For doctoral program announcements and deadlines, please visit the Dean's Newsletter

May 22, 2009
GTU Student Receives Prestigious National Fellowship for African-American Scholars Preparing to Teach
Christopher E. Harrison, a doctoral student in Ethics at Graduate Theological Union, has been selected to receive a 2009 Fund for Theological Education (FTE) Renewal Doctoral Fellowship worth up to $18,000 for expenses. A renewal fellowship is awarded to doctoral students who have completed their first year and will continue the second year in the Fall of 2009. As an FTE Doctoral Fellow, Harrison will attend a 2009 FTE leadership event, Religion, Social Justice and the Post Civil Rights Era: The 21st Century Challenge, June 5-7 at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
FTE supports rising young scholars from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups who aspire to teach religion and theology in theological schools and universities. “FTE Fellows represent a new generation of gifted and diverse leaders for campuses and communities,” said Dr. Sharon Watson Fluker, FTE vice president for Doctoral Programs and Administration. “As teacher-scholars in demanding programs, they need and deserve this investment in their success.” FTE Doctoral Fellowships are funded by Lilly Endowment Inc.

April 15, 2009
Jennifer Owens awarded the Markey Scholarship
Incoming Systematic and Philosophical Theology doctoral student Jennifer Owens (entering Fall 2009) is awarded the Fr. Francis L. Markey Scholarship. Owens is the co-author of From the Pews in the Back: Young Women and Catholicism. She is interested in in pursuing questions related to a dialogue between postcolonial theory and liberation theologies, with a broader goal of making the Church and the world more inclusive. The Markey Scholarship supports a female Ph.D. student studying at GTU for Roman Catholic leadership and ministry

February 25, 2009
Mochizuki receives Luce Fellowship
Mia M. Mochizuki, GTU Core Doctoral Faculty, Assistant Professor, and Thomas E. Bertelsen, Jr. Chair of Art History and Religion at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley has been selected as a 2009-10 Henry Luce III Fellow in Theology. The program is one of the premier fellowship programs for theological scholarship. It recognizes the excellence and creativity in Dr. Mochizuki’s work on The Netherlandish Print Abroad, 1543-1639: Art, Religion and Economics in the Early Modern World.

February 8, 2009
In Memoriam: James Conway, 1998 Alum of the Year
James Conway, 1998 Alum of the Year, died suddenly of a heart attack in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, where he was a Food for Peace Officer. He is survived by his spouse, Maruja Conway, who resided with him in Kinshasa, their sons Manuel and James, a daughter Maite, and a grandson Jude.
“In his contribution to human relief efforts, James truly represented the Graduate Theological Union vision, ‘where religion meets the world’,” says GTU President James A. Donahue. “The GTU is proud of his work in the world. We honored him as Alumnus of the Year in 1998 and we honor him now.”
A memorial service will be held February 16, 2009, 11 am at St. Paul the Apostle Church, 10750 Ohio Ave, Los Angeles, CA.

January 25, 2009
Alumnus Bauman Wins Theological Award
Whitney A. Bauman, who completed his Ph.D. at the Graduate Theological Union working with CTNS faculty, was a recent recipient of the John Templeton Award for Theological Promise. Whitney received his award for his forthcoming publication, From Creatio ex Nihilo to Terra Nullius: The Colonization of Creation, (forthcoming Routledge, 2009.) Whitney served on staff of CTNS for many years, working in the Science and Religion Course Program, and then as Managing Editor of Theology and Science. He now serves as Assistant Professor of Religion and Science, Department of Religious Studies, Florida International University in Miami. Read more...

January 2009
GTU Black Seminarians issue statement on Oscar Grant slaying
"...It is this type of disregard for human life which eats away at the core of all of humanity; this type of intolerance--by those elected and sworn to enact and uphold justice--of the unwarrantable that causes community unrest to fester to eruption; this type of injustice that we the members of the Graduate Theological Union Black Seminarians will not be co-conspirators to by our silence..." Read more...

January 2009
GTU President James A. Donahue issues State of the GTU message
"Dear Friends of the Graduate Theological Union,
The financial and economic crisis facing our nation has presented challenges for the GTU as well as for many other institutions and for many people in their personal lives. Many GTU friends, alumni, and staff have asked about how GTU is faring and what people can do to help. We are so grateful that our well being is on your minds and in your hearts...Your generosity helps make us the place where religion meets the world. And there could not be a more important time, when our world is increasingly interdependent but so rife with conflict..." Read more...

