School Notes: Yale Divinity School
July/August 2011

Dean to step down next June

Harold Attridge will step down as dean of the school on June 30, 2012, the end of his second five-year term. In a May 3 letter announcing his decision to the YDS community, Attridge said that he looks forward to “one more year of working with you to continue our efforts to make YDS and its partners the leading venue for theological education in this country and around the world.” During his final year as dean, Attridge plans to focus on initiatives undertaken in the last phase of the current capital campaign, including scholarship funds and support for student internships and international exchange programs. He also hopes to make critical faculty appointments in core fields such as theology, Bible, and ethics. Following a sabbatical year in 2012–13, he will return to teaching at YDS.

YDS hosts discussion on sexual diversity and the Catholic Church

Yale Divinity School is among four educational institutions collaborating in a series of on-campus events in the fall entitled “More Than a Monologue: Sexual Diversity and the Catholic Church,” aimed at exploring the diversity of viewpoints among Catholics on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equality. Joining YDS in the initiative is another interdenominational school, Union Theological Seminary in New York, and two Catholic schools, Fordham University and Fairfield University. The event at YDS, scheduled for October 22, will be on the topic “Same-Sex Marriage and the Catholic Church: Voices from Law, Religion, and the Pews.” Confirmed speakers include Michael John Perry, Emory Law School; Patricia Beattie Jung, St. Paul School of Theology; and Lisa Sowle Cahill, Boston College.