172nd Commencement - the Largest Graduating Class in Sixteen Years

Friday, May 16, 2008

Union Theological Seminary in the city of New York celebrated its 172nd Commencement on Friday, May 16. One hundred and four students were awarded degrees, making this Union's largest graduating class since 1992. Fifty-nine students received Master of Divinity degrees; 24 were awarded Master of Arts degrees; 11 earned Master in Sacred Theology degrees, four were awarded Ph.D.'s, and another six received degrees presented in cooperation with neighboring Columbia University. Approximately 600 guests attended the ceremony that was held in the Seminary's James Memorial Chapel, located in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan.

The diversity of this graduating class highlights all the options seminarians have at Union. Slightly more than a third of the students are going into some type of church-related work, ranging from pastoral services to chaplaincies, and another 28 percent are headed into the workforce with most opting to do work that is related to social justice or lay ministry. Thirty percent of those who graduated are going on to work on higher degrees, the majority pursing doctoral degrees, and most of these have been accepted by their first choice.

This also was the last commencement ceremony presided over by Union's fifteenth president, Joseph C. Hough, Jr., who on July 1, will retire. Dr. Hough, widely credited with saving Union when it was experiencing financial difficulties during the first half of his nine-year presidency at Union, now leaves a seminary that is on solid academic and financial ground.

Dr. Hough told the students that they are "commissioned to be light bearers to the world, and never has the world needed light more desperately." He said they represent hope for the future as they take their places in positions of responsibility.

"As the class of 2008 exemplifies, Union is a place that redefines ministry in a way that allows all to fulfill their calls in many different ways that might not have been on the radar before," says Alain Silverio, associate dean of academic affairs at Union.

Master of Divinity
Ray Joseph Altman Kellie Anderson-Picallo Kimberlee Dawn Auletta Diana Christine Bell Elizabeth Ann Cates Boisvert Jenifer Diane Margaret Brown Robert David Brunson Kyle Andrew Carnes Claudia De la Cruz Janeen Louise des Anges Darlene Marie DiDomineck William Clayton Dockery Isaac Everett Danielle J. Fey Brenda Denise Ford Greg Jude Geiger Douglas G. Grace Christopher Paul Grenier Juhye Hahn Susan E. Hill Caitlin Kennell Kim Laurel W. Koepf Sarah Jennifer Kooperkamp Maia Lynn Kotrosits Melissa Palmer Lemons Mahri Sarah Leonard-Fleckman Erika D. Lewis Meagan Ann Manas Digna A. Marte-Martin	John Corroon Martin Danielline J. Martínez Kymberly Elaine McNair Michael McNamara Wade Anthony Mitchell Richard James Montone Paul Richard Mowry Terrence P. O’Brien David Buckner Orr Timothy James Palmer Cynthia Reville Peabody Elizabeth Ashley Pease Gretchen Elizabeth Roeck Suleima Rosario Damaris Nicole Rowland Ben Sanders III Tallu Scott Schuyler Charlene K. Sinclair James Edward Singletary Nancy Talbot Julie Taylor Takako Suzuki Terino Conrad Bennette Tillard, Sr. Alexandra Trillos Benjamin Laughlin Truesdale Jacquelynn Collins Van Vliet Anthony Renee Watson Sarah Winsett Wiles
Master of Divinity and Master of Science in Social Work in collaboration with Columbia University School of Social Work
Charlene Jackson-McMichael
Master of Arts
John Marc Alberts R. Clifton Bailey Henry Martin Bergtraum Isaac Kwabena Boamah Gerald Francis Breen Peter John Cava Ian Stuart Cliffe Michelle LeeAnn Gunderson Ryan Thomas Holladay David W. Horstkoetter Stephanie Lorraine Hughes H. Stephen Hurst	Natalie Noel Keefe Andrew J. Kim Jeremy Kirk Sami Kay Martin Kuniko Matsunaga Montgomery Candice Olson Margaret Rizzo Leigh M. Rogers Dana Louise Strong Rebekah Wedge Thornhill Sergey Trostyanskiy Carrie Luanne Turvey
Master of Sacred Theology
Ruth Villaver Batausa Drew Billings Diane René Ford Kwang Song Jeon Jennifer T. Kaalund Tong Kyun Kim	Yvonne Luree Logan Matthew J. Pereira Angela Maddalone Skinner Adán Stevens-Díaz Yountae Kim
Master of Philosophy
Karyn Carlo Pilar L. Jennings< Eboni K. Marshall	Matthew Weiner Kellyann Falkenberg Wolfe
Master of Arts in cooperation with Columbia University
Eric James Moore
Doctor of Philosophy in cooperation with Columbia University
Carla Grace Bellamy Jodi Eichler-Levine Tommy Lee Faris Paul G. Hackett	Bo Jiang Amy Paris Langenberg Travis L. Smith
Doctor of Philosophy
Christopher Jerome Carter Norris Jewett Chumley	Adam Louis Clark Karen Annita Monk