IN THE STUDY OF RELIGION

Toward a Third Century of Leadership in the Study of Religion

HDS is poised to have an even larger impact on scholars and leaders in the years to come. The establishment last year of the Hackett Family Fund for One Harvard (see preceding story) will strengthen the teaching of religion at Harvard College. This year, the Campaign for HDS looks to extend the School’s ability to bring religious knowledge to future leaders in all fields with the establishment of new professorships and the revitalization of its campus.

DEEPENING SCHOLARSHIP AND CURRICULUM Harvard Divinity School seeks to add world-class scholars who will teach undergraduate- and master’s-level courses and provide leadership for our doctoral programs, which produce many of the leading scholars and teachers in the study of religion. They will also inform and enrich numerous academic fields across the University, conveying the significance of the subjects to future generations of students, scholars, and religious leaders in the following fields:

• African American Religions: Race is a charged and often divisive issue in the United States—perhaps more so today than at any time in the last 50 years. It is critical for HDS to add a scholar who can analyze its impact not only on religion, but also on politics, culture, and social power. To explore black life and intellectual traditions through the lenses of theology, philosophy, history, literature, and the social sciences, the School seeks to establish the Professorship in

African American Religions.

• Hebrew Bible: The texts we know today as the Hebrew Bible were written over nearly a millennium and have profoundly shaped the religious life of faith communities for 2,500 years or more. They have served as a foundation not only for the Judeo-Christian tradition, but also for much of

Western civilization’s philosophy, ethics, art, literature, and music. To formally recognize the significance of the study, interpretation, and legacy of the Hebrew Bible, secure its lasting prominence at Harvard Divinity School (HDS), and augment existing resources in Jewish and Christian studies,

HDS seeks to establish the Professorship in Hebrew Bible. RENEWING THE HEART OF THE HDS CAMPUS Harvard Divinity School has enormous capacity to bring scholars, leaders, and students together for critical discussions of global religion and its influence on virtually every area of human activity. But just as the School’s mission has expanded over 200 years beyond its original ambition to investigate “Christian truth,” it has also exceeded the limitations of its beloved but aging campus. In a word, the School’s teaching, learning, and meeting spaces must evolve.

For the last 100 years, Andover Hall has been the heart of the School’s campus. Today, Andover must be reimagined to emphasize its importance as a convening place for faculty, students, and global citizens who advance knowledge of all major religious traditions and work for a better world. This means a facility with modern conference spaces; technology that enables collaboration with scholars and leaders around the world; and communal spaces that encourage people of all faiths to meet, study, worship, and bridge the divides of religion and culture.

Additionally, if the School is to educate ethical leaders to address the moral imperative of our time—environmental sustainability—HDS must demonstrate its own commitment to the issue. The renewal of Andover Hall would dramatically enhance programming and the student experience without building new space or enlarging the School’s environmental footprint. And the School’s ambitious vision includes transforming the campus’s center for teaching and learning into a “net zero” energy consumer by creating a building that would generate more energy than it consumes.

Andover Hall’s renewal would improve the building, but more importantly, it would improve the quality of the experience of those who rely on it. Its revitalization would enrich the process of learning, broaden the range of resources that support that learning, and transform the ways the people of Harvard Divinity School engage the world and each other. For this critical project—and to ensure a third century as the nation’s leading divinity school—HDS needs all the support, energy, and ideas of our alumni, friends, and advocates.