Hartford Seminary Awards Budd Doctor of Divinity Degree
Hartford Seminary has awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree to Martin L. Budd, chair of the Seminary Board of Trustees, for his dedication to interfaith dialogue and understanding and commitment to learning.
The degree was awarded at the Seminary’s graduation ceremonies held at Immanuel Congregational Church on June 2, 2006. It was given as Budd steps down as chair of the board after six years. He has served for 15 years as a board member and will continue to serve on the board as chair emeritus.
Heidi Hadsell, president of Hartford Seminary, said at the ceremonies, “Today we honor one member of the Board of Trustees who has tirelessly and persistently and with deep compassion and good humor, worked for the good of Hartford Seminary over a period of 15 years.”
“Marty Budd embodies the qualities and values we seek to teach, to model and to foster at Hartford Seminary. Marty has an open and critical mind. He is infinitely curious and eager to learn about subjects in a wide variety of academic disciplines . . . He is also eager to use his knowledge, to employ it in the various areas of his life, and to enhance the lives of others and of the wider communities in which he lives.
“Marty is deeply committed to the well-being both of his own faith community and of other faith communities, and is engaged in and committed to the fruitful and passionate conversation between faith communities to the benefit of each of them,” Hadsell said.
Recently, Budd said of his tenure as chair, “The two most important changes, I believe, are the Seminary’s continuing and successful thrust to expand its national and international reach and the significant growth in its endowment.”
Budd is a partner in Stamford, CT office of the law firm Day, Berry & Howard LLP. He has chaired the firm's Business Law Department and its Business Section. He was chosen for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2006 and the 2006 edition of Connecticut Super Lawyers. He is a former chair of the Board of the Charter Oak Cultural Center, a multicultural organization in Hartford, and is a member of the National Executive Committee of the Anti-Defamation League and Chair of its National Outreach and Interfaith Affairs Committee.
Budd received an A.B. from Dartmouth College, a B.A. from Oxford University, where he was a Marshall Scholar, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.
About Hartford Seminary: Hartford Seminary is a special kind of seminary, focused on interfaith relations, congregational studies and faith in practice. It has three centers: the Center for Faith in Practice, the Hartford Institute for Religion Research and the Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations. Hartford Seminary seeks to serve God by preparing leaders and institutions, students and scholars to understand and live faithfully in our multi-faith, pluralistic world.
About Day, Berry & Howard LLP: Day, Berry & Howard LLP is a full-service law firm with more than 235 lawyers representing individuals and businesses in a wide variety of sophisticated legal matters. It has one of the most respected trial practices in the Northeast and a diverse business law practice counseling major corporations, small businesses and individuals. The Firm has strong regional, national and international practices in a wide range of areas including employment, technology and intellectual property, commercial litigation, energy, finance and insolvency, estate planning and trust administration, environmental law, international tax law and business law. The Firm has offices in Boston, Greenwich, Hartford, New Haven, New York, Stamford and West Hartford.
Martin L. Budd is available for interviews. To schedule an interview or for further information, please contact David S. Barrett, Director of Public and Institutional Affairs, at (860) 509-9519 or dbarrett@hartsem.edu.