December 18, 2008
In Memoriam: Michael Mendiola, 1952-2008
Dr. Michael Mendiola served as the Associate Professor of Christian Ethics at the Pacific School of Religion following his graduation from the GTU in 1991. He passed away suddenly following a prolonged illness. A brief memorial was held Friday, December 19 at 10 am in front of the Holbrook Building. A formal memorial service will be held on February 1, 2009 at 2 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way, Berkeley. Tributes may be sent to the Michael M. Mendiola Scholarship Fund, Pacific School of Religion, 1798 Scenic Way, Berkeley, 94709.

Center for the Arts, Religion, and Eduction (CARE) welcomes new director
Carin Jacobs has taken on the mantle of Acting Director of CARE replacing the void left by Kristin Mandia. Jacobs is already a faculty member with CARE, teaching courses in Museum Literacy. She has a background in museums in higher education, most recently at the education department at the Magnes in Berkeley. She anticipates spreading CARE’s visibility among local and regional art communities in addition to working intimately with the GTU. Jacobs can be reached at the CARE office at 510/849-8285 or by email.

October 28, 2008
In Memoriam: Mary Williams, 1932-2008
Mary Williams was director of the Flora Lamson Hewlett Library from 1991 to 1997. She served as head of Serials and head of Technical Services from 1981 until her appointment as interim library director in 1990. During her directorship, the library moved toward automation of the catalog and other library systems. She also oversaw the installation of Stephen DeStaebler's "Winged Figure" in the rotunda. Williams held a B.A. and M.L.S. from UC-Berkeley and a M.A. from San Francisco Theological Seminary. She was also an active elder in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
A memorial service was held for Mary Williams on Friday, December 12 at St. John's Presbyterian Church in Berkeley.

September 25, 2008
GTU doctoral student curates exhibit chronicling the experiences of Italian Jews
David Rosenberg-Wohl, a joint doctoral student in Jewish studies at the Graduate Theological Union and UC Berkeley, now also a curator, vividly tells the stories of Jews living in Italy through his exhibit "Il Ghetto: Forging Italian Jewish Identities 1516-1870" at the Museo ItaloAmericano in San Francisco. The exhibit runs through February 15, Noon-4 p.m., Tuesday-Sunday at the Museo ItaloAmericano, Building C, Fort Mason Center, Marina Boulevard at Buchanan Street, San Francisco. (415) 673-2200. Free.
Read the article by the San Francisco Chronicle...

September 19, 2008
Center for Islamic Studies investigates Islam in the media thanks to grant from the Carnegie Corporation
The Carnegie Corporation awards $25,000 to the Center for Islamic Studies (CIS) for studying how Islam is perceived and reported in the news. CIS Director Munir Jiwa is planning a two-day workshop for collaborative study and work among scholars, journalists and community leaders. Read more...

September 17, 2008
Rev. Dr. Victor Roland Gold, Henry C. Luckey Professor of Old Testament Emeritus, passes
Dr. Gold was born September 18, 1924, in Garden City, Kansas. He graduated from Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa, in 1945, and attended Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1946. in 1951 he received his doctoral degree in Old Testament studies from the John Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, a student of William Foxwell Albright.

In 1956, Dr. Gold was called to be Professor of Old Testament at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, where he served for more than 50 years. He retired from PLTS in 2004, but continued to teach courses part-time each semester until this fall.

Dr. Gold died Wednesday afternoon at Salem Lutheran Home in Oakland, CA. He is survived by his wife, the Rev. Frances Noreen Meginness; a son, Victor Jr, and his wife, Christine; a daughter, Joanne; two step-children, Shannon and Timothy and his wife Michelle; eight grandchildren and three great grandchildren. A son Stephan died in 1987. Read more...

Alumna Holland Honored with Appointment and Teaching Award
Suzanne Holland, University of Puget Sound religion department chair and professor of ethics, has been appointed Philip M. Phibbs Research Professor and honored with the 2008 President’s Excellence in Teaching Award, based on her “passion for teaching, ability to inspire, capacity to motivate students, and enduring intellectual capacity.” Holland graduated from the Graduate Theological Union in 1997 with a Ph.D. in Ethics and Social Theory. Read more...

