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Gallery - 2008 Graduation

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     Professor Edward O. Wilson, Ph.D., of Harvard University, delivers an address during the 2008 graduation following his acceptance of the Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa. The awarding of this degree was made in recognition of his outstanding leadership as a spokesperson for the scientific establishment in which capacity he has invited faith communities to consider what might be the value of a dialogue between science and religion, as well as being a leader in addressing the environmental issues of the day conveyed in his scholarly publications. (READ MORE about Professor Wilson below.)
     Dr. Wilson is Pellegrino University Research Professor Emeritus and Honorary Curator in Entomology of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University.

     Professor E. O. Wilson is inducted as Honorary Fellow of the Foundation by the President during the 2008 graduation ceremony. The title of Honorary Fellow is the highest recognition awarded by the Foundation to a scholar who is not a member of our faculty. He delivered a speech on the importance of biodiversity and environmental conservation in today’s world and the power that faith communities hold to integrate and integrate conservation efforts with their faith.

     The Revd Fr. Robin Gibbons, Ph.D., of Oxford University delivers the Graduation Address entitled “Towards a Christian Spirituality of Environment,” on the importance that spirituality holds in efforts to relate to and conserve the world’s environment. Fr. Gibbons is Director of Theology and Religious Study Programmes at the Oxford University Department for Continuing Education. At the Foundation, he is Dean of Studies, Foundation House/Oxford, and Alexander Schmemann Professor of Eastern Christianity.

     Fr. Robin Gibbons delivers the 2008 Graduation Address. He is also Fellow of the Foundation (2007 inductee), which is the highest honor the Foundation can bestow upon any member of our faculty.

     Members of the 2008 Graduating Class of the Graduate Theological Foundation and Cloverdale College.

     Members of the administrative staff of the Foundation: (L to R) Director of Student Services, Mrs. Luann Falkowski; Registrar, Ms. Bethany Morgan; Dean of Cloverdale College, Dr. Russell Neitzke; Provost of the Foundation, Dr. Linda Morgan.

     The Rev. Hugh R. Page, Jr., Ph.D., delivers his acceptance speech during the 2008 graduation following his being inducted as Fellow of the Foundation. This is the highest honor the Foundation can bestow upon any member of our faculty. He delivered the Runcie Lecture on May 1, 2008, to members of the graduating class and their guests. Dr. Page is Benjamin E. Mays Professor of Scripture and Applied Ministries and Counsel to the President for Anglican Affairs at the Foundation, and Dean of the First Year of Studies, Walter Associate Professor of Theology and Associate Professor of Africana Studies at the University of Notre Dame.

     The Rev. Joseph H. Yoder, Director of the Menno-Hof Mennonite Amish Visitor Center of Shipshewana, Indiana, is awarded the 2008 Cloverdale College Community Service Award by Dr. Russell Neitzke, Dean of Cloverdale College, and Ms. Bethany Morgan, Registrar of the Foundation. Rev. Yoder was recognized for his service to the religious and cultural enrichment of Indiana in his role as Director of the Menno-Hof Center.

     The Rev. Joseph H. Yoder delivers his acceptance speech during the graduation ceremony. He was awarded the Cloverdale College Community Service Award for his work as Director of the Menno-Hof Mennonite Amish Visitor Center.

     Imam Dr. Omar Shahin, delivers a reading during the 2008 graduation ceremony. Dr. Shahin is Director of Islamic Studies and Professor of Islamic Law at the Foundation and is President of the Executive Committee of the North American Imams Federation (NAIF). He was inducted in 2007 as a Fellow of the Foundation, the highest honor the Foundation can bestow upon any member of our faculty.

     Guests and honorees of the Foundation: (L to R) Imam Dr. Omar Shahin, The Rev. Dr. Hugh Page, Jr., The Rev. Joseph H. Yoder, and Professor Edward O. Wilson.
     Dr. Shahin is Director of Islamic Studies and Professor of Islamic Law at the Foundation, and President of the Executive Committee of the North American Imams Federation (NAIF); Rev. Dr. Page (2008 Fellow inductee), is Benjamin E. Mays Professor of Scripture and Applied Ministries and Counsel to the President for Anglican Affairs at the Foundation, and Dean of the First Year of Studies, Walter Associate Professor of Theology and Associate Professor of Africana Studies at the University of Notre Dame; Rev. Yoder (2008 Cloverdale Community Service Award) is Director of the Menno-Hof Mennonite Amish Visitor Center; and Professor E. O. Wilson (2008 recipient of the D.H.L. honoris causa and Honorary Fellow inductee) is University Research Professor Emeritus and Honorary Curator in Entomology of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University.

     Members of the 2008 Graduating Class of the Foundation and Cloverdale College.

     Provost of the Foundation, Dr. Linda Morgan, delivers a reading during the 2008 graduation ceremony.

