The State of Duke Divinity School
The State of Duke Divinity School
Dean L. Gregory Jones
September 2009
September 25, 2009
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With a global financial crisis sapping markets and shaking institutions ranging from manufacturers and banks to churches and universities, 2008-09 was indeed a challenging year. Like other schools across the country, Duke Divinity School saw the value of its endowment – a critical piece of our financial support – decline by more than 25 percent. Even as the economy now shows signs of recovery, we know the fallout of this recession will affect school finances significantly for the next 10 years or more.
From the beginning of the financial downturn, however, the Divinity School has maintained a hopeful outlook. Not only did we seek efficiencies and opportunities for cost savings in the last year, but much of our community also engaged in a period of intense strategic planning this summer to position ourselves as a more flexible institution capable of meeting the needs of a changed and changing church.
On September 21, the faculty overwhelmingly approved an official update to our 2006 strategic plan, which aligns with our core mission and will help make the Divinity School a financially stronger institution that is better able to fulfill its role of service and witness to the Triune God in the midst of the church, the academy, and the world.
We will continue working this fall to begin implementation of the plan, which will include developing proposals for new degree programs to address broader constituencies for the Divinity School and respond missionally to the needs of the church. I look forward to updating you later in the year on all of this work following further discussion with officials from Duke University and the Association of Theological Schools, both of which must approve new degrees. We will refine our plans in coming months and hope to begin enrolling students in new programs in 2011.
Meanwhile, the Divinity School has much to celebrate from the last year. In the spring we launched “Faith & Leadership,” the online magazine of Leadership Education at Duke Divinity, which is supported by a grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc. The magazine, which already has developed an enthusiastic following, aims to strengthen the practice of Christian leadership through video interviews with transformative leaders, theological reflections, in-depth articles and stories, and reading lists. Its companion blog, “Call & Response,” offers a daily roundup of news and ideas, as well as commentary from several pastors, a seminary president, and experts in the sociology of religion.
In 2008 the Clergy Health Initiative, supported by a grant from The Duke Endowment, completed a statewide survey of all United Methodist clergy in North Carolina to measure physical, mental, spiritual, and vocational health. The initiative, still in its early stages, will provide clergy with support such as customizable wellness plans and access to trained, certified health coaches.
And the Divinity School hosted numerous events important in the life of the church as well as the academy, including the school’s first Summer Institute, a 20th anniversary celebration for our Baptist House of Studies, ongoing meetings of our Episcopal Leadership Forum for United Methodist Bishops, and numerous lectures, sermons, and panel discussions.
Students
We were pleased to welcome a terrific group of new students to Duke Divinity School this fall. As in previous years, the group is diverse, energetic, and academically strong. The median grade point average for the entering class was 3.62 out of a possible 4.0. Minority enrollment is 21 percent, and the median student age continues to be low—24 for the entire class and just 23 for the master of divinity students.
Of 151 students seeking the three-year M.Div. degree, 52 percent are United Methodist; 15 percent are Baptist, 8 percent are Anglican or Episcopal; and 4 percent are Presbyterian. Eighteen other denominations round out the M.Div. class.
We are now in the fourth year of our Doctor of Theology program; our applications increased substantially this year to almost 100. We now have 35 students enrolled in the program overall, and we anticipate that by May of 2010 we will have our first Th.D. graduates. Dr. Randy Maddox serves as Director of the Th.D. program, and his leadership has helped this program to continue to grow and improve.
Our field education program continued its key role in the formation of our students for ministry. One hundred students served field education placements during the academic year, in addition to approximately 40 who serve as student pastors. More than 200 students experienced summer field education placements, including many in rural United Methodist congregations (whose stipends were supported by The Duke Endowment), 12 in our program of Partner Congregations, five in the Center for Reconciliation’s Teaching Communities program, and 21 in international placements, including Kenya (3), South Africa (4), Uganda (4), Guatemala and El Salvador (5), Brazil (2), Peru (2), and Greece (1).
Faculty
Following a year in which we added six new professors, the school made just one additional faculty hire in 2008-09. Kate Bowler is slated to join the faculty on July 1, 2010 in the area of the history of Christianity in the United States. Her major research interests focus on twentieth-century American religion, particularly the areas of religion and popular culture, religion and ethnicity, religious ethnography, and religion and health.
Three faculty members received promotions in the last year. Douglas Campbell became Associate Professor of New Testament, and Willie Jennings became Associate Professor of Theology and Black Church Studies. Ellen Davis was named Amos Ragan Kearns Distinguished Professor of Bible and Practical Theology.
Professor of Christian History Grant Wacker has been awarded a Luce Fellowship for 2009-10 to complete work on his cultural biography of Rev. Billy Graham.
Two professors who have long been central figures in the life of the Divinity School – Richard P. Heitzenrater and David C. Steinmetz – retired last year. Heitzenrater, William Kellon Quick Professor of Church History and Wesley Studies, who in 1969 discovered the code for John Wesley’s Oxford diaries, is credited with shaping the course of Wesley scholarship. After earning his B.A., M.Div., and Ph.D. at Duke, Heitzenrater returned as a faculty member in 1993.
Steinmetz, Amos Ragan Kearns Professor of the History of Christianity, is a specialist in the history of Christianity in late medieval and early modern Europe. In recent years he has concentrated on the history of biblical scholarship and learning in Europe from 1350 to 1600. Steinmetz, who came to Duke in 1971, was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2006 and has become a leader in the Divinity School’s efforts in media outreach.
Notable books published by our faculty in 2008-09 include the following: “Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture: An Agrarian Reading of the Bible,” by Ellen Davis; “Intellectual Appetite: A Theological Grammar,” by Paul Griffiths; “Seeking the Identity of Jesus: A Pilgrimage,” edited by Beverly Roberts Gaventa and Richard B. Hays; “Mirror to the Church: Resurrecting Faith after Genocide in Rwanda,” by Emmanuel Katongole and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove; “Mark 8–16: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, ” by Joel Marcus; “The Word Leaps the Gap: Essays on Scripture and Theology in Honor of Richard B. Hays,” edited by J. Ross Wagner, Kavin Rowe, and A. Katherine Grieb;“ The Fourth Gospel in Four Dimensions,” by D. Moody Smith; and “Speaking the Truth: Preaching in a Pluralistic Culture,” by Sam Wells.
Major Events and Activities
Approximately 100 people participated in Duke Divinity School’s first Summer Institute in 2009, a week-long program designed to cultivate a community of Christian worship, reflection and action. The Institute, led by world-class scholars and practitioners, focused on a theme of reconciliation and was titled “Shaping the Beloved Community in a Divided World.”
Political commentator and author Eleanor Clift joined Duke Institute on Care at the End of Life Director Richard Payne in March 2009 for a public conversation on issues surrounding how we die in America. Their discussion focused especially on the aftermath of the case of Terri Schiavo, a Florida woman with severe brain damage who died in 2005 after a highly public and divisive right-to-die struggle involving courts and the Florida legislature.
In February a Divinity School contingent joined scholars, clergy and other professionals from three continents at a roundtable to support the Episcopal Church of Sudan (ECS) in its efforts to advance theological education, community health, and agriculture in the war-ravaged country. The roundtable met in London at Lambeth Palace, the residence of Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who hosted the event.
Baptists and Catholics focused on “Mary in the Communion of the Church” during the latest in a series of conversations between the Baptist World Alliance and the Catholic Church, held at Duke Divinity School in December 2008. Members of the Catholic and Baptist teams delivered papers during the event, hosted by the Baptist House of Studies under the leadership of Curtis W. Freeman. Freeman, Director of Baptist House and a Research Professor of Theology, also served as a special guest on the Baptist team.
The Divinity School’s 2008 Convocation & Pastors’ School, held in October, focused on the theme “For Such a Time as This: Christian Leadership in a Changing World.” The three-day program featured presentations by Adam Hamilton, founding pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, a panel of United Methodist bishops, and author Ronald Heifetz.
Also in the fall the Divinity School’s Center for Reconciliation hosted Jean Vanier, founder of L’Arche communities, and Duke Divinity School theologian Stanley Hauerwas to co-teach the Center’s second annual Teaching Communities Week. Events included a joint keynote lecture, a day-long workshop for students and community members, and a sermon by Vanier at Duke Chapel. Teaching Communities Week also marked the launch of a book by Hauerwas and Vanier, “Living Gently in a Violent World,” the second volume in the Center for Reconciliation’s Resources for Reconciliation series. The first book in the series, “Reconciling All Things: A Christian Vision for Justice, Peace and Healing,” by Emmanuel Katongole and Chris Rice, won a prestigious Christianity Today Book Award in early 2009.
Finance and Development
First, the good news. Duke Divinity School finished fiscal year 2009 in the black. This was due, in part, to the success of our annual fund campaign for 2008-09, which ended June 30. For the first time, annual fund contributions exceeded $600,000—despite the generally troubling economy. This level of support from alumni and friends, at a time when many institutions are struggling, is a sign of great strength.
I also am happy to note that the Divinity School met its goal in raising $10 million for student scholarships as a part of the university’s three-year Financial Aid Initiative (2006-08).
I already have mentioned the central financial challenge we faced in the last year and continue to face – the decline in our endowment that will cut into school revenue significantly for at least the next three years. We also expect declining or flat revenue from the Ministerial Education Fund and an increase in expenses passed along to us by Duke University, especially related to fringe benefits. If we made no other changes in revenue or spending, we would find ourselves with a deficit of $600,000 in Fiscal Year 2011, growing to about $1.6 million in Fiscal Year 2013.
The projected deficits are too large to be addressed with simple budget cuts. To cut that level of spending would undermine the school in a way that would be difficult to reverse, even in a period of strong economic growth – thus our strategic planning of the summer, aimed at creating new streams of revenue through programs that also keep us faithful to our mission.
Staff
We were sorry to say farewell to three senior staff members in 2008-09. The Rev. Janice Virtue left her position as Executive Director of Leadership Education at Duke Divinity in June. Following her 11 years at the Divinity School, Janice will continue her work in leadership development for the church by doing program development and design for two United Methodist annual conferences, as well as training and facilitation in a variety of clergy formation programs.
Also this summer Cheryl Brown left her position as Director of Admissions following four years in that role. McKennon Shea, a United Methodist pastor in the Virginia Conference who previously served the Congregation at Duke Chapel as Assistant Pastor, joined us as Director of Admissions in July. McKennon is a 2008 M.Div. graduate of Duke Divinity School.
And the Rev. Tiffney Marley left her role as director of the Office of Black Church Studies to pursue other ministries following seven years at the Divinity School. Associate Dean Joy Moore, previously the leader of the school’s Lifelong Learning initiatives, has become the school’s first Associate Dean for Black Church Studies and Church Relations. The general area of Lifelong Learning has been merged into the school’s overall efforts in Leadership Education.
Finally, I think it is important to note that both Duke Divinity School and Duke University have a history of working through adversity in pursuit of our mission and of confronting challenges with hopeful action. It is comforting to note that construction began on Duke Chapel, one of the most important buildings in the university’s formation and perhaps the best known structure in North Carolina, as the stock market crashed in 1929.
The Divinity School has repeatedly adapted over the decades that followed, maintaining important practices and traditions even as it changed along with the realities of the church and the university. In the 1960s the school charged tuition for the first time – a radical but necessary departure from an older financial model that had become unsustainable. In the 1970s the United Methodist Church worked with Duke and other institutions to develop the Ministerial Education Fund as an important means of supporting theological education. And since the 1980s the Divinity School and the rest of the university have worked successfully to enhance their endowments to fund such necessities as new professorships, scholarships, and building programs.
Challenge and change are not new to us. They are a part of our DNA, and they enable us to avoid rigidly defining ourselves when the needs of the church, the academy, and the world are evolving. I do not know exactly what Duke Divinity School will look like in five or 10 years. We still have work to do to define and articulate the new programs that will help us to move forward. But I am confident that we will carry out this work in faithful Christian witness and service to the Gospel.