The Rt. Rev. Steven Charleston, president and dean of Episcopal Divinity School, in Cambridge, Mass., announced his intention to resign from the seminary at the end of May.
 
“For me, the good news is that I have helped to bring EDS to place where I can say my work here is done,” Bishop Charleston said in a letter sent to alumni on Feb. 25. “EDS is a strong spiritual community rooted firmly in the gospel of Jesus Christ. It trains some of the best and brightest leaders for the church who consistently offer what the church needs most: ministers who know how to work in the real world.”
 
In his resignation letter, Bishop Charleston also revealed that EDS is considering a partnership with  Lesley University. The school, which was founded in 1909, reports a $90-million annual budget and 12,344 students, of whom 1,702 are undergraduates. Lesley University has more than 150 campus locations, including Cambridge and Boston.
 
“The potential partnership with Lesley University is designed to anchor the financial foundation of EDS while releasing our creative energy as never before and positioning EDS to grow in vital areas like faculty development, student financial support, learning technologies, and community life,” Bishop Charleston said.
 
“In simple language, our new friends at Lesley, who share our values and vision, would become our neighbors on campus, changing us as we change them, but in the process allowing us to enter this generation of theological education with enormous hope and renewed energy.”
 

In a follow-up letter sent to alumni two days later, Betsy Kamborian, director of development at EDS, promised that additional details about the proposed partnership would soon be available from the chairman of the board at EDS.

When contacted by a reporter from The Living Church, Nancy Davidge, director of communications for EDS, confirmed the news about Bishop Charleston's plan to resign, but said the seminary would have no comment about the proposed partnership with Lesley University during ongoing negotiations.

Steve Waring

 
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