Union Presbyterian Seminary

Last updated
Union Presbyterian Seminary
WattsHallUnionPresbyterianSeminary.JPG
Type Private
Established1812;212 years ago (1812)
Religious affiliation
Presbyterian Church (USA)
President Jacqueline Lapsley
Location, ,
United States
Website www.upsem.edu
Union Seminary
USA Virginia location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location3401 Brook Rd., Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Area12 acres (5 ha)
Built1896
ArchitectMultiple
Architectural styleLate Victorian
NRHP reference No. 83003309 [1]
VLR No.127-0316
Significant dates
Added to NRHPApril 14, 1983
Designated VLRSeptember 16, 1982 [2]

Union Presbyterian Seminary is a Presbyterian seminary in Richmond, Virginia, and Charlotte, North Carolina, offering graduate theological education in multiple modalities: in-person, hybrid, and online.

Contents

History

As a result of efforts undertaken together by the Synod of Virginia and the Synod of North Carolina, Union Theological Seminary was founded in 1812 as the theological department of Hampden–Sydney College, located near Farmville, Virginia, and housed in what is now named Venable Hall. In 1895, Lewis Ginter, a financier and philanthropist in Richmond, donated eleven acres of land to the school, which was relocated to its current campus location on the north side of Richmond in 1898. [3] The General Assembly's Training School (ATS) for Lay Workers was founded in Richmond in 1914 as a complementary institution intended to train "workers outside of the regular ordained ministry." In 1959 ATS was renamed the Presbyterian School of Christian Education (PSCE). PSCE offered a master's degree in Christian Education, and operated across the street from Union Seminary until 1997, when Union and PSCE were joined in federation, becoming Union-PSCE. In 2002, a commuter campus in Charlotte, North Carolina, began on the campus of Queens University of Charlotte, offering both M.Div. and M.A.C.E. degrees to part-time students. The Charlotte campus for Union Presbyterian was relocated to its new facility on 5141 Sharon Road in 2012.

In 2009, Union's board of trustees voted to change the name of the institution to Union Presbyterian Seminary, partially as a means of distinguishing it from Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. In his address announcing the new name, seminary president Brian Blount emphasized the school's unique heritage of several "unions", as well as the school's Presbyterian identity.

For many years, the seminary operated WRFK, an FM radio station at 106.5 MHz. WRFK was sold to commercial interests in 1988.

Faculty

Union has a faculty of scholars in the fields of Bible, Christian education, theology, ethics, preaching, worship, church history, Christian leadership, and pastoral care. Faculty come from a range of denominational backgrounds, including Baptist, Lutheran, and Methodist. Notable retired faculty include Bible scholar James L. Mays and Brian Blount.

Student body

Union's student body is made up of about 180 students, with 90 students at the Richmond campus and 84 more students at the Charlotte campus. The majority of Union's students come from the Presbyterian tradition, but the seminary draws students from more than 20 Christian denominations, including Baptist, Methodist, Episcopalian, and Reformed. There are a number of international students as well, from Ghana, South Korea, Switzerland, and other nations.

Students at Union take part in a number of student activities and seminary initiatives, such as mission and service activities to Shalom Farms in the city of Richmond.

Campuses

William Smith Morton Library William Smith Morton Library at Union Presbyterian Seminary.jpg
William Smith Morton Library

Union's Richmond campus includes two chapels: the historic Watts Chapel, located in Watts Hall, which also serves as a classroom and administration building; and the state-of-the-art Lake Chapel, located in the campus's Early Center, a classroom and office building completed in 2008. The Richmond campus also includes the Belk student center, dormitories, student apartments, and guest housing, as well as recreation fields, community gardens, and tennis courts. Union's William Smith Morton Library was completed in 1996; it includes over 900,000 volumes and adds about 5,500 volumes per year.

The seminary's Charlotte campus is located on 5141 Sharon Road. This facility, opened in 2012, houses a chapel, library, classrooms, a regional Christian Education Resource Center, and office facilities.

Academics

The seminary offers graduate degrees: [4]

The seminary also offers certificates: [5]

Notable alumni

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary</span> Theological seminary in Massachusetts

Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary (GCTS) is an evangelical seminary with its main campus in Hamilton, Massachusetts, and three other campuses in Boston, Massachusetts; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Jacksonville, Florida. According to the Association of Theological Schools, Gordon-Conwell ranks as one of the largest evangelical seminaries in North America in terms of total number of full-time students enrolled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Theological Seminary (New York City)</span> Christian seminary

Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York (UTS) is a private ecumenical Christian liberal seminary in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, affiliated in Columbia University. Since 1928, the seminary has served as Columbia's constituent faculty of theology. In 1964, UTS also established an affiliation with the neighboring Jewish Theological Seminary of America. UTS confers the following degrees: Master of Divinity (MDiv), Master of Divinity & Social Work dual degree (MDSW), Master of Arts in religion (MAR), Master of Arts in Social Justice (MASJ), Master of Sacred Theology (STM), Doctor of Ministry (DMin), and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princeton Theological Seminary</span> Private school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey, US

Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a private school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1812 under the auspices of Archibald Alexander, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the College of New Jersey, it is the second-oldest seminary in the United States. It is also the largest of ten seminaries associated with the Presbyterian Church.

Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) is a theological seminary in the Reformed theological tradition with campuses in multiple locations in the United States. Founded by conservatives in the Southern Presbyterian Church, the Presbyterian Church in the United States, in 1966, it serves primarily students from more conservative branches of the Presbyterian and Reformed traditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pittsburgh Theological Seminary</span>

Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (PTS) is a Presbyterian graduate seminary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1794, it houses one of the largest theological libraries in the tri-state area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinity Evangelical Divinity School</span> Divinity school

Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) is an academic divinity school founded in 1897 and located in the northern Chicago suburb of Deerfield, Illinois. It is part of and located on the main campus of Trinity International University. It is among the largest theological educational institutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Theological Seminary</span> Christian ecumenical seminary in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

The Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS) is a Christian ecumenical American seminary located in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of several seminaries historically affiliated with the United Church of Christ. It is the oldest institution of higher education in Chicago, originally established in 1855 under the direction of the abolitionist Stephen Peet and the Congregational Church by charter of the Illinois legislature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erskine Theological Seminary</span>

Erskine Theological Seminary, a division of Erskine College, is an institution of graduate theological and pastoral education. The seminary is based in Due West, South Carolina. It also offers classes in Columbia, South Carolina and Greenville, South Carolina. Erskine Seminary is in the conservative Presbyterian tradition, and primarily prepares candidates for ordained Christian ministry. The Seminary, founded in 1837, is a part of Erskine College, a liberal arts college established in 1839 and affiliated with the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. The mission of Erskine Theological Seminary is to prepare "men and women to fulfill the Great Commission of Jesus Christ through theological higher education that is ecclesial, missional, and confessional."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yale Divinity School</span> Graduate school of Yale University

Yale Divinity School (YDS) is one of the twelve graduate and professional schools of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interdenominational Theological Center</span>

The Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) is a consortium of five predominantly African-American denominational Christian seminaries in Atlanta, Georgia, operating together as a professional graduate school of theology. It is the largest free-standing African-American theological school in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Near East School of Theology</span>

The Near East School of Theology (NEST), located in Beirut, Lebanon, is an interdenominational Reformed Protestant theological seminary serving Christian churches of the Middle East and North Africa, and also educates international students who have a special interest in Biblical and Islamic studies in a Middle Eastern context or those especially interested in the Ancient churches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prairie College</span> Christian post-secondary school in Canada

Prairie College is an interdenominational Christian College located in the town of Three Hills, Alberta. Founded as Prairie Bible Institute, classes began on October 9, 1922, on the property of the McElheran family farm.

The Vancouver School of Theology is a ecumenical divinity school located on the campus of and affiliated with the University of British Columbia. VST is called to educate and form thoughtful, engaged and generous Christian leaders.

The Methodist Theological School in Ohio (MTSO) is a graduate theological school and seminary in Delaware, Ohio. MTSO is one of the 13 official seminaries of The United Methodist Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York Theological Seminary</span> Non-denominational Christian seminary

The New York Theological Seminary (NYTS) is a private non-denominational Christian seminary in New York City. It was founded in 1900 as the Bible Teacher's College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Theological Seminary</span> Methodist seminary in Ohio, United States

United Theological Seminary is a United Methodist seminary in Trotwood, Ohio. Founded in 1871 by Milton Wright, it was originally sponsored by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. In 1946, members of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ merged with the Evangelical Church to form the Evangelical United Brethren Church, with which the seminary then became affiliated. When that denomination merged with The Methodist Church in 1968, United Theological Seminary became one of the thirteen seminaries affiliated with the new United Methodist Church (UMC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wesley Theological Seminary</span>

Wesley Theological Seminary is a United Methodist Church seminary in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1882.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Baptist Theological Seminary</span> Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, USA

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in Louisville, Kentucky. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. The seminary was founded in 1859 in Greenville, South Carolina, where it was at first housed on the campus of Furman University. The seminary has been an innovator in theological education, establishing one of the first Ph.D. programs in religion in the year 1892. After being closed during the Civil War, it moved in 1877 to a newly built campus in downtown Louisville and moved to its current location in 1926 in the Crescent Hill neighborhood. In 1953, Southern became one of the few seminaries to offer a full, accredited degree course in church music. For more than fifty years Southern has been one of the world's largest theological seminaries, with an FTE enrollment of over 3,300 students in 2015.

The San Francisco Theological Seminary (SFTS) is a seminary in San Anselmo, California with historic ties to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). SFTS became embedded in a new Graduate School of Theology of the University of Redlands in 2019. It was founded by the Synod of California in 1871.

James Hutchinson Smylie was Professor of Church History at Union Theological Seminary & Presbyterian School of Christian Education and author of books on American church history and presbyterianism.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  3. Burns, Brian (2011). Lewis Ginter, Richmond's Gilded Age Icon. Charleston, South Carolina: The History Press. p. 126. ISBN   978-1-62584-223-7.
  4. "Academic Catalog 2023-24" (PDF). Union Presbyterian Seminary. 2023-06-08. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  5. "Degree Programs". Union Presbyterian Seminary. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  6. "Commencement Plans in Charlotte and Richmond". Archived from the original on December 9, 2008. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
  7. "President Wardlaw announces plans to retire in 2022". Austin Seminary. 2021-11-03. Retrieved 2023-08-01.

Further reading

37°34′43.7″N77°26′57.9″W / 37.578806°N 77.449417°W / 37.578806; -77.449417