Episcopal Divinity School, Union Theological Seminary agree on collaboration

From ENS-

Episcopal Divinity School (EDS) and Union Theological Seminary announced May 19 that they have signed an agreement that will allow EDS to continue as an Episcopal seminary through a collaboration with Union at its campus in New York City beginning in the fall of 2018.

“We had three goals when we began to plan this news phase in EDS’s life,” said the Rev.  Gary Hall, chair of the EDS board. “We wanted to continue providing Episcopal theological education within an accredited, degree-granting program, deepen our historic commitment to gospel-centered justice, and provide financial strength and stability for EDS’s future. Today, I am delighted to say that we have achieved all three.”

“This is an historic moment,” said the Rev. Serene Jones, president of the Union faculty and Johnston Family Professor for Religion and Democracy at Union. “We are honored that EDS has chosen to partner with us and are certain that the stewardship of our deepest commitments will be fulfilled in the years ahead.”

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2017/05/19/episcopal-divinity-school-union-theological-seminary-agree-on-collaboration/

and here-

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/05/19/episcopal-seminary-announces-new-affiliation/95lrbkxrOuPzwXbKf0dqGN/story.html

As Union Theological Seminary Plans to Sell Air Rights, Some See a Moral Quandary

From The New York Times-

For nearly two centuries, Union Theological Seminary has brought together scholarship and faith on behalf of social justice. But recently the religious institution has found itself pursuing a more earthly occupation: trying to navigate New York City’s brutal real estate market without doing damage to its soul.

This summer, faced with the prospect of major renovations, the seminary on the edge of western Harlem announced that it would sell its air rights and bring in a developer to build a tower of luxury condominiums on its campus, a two-block-long complex built around a grassy quadrangle in the early 1900s. While the profits from the tower will underwrite the enormous cost of refurbishing a host of aging buildings, the project has provoked impassioned condemnation from both faculty members and students who worry that the school will betray its mission by exacerbating the already profound effects of local gentrification.

More here-

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/15/nyregion/as-union-theological-seminary-plans-to-sell-air-rights-some-see-a-moral-quandary.html?_r=0