BEREA, Ohio -- After 174 years, Baldwin Wallace University is no longer affiliated with the Methodist Church.

Trustees voted April 26 to sever ties, in reaction to a February church vote against allowing same-sex marriage and LGBTQ clergy. The “Traditional Plan” angered Methodist churches and schools nationwide, with many debating whether or not to leave the church.

“BW’s Methodist founders were committed to inclusion 174 years ago,” Charles Rotuno, the chair of BW’s board of trustees, said in a press release.

“While we value the relationship that we have had with the United Methodist Church, we’ve concluded that becoming an independent university will allow the BW community to continue to fully embrace and embody the values of diversity and inclusion today and always.”

The presidents of Ohio’s Methodist schools -- BW, Ohio Northern University, University of Mount Union, Ohio Wesleyan University and Otterbein University -- already signed a letter opposing the vote.

WOSU reported on Tuesday that Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware is suspending its affiliation for one year because of the vote. The outlet updated the story to say that the university is “pausing” its relationship with the church, not suspending it.

Methodist John Baldwin and the Methodist Church founded the institute that would become BW in 1845, but the affiliation slowly grew less central to the university’s identity. BW stopped requiring students to attend church services. The school does not receive funding from the Methodist church.

BW’s chapel and United Methodist chaplain will remain on campus. The school will also honor awards for all current or incoming 2019 students who received scholarships from the Methodist church, according to the press release.

University bylaws state that 10 percent of the school’s board of trustees must be Methodist.

Spokeswoman Shawn Salamone wrote in an email that the vote did not change that bylaw and a governance committee will consider that in the coming months.

Read more about the decision and vote here.