Hartford Seminary to Join Consortium of Boston-Area Theological Schools

Hartford Seminary is pleased to announce that it will officially join the Boston Theological Institute on Jan. 1, 2018. Hartford Seminary was unanimously elected to membership by the BTI's Board of Trustees at its Sept. 4, 2017, meeting. The BTI is the largest and most diverse theological consortium in the world and will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2018.

BTI Board Chair and President of Hebrew College, Rabbi Daniel L. Lehmann, spoke on behalf of the Trustees:  “As we approach the 50th of the BTI, we are excited to welcome Hartford Seminary, a pioneer in interreligious learning, to our consortium of theological schools. Hartford will enhance the BTI’s diversity geographically, religiously, and academically while expanding our shared resources for students and faculty. We look forward to the many contributions Hartford Seminary will make to our collaborative community of distinguished institutions."

Dr. Heidi Hadsell, President of Hartford Seminary, also sees tremendous opportunity for interactions among the students and faculty of member schools. “Hartford Seminary is honored to be part of such a prestigious and diverse group of theological institutions,” she said. “We look forward to contributing some of our academic expertise to the BTI and also to widening and enriching the academic possibilities for our Hartsem students. We see this cooperation as a gift to us all.”

Hartford Seminary, founded in 1834, is a non-denominational graduate school for religious and theological studies in Hartford, CT. The Seminary has long been known nationally and internationally for its work in interfaith dialogue, for the study of Islam and Christian-Muslim relations, and for research on congregations in the United States.

Degree programs include Islamic Chaplaincy, Cooperative Master of Divinity, Doctor of Ministry, Master of Arts in Religious Studies, Master of Arts in Transformative Leadership and Spirituality, and a new Ph.D. in Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations. Hartford Seminary is the home of the Hartford Institute for Religion Research and the Duncan Black Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations.

The BTI was founded in 1968 by seven graduate schools of theology and divinity: Andover Newton Theological School, Boston College Department of Theology, Boston University School of Theology, Episcopal Theological School (later Episcopal Divinity School), Harvard Divinity School, Saint John’s Seminary, and Weston College (now Boston College School of Theology and Ministry). Since its founding, the BTI has expanded through the membership of Gordon-Conwell Theological School (1972) and Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology (1975). In 2012, Hebrew College joined, expanding the BTI’s original ecumenical mission to a broader interreligious orientation. Hartford Seminary becomes the eleventh member in BTI history.