Showing posts with label GC15. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GC15. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

STUDENTS AND ALUMNI OF GENERAL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY WRITE TO NY ATTORNEY GENERAL

Thus far, the powers-that-be in the Episcopal Church have refused to intervene in the controversy at General Theological Seminary, though the future of the oldest seminary in the church looks bleak, indeed.
After worldwide publicity and further protests, several students left at midyear, and the board provisionally reinstated the faculty only for the rest of the academic year, while canceling their academic tenure. No new hires have been announced and several top librarians have left. Only one entering student has paid a deposit for admission next fall. The seminary’s accreditation by the Association of Theological Schools is under review; if there’s no faculty, no library, no accreditation and no students, there’s no seminary.
How can the church speak out on justice for workers when one of its own institutions treats employees with such disrespect? For church leaders to wash their hands of a controversy that has been destructive to the church's oldest and own seminary is nearly beyond belief.

Perhaps NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman will take up the cause. The refusal of the seminary Board of Trustees and President and Dean Kurt Dunkle to address the concerns of the faculty and the subsequent acceptance of resignations that were never offered were and are the business of the leadership of the church. How sad that no statement of concern or compassion was forthcoming from the leaders, and an appeal for justice had to be made outside the church.  Just today, I learned that another GTS faculty member has resigned.  Of the GTS8 faculty, only five remain at the seminary now.

From President and Dean Dunkle's latest communication on the website of the seminary:
Let me open with a transparent recognition: the past six months at General have been challenging for everyone. Our recent upheaval has been painful and revealing. General faces many challenges–financial, missional and cultural–and all of them have been highlighted over this past year.
...to say the least.  But do not despair:
Despite the snapshot of conflict, the portrait of General’s fundamental goal of “educating and forming future leaders for a changing church in a changing world” remains unaltered. Our work to create financial, missional, and cultural sustainability in order to maintain relevance to the 21st century church is now more important than ever.
Good luck with that.  The positioning of the three major challenges facing the seminary caught my attention, with finances in first place, which may or may not represent the priorities of the dean and the trustees.  Dean Dunkle goes on to say:
We are also proactively addressing our financial challenges. Last year, General suffered a $3.0 million cash deficit; this year, we anticipate it to be half that. Next year, we are working hard to cut it in half again. 
The seminary will save money with the departures of the faculty, but the question remains, is it possible for the seminary to carry out it's mission of educating and forming future leaders for a changing church in a changing worldwith the remaining faculty, or are new hires waiting in the wings who will accept lower wages without tenure?  Perhaps adjuncts?  Also, as is stated in the letter to the NY attorney general:
The seminary’s accreditation by the Association of Theological Schools is under review; if there’s no faculty, no library, no accreditation and no students, there’s no seminary.
If there is no seminary, the trustees will save a bundle of money, and then what?  Who will answer the question posed in the letter?
Was this alleged egregious conduct by the administration calculated to force the seminary to close? It appears to have been groomed for failure. The High Line is one of the hottest places in the city right now, and General Seminary sits right on it.
Only deafening silence from Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and the central office of the Episcopal Church.  If the intention was to close the seminary, then it most certainly should and could have been done with more compassion and dignity.

Since GTS is the one Episcopal seminary under the authority of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church, I wonder if GC15 will address the dire situation at its meeting later this year.

UPDATE: There are now four entering students who have paid deposits.