William "Bill" Hudson, the former Totino-Grace High School president who resigned in June after revealing he was in a same-sex relationship, has been named director of institutional advancement at Mounds Park Academy (MPA) in Maplewood.
The pre-K-to-12th-grade independent school announced the move in a news release Wednesday.
At Totino-Grace, Hudson was an administrator for nine years, first as vice president for mission in 2004 and then as the CEO-like school president beginning in 2011. He resigned after a meeting with co-presidents of the school's corporate board during which he stated he was in a committed same-sex relationship.
Mark Motzel, one of the co-presidents, said at the time that while Hudson's work was excellent, "living in a committed same-sex relationship is not consistent with the teachings of the Catholic church."
Anger and disappointment over Hudson's departure prompted Sara Graham, a 2000 Totino-Grace graduate, to post an online petition seeking to assure any gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender students that "you are a part of OUR community -- one that embraces love, equality and acceptance."
Within a day, the petition had been signed by more than 290 people, many of them school alumni. It remains active on the change.org website, and now has 607 supporters.
MPA has no religious affiliations.
In a statement, Jeff Suzik, MPA head of school, said that MPA prided itself on having an "open, welcoming and inclusive environment." For nearly 30 years, he added, MPA has adhered to an equal opportunity employment statement that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, among other social identifiers.
