Hebrew College and Boston University School of Theology Form Partnership
NOVEMBER 1, 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
For Hebrew College
Sharon Marie Katz
Marketing Communications Manager
617-559-8764
skatz@hebrewcollege.edu
For Boston University
Kimberly Macdonald
Marketing and Communications Manager
617-358-1858
kmacd@bu.edu
HEBREW COLLEGE AND BOSTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY FORM PARTNERSHIP
Collaboration Will Provide Interreligious Programming, Educational Opportunities
(NEWTON CENTRE and BOSTON, Mass.) — Hebrew College (HC) and the Boston University School of Theology (BUSTH) have announced a new partnership that includes joint interreligious publications, academic courses, and public events. This partnership of two major centers for the training of religious leaders—one Jewish and one Christian—represents an important opportunity to advance the field of interreligious education and leadership development.
Both institutions are dedicated to training moral and spiritual leaders who possess the knowledge and skills to serve as effective interreligious bridge-builders. Over the last decade, each of the schools has developed nationally regarded initiatives in the field, with growing interaction between the two that paved the way for the institutions to engage in a formal relationship at this time.
“We are very excited about this partnership, which will allow us to continue to develop our interreligious programming with an outstanding Christian seminary housed at a major research university,” said Rabbi Or Rose, director of Hebrew College’s Betty Ann Greenbaum Miller Center for Interreligious Learning and Leadership. “Each school brings unique gifts to the partnership, and together we can make a significant contribution to the advancement of the field of interreligious education.”
HC and BUSTH previously collaborated on a grant for interreligious programming through the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations with Andover Newton Theological School (ANTS) in 2015. With the recent announcement of ANTS relocating outside of the Boston area, HC and BUSTH began to explore new opportunities for continuing their leading-edge interreligious work through multiple avenues including publications, academic courses, and public events. Last summer, for example, BUSTH joined HC as co-publisher of the Journal of Interreligious Studies and State of Formation, an online forum for emerging religious and ethical leaders.
The schools will inaugurate their partnership with a public program entitled “Religion and Race in the 2016 Presidential Election Cycle,” to be held on November 3rd at 5:00 p.m. in the BUSTH Community Center, 745 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston. This roundtable discussion will feature three outstanding academics and public intellectuals: Susannah Heschel (Dartmouth College), Stephen Prothero (Boston University), and Saida Grundy (Boston University). Rabbi Daniel Lehmann, president of HC, will serve as the moderator. This event will be followed by a reception celebrating the new partnership between the two schools.
“The new partnership promises to enhance and model theological education that engages faculty, students, and community leaders in building meaningful relationships and exploring the depths and potential of their traditions in relation with one another,” said Mary Elizabeth Moore, Dean of Boston University School of Theology. She added, “Hebrew College’s pluralistic Jewish education is both visionary and excellent, which makes the partnership very promising indeed.”
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About Hebrew College
Founded in 1921, HC promotes excellence in Jewish learning and leadership within a pluralistic environment of open inquiry, intellectual rigor, personal engagement and spiritual creativity. Its programs include a Rabbinical School, a School of Jewish Music, a School of Jewish Education, and graduate degrees and courses in Jewish studies; community education for adult learners; and a supplemental Hebrew high school and middle school (http://www.hebrewcollege.edu/).
About Boston University School of Theology
A seminary of the United Methodist Church, BUSTH is robustly ecumenical, intercultural, interreligious, and international in its faculty, student body, and educational offerings. Its mission is to pursue knowledge of God, to cultivate leaders for communities of faith, to enrich the academy, and to seek peace with justice in a diverse and interconnected world. As a school of theology embedded in a research university, it draws upon and contributes to the rich faculty and educational resources of the university (/sth/).