Seminary elects new trustees at annual meeting

At the annual meeting of Hartford Seminary on May 21, the Corporators elected two new trustees and affirmed the re-election of Dr. Scott Thumma as a faculty trustee. Here are biographies of the new trustees.

Dr. Abubaker Ahmed Al Shingieti is the Executive Director of the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) in Herndon, VA. He also is the Vice President for Islamic Programs at the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy (ICRD) and President of American Muslims for Constructive Engagement (AMCE). Dr.Shingieti has been a Research Associate at the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. In addition, he served as editor of Islamic Horizons, a monthly magazine of the Islamic Society of North America and was a founding member of the Society for Islamic Thought and Culture in Khartoum, Sudan.

Dr.Shingieti held key government positions in Sudan during the 1990?s. He was the Director of Political Affairs at the Presidency; Secretary General of Sudan?s Information Council, and diplomat with Ambassador Rank at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For over a decade, he was involved in the search for peace in Sudan, particularly in building bridges with the United States that helped facilitate a greater and more constructive role for the United States in the peace process in Sudan. During the past six years, Dr.Shingieti played a pivotal role in bringing together American Muslim community leaders with policymakers from different U.S. government circles.

Dr.Shingieti earned a B.Sc. (Honors) in Architecture from the University of Khartoum, a graduate diploma from the Institute of African and Asian Studies at the University of Khartoum, and a Ph.D. in Communications from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, MA.

The Rev. Dr. Karen Bailey-Francois, a Hartford Seminary alumna, is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. She has served at Ellington Congregational Church, Storrs Congregational Church, First Church of Christ in Hartford and Union Congregational Church in Vernon, CT. Dr. Bailey-Francois has held a number of positions with the Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ, including moderator of the Hartford Association, member of the Executive Committee, and founder/facilitator of the Cooperative Ecumenical Ministry with Children and Youth.

Dr. Bailey-Francois is past chair of Hands on Hartford, and served on its Board of Directors for five years. For Hands on Hartford, she was interim program director of the Center for Youth.

She earned a B.Sc. and M.B.A. from the University of Vermont, a Master of Divinity from Andover Newton Theological School, and a Doctor of Ministry from Hartford Seminary.