Illinois Great Rivers Conference 2025 Journal-Yearbook
reported one or more non-white racial/ethnic identities, and female students make up 50 percent of incoming residential M.Div. students. For new hybrid M.Div. students, 33 percent reported one or more non-white racial/ethnic; and female students make up 63 percent of incoming hybrid M.Div. students. This has been a year of centennial celebrations for Duke University and The Duke Endowment. The Divinity School was honored to participate in a Founders’ Weekend chapel service, held in Duke Chapel, in which both United Methodist Church bishops in North Carolina (Bishop Connie Shelton and Bishop Ken Carter) participated in leading the service, along with Dean Colón-Emeric. Divinity students and alumni contributed prayers and music, and of particular note were three women in our Master of Theology program who offered prayers in Mandarin, Hindi, and Korean. It is a joy to share these gifts from our global community with the university campus. Duke Divinity School continues to invest in ways to support Methodist