Graduate Theological Union

Many of the GTU's constituent seminaries were established at various locations throughout the Bay Area in the early 20th or even the late 19th centuries. Because of the foundation of the University of California, several of them relocated to Berkeley and established cooperative relationships with the University. In the wake of the formation of the World Council of Churches and the Second Vatican Council, Bay Area seminaries began negotiations to form a cooperative degree program. In 1962, agreement between the Berkeley Baptist Divinity School (now Berkeley School of Theology), Episcopalian Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary enabled for the incorporation of the Graduate Theological Union in 1962. In 1964, the Pacific School of Religion, St. Albert's College (now the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology) and Starr King School for the Ministry joined the GTU consortium. In 1966, Alma College relocated to Berkeley and was renamed the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley. In 1968, the Franciscan School of Theology moved to Berkeley from Santa Barbara and joined the GTU consortium, although in 2013 it merged with the University of San Diego, leaving the consortium and relocating to Oceanside, California . By 1971, the GTU was fully accredited by the Association of Theological Schools.[3]

In 1969, the GTU common library was established and the individual libraries of the seminaries were merged into one collection. In the 1970s, construction began on a Louis I. Kahn-designed building to house the GTU library. The main library building was completed in 1987 and was named the Flora Lamson Hewlett Library in honor of the Hewlett Foundation.[4]

The GTU offers the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree and the Master of Arts (MA) degree in cooperation with its member seminaries. GTU consortial seminaries variously offer Th.M., M.Div., Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.), S.T.B., S.T.L., and S.T.D. degrees. The GTU also offers non-degree certificates in Interreligious Chaplaincy and Interreligious Studies. Ph.D. students are encouraged not only to take advantage of the academic resources available to them at the University of California at Berkeley, but are required to include a non-GTU scholar in their exams or dissertation committees. As such, students have collaborated with UC-B faculty members in the anthropology, critical theory, ethnic studies, history, philosophy, sociology, etc. departments.

Although the GTU consortium occupies many buildings throughout the Bay Area, only three buildings are owned by the GTU. The largest of the buildings is the Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, one of the largest theological libraries in the world, with around 529,000 volumes.[17]

The GTU's Le Conte Building

• Virginia Burrus, Bishop W. Earl Ledden Professor of Religion at Syracuse University
• James Donahue, President of Saint Mary's College of California and 6th president of the GTU.
• Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Council[18]
• Heup Young Kim, President of the Korea Forum for Science and Life, Korean Society of Systematic Theology, and Honorary Professor of Theology at Kangnam University.[19]
• Kristin Johnston Largen, President of Wartburg Theological Seminary[20]
• Nancey Murphy, Professor of Christian philosophy at Fuller Theological Seminary[21]
• Mark L. Poorman, President of the University of Portland.
• Robert John Russell, Ian Barbour Professor of Theology at the Graduate Theological Union and Director of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences.
• George Tinker, Clifford Baldridge Professor of American Indian Cultures and Religious Traditions at Iliff School of Theology
• Shibley Telhami, Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development at the University of Maryland
• Wesley Wildman, Professor of Philosophy, Theology, and Ethics and Founding Member of Faculty of Computing and Data Sciences at Boston University
• Laurie Zoloth, Margaret E. Burton Professor at the University of Chicago Divinity School and former president of the American Academy of Religion.
• Hamza Yusuf, Co-founder of Zaytuna College.

The GTU draws its consortial faculty from its constituent seminaries and centers. Although faculty members are employed at their respective seminaries and centers, they commit to supervising doctoral and masters students, as well as occasionally teaching advanced GTU-wide courses.

• Official website