Almost a year ago, I was honored and excited to be a part, a very small part of course, of the election and confirmation of the new Vice-Chancellor at Sewanee. I have served as an Alumni-Association elected Trustee for three years and am about to begin a term as Diocesan Trustee for our Diocese here in Georgia, as one of the dioceses that owns the University of the South. Sewanee is, of course, my seminary alma mater, having attended the School of Theology for my priestly formation (as did Mtr. Ashton and Mtr. Katie). The search committee's recommendation that we call Ambassador Reuben Brigety was well-received and represented (and still represents) an historic moment for Sewanee.

 

Ambassador Brigety, a native Southerner, is an academic, having obtained his Ph.D. from Cambridge and taught at several other Universities. He also served in the US Navy. Combining his expertise and his identity as a person of faith, he has done extensive work in international affairs and Human Rights on a global scale. As Sewanee's official communication suggested at the time, Vice-Chancellor Brigety is uniquely gifted to "bring Sewanee to the world, and the world to Sewanee." The true historic nature of the call is related to one other aspect of Ambassador Brigety's identity: his race. He is the University's first African American Vice-Chancellor. It will be a joyous day when such things are no longer historic, but given Sewanee's particular history, this has been a poignant moment.