In early October, on what they thought to be a regular Sunday, a group of Catholic students rose early in the morning for Mass at the McAlister Center, home of the Claremont Colleges Chaplaincy. Instead of finding Father Joe Fenton, the priest who had served in the position of Catholic chaplain for over 20 years, they found a note on the door from The Claremont Colleges Services (TCCS) informing them that Fenton had retired.
Shortly after Fenton’s sudden disappearance, TCCS Vice President for Student Affairs Stephanie Blaisdell told students that the position of Catholic chaplain would remain vacant for the time being. In January, she revealed three proposals for the future of the vacant post, two of which would eliminate the position of Catholic chaplain entirely.
Reactions across the 7Cs include anguish, anger, and confusion as questions about the mystery of Fenton’s alleged “retirement” remain unanswered. Meanwhile, TCCS has begun to push through potential major changes to religious life at the Colleges without any formal review process.
The “Unusual Chaplaincy”
The Claremont Colleges Chaplaincy has existed in its current form since 1979, when efforts to transform the chaplaincy from a Protestant-only office to an interfaith institution culminated in the hiring of a Catholic priest and Jewish rabbi. The Chaplaincy resides in the McAlister Center, where students of various faiths regularly gather to partake in religious services and social events. In 2015, a formal review of the Chaplaincy noted that the Claremont institution “is the only one of its kind in the nation,” further calling it an “unusual chaplaincy.”
Father Joe Fenton served as Catholic chaplain for over two decades, making him by far the longest serving chaplain at the time of his retirement. Students described him as a valued member of the community who served as a comforting figure to Catholic students throughout his tenure at the 5Cs. “Father Joe ministered to us when we were struggling and celebrating,” one Catholic student told the Independent. “He served the role of a caring adult figure who we could rely on to help us through the highs and lows of college.”
Claremont does not have a Newman Center, the Catholic campus ministries and social hubs found at many U.S. colleges and universities, making the Catholic chaplain the only official on-campus resource for Catholic students, staff, and faculty.
Pomona professor and Chair of the Faculty Kenneth Baxter Wolf, who chaired the 2015 review committee, told the Independent that Fenton, “for 20 years, has built a kind of little parish,” providing guidance to a devoted community.
A Sign on the Door
When students arrived for Mass on October 6, they were given no prior indication of Fenton’s departure. “We woke up early for Mass, and then when we got to McAlister, instead of Fr. Joe being there, there was a sign saying Fr. Joe had retired,” recalled a student.
Fenton had discussed his eventual retirement before, but had given no indication that it would come so soon and so suddenly. “He had talked about specific plans in the near future, like wanting to take all the students out to a restaurant next Monday, and there was no indication that he would be retiring, no ‘if I retire,’” one Catholic student told the Independent. Fenton had also been making plans to take students to a Catholic mission, another student said.
Equally surprised by Fenton’s sudden departure were members of the 7C Committee on Religious Affairs, known as CORA. Composed mostly of 7C faculty, CORA serves as an advisory committee to the Claremont Colleges and works closely with the Chaplaincy. “Traditionally, CORA has been a sounding board for the chaplaincy and for the supervisor of the chaplains,” explained longtime CORA member and Harvey Mudd College professor David Vosburg.
CMC professor Lenny Fukshansky, co-chair of CORA, found out about the situation at the Chaplaincy on October 25, when an email to Fenton bounced back with an automated reply saying he had retired.
Wolf, who is not a CORA member but has been involved with the chaplaincy for nearly a decade, learned about the situation from Fenton himself. After receiving a number of missed calls from Fenton, Wolf recalls speaking to him on the phone in early October. Fenton told Wolf that he had been dismissed by TCCS without cause. Slowly, news spread that Fenton had not retired, but had been fired.
“I've since heard [of the firing] directly from Father Joe, but I heard it through other people first,” Vosburg told the Independent. As news of a firing spread, so did other rumors.
One rumor alleged that Fenton had been pulled from TCCS by the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. In a statement to the Independent, the Archdiocese denied the rumor, clarifying that Fenton’s assignments were overseen by the Marist Fathers, the religious order he belongs to.
The Very Reverend Father Joseph Hindelang, leader of the Marist Order in the U.S., confirmed to the Independent that Fenton had not been terminated by the Marists or the Archdiocese. Hindelang noted that while Fenton had spoken with him prior to October about “the possibility of cutting back on ministry and moving into ‘senior Marist’ status,” no concrete plans had been made, and the sudden retirement came as a surprise. “I am not sure why he gave no indication before it happened,” said Hindelang.
