Please click here to download
the 2013-14 HTI Annual Brochure
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FROM THE DIRECTOR
In the first HTI brochure
(1997–1998) the former executive director, Dr. Justo L. González, wrote, “We
are certain that as the years go by we shall have ever more reason to be proud
of them [HTI fellows]. We invite those who receive copies of this program to
follow their careers, as we shall, in the certainty that God will use them for
much good.” In the same brochure, then program director Dr. Daisy L. Machado shared,
“We have come to learn, to grow, to sharpen our skills, to support one another,
and to sow the seeds of what will one day become a strong and fruitful
community of Latina and Latino scholars. This gathering [Summer Workshop 2007]
is the sign of the new things to come.” Both Justo and Daisy were applying the
verse in Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain
of what we do not see.” We are grateful for their creative intellect,
commitment, and faithfulness. Today, seventeen years later, with great pleasure
we share the 2013–2014 HTI/HTIC brochure showcasing 48 HTI master’s
graduates, 91 HTI/HTIC Ph.D. scholars, and the more than 676 institutions they are
influencing or have influenced across the United States and the world.
“En conjunto” (in conjunction
with one another), we have developed what former director Dr. Zaida Maldonado
Pérez described in her director’s letter in the 2000–2001 brochure, “a
community of Latina/o scholars who will both help our communities think through
theologies from their particular contexts and circumstances, and also
contribute to the academy in a variety of important ways.” Because of their
many contributions, HTI/HTIC scholars are intricately woven into the fabric of
theological and religious education in this nation. Their contributions are
visible on the cover of this publication and within its pages. The HTI/HTIC
brochure showcases how an organized, “en conjunto,” holistic, funded
initiative has helped prepare individuals to serve in diverse contexts. Through
the HTI/HTIC model, theologians, scholars, and diverse institutions thrive.
Now more than ever, the
collaborative workings that were achieved and maintained through the HTI need
to continue and also be advanced by the Hispanic Theological Initiative Consortium. If 91 scholars are
impacting so many academic and religious institutions as well as nonprofit
organizations and governmental agencies across the United States and the world,
just imagine what a consortium of Ph.D.-granting institutions CAN do! The HTIC
has grown by 35
percent in
only five years, and in 2012 three member schools were added: University of Chicago
Divinity School, Andrews University, and Harvard Divinity School. Additionally, in
2012 we received a $400,000 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation to support
post-comprehensive examination HTIC scholars for the next four years.
In April 2013, we welcomed our
twenty-fourth member, Boston University! Our new partnering institutions, Michael
Gilligan, Luce’s president, and Lynn Szwaja, Luce’s program director for
theology, are excited about our current progress and are looking forward to
what we will continue to create as HTIC.
The year is off to an exceptional
start, so please take time with this brochure, so that you can see all of the
amazing ways in which HTI/HTIC scholars are serving in the academy and the
church. If you visit any of our member schools be sure to stop in and share a
special “thank you” for their
commitment to this important work!
Live blessed!
The
Reverend Joanne Rodríguez
Director
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