NEW YORK, September 26, 2024 – The General Theological Seminary (GTS) today announced it had signed an agreement to lease the Close to Vanderbilt University.
The arrangement will secure GTS’ presence on the Close for decades to come, see building improvements carried out, and enable the Seminary to expand its highly successful Master of Divinity (MDiv) degree and potentially introduce new programming.
The lease arrangement is not a merger, and GTS will continue to operate as a separate entity with its own distinct identity and programming.
The Seminary will maintain a year-round presence at its home in Chelsea, New York. Intensives for its hybrid MDiv, which retains the GTS hallmarks of academic rigor and a focus on liturgical, theological, and spiritual formation in the Anglican tradition, will be held on the Close three times a year in August, May and June. Commencement and Matriculation will also continue to take place in the Chapel of the Good Shepherd.
The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, President of The General Theological Seminary, said: “The General Theological Seminary is seeking to adapt to a changing world. Following the introduction of our hybrid MDiv, which combines online learning with in-person intensives, we found a mission-compatible tenant, which guarantees we continue to operate out of our historic home. GTS is now set to serve the Church for another century in New York.”
The Seminary received offers to lease the Close from a number of entities, including, as previously reported, the School of Sacred Music (SSM). After reviewing these offers, the GTS Board voted unanimously to accept the offer from Vanderbilt. It wishes the SSM the very best with its future endeavors.
The lease arrangement provides GTS with access to more than double the accommodation on the Close for students during its intensive weeks than is currently available, enabling the Seminary to expand the number of students in each cohort of the hybrid MDiv going forward. It also creates scope to introduce additional in-person programing on the Close, such as continuing education weeks for alumni. GTS’ hybrid MDiv, which is designed for students in the ordination process for The Episcopal Church, is currently significantly oversubscribed. In August, the Seminary welcomed its largest incoming class of MDiv students since 2010.
The agreement requires approval from the New York State Attorney General. This process is expected to take three to six months, with the lease likely to begin in early 2025. It is also contingent upon Vanderbilt receiving approval from New York State’s regulatory bodies.
GTS entered into an Affiliation Agreement with Virginia Theological Seminary in 2022. Under the agreement, the two seminaries operate as separate entities, retaining their own accreditations, endowments, and boards, but sharing an overlapping governance structure, executive leadership team, and a range of shared services. The agreement prohibits the subsidy of one institution by the other.