Hindelang further stated that Fenton had “spoken frequently about how much he has enjoyed the ministry and contact with college students, professors and staff – as opposed to meetings and paperwork.”
Speaking to the Independent, Wolf said of Fenton’s alleged retirement, “I think he was let go. It was packaged as a retirement.”
A number of Catholic staff and faculty approached Wolf in the subsequent days, appalled at Fenton’s sudden dismissal. “You could say he was retired, I suppose,” said Vosburg. “It certainly was not his decision or his choice.”
Wolf quickly emailed Blaisdell to communicate his frustration with the news on October 7. “I was disheartened to learn through the grapevine of Joe’s dismissal. I so wish TCCS would have given him a chance to retire with dignity,” he wrote.
Blaisdell replied the next day, repeating the official announcement of Fenton’s retirement from TCCS, asking Wolf to share it with Pomona faculty. She did not deny that Fenton was dismissed.
At a February 20 CORA meeting which he attended as a guest, Fenton claimed that TCCS is retaining a paycheck for accrued vacation time until he signs a non-disclosure agreement barring him from discussing the circumstances of his departure from TCCS. Fenton could not be reached for comment.
After Fenton’s firing, there was nearly a month-long gap in services for Catholic students at McAlister. According to Catholic students, the Archdiocese quickly offered to provide a replacement chaplain to TCCS. Instead, TCCS eventually arranged for priests from Holy Name of Mary Catholic Church in San Dimas to say Sunday Mass at McAlister. With different priests coming every week, Catholic students say the arrangement is not a tenable long-term solution.
“It’s not the same as having a permanent Catholic priest on campus that’s a part of the community like how Fr. Joe was”, said one student, “We need someone here on campus that we can talk to, that can hear our confessions, and is there to help provide us with spiritual guidance.”
Speaking to Catholic students shortly after Fenton’s October dismissal, Blaisdell said that TCCS hadn’t yet decided on how to fill the vacant position, but mentioned that hiring a Dharmic chaplain was under consideration.
Three Proposals
Wolf recalls a conversation with Blaisdell in September 2024, during which she raised the possibility of collapsing the Catholic and Protestant chaplaincies into a singular Christian chaplain.
“I remember responding that there's an awful lot of history to suggest that you can't serve both Protestants and Catholics with one person,” Wolf told the Independent. “I thought that she was floating it by me to get an honest reaction, and I gave her an honest reaction. I didn't realize that she was already considering this and that the wheels were already in motion.”
By January, seeking input from Claremont’s student governments, Blaisdell presented three possible options for the future of the Catholic chaplain position.
The first option would be to maintain the status quo and hire a new Catholic chaplain. The second would see the Catholic chaplain position folded into the Protestant chaplaincy, resulting in an all-encompassing Christian chaplain position to serve all Christian students. The Catholic position would be replaced by a Dharmic chaplain, serving Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, and Sikh students, who are not currently served by a McAlister chaplain. The third option similarly replaced the Catholic position with a “Humanist” chaplain, serving “people who are nonreligious, curious about religions, or a member of a religious community not served by a dedicated Chaplain.”
Scripps Associated Students received an email from Blaisdell asking for input on the three proposals, as did the Associated Students of Claremont McKenna College.
On February 2, Blaisdell, along with current Protestant chaplain Reverend Dr. Joel Daniels, appeared as a guest at a meeting of the Associated Students of Pomona College (ASPC) Senate. Blaisdell and Daniels answered questions about the proposed changes. Blaisdell also raised the possibility of renaming the chaplains to something along the lines of “Spiritual Life Leaders.”
At the meeting, Blaisdell admitted to having little data on students’ religious affiliations at the 7Cs, but said that a decision would be made based on student feedback. ASPC, at Blaisdell’s request, had sent out a survey to the student body prior to the meeting. Results from the survey, which collected only 27 total responses out of Pomona’s 1,747 students, were mixed, though a plurality of respondents preferred to conserve the Catholic chaplaincy.
Despite Blaisdell’s request to do so, ASPC declined to offer a formal recommendation on which proposal to move forward with, and in a letter to Blaisdell, the ASPC President wrote that “Future outreach is still needed to solidify the path that should be taken forward, particularly in the circumstances of the departure of the previous Catholic Chaplain.”
Blaisdell similarly asked the Deans of Students at the Claremont Colleges to share a message requesting input on the matter with faculty. The email forwarded to faculty noted that TCCS had been collecting input from 7C student governments, as well as the Catholic Students Association (CSA) and CORA. “We outlined the following options,” wrote Blaisdell before listing the three proposals. Blaisdell did not clarify that “we” referred only to TCCS. CSA and CORA had no say in the creation of the proposals.
