news Archives - United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities

October 30, 2025

United Celebrates Largest New Class in Seminary’s History

(SAINT PAUL, MN) United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities celebrated a record-breaking 73 new students for the fall 2025 term, making it the largest incoming class of degree-seeking students in the seminary’s history. Total fall enrollment increased to 231 degree-seeking students, with an additional ten students enrolled in one of three available certificate programs. (more…)

September 25, 2025

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Donors Establish the Wilson Yates Chair of Theology and the Arts

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA, UNITED STATES, March 6, 2025. United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities is thrilled to announce the establishment of the Wilson Yates Chair of Theology and the Arts. This tenure-track, endowed faculty position will be made possible by gifts from a cadre of United friends, alums, and former faculty. (more…)

September 18, 2025

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United Will Host Book Launch for Rev. Dr. Gary F. Green, II’s Playing the Game: Embodied Brilliance beyond the Moral Limits of Race in Sport

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA, UNITED STATES, September 18, 2025. United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities is thrilled to be hosting a book launch to celebrate Rev. Dr. Gary F. Green, II’s upcoming publication, Playing the Game: Embodied Brilliance beyond the Moral Limits of Race in Sport, on Wednesday, November 19, starting at 7:00 PM CT. Fortress Press, which has scheduled publication for November 4, states that “Playing the Game investigates the intersection of race and ethics in cultural misinterpretations of Black athleticism in the United States.” Green is United’s associate professor of Pastoral Theology and Social Transformation and director of Racial Intelligence Systems. (more…)

April 10, 2025

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United Will Award Frank Sims with Doctor of Humane Letters (honoris causa) Degree at Its 2025 Commencement

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA, UNITED STATES, April 10, 2025. In honor of Frank Sims’ decades of community leadership and support for innovative education, United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities (United) is thrilled to announce that it will award Sims with a Doctor of Humane Letters (honoris causa) at its 2025 Commencement Exercises on April 27. Since the 1990s, Sims—now a retired corporate vice-president from Cargill, Inc., and former Board Chair and Interim President of Fisk University—has generously blessed United with his time, expertise, and stalwart support for its values and mission. (more…)

February 11, 2025

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Remembering Dr. Marilyn J. Salmon, Professor Emerita of New Testament Theology

Dr. Marilyn J. Salmon, Professor Emerita of New Testament Theology (1989–2014), is fondly remembered as a committed scholar, a dedicated teacher, a faithful religious leader, and an early and passionate advocate for interfaith dialogue and understanding. Born and raised in Minnesota, Marilyn earned her BA from Concordia College, Moorhead, her MDiv from Northwestern Theological Seminary (now Luther Seminary), and her PhD from Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she developed a lifelong passion for the relationship between Christianity and Judaism. Marilyn worked on the Gospel of Luke in her doctoral dissertation and, in that research, advanced scholarship about the differences between Christian and Jewish readings of Scripture, work that she continued to explore throughout her life. (more…)

October 25, 2024

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Remembering Rev. Dr. Barbara A. Holmes, President Emerita

(SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA, UNITED STATES, October 19, 2024) — United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities is saddened to have received news of the death of President Emerita Barbara A. Holmes, known affectionately as Dr. B., who faithfully served as United’s eighth President from 2012 to 2016. (more…)

October 9, 2024

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Remembering Rev. Dr. Dayton D. Hultgren, Former President of United

(SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA, UNITED STATES, October 7, 2024) — United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities has received news of the death of Rev. Dr. Dayton D. Hultgren, a former President and faculty member of the school. From 1971 to 1982, Dr. Hultgren led a period of growth and evolution in seminary education, overseeing milestones throughout his tenure that would have an impact for decades to come. (more…)

April 20, 2021

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United Statement on Chauvin Trial Verdict

United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities is relieved by the murder conviction of former police officer Derek Chauvin. It is important that he is held accountable for his callous actions in killing George Floyd and for his failure to allow life-saving medical assistance. We pray that this conviction offers a measure of comfort to George Floyd’s grieving family and community and that it is a step in a more just direction of social and political changes that are long overdue.We are clear, however, that this conviction is not an invitation to rest or become complacent. Rather, it is one necessary step in the creation of a world where all people are safe and able to survive and thrive in our communities. As we continue to mourn the losses of such sacred lives as George Floyd, Daunte Wright, Philando Castile, Breonna Taylor, and countless others, we are also reminded of the ongoing grief and trauma that Black people and communities more broadly continue to face.It is imperative that we collectively address that trauma by ending state sanctioned violence against Black humanity and creating meaningful opportunities for healing amid the historic and ongoing injustices occasioned by white supremacy. We commit ourselves to this work and strive in solidarity to bring about the day when all will proclaim in word and deed that Black Lives Matter.

April 13, 2021

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Statement on Daunte Wright

The community of United Seminary of the Twin Cities mourns the death of Daunte Wright, yet another Black man shot and killed in the long trajectory of deaths at the hands of law enforcement in this country. We join in the outpouring of anguish and grief over the loss of another precious life and we recognize that this killing comes amid the ongoing trauma experienced by people of color, particularly at this very painful time as the community is forced to revisit the horrors of George Floyd’s death during the murder trial of Derek Chauvin. (more…)