Disciples Student, Mark Dingler, is a TCU graduate and now Senior at Yale Divinity School
Yale Divinity School students receive instruction from professors who are among the most
noted theologians and Bible scholars in the academy. But the academic experience does not
end there. Several times a year, students take for-credit, weekend-intensive courses from
leading practitioners as part of the School’s Transformational Leadership Program.
Launched as a key component of the Divinity School’s 2015 strategic plan, the program is now
in its seventh year. Guest instructors have included U.S. Sen. Chris Coons, Catholic Educator
Parker Palmer, Rev. Traci Blackmon, travel writer Rick Steves, and Bread for the World President
Eugene Cho.
In addition to teaching the two-day, one-credit courses, the guest instructors engage in public
conversations on the Friday evenings hosted by program leader, Bill Goettler, the Divinity
School’s Associate Dean for Ministerial and Social Leadership. The courses are also open to
students at Yale’s other graduate and professional schools.
YDS Dean, Greg Sterling, set the tone for the program, saying at the time of its launch: “We
have to rethink how we position ourselves—as a theological school, as churches, and as
individuals—in a changing world. The need for leadership is urgent.”
The aim of the Transformational Leadership program is to identify innovative leaders who are
working outside the walls of churches and to invite them to come to New Haven to share their
experiences and insights with students.
“Students find these weekend intensives with leaders to be a source of real encouragement for
their work, as they develop their own visions for building community and seeking justice,”
Goettler said. “Our graduates will serve in churches and in a range of other contexts. They find
encouragement and inspiration from these leaders’ case studies and stories as they move
toward their own unique forms of ministry.”
This fall, the program has offered two weekend-intensive courses. September’s course featured
Rev. Jennifer Bailey and Rev. Dr. Danielle Buhuro of the Faith Matters Network in an exploration
of emerging forms of chaplaincy. In November, YDS alum Sharon Damelio, Senior Director of
Development of the nonprofit WhyHunger, guest-taught a course titled, “Fundraising in a
Broken World: Exploring the Theory and Practice of Nonprofit Fundraising.”
Videos of many of the guest instructors’ public conversations are available on the YDS
YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/YaleDivinitySchool.