News

At the May 23 Board of Trustees meeting, upon the recommendation from CRCDS President Rev. Angela D. Sims, Ph.D., and Interim Dean of the Faculty, Rev. Melanie Duguid-May, Ph.D., the Board unanimously affirmed current service and contributions to CRCDS, to the academy, to the church, and society of three emerging scholars.

The appointments become effective July 1, 2023:

Dr. Hilary Jerome Scarsella to be Assistant Professor of Ethics and Theological Studies in the Gosnell Chair of Christian Ethics. The Arthur J. Gosnell Chair of Christian Ethics was established in 2006 by a gift from long-time CRCDS trustee Mr. Thomas Gosnell in honor of his father. The Gosnell Chair is to be occupied by a scholar and teacher of social ethics.

Dr. Cynthia Rasmussen to be Assistant Professor of Public Theology and Eco-Justice in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Professorship. The Martin Luther King, Jr., Professorship is named in honor of the Baptist preacher and prophet of the Civil Rights movement, a 1951 graduate of Crozer Theological Seminary (CTS) in Chester, Pennsylvania. The professorship is to be occupied by a scholar and teacher who will relate theological education "more effectively to the areas of his concern so that the cause for which he lived and died as a minister of the Gospel may continue to inform the entire life and educational process of the school, the community, the nation, and the world."

Dr. Shazetta Thompson-Hill is a Faculty Affiliate in the Woelfkin Professorship of Preaching and the Eli Perry Professorship of Sacred Rhetoric of Homiletics. Dr. Cornelius Woelfkin was a Professor of Homiletics at Rochester Theological Seminary (RTS) in the last decades of the 19th century. Mr. Eli Perry, a dedicated leader of the Emmanuel Baptist Church in Albany, NY, was engaged in numerous business and civic interests, including service as a member of the New York State Assembly and the U.S. Congress. His will endowed a professorship at Rochester Theological Seminary (RTS). These Professorships are to be occupied by a scholar and practitioner of preaching and the "Sacred Rhetoric of Homiletics."  

Additionally, the Board of Trustees approved CRCDS President Dr. Angela D. Sims, as the John Price Crozer Professor of Social Ethics. The John Price Crozer Professorship was established by the Crozer Theological Seminary (CTS) Board of Trustees to honor John P. Crozer, a farmer, carpenter, and entrepreneur dedicated to education. During his lifetime, he established a school for the children of his factory workers; after his death, the Crozer family endowed the theological seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania, which merged in 1970 with Colgate Rochester Divinity School (CRDS) to form Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School (CRCDS), bringing Crozer’s deep commitment to social justice and theological education oriented to the work of ministry. The John Price Crozer Professorship is to be occupied by a faculty member who is a member of "one of three Baptist Denominations: American Baptist, National Baptist, or the Progressive National Baptist Church."

CRCDS Board of Trustees Chair, Rev. Dr. Michael J. Ford, CRCDS ’12, remarked “An institution's faculty represents one of its most precious assets. One of the ways seminaries such as CRCDS can successfully attract and retain theological scholars is through named professorships and endowed chairs. To receive a named professorship is a hallmark of distinction and one we are privileged to be able to offer to these excellent scholars.”