March 6, 2018
To our sisters and brothers at the University of the South. From the Bishop Trustees of the University. Grace and peace to you in Christ Jesus.
In the opening days of this academic term the Regents discussed a response to a deeply disturbing revelation. Charlie Rose, a 2016 recipient of an honorary degree, sexually harassed his female colleagues over a period of two decades.
Mr. Rose’s employer dismissed him. Other institutions of higher learning rescinded the honorary degrees that they had conferred upon him. When the Regents met earlier this year, two female Student Trustees presented a cogent argument for removing the degree from Mr. Rose.
We, the undersigned Trustee Bishops, urge the Regents of the University to rescind Mr. Rose’s honorary degree.
Since its inception Sewanee has been an institution dedicated to the nurture of the soul as well as the mind. We are a Christian institution in the Anglican tradition, encouraging and celebrating a life of virtue. While career success is praiseworthy, we value such achievements as but one dimension of a life devoted to pursuing the common good.
Mr. Rose steadily ascended the career ladder. However, in his climb to the top of his profession he repeatedly failed to respect the dignity of his female colleagues. By rescinding the degree, Sewanee acknowledges a reality to which we had previously been blind. This would not represent a departure from the Christian practice of forgiveness. Instead, it is a refusal to live in denial.
What our Regents decide in the case of Mr. Rose will have ramifications beyond the boundaries of the Domain. Our nation is newly awakened to the pervasiveness of the harassment of and the violence toward women in the workplace, on campuses, on our streets, and in our homes. By failing to act in this case, the University remains silent in the face of a broader injustice. And to paraphrase Eli Wiesel, silence always benefits the oppressor.
In Christ’s peace,
The Gladstone B. Adams III
Bishop, The Episcopal Church in South Carolina
The Rt. Rev. Larry R. Benfield
Bishop, The Diocese of Arkansas
The Rt. Rev. Scott Anson Benhase
Bishop, The Diocese of Georgia
The Rt. Rev. Jennifer Brooke-Davidson
Bishop Suffragan, The Diocese of West Texas
The Rt. Rev. Brian L. Cole
Bishop, The Diocese of East Tennessee
The Rt. Rev. Anne Hodges-Copple
Bishop Suffragan, The Diocese of North Carolina
The Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle
Bishop, The Diocese of Texas
The Rt. Rev. Peter Eaton
Bishop, The Diocese of Southeast Florida
The Rt. Rev. Jeff W. Fisher
Bishop Suffragan, The Diocese of Texas
The Rt. Rev. Dena A. Harrison
Bishop Suffragan, The Diocese of Texas
The Rt. Rev. Don E. Johnson
Bishop, The Episcopal Diocese of West Tennessee
The Rt. Rev. J. Russell Kendrick
Bishop, The Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast
The Rt. Rev. Jose A. McLoughlin
Bishop, The Diocese of Western North Carolina
The Rt. Rev. J. Scott Mayer
Bishop, The Diocese of Northwest Texas
Bishop Provisional, The Diocese of Fort Worth
The Rt. Rev. Hector Monterroso
Bishop Assistant, The Diocese of Texas
The Rt. Rev. Jacob W. Owensby
Bishop, The Diocese of Western Louisiana
The Rt. Rev. Samuel S. Rodman
Bishop, The Diocese of North Carolina
The Rt. Rev. Brian R. Seage
Bishop, The Diocese of Mississippi
The Rt. Rev. John McKee Sloan
Bishop, The Diocese of Alabama
The Rt. Rev. George Wayne Smith
Bishop, The Diocese of Missouri
The Rt. Rev. George R. Sumner
Bishop, The Diocese of Dallas
The Rt. Rev. Andrew Waldo
Bishop, The Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina
The Rt. Rev. Terry A. White
Bishop, The Diocese of Kentucky
The Rt. Rev. Robert C. Wright
Bishop, The Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta
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