An invitation to Romney riles some at Va. college

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- Some Regent University students and alumni are upset that GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney will speak at commencement, saying his Mormon faith clashes with the evangelical Christianity of the school founded by Pat Robertson.

"My initial reaction was, how could they do this?" said Lynne Gilham, a Columbus, Ohio, minister and former reporter who had posted a comment denouncing the choice on a ministry blog. She said she earned a master's degree in journalism from Regent in 1992.

Gilham said yesterday that she understands "evangelicals in an academic context need to be exposed to other viewpoints." But she said she fears inviting a speaker of the Mormon faith "would confuse young Christians who are not so firmly grounded in Christian doctrine."

Students have posted negative and positive messages on Regent's internal electronic bulletin board and sent e-mails to faculty and administrators since Romney's selection was announced Feb. 14, Regent spokeswoman Sherri Stocks said yesterday.

"It just seems to be a very healthy debate," Stocks said. "Frankly, we're happy to see our students' thought processes in action."

Stocks did not know how many students have been involved and she said the school has heard little from alumni.

Robertson, chancellor of the Virginia Beach school, invited the former Massachusetts governor to be the keynote speaker at the May 5 ceremony. Stocks confirmed that Robertson recently wrote a memo to students, faculty, and alumni about his choice because "he was hearing there were questions," but she declined to release it.

A GOP presidential candidate in 1988 and founder of the Christian Coalition, Robertson has not endorsed Romney .

"Governor Romney enjoys each opportunity to engage voters, introduce his vision, his ideas, and the aspirations he has for leading this country," Romney spokesman Kevin Madden said in a statement yesterday. "When he is given that opportunity, folks recognize more often than not that he shares their values, he shares their concerns on the important challenges we face, and his aspirations for the nation are often their aspirations."