The Rev. Alice Brown-Collins, who served as the interim Protestant Chaplain beginning in 2001, said she left the University last May because she felt unappreciated by the administration.In her letter of resignation to Senior Vice President of Students and Enrollment Jean Eddy, Brown-Collins wrote that she had not received a raise in five years and did not apply to be the Protestant chaplain "considering the insecurity of the past position."

Brown-Collins came to Brandeis in 1994 as a professor in the Afro-African American Studies Department and became the interim Protestant chaplain in 2001.

Brown-Collins declined to comment on her reasons for resigning, but said, "It is my hope that the religious life and the work of the Protestant chaplaincy will continue to go forward and continue to serve all students."

But she wrote in the letter obtained by The Justice that she had expected to be offered the position of Protestant chaplain. Instead, she was given the option of applying.

Eddy countered that Brown-Collins did not want the job. "She told me that she had no interest in applying for the position," Eddy wrote in an e-mail to the Justice. She said Brown-Collins resigned just before the search for a part-time Protestant chaplain began in May.

Eddy added that although Brown-Collins had in the past said she hoped to make her position permanent, after the administration "re-evaluated" the position and decided to reduce the chaplain's weekly hours from 17 to 10, Brown-Collins was no longer interested.

But Brown-Collins insisted in her letter that despite the change in hours, she had expected to be hired.

"There was no doubt in my mind, no matter the hours, that I would be appointed as Protestant chaplain," she wrote.

Kendra Harrison '07, a former pianist for the Protestant chapel, said Brown-Collins declined the offer to apply for the position because of the reduction in hours.

"She felt that she couldn't do the work she needed to do within that time period, so it was time for her to move on," Harrison said.

Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer said the administration changed the hours in order to make them the same as the other chaplains' hours.

"I think [the reduction] was [due to] consistency," Sawyer said. "The Muslim chaplain [Imam Talal Eid] was ten hours a week and seemed to be doing fine."

Jonathan D'Oleo '08, co-president of the Brandeis Christian Fellowship, said he interpreted the administration's decision not to offer Brown-Collins the position as a way of letting her go.

"[This] is kind of a tacit way of just saying that she is not welcome in the Brandeis campus anymore," D'Oleo said.

Others seemed less sure of what prompted Brown-Collins to resign.

Eid said he didn't know Brown-Collins resigned until he read it in an e-mail after the fact.

"Until the summer, to my knowledge, everything was fine," Eid said. "So I was not really aware of what was happening."

D'Oleo said he was sad to see Brown-Collins leave Brandeis. "I really think we lost a very intelligent and devoted person, but what is done is done," he said.

The University hired Rev. Alexander Kern on an interim basis in September and made him the official chaplain last month.

"Any transition is difficult, but I think that people have dealt with it very well," Harrison said. "The new chaplain has been really receptive to new ideas and changes that need to be put in place.