Vanderbilt Divinity School
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Vanderbilt Divinity School is a university-based interdenominational theological school based at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. It is one of only four such schools in the United States, and is the only such school located in the South.[1]
Vanderbilt Divinity School was founded in 1875 as the Biblical Department, and related to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. In 1914 the school became interdenominational and ecumenical, and in 1915 the school's name was changed from the Biblical Department of Vanderbilt University to Vanderbilt Divinity School. In 1966 the Graduate School of Theology of Oberlin College moved to Vanderbilt, increasing the faculty resources of both the Divinity School and the Graduate Department of Religion. [2]
A notable period in the history of Vanderbilt Divinity School was the Civil Rights era. In 1960, African-American Divinity student James Lawson was expelled from the University for his role in nonviolent protests in the Nashville area. This expulsion sparked great protest from many members of the Vanderbilt community, including most of the faculty of the Divinity School, who resigned in protest. The so-called "Lawson Affair" was eventually resolved with Lawson's nominal reinstatement, and the resigned faculty resumed their posts.
Vanderbilt Divinity School is led by Dean James Hudnut-Beumler. Notable recent deans of the Divinity School include Joseph C. Hough, Jr., Sallie McFague, Walter Harrelson, and H. Jackson Forstman. [3]
Vanderbilt Divinity School is a member of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada.
The definitive history of Vanderbilt Divinity School has been edited by faculty member Dale A. Johnson, and is titled Vanderbilt Divinity School: Education, Contest, and Change.
