Fornaro named interim president and dean of EDS

The Rev. Francis Fornaro has been named interim president and dean of Episcopal Divinity School (EDS) in Cambridge, according to a March 23 announcement posted on the EDS Web site.

“I am honored to be called to serve an institution that has done so much to form and prepare me for a career in ministry—as it has for so many others,” Fornaro, a 1996 EDS graduate, said in the announcement. “I look forward to working with students, faculty, staff, trustees, alumni/ae and supporters of EDS as together we help our school fulfill its purpose of preparing lay and ordained leaders for Christ’s church and the world.”

The Very Rev. Dr. James A. Kowalski, the chair of the EDS Board of Trustees, said in the Courtesy Photo The Rev. Francis Fornaro announcement:  “Please join me in welcoming the Rev. [Francis] Fornaro in this new role, and on behalf of the Board of Trustees, offer our prayers for his leadership as we successfully pursue the mission of EDS during a period of transition.  We are deeply grateful as we take these next steps, confident that we will continue to be enlivened by theologies of liberation and live up to our role as a respected and progressive center for study and spiritual formation.”

Fornaro’s interim appointment follows the decision, announced in January, of the former president and dean, the Rev. Katherine Hancock Ragsdale, to not seek a renewal of her contract after a five-year tenure.

According to EDS's announcement, Fornaro brings nearly two decades of experience as an ordained leader in the Episcopal Church, including serving as adjunct faculty member at EDS and as a former member of the faculty for the CREDO clergy wellness program through which he provided spiritual guidance and support for clergy from diverse parishes across the country. Fornaro’s first career was as a teacher and administrator in the Boston Public Schools. He holds a B.S. degree in education, an M.Ed. in administration and organization, and an M.Div. from EDS with concentration in pastoral theology.