Bokovoy: Half of DCP's Pay Comes from the Maxwell Institute

[_Doctor Scratch]

Many thanks to the "informant" who clued me into this. Some of you may have noticed an odd remark from Dr. Peterson on "Sic et Non":

The latest puzzlement, though, comes from a podcast interview that I haven’t heard but to which my attention has been called by someone who has. In it, the interviewee rather oddly announces that half of my salary continues to come from BYU’s Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. (I’m not sure why this should be a topic in such an interview. I can only guess that it might be intended to demonstrate that my well-known pose of victimized martyrdom at the hands of the Maxwell Institute is bogus. Or something like that.)

Sigh.

I was hired at Brigham Young University in 1985 to teach Arabic and Islamic studies in the Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages. That’s what I still do. For several years, though, I was on loan to what is now called the Maxwell Institute, with my salary coming through the Institute but, as I understand it, from the same Department that has always been my campus home.

Technically, as I understand it, my faculty “slot” (to use BYU parlance) belongs to the Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies. When that building was moving toward completion, the University hired a small handful of additional faculty to provide an expanded curriculum, in both Provo and Jerusalem, that would support that overseas campus and its programs. I was a beneficiary of that expansion.

Why somebody who has never even — so far as I know — held a full-time position at Brigham Young University would feel moved or qualified to comment on the details of its salary-accounting as they pertain to me is, from my perspective, rather mysterious. Anyway, I have no connection whatever with the current leadership or staff of the Maxwell Institute. Since 2012, I haven’t so much as crossed the threshold of the essentially off-campus and out-of-the-way building where the Maxwell Institute is housed. My yearly salary is set by my department and my college in connection with the office of BYU’s Academic Vice President. As it has always been.

Good grief, folks.

A bit mysterious, no? It turns out that this is a reference to an episode of Mormon Stories featuring none other than David Bokovoy. In Part 3 of the rather lengthy interview (at roughly the 13:45 mark), Bokovoy reveals some shocking details:

The first thing is, is that Dan was not fired from the Maxwell Institute. As far as I know, Daniel Peterson is still collecting half of his paycheck from the Maxwell Institute and half of it, regularly, from, you know, his department. So, he wasn't fired from BYU. He was--it--that is a misnomer. And...it, it's just not true. He was asked to, you know, they were going to make a change in the editor position for a journal, which happens all the time. So, it was blown out of proportion for what was really what was taking place.

That's good to know. I didn't know he was still funded by the Maxwell Institute.

Yeah...I shouldn't. Uh, last I heard--last I heard, that was the case. So, he wasn't fired, but he has presented it that way, and others have as well. But, uh, anyway... I don't want to talk negatively about Dan, or any other person, in any way. I still have very fond feelings for Dan. I think he's a very good person. I disagree with him, and I'm sure he disagrees with me and what I do, and that's okay. But, uh, so what happened is that when that went down, I had only heard the narrative from Dan and the others' perspective. And I was already not happy with BYU, of course, and so I thought, wouldn't it be great to start an independent academic journal, academically-minded journal that delved into Mormon scripture, and did some things like that. It would be wonderful. Maybe we could bring Dan in, and he could be the editor of that. So I sent an email to Dan and Bill and a friend and just said, "Hey, what do you guys think about this?" And they were like, "We should sit down and talk about this." And so, that was really all my role in the whole thing. And then we sat down and ate, famously, at Olive Garden, and laid out this idea, came up with the name "Mormon Interpreter," and journal and things like that, and I gave them the first piece--something I'd written and hadn't published to start it. And part of it was to help my friend Dan; part of it I was really--it wasn't so much I wanted to stick it to BYU, it wasn't that it all. It's just that I wanted to see stuff happen independent of BYU, cause I didn't feel like it was an institution that could really support good scholarship on the Bible and the Book of Mormon and those things. Well, in the course of the meeting, it became clear that the vision that Dan and others had for the journal would be the FARMS Review, that they would continue to deal with apologetics and book reviews and things like that, and I decided, that's not something I wanted to be involved with. So I've never had my name on the Editor Board, or the specific... I was there when it was created, I'm certainly not a co-founder or anything like that, but it's kind of funny to joke about now.

