Doors in Every Direction

2024 Dean’s Report

At the Center for the Study of World Religions, the Transcendence and Transformation initiative encourages students and scholars to explore other ways of knowing and engaging with a multilayered reality.

Programs and Initiatives

Research

A Lasting Ripple Effect

2024 Dean’s Report

With longtime support from The Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Global, the Buddhist Ministry Initiative at HDS has already had ripple effects on education in Buddhist ministry and Buddhist studies that will continue to be felt in the field for years to come.

Stories of Impact

Q&A

The Gift of Giving

2023 Dean’s Report

Karen Sue Smith, MDiv ’84, honors Professors Elisabeth and Francis Schüssler Fiorenza with a financial aid fund in their name to support the next generation of religious studies scholars.

Stories of Impact

Q&A

Reckoning with the Role of Religion in the Legacies of Slavery

2023 Dean’s Report

Throughout the 2022–23 academic year, the Religion and Public Life (RPL) program and the Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DIB) engaged with HDS faculty to reckon with the roles of religion in slavery and its painful legacy. This work examined intersections with Harvard’s report on the legacy of slavery—culminating in a series of public conversations held throughout the spring semester.

Programs and Initiatives

Collaborative Reporting

Religion and the Gender Revolution

2022 Dean’s Report

The history of women at Harvard Divinity School is relatively brief, but the Women’s Studies in Religion Program (WSRP)—founded in 1973—has ensured that the roles of women and gender will always have a prominent place within academia.

Programs and Initiatives

Collaborative Reporting

The Call of the Qur’an

2022 Dean’s Report

Mohsen Goudarzi, AM ’14, PhD ’18, heard the call of the Qur’an at a young age. Now, in his first year as Assistant Professor in Islamic Studies at HDS, he continues to delight in uncovering new understandings within the sacred text’s complexities.

Profile

Faculty Research

Joyful Responsibility

2021 Dean’s Report

Matthew Ichihashi Potts, MDiv ’08, PhD ’13, didn’t plan on becoming Pusey Minister at Memorial Church, but service has always been at the heart of his work. 

Profile

Ministry of Healing

2020 Dean’s Report

Gloria White-Hammond provides care to the sick—and addresses the injustice that makes them ill.

Profile

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

2019 Dean’s Report

In her life, Rev. Sheila Glenn, MDiv ’08, has known both fear and wonder. Her journey through addiction and recovery has brought her from despair to hope and humility. 

Profile