CLEVELAND, Ga. (AP) — A Baptist college in northeast Georgia won’t reinstate its president after an investigation into whether he ignored claims that a former administrator was abusing students.
Trustees at Truett McConnell University in Cleveland announced Friday that Emir Caner won’t return. Caner had been on leave since June, when trustees hired an investigator to examine claims that a former administrator and professor sexually assaulted a woman who was a student and later a university employee. She claims she was repeatedly assaulted when she went to the man’s home for Bible study.
John Yarbrough, the director of alumni and public policy who was named acting president in June, will now become the interim president. Trustees said they were naming a committee to seek a permanent leader.
The action came after an investigator presented his findings to trustees Thursday. The university didn’t disclose those findings. In a news conference Friday, Yarbrough said details of Caner’s separation are still being negotiated.
“But I can tell you I’m interim president and Dr. Caner is no longer president of the university today,” Yarbrough said.
Southern Baptists have faced allegations that hundreds of church leaders and workers have abused people over the years and that the denomination hasn’t done enough to prevent abuse. At Truett McConnell, the case created an uproar among faculty and alumni. A rare public protest …