The interview goes on, complete with references to the infamous "Metcalfe is Butthead" incident--it's all well worth a listen/watch. But, wow! These are stunning revelations: DCP is still paid by the MI? That's absolutely shocking, and I question whether it is true or not, though I have to admit that it certainly seems plausible. What Bokovoy describes is perfectly in keeping with the thin-skinned butt-hurt that is endemic to the Mopologists. I can easily imagine a scenario where DCP, having lost his smelling salts, was thrown into such a state of despair over this "change of editors," that he refused to work with anyone at the Maxwell Institute, including the people at METI. He (i.e., DCP) has always claimed that the other people there were dissing him: failing to invite him to meetings, treating him badly, and so on. But what if he was just in such a funk that he was the one who was impossible to work with? It wouldn't be unheard of to imagine a scenario in which they all found him insufferable, and some deal was hammered out where he would just take a hike, but he'd still get his MI compensation. Just having him out of the building would probably be a great relief, and, indeed, this idea seems to be supported by DCP's own comments (" I haven’t so much as crossed the threshold of the essentially off-campus and out-of-the-way building where the Maxwell Institute is housed").

And I think Bokovoy is selling himself short: it *does* seem like he was a co-founder, or at least a co-instigator of Mormon Interpreter. That certainly complicates matters, doesn't it! I don't know whether to laugh, or to feel angry at him for inflicting yet another Mopologetic publication venue on all of us. Regardless, some extremely interesting material here: an early Christmas gift!

[_Philo Sofee]

Utterly fascinating!

[_Doctor Scratch]

There are a couple of details that merit further scrutiny. Take a look:

For several years, though, I was on loan to what is now called the Maxwell Institute, with my salary coming through the Institute but, as I understand it, from the same Department that has always been my campus home.

If you find this confusing, you are entirely justified. I regard this as an explosive admission, though: "For several years"? The lone concrete evidence we have of DCP getting paid to do Mopologetics are those two tax forms from the late 1990s, which show that, in one year, he was paid more than $20,000 to serve as Chair of FARMS. Now, however, the man himself is admitted that he was "on loan" to the MI for "several years"! Quite an admission! So, for "several years" he was actually drawing salary to do Mopologetics. Glad to finally have that admission on the record!

A lot of the other things he's saying seem like obfuscation, frankly. This bit: "my salary coming through the Institute but, as I understand it, from the same Department that has always been my campus home" seems designed to confuse a layperson, and so does this: "Technically, as I understand it, my faculty “slot” (to use BYU parlance) belongs to the Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies. When that building was moving toward completion, the University hired a small handful of additional faculty to provide an expanded curriculum, in both Provo and Jerusalem, that would support that overseas campus and its programs. I was a beneficiary of that expansion." And this: "My yearly salary is set by my department and my college in connection with the office of BYU’s Academic Vice President. As it has always been."

All of these things may very well be true, but it doesn't mean that he *wasn't* getting paid to do Mopologetics, or that he *hadn't* been "bought out" from his home department by the MI. He mentions his "slot": that just means that this is his "home" department. But that doesn't mean that he can't be "loaned" out to other departments/institutes, which can "buy out" a portion of his contract. This happens all the time, actually, particularly with older academics: you'll see people who are professors of multiple disciplines: "Professor of Political Science, Law, and Philosophy," say. It just means that they've demonstrated enough mastery of each discipline that they are "welcomed" into the other departments: maybe they'll be asked to teach classes; maybe they'll be asked to run an institute, or do administrative work of some kind. So, it's no surprise that the Maxwell Institute may have "bought out" half of DCP's contract. What might that have looked like? Usually academics have a "Spitzer Profile", which divides up the work, contractually speaking, into percentages. A typical Spitzer Profile is 40/40/20, meaning that 40% of the work should be devoted to research and publication; 40% to teaching; and 20% to "service." (It wouldn't surprise me if BYU defines "service" in terms of Church-related or ecclesiastical work, and that 40% is supposed to be "spent" on that, and if true, it could very well be that they defined DCP's "service" as doing stuff for FARMS.) But a "buy out" of DCP's contract might mean, as I speculated, that his "service" was now getting "paid for" by the Maxwell Institute. It could be that he defined "service" differently, and instead they "bought out" the teaching portion of his contract: he would teach less classes for his home department, and instead would do work for the MI. Who knows? My point it: everything DCP said can be true, and it can still be true that the MI bought out half of his contract. (Notice that he didn't "flatly deny"--something he's incredibly fond of doing--Bokovoy's statements.)

