Iliff Seminary Regains Status With United Methodist Church
A United Methodist theological school, placed on a warning list last fall, has regained its positive standing with the denomination.
A United Methodist theological school, placed on a warning list last fall, has regained its positive standing with the denomination.
The University Senate, which determines institutional affiliations with the denomination, removed previous sanctions, including funding loss of $900,000, from the 110-year-old Denver seminary, at its June 23 meeting, reported the United Methodist News Service (UMNS).
“We were very pleased to be able to do that,” said Henry N. Tisdale, president of both the University Senate and Claflin University, Orangeburg, S.C. “It was based on the progress that we believe that they have made. As one of our very important institutions training leaders for the church, we believe that this is a cause of celebration.”
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The November investigation and the “loss of status” were prompted by complaints following the abrupt retirement of former president David Maldonado Jr. in May 2004, the first Hispanic president of Iliff.
Concluding that “institutional racism was a major, significant factor” leading to Maldonado’s departure, the team made 19 recommendations for Iliff to implement.
School officials were informed June 27 that the University Senate had approved the actions that Iliff had taken since then in response to those recommendations. The senate’s actions were based on a follow-up review by the church in April.
“We welcome this. It is a constructive response to the efforts we’ve made this year,” said the Rev. J. Philip Wogaman, the seminary’s interim president.
In his comments to UM Reporter Interactive, Wogaman said “the events of the past year have done nothing but improve Iliff as a school for future pastors.”
"The crisis and the way it has been resolved has reinforced the best side of Iliff because Iliff has for many years been involved in the struggle against racism,” he said. “But the questions raised last summer may have increased Iliff's sensitivity and reinforced what has been a longstanding commitment [to issues surrounding racism and the need for diversity].”
Reforms include: diversity training for incoming students this fall, a campus-wide session on Sept. 30., recruitment of students on Indian reservations, and the appointment of Markeeva Hill, "a distinguished African-American," as head of the new diversity-conscious Iliff Institute.
