Andover Newton Theological School

Andover Theological Seminary was founded in 1807 by orthodox Calvinists who were members of Congregational churches (forebears of the United Church of Christ) who fled Harvard College after it appointed Unitarian theologian Henry Ware to the Hollis Professorship of Divinity in 1805. One of the founders of the school, and of the Massachusetts Missionary Society, was Rev. Samuel Spring. Widely reported in the national press, the founding by the Calvinists was one of the significant events that contributed to the split in the New England Congregationalist tradition, and to the eventual founding of the American Unitarian Association in 1825.[4]

The new school built a suite of Federal-style buildings at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts,[5] which the school occupied for its first century. (Most of the original seminary campus survives today as part of the historic core of the Phillips Academy campus.[6])

Before Andover was founded, American Protestant clergymen attended undergraduate college, then learned their profession by studying under a minister. The new seminary was the first to formalize graduate study for clergymen with a resident student body and resident faculty. The program was for three years of study in four subjects: the Bible, church history, doctrinal theology and the practical arts of ministry.[7]

Andover Theological Seminary, Cambridge, Massachusetts

In 1908, Harvard Divinity School and Andover attempted to reconcile (both institutions were strongly theologically liberal by this point), and for a period of 18 years shared Harvard's Cambridge campus. The seminary moved its faculty and library to Cambridge, built a large academic-Gothic style facility there, and began to develop plans for a more formal merger with Harvard. However, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts disallowed the alliance. Although the court decision was later reversed, Andover eventually relocated to the Newton Centre campus of the Newton Theological Institution in 1931.

Campus view

The original Andover Seminary library remained on the Harvard campus, where, merged with the library collections of the Harvard Divinity School, it is now known as Andover-Harvard Theological Library.[8] Andover Newton retained ownership of the books.

Harvard later purchased the school's Cambridge real estate, which, known as Andover Hall,[9] now houses most of the Harvard Divinity School. Although the planned merger with Harvard was never completed, the two schools remained loosely affiliated. Andover Newton students and faculty had access to the Harvard College Library system and Andover Newton students were able to register for classes at any of the university's schools.

Newton Theological Institution began instruction in 1825 on an 80-acre (32.4 ha) former estate[10][11] at Newton Centre in Newton, Massachusetts, as a graduate seminary formally affiliated with the Northern Baptist Convention, now known as the American Baptist Churches USA. Its founders were Joseph Grafton, Lucius Bolles, Daniel Sharp, Jonathan Going, Bela Jacobs, Ebenezer Nelson, Francis Wayland, Henry Jackson, Ensign Lincoln, Jonathan Bacheller, and Nathaniel R. Cobb.[12]

An important early benefactor and long-time treasurer of Newton Theological Institution was Gardner Colby, Boston industrialist and resident of Newton Centre near the campus. Colby Hall (designed by architect Alexander Rice Esty) and Colby Chapel on the Andover Newton campus were named in his honor. Colby also contributed to a number of other New England Baptist institutions, including Brown University and Colby College in Waterville, Maine,[13] which was also named in his honor.

Wilson Chapel interior

From 1931 on, the facilities of the Newton Centre campus expanded many times, especially during a boom in enrollment during the 1950s and '60s. The last addition was Wilson Chapel, a modern interpretation of the traditional New England meetinghouse, constructed to mark the school's bicentennial in 2007.[14]

Andover and Newton formally merged in 1965, creating Andover Newton Theological School. Another important 21st-century construction on "the Hill" in Newton Centre was the contemporary campus of Hebrew College, designed by the architect Moshe Safdie. The two schools collaborated on a number of interfaith programs and their students were able to cross-register for classes.

In 2010, Andover Newton and Meadville Lombard Theological School, a Chicago-based seminary affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association, announced plans to create a "new university-style institution" at the Newton Centre campus, with an interfaith model for theological education. Meadville was to sell its campus in Chicago and become the "Unitarian" division of the new institution, with Andover Newton becoming the "Christian" component.[15] The two institutions withdrew from the plan in April 2011, citing issues related to governance and finances.[16]

In May 2016, ANTS president Martin Copenhaver announced that Andover Newton would begin a process of formal affiliation with Yale Divinity School over a two-year period. In the 2016–17 academic year, a cohort of faculty relocated to New Haven, Connecticut, teaching students and launching pilot initiatives focused on congregational ministry education, while Andover Newton continued to operate in Massachusetts. Copenhaver projected that a sale of the Newton campus would pay off debt and create an endowment for the institution at Yale.

On June 29, 2017, the sale of the Andover Newton campus was finalized, and on July 20, 2017, the boards of Andover Newton and Yale Divinity School signed an agreement to formalize their affiliation beginning in the 2017–18 academic year. Under the agreement, Andover Newton Seminary at Yale Divinity School was established as a unit within Yale Divinity School, similar to Yale's arrangement with the Episcopal seminary Berkeley Divinity School.[17][18][19][20][21]

Andover Newton students at YDS earn a diploma from Andover Newton in addition to their Yale degrees, and receive scholarship support from the Andover Newton Seminary Program. Andover Newton also funds some faculty positions at YDS.[22]

The ‘Spirit of the Hill’ award, announced at the annual Fall Convocation, is conferred upon one alumnus/a who has exhibited exemplary skills in ministry.[27] Additionally, the Seminary awards several prizes to its students in recognition of outstanding achievements. A prize for Excellence in Writing is awarded annually by the faculty, named after American theologian and writer, Frederick Buechner.[28]

• Harvey Cox, theologian, author of The Secular City, scholar of Christian social ethics, international peace activist, and vice president of the National Council of Churches
• George Foot Moore, distinguished theologian and church historian
• Calvin Ellis Stowe, class of 1828, is considered one of the creators of the American public school system. He published widely on issues of public education and established the College of Teachers in Cincinnati. A prominent abolitionist, he was married to Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, and was an enthusiastic supporter of her literary career.
• William Jewett Tucker, class of 1866,[42] was described at his death as "the great president[43]" of Dartmouth College who transformed a small, rural, regional school into a major Ivy League university. The Tucker Foundation[44] at Dartmouth was founded to carry on his legacy on campus.
• Amos Niven Wilder, poet, critic, New Testament scholar, and brother of the writer Thornton Wilder

• Carole R. Fontaine[45]