There is something else I wonder, which may explain DCP's caginess over pay-related topics. What if half his contract was being bought out in the late 1990s, and that ~$20,000 figure really was half his salary? Is he so sensitive over inquiries into this because he's embarrassed, due to being paid such a low salary? Maybe that explains all the boasting about the world travel: if he isn't getting paid diddly squat, then at least he can seem important if he talks about all these exotic places he's going?

[_Dr Exiled]

Great find Dr. Scratch. The low pay says a lot, if true. Paid church positions were always sold and probably still are sold to the membership as part calling, with the understanding that part of the normal salary should be devoted to the cause, as well as tithing, of course. This can generate a certain nastiness, pettiness, DCP sometimes exhibits. Hence the need to be the world traveler to compensate.

[_moksha]

I don't know whether to laugh, or to feel angry at him for inflicting yet another Mopologetic publication venue on all of us.

Dr. Bokovoy said the Interpreter turned out to be something he could not support with its sirens, mustard gas, and trench warfare, so he should not be blamed.

He wanted a Treaty of Versailles and not the scribblings of an Austrian painter. Wait, that last sentence is too Godwin's Law isn't it? Okay, how about "He wanted the Magna Carta and not the Malleus Maleficarum?" That sounds more reasonable.

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

Good morn' Dr. Scratch,

Oh my. You know, I must admit to a routine of mine, while humble in appearance, nevertheless invigorates my soul. Every morning I rise early, when the Wasatch valley mostly sleeps with the exception of a train or two lazily announcing its presence I quietly open my pantry and peruse which of the Devil's brew I'll prepare this day. My choice this time was a delightful little concoction, one part Mi Esperanza and three parts Kopi Luwak Coffee filtered boldly through some Vietnamese silk I picked up on a little trip while backpacking through the rice fields of Sapa.

As I sip the 'cocaine' of the coffee world I tend to do my best reading and thinking for the day just as the exquisite rush of my barista's potion hits my bloodstream. Today, I was in fact reading, interestingly enough, The Selfish Gene (1989 edition) by Richard Dawkins and had to set the tome down. I was struck by how many real-world object lessons have been provided to us on this board by those seeking to take advantage of others who might not appreciate the irony of listening to Eine Kleine Nachtmusik Movt 2. in the morning, wouldn't you say?

Second, no part of my salary -- absolutely none, not a dime -- comes from my apologetic undertakings.

Mr. Peterson's stunning admission, Dr. Scratch, has thrown me into an existential crisis. His denials over receiving compensation, ever, not one dime even, have been as much a universal constant as the speed of light is. Can this be? Did Atlas shrug? When a prevaricator is looking off at something, this “deictic gaze” triggers an interest from other parties, who tend to follow the direction of the look.

Did Mr. Peterson blink?

If this isn't #1 on your Top Ten list for 2018, then I don't know what can top it. The man had only to wait a few more weeks before making his stunning admission, where, much like an early annual Oscar contender is forgotten by the time the leaves drop, his momentary lapse, his tell, his flashing his hand in this game of Texas Hold 'Em, would've been all but forgotten!

Oh, what a mistake he made. What a fundamental error. Did his whirlwind trip to down under lower his guard? Did he forget himself for this one moment? Don't be surprised, my good colleague, if the misguided blog entry is relegated to the ether in an attempt to cover his tracks, so to speak.

Wowza. I'm a bit dizzy, frankly.