In fact, CORA and others, since discovering Fenton’s dismissal and the proposals created by TCCS, have been fighting to halt what they see as a “troubling” process.
“To Hell with Procedure, Right?”
Beyond opinions on specific aspects of the proposals, faculty have expressed their dissatisfaction with TCCS and Blaisdell’s approach to the situation as a whole.
“Coming out of the blue and saying, ‘oh, you know, maybe it's more trendy to have a Dharmic chaplain than a Catholic chaplain’… is not how things should be done; such decisions should be based on data,” according to Fukshansky. “I personally am troubled by the fact that the process is being neglected here. Before any major structural change is made, a formal review should happen.”
A decade ago, after another change to the chaplaincy was proposed, Wolf led a review committee consisting of faculty, students, and deans of students. The 2015 review led to TCCS dropping the planned change, but also to the addition of a Muslim chaplain to serve Claremont’s Muslim student population.
Now, Wolf and others are again demanding a formal review before any changes are made. “To hell with procedure, right?” Wolf joked about Blaisdell’s plans. “We don't need to reinvent the wheel, and this particular reinvention of the wheel does not roll as well as the one we already have invented. So we need to do a review.”
“I think one needs to be a little more careful and deliberate in how to do this sort of thing. To make a drastic change, like eliminating a chaplain position, folding that role into another one through sleight of hand, and then creating another one is a pretty massive step right?” said Vosburg, who served on the 2015 review alongside Wolf. “A popularity contest among people who might not actually be partakers anyway, is not the way to go to make a big change.”
Blaisdell, however, has shown unwillingness to concede. In an email to the Student Deans Council, which consists of the deans of students of the colleges and Blaisdell herself, she announced plans to make a decision in March and begin a hiring search in April. A review would slow the process considerably.
On February 19, at the first of two TCCS-organized town halls on the matter, Blaisdell reportedly began by telling attendees that she would not discuss process. “You know, Stephanie, I’m sensing that everybody in this room right now is ready to get up and walk out, because if we're not talking about process, then what are we doing here?” Wolf recalled telling her. Later during the town hall, one faculty member became visibly upset, and accused Blaisdell of being deceptive and misrepresenting the truth.
“I think there's a lot of frustration because it feels like she’s not fully forthcoming and not really partnering with CORA, for instance. And it's not clear that she’s acting wisely or in the best interests of the campus, broadly speaking, and particularly for Catholic students,” Vosburg explained.
Blaisdell did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
As for the proposals themselves, Wolf, Fukshansky, and others the Independent spoke to had nothing against a Dharmic chaplain per se, but were appalled by the notion that the Catholic position would have to be eliminated in exchange for the other.
“Theology 101”
Kate Vosburg, wife of David Vosburg, is the leader of Claremont’s InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (5CIV) chapter, which serves students of all Christian denominations.
Although she is Protestant, Vosburg sees herself as a general resource, and encourages students to find local churches. “I'm helping people follow Jesus with the basics,” Vosburg told the Independent. “There are limits to what I can do, though, because of the distinctives of different church theologies, and of church cultures. Because of my limitations, I can only minister so far.”
In light of her own experience, Vosburg, who has regularly worked with Fenton and the Protestant chaplain, believes the two distinct positions are valuable. “I think there are good reasons to have both a Protestant and a Catholic chaplain,” she said, highlighting both practical differences between the traditions, as well as the fact that there are sizable populations of both denominations in Claremont.
Speaking at the second town hall on February 21, one Pomona professor made prepared remarks which were subsequently widely shared, and praised by many people the Independent spoke to:
“In 1973, the 7Cs—originally a Protestant stronghold—took a bold step toward equity and inclusivity, creating chaplaincies of equals: Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant. We made history then, joining the pioneers of inclusivity in higher education…But here’s the flip side: suppressing the Catholic chaplaincy now would also make history. It would be read as a step backward, a retreat to less inclusive times. It risks sending a loud anti-Catholic message.”
“Some might argue that transitioning the Protestant chaplain to a ‘Christian’ chaplain dodges this perception. That’s misguided. Let me break it down—Theology 101, if you’ll indulge me. ‘Christian’ is a conceptual category, not a lived reality. To be Christian is to be Protestant, Catholic, or Orthodox—each distinct in liturgy, belief, and identity. In this proposal, the Protestant chaplain, even renamed ‘Christian’ chaplain, remains of the Protestant faith, simply tasked with tending to Catholics too. It’s a verbal sleight of hand, not a solution.”
