African Bishop Vindicated After Gay Rights Stance Cost Him Job

From Cahaisma News-

An African bishop, whose appointment as dean of a foundation at Dartmouth College was rescinded over his past comments about homosexuality, has been named a fellow at a Massachusetts divinity school.

Bishop James Tengatenga of Malawi will serve as a presidential fellow at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge for six months starting in January 2014, the school said in a statement on Monday.

In July, Tengatenga was named as dean of the William Jewett Tucker Foundation at Dartmouth, which seeks to educate students at the Ivy League school for "lives of purpose and ethical leadership." But the New Hampshire school revoked the appointment amid a controversy over past remarks by Tengatenga.

More here-

http://www.charismanews.com/us/41808-african-bishop-vindicated-after-gay-rights-stance-cost-him-job

Bp Tengatenga named presidential fellow of Episcopal Divinity School

From ENS-

Citing a strong record of human rights activism and pastoral leadership, Episcopal Divinity School (EDS) announced Nov. 18 that the Rt. Rev. James Tengatenga, bishop of Southern Malawi, will serve as a presidential fellow for six months beginning January 2014. The fellowship was made possible with the support of the Episcopal dioceses of Connecticut and Massachusetts.

“I am very pleased to offer Bishop Tengatenga this presidential fellowship,” said EDS president and dean, the Very Rev. Katherine Hancock Ragsdale. “His dynamic faith, moral leadership, and commitment to justice are values that have long defined EDS. We look forward to his work and witness among us and are delighted that our students will have the opportunity to learn from his wisdom and experience. We are thankful to the dioceses of Connecticut and Massachusetts as well for their support and counsel in helping to facilitate Bishop Tengatenga’s appointment as a presidential fellow.”

The presidential fellowship comes just three months after Dartmouth College rescinded Tengatenga’s appointment as dean of the William Jewett Tucker Foundation, after a student group alleged he was homophobic. In an open letter to Dartmouth, Ragsdale, along with other Episcopal Church leaders, academics, LGBTQ advocacy groups in Malawi, and other human rights advocates, disputed the student group’s claim and described Dartmouth’s actions as “a gross injustice to an individual who would have made an ideal person to provide moral and ethical leadership at the college.”

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2013/11/18/bishop-tengatenga-named-presidential-fellow-of-episcopal-divinity-school/

Diversity’s Limits at Dartmouth

From The Living Church (A must read) Written by a member of the call committee,

James Tengatenga, the Anglican bishop of Southern Malawi, will not be the next chaplain and dean of the Tucker Foundation at Dartmouth College; the offer was extended and then later rescinded this summer. What does this unfortunate episode tell us about the limits of diversity at an elite liberal arts college?

When the provost’s office asked me to serve on the search committee for a new dean of the Tucker Foundation, I sought (and received) assurances that this would be a true search, not another anointing of an inside candidate. I quickly learned that the William Jewett Tucker Foundation, founded in 1951 and named for the last preacher-president of Dartmouth, was “charged with supporting and furthering the moral and spiritual work of the College.” Indeed, the Tucker Foundation occupies a unique niche; its very existence attests to the belief that a liberal arts education has a moral purpose beyond the mere aggregation of knowledge.

More (much more) here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/diversity-limits-dartmouth

Gay Rights Stance Pushes Dartmouth to Un-Hire Anglican Bishop

From Charisma News-

Dartmouth College has rescinded the appointment of Bishop James Tengatenga of Malawi as dean of a foundation at the Ivy League school in New Hampshire over his past comments about homosexuality.

Reached by e-mail on Thursday, Tengatenga said he was "disappointed" by the decision.

Dartmouth President Philip Hanlon said the school revoked the appointment because "the controversy (Tengatenga's comments) created have compromised his ability to serve effectively."

Tengatenga had been named as dean of the school's William Jewett Tucker Foundation, which seeks to educate Dartmouth students "for lives of purpose and ethical leadership, rooted in service, spirituality and social justice," according to the college's website.

The appointment drew criticism after it was announced last month because of Tengatenga's leadership of an Anglican church in Africa that opposed gay rights. He served as diocesan bishop of Southern Malawi and chair of the Worldwide Anglican Communion's Anglican Consultative Council, a network of 44 churches.

More here-

http://www.charismanews.com/us/40654-gay-rights-stance-pushes-dartmouth-to-un-hire-anglican-bishop

also here-

http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2013/08/16/dartmouth-nixes-hire-of-african-bishop-on-past-gay-rights-stance/

Dartmouth Rescinds an Appointment Over Past Comments on Homosexuality

From The Chronicle of Higher Education-

Dartmouth College has withdrawn the appointment of the dean of its William Jewett Tucker Foundation, after revelations of his past comments on homosexuality caused a controversy on the campus.

The college announced last month that it had appointed the Rt. Rev. James Tengatenga, the Anglican bishop of Southern Malawi, to serve as the dean of the Tucker Foundation, which, according to its mission statement, “educates Dartmouth students for lives of purpose and ethical leadership, rooted in service, spirituality, and social justice.”

Some critics took issue with Bishop Tengatenga’s opposition in 2003 to the consecration of the Rev. V. Gene Robinson, an openly gay priest, as the Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire, according to The Valley News.

After his appointment as the Tucker foundation’s dean was announced, Bishop Tengatenga issued a written statement pledging that he “unequivocally and categorically” considered all people equal “regardless of their sexual orientation.”

Philip J. Hanlon, Dartmouth’s president, said in a statement released on Wednesday that he had recently met with Bishop Tengatenga and asked him “tough questions” about his earlier statements. Mr. Hanlon said Bishop Tengatenga had described in “passionate terms” his commitment to gay rights.


More here-

http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/dartmouth-rescinds-an-appointment-over-past-comments-on-homosexuality/64649

Also here-

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-14/dartmouth-president-pulls-dean-s-appointment-for-remarks-on-gays.html