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Working and Giving with Heart

Alumni Working and Giving with Heart Howard Simon, attorney and corporate executive, has managed to blend two seemingly disparate career tracks into one path, taking the seeds of ethics, compassion, and collaboration he picked up at the Graduate Theological Union and planting them in California’s biotechnology industry. In 1985, Simon simultaneously earned an M.A. in Jewish Studies at the GTU and a law degree at UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall. He was interested in ethics and how religious codes of moral conduct become legal mandates. “I looked at seminary as an antidote to law school,” he says...
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Learning to Teach to the "Big Ideas"

Students’ Stories: In the Classroom Learning to Teach to the “Big Ideas” Danté Quick, Teagle-Wabash scholar, strides across the classroom, his voice arresting, his manner assured. He’s dressed impeccably in a gray suit, crisp white shirt, and colorful bowtie. A dozen students, nearly all African American, regard a familiar image of a fair-haired, blue-eyed Jesus that Quick has projected onto a large screen. “Race,” he says, “is at the bottom of religion in America.” Quick is one of 12 Graduate Theological Union doctoral students participating in the GTU’s Preparing Future Faculty Project,...
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New Church on the Block

Unity of Berkeley sits nestled on the corner of Scenic and Le Conte, surrounded by three GTU member schools. Rev. Dr. Patricia Keel, Unity’s minister, is excited to be here. Keel says she was called in 2001 to pioneer a Unity church in Berkeley while meditating on Hildegard von Bingen. “Hildegard was called to leave her monastery and establish a new one across the Rhine. My message from Hildegard was to cross the Bay from a congregation I was a part of in Marin.” Keel’s Unity church in the East Bay originally offered only weekday classes on meditation and creativity. Then national tragedy...
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Carmen Lansdowne: A Prophetic Voice on Social Justice

Listen to Carmen Lansdowne recite poetry to tribal music Featuring "Haida Love Song," sung in Hailhzaqvla by Josh Vickers, Kevin Starr, Terry Reid, Doug Brown Jr., Brett Waterfall, Max Johnson Sr., Thomas Dixon, Ian Reid, Curtis Campbell, Ayla Brown, Rory Housty, Travis Hall, Eric Wilson and William Housty The Rev. Carmen Lansdowne is also called Kwisa’lakw by one of the aboriginal peoples of Canada’s central northwest coast. The name, given her by tribal elders at a ceremonial potlatch, means “woman who travels far,” and acknowledges the globetrotting work of this 34-year-old doctoral...
GTU News

Commencement 2011

  The May 12 Commencement ceremonies marked the beginning of a new journey for 62 graduates who completed their degrees in Fall 2010 or Spring 2011. Thirty-three students graduated with a Master of Arts degree, four received a Master of Arts with a concentration in Biblical Languages, and 25 received the Doctor of Philosophy degree. Doctor of Philosophy | Master of Arts | Master of Arts with a Concentration in Biblical Languages Departing faculty member Richard M. Gula, S.S., Professor of Moral Theology at the Franciscan School of Theology, delivered the faculty remarks and Sharon R....
GTU Alums
CommencementAlumniEvents
GTU News

Mourning Georgia – A Message from Dr. Uriah Kim

It pains me greatly to again be reaching out to address our community on the occasion of such a senseless and hate-fueled event as we witnessed in Georgia earlier this week. Like many of you, I am sure, the shootings in Georgia struck my heart with particular poignancy. When my mother came to the United States from South Korea with two children in tow more than 45 years ago, it was with great hope and deep faith in the “American Dream.” To me, this dream was not only about finding a quality of life augmented by measures of material prosperity and opportunity, but even more importantly, a...
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Going to the Other Side of the Wall

Going to the other side of the wall is one way GTU alumnus Daniel Groody describes his work with homeless people and immigrants. The metaphor stems from a real-life experience Groody had as a student at the GTU: “There was a homeless man that slept on the other side of the wall at Virginia and Le Roy streets. I was on one side — a white male, Catholic priest, Holy Cross religious, scholar, and teacher from a privileged upbringing in Connecticut and corporate America. I wanted to understand living texts, not just the written texts; I wanted to know how spirituality lived out on the streets.”...
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Called to Blessings

“I will not pick up hammer and nails and participate in this crucifixion.” — Ruth Meyers, Hodges-Haynes Professor of Liturgics, Church Divinity School of the Pacific and GTU Core Doctoral Faculty Member At the 2006 General Convention of the Episcopal Church, Ruth Meyers, a deputy to the convention, was dismayed by legislation that asked, in effect, for a moratorium on the election and consent to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate living in a same-gender union as well as on authorizing rites for homosexual unions. “I will not pick up hammer and...
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2000-present

<<first  <<previous  1962-69 | 1970-79 | 1980-89 | 1990-99 | 2000-present John Weiser John has been involved with the GTU since 1998, and was Chairman of our Board of Trustees from 1999 to 2007.  Among his many efforts to ensure the GTU’s academic, programmatic, administrative, and financial success, he endowed a Presidential Scholarship, and helped launch the capital campaign with a major gift; helped draft the Common Agreement between member schools and the GTU; and spearheaded the committee to find GTU President James A. Donahue. He embodied the GTU’s interfaith mission by creating an...
GTU historyPeople50th anniversary
GTU Exhibition

Commemorating the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation

Library Gallery

Opening event, February 15, 2017, 6-7 pm

To commemorate 500 years of the Reformation, the library is exhibiting historical works by Martin Luther and his contemporaries, along with the ways Protestant anniversaries have been celebrated through the years. The exhibit cases will include a Luther Bible (1535 with hand colored prints) as well as early editions of works by Martin Luther, Philip Melanchthon, Jean Calvin, Johann Eck and others. The exhibit will run from February 13 through May 2017.

