A Message from President Serene Jones

Dear Union Community,

I received word on the morning of June 15, 2013 that Union's beloved friend, the Reverend Mary E. McNamara died peacefully at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx. As many of you are aware, Mary wrestled with cancer for the past several years. For those who do not know Mary, she was the Executive Vice President of Union for over a decade, before leaving here in 2009 to become the President of United Theological Seminary in the Twin Cities. They were very lucky to have Mary in that leadership role as was everyone at Union who benefited from her wise, sturdy, and loving leadership through both hard and wonderful times. She will be missed. She left us all – and generations of Union community members – better for her presence. Although I am often referred to as the first woman President of Union, that title can also be attributed to Mary for her time as Interim President at Union in the late l990's. In so many ways, she was a trailblazing woman.

At the request of Mary’s family, all members of the Union community are invited to attend one or both of the services below: 

Friday June 28th, 7pm
St. Peter's Lutheran Church
619 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10022 (near 54th Street)
(Vesper service and Inurnment followed by reception)

Saturday June 29th, 11am
Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church
7 W 55th St, New York, NY 10019 (near 5th Avenue)
(Memorial Service followed by reception)

Donations in Mary’s name may be made to the churches where the services will be held:

St. Peter's Church:
http://saintpeters.org/giving/give-now/

Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church:
http://fapc.org/about-us/contribute

Please pray for her sons, Nathaniel and Alex, and for Alex's wife, Aida, and their son, her grandson, Luke.

Peace,

Serene

Distinguished ethicist and Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics Emeritus, Roger L. Shinn, died on Monday, May 13.  He was 96 and had recently been admitted to hospice care.

Prof. Shinn, who first arrived at the Seminary as a student in 1938, began his teaching career at Union when Reinhold Niebuhr and Paul Tillich were still on the faculty.  He taught from 1947 to 1949 and 1959-1985, and over the years was Instructor, Professor, Dean and Acting President at Union, where he succeeded John C. Bennett, President Emeritus, in the Niebuhr Chair.  He was also Adjunct Professor of Religion and Society at Columbia University from 1962 to 1986, and taught at any number of other institutions while still at Union and after he retired.  He also served terms as President of the American Theological Society, and the Society of Christian Ethics.

Roger and his wife Katharine celebrated their 69th wedding anniversary in November 2012.  She survives him, along with their daughters and their families. 

Plans for a memorial service are underway.  Details to follow as they become available.

The full obituary, published on June 2, may be found here.>>

New video from Odyssey Networks on the eve of Easter Sunday.

“I think that the challenge of Easter is, is you don’t understand the power of the resurrection if you don’t really take in the horror of the cross,” said the Rev. Serene Jones, president of Union Theological Seminary. As violence and cruelty dominate our culture, we must stare violence in the face before we can find the good news. Jones said, “I mean, the good news is, that the love of God just keeps coming.” See the full video here.

February 25, 2013

Dear Members of the Union Community and Friends of the Seminary,

I am happy to announce that Dr. Sarah Azaransky has accepted the position of Assistant Professor of Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary beginning Fall 2013.

Dr. Azaransky is currently teaching at the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of San Diego where in 2011 she won the "Mortar Board Teaching Award".

Dr. Azaransky, a graduate of the University of Virginia, comes to us not only with excellent teaching credentials but with a passion for social justice and has focused her work on disenfranchised communities. Most recently, in 2012, she received a grant to travel to Ghana where she visited with church leaders to examine their work with environmental justice. Among the courses Dr. Azaransky will be teaching at Union Theological Seminary, she will offer courses on sexual/LGBTQ ethics.

In accepting this new position, Sarah noted:

"I am thrilled to be joining Union's vibrant and justice-oriented intellectual community. I look forward to the opportunity to participate in Union's unsurpassed tradition of teaching, learning and research in social ethics, and I am eager to contribute to Union's future as a world-engaged seminary in the heart of New York City".

Dr. Azaransky will move to New York City with her husband and two children.

Please join me in welcoming Sarah and her family to Union!

Sincerely,

Daisy L. Machado
Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Church History
Union Theological Seminary

Union Theological Seminary will be closed until Monday, November 5 due to the impact of Hurricane Sandy on the NYC-metro area. The seminary will re-open on Monday, November 5 for classes and normal business operations.

More information can be found here:

http://www.utsnyc.edu/hurricane-sandy

Union Theological Seminary will be closed on Wedneday, October 31 due to the impact of Hurricane Sandy on the NYC-metro area.

More information can be found here:

http://www.utsnyc.edu/hurricane-sandy

Union Theological Seminary will be closed on Tuesday, October 30 due to the weather forecast for Hurricane Sandy and its projected impact on the NYC-metro area.

More information can be found here:

http://www.utsnyc.edu/hurricane-sandy

Union Theological Seminary will be closed on Monday, October 29 due to the weather forecast for Hurricane Sandy and its projected impact on the NYC-metro area.

More information can be found here:

http://www.utsnyc.edu/hurricane-sandy

Union Theological Seminary is pleased to announce the appointment of Wolcott B. Dunham, Jr., as Chair of its Board of Trustees. Dick Dunham, a Trustee since February 2011, succeeds Mary H. White, M.D., Chair from 2010 until July 2012, and Dr. John D. Maguire, Chair on an interim basis since July 2012. Dr. White and Dr. Maguire continue as Trustees. Mr. Dunham said, "I am honored to be chair of this great institution. I want to express my thanks to Mary White and John Maguire for their leadership. I look forward to working with President Serene Jones and my fellow Trustees.”

Mr. Dunham is Of Counsel to the law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP. After serving as a VISTA Volunteer with the Hough Area Development Corporation in Cleveland, he joined the Debevoise firm as an associate in 1969, was a partner from 1977 through 2010 and, through 2010, was global Co-Chair of its Financial Institutions Group. His law practice concentrates on insurance industry corporate transactions, state, federal and international regulatory matters and corporate governance as well as not-for-profit corporate and governance matters.

Mr. Dunham is Senior Warden of St. James’ Church in the City of New York and is a Trustee of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. For 30 years, he has been on the board of the Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter, which serves homeless people. Until 2012, he was on the board of Episcopal Charities of the Diocese of New York. In 2011, he received the Servant of Justice Award of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. He is a director of Dutchess Land Conservancy, on the members committee of Terrafirma Risk Retention Group, a non-profit insurer offering insurance to land trusts holding conservation easements, and President of the Fund for Astrophysical Research.

Mr. Dunham is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School.

President Serene Jones said "Dick brings with him an expansive view of Union's mission and a wise and steady view of its past and its future. I look forward to working with him as we continue to strengthen the institution and build on its distinctive legacy." 

Mr. Dunham is the recipient of the Buist M. Anderson Distinguished Service Award. Read more>>