Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary : 1999 Seminar
Participant Information
Institution Name: Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Address:
100 East 27th Street
Austin, TX 78705-5797
Phone: 512-472-6736
Key Contacts:
J. Andrew Dearman, Academic Dean
Ismael Garcia, Professor of Christian Ethics
Laura B. Lewis, Associate Professor of Christian Education
Cynthia L. Rigby, Assistant Professor of Theology
Robert M. Shelton, President
Ralph L. Underwood, Professor of Pastoral Care
Address:
100 East 27th Street
Austin, TX 78705-5797
Phone: 512-472-6736
Key Contacts:
J. Andrew Dearman, Academic Dean
Ismael Garcia, Professor of Christian Ethics
Laura B. Lewis, Associate Professor of Christian Education
Cynthia L. Rigby, Assistant Professor of Theology
Robert M. Shelton, President
Ralph L. Underwood, Professor of Pastoral Care
Austin used its seminary grant to study the relationship between the M.Div. curriculum and the reorganization of student services. They designed a three-year project that involved two board-faculty retreats and enlisted two consultants to help Austin discover new vantage points from which to reflect on its culture and provoke conversations of substance. As a result of these conversations, the faculty became more aware of the delicate balance required to maintain a learning community that is both stable and open to change. Despite certain pressures to make more radical change, the faculty and administration concluded that Austin Seminary should remain primarily a residential-based community with a M.Div. curriculum structured for students who finish the degree in three to four years.