Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest

C  I   T   A  T  I  O  N

Dunstan Kopoliano Bukenya

Seminary professor and administrator, scholar of African traditional religions and now Bishop of the Diocese of Mityana in the Church of Uganda, you have brought honor to the Seminary of the Southwest since graduating in 1979.

 The son of preachers and farmers from central Uganda, you were educated at Bishop Tucker Theological College and the University of East Africa. After teaching at Bishop Tucker and the Mityana Theological College, you came to this country for two years of seminary studies with us. Before returning to Africa, you earned the master of letters degree in religion and primal societies from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.

 You returned to Uganda during the turmoil of the regimes of Idi Amin and Milton Obote. Over two decades of teaching, you helped form scores of priests and lay leaders at Bishop Tucker College - now named Uganda Christian University. During this time you and Phebe also taught and wrote about Marriage Encounter, the ministry to married couples that you brought to Uganda.

 Consecrated as the third bishop of Mityana in January 2002, you began your episcopate in the midst of the coffee market's economic collapse, persistent rural poverty, and the scourge of the AIDS pandemic. Your strong leadership gives much hope to the clergy and laity in your diocese whom a fellow Seminary of the Southwest graduate describes as "eager, dedicated, imaginative and faithful."

 In recognition of all you have accomplished, we are pleased to award you the degree of Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa.

May 20, 2003                                           Austin, Texas, United States of America