Letter from Dean Marla F. Frederick

Dear HDS Community,

At the beginning of my first full year as Dean here at Harvard Divinity School, I write to you with a full heart and a mind awash with thoughts. The fall semester brought the exciting energy of new possibilities and reminders of all we weathered as a community last year. As an anthropologist, I approach my work with an emphasis on the human condition and how storytelling informs how we see the world. With that background, I want to acknowledge the joy of looking forward to a new chapter for the School—one that we will be writing together—while also recognizing the grief of living through ongoing conflicts at home and abroad.

To revel with hope for the future while also reckoning with pain is a profoundly human experience. Time and time again, history has shown us how one dream can become a catalyst for decades of progress, and how one idea can change the world for generations to come. This is our calling as teachers, scholars, and individuals who care deeply about education—to ensure that hopes, dreams, and big ideas have a place where they can be nurtured. This is why I believe so deeply in the mission and the vision of Harvard Divinity School.

The intention for this annual publication is to offer a look back on the previous academic year and a view of what is in store for the future. As I hope you will see throughout this report, the study of religion and the work of ministry continue to flourish. With thanks to our students, staff, faculty, alumni, and friends, HDS remains a top-tier divinity school. Our rich multifaith offerings and strong networks of scholars create ripple effects of good work happening across the globe.
 

Reflections and Profound Appreciation

In the spirit of reflection, I would like to share my gratitude for the heartfelt welcome bestowed upon me in January 2024, including the joyful gathering held in the beautiful James Room. I am grateful to President Alan Garber for his warm words of welcome and his ongoing support. I also have profound appreciation for President Claudine Gay for extending me the invitation to return to Harvard as Dean of HDS and for all that she continues to teach us about leadership.

With leadership in mind, I want to recognize the exceptional deans who have guided the School before me. Harvard Divinity School would not be the fine institution it is today without their thoughtful support and excellent care. I am especially thankful for Dean David Hempton’s emphasis on growing the School’s multifaith offerings. He also extended the reach of HDS internationally, strengthening scholarly networks here in Cambridge and around the world.

This foundation is one I intend to build upon as we continue to expand HDS’s academic depth and breadth. (And I would like to offer David a heartfelt welcome back to the classroom after a well-deserved sabbatical!)

David Holland also deserves a world of thanks. He deftly led the School as Interim Dean in the fall of 2023. For this—and his many accomplishments as a scholar, a teacher, and a religious leader—David was honored with the 2024 Dean’s Distinguished Service Award in May. As of July, David has also taken on the role of associate dean for faculty and academic affairs to help guide us into our next chapter. He will be building on the excellent work of Janet Gyatso, who served in this role with distinction from July 2014 to June 2024. Janet’s unwavering dedication to excellence has profoundly shaped the academic experience here at HDS, particularly with the advancement of Buddhist studies and the establishment of the Buddhist Ministry Initiative.

Some of the many highlights of my first semester include getting to know HDS students, staff, faculty, alumni, and friends; getting reacquainted with colleagues from across Harvard; and enjoying a number of lovely events, such as the Dean’s Leadership Forum, Gomes Alumni Honors, and Commencement (to name just a few). It was a joy to have my family here with me at our campus welcome celebration in January and to meet so many of your happy families at our graduation ceremonies in May. Here’s to many more joyous occasions and exuberant reunions.

There was also much work to be done as our community contended with how to address challenges on campus, in the country, and around the globe. As I noted in my message to the community in January and will reaffirm now: I believe in the mission and vision of Harvard Divinity School. I believe we need to nurture and train students to lead in our increasingly multireligious and multiracial world. As a School, we are committed to interreligious dialogue and anti-racism, and together we will continue to cultivate a community that is vibrant and intellectually rigorous, as well as sensitive to the core issues of what it means to be human.