- Doc

[_Stem]

[quote=Dr Peterson]For several years, though, I was on loan to what is now called the Maxwell Institute, with my salary coming through the Institute but, as I understand it, from the same Department that has always been my campus home.[/quote]


Ok. He's been busted. Being on loan suggests the Maxwell Institute was granted money from BYU and thus the Church (?) to pay Dr Peterson for his apologetic undertakings. He just threw his old self under the bus.

[_Doctor Scratch]

More from DCP:

For the normal people out there, though, let me say, once again, as clearly as I know how to say it, that

1. The Interpreter Foundation has not paid a single penny of my expenses on this trip to Australia.
2. So far as I’m aware, BYU’s Maxwell Institute contributes not a single cent toward my salary, and never has.

Now, I’ll admit (a) that I’m not an accountant and (b) that the finances behind my BYU salary are somewhat convoluted and arcane. They are convoluted and arcane because my professorial faculty “slot” belongs, strictly speaking, to BYU’s Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies, but my appointment is in, and my salary is set and comes through, BYU’s Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages (and always has). That was true even when I was serving in the Maxwell Institute. As I understand it, the Maxwell Institute has never paid any part of my salary — and it certainly does not pay any part of my salary now. I have no connection to the Maxwell Institute, and the Maxwell Institute has no connection with me.

Okay, sure. But if his contract (or part of it--50% according to Bokovoy) was "bought out," then that means that his home department was paying him to do work for the Maxwell Institute. It may be that his contract with the Dept. of A&NEL would normally have him (e.g.) teaching 6 classes per year: two each quarter (or whatever), but under this deal with the MI, he instead teaches 3, with the remainder of his work going towards MI-related stuff. Yes, he's still mainly "tied" to his home department, and that's where the folks are who make decisions about pay, raises, promotions, etc., but he would still effectively be getting paid to do Mopologetics at the Maxwell Institute. So, what he's now saying can be true, and it can also be true that he was technically getting paid to do Mopologetics.

[_lostindc]

Yes, I am not sure why it matters if DCP's pay is from his home department, the MI, Psychology, or whatever, either way, DCP was paid by BYU to do apologetic work.

Being loaned out to the MI for a big portion of work hours must've been fun. DCP had the chance to research anything Mormon related and build a Nibley type of fame while getting paid. To TBMs, there's not much else more noble than defending the Church.

[_Lemmie]

More from DCP:

For the normal people out there, though, let me say, once again, as clearly as I know how to say it, that

1. The Interpreter Foundation has not paid a single penny of my expenses on this trip to Australia.
2. So far as I’m aware, BYU’s Maxwell Institute contributes not a single cent toward my salary, and never has.

Now, I’ll admit (a) that I’m not an accountant and (b) that the finances behind my BYU salary are somewhat convoluted and arcane. They are convoluted and arcane because my professorial faculty “slot” belongs, strictly speaking, to BYU’s Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies, but my appointment is in, and my salary is set and comes through, BYU’s Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages (and always has). That was true even when I was serving in the Maxwell Institute. As I understand it, the Maxwell Institute has never paid any part of my salary — and it certainly does not pay any part of my salary now. I have no connection to the Maxwell Institute, and the Maxwell Institute has no connection with me.

Okay, sure. But if his contract (or part of it--50% according to Bokovoy) was "bought out," then that means that his home department was paying him to do work for the Maxwell Institute. It may be that his contract with the Dept. of A&NEL would normally have him (e.g.) teaching 6 classes per year: two each quarter (or whatever), but under this deal with the MI, he instead teaches 3, with the remainder of his work going towards MI-related stuff. Yes, he's still mainly "tied" to his home department, and that's where the folks are who make decisions about pay, raises, promotions, etc., but he would still effectively be getting paid to do Mopologetics at the Maxwell Institute. So, what he's now saying can be true, and it can also be true that he was technically getting paid to do Mopologetics.

Doctor Scratch, Peterson seems to have forgotten some things he said in years past about working for the Maxwell Institute:

"I did receive, for a brief period (only a small portion of the time that I spent with the organization), some less-than-minimum wage remuneration for specific administrative duties connected with the Maxwell Institute, but never for apologetic work.

Quoted in viewtopic.php?p=906488#p906488 , original source is a comment by him on this SEN blog entry: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeters ... 2187371732