German sculptor Ottmar Hörl, has graciously lent two Martin Luther statues based on the sculpture in...

News & EventsLibrary
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A Terrible Beauty: Reimagining Human Rights

2015 Distinguished Faculty Lecture   A Terrible Beauty: Reimagining Human Rights from Graduate Theological Union on Vimeo. Dr. William O’Neill, Associate Professor of Social Ethics at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University (JST-SCU), delivers the GTU's 2015 Distinguished Faculty Lecture entitled, “A Terrible Beauty: Reimagining Human Rights.” Marianne Farina, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Theology at DSPT, is the respondent. Thursday, November 5, 2015 Chapel of the Great Commission, Pacific School of Religion, 1798 Scenic Ave., Berkeley In nonwestern usage, “...
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Transformative Impact

For more than 60 years, the GTU has offered the educational foundation, practical training, connections, and opportunities its students need to embark upon career paths that are making a meaningful impact on the world.  Our scholars have gone on to pursue leadership roles within a wide array of professional, religious, and service organizations — invaluable work that is transforming the world as we know it.  We invite you to learn more about how our alums are making their mark in communities around the world. Learn more about our graduates' journeys after graduation.
Academics
GTU Exhibition

Eva Bovenzi: Messenger

Library Gallery

Eva Bovenzi lives and works in San Francisco and Colorado. She first exhibited in 1981. Her work is routinely exhibited in museums and galleries.

From DeWitt Cheng's review of the exhibit in San Francisco Art Magazine, May 2007:

"Yet these rich, lyrical works, for all their elegance, aim at something more difficult; they aim, I believe, in effecting a kind of psychic or emotional healing in viewers, realigning them with the world of nature (so unfashionable lately in the world of art theory); they aspire to transcendent metaphor and even spiritual elevation.

From Peter Selz, Messenger Exhibit...

News & EventsLibrary
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Seeking Life Among the Debris: Introduction

Seeking Life Among the Debris: The Public Role of Religious ScholarsA Core Doctoral Faculty Forum, in the Aftermath of September 11th Eldon G. ErnstGTU Interim Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs, 2001-2002   In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 horrendous violence in New York City and Washington, D.C., we entered the new academic year in a somber mood. How to understand, process, and respond to such earth-shaking events challenged academic communities no less than other sectors of society. Intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually we were shaken to the depths of our...
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Student Groups and Committees

GTU students range in age from mid-twenties to early seventies, and have families and/or obligations within their communities, denominations, and/or professional networks. Not all live in Berkeley, and many find it necessary to work to support their studies. Therefore, to have a sense of belonging to the GTU community is essential for a meaningful time at the GTU. Community is something that is built intentionally by committed individuals. Student groups provide avenues for building communities of shared interests and experiences. Students are encouraged to organize support groups and the...
Life at GTUCurrent Student Resources
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Professional Development

The Professional Development Program (PDP) supports doctoral students in the development of academic and non-academic skills that contribute to professional success. The PDP offers workshops throughout the year, a regular newsletter, and online resources that prepare students to be leaders in communities and the academy. Our workshops include one-on-one feedback and cover topics including academic CVs and cover letters, writing and editing, conference proposals and abstracts, job interviews, dissertation planning and writing, stage presence and public speaking, and teaching in-class and...
Current Student Resources
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Teaching “Lower Ed”: Junior High, High School, and Community College

Ask a GTU student what they hope to do when they graduate. Or ask some alums how they’re spending their days. If your guess is that their work, or their dream, is teaching in higher education, you may be surprised. Some have found their true calling — and true success — in helping to shape young minds in junior high through community college. Jeffrey Buhl (M.A. ’01) has taught sixth, seventh, and eighth grades in both Christian and private school settings. “I thought I would teach in higher education, but I found my calling teaching English and Literature to kids who are 11, 12, 13, and 14...
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Stitching Hope and Beauty in Pamplona Alta

Student Stories Stitching Hope and Beauty in Pamplona Alta A stack of colorful cuadros — Spanish for “pictures” — sits on Rebecca Berru Davis’ sofa. They are hand-appliquéd and embroidered textile scenes created by a cooperative of women artists in Pamplona Alta, a shantytown outside Lima, Peru. Davis, a third-year Graduate Theological Union doctoral student in the area of Art and Religion, has just returned from her third trip to Pamplona Alta since 2006. For these cuadros, Davis asked the women to sew scenes that expressed their hopes and dreams. One artist sewed pictures of animals —...
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Teaching for Peace in a Time of Impending War

Introduction to the GTU’s panel discussion on February 19, 2003 by Dr. Judith BerlingGraduate Theological Union, Professor of Chinese and Comparative Religions It is a tradition of the Core Doctoral Faculty to dedicate its February meeting to an issue of intellectual substance. When we decided on this year's topic (Teaching in a Time of Impending War), we realized that the topic was so timely and important that we should open the panel to the broader GTU and to the community. Welcome to you all. We are fortunate to have a very distinguished group of panelists: Rosemary Ruether, Professor of...
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A-twitter with American Buddhist Monk Heng Sure

You might need a list to describe Heng Sure. He’s a Buddhist monk, director of the Berkeley Buddhist Monastery, scholar, member of several interfaith organizations, GTU alumnus, teacher at Pacific School of Religion (PSR), musician, singer-songwriter of Buddhist folksongs, story teller, youth leader, and most recently, a tweeter on Twitter. Or you could drop the list and just say he is real. His name — given to him by his teacher Master Hsuan Hua when he became a monk — translated from Mandarin, means “constantly real.” “In Buddhist tradition, monks are given a name signifying what they have...

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