Keeping to our mission of teaching and learning is imperative to our work—particularly during difficult or disruptive times. The “Dialogue Across Difference” discussion led by Jocelyne Cesari, Gloria White-Hammond, and Diana Eck in January set a powerful example for how we can explore and investigate complex topics while also practicing our community values. HDS has a long history of demonstrating how the study of religion can be a force for good. And this is why I am ever grateful for the continuity of Harvard Divinity School’s mission—made possible by the dedication and support of this exceptional community.
 

Academic Expertise and Reach

This year’s report highlights academic expertise across disciplines—including the work of scholars who have recently joined the community and those who have been steadfast in their commitments to HDS for decades. Harvard Divinity faculty continue to engage in rigorous research and exceptional teaching through course offerings, public lectures, and leadership throughout the field. The following “Year in Review” content illustrates the range of book publications, awards, and events happening across the School.

During academic year 2023–24, we saw several exciting updates to the HDS Faculty of Divinity. Michelle Sanchez, MDiv ’09, PhD ’14, was promoted to Professor of Theology with tenure, and Teren Sevea was promoted to Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Associate Professor of Islamic Studies. Additionally, Swayam Bagaria was appointed as Assistant Professor of Hindu Studies. We also welcomed several new faculty members for academic year 2024–25.
 

• Nikki Hoskins, MDiv ’12, Assistant Professor of Religion and Ecology
  Joining us from The University of Scranton, Nikki Hoskins focuses her research on Christian histories of colonial, racial, and environmental domination.
• Stephanie Sears, Lecturer on Spiritual Care Joining us from Clark Atlanta University
  Stephanie Sears is a practitioner and theorist of decolonial spiritual care whose research centers on the religion of Africana women through the critical lenses of womanist and Black feminist thought.
• Raúl E. Zegarra, Assistant Professor of Roman Catholic Theological Studies
  Joining us from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Raúl Zegarra’s research focuses on the relationship between faith and politics.

Along with our outstanding faculty members, a wide range of visiting scholars bolster the academic offerings at HDS and across the University. I want to recognize the fellows, research associates, and visiting monastics who become integral members of the HDS community by way of the Office of Ministry Studies (OMS), the Center for the Study of World Religions (CSWR), Religion and Public Life (RPL), and the Women’s Studies in Religion Program (WSRP). From visiting Hindu monastics, to Buddhist ministry fellows, to the Yang Visiting Scholars in World Christianity, and beyond, support for multireligious education helps strengthen vital connections with leaders and scholars around the world.

I am also grateful for the expertise of the visiting faculty who are joining us for academic year 2024–25:

• The Very Reverend Kelly Brown Douglas joins HDS as Visiting Professor of Theology. Her academic work focuses on womanist theology, racial justice issues, sexuality, and the Black church, and her course offerings at HDS include “Exploring the Moral Imaginary in Black Women’s Fictional Literature.”
• Rabbi Shaul Magid is returning to HDS for a second year as the Visiting Professor of Modern Jewish Studies to teach “Jewish Mysticism and Heresy: From Sabbateanism to Hasidism” and “Jewish Religion and Politics in the 20th Century: Europe, America, and Israel.”
• Robert Warrior joins HDS as Visiting Professor of Native American Culture and Traditions. Robert Warrior, a Native American scholar and member/citizen of the Osage Nation, is currently teaching two courses: “Religion and Theology in Indigenous Intellectual History” and “Body, Spirit, and Indigenous Expressive Culture.”
• Gina A. Zurlo joins HDS as Visiting Lecturer on World Christianity after spending last year as a Yang Visiting Scholar in World Christianity. Her research focuses on the demography of religion, the sociology of religion, and women’s studies, and she is teaching “History of Pentecostal/Charismatic Christianity” this fall.

I hope you will extend a warm welcome to our newest community members. Each addition to the faculty and increase in our visiting scholar opportunities at the School is an investment in the future of teaching and learning.

One of the more bittersweet elements of academia is when cherished colleagues transition from their day-to-day work at the School. In May, we celebrated several faculty members who announced their intentions to retire.

