Graduate Theological Union

The following schools and institutions are members of GTU Berkeley School of Theology (BST) – Berkeley, founded in 1871, affiliated with American Baptist Churches USA [ 3 ] Church Divinity School of the Pacific (CDSP) – Founded in 1911, affiliated with Episcopal Church (United States) , leaving GTU in January 2026 [ 4 ] Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology (DSTP) – Berkeley, founded in 1851, affiliated with the Western Province of the Dominican Order of the Roman Catholic Church Institute of Buddhist Studies – Berkeley, founded in 1949, affiliated with the Buddhist Churches of America [ 5 ] Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University – Berkeley, founded in 1934, affiliated with Society of Jesus of the Roman Catholic Church, part of Santa Clara University [ 6 ] Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary (PLTS) – Berkeley, founded in 1950, ( ELCA ) affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and part of California Lutheran University [ 7 ] Pacific School of Religion (PSR) – Berkeley, founded in 1866, affiliated with several Protestant denominations [ 8 ] San Francisco Theological Seminary (SFTS) – Berkeley, affiliated with Presbyterian Church (USA) and the University of Redlands [ 9 ]

During the late 19th century and early 20th century, several Christian denominations opened seminaries in Northern California to prepare ministers and priests to serve the rapidly expanding population in the region. These were all independent institutions. After the establishment of the University of California Berkeley (USB) in 1868, several of these seminaries relocated near the university. [ 10 ] They formed cooperative agreements with USB to provide more educational choices for their students. In the mid 20th century, the ecumenical movement prompted discussions among the seminaries affiliated with Berkeley to begin sharing resources. They decided to establish a cooperative graduate study program that would lead students to a master's degree in theology. [ 11 ] In 1962, six Protestant seminaries established the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) in Berkeley. They included the Berkeley Baptist Divinity School (now BST), CDSP, PLTS, SFTS and the Golden Gate Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. [ 11 ] The GTU expanded in 1964 with the addition of PSR, St. Albert's College (now DSTP) and the Starr King School for the Ministry . GTU began its first effort to share facilities with the creation of the Bibliographical Center to consolidate library administration and manage the different library collections. In 1966, Alma College relocated to Berkeley and was renamed the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley , which also joined the GTU. The Franciscan School of Theology (FST) joined GTU in 1968. That same year, GTU opened the Center for Judaic Studies (CJS) to promote exchanges between Christian and Jewish scholars. This was its first expansion into non-Christian faiths. [ 11 ] During the 1960's, GTU expanded its graduate degree offerings, establishing Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Arts degrees. Members provided Master of Divinity , Master of Theological Studies, and Doctor of Ministry degrees.

[ 11 ] In 1969, GTU established its Common Library in the basement of the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, merging all the member libraries into one location. [ 12 ] By 1971, the GTU was fully accredited by the Association of Theological Schools . In 1979, GTU began construction the first phase of construction of a new building to house the GTU Common Library. Phase I was completed in 1981. Volunteers and staff moved 300,000 books into the partially completed building. [ 12 ] GTU in 1985 began the long-planned phase II of the new library building. It was completed in 1987 and named the Flora Lamson Hewlett Library in honor of the Hewlett Foundation . [ 12 ] In 2007, GTU opened the Center for Islamic Studies (CIS) to allow students and scholars exposure to Islamic traditions [ 13 ] In 2013, the FST merged with the University of San Diego , leaving GTU to relocate to Oceanside, California . The Starr King School left the GTU in 2020. According to its administrators, few of its students were taking GTU courses and the school believed that the annual GTU fee of $310,000 was excessive. [ 14 ]

Presidents John Dillenberger (1967 – 1971) Claude Welch (1971 – 1982) Michael Blecker (1982 – 1987) Robert Barr (1987 – 1992) Glenn R. Bucher (1992 – 1999) James Donahue (2000 – 2012) Riess Potterveld (2013 – 2018) Daniel Lehmann (2018 – 2020) Uriah Kim (2020 – present) Academic deans The dean of the GTU is the chief academic officer for the GTU. The dean also chairs the council of deans, which is composed of the academic deans of the member schools. Traditionally, deans have held the John Dillenberger Professorship in their general field of specialization. For example, Margaret Miles held the professorship in historical theology while Arthur Holder held it in Christian spirituality . The current GTU president, Uriah Y. Kim , is the John Dillenberger Professor of Biblical Studies. Sherman E. Johnson (1962 – 1963) John Dillenberger (1963 – 1971) Claude Welch (1971 – 1987) Judith Berling (1987 – 1996; interim, 2016) Margaret Miles (1996 – 2001) Arthur Holder (2001 – 2016) Uriah Y. Kim (2017 – 2020) Elizabeth S. Pena (interim, 2020 – 2022) Jennifer Davidson (2022 – 2024) Christopher Ocker (2024 – present)