Vanderbilt Divinity School was founded in 1875 as the Biblical Department and was under the auspices of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, South, one predecessor of the present-day
United Methodist Church. In 1914, in concert with the university's severance of its ties with the MECS, the school became interdenominational and
ecumenical, and in 1915, the school's name was changed from the Biblical Department of Vanderbilt University to the Vanderbilt School of Religion; it adopted its present name in 1956.[2] The present physical plant of the school, known colloquially as the "quadrangle" or "quad," was completed in 1960; the
Benton Chapel that abuts the quad is named for a mid-20th-century dean,
John Keith Benton. In 1966 the Graduate School of Theology of
Oberlin College in
Ohio merged with that of Vanderbilt, increasing the faculty resources of both the Divinity School and the Graduate Department of Religion, as well as the holdings of the school's portion of the University Library.[2]
Civil Rights era
In 1960, African-American Divinity student
James Lawson was expelled from the university for his
Civil Rights activism by Chancellor
Harvie Branscomb.[3] One of Vanderbilt's trustees,
James Geddes Stahlman, published misleading stories in a newspaper he owned, The Nashville Banner, which suggested Lawson had incited others to "violate the law" and led to his expulsion.[3] The Divinity School dean,
J. Robert Nelson, who initially believed the stories,[3] eventually resigned in protest.[4] Moreover, with three of his colleagues, Nelson "paid Lawson's $500 bail when he was arrested on charges of conspiracy to violate state laws the day after his expulsion."[4] The school was placed on probation for a year by the
American Association of Theological Schools, and the power of trustees was curtailed.[3]
Students come from throughout the United States, representing numerous denominations and traditions.
Leadership
Yolanda Pierce, former dean of Howard University School of Divinity serves as the current dean of Vanderbilt Divinity School. Notable recent deans of the Divinity School include Emilie M. Townes, Joseph C. Hough, Jr.,
Sallie McFague, Walter Harrelson, and H. Jackson Forstman.[5][6]
Mitch PacwaSJ (Ph.D) – bi-ritual American
Jesuit priest celebrating liturgy in both the
Roman and
Maronite rites, president and founder of Ignatius Productions, accomplished linguist
Vanderbilt Divinity School presents annual awards in recognition of the outstanding achievements of its students. These include the Founder’s Medal, awarded to the top-graduating student from each undergraduate and professional school, the Academic Achievement Award, conferred upon a student that has achieved excellence in the pursuit of a master of divinity degree, and the
Umphrey Lee Dean’s Award, presented to a student that represents the vision and mission of the school. Also presented are the Florence Conwell Prize, awarded to a degree candidate who has distinguished themselves by outstanding work in the discipline of preaching, the St. James Academy Award who has composed the most outstanding sermon, the W. Kendrick Grobel Award for outstanding achievement in Biblical studies, and the J.D. Owen Prize, awarded for outstanding course work in a Biblical field.
Additionally, the School recognizes students who have upheld its values and commitments to the Wesleyan ideals of servant leadership, student service, and services to the Divinity School community, with the conferral of the McTyeire, Bettye R. Ford Graduate Student Service, and Divinity Student Government Association Service awards, respectively. The School also confers two annual awards in honor of American theologian and writer,
Frederick Buechner: one for Excellence in Writing and one for the best master’s thesis in Theological Studies.
Furthermore, the school awards the Robert Lewis Butler Award for service and ministry in the African-American Church, the Disciples Divinity House Scholar award for academic distinction, the Liston O. Mills award for a student who has achieved distinction in the study of pastoral theology, religion, psychology, and culture. Additional awards include the William A. Newcomb Prize, the Nella May Overby Memorial Prize, the
Wilbur F. Tillett Prize, the
Elliott F. Shepard Prize, and the John Olin Knott Award.[18]
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abcdSumner, David E. (Spring 1997). "The Publisher and the Preacher: Racial Conflict at Vanderbilt University". Tennessee Historical Quarterly. 56 (1): 34–43.
JSTOR42627327.