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Towey leaving helm of faith-based initiatives: Garners both plaudits and criticism

President Bush’s lieutenant for promoting government funding for faith-based social programs has announced that he is leaving his post after the end of this month.

Jim Towey, 49, director since 2002 of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, will become president of St. Vincent College, a small Benedictine Catholic school in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

In his White House role, Towey has pushed hard to boost the faith-based plan—garnering him both plaudits from some religious conservatives and criticism from supporters of church-state separation.