GTU Board Endorses New Initiatives for Expansion, Affirms Commitment to Robust Degree Programs and Research Library

For Immediate Release

October 30, 2014, Berkeley, CA — At its meeting on October 29, 2014, the Board of Trustees of the Graduate Theological Union reviewed a series of recommendations from a consulting firm regarding the school’s current and future programming. The board has announced several key decisions that will strengthen the GTU’s status as a premier center for the study of the world’s major religious traditions.

The Board strongly endorsed a plan presented by President Riess Potterveld that includes eight different initiatives to expand the academic centers and programs of the GTU. These initiatives include measures to create endowed faculty positions and programs focused on the Hindu, Sikh, and Jain religious traditions, Mormon Studies, and Buddhist traditions outside of Japan. These new directions will complement the hallmark GTU programs and degree offerings in Buddhist, Christian, Islamic, and Jewish Studies. On Monday, October 27, an agreement between the GTU and the Dharma Civilization Foundation was signed that will bring a full-time faculty member in Dharma Studies to the GTU in Spring 2015.

Recognizing the significance and uniqueness of the GTU’s academic programs, the Board unanimously affirmed its enthusiastic ongoing commitment to a robust doctoral program that is ecumenical, interreligious, and interdisciplinary. The GTU will explore the expansion of the existing MA area of concentration in Interreligious Studies for students whose interests focus on study of multiple traditions. The Board also reaffirmed its commitment to maintain a world-class research library for GTU students and faculty.

In addition, the Board celebrated last year’s stellar performance of the school’s investments, which added $4 million to the endowment, while directing the administration to take steps necessary to narrow the operating deficit for the current year and to propose a balanced budget for next year.

During the meeting, members of the board viewed for the first time works of sacred art that were given to the GTU by the Lanier Graham family this past summer. The GTU will soon make this art available for viewing by its students and the wider public, beginning with an exhibition of Tibetan Buddhist sculptures in February 2015.

About the GTU

The Graduate Theological Union, located in Berkeley, CA, is a theological consortium offering education for academic and religious leadership within a unique ecumenical and interreligious context. Founded in 1962, the consortium is the largest and most diverse partnership of seminaries and graduate schools in the United States, dedicated to building bridges within and across different religious traditions by educating students for teaching, research, ministry, and service. The GTU works collaboratively with the University of California, Berkeley, and is the home of the Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, one of the largest theological libraries in the country.

For more information, contact Doug Davidson,510-649-2423, communications@gtu.edu.

State of Formation Call for Contributors

State of Formation is accepting applications for Contributing Scholars

Nominees should be currently enrolled in a seminary, rabbinical school, graduate program, or another institution for theological or philosophical formation -- or up to three years out of their graduate program in a professional setting. Scholars should be able to commit to post monthly on the forum while showing respect for others from different traditions.

Does this describe you or an emerging leader you know? Please take a moment to fill out our brief nomination form. Nominations will be accepted on a rolling basis. Please contact Benjamin Barer, Managing Editor, ben@irdialogue.org, or Esther Boyd, Communications Director, esther@irdialogue.org, with any questions or concerns.

View complete nomination and application information here.

New Deadline for Pagan Conference Paper Proposals (Conference on Current Pagan Studies), Claremont, Ca: Oct. 15

Pagan Conference 2015 CFP, January 24 & 25, 2015 Fecundity and Richness of the Dark Depth psychologist James Hillman wrote, “that until the culture recognizes the legitimacy of growing down, each person in the culture struggles blindly to make sense of the darkness that the soul requires to deepen into life." Monotheistic notions over the past two millennia have separated and polarized our manner of being in the world into realms of light and darkness, positive and negative, holy and desacralized, valued and devalued. Polytheists, Pagans, animists, et al view differently the interplay of light and dark, and seek to revalue, re-sacralize, and retrieve the dark. How do we interpret the Darkness? How do we imagine and reimagine our relationship with the Dark? Are there treasures hidden in the gloom, or are the shadows themselves treasures? Can monsters be gifts? How do we address the relationship between Darkness and Light? We are looking for papers from all disciplines. A community needs artists, teachers, scientists, healers, historians, philosophers, educators, thinkers, activists, etc. As usual, we are using Pagan in its most inclusive form, covering pagans, wiccans, witches and the numerous hybrids that have sprung up as well as any indigenous groups that feel akin to or want to be in conversation with Pagans. Abstracts should be no longer than 300 words and are due by October 15, 2014. Go to our website www.paganconference.com for advice on presenting papers. Please email abstracts to pagan_conference@yahoo.com