     Professor Edward O. Wilson, of Harvard University, delivers a speech after receiving the Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa and being inducted as Honorary Fellow of the Foundation. He is the author of 25 books, two of which won Pulitzer Prizes, Human Nature (1979), and The Ants (1990, with Bert Holldobler), and is also the recipient of more than 100 other international medals and awards, including the National Medal of Science; the International Prize for Biology from Japan; the Catalonia Prize of Spain; the Presidential Medal of Italy; the Crafoord Prize from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences; and for his conservation efforts, the Gold Medal of the Worldwide Fund for Nature and the Audubon Medal of the National Audubon Society.

     President of the Foundation, Dr. John Morgan, delivers a welcome during the 2008 graduation ceremony.

     Guests of the Foundation during the convocation and graduation ceremony of the Foundation and College: (left) The Rev. Dr. Paul Kirbas, Paul Tillich Professor of Theology and Culture at the Foundation, and (right) Monsignor Charles Chaffman, Professor of Tribunal Studies at the Foundation and Director of the International Institute for Tribunal Studies in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, California.

     Professor Edward O. Wilson of Harvard University delivers a speech during the 2008 graduation ceremony. He received the D.H.L. honoris causa and was inducted as Honorary Fellow. Six of his books comprise two trilogies. The first, The Insect Societies, Sociobiology, and On Human Nature (1971-78) founded sociobiology and evolutionary psychology; the second, The Diversity of Life, The Future of Life, and The Creation (1992-2006) organized the base of modern biodiversity conservation. His most recent books include Consilience (1998), which argues for the uniting of the natural sciences with the humanities. He gives many lectures throughout the world and has served on the Boards of Directors of The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International and the American Museum of Natural History.

     Ruthann Valentine, D.Min., Ph.D. (2008 graduate) is awarded the John Macquarrie Fellowship in Philosophical Theology by the Provost of the Foundation for her thesis "Florence Nightingale and the Western Mystical Tradition: A Study of a Mystical Theology of Nursing."
     This Fellowship is one of three fellowships which constitute the highest academic recognition offered by the Foundation and is awarded upon the student’s graduation; the recipient of this Fellowship holds the title of Macquarrie Fellow. This Fellowship was named in honor of The Revd Canon John Macquarrie (1919-2007), one of the most influential Protestant theologians of the 20th century. He was Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity Emeritus at Christ Church College, University of Oxford, and The Martin Heidegger Professor at the Foundation at the time of his death.

     The Rev. Robert Hernández, Ph.D., a 2005 graduate of the Foundation in the Doctor of Philosophy in pastoral psychology program. Dr. Hernández graduated at the age of 89 years and still remains the eldest graduating student of the Graduate Theological Foundation.

     Professor Edward O. Wilson, of Harvard University delivers a speech after receiving the Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa and being inducted as Honorary Fellow of the Foundation.

     Members of the 2008 Graduating Class of the Foundation and Cloverdale College.

Gallery - Runcie Lecture 08'

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      The Rev. Hugh R. Page, Jr., Ph.D., delivers the 2008 Lord Robert Runcie Lecture on the evening of May 1, 2008, to graduating students and guests. His lecture was entitled "Engaging Sacred Texts in an Era of Globalization – Toward a New Hermeneutical Paradigm." Dr. Page is Benjamin E. Mays Professor of Scripture and Applied Ministries and Counsel to the President for Anglican Affairs at the Foundation, and Dean of the First Year of Studies, Walter Associate Professor of Theology and Associate Professor of Africana Studies at the University of Notre Dame. He was inducted during the graduation ceremony as Fellow of the Foundation, the highest recognition the Foundation can bestow upon any member of our faculty.

      Dr. Page with the President of the Foundation following the Runcie Lecture.

      The Revd Fr. Robin Gibbons, of Oxford University (right), with guests during the social following the Runcie Lecture. Fr. Gibbons is Director of Theology and Religious Studies in the Oxford University Department for Continuing Education (OUDCE) and, at the Foundation, is Dean of Studies, Foundation House/Oxford and Alexander Schmemann Professor of Eastern Christianity. He is the Associate Director of the Summer Programme in Theology at Oxford University.

      Graduating students and guests at the Runcie Lecture social hour. The social hour following the Runcie Lecture was held in the Great Hall of the South Bend Civic Center which looks out onto the East Race of the St. Joseph River.

      Graduating students and guests from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, California.

      (Left to Right) Professor Edward O. Wilson of Harvard University, recipient of the D.H.L. honoris causa (2008); The Rev. Dr. Paul Kirbas, Paul Tillich Professor of Theology and Culture at the Foundation; Dr. John Morgan, President of the Graduate Theological Foundation.
      Dr. Wilson received the Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa and was inducted as an Honorary Fellow of the Foundation during the graduation ceremony on May 2, 2008. He is Pellegrino University Research Professor Emeritus and Honorary Curator in Entomology of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University. He is the founder of sociobiology and is a world-renowned researcher and force within environmental conservation and biodiversity. Professor Wilson is one of the world’s most important scientists and has been hailed as one of the most important thinkers of the twentieth century.

      Graduating students and guests peruse the information table of the Foundation during the Runcie Lecture social hour on May 1, 2008, in South Bend, Indiana.

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