Date: May 16, 2023
Yesterday the Faculty gathered. It is our practice to have a day-long Faculty meeting towards the end of the semester. Yesterday was a Faculty meeting with a difference. We had a Dr. Oliver McMahan with us; he was a facilitator of a conversation about the shape and nature of the institution after the affiliation with GTS. It was a long day, but a good day. We listened, we learned, and we understood.
There are inevitable questions in this season. How exactly does one message for both a Hybrid and the residential program? Are there situations where I should recuse myself from discussions because as a CEO of another school I might have a conflict of interest? These are good and appropriate questions and they needed lifting up.
Over the summer and into the Fall, we will design next steps. The most precious moment was the gathering at the end of the day of the Faculty to celebrate the journey of the year. We are taking Table-Fellowship even though we have had our disagreements. This is good and healthy.
The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary and the President of General Theological Seminary