Joseph O'Brien •
To Cluster or not to Cluster. Thal is the Question The cluster seems to offer the advantages of improved education to a degree that most seminaries could not meet on their own.
"Among the¡ changes which will occur in the next decade, it seems likely that sorne seminaries will enter cooperative cluster developments which will enable the participants to centralize common facilities such as class rooms, libraries, student housing, and administrative facilities" ("Theological Curriculum for the 70's" Theological Education, Summer 1968, 826). This prophecy by the Association of Theological Schools points to a continuing trend in modern seminary education, the trend toward "cluster." A little over a year ago the Association, made up of both Protestant and Catholic theological schools, set up severa! task forces to study, evaluate, and develop programs for the coming decade. One of the principal recommendations of the task force was that quality theological education will best be obtained in clusters of Roman Catholic and Protestant seminaries combining their resources through cooperative organizations. Even as we enter the '70's severa! 261