• Diana L. Eck, PhD ’76, Professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies, Fredric Wertham Professor of Law and Psychiatry in Society (FAS)
• Cheryl A. Giles, MDiv ’79, Francis Greenwood Peabody Senior Lecturer on Pastoral Care and Counseling
• Ousmane Oumar Kane, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Professor of Contemporary Islamic Religion and Society, Professor of African and African American Studies (FAS)
• Karen L. King, Hollis Professor of Divinity
• Kevin J. Madigan, Winn Professor of Ecclesiastical History and Faculty Dean, Eliot House, Harvard College
• Stephanie Paulsell, Susan Shallcross Swartz Professor of the Practice of Christian Studies and Faculty Dean, Eliot House, Harvard College (planned for December 2024)

We owe each of our dedicated faculty members a debt of gratitude for expanding and deepening the curriculum here at HDS and for their many contributions to the broader field of religious studies. To each colleague embarking on this next chapter, congratulations and thank you!

I also want to acknowledge Diane L. Moore, MDiv ’80, who has been an exceptional leader here at the School since she was a student. After 24 years of teaching, she has decided to retire in June 2025. We will have ample time to celebrate Professor Moore’s impressive career—including her role in establishing the Religion and Public Life program at HDS—before she says farewell. In the meantime, I am grateful for her guidance and for her willingness to help our future director of the program, Professor Terrence L. Johnson, MDiv ’00, become familiar with his new role.

 

Campus Updates

As we celebrated one generation of scholars, the HDS admissions team was hard at work preparing to welcome another. The School saw a strong showing of prospective students, with the second highest number of applications since 2008. The incoming class for fall 2024 is composed of 146 students hailing from 114 different undergraduate institutions. Collectively, they speak 47 languages, represent 34 faith traditions (including none and non/interdenominational), and range in age from 21 to 66. Roughly one-quarter of the class is made up of international students, more than half of the MTS candidates intend to pursue careers in education, and nearly two-thirds of MDiv candidates plan to pursue ministry vocations.

Continuing the trend from past years, 90 percent of MTS and MDiv students receive financial aid—making their education at Harvard possible. Thank you to everyone who supports our students through gifts to financial aid and the HDS Fund. Your generosity creates worlds of possibility by eliminating barriers to education and supporting the future of this vital field of study.

HDS students, staff, faculty, visiting scholars, and alumni continue to lead an array of events. In addition to the School’s many community gatherings—such as Tuesday Morning Eucharist, Wednesday Noon Service, and weekly meditation sessions in the Multifaith Space—you can find a lecture, reading group, or musical performance on any given day. The opportunities to learn and connect are seemingly endless.

Last year, the Women’s Studies in Religion Program hosted six exceptional research associates who explored topics ranging from the Spanish Inquisition, Black spiritual performances in the Caribbean, contraception and faith, and feminist connections to sacred texts and traditions. The Center for the Study of World Religions continued to expand the Transcendence and Transformation initiative, which you can read about in more depth in the “Doors in Every Direction” story featured later in this report. Religion and Public Life facilitated a faculty discussion series, “Religion in Times of Earth Crisis,” among many other offerings.

As we continue to work together to understand the world events of last year—the storm of violence, grief, and uncertainty stemming from the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the tens of thousands of lives lost and upended in Gaza, and the long history of struggle within the region—I have asked my colleagues at HDS to help launch a new series, “People of Faith in Times of Crisis.” I hope that community members can sit together with the issues posed by the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict and the reverberations felt across college campuses. The series includes a collective read of three books: one providing an Israeli perspective, another from a Palestinian perspective, and the final described as “an epic novel rooted in the real-life friendship between two men united by loss.” We will meet in February and April to discuss these works.

The books for this year include Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor by Yossi Klein Halevi; Where the Line Is Drawn: A Tale of Crossings, Friendships, and Fifty Years of Occupation in Israel-Palestine by Raja Shehadeh; and Apeirogon: A Novel by Colum McCann. The Dean’s Office is also planning a symposium to discuss these topics (additional details to come). For more information about this series, and the many happenings across HDS, please sign up for the School’s newsletters and follow our social media channels.