![Mark Hanshaw, Associate General Secretary for the Division of Higher Education at the United Methodist Church's General Board of Higher Education and Ministry [United Methodist GBHEM]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4de9792/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1280x800+0+0/resize/840x526!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F5%2F03%2FMark%20Hanshaw%20cropped.jpg)
A recent decision by the United Methodist Church to reaffirm its ban on same-sex marriage and LGBT clergy has prompted several affiliated schools in Ohio to rethink their relationship with the church.
In late April, Baldwin Wallace University’s board of trustees voted to cut ties, ending a relationship that went back to the school’s founding in Berea in 1845. Last week, Ohio Wesleyan University took a different tack, asking church officials to delay a ten-year site visit scheduled for this fall. The University of Mount Union’s board of trustees is considering disaffiliation later this month, while Ohio Northern and Otterbein are tabling the issue, for now.
Mark Hanshaw directs the Higher Education Division of the United Methodist Church’s General Board of Higher Education and Ministry. The board is the leadership development agency of the church. He discussed the schools' disaffiliation discussions with WCPN's Morning Edition host Amy Eddings.
Update: Mount Union's board of trustees voted to break ties with the United Methodist Church.