September 11, 2008
The Koret Foundation and the Taube Foundation for Jewish Life and Culture have awarded $900,000 to support the Center for Jewish Studies (CJS)
The Koret Foundation awarded $600,000, both for the Center’s general operations and for the president’s highest priorities. The Taube Foundation for Jewish Life and Culture awarded CJS $300,000 for the Center’s general programs, student field research fellowships, and conferences. Read more...

August 13, 2008
GTU Student wins North American Academy of Ecumenists Essay Contest
The North American Academy of Ecumenists (NAAE) announces that Erin Brigham, doctoral candidate in Systematic and Philosophical Theology, submitted the winning essay on this year's topic, Ecumenical Ecclesiology: One Church of Christ for the Sake of the World. Brigham will receive her award, recognizing the accomplishment of her scholarly submission entitled A Habermasian Approach to Ecumenical Ecclesiology, at the NAAE Annual Meeting in St. Louis, MO, in September.

July 24, 2008
Peters Named Martin E. Marty Professor of Religion and the Academy
Ted Peters, professor of systematic theology at the Graduate Theological Union and Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, has been named the Martin E. Marty Professor of Religion and the Academy at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. Peters, a renowned author and scholar focusing on the interplay between theology and science, will serve in this capacity for the 2009 calendar year. Read more...

July 11, 2008
Alumna Jenny Plane-Te Paa Makes London Daily Telegraph's 'Power List'
Dr. Te Paa, Ahorangi or Principal of Te Rau Kahikatea at the College of St. John the Evangelist in Auckland, New Zealand, was named 20th among the London Daily Telegraph’s 50 most influential Anglicans.
The Telegraph called her “an influential voice in Anglican liberal circles,” for her outspokenness in condemning homophobia, and her claim that the obsession of the church with trying to determine who should be allowed to remain within its fold distracted it from the suffering in the world. Read more...

Note: 2nd on the Telegraph’s 50 most influential Anglicans list is Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church of the US, who earned an MDiv and DD from GTU’s member school Church Divinity School of the Pacific.

June 4, 2008
Alumna Mary E. Hunt Receives Katzenstein Award from Harvard Divinity
The Harvard Divinity School Alumni/ae Association honored Dr. Hunt with the 2008 Rabbi Martin Katzenstein Award at the annual Harvard Divinity School Alumni/ae Dinner in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Hunt earned her doctorate from the GTU and is the co-founder and co-director of the Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual (WATER) in Silver Spring, Maryland. A prominent feminist theologian and Catholic active in the women-church movement, she lectures and writes on theology and ethics with particular attention to liberation issues. Read more...

May 14, 2008
Consortial Registrar Sharon-Gay Smith Retires after 37 Years of Service to GTU
“My job isn’t a job. It’s a ministry. And the GTU has given me community and allowed me to practice my ministry.” Day in and day out, she has given students down-to-earth, day-to-day practical help, ranging from advice about where to find affordable housing to how to register for classes. “Throughout all those years, my attitude has been that we are here to help the students.” Read more...

May 9, 2008
Jerome Baggett Receives 2008 Sarlo Excellence in Teaching Award
Snake-handling Pentecostals in Appalachia, Muslim feminists in the Middle East, and leaders in the Central American peace movement: These are a few of the many religious groups Jerome Baggett encourages his students to explore and “to see.” “We conflate religion with ‘official’ religion, that is, clerical authority, doctrines, hymns -- and we often mistake religion for ‘a’ religion,” says Baggett. “My goal is to get students out of my classroom and into the Bay Area ‘religious classroom’ to experience a diversity of lived religions.” Read more...

April 14, 2008
Papal Mass to Include GTU Student's Songs
Choristers in the April 17 Papal Mass at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. will sing two songs by GTU Ph.D. student Ricky Manalo. Manalo’s compositions, “Come, O Spirit of God” and “Pange Lingua,” will be featured in the prelude and communion. Read more...

February 8, 2008
Founding GTU President John Dillenberger Passes Away, 1918-2008
Dillenberger was a giant in the life and history of the GTU. In addition to his distinguished career as a scholar of historical theology, he was instrumental in the founding of the GTU. He was Dean and President of the GTU from 1967-1971, and served in leadership roles in the GTU throughout his career -- from Acting Library Director, to Acting President (1999-2000), to GTU Board member.

For stories prior to 2008, visit our News Archive