The professor also pointed out that eliminating the Catholic chaplain would disadvantage communities the 7Cs seek to support: “Picture our students: first-generation scholars, many from Southern California, where 38% of the population is Catholic. I am also thinking of our International students from Africa, for instance, where Catholicism is seeing its fastest growth.... For a Catholic, faith isn’t a footnote; it’s a cornerstone of identity. And a Catholic chaplaincy offers a space to belong, to celebrate their rites, to feel understood. Strip that away, and what do we say?"
Vosburg echoed similar concerns to the Independent: “Populations that we’re particularly trying to recruit, including Latino students, are predominantly Catholic or have Catholic backgrounds, and that sends a message, not just to the students, but to the parents and families of those students. That’s a resource that they can connect with, both religiously and culturally, because those are bound together."
Letter of Concern
On February 16, after it became clear that Blaisdell would not begin a formal review, CORA sent a “letter of concern” to the 7C Presidents Council, the official body composed of the presidents of the Claremont Colleges, who would ultimately decide on any major changes at TCCS.
“It’s come to our attention that Dr. Stephanie Blaisdell, TCCS Vice President of Student Affairs, is actively promoting the idea of possibly terminating and replacing the full-time Catholic Chaplain with a Dharmic or Humanist Chaplain,” they wrote.
CORA outlined three troubling elements of the situation, beginning with the circumstances of Fenton’s supposed retirement. According to the letter, “Father Fenton stated that [Blaisdell] told him on October 2, 2024, that he was “terminated” and to this day she has never told him why he was terminated,” further noting that Fenton is in “duress” due to TCCSs’ withholding his final paycheck.
The letter continued, “There was no 7Cs community-wide empirical study performed to investigate whether there is significant demand for a Dharmic or Humanist Chaplain vs a Catholic Chaplain. As it stands now, there are no empirical reasons to believe that replacing the full-time Catholic Chaplain with a Dharmic or Humanist Chaplain would be a greater benefit to the 7Cs community.”
CORA also registered their concern regarding their own side-lining by TCCS: “Dr. Blaisdell never consulted with CORA in its advisory capacity regarding the momentous decisions to terminate Father Joe Fenton and thereafter start discussing the idea of replacing the full-time Catholic Chaplain with a Dharmic or Humanist Chaplain… CORA has served in an advisory capacity for more than 45 years and her course of action undermines our confidence in her leadership.”
The letter also explained that Blaisdell’s predecessor had brought up the Dharmic chaplain idea “several years ago,” but never considered the merging of the Christian chaplain positions in order to support it.
The letter concludes with CORA requesting both a formal review and a statement from the Presidents Council “that the Claremont Colleges will not terminate the Catholic Chaplaincy and will authorize TCCS to begin a search for a Catholic priest to serve as the new Catholic Chaplain.” CORA also calls for a “proper retirement ceremony” for Fenton “after 20 years of faithful service to our 7Cs community.”
“Not a Healthy Chaplaincy.”
Both Fenton’s departure and TCCS’ proposals for a replacement have sparked broader concern about the Chaplaincy’s status within the consortium system. Until 2001, they were overseen by the Presidents Council. Since then, the chaplains have served under the TCCS VP for Student Affairs and the Student Deans Council, and are treated as regular student affairs employees.
The present arrangement has severely limited the chaplains’ independence. “No Chaplain can go to [the Independent] or to TSL and give an interview without getting permission from TCCS,” explained Wolf. Multiple sources commented that the precedent of Fenton’s termination is not encouraging for future chaplains: Their status as at-will employees, now with a precedent of possible termination, has the potential to discourage them from speaking their minds.
For Wolf, this is anathema to their role. Comparing his ideal chaplain to biblical prophets, Wolf said, “Aren't chaplains supposed to be a little bit more like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, Amos, Ezekiel? I don't remember them having to get permission before they shook their fist at the community and said, ‘something’s wrong here.’”
The 2015 review chaired by Wolf found that the chaplaincy should return to a more independent position under the Presidents Council, not the deans of students. “That's not how the chaplaincy began. It's just an administrative afterthought that it ended up under Student Services,” Wolf told the Independent, “And one of the most significant recommendations in that report [the 2015 review] was that it be taken from student services.”
“If you have to report to the deans of students, you have been emasculated as a chaplain. All you end up doing is filling out a bunch of paperwork and making sure that your census is high so you can justify your salary. That's not a healthy chaplaincy.”
“They should report to the Council of Presidents. Ideally, they wouldn't report to anybody. They would report to, you know, God.”
Editor's Note: Gabe Khuly is a member of the Catholic Students Association.