The Blessed Culture and Sports Festival (BCSF) is a 5-day culture and sports event that was started in 2006 and has taken place every year since. This will be the 8th year in a row that BCSF is being held at Barrytown, NY, also home to the UTS Main Campus. The first trophy-awarded golf tournament of the Blessed Culture and Sports Festival (BCSF) will be held at the Red Hook Golf Course on Saturday, August 12, at 1 PM. All UTS alumni and friends are welcome to join. Test your golf skills against the best in our community of all ages (min. age entering high school as a...

For UTS student Marivir Montebon, a native of the Philippines who came to the United States ten years ago and became a naturalized citizen in 2015, getting to the U.S. was  an instinctive case of “blooming where you are planted,” as she aptly puts it. In an age filled with an endless cacophony pouring forth every day from all aspects of the media, it’s refreshing to find someone who believes that news should not only be a force that produces, as she puts it, “positive energy,” but is also a vehicle to “encourage people to continue doing good things.”  Mother, writer,...

NEW YORK – Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, co-founder of the Unification Theological Seminary (UTS) and leader of the worldwide Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU) came to Madison Square Garden in New York City on Saturday, July 15, 2017 addressing a near-capacity crowd. Several thousand attendees from around the world were also watching a live stream of the event, promoted as “A Festival of Inspiration, Praise and Worship” and calling people to come together to discuss America’s responsibility in front of heaven. For UTS alumni gathered in the arena the interfaith...

Washington AIDS International Teens (WAIT) in the United Kingdom Since my graduation from the Unification Theological Seminary (UTS) in 1989 I have held leadership positions in the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification-UK (FFWPU-UK) and its affiliate organizations for the past 28 years, as well as pursuing a career in youth development. Of all the assignments I’ve had, and all the work I’ve been involved in, what I’ve been the most committed to is what I am working on now, WAIT-UK! Ever since I met the American WAIT team in 2004 (on three separate occasions in 2004, in...

Growing People For someone whose early life was impacted by constant moving, Karen Wilkening’s past few decades have resonated with the kind of stability and family life she longed for as a child. Born in Denver, Colorado her childhood was marked by constant uprooting. By the time she was ten her family had moved eight times due to her father’s frequent job transfers. When she was eleven her parents parted ways. She admits that because of the constant moving it was not easy to make and keep friends. Karen states, “The solid family I longed for simply wasn’t there.” Her mother, a...

I am very pleased to report that the Middle States Association Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) acted on June 22 to accept the Unification Theological Seminary (UTS) “Progress Report” and to notify us that our next evaluation visit is scheduled for 2023-2024. This brings to a close a nearly four-year re-accreditation cycle which began with submission of our self-study in July 2013, three follow-up monitoring reports & team visits, and the recent progress report that was submitted on April 1. I am extraordinarily grateful to our UTS team, particularly Drs....

From the Sea to the Desert: Preserving History in Many Landscapes  Born on the Channel Island of Jersey between England and France, Simon Herbert’s journey has taken him far afield from his original homeland. Raised with his older brother, Paul, Simon loved the many aspects of island living. The ocean was a constant presence and he enjoyed the opportunities that proximity to the water presented; boating, boogie boarding and walks on the beach were frequent past times. While in high school he built his own kayak and added surfing the waves to his water sports.  Simon left Jersey...

A glimpse into the future of education at the Unification Theological Seminary (UTS) was on display Monday, June 19 at the Barrytown campus in upstate New York. A day-long seminar was held for the faculty, administration and staff of UTS, at which time the learning management system (LMS) called Canvas by Instructure was introduced. The message is clear and definitive – online learning is very much the future of higher education, and the world of edtech and the virtual classroom is not only here to stay, it continues to evolve and adapt to improve the user experience.  Lisa...

Nothing in this world can take the place of being tenacious. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Tenacity and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”Calvin Coolidge Carol Pobanz (UTS ’80) I graduated from the Unification Theological Seminary (UTS) with the Class of 1980, the fourth graduating class. I was invited to attend previous...