May 19, 2009

Good News! If you’ve been eagerly anticipating a new name for Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education, your time has come. On May 15, 2009, in unanimity of voice and spirit, the Board of Trustees voted on our new name:

Union Presbyterian Seminary

I shared a sermon recently with the Board and the Charlotte and Richmond communities where, standing in for the Strategic Planning Committee that recommended this name, I described why I think this name fits the history and future that is Union Theological Seminary, the Assemblies Training School, the Presbyterian School of Christian Education, and Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education. The sermon is online and you can watch it, listen to it, or download it for reading.

At this point, we are sharing the name we have chosen with our faculty, students, staff, and alumni/ae. Feel free to do the same. Share the good news! Share the name!

We will make a more formal public splash at a later time when our planning processes and fiscal resources allow. Now that we’ve chosen our new name, we still have work to do before we can legally and operationally change it. A new logo needs to be designed, colors must be chosen, website updates will be prepared, new letterhead will be designed, and funding for each of these activities, and more, must be secured. Until we complete this exciting work and can formally introduce our new name to the world at large, you can be the bearer of our good news. Share this email as widely as you would like. We’ve sent this email to everyone for whom we have an email address. If you know of someone who did not receive it, when you forward it to them, ask them also to send their email address to lbattle@union-psce.edu so we can be sure to include them in any future announcements about the name and other important matters related to our communal life together.

We will keep you up to date as we move along with this exciting process. And by the way, should you be wondering how to make out that check that you’ve been itching to write to the seminary, worry not! Use either the old name or the new name. We’ll get the money in the bank.

Sincerely,



Brian K. Blount
President

The sermon is online & you can watch it, listen to it, or download it for reading: