Well, folks, we’ve made it to the end of your BTFO Blog experience! Before you read the welcoming words of Dean Gregory Sterling below, please allow me a brief moment to say that I have relished being your BTFO Blogger, and relish even more the opportunity to officially welcome you all to YDS tomorrow! We are so excited to meet you all and are eagerly anticipating your membership in our community. So get a good night’s sleep and we will see you tomorrow!
All my best,
Emily
Welcome to YDS! We are excited that you have joined us this fall. You stand in a long tradition that extends back to 1701 for Yale University and to 1822 for the Divinity School as a distinct unit within Yale. As you will learn, you are joining a distinguished group of individuals who have made significant accomplishments in a wide variety of fields, e.g., more deans and presidents of divinity schools and seminaries have come from YDS than any other school in North America. We are confident that you will make a difference with your life as well.
There are some things that you should know as you enter. Our motto is faith and intellect. We are an ecumenical Christian community that extends a warm welcome to people of other faiths and those with no faith. We are unashamedly Christian but not narrowly Christian. We make an effort to cultivate a sense of community in multiple ways, but especially through daily chapel in Marquand and a coffee period after chapel. Chapel is always ecumenical and varies daily. I hope that you will view it as the worship of the community as well as an educational experience.
We are also a graduate school that makes no apologies for the rigor of serious intellectual work. You will be asked to read more, write more, and argue more than you have in your previous education. Give yourself some time to adjust; you will find that your capacities will expand. There will be a large number of special lectures and conferences that will take place throughout the year. Take advantage of these: they are part of your educational experience. I also hope that you will take advantage of courses “downtown.” A great advantage of being at one of the world’s premier research universities is the rich offerings throughout the University. I also urge you to discuss issues with one another: you can learn a great deal from your colleagues just as you can from the faculty.
One of the most impressive aspects of life on the Quad is that it is creative. You will have two or three years to experiment and discover what you want to do. Some already know; others will experiment. You have the freedom to pursue what motivates and excites you. Enjoy these years.
There are two major projects that will occur this year. We do as much as we can in the summer, but unfortunately cannot get everything done in those months. Thank you for your patience as we improve our Quad. The first project is a renovation of the main entry this fall and over the break. We will do our best to keep the inconvenience to a minimum, but there will be some. Once this project is completed, we will lock all entrances to the Quad except the main entrance from the parking lot and the last entrance on the left within the Quad. These will be open during business hours. You will need to use your ID card to swipe the readers at other entrances. While we have never had a problem here, we do not want to have one. This is simply a precaution. We will send you notices as this work begins.
Last year we were able to open the two NE buildings. This fall and spring we will landscape the two interior quads behind and on each side of Marquand Chapel. We plan to get the hardscape in this fall and plant next spring. It should give us some beautiful outdoor space that is relatively private. We will have outdoor seating on one side and a labyrinth on the other.
I will try to keep you posted about other major developments in the school. For now, welcome to YDS! I look forward to getting to know you.
Best wishes,
Greg