Chronicle of Higher Education
06-27-07
What's in a Name? Iowa State Mulls a 'Life-Skills Assistant,' Not a Chaplain
Iowa State University’s Athletics Council has approved a plan to hire a “volunteer
life-skills assistant” to provide religious counseling to players on the football
team, in a way that officials said differs from the work of a chaplain, the Iowa
State Daily reported. An original plan to hire a chaplain drew protests from faculty
members who said it would violate a constitutional ban on government
establishments of religion. Under the new plan, the life-skills assistant would be
paid from outside sources, would minister to players of any faith, and would be
barred from team activities involving mandatory prayer. The faculty protesters
said the proposal was essentially old wine in a new bottle. The plan now goes to
the university’s president, Gregory L. Geoffroy. —Andrew Mytelka