Andover Newton Theological School

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Andover Newton Theological School, located in Newton Centre, Massachusetts, is the oldest graduate school of theology in the United States. It was founded in Andover, Massachusetts, in 1807. Andover Newton maintains covenantal ties with the American Baptist Churches USA and the United Church of Christ. It is also a member of the Boston Theological Institute.

Andover Newton offers Master of Divinity (M.Div.), Master of Arts (M.A.), Master of Sacred Theology (S.T.M.), and Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) degree programs. The Master of Arts is offered in five concentrations: Theological Studies, Psychology and Religion, Theology and Arts, Religious Education, and Theological Research.

Nearly 250 students from over 35 denominations attend Andover Newton. United Church of Christ students remain the largest segment of the student body (35%) followed by Unitarian Universalists (24%) and Baptists (12%).

[edit] History

Andover Newton is the descendant of the Andover Theological Seminary founded in 1807 by orthodox Calvinists who fled Harvard after it embraced Unitarianism. The school opened for students in 1808 at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass. Before Andover was founded, American Protestant clergymen attended undergraduate college, then learned their profession by studying under a minister, much as young lawyers read for the bar under practicing lawyers. The Phillips Academy, founded in 1778 for “the promotion of true piety and virtue” first instituted a separate department of divinity and raised money for the Samuel Abbot Professor of Theology, the first seminary professorship in North America. The new seminary at Andover was the first to formalize graduate study for clergymen, the program was for three years of study of four subjects: the Bible, church history, doctrinal theology and the practical arts of ministry. That model became the gold standard in the training of the American ministry. The seminary moved to Newton in 1931.

[edit] Mission Statement

Andover Newton adopted the following mission statement:

As a graduate theological school in the Reformed tradition, in faithfulness to Jesus Christ, we strive to educate leaders who are:

• enlivened by rigorous study in a community embracing diversities of faith and life;

• devoted to the renewing of church and society through ecumenical witness and creative expression of the Gospel; and

• committed to enacting God's ways of justice and love in the world.

Andover Newton Board of Trustees adopted the UCC's Open and Affirming policy in 2005.

[edit] See also

• List of colleges and universities in metropolitan Boston

[edit] Faculty

• Dr. Mark S. Burrows, Professor of the History of Christianity
• Dr. Sarah Birmingham Drummond, Assistant Professor of Ministerial Leadership and Director of Field Education
• Dr. Carole R. Fontaine, Taylor Professor of Biblical Theology and History
• Dr. Brita L. Gill-Austern, Austin Philip Guiles Professor of Psychology and Pastoral Theology
• Dr. S. Mark Heim, Samuel Abbot Professor of Christian Theology
• Dr. William R. Herzog II, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty
• Dr. Gregory Mobley, Associate Professor of Old Testament
• Dr. Elizabeth C. Nordbeck, Moses Brown Professor of Ecclesiastical History
• Dr. Robert W. Pazmiño, Valeria Stone Professor of Christian Education
• Dr. Sharon Thornton, Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology and Pastoral Care
• Dr. Benjamin Valentin, Associate Professor of Theology and Culture, and Director of the Orlando Costas Latino/a Studies Program
• Dr. Valerie E. Dixon, Assistant Professor of Christian Ethics

[edit] References

1. ^ "College Navigator". U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics. http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?id=164474/. Retrieved on 2009-04-20.