CRCDS and Andover Newton Negotiation Update
Joint Communiqué
August 31, 2009
Members of the twelve-person negotiating team from Andover Newton Theological School (ANTS) and Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School (CRCDS) held their second session at the Carondelet Hospitality Center in Latham, N.Y. on August 31, 2009. At the direction of trustees of both schools, the core team is exploring the feasibility of combining the two seminaries to maximize efficiency, sustain their legacies and advance a common educational mission. Both boards anticipate receiving a proposal for adoption toward the end of this year.
The core teams are making significant progress. At this meeting, they adopted a twelve-section prospective structure necessary for an agreement, and reached concurrence on four elements in that framework. They have identified six additional areas for focused attention at their next meeting on September 24. When assessing their work, the team said that they have moved to a deeper level of detail in their deliberations. The dialogue was open and candid, occasionally addressing potentially tough issues in a straightforward and constructive spirit. At the same time, participants are energized about the potential to chart a creative course in theological education by combining and building on the strengths of each school—a vision that will meet the needs of students and churches in an evolving twenty-first century religious milieu.
Working in concert with the core team, three sub-committees are contributing to the deliberations: Academic Affairs; Finance, Endowment, and Property; and Governance/Legal. Their work is enabling the core team to address issues with deliberate speed.
The core team is eager to receive feedback from interested stakeholders. They have decided to use a customized survey through “Survey Monkey,” which will be prepared and distributed in the near future. In addition, they have created an email address for anyone who would like to offer comments about the negotiation process: partnershipcomments@ants.edu. All comments will be collated and forwarded to members of both negotiating teams.
Members of the Negotiating Teams are:
Andover Newton
Ms. Sylvia Ferrell-Jones
Rev. Debora Jackson
Prof. Robert Pazmino
Rev. James P. Sherblom
Mr. David Smith
ANTS President Nick Carter (ex officio)
Colgate Rochester Crozer
Rev. Margaret Cowden
Prof. Christopher Evans
Rev. Dennis Norris
Mrs. Susan Scanlon, Esq.
Rev. John Wilkinson
CRCDS President Eugene Bay (ex officio)
In a commitment to transparency, yet also respecting the importance of confidentiality in what are understandably fluid discussions, the group agreed that an additional communiqué will be released following each meeting.
« Back to News & Headlines
|
