Dupage Policy Journal

A group of alumni from Wheaton College, a renowned Christian liberal arts institution, has raised serious concerns regarding what they describe as a "drift" away from the college's founding values and its Christian mission.

The group, calling themselves the "Concerned Alumni of Wheaton College," issued a letter to the college’s leadership, including President Philip Ryken and the Board of Trustees, urging them to take immediate action. 

Since the letter’s publication in late February it has received 1,700 signatures of support. 

According to The Wheaton Record, Joe Moore, Chief Marketing Communications Officer, and Ryken did not respond to requests for comment on the “For Wheaton” letter. 

The alumni call for specific changes in leadership and institutional policies. 

Among their requests, they urge the college to reconsider its current leadership, end the DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) regime and conduct a comprehensive audit of faculty and staff commitments to the Statement of Faith and the Community Covenant. 

They also demand that the college affirm free speech and encourage a vibrant exchange of ideas on campus.

“We, the undersigned, compelled by our love for Wheaton College, humbly ask that you take immediate action regarding (1) the state of the college, including the need for new leadership, (2) putting an end to the current DEI regime, (3) conducting an audit of every single faculty and staff member’s commitment to the Statement of Faith and Community Covenant,” the letter reads. 

“Until such a time as significant changes have been made on these priorities, we are committed to one or more of the following actions: Ceasing all financial support to the college. Declining to recommend Wheaton to prospective students and their parents. Sharing examples of institutional drift with friends, fellow parishioners, online audiences, or the press.”

In the letter, the alumni recall the late Arthur Holmes, a beloved Wheaton professor, who once posed a pivotal question during a chapel service: “What kind of a person are you becoming?” 

The authors note Holmes used this inquiry to underscore the college’s mission of forming students in the image of Christ, emphasizing that “every aspect of a student’s life is to be discipleship—including the life of the mind.” 

The alumni group argues this vision is being compromised.

“For most of its 165-year history, Wheaton has excelled at that task,” the letter reads. 

“Graduates have followed God’s calling into every domain of life, from the mission field to the football field, from the classroom to the boardroom, to be salt and light in a world desperately in need of Christ. Yet in recent years, Wheaton has lost its focus. It has gone adrift—not in its formal beliefs, which are boldly written in the Statement of Faith, but in practice—in the direct experience of students who come to campus and find it lacking the countercultural witness embodied in that document.”

The alumni express concern over the rise of secular and progressive ideologies on campus, including Critical Race Theory and issues related to sexuality such as uncritical adoption of LGBT terminology and gender identities.

“We see this in the relentless centering of race and the elevation of voices who promote unbiblical pedagogies, like critical theory; the unjust and unbiblical adjudication of alleged violations of the Community Covenant; the de facto capitulation on sexual ethics through the uncritical appropriation of LGBT terminology and identities,” the letter reads. “We also hear about this drift from graduates who attest that some of their professors openly violated the Statement of Faith behind closed doors—for instance, affirming universal salvation or referring to God as both 'Father and Mother.'”

The alumni point to a notable decline in missionary spending, fewer parents choosing Wheaton for their children and a troubling drop in the college’s selectivity. 

According to the letter, Wheaton’s acceptance rate has significantly increased over the past decade—from 66% in 2012 to 88% in 2024, with a corresponding decline in the percentage of applicants in the top 10% of their high school class.

“The drop-off in applications has had a corrosive effect on the college’s reputation and standards,” the letter reads. “This trend cannot be accounted for by the demographic cliff alone. Wheaton is not giving parents and prospective students a compelling reason to select Wheaton over its alternatives.”

The alumni group attributes this “mission drift” to a subtle, creeping shift over time and draws a parallel to the historical drift of Christian institutions in America, noting that this change is not unique to Wheaton. 

They believe the college must take immediate and decisive action to reverse the trend.

“This mission drift didn’t happen overnight,” the letter reads. “It has been subtle, creeping, but real. As believers, we know this is how evil normally works. In America, we have 400 years of history that show this very form of drift leading countless Christian colleges away from their mission.”

The alumni note in the letter that their actions are motivated not by anger but by a “deep love for Wheaton College and the profound good it has done in countless lives.” 

The alumni also express a desire for dialogue, offering to meet with the college’s leadership to discuss their concerns further.

“Many of us would like to meet with you to discuss our concerns in greater detail in person,” the letter reads. “A signatory will be in contact with you to schedule time to speak.”

The letter concludes with a call for bold action. 

“That a small school begun by a small band of abolitionists would play a role in the world-changing ministries of Jim and Elisabeth Elliot, Carl F.H. Henry, Billy Graham, John Piper, Josh McDowell, A.W. Tozer, Phillip Yancey, and William Lane Craig testifies to His power,” the letter reads. “And the sum of these individuals’ ministries pales in comparison to the quiet lives of thousands of faithful alumni whose names may be lost to history, but not to eternity.”

The “For Wheaton” letter also comes over a month after the Trump administration issued an executive order terminating government programs and policies related to DEI, including in higher education funding. 

The order mandates the elimination of DEI and DEIA mandates across federal agencies, redirecting resources towards serving all Americans equally and prioritizing individual performance and skills in federal employment practices.

A press release by the White House noted DEI as “immense public waste and shameful discrimination.” 

Since then many corporate leaders have followed suit. 

In mid-February, Wheaton College faced backlash from both alumni and the public after removing a social media post congratulating Wheaton alum Russell Vought, co-author of Project 2025, on his appointment as Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. 

Over 1,500 alumni signed that open letter expressing concerns about the college’s response to criticism, with many accusing Wheaton of "caving to the woke mob" for removing the post.