Bulldog Bites

News and Views from the University of Redlands

Two become one, and stronger together

University of Redlands President Ralph W. Kuncl writes to the community on July 1 about the historic union between the University and San Francisco Theological Seminary, creating a new U of R Graduate School of Theology and campus in the Bay Area that hosts programming from both institutions. Here is the text from his memo.

It is my great privilege to announce that the union of the University of Redlands and San Francisco Theological Seminary (SFTS) is now official, in a permanent partnership that ensures a vibrant future for both.  Accreditor endorsement has been received, the state Attorney General’s approval secured, and the legal transaction that binds us together has closed.  We are one.

I want to be the first to extend a warm welcome and thank you to our new students and colleagues from SFTS.  We are excited to greet you, humbled to take the helm of the venerable institution you call home, and dedicated to making the journey toward our new future together a positive and collaborative one.

I also want to thank all of you at both institutions who have worked so very hard on matters large and small, pragmatic and perplexing, planned and unanticipated, to make this day a reality.  It has been a labor of love, but also of great intensity and complexity, since last summer, if not before – and we would not be celebrating this day without your care, hard work, professionalism, and trust.  I want especially to acknowledge SFTS President Jim McDonald for his collaborative spirit.  Thank you.

What it means for us all is a bright future indeed.  For SFTS, you now have access to an array of new or expanded resources to support you in your academic or work experience – everything from broadened student advising, study abroad, and elective possibilities, to enhanced employee benefits and a second beautiful, historic campus to visit.

For the U of R, we now have a new graduate school – the Graduate School of Theology (GST) – which has already brought new programs here to Redlands and will soon bring more.  We also have a new regional campus in the Bay Area – the Marin Campus – where the offerings of SFTS will continue on, as they have since that institution’s founding in 1871, and will soon be joined by new ones from our Schools of Business and Education and, eventually, the College of Arts & Sciences and its School of Music.  This is the first expansion of our California footprint to the north, and it brings with it vast new opportunities and benefits.  For example, the Marin Campus presents new opportunities for alumni and other event programming, which will be especially appreciated by the thousands of proud alumni whom our institutions now share!

For both communities, I’ll remind you of a few more points about our new relationship that are particularly important and exciting.

As I have written before, this event represents the first major structural change to U of R’s academic offerings since 1976, when Whitehead College was created to serve a new generation of non-traditional students.  Redlands has been successfully forging new partnerships and pathways as part of our strategic plan for several years now.  SFTS sought a partner with whom it could continue, and broaden, its mission.  We found each other, and the mutuality of our choice of one another demonstrates the authenticity and predicts the success of the historic partnership upon which we now embark.

Our two institutions share a core set of values and interests, which are reflected in each institution’s vision for teaching, scholarship, and community.  We are both committed to exploring and expanding academic and career pathways for students.  We are enhancing those pathways by combining key strengths of both institutions into the new GST.  Our many synergies have already been demonstrated in our collaborative development of a joint certificate program

Thus, at its core, our partnership is squarely aligned with the goals of the U of R’s strategic plan, North Star 2020, to enhance graduate and professional education, and with SFTS’s mission as a graduate school offering a rigorous religious education focused on critical theological reflection, as well as non-degree programs centered on developing spiritual awareness.

I am able today to announce the Marin-based faculty and staff of the Graduate School of Theology who are now officially part of the University of Redlands.  Jana Childers, Dean of the GST and now a member of my Cabinet, and her colleagues can be found here (more photos to come).  They will join Redlands teams that include our faculty, Graduate & Professional Enrollment, University Communications, Development and Alumni & Community Relations, and Business & Finance.  Three members of the SFTS Board of Trustees will join the U of R Board: Candy Unruh, Brad Berg, and Jeannie Kim.

Once again, on behalf of the University of Redlands students, faculty, staff, trustees, and our nearly 60,000 alumni, I send a heartfelt welcome to the newest members of our thriving community.  We are truly enriched by your addition to our world.  All new members of the Redlands community will now regularly receive student, staff, and faculty announcements such as this one, as well as the University magazine, Och Tamale, and the Bulldog Blog

We welcome our growing community’s comments and questions about this news.  Please feel free to send an email to communications@redlands.edu or to me at presidentsdropbox@redlands.edu.  In the meantime, I look forward to my next visit to our new campus and to writing again to all of you about our important work – together, as one.

Warmly yours,

Ralph W. Kuncl