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D.Min – Fully Engaged in Ministry

At the Saturday, May 28 commencement ceremony in Barrytown, NY, Dr. Hugh Spurgin, president of UTS, conferred  a Doctor of Ministry (D.Min) degree on Idris Ena Kone.  Idris, or Drissa as he is affectionately called, is one of six graduates who received a D.Min. degree in 2016.

Originally from the Ivory Coast, “Drissa” wrote his dissertation on “The Practice of Active Listening in Managing Cross-Cultural Conflict: A Case Study of the Ivorian Diaspora in New York”.

The consul general of the Ivory Coast came to the graduation in recognition of Drissa’s academic and practical accomplishment in the work that he is doing for conflict resolution, especially as it relates to the Ivory Coast.

The UTS Doctor of Ministry is an advanced theological degree that provides students who are engaged in ministerial leadership the opportunity to enhance and expand their ministerial skills and to reflect on their own theological and spiritual development as men and women of God. It is the capstone professional degree program for individuals who hold the Master of Divinity degree or its equivalent, providing them with the opportunity for further study and reflection and to develop the advanced skills and knowledge required for ministry in the 21st century.

Kone’s event at 4W43 for the Ivory Coast diaspora in NYC was featured in the Positive Community magazine

All students are expected to be fully engaged in their own ministry—whether it is a congregational ministry, youth ministry, social service ministry or some other form of ministry—while enrolled in the degree program.

Two-week intensive classes are held in February and August over a two-year period, for a total of 28 credits. Each student then presents a doctoral dissertation project in the third-sixth year for an additional 6 credits, for a total of 34 credits.

2016 happens to be the tenth anniversary of the D.Min. program. The first graduate of the program, which was launched in 2006, was Dr. Michael Balcomb, current president of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, USA, who received his doctorate in 2009. Dr. Balcomb is the current chair of the UTS, Board of Trustees.