Date: December 1, 2025
Over the next two months, the Dean’s Commentary will maintain a steady focus on the work of the faculty of GTS and VTS. Although this space will continue to highlight the work of staff and students, and announce visiting guests and special services as the moment demands, on most days you’ll hear directly from faculty members writing about what they are reading or teaching or writing.
We chose this theme because this work can sometimes seem invisible to so many who encounter seminary life. Of course students encounter their instructors teaching when they sign up for a class, but enrollment numbers for courses beyond the intros usually range between four and fourteen. Since these are often the very courses in which faculty members are developing new ideas, I’m looking forward to hearing more! And of course seeing a new faculty book in print is always a wonderful moment, but these signal occasions are usually glimpsed beforehand with a few shorter articles in which scholars make exploratory soundings in emerging areas of study for a narrow readership. And finally, knowing that “Prof’s Picks” are perennially popular on the Bishop Payne Library website, I thought that it would be interesting to try out a Dean’s Commentary version during the next several weeks.
Thank you for your ongoing readership of these daily commentaries. For some of you, I know that this is one of the first things that you read at the beginning of each day. Others dip in every now and again to catch up with life at VTS, and, on occasion, GTS as well. Since each commentary is saved in the Bishop Payne Library’s archives, I am delighted that we’re able to ensure that the current work of the faculty of both schools will be more visible for today’s reader and future researcher.
Melody D. Knowles, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Chief Academic Officer
Associate Professor of Old Testament
Virginia Theological Seminary and The General Theological Seminary