Tag: Symposium Week

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September 30, 2026

United Celebrates Largest New Class and Highest Enrollment in Its 65-Year History

Enrollment Has More than Tripled in Ten Years For the second consecutive year, United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities (United) is thrilled to welcome its largest-ever incoming class of degree-seeking students. With 85 new degree-seeking students, the seminary is celebrating a total fall term enrollment of 288 degree-seeking students and 7 certificate students, representing the largest total enrollment in United’s history. The seminary’s 65th academic year features: 25% year-over-year enrollment growth and a staggering 239% increase over fall 2016; 163 Master of Divinity (MDiv) students, an increase of 42% year-over-year; 63 Master of Arts (MA), Master of Arts in Leadership (MAL), and Master of Arts in Ministry (MAM) students; 62 Doctor of Ministry (DMin) students. Public theology, social transformation, interreligious engagement, and theology and the arts comprise the four foundational pillars of United’s curricula. They are unique among seminaries and divinity schools rooted in Christian traditions, cultivating an educational environment that practices ecumenism, religious pluralism, and social justice. The MDiv in Interreligious Chaplaincy is United’s largest degree program, with 73 students enrolled for the fall term. The concentration’s interfaith emphasis sets the school apart among its peers, drawing students from diverse backgrounds and faiths. Reflecting the program’s flagship status, the seminary marked a new milestone on July 1 when it welcomed Dr. Ginger Morgan as associate professor for Pastoral and Spiritual Care and program director for Interreligious Chaplaincy. United’s considerable ten-year growth can be credited to its leading-edge academic offerings, widely accessible distance education, and accomplished faculty. The seminary is a bold witness for the common good, preparing innovative leaders for myriad vocational and professional outcomes. From rural congregations to the city hospital’s ICU, United students and alums equip their communities for justice and peace. Mason Mennenga (’22), director of Admissions, leads a passionate and creative staff, all of whom are current students or alums. He reflects, “United’s growth in enrollment over the last number of years and our record for this year is truly a remarkable achievement in theological education. We’re showing what’s possible for progressive theological institutions!” Dr. Hillary Vamstad, director of Student Services, adds, “We’ve created an environment where students feel more than just a number, and I think students see that through the admissions and onboarding process. Feeling seen, heard, and supported while pursuing a seminary education is an important component to United’s growth.” Growth in student enrollment underscores the need to increase the number of core faculty members to continue to provide the quality of education for which United is well-known. Dr. Kyle Roberts, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean, shares, “We are undertaking two faculty searches this year, which include an additional faculty role focused on Ministry Practices. This is a specialty we have been needing for some time on our core faculty to ground students in the practical elements of ministry leadership, such as preaching and liturgy, religious education, institutional leadership and administration.” Rev. Dr. Molly T. Marshall, who is beginning her final year as United’s beloved president, asserts, “I believe United’s remarkable growth is due to our progressive and relevant curriculum, our theological hospitality, and our accessible educational delivery.” She continues, “We delight in creating space (perichoresis) for everyone who desires formative theological education, a distinctive pursuit among seminaries.” United looks ahead to a historic 65th year of progressive theological education, and we give thanks for the students whose vocations, traditions, and unique perspectives enrich the life of our seminary. About United Founded by the United Church of Christ (UCC) as a welcoming, ecumenical school that embraces all denominations and faith traditions, United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities has been on the creative edge of progressive theological thought and leadership since it was established in 1962. Today, United continues to educate leaders who, through the eyes of faith, engage in the dismantling of systems of oppression, explore multi-faith spirituality, and push the boundaries of knowledge. Media Contact Nathanial Green (he/him) Director of Marketing and Communications press@unitedseminary.edu • 651.255.6138 Admissions and Enrollment admissions@unitedseminary.edu

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October 2, 2023

Organizing in the Spirit of Accompaniment | 2023 Symposium Week

As part of Symposium Week (October 23–25), United is hosting a public-facing event on Tuesday, October 24. In this lecture and workshop, Dr. Ry Siggelkow, Director of the Leadership Center for Social Justice, and Ricardo Pérez, artist-organizer of the same, will explore what contemporary organizing lessons we can learn from prominent Black civil and human rights activist Ella Baker, the work of the 1960s’ Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and the Mexican Zapatistas (also known as the Zapatista Army of National Liberation). After introducing these figures and movements, they will lift up and elucidate some of the common principles and practices that might inform efforts related to “organizing in the spirit of accompaniment” today.   Facilitators Dr. Ry Siggelkow Ry O. Siggelkow, Ph.D., (he/him/his) is the director of the Leadership Center for Social Justice. He earned his PhD in Theology and Ethics from Princeton Theological Seminary and previously served as the director of Initiatives in Faith & Praxis at the University of St. Thomas where he taught courses at the intersection of race, class, and gender with a focus on migration, the abolition of borders, and theologies of liberation. An ordained Mennonite minister and former pastor of Faith Mennonite Church (Minneapolis), Ry has been actively involved in grassroots community organizing for several years alongside Spanish-speaking undocumented people. He is co-founder of Pueblos de Lucha y Esperanza (Peoples of Struggle and Hope), a faith-based, women-centered, and immigrant-led organization that seeks to build power in the community so that all people have a place to belong, a place to stay, and a place to grow. Ricardo Pérez Born and raised in Mexico, Ricardo (he/him/his) is a self-taught mixed media artist with more than 15 years of creative experience who now lives in the Twin Cities. Partial to watercolor and ink, Ricardo has recently created murals to reflect a spirit of collaboration with marginalized communities and lift up those whose voices need to be heard. In August of 2022, Ricardo was announced as The Leadership Center for Social Justice's new artist-organizer in residence.

