Antioch Univ. of LA President Dr. Neal King to Wed Long-Time Partner

Filed Under Education, Gay Marriage, Gossip | June 18th, 2008 

Dr. Neal King, President of Antioch University Los Angeles located in Culver City, California. (Photo: Business Wire)CULVER CITY, Calif. (BUSINESS WIRE) — Antioch University Los Angeles President and long-time gay activist Dr. Neal King and his partner, web developer Peter Morrison, announced yesterday their plans to wed this summer. Dr. King is one of the few out gay college or university presidents in the history of U.S. higher education. As Dr. King is perhaps the only out sitting university president in California on record, Dr. King celebrates this historic moment in the history of civil rights in the United States – one which he did not believe he would see in his lifetime.

“Peter and I both feel that the Supreme Court’s action represents a milestone that will shine brightly for sexual minorities throughout the world,” said Dr. King. “We feel blessed to be living the intersection between this historic moment and the long activist history of Antioch University.”

Antioch University was founded in the mid-1800s by activists in the abolitionist movement, and has a long history of championing social justice in all of its forms. Dr. King sees the fact of his being allowed to serve as an openly gay president in the Antioch system as consistent with this venerable tradition of Antioch serving as an institution of conscience in US Higher Education.

Antioch University Los Angeles, located in Culver City, has been serving the diverse communities of the greater Los Angeles area for the last 35 years. As part of its renowned Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology program, AULA now offers an LGBT specialization designed to provide comprehensive theoretical and practical preparation for students who are training to become licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (MFT). This specialization, which began in July 2006, is the first master’s training program in LGBT clinical psychology of its kind in the country. Students from a wide variety of backgrounds learn how to treat the underlying causes of internalized homophobia that result in substance abuse, depression and domestic violence, and to empower LGBT clients to lead lives of dignity, self-worth and romantic/sexual health.

The first cohort of students from the LGBT specialization, along with the candidates from all of AULA’s undergraduate and graduate programs, will be participating in Antioch’s commencement ceremony this Friday, June 20th, at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus.

Dr. King was named President of Antioch University Los Angeles in February 2007. He originally joined the Antioch University system in the fall of 2004 and has served the institution in a variety of different capacities including Dean and interim President of Antioch University New England, as well as Dean and Provost of Antioch University Los Angeles.

Dr. King and Mr. Morrison are in their twelfth year together as a couple and make their home in the Loyola Village area of Westchester. Never imagining this moment coming to pass, they exchanged rings in Ireland in 1999 during a family vacation with two of their sisters and King’s niece Lally in attendance.

The couple plan to wed privately with family and close friends later in the summer “after the rush.”

Update: According to info I received recently, the happy couple tied the knot over the Labor Day weekend. No further details were made available unfortunately.

Additional information on Dr. King and Antioch University Los Angeles can be found online at www.AntiochLA.edu/president