Date: February 2, 2026
We are pleased to announce that Dr. George E. “Tink” Tinker has accepted the Seminary’s invitation to serve as our commencement speaker this May for our graduating seniors. His presence marks a significant moment for our community, and we are honored that our graduates will hear from a theologian whose voice has shaped conversations about faith, justice, and sovereignty for decades.
Dr. Tinker holds a B.A. from New Mexico Highlands University, an M.Div. from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from the Graduate Theological Union. A faculty member since 1985, he has taught extensively in American Indian cultures and religious traditions, cross-cultural and Third-World theologies, and justice and peace studies. His influential publications include American Indian Liberation: A Theology of Sovereignty, Spirit and Resistance, and Missionary Conquest, alongside several co-authored and edited volumes widely used in theological education.
Beyond the academy, Dr. Tinker has devoted decades to service in the American Indian community and to the ecumenical movement. He has served as director of the Four Winds American Indian Survival Project in Denver, is a past president of the Native American Theological Association, and remains active with national and international justice organizations. It will be an enormous honor to hear from such an important and compelling voice in theological education at this year’s commencement.
The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary and the President of The General Theological Seminary