Dive Brief:
- Professor H. Adam Ackley and Azusa Pacific University are parting ways, a joint statement announced today, and replacement professors will teach the remainder of his courses this semester.
- Ackley, who is transgender and previously went by the name Heather Clements, was asked to leave after he was "outed" by the Christian university following a private conversation with his supervisor about changing his name.
- Though the university didn't release details of the agreement due to personnel concerns, Ackley has been very vocal on his Facebook page in the two weeks since his gender identity went public, saying that he never had a choice in the matter.
Dive Insight:
Prior to this incident, Ackley was with the university for 15 years and was at one time the head of its department of theology and philosophy. Students continue to rally behind him, and he also wrote a first-person essay for The Huffington Post in which he stated, "I am trying to figure out which Christian values I've violated."