Description

Established in 2015, the Luce Fund for Theological Education supports the development of new models of teaching and learning, research and publication, leadership development and educational program design.  Inquiries to the Luce Fund are accepted annually. Structured as an open competition for seminaries and divinity schools, it is the Theology Program’s primary vehicle for supporting institutions of graduate theological education.
 
In this second year of the Luce Fund, the program received 75 letters of inquiry, and invited 18 full proposals. Based on the review of those proposals, we recommend support for nine theological education projects.
This includes a proposed grant to Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School.  
Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School will further develop and expand an online Community Learning Platform, envisioned as a vital network for theological education.  In collaboration with a diverse and extensive group of institutional partners – including community organizations, churches, denominational bodies, media entities, seminaries and others – the Divinity School has developed the concept for a set of online learning spaces that include conversation forums and resource pages dedicated to a range of thematic topics, from “Politics, Religion and the Social Gospel” to “Sanctuary Churches and Refugee Support.”  These spaces will be developed by both divinity school faculty members and representatives of partner organizations.  The Luce Foundation’s grant will support the continued design and development of the platform, a series of online educational sessions intended to build the learning spaces with partners, and other efforts to expand the platform’s content.
 
Affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA, Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School is the product of multiple theological school mergers. Its list of alumni includes numerous prominent theologians and religious leaders.  Progressive and ecumenical in its theology, today the school is relatively small, with seven full-time and 14 part-time faculty.