Celebration Overview
The admission of women to Harvard Divinity School in 1955 set the stage for the transformation of the study of religion, of training for ministry, and of the school itself. Today, women constitute a majority of living graduates, as well as a majority of current students. Their presence at the school over the last 50 years required a rethinking of religious language, history, concepts, and categories. Women have always participated in the HDS community as sources of financial support, staff support, and personal and communal support in their roles as student and faculty wives. It is impossible to imagine the HDS of the twenty-first century without the challenges and creativity that women brought as students and, later, as faculty.
The women's jubilee affords the opportunity both to look back at the historic pioneer efforts of HDS women and their supporters and to look forward to consider the significance of their presence over the last 50 years for the future of the school.
The year-long celebration of women at Harvard Divinity School includes delivery of all the school's prestigious named lectureships by distinguished women scholars, including alumnae of the school, as well as special events focused on the ongoing significance of women's participation and of attention to gender as an analytic category across the school's programs. The jubilee also provides an opportunity to highlight ongoing annual programs focused on women and gender.