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September 20, 2023

Reorienting Ourselves to the Reality of Not Yet | 2023 Symposium Week

As part of Symposium Week (October 23–25), United is hosting a public-facing event on Monday, October 23. This panel, titled "Reorienting Ourselves to the Reality of Not Yet," will be facilitated by Rev. Dr. Gary F. Green II, United’s director of anti-racist initiatives and assistant professor of pastoral theology and social transformation. “Reorienting Ourselves to the Reality of Not Yet” is a public event that officially launches the second wave of United’s Anti-Racist initiatives, which includes a focus on student formation and public engagement. This evening features a curated panel conversation that highlights the unique contributions of two scholars-activists who are engaging in the work of anti-racism through comedy and the Arts, and who will engage each other in a way that offers a unique angle of vision into the nurture of white supremacy and the possibilities for life in its wake. The panel and public conversation will be preceded by an original production that presents United’s vision for this work, explains the unique approach we are taking, and features the voices of faculty speaking to their commitment and creative engagements with anti-racism in their teaching and scholarship. This public panel conversation officially launches United’s second wave of Anti-Racist Initiatives, kicking off a programmatic reorientation focused on student formation and a series of public panel conversations that creatively disrupt white supremacy and collectively envision life in its wake. Keep reading to learn more about our panelists! Panelists Dr. Danielle Fuentes Morgan Dr. Danielle Fuentes Morgan is an associate professor at Santa Clara University. She specializes in African American literature and culture in the 20th and 21st centuries and is interested in the ways that literature, mass media, popular culture, and humor shape identity formation. In particular, her research and teaching reflect her interests in African American satire and comedy, the arts as activism, and the continuing influence of history on contemporary articulations of Black selfhood. As a professor at Santa Clara University, she teaches courses in the Department of English and the Department of Ethnic Studies. Danielle has written a variety of both scholarly and popular articles and has been interviewed on topics as varied as Black Lives Matter, race and The Twilight Zone, Black sisterhood in sitcoms, the satiric reappropriation of negative tropes, laughter as revolution, race and sexuality on the Broadway stage, and Beyoncé. Her book, Laughing to Keep from Dying: African American Satire in the Twenty-First Century (published Fall 2020 by University of Illinois Press as a part of the New Black Studies Series), addresses the contemporary role of African American satire as a critical realm for social justice. She is currently co-editing The Oxford Handbook of African American Humor Studies (Oxford University Press) with Dr. Brittney Michelle Edmonds in addition to working on her second monograph. Dr. Green writes, "Danielle’s engagement with comedy and satire as a form of social justice makes her the perfect conversation partner for this event, particularly because comedy is a centerpiece to the design of Anti-Racist Initiatives at United. Her book Laughing to Keep from Dying: African American Satire in the Twenty-First Century has received public acclaim and will also be an important part of our conversation." Click here to learn more about Dr. Morgan's work. > Terresa Moses Terresa Moses is a proud Black queer woman dedicated to the liberation of Black and brown communities through art and design. As a designer and illustrator, her work focuses primarily on race, identity, and social justice. She advocates for positive change in her community using creativity as tools of community activism and organizing like her solo intersectional exhibition, Umbra, and her community distro project, Stop Killing Black People. Terresa is the Creative Director at Blackbird Revolt, a social justice-based design studio. She is also an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design and the Director of Design Justice at the University of Minnesota’s College of Design. As a community engaged scholar, her design research interests include; Project Naptural, which creates spaces to educate, connect, and empower Black women about their natural hair and self-identity, and Racism Untaught, a curriculum model that reveals ‘racialized’ design and helps students, educators, and organizations create anti-racist concepts through the design research process. She has multiple publications including two books set to publish in October 2023 through MIT Press, Racism Untaught and An Anthology of Blackness. Dr. Green writes, "Terresa’s focus on embodying anti-racism through art is brilliant and will be featured, but it is her attention to design—how white supremacy lives in the details and/of design—that I want to invite her to unpack for the public to hear and engage. She also has a forthcoming book entitled, Racism Untaught: Revealing and Unlearning Racialized Design, is set to release October 3rd and will be a focus of the conversation." Click here to learn more about Terresa's work. > Dr. Gary F. Green II Rev. Dr. Gary F. Green II is United's assistant professor of pastoral theology and social transformation and director of anti-racist initiatives at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. He earned his PhD from Brite Divinity School, where he focused on issues related to young African American men through the lens of public pastoral theology. His dissertation, “Playing the Game: Unmarking ‘Beast’ from the Bodies of Young Black Men,” is a project that seeks to humanize young black men by allowing their voices to challenge stereotypical scripts that cast them as “beasts” for public consumption. His broader research interests involve raising consciousness to issues of race, masculinity, and power, particularly when these issues are uniquely disclosed in spaces that are often overlooked by the Church and the Academy. Gary is committed to highlighting neglected sources in his research as a way to prioritize the revolutionary potential of voices that have gone unheard. His ultimate goal is to contribute to theological perspectives that can more adequately undergird sociopolitical redress for oppression in marginalized populations in the United States. Click here to learn more about Dr. Green. >

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