Seminary News 
      

Hartford Seminary Receives Major Gift
for Interfaith Professorship

September 21, 2006 -

Hartford Seminary is pleased to announce a $500,000 gift by Cornelius B. and Gertrude Prior toward an endowed faculty chair at Hartford Seminary in Abrahamic Partnerships The commitment was announced Thursday Sept. 21st at the 2006 annual conference of the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City.

Cornelius Prior is chairman of Atlantic Tele-Network Inc. in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, and was chief executive officer of the company until January. Gertrude Prior is president and general manager of Coral World Marine Park and Undersea Observatory in St. Thomas. She serves on the Board of Trustees of Hartford Seminary.

The chair in Abrahamic Partnerships builds on the pioneering work of Professor Yehezkel Landau. In 2002 with the help of the Henry Luce Foundation Hartford Seminary hired Landau, an Israeli-American citizen, interfaith educator, and religious peace activist, as faculty associate in interfaith relations to augment its program in Abrahamic religions. This position was a clear sign of the commitment to Christian-Muslim-Jewish leadership formation at the heart of the school’s mission.

The Priors’ commitment is the lead gift toward an Abrahamic Partnerships endowment that will secure this faculty chair at Hartford Seminary. Its primary focus will be on the theory and practice of Jewish-Christian-Muslim relations.

Heidi Hadsell, President of Hartford Seminary, said, “I am profoundly appreciative of the generosity of Neil and Trudie Prior and their commitment to interfaith education. We live in troubling times, and it is so important that Hartford Seminary continue its work in interreligious dialogue and understanding. The Priors’ gift will help make this possible.”

“Our Board joins me in appreciation for the commitment that they are making to the Abrahamic conversation at Hartford Seminary,” Hadsell said.

The creation of an endowment to establish the professorship as a permanent feature affirms the Seminary’s commitment to making interreligious encounter a central part of each student’s experience. 

Central to the Seminary’s work in Abrahamic Partnerships is its innovative Building Abrahamic Partnerships (BAP) program. Building on its strengths as an interfaith, dialogical school of practical theology, Hartford Seminary designed this innovative program to be a resource for Jews, Christians, and Muslims who seek a solid foundation in interfaith ministry. It is an eight-day intensive immersion in interfaith dialogue and understanding, meeting twice a year in January and June.

In April, the Seminary received an additional grant from the Henry Luce Foundation to support the professorship and the Building Abrahamic Partnerships program. The BAP program also has received support from the William and Mary Greve Foundation and the Alan B. Slifka Foundation

The Clinton Global Initiative is a non-partisan catalyst for action, bringing together a community of global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges. The mission of the William J. Clinton Foundation, and the goal of the initiative, is to increase the benefits and reduce the burdens of global interdependence; to make a world of more partners and fewer enemies; and to give more people the tools they need to build a better future. One of the areas of focus is mitigating religious and ethnic conflict.

Cornelius Prior has a B.A. from Holy Cross College and an LL.B. from Harvard Law School. He practiced law and investment banking before becoming chief executive officer of Atlantic Tele-Network. He is chairman of the Caribbean Association of National Telecommunications Organizations.

Gertrude Prior has a B.S. from Tufts University and a J.D. from Washington College of Law at American University. She practiced law before becoming president of Coral World Marine Park and Undersea Observatory.

For further information, please contact David S. Barrett, Director of Public and Institutional Affairs, at (860) 509-9519 or dbarrett@hartsem.edu. Yehezkel Landau is available for interviews; he can be reached by e-mail at ylandau@hartsem.edu or by phone at 860-509-9538.

photo courtesy of the Clinton Global Initiative

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