Date: May 22, 2024
Over the next few days, I will share the results of the deliberations from the Board of Trustees. I will start with the plenary which was held on Tuesday May 7. The start of the plenary focused on our Accreditation visit. Although the result will not be confirmed until the Commission of the Association of Theological Schools meets, I was permitted to share the preliminary findings with the Board of Trustees. Suffice to say, the result was encouraging. A later commentary after the Commission has met will share the details.
Then the Board turned to the work of creating an Affiliation Strategic Plan. Four options were presented for the Board to consider. The first was the status quo; the second was status quo plus (the current arrangement between GTS and VTS but extended out to additional shared Faculty and perhaps other areas of shared services); the third was a consortium mode with students provided with more choice; and the fourth was the integrative model. No decisions were taken. Instead, this is a start of a process that will include Faculty and Staff.
It was a good start to a good meeting.
The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary and the President of The General Theological Seminary