Date: August 10, 2026
I enjoyed the summer months where I learn so much about the rest of the Seminary. So many great commentaries have been written. From student government to facilities to Lifelong Learning, there is much to celebrate as we start this new academic year. Thank you for making me smile; thank you for sharing all the important work you are doing.
A warm welcome to new students and welcome back to returning students. Everyone is in a different place; we have Juniors arriving – which building for which department is a question that inevitably is part of their discourse. The Middlers are enjoying the promotion to the ones who still have some way to go and yet are no longer ‘new’. And the Seniors arrive conscious that time has gone so quickly and the end is in sight. Already, their minds are moving to ‘what next?’
Welcome back to all of us as we ease into this new semester. Give the anxieties of the moment over to God and anticipate with joy the possibilities for learning that God wants to unfold.
The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary and the President of The General Theological Seminary.Â