After being unable to gather in person last December, the University of the South looks forward to welcoming the extended Sewanee family back into All Saints' Chapel again in 2021. This year, the seating capacity has been expanded and can accommodate 1,100 people at each service.
On Sept. 29, the recipient of the Woods Leadership Award and the Freeman Award for Merit was announced during the School of Theology’s Alumni Lectures and Homecoming dinner. For the second time in the recent past, one seminarian was the recipient of both awards—Kelton Riley, T’23.
The Rev. Hilary Bogert-Winkler, assistant professor of Liturgy at the School of Theology, has been awarded a fellowship from the Folger Institute. Her project is titled, "Phillip O'Sullivan Beare's Zoilomastix: A Critical English Translation and Digital Edition.
Dr. Andrew Thompson has partnered with the Tennessee Aquarium and Freshwaters Illustrated to develop an environmental curriculum for churches. Thompson wrote “Wherever the River Goes,” a faith-based reflection guide designed to accompany the aquarium’s documentary film, Hidden Rivers of Southern Appalachia.
On Sept. 20, 2021, the Rev. Dr. Benjamin King will deliver one of two keynote addresses at an international conference being streamed from the National Institute of Newman Studies in Pittsburgh. The theme of the conference is "John Henry Newman: Scholar, Sage, and Saint."
On Sept. 29, 2021, the University of the South will confer honorary degrees to three notable recipients as part of the three-day Alumni Lectures and Homecoming event—Thomas Murray, Samuel Candler, and Quintin Primo.
The 29 youth and 10 adult leaders who participated in 2021 SUMMA Theological Debate Camp were especially delighted to gather in-person in Sewanee in July after last year’s hiatus from the campus due to Covid-19 restrictions.
On May 16, the School of Theology held its 164th Convocation for the Conferring of Degrees. This year the ceremony was held outdoors on Hardee-McGee Field without masks due to the easing of the Covid-19 restrictions. For the first time the School’s choir was able to sing unmasked and together. Families and friends were invited to attend this wonderful event in-person this year. There was much to celebrate!
The Very Rev. James F. Turrell, dean of the School of Theology, Sewanee, Tennessee, is pleased to announce that the Rev. Richard Cogill has been appointed director of contextual education, beginning on July 1, 2021. Cogill will have oversight of the School’s field education, clinical pastoral education, and cross-cultural programs as part of the curriculum’s three-course practical theology sequence.
For 97 years, the School of Theology’s annual lectures, held in conjunction with the alumni homecoming, have carried the name “The DuBose Lectures” in commemoration of William Porcher DuBose. on April 7, 2021, the faculty of the School of Theology voted to remove his name from the annual event, effective immediately.
On March 30, 2021, the Very Rev. James F. Turrell, dean of the School of Theology, Sewanee, Tennessee, announced that the Rev. Dr. Hilary Bogert-Winkler has been appointed assistant professor of liturgy. She will begin teaching in the academic year 2021–2022.
Last September, in its historic statement, the Board of Regents called for the University to become a “model of diversity, of inclusion, of intellectual rigor, and of loving spirit in an America that rejects prejudice and embraces possibility. The School of Theology has been hard at work.
On Oct. 7, The School of Theology announced the recipients of the Woods Leadership Award—Ashley Simpson, T'22, and the Freeman Award for Merit—Christopher Schwenk, T'22.
Today, Sept. 8, 2020, the University of the South released a statement “categorically rejecting its past veneration of the Confederacy and of the ‘Lost Cause’ and wholeheartedly committing itself to an urgent process of institutional reckoning in order to make Sewanee a model of diversity, of inclusion, of intellectual rigor, and of loving spirit in an America that rejects prejudice and embraces possibility.”
Neither the threat of rain or a global pandemic could keep the School of Theology from celebrating the Eucharist on Wednesday, Aug. 26. As the bell rang, seminarians converged on the rugby field adjacent to the School’s campus. What they found was completely different from the traditional service held in the Chapel of the Apostles, but despite the radical change in venue, the Spirit was present.
After 10 years of service as the university’s 16th vice-chancellor, John M. McCardell Jr. will assume his new role on June 17 as vice-chancellor emeritus and a member of the college faculty as professor of history. On the same day, Reuben E. Brigety II will begin his work as Sewanee’s 17th vice-chancellor.
In the wake of national protests following the death of George Floyd in police custody, Vice-Chancellor John McCardell, Dean of Students Marichal Gentry, the Deans of the School of Theology, and the Office of the Dean of the College sent messages to students, faculty, and staff. Student organizations made powerful statements of support for racial justice.
On May 7, Vice-Chancellor John McCardell announced the appointment of the Rev. Canon James F. Turrell, Ph.D., as dean of the School of Theology at the University of the South. He will assume his new duties on July 1, 2020.
The School of Theology welcomes two fellows-in-residence Feb. 10–21. The Rev. Dr. Deonna D. Neal serves as the chair of the Department of Leadership, Ethics, and the Profession of Arms at Air University at Maxwell Air Force base, Alabama. Cecile S. Holmes is an associate professor in the University of South Carolina's School of Journalism and Mass Communications. Both will be working on their respective projects while in Sewanee.
The Rt. Rev. J. Neil Alexander announced on Friday, Nov. 15, that he will step down from his position as dean of the School of Theology effective August 1, 2020. Alexander, currently in his eighth year as dean, had this to say upon announcing his decision. “Being part of the University of the South has been one of the deep joys of my vocation, and I will always be grateful for the privilege of finding my place in Sewanee’s history.”
Each year, DuBose Awards are bestowed on worthy people who have been serving the Church and their communities in a number of ways. This year, there were two remarkable women given DuBose awards in recognition of selfless body of work over a lifetime.
The University of the South’s Winter Convocation will be held at 4:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 17, in All Saints' Chapel. Honorary degrees will be presented to the Rt. Rev. Phoebe Roaf, the Rev. Daniel Heischman, and the Rev. Francic Walter III, T'57.
