Yale Divinity School begins the 2016-17 academic year on Sterling Divinity Quadrangle this week. Amid the excitement about new beginnings—and for returning students, the joy of reconnecting with their professors and classmates—here are five stories capturing the community’s attention on the Quad.
New faculty
Nine new tenure track professors begin their first full year at YDS—the most the school has ever welcomed in a single year. The nine include Willie Jennings, an acclaimed scholar of African American religion who was on sabbatical last year, and Joyce Mercer ‘84 M.Div., professor of practical theology and pastoral care, who arrived midway through 2015-16. This semester marks the beginning of the YDS careers of seven professors appointed last spring: Adam Eitel, Clifton Granby, Erika Helgen, Yii-Jan Lin, Donyelle McCray, Eboni Marshall Turman, and Benjamin Valentin.
“They all hold the promise of advancing their fields of expertise and enriching the YDS curriculum,” says YDS Dean Greg Sterling. “They have the promise of helping YDS move into a new phase.” For more on these new faculty members, see this story from last spring.
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Video of Tuesday’s Opening Convocation is available. View here.
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Also, five people are beginning their first full academic year as research scholars at the Center for Faith and Culture at YDS: Drew Collins, Matthew Croasmun ’06 M.A.R., Sarah Farmer, Angela Gorrell, and Ryan McAnnally-Linz ’10 M.A.R. (Two of these researchers, Croasmun and McAnnally-Linz, were already at the Center but are now serving in new roles.)
Finally, YDS will have three new visiting faculty from Andover Newton this fall and two administrators who will also be visiting faculty.
New class
A group teeming with multiple forms of diversity, 170 new students begin their YDS careers as the 2016-17 academic year gets under way.
Of the incoming students, 83 are pursuing the M.A.R. degree; 61, the M.Div.; and 12, the S.T.M. There are 17 international students, coming from countries including China, South Korea, Brazil, Mexico, and Russia. The cohort represents nearly three-dozen denominations and traditions, from African Methodist Episcopal and Anglican to United Church of Christ and Unitarian.
Thirty-six percent of the incoming students are from underrepresented racial groups, the most in the School’s history. Of these students, African Americans are the most numerous, with 24. The new class also includes 14 Asian students, 12 Hispanic/Latino students, five American Indian or Alaska Native students, and one student in the category of Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander.
Nine members of the incoming class have M.B.A. degrees, eight have law degrees, and seven have Ph.D.s. Some have had impressive careers in other fields. These include students who once were a vice president for GE, a banking vice president, a medical doctor, a Navy officer, and a forensic scientist, as well as many who have served as pastors.
“We are very pleased to have such a talented and diverse group of incoming students,” Sterling says. “We will challenge them and they will challenge us. Our students may have with the broadest range of interests and backgrounds of any school at Yale. They create a unique educational environment that transforms them, and we hope, the world when they leave.”
New partner on the Quad
Andover Newton Theological School now begins its visiting year on the Quad as a negotiation-and-discernment process continues toward a possible permanent affiliation.
Andover Newton, a historic seminary in the congregational tradition, will continue to offer classes in the Boston area through the 2017-18 academic year to allow current students time to finish their degrees. If negotiations continue on a successful tack, Andover Newton will become permanently embedded in YDS, similar to but not identical with the model by which Berkeley Divinity School operates: part of YDS, but still retaining a distinctive identity and focus.
“Andover Newton graduates have shaped religion in New England alongside Yale Divinity School graduates throughout the two schools’ respective histories,” says Sarah Drummond, Dean of Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Andover Newton. “The schools share many values that make partnership in a time of significant change in religious practice both sensible and creatively inspiring.”
Drummond and her executive assistant, Kathleen Hamilton, are among the five people from Andover Newton who have relocated to New Haven. Also making the move are three faculty members: the aforementioned Benjamin Valentin, plus two who will serve at YDS as visiting professors in 2016-17: Mark Heim (Christian theology) and Gregory Mobley (Christian Bible).
ANTS President Martin Copenhaver ’80 M.Div. will shuttle between Newton and New Haven this year but will operate primarily from the current ANTS campus.
New additions to physical campus
A new walkway to the driveway on the south side of the Quad and new carpet and audio-video equipment in Niebuhr are among the physical enhancements to the Quad that people will notice as the new semester begins—and they are just a harbinger of bigger changes ahead.
Nearly completed, the new walkway creates an opening from the quad interior to the exterior on the south side, matching the walkway already in existence on the north side. Also matching the north side set-up, the new walkway will have a bike rack. The renovation will make it easier for pedestrians to move between the Divinity School and Betts House immediately to the south, while also encouraging more bicycle commuting.
The AV upgrade in Niebuhr is the first in a wave of similar upgrades that will improve the tech in all the Quad’s major classrooms, as well as the Admissions conference room.
Promising even bigger benefits, work will begin this semester to renovate and bring to code the old Refectory and Common Room in the Northeast wing of the Quad, which are being vacated in coming months as the School of Music moves back to its renovated home downtown. Once the extensive repairs and upgrades are completed—probably by September of 2017—the space will provide the YDS community with a new classroom and student lounge and space for large events and receptions.
New slate of fascinating speakers and events
Some of the most accomplished and inspiring scholars and practitioners in their fields are coming to lecture at YDS in 2016-17, from acclaimed author and educator Parker Palmer to Moral Mondays leader William Barber.
Many of the year’s high-profile speakers are coming to YDS as part of the School’s program in Transformational Leadership for Church and Society, which begins its second year. Each of the two-day, one-credit courses will feature a prominent guest lecturer, who will also give a public talk. The complete set of courses and speakers for the year is available here.
Spread out over the course of the year are a series of named lectures showcasing leading academics. An annual highlight is the Beecher Lectures, delivered over three days during Convocation and Reunions in October. This year’s Beecher Lectures will be given by YDS’s Thomas Troeger, J. Edward and Ruth Cox Lantz Professor Emeritus of Christian Communication. The lectures, titled “The End of Preaching,” will take place Oct. 19, 20, and 21 in Marquand Chapel.
To stay apprised of YDS performances, lectures, and other events throughout the year, please monitor postings on the online events calendar. Members of the YDS community will also be notified of major events by emails from the Dean. In addition, frequent event announcements will go out via the School’s Divmail system, as well as the numerous fliers on bulletin boards across the Quad.