BARRYTOWN, NY – Over the past several months the Unification Theological Seminary (UTS) has put into place an outreach program to its alumni with the goal to reconnect with graduates, while also promoting its fundraising efforts to help increase the annual fund contributions through the 40/40 Campaign.  The yearlong 40/40 Campaign was officially launched on September 20, 2015 and celebrated the 40 years since the founding of UTS with donors pledging $40 for 40 months. While the fundraising results have been mixed, a surprising number of respondents have expressed their...

On Wednesday October 26,  Imam Shamsi Ali (pictured) was invited to be a guest speaker at the UTS Extension Center in New York City at 4W43. His topic was “Challenging Religious Extremism and Radicalism in the 21st Century.” Imam Shamsi Ali, an Indonesian from Sulawesi, had an articulate approach, gentle but firm, deeply committed to his religious thought and practice, thoughtful, open to other ideas, and concerned for the future. He took a stand against “extremism of any type”. He made it clear that his commitment to anti-extremism is firmly based on the principled teachings of...

Late in 2013, Dr. David J. Billings, a founding member of the American Clergy Leadership Conference (ACLC) and Chairman of the Academic Committee on the Board of Trustees of the Unification Theological Seminary (UTS), was looking to expand the seminary’s outreach and partner with an already existing health and educational program, of which he was the chairman. He and Dr. John-Paul James, President and Dean of Logos Christian College of Washington, and a current Doctor of Ministry student at UTS, met with Dr. Kathy Winings, UTS Vice-President for Academic Affairs, to present their...

The annual Convocation for the New York UTS campus was held on Wednesday, October 19th in the Oak Room. As the opening ceremony for the academic year, the Convocation provides all new students to sign the Student Code and to be officially welcomed into the UTS “family” as they begin their academic journey. The Convocation and Student Code signing at UTS is a special time for everyone at the Seminary. Dr. Winings, VP for Academic Affairs at UTS, explains: “Why does UTS ask students to sign a student code? It is because as students learn to lead themselves, their families, their...

UTS is proud to announce that the current Director of Advancement and Communications, Mr. Robin Graham, will take on new responsibilities as the Director of Enrollment Management. Robin’s new title will be Director of Advancement and Enrollment Management. Robin’s role in enrollment management will focus on initiatives that enhance student enrollment: recruitment, admissions, financial aid, retention and student life. I have been impressed with Robin Graham’s drive and creativity.  Although Robin and I have only been working together for a short time, Robin has emerged as an...

You want to support the long-term financial strength of the Unification Theological Seminary but may not be in a position to make a gift right now. The solution may be a bequest, a charitable bequest. The recent deaths of a couple of UTS alumni alerted me to let our readers and supporters know that a bequest is one of the easiest gifts to make. With the help of an advisor, you can write in your will specifying a gift be made to UTS as part of your estate plan. A bequest can deliver a specific gift to UTS e.g.”I bequeath the sum of Ten Thousand ($10,000) Dollars to Unification...

I recently completed an important step toward gaining board certification as a chaplain — the INTERVIEW — by the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC), which oversees more than 5,000 members. The requirements to become a board-certified chaplain (BCC) are very high and include: undergraduate degree, graduate theological degree, four units of clinical pastoral education (CPE), endorsement from a recognized faith group, references from professional colleagues, written essays, an interview before a committee of chaplains, and work experience of at least 2,000 hours. Recognized...

UTS President, Dr. Hugh Spurgin (UTS’77) and Vice-Presidents, Drs. Kathy Winings (UTS’87) and Michael Mickler (UTS’77), toured the newly completed Latter Day Saints (Mormon) temple in Farmington, Connecticut outside Hartford on September 29. They were invited to a VIP tour by former UTS librarian, Dr. Tom Bowers (UTS’81), now a Latter Day Saints (LDS) leader, who accompanied them with his wife Alice. The Hartford Temple (the 155th LDS temple worldwide) was under construction for three years and is the second built in New England, following the Boston, Massachusetts temple. Unlike a...