what my professors did for me.“ -Cea Noyes, 2019

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Jeff Humphrey ’19 named Professor Noyes his most influential professor as a top five graduate and Donald A. Morris Academic Excellence Award recipient.

Gary Wertheimer, MFA – Professor of Art and Sculpture; nearly 40 years of service

• The University of Olivet ceremonial mace was commissioned  in recognition of the 175th commemoration of the college’s founding. Designed and co-created by Professor Gary Wertheimer and alumnus Eric Witzke ’71, the mace is used in formal celebrations to represent The University of Olivet’s enduring mission: the education of all people for the greater good.

 

 

 

 

 

• The mace will be used at all college events in which regalia is worn and the college president is present.

 

Joel Moore – Director of Choral Activities; led ensembles to national recognition.

Regina Armstrong, Ph.D. – Director of Criminal Justice; award-winning faculty and former Deputy Warden

• Gorton and Peggy Riethmiller Award for excellence in advising and excellence in teaching. John J. Shipherd Award for outstanding service to students. Donald Morris Award Winner for being a top five graduate’s most influential professor.

Timothy Flynn, Ph.D. - Director of the Olivet Choir and Chamber Singers; nationally recognized musicologist and published author; pillar of the arts and humanities at Olivet for 23 years

• “One of the things I love most about Olivet is the intimate learning atmosphere, which I also believe is one of the benefits of studying here. This gives everyone involved in learning — teachers, students and administration — the opportunity to get to know one another better and to support each other. At the risk of sounding schmaltzy, it makes for a family atmosphere.” -Timothy Flynn, 2019

Marco Wiedenhoeft, Ph.D. – Professor of Physics and Mathematics; respected researcher and STEM leader; 17 years of service to the students of Olivet

Kate Myers – Director of the Writing Program; unwavering advocate for struggling students

Katherine Jones, MSN-Ed. – Associate Professor of Nursing; clinical and classroom cornerstone

Monty Bishop – Assistant Director of Choral Activities; musical mentor and fixture in performance life

These are the people who stayed after hours. Who listened. Who changed lives. Who were the reason many students graduated.

Their removal directly violates the core of Olivet’s own mission - which states that students will be “known by name and by story.” If those who built the stories are gone, what remains?

Some were given ultimatums. Some were pressured into early retirement through buyouts. Many were informed of their elimination by email. There were no student forums. No thank-you ceremonies. No chance to say goodbye. No accountability.

This process defies the values outlined in The Olivet Compact, which commits students and faculty to:

• Live by truth and goodness
• Be responsible to self and others
• Act with courage
• Work for peace and justice

 

Where was the courage in these decisions?

Where was the justice in their execution?

When the university’s top leadership acts without community consultation, silences opposing voices, and removes those who challenged power, that is not “strategic planning.” That’s how institutions lose their soul.

You cannot claim to uphold a mission of student-centered education while erasing the very people who embodied it. You cannot champion the Olivet Compact and then make decisions devoid of truth, goodness, courage, or justice. What remains of a promise when those who kept it are gone?

We Demand:

• The immediate removal of President Steven M. Corey for violating the trust, values, and mission of The University of Olivet.
• A freeze on all further faculty eliminations until a transparent, community-led review is conducted.
• A formal apology and public recognition of those terminated — especially those with over a decade of service.
• A recommitment to the arts, humanities, and student-centered learning, without which Olivet loses its very soul.

Your Stories Matter

To all alumni, students, and faculty - past and present - we invite you to sign this petition and share your stories. Share this petition and use your voice to tell us what these faculty members meant to your life. Before, during, and after your time as an Olivet Comet.

These stories are not nostalgia.

They are evidence.

They are Olivet’s real history.

This petition is not just a protest. It is a declaration:

We will not let silence and spreadsheets replace heart and higher purpose. We will not let one man’s vision erase generations of mentorship. We will not let this be the end of the Olivet we believe in.

Sign. Share. Speak.

Because this community deserves better.