Divinity dean resigns amid embezzlement charge

HARTFORD, Conn. — Following an audit that revealed he took university funds for his own personal use — including paying for his daughter’s tuition at Harvard Medical School — the dean of the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University has resigned, according to The Hartford Courant.

Dean Ralph William Franklin, who was also an associate dean at Yale Divinity School, was not forced to leave the post he has held since 1998, said the chair of Berkeley’s board of trustees.

The Courant reported that an audit of the school’s records between July 1999 and June 2001 showed Franklin used university funds for personal expenses including dry cleaning, some $8,500 in dental bills for his daughter, and airline tickets worth about $933 for his daughter and wife.