Bob Jones University

===Racial policies and ban on interracial dating===
Although BJU had admitted Asian students and other ethnic groups from its inception, it did not enroll African or African-American students until 1971. From 1971 to 1975, BJU admitted only married Black people. However, the [[Internal Revenue Service]] (IRS) had already determined in 1970 that "private schools with racially discriminatory admissions policies" were not entitled to federal tax exemption. In 1975, the University Board of Trustees authorized a policy change to admit Black students, a move that occurred shortly before the announcement of the Supreme Court decision in ''[[Runyon v. McCrary]]'' (427 U.S. 160 [1976]), which prohibited racial exclusion in private schools.<ref>{{cite book|last=Turner|first=Daniel|title=Standing Without Apology: The History of Bob Jones University|pages=226–227}}</ref> In May 1975, BJU expanded rules against interracial dating and marriage.<ref>[http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=461&invol=574 ''Bob Jones University v. United States''] (461 U.S. 574, 581)</ref>

In 1976, the [[Internal Revenue Service]] revoked the university's tax exemption retroactively to December 1, 1970, because it practiced racial discrimination.<ref>[http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=461&invol=574 ''Bob Jones University v. United States''] (461 U.S. 574 @725)</ref> The case eventually was heard by the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] in 1982. After BJU lost the decision in ''[[Bob Jones University v. United States]]'' (461 U.S. 574)[1983], the university chose to maintain its interracial dating policy and pay a million dollars in back taxes. The year following the Court decision, contributions to the university declined by 13 percent.<ref>{{cite book|last=Turner|first=Daniel|title=Standing Without Apology: The History of Bob Jones University|page=236}}</ref>  In 2000, following a media uproar prompted by the visit of presidential candidate [[George W. Bush]] to the university, Bob Jones III dropped the university's interracial dating rule, announcing the change on [[CNN]]'s ''[[Larry King Live]]''.<ref>"Dances with Compromise" (April 2000), [http://multiracial.com/index.php/2000/04/01/dances-with-compromise-the-bob-jones-university-twist/ The Multiracial Activist].</ref> In the same year, Bob Jones III drew criticism after reposting a letter on the university's web page referring to [[Mormons]] and [[Catholic Church|Catholics]] as being members of "cults which call themselves Christian".<ref>{{cite web|title=Bob Jones Reposts Mormon, Catholic 'Cult' Reference|url=http://www.beliefnet.com/story/15/story_1544_1.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010115803/http://www.beliefnet.com/story/15/story_1544_1.html|archive-date=October 10, 2008|access-date=June 14, 2015|work=Beliefnet}}</ref>

In 2005, [[Stephen Jones (administrator)|Stephen Jones]], great-grandson of the founder, became BJU's president on the same day that he received his [[PhD]] from the school. Bob Jones III then took the title Chancellor. In 2008, the university declared itself "profoundly sorry" for having allowed "institutional policies to remain in place that were racially hurtful".<ref>[https://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-11-24-bob-jones-university-race_N.htm USA Today, November 24, 2008]; [http://www.bju.edu/communities/ministries-schools/position-statements/race-statement.php Statement about Race at Bob Jones University] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023091117/http://www.bju.edu/communities/ministries-schools/position-statements/race-statement.php|date=October 23, 2012}}. In the statement, the university admitted to having "conformed to the culture" rather than providing "a clear Christian counterpoint to it". Earlier that year, some BJU alumni expressed concern that the university had never repudiated its racist past and petitioned the school to make a formal apology. [http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20081122/NEWS01/311220002&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL Greenville News, November 22, 2008]{{dead link|date=September 2018|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}.</ref> That year, BJU enrolled students from fifty states and nearly fifty countries, representing diverse ethnicities and cultures, and the BJU administration declared itself "committed to maintaining on the campus the racial and cultural diversity and harmony characteristic of the true Church of Jesus Christ throughout the world".<ref>[http://www.bju.edu/communities/ministries-schools/position-statements/race-statement.php Statement about Race at Bob Jones University]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023091117/http://www.bju.edu/communities/ministries-schools/position-statements/race-statement.php|date=October 23, 2012}}</ref>

In his first meeting with the university cabinet in 2014, the fifth president [[Steve Pettit]] said it was appropriate for BJU to regain its tax-exempt status because BJU no longer held its earlier positions about race. "The Bible is clear," said Pettit, "We are made of one blood."  By February 17, 2017, the IRS website had listed the university as a [[501(c)(3) organization]],<ref>Nathaniel Cary, "Bob Jones regains nonprofit standing," ''Greenville News'', February 17, 2017, 1A, 5A.</ref> and by May 2017, BJU had forged a working relationship with Greenville's [[Phillis Wheatley]] Center.<ref>Angelia Davis, "Wheatley Center, BJU Work Together," ''Greenville News'', May 13, 2017, 1. Director Darian Blue said the sight of a BJU bus in the Wheatley Center parking lot "brought tears to the eyes" of a 70-year-old Baptist deacon.</ref> In 2017, 9% of the student body was "from the American minority population".<ref>''BJU 2016–17 Annual Report—Advancement'', 14.</ref>