PREFACE
This special edition of Perspectivas memorializes and celebrates the recent growth of Hispanic-Latine presidential officers in Protestant, Catholic, and Evangelical schools affiliated with the Association of Theological Schools (ATS). [1] We invited these leaders to share their inaugural speeches or early statements to their academic communities. The purpose of this exercise is to document three things: first, their professional and personal achievements; second, a later phase in the development of the Hispanic-Latine movement in theological education; and, finally, the transformative work that the Hispanic-Latine movement and members of others minoritized groups, have conducted within the establishment of graduate theological education in ATS schools.
To capture the historical moment of each inauguration, the editorial team requested these leaders to present the original version of the texts with only limited edits when needed for clarity. We are aware that, in hindsight, they may have said things differently, but our aim was historical, not apologetical. Probably, many of these leaders still maintain most of their early perspectives or, perhaps, they have changed some of them. We ask readers to appreciate the diversities of visions, topics, and rhetoric that these leaders employed in addressing the institutional and social contexts at the time, and not to assume their speeches necessarily reflect their current positions or thinking.
This material is organized chronologically. This format allows readers to be aware of the long time it took for the emergence of Hispanic-Latine presidents in ATS schools. Despite the significant growth of the Hispanic-Latine community in the United States as well as decades of participation as students and faculty in theological schools, there were no Hispanic-Latine presidential leaders in ATS schools (except in Puerto Rico) until 2005 when Rev. Dr. David Maldonado served briefly as President at Illiff School of Theology. Most likely, readers will have a lot of questions to ask about this fact. Why did it take so long? What were the impediments? What conditions have now led to this emergence of Hispanic-Latine leaders? How contested was this process? What made the difference in each case? The speeches and the editorial team do not address these questions but leave them on the table for further critical dialogue and research. On the other hand, the introductory essay written by Dr. Luis R. Rivera-Rodríguez gives a few insights into the historical process.
This publication constitutes a primary source informing the history and contributions of Hispanic-Latine leaders in the ATS system of theological education in the USA. The material illustrates the diversities, similarities, and convergence that different Hispanic-Latine leaders exhibit in their identities, vocations, visions, religious affiliations, and ideals for theological education. The introductory essay by Rev. Dr. David Vázquez-Levy reflects on this tapestry of perspectives and their rich contributions to the critical task of reimagining theological education amid great changes.
Rev. Dr. Joanne Rodriguez’s introductory essay captures the excitement surrounding the new era of recently appointed presidents and deans, as well as the challenging hope for what lies ahead as they continue to grow in their roles. An important reality we acknowledge in this project is the continuous exclusion of Latinas scholars and administrators from presidential positions. The only Latina president at an ATS seminary was the Rev. Dr. Doris Garcia Rivera, who served at the Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico from 2014-2019.
The idea for this project emerged as a group of Hispanic-Latine presidents and deans attended the installation ceremony of Rev. Dr. José Irizarry at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary on March 31, 2023. The three editors and other colleagues agreed that it would be important to capture the insights that these emerging leaders were sharing in their inaugural speeches and to document the trend of electing of Hispanic-Latine presidents in ATS schools. They agreed to work on this project en conjunto (as a team) with the rest of the Hispanic-Latine presidents, and with the editor of Perspectivas, Rev. Dr. Néstor Medina.
This collection reflects the challenges and opportunities being faced by leaders and their institutions in a time marked by significant upheaval. The editorial team is deeply grateful to the contributors and is hopeful this rich set of presentations may serve not only as a repository of an important moment in history but a testimony of the rich gifts the Hispanic-Latine community is bringing to the critical task of theological education.
The editorial team for this project was integrated by three Hispanic-Latine leaders in theological education. Dr. Luis R. Rivera-Rodríguez is a retired scholar who was professor of theology in three ATS schools: the Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico (1986-1995), McCormick Theological Seminary (1995-2013), and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary (2014-2019). He was the first Latino Vice-President and Academic Dean in the last two schools. Rev. Dr. Joanne Rodríguez has a long-standing career of service to theological education through her leadership roles in the Hispanic Theological Initiative (HTI); first, as its associate director and then, as its executive director since 2002. She is the first Latina to be awarded the ATS Women in Leadership Trailblazer (2024), and she received an honorary doctorate from Iliff School of Theology (2024) for the creation of comprehensive mentoring and fellowship programs to create Latine scholars and leaders for the larger landscape of theological and religious education. Rev. Dr. David Vázquez-Levy has been the president of the Pacific School of Religion since 2015. His career has been at the intersection of educational institutions, religious communities, and social change. He was a co-founder of La Colectiva, the ATS Hispanic-Latine affinity group of presidents and deans, established in 2015.