Human Sexuality at Milligan

As a Christian institution, Milligan University believes that all persons are created in the image of God.  We seek to be a loving community showing mutual respect, Christ-like compassion, humility, forgiveness, and grace where all students are welcome to learn in a safe and supportive environment.  Our Stone-Campbell tradition of faith subscribes to no particular creed, and we recognize that Christian individuals, denominations, and traditions have come to different conclusions on human sexuality.  However, looking to the Bible as our sole authority, Milligan ascribes to the understanding that sex is a gift from God to be enjoyed solely within a faithful, covenant marriage, which is monogamous, permanent, heterosexual, and characterized by the self-giving love of Jesus Christ.

Milligan provides this statement so that those who join our campus community are aware of the University’s values and expectations. We believe that Scripture is the ultimate authority on how to conduct our lives and that it serves as a light to guide our way in a manner that honors God and others. (See Biblical Foundations of Human Sexuality below.)

The University recognizes that there are members of our university community who do not agree with Milligan’s statement on human sexuality. Milligan respects everyone’s right to his or her opinion. However, it is expected that Milligan students, faculty, and staff respect and comply with the university’s position on this, even if they disagree.

Regardless of one’s viewpoint on this issue, we believe that all people have been created in God’s image and that God loves all people unconditionally. Thus, Milligan supports the dignity and worth of every person and seeks to create a campus climate where each person is treated with love and respect within our caring community. We seek to provide a safe and trusted learning environment that encourages all students and employees, regardless of beliefs, to demonstrate grace, empathy, sensitivity, and respectful interactions with all people.

We welcome admission applications to Milligan from LGBTQ students. In fact, the admission application does not request information regarding sexual orientation. Sexual orientation and gender do not influence the admission decision or financial aid process.

No. Students cannot be expelled from school or face disciplinary action for identifying as LGBTQ. However, Milligan expects all students, including LGBTQ students, to engage in behaviors and conduct consistent with Milligan’s understanding of human sexuality. A student’s matriculation and enrollment at Milligan University is their pledge to uphold the policies and expectations outlined in the Student Handbook and Catalog.

Milligan is guided by the biblical understanding that human sexuality is a gift from God and that physical sexual intimacy is to be expressed solely within covenant marriage between a man and a woman. It is expected that Milligan students, faculty, and staff will engage in behaviors consistent with this understanding of human sexuality.

A student’s matriculation and enrollment at Milligan University is their pledge to uphold the policies and expectations outlined in the Student Handbook and Catalog.

Milligan serves a diverse student body and works to care for all students. There is zero tolerance for bullying, harassment, or assault at Milligan University, and campus leaders understand their responsibility to ensure that all students feel the full dignity, value, and worth they possess as a child of God created in the image of God.

As a loving and caring campus community, Milligan will not tolerate harassment of any member of the Milligan Community and will take appropriate disciplinary action against anyone found responsible for such behavior. Milligan is committed to promoting and maintaining an educational environment in which students can learn and grow without the fear of being harassed or subjected to any other forms of sexual misconduct. Students—including those who identify as LGBTQ—can report sexual harassment or sexual misconduct to the Title IX Coordinator, Dean of Students, or Residence Life staff.  If students feel threatened or are in immediate danger, they should contact the Elizabethton Police Department by dialing 911 and campus security at 423-461-8911.

Milligan University seeks to be a place where all students feel safe, supported, and welcome. We know the college experience can be stressful, and even more so for LGBTQ students who are working to understand how their sexual orientation intersects with their personal faith.

We recognize that exploring one’s sexual identity in isolation can be overwhelming for students and that positive and nurturing community support in a trusted environment is essential. Thus, the University provides several areas of support for LGBTQ students.

The Milligan Counseling Center provides professional, short-term, mental health counseling services at no cost for Milligan University students, faculty, and staff as a way to further enhance Milligan University’s Christian community of caring. The Center provides a level of professional care that promotes emotional well-being, spiritual growth, academic success, multicultural diversity, and healthy interpersonal relationships.  Milligan counseling staff do not practice or condone conversion or reparative therapy for LGBTQ students.

Milligan’s Campus Ministry Office provides pastoral care and guidance to students.

Milligan University is a Christian liberal arts university that encourages our students to be thinking and acting Christians. Our educational process provides students with a working knowledge of diverse subjects and viewpoints, encouraging them to use a Christian worldview as their lens of perspective.  This does not mean that Milligan University endorses all viewpoints presented. But Milligan believes the information and resulting dialogues are important to the educational process of developing Christian servant-leaders.

These ideas are expanded upon in Milligan’s Statement on Cultural Competency, adopted in 2020: Milligan believes our mission as a Christian liberal arts university requires that all students learn to effectively communicate and interact with people of other cultures and beliefs. For this reason, we want all of our students and employees to value, respect, and learn from diverse cultures, races, ages, genders, sexual orientations, and religions. Educating and understanding differing perspectives does not equate to endorsement of all beliefs presented, but we encourage and desire for our students and employees to demonstrate openness, inclusiveness, sensitivity, and the ability to interact respectfully with all people and understand individuals’ differences.

We recognize that there are members of our university community who do not agree with Milligan’s statement on human sexuality. However, it is expected that Milligan employees will conduct themselves both personally and professionally in a way that demonstrates support for the institution’s mission, purposes, and policy positions in every respect, including their personal lifestyles and interactions with colleagues and students.

Employees play a critical role in the fulfillment and protection of the institutional mission. The right of Milligan University to hire employees who will teach and impart its convictions to the next generation of believers is protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which empowers faith-based organizations to make personnel decisions based on the tenets of their faith.

Milligan is in compliance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and other federal and state regulations regarding the services and the support we provide to our LGBTQ students.

The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides protection for Milligan University to teach and impart its convictions to the next generation of believers. Faith-based higher education has always been an essential element of the diversity of the higher education system in the United States, and it is crucial that students continue to be given the opportunity to choose and access the college of their choice in a diverse educational landscape.

Milligan is committed to learning, growing, and deepening our understanding of how we can provide and strengthen support for all students.

Students: Campus Minister Brealle Davis

Faculty: Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean Rich Aubrey

Staff: Vice President for Business and Finance Jacqui Steadman

Alumni: Milligan University Alumni Office

Media or Community: Milligan University Public Relations Office