Class notes - Princeton Theological Seminary

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fall 1997 A COMMUNITY OF SCHOLARS Princeton Educates Doctors for the Church by Hope Andersen One of the most interesting and least known stories about the Ph.D. program at Princeton Seminary is how the degree got its current On the wall of the Ph.D. name. Studies Office hangs a copy of a "catalogue" used shortly after the Th.D. program was introduced in May 1944, a single page outlining the requirements for acceptance degree of Doctor to the of Theology. Why was the initial degree called a Doctor At what point did the nomenclature change? According of Theology? to Bill Harris, Princeton's librarian for archives and special collections, the Docror degree, or Th.D., of Theology medieval European is rooted in tradition. Historically, the Th.D. was preferred over the corresponding Ph.D. degree that scholars, particularly German and Swiss scholars, perceived than the Th.D. as being secular and less rigorous In the late 1930s, Dr. Otto Several students of Otto A. Piper donated two portraits-one for Stuart Hall and one for the Ph.D. studies suite in Luce Library-of the former professor of New Testament to the Seminary at a recent meeting of the Board of Trustees. Pictured are (seated) Rolf Jacobson, co-chair of Koinonia, the Ph.D. students organization; (standing, left to right) James J. Heller ('47B, '550); Donald H. Juel, the Seminary's Richard J. Dearborn Professor of New Testament Theology; Roy A. Harrisville ('530); Robert M. Adams, chairman of the Board of Trustees; Thomas W. Gillespie, Seminary president; and Daniel J. Theron ('500). Piper and his Jewish wife were forced to flee Germany relocate in the United and States. Piper, who was invited to join Princeton's faculty by thenpresident John Mackay, was instrumental in establishing the program and, because of his background, was partial to the more prestigious Th.D. nomenclature over the corresponding Ph.D. degree. From 1944 through 1972, the essentially German designation was used, and 216 graduates were awarded the Th.D. degree. As Harris points pretty sophisticated 'uppity' degree." out, however, "You had to be to know that this was an Most people assumed that the Th.D. was inferior to the Ph.D. Thus, when graduates went out to get jobs, they encountered problems that arose out of ignorance of the tradition behind the Th.D. For this reason, the Board of Trustees voted in 1972 to change the name of the degree to Ph.D., while allowing students already enrolled in the program to choose either a Th.D. or a Ph.D., though according to the Board minutes from May 30, 1972, and January 30, 1973, little distinction was made between the degrees. Alumni/ae who had been granted the ThD. were permitted to exchange their degree for the Ph.D. The nomenclature is not the only thing that has changed over the program's fiftythree-year history. In 1972, women were awarded the degree for the first time in the history of the degree program. The first two women who received the Th.D. were Joyce H. E. Bailey, a native of Jamaica, and Elizabeth Gordon Edwards, who is presently on the Seminary faculty teaching in the area of New Testament. Since the inception of Princeton's doctoral program in 1944, sixty-one of the 512 degrees have gone to women. Another area of change in the program is in pre-admission requirements. Students who apply for admission to the doctoral program are no longer required "pass[ed] comprehensive examinations to have in the various theological disciplines ... [or to] satisfy the committee on graduate have] a working of Hebrew, German, study that [they knowledge Greek, Latin, and one other modern language in addition to English ... " as was outlined 'E'" in the one-page "catalogue" ~ of the program in 1945. i Current applicants need ~ only hold a B.A. from an ] approved college or university ••.and have completed either an M.Div. or twO years of graduate study in religion. Except for the areas of Bible and certain fields of church history, there are no pre-admission requirements in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Only one modern foreign language (German or French) is required prior to matriculation; the second may be learned during year of Ph.D. work. the first Nonetheless, candidates for the Ph.D. make a serious commitment that impacts both their lives and the lives of those around them for a considerable time. Normally, doctoral candidates complete a two-year residential study program, exams and obtain then pass comprehensive approval for dissertation topics in the third year, and work toward a first draft of their dissertation by the end of the fourth year. In 1945, the maximum allowed for completion years; today only about 60 percent time of the degree was six of Ph.D. candidates complete all degree requirements within six years of entering the program. Doctoral students are now given up to nine years-three one-year extensions may be granted one year at a time beyond the sixyear mark-to complete their requirements. A significant difference between 1945 and 1997 is reflected in the cost of attending the Seminary. The tuition that was, in the 1940s, a mere $50 is now $7,000! And that 12 • inSpire
fall 1997 before fees, housing, and meals. Fortunately, Princeron has a very competitive scholarship program and is able ro provide scholarship aid ro all docroral candidates. Each year, up ro ten merit-based grants of $11,000 plus tuition are awarded, as well as other merit tuition scholarships and need-based grants. If someone wants ro attend Princeron (and is offered a place in the program), the Seminary ro make that possible. generally has the resources Despite changes in application requirements and tuition and fees, the primary purpose of the program remains unchanged. Princeron Seminary is committed ro educating the future teachers of preachers and pasrors. At a recent gathering of direcrors of Ph.D. programs in religion, Princeron was recognized as being among the rop five Ph.D. programs that produce teachers involved in theological education. According ro Katharine Doob Sakenfeld, direcror of Ph.D. Studies and the W. A. Eisenberger Literature Professor of Old Testament and Exegesis, 75 ro 80 percent of Princeron Ph.D. graduates either teach or have taught. Two-thirds of those graduates have gone on ro teach at the undergraduate level, while the remaining third teach or have taught in seminaries, divinity schools, or university Ph.D. programs. Consider the following examples: Ralph W. Quere ('70D) is a professor of hisrorical theology at Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa; Renita Weems ('83B, '89D) is a professor of Old Testament at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee; and ten Ph.D. program alumni/ae, in addition ro Edwards, are on the current Seminary faculty. "Only a few mainline, free-standing seminaries in the United States offer doctoral programs; of these, Princeron has the largest, and possibly the strongest, program," says Sakenfeld. "Princeton's programs generally compare favorably with schools such as Harvard, Yale, Emory, Chicago, Claremont, and Duke." Fourth-year docroral candidate Richard Burnett, who received his S.T.M. that Princeron from Yale in 1993, asserts surpasses such schools because "in terms of getting a Ph.D. from a recognized place, Princeron is [one of] the last places where you can get a Ph.D. within a specific tradition." That tradition, the Reformed theological tradition, is clearly articulated in the Seminary's mission statement: Princeron is a "professional and graduate school of the Presbyterian Church (USA) ... that stands within the Reformed tradition .... This tradition shapes the instruction, research, practical training, and continuing education provided by the Seminary, as well as the theological scholarship it promotes." Princeron provides opportunity scholarship for serious theological for the sake of the church within the context of the church and seeks to "prepare women and men to serve Jesus Christ in ministries marked by faith, integrity, scholarship, competence, compassion, and joy .... » Burnett believes that Princeron is rare in the theological academic world because "there are faculty who have paid their dues in parish work. You don't find people like Diogenes Allen, Bruce McCormack, David Willis-people and who have parish experience and know what it is like ro be a minister-elsewhere." The majority of the faculty are ordained "Our and have pasroral experience. mission is ro prepare docrors for the church," says Sakenfeld. "This sets us apart in terms of intentionality many other schools hisrorically even from related ro the church. We see ourselves as part of the church's mission, not just as a place for academic studies." Thus, it is not surprising that many Ph.D. graduates pursue pasroral work in their own countries and abroad. A part of the mission of the Seminary in general and the Ph.D. program specifically is ro assist the global church. Of the 183 docroral candidates who have graduated since 1980, fifty have been international students. Of those, thirty-six (72 percent) returned ro their home countries or ro some other foreign country ro teach or ro serve From left to right: Betty Angelucci, Ph.D. studies office manager; Ellen Myers, assistant for academic affairs emerita; and Katharine Doob Sakenfeld, director of Ph.D. studies. in churches. Fourteen (28 percent) have stayed in the United States. Those who remain in the United States often have compelling reasons to do so. One of the graduates who stayed in the United States was handicapped as a result of childhood illness; since handicapped people are shunned in his home country, he was unemployable there. Another graduate tried to return home but found that her American husband was unemployable there due ro cultural disapproval of the marriage. Yet another stayed because of the serious shortage of jobs in his field at home. A graduate from an overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country is unemployable in her homeland because she is Protestant. There are those for whom Princeton's church affiliation and mission are not as important as the calibre of scholarship. Bart Ehrman ('81B, '85D) applied to Princeton in the late 1970s and was not familiar with the mission of the Seminary. What drew him to Princeron was the desire ro study the New Testament with Bruce Metzger, who was at that time the George L. Collord Professor of New Testament Language and Literature. Ehrman says that he "got very strong linguistic and philological training" that prepared him for his teaching career. He also acknowledges that his coincidental ministerial training in homiletics, pedagogy, and counseling has helped his communication skills. However, Ehrman is concerned that the Seminary as a whole make a rigorous effort ro maintain its scholarly focus and not shift ro an atmosphere of professional training. Paul Rorern, the Seminary's Benjamin B. Warfield Professor of Medieval History, is not concerned about such a shift and would argue that the strengths of the Ph.D. program have not changed. Princeron continues ro "offer a general overview aimed at the church for the sake of teaching in the church," says Rorem. "It is the best denominational seminary in the United States." Certainly it is one of the most sought after. Each year the Ph.D. Studies Office receives more than two hundred applications for only twenty places. Those statistics support the claim that Princeton "maintainjs) a Ph.D. program highly respected in theological circles around the world." I inSpire. 13
Page 2 and 3: Princeton in photos This little pig
Page 4 and 5: fall 1997 from the president's desk
Page 6 and 7: fall 1997 on&off Campus Ellen Myers
Page 8 and 9: fall 1997 onBroff Campus -------- P
Page 10 and 11: fall 1997 Student Life Perspectives
Page 12 and 13: fall 1997 ormation Nurtures Sc tish
Page 16 and 17: fall 1997 Fruits of ~~- -e Their ;t
Page 18 and 19: fall 1997 Class notes Key to Abbrev
Page 20 and 21: fall 1997 Class notes James R. Cham
Page 22 and 23: fall 1997 Class notes fessor of rel
Page 24 and 25: fall 1997 Class notes Paul E. Munds
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Page 28 and 29: fall 1997 Class notes Ben Daniel (B
Page 30 and 31: fall 1997 ~ou~nd~g_i_n_t_h_e_f_~_I_
Page 32 and 33: fall 1997 ~ou~nd~g_i_n_t_h_e_f_~_I_
Page 34 and 35: fall 1997 \ Obituarie_s ~ PA, from
Page 37 and 38: fall 1997 Theological Education Fun

Class notes - Princeton Theological Seminary

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