Dartmouth has second thoughts

No, not about its rancid Panhellenic system; I expect they’ll sweep the “Crips and Bloods” costume party embarrassment under the rug. But it has taken back its lovely job offer to Anglican Bishop James Tengatenga, now deemed inconvenient to serve as head of the College’s Tucker Foundation due to his record of anti-gay rhetoric. Seeing as how the Foundation is supposed to be all about “moral leadership,” y’know.

[Dartmouth President Philip] Hanlon, who met last week with Tengatenga on Dartmouth’s campus in Hanover, N.H.,said in a statement Wednesday that after much reflection and consultation with senior leaders at the college, he decided that Tengatenga’s past statements compromised his ability to lead the William J. Tucker Foundation.

“The foundation and Dartmouth’s commitment to inclusion are too important to be mired in discord over this appointment,” Hanlon said.

Yeah, you’d think if its “commitment to inclusion” was so important, somebody at Dartmouth might’ve Googled “Tengatenga” and “gay marriage” before offering the job, given the highly publicized intra-Anglican battles of recent years. Could have saved the College some trouble, for sure.

Could have also saved the Bishop from dead-ending his own career, apparently.

Tengatenga… had already resigned his diocesan post and expressed public support for gay marriage after receiving the Dartmouth post.

That belated public support wasn’t enough to keep his Big Green Sinecure, but it’s likely to cause him some problems among his former brethren in the Intolerant Wing of the Anglican Communion.

You could almost feel sorry for the guy. Not his fault, really, that Dartmouth College once again revealed the big fat blind spot in its moral sensibility. Indeed, if I were him, I’d be consulting an employment attorney.  

One thought on “Dartmouth has second thoughts

  1. Thanks for the follow-up, JV.

    Maybe things really are looking up for teh gays. Last month, a little protestant church in Bakersfield (central Franklin County) fired its minister for promulgating unwelcoming messages about lesbians and gay men. The already small congregation lost a few members as a result, but the remaining folks feel they did the right thing.

    Amazing.

    Props to Andrew Longhi, the Dartmouth College student whose piece on (former) Bishop Tengatenga at HuffPost brought the situation to light.

    NanuqFC

    I would not worship a God who is homophobic … I would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven. ~ Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu

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