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The ML Checklist
An Update on Work at Meadville Lombard Theological School
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Greetings!
Last week, I signed a singularly important document on behalf of the Meadville Lombard Theological School Board of Trustees. It was a letter of intent for Meadville Lombard to enter into a long-term lease from a Chicago graduate educational institution. With this move, Meadville Lombard will find a home in a recently constructed modern educational facility. Here are the next major steps: (A) The letter of intent will be turned into a formal lease agreement; (B) the other institution's directors and bankers will approve the lease; and (C) our school will move into downtown Loop facilities by the end of December 2011. Our January 2012 intensive classes will be the first conducted at our new facility. Construction to modify the facility, including a complete floor of space for Meadville Lombard, will begin in November and last up to 45 days. We'll have rights to use a portion of the institution's research library for our library collection, archives, and library staff. And we'll be able to use gathering spaces like the beautiful lounges found throughout the building. We will be contained all under one roof in a high-tech, smart, and student-focused 21st Century educational building.  | |
Meadville Lombard's New Home - Downtown Chicago
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Our new home is in the Loop. But ... I am constrained for the time being from telling you exactly where. We have selected our new home and we agreed with our new landlord to make our formal announcement only after the lease contract is signed and approved, which we all hope will be soon. Meadville Lombard students, faculty, and staff have been given all the details they need to plan ahead. I regret I cannot make a general announcement here just yet. Still, I'm very excited that we are heading downtown to a great location. I was also eager to make a very different kind of trip on behalf of Meadville Lombard in late May. I participated in a "JustWorks" social justice work and familiarization trip to Haiti. Meadville Lombard and the Starr King School for the Ministry assisted the Unitarian Universalist Association and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee on how to make similar global service opportunities available to even more seminarians. You can read more about Haiti in this article on ML Flash, our development and alumni/ae blog. Keep reading for more details ...
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ML Checklist's News Summary
- Meadville Lombard faculty, seminarians, and alumni/ae participated in the joint UUSC-UUA "JustWorks" trip to Haiti last month. Also, many Meadville Lombard events dot the program for General Assembly next week in Charlotte, North Carolina. See "Special Events and Occasions" below.
- Meadville Lombard has signed a letter of intent to move into a downtown Chicago graduate education institution's building by the end of the year, giving Meadville Lombard a long-term lease on an exciting 21st Century educational facility. See "Facilities" below.
- The new home will allow Meadville Lombard to share an existing research library. See "Wiggin Library" below.
- We have received a grant for scholarships from the St. Lawrence Foundation for Theological Education. See "Institutional Advancement" below.
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Special Events and Occasions
Haiti 'JustWorks' Trip, May 2011 You can read about the trip to Haiti made last month by seminarians, faculty, and alumni/ae in this article on ML Flash, our development and alumni/ae blog. Meadville Lombard Events at General Assembly Now that we're through the commencement season, it's time to focus on General Assembly. Here's a reminder of what we have planned for you next week in Charlotte: - Visit Our Booth. We'll be at Booth #934 in the General Assembly Exhibit Hall located in Hall B of the Charlotte Convention Center. The hall will be open Wednesday, June 22, from 3 to 7 p.m. and from 8:45 to 10 p.m. The hall will be open Thursday, June 23, through Saturday, June 25, from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. On Sunday, June 26, the hall will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Attend Our Prospective Student Reception. If you are interested in pursuing the ministry or know someone who might be interested, please consider attending our prospective student reception on Saturday, June 25, from 2:45 to 4 p.m. at the Hilton Charlotte City Center. Contact Tina Porter -- tporter@meadville.edu -- to join in the exploration of degree programs at Meadville Lombard.
- Social Change Workshop with Bill Schulz. The Rev. Dr. William F. Schulz, DMin '75, DD '87, a member of Meadville Lombard's affiliate faculty and the president of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, speaks Thursday, June 23, from 4:30 to 5:45 p.m. on "Changing the World: What Works and What Doesn't." (In Ballroom A & D of the Charlotte Convention Center.)
- Mark Hicks Presents Fahs Lecture on Religious Education. Dr. Mark A. Hicks, the Angus MacLean professor of religious education at Meadville Lombard, speaks Friday, June 24, from 1 to 2:15 p.m. on "Toward a Religious Education for People of Color." (In Ballroom C of the Charlotte Convention Center.)
- Sharon Welch on Theology in Practice for a Multicultural World. On Friday from 1 to 2:15p.m. in Room 208-A of the Convention Center, Meadville Lombard's provost and professor of religion and society, Dr. Sharon D. Welch, will discuss how the vision of a Beloved Community means congregations must seek partnership and leadership from those whose voices are at the edge of our society and our congregations.
- UU History, Reëxamined by Mark Morrison-Reed. On Friday from 2:45 to 4 p.m., The Rev. Dr. Mark Morrison-Reed, DMin '79, DD '07, a member of Meadville Lombard's affiliate faculty, will speak on the challenges of faith and justice within Unitarian Universalism. (In Ballroom A & D of the Charlotte Convention Center.)
- Looking Forward, Looking Back: Scholars of Color Assess Our History, with Qiyamah Rahman. On Saturday from 1 to 2:15 p.m., The Rev. Dr. Qiyamah Rahman, MDiv '08, Meadville Lombard's director of contextual ministry, will speak about using identity and heritage to minister to a spectrum of racial and cultural identities in our congregations. This workshop is sponsored by DRUUMM, the Diverse and Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist Multicultural Ministries. (In Room 208-A&B of the Convention Center.)
- Friends of Meadville Lombard Breakfast. You are invited to join us for a briefing breakfast about progress and challenges at the school. The breakfast will be held Friday morning, June 24, from 7:15 to 8:30 a.m. in Grand Ballroom Carolina of the Hilton Charlotte City Center. Contact Lalitha Janamanchi at ljanamanchi@meadville.edu if you are interested in being our guest.
- Meadville Lombard Alumni/ae Dinner. The annual dinner meeting of the Meadville Lombard Alumni/ae Association will take place on Friday, June 24, from 5 to 7 p.m. in Grand Ballroom Salon E of the Charlotte Marriott Center City. Contact Lalitha Janamanchi if you would like to attend.
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Facilities
On authority of the Board of Trustees, I signed a letter of intent for Meadville Lombard to move into the building of a downtown educational institution. Starting this December, we will be a long-term tenant in exciting space designed for 21st Century graduate education. Specifics, including the place, will be announced after the lease agreement is signed and approved by the other party's directors and bank. (Faculty, students, and staff have received additional information so they can plan ahead.) The terms of the letter of intent took several months to negotiate, which speaks to the many details that have already been agreed to and gives me the confidence to say that we will be located in the center of the great city of Chicago!
We continue to say "Goodbye" to the old campus in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. Please read (and contribute to) the school's goodbye blog, 57th and Woodlawn.
On Monday, we will close the transaction with the University of Chicago for the sale of Hunnewell House at 5707 South Woodlawn Avenue and Ryder House at 5711 South Woodlawn Avenue. After Monday, the University of Chicago will own these properties. In preparation for this event, all Meadville Lombard offices have been moved into the Main Building at 5701 South Woodlawn Avenue -- and there we will stay until the move to the downtown space in December.
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| Wiggin Library
Our new facility includes sharing space in an existing research library so we can house and offer access to our Wiggin Library collection of Unitarian Universalist books and materials, the Sophia Lyon Fahs Center for Religious Education archives, and the Sankofa Project archives documenting the history of Unitarian Universalists of color. All materials will be held in space that is environmentally engineered for maximum protection.
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Institutional Advancement
We are in joyful receipt of a $16,000 grant from the St. Lawrence Foundation for Theologiocal Education to provide scholarship support for Meadville Lombard students in 2011-12. Other major and transformational gifts will be announced at General Assembly -- and will be announced in these pages at the beginning of July.
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Archives for This Newsletter
Finally...
Please let us know what questions you have and what reactions you have. Please email me at lbarker@meadville.edu, or contact Denny Davidoff, our senior consultant for development and alumni/ae affairs, via her mobile phone, (203) 984-7038, or via email at ddavidoff@meadville.edu. | |
Sincerely,
 Rev. Dr. Lee Barker, DMin '78, DD '01 President and Professor of Ministry Meadville Lombard Theological School |
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Academically Rigorous | Spiritually Grounded | Unapologetically Progressive
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