gtuat60.gtu.eduGTU 60th Anniversary - GTU 60th Anniversary

GTU at 60 The Documentary Timeline Pre 60s 60s 70s 80s 90s 00s 10s 20s Support Our Future Share Your Memories Shop Anniversary Swag Get Started GTU at 60 At the turn of the century, few could have imagined the global events that would ultimately lead to the formation of the GTU 60 years later. In that extraordinary year, 1962, a landmark union was formed based on a vision of what a model of collaboration through embracing differences — rather than being divided by them — could achieve. It was a radical vision , as were other movements gaining momentum at the time, such as civil rights, gender equality, and climate justice. The GTU has been at the forefront of advancing theological engagement with these issues, remaining steadfast in its commitment to building a better world through dialogue since 1962. Watch our documentary to explore the legacy — and future vision — of the GTU. Watch Now The Documentary From our founding in 1962 to the present day, explore milestones in the GTU story, the groundbreaking work of our community, and the notable figures who’ve shaped our institution. Click through each decade to explore our history—and our future. Explore 60 years of the GTU Select an Era 1961 Seminaries agree to cooperative program ▼ The Interseminary Committee decided against the PSR proposal and voted in March 1961 to form a cooperative graduate program which would offer a Th.D. in church history. Each accredited seminary would set standards for the degree and confer it. Immediate problems plagued the group, with church history faculty wanting the support of other disciplines, notably Biblical Studies and Theology. In October 1961, all seminaries except PSR agreed to form a distinct corporation to grant the doctoral degree. SFTS clarified concerns over policy, administration, and academic standards. 1962 Graduate Theological Union founded On September 24, 1962, Articles of Incorporation were signed by representatives of Berkeley Baptist Divinity School (now Berkeley School of Theology), Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, and San Francisco Theological Seminary in order to offer a cooperative graduate program leading to a Th.D. degree. Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary was also a participant but withdrew due to synod concerns. 1962 Sherman E. Johnson, Dean, 1962-1963 ▼ Sherman E. Johnson (1908-1993) was selected as the first dean of GTU while also serving as the dean at Church Divinity School of the Pacific (1951-1972). He had played a key role in the initial interseminary discussions leading to the formation of the GTU and is credited with suggesting the name Graduate Theological Union. 1962 Vatican II opens ecumenical possibilities ▼ Vatican II created possibilities for cooperation heretofore unlikely between Protestants and Catholics. The Second Vatican Council, or Vatican II, an ecumenical council addressing the Catholic Church’s relationship to the modern world, opened on October 11, 1962 and closed on December 8, 1965. Pope John XXIII, who gave notice of convening the council within months of his election, noted that it was time to open up the windows of the church and let in some fresh air. Among the decisions was to issue Unitatis Redintegratio, the decree on ecumenism, promulgated in November 21, 1964, which laid out the ways and means for all Catholics to respond to a "desire for the restoration of unity among all the followers of Christ." 1963 John Dillenberger, Dean 1963-71, President 1967-71 ▼ John Dillenberger (1918-2008), who had just arrived at SFTS in 1962, became dean (from 1963) and the union’s first president (from 1967) until 1971. He later returned as President from 1999 to 2000. He specialized in the relationship between religion and science: his Protestant Thought and Natural Science was a standard introduction on the topic for three decades. Under Dillenberger’s leadership, the union expanded from four schools to nine, greatly assisted by his efforts with the Catholic seminaries; centers were brought into the union that focused on Jewish studies, women and theology, religion and culture, and the Black Church; doctoral areas were expanded to represent all categories of theology and religion; and a common library was established. Upon his retirement, trustee Jane Newhall endowed a chair in historical studies in his name. "The name of John Dillenberger is almost synonymous with the GTU in its formative years. Without his pursuit of a broad ecumenism and his role in the creation of the consortium library the GTU as known today would not exist." - Robert B. Coote and John S. Hadsell, San Francisco Theological Seminary: The Shaping of the Western School of the Church, 1971-1998, 1999, 193 1964 Three new member schools join the GTU consortium Pacific School of Religion, which had already been in the collaborative discussions, joins the GTU along with Starr King School for the Ministry (then Thomas Starr King School for Religious Leadership), and the consortium’s first Catholic institution, the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology (then College of St. Albert the Great). 1964 Time features GTU in Seminaries: Joining the Theologians for Thrift & Tolerance” ▼ Two years after its founding, GTU appears in the Religion section of the November 6 issue of Time. "The G.T.U. started in a modest way: with two deans and one student, who flunked out. Now in the third year of operation, it has 24 doctoral candidates and a faculty of 54, drawn from the participating schools. Its students must meet the academic requirements of the nearby University of California and can enroll in university courses." Time, The Weekly Newsmagazine, Vol. 84 No. 19, November 6, 1964 1964 Coordination of library services established ▼ The GTU Library Committee, created in 1963, establishes the Bibliographical Center in the following year. The Center was not a library, but performed specific functions for the libraries of the member schools. Operating from the basement of the building at 2465 LeConte (purchased from SFTS and BDS), the Center created a union catalog, assembled a reference collection, and set up procedures for cooperative book selection, ordering, and cataloging. 1966 Jesuit School of Theology joins consortium ▼ Founded as Alma College in the Santa Cruz Mountains in 1934, the school opened as a theologate for Jesuits of the Oregon and California Provinces, becoming a pontifical faculty in 1945. In 1958, the theologate affiliated with Santa Clara University (SCU) as its School of Theology. In the midst of Vatican II (1964), the faculty asked to join the GTU. The school was admitted to the union in 1966, but the province was divided over its location, near the University of San Francisco. In 1969, authorities decided that the school would relocate to Berkeley. Opening for the 1969-70 school year, the school officially became the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, severing its affiliation with SCU. The school reconnected in 2009 to become the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University. 1968 Franciscan School of Theology joins consortium ▼ In 1854, Mission Santa Barbara was chartered as an apostolic college and continued in that capacity until 1885. From 1869 to 1877, the school also functioned as a college for laymen. In 1896, it began as a four-year high school seminary program. The high school and college departments became separate institutions in 1901 and 1929. Mission Santa Barbara remained the center for theological studies and continued to operate as a seminary until 1968, when the theological school moved to Berkeley as the Franciscan School of Theology. FST remained a member until the school relocated to become part of the University of San Diego in 2014. 1968 Center for Judaic Studies founded The Center for Judaic Studies (later the Center for Jewish Studies and now the Richard S. Dinner Center for Jewish Studies) was GTU’s first specialized institute. Professor and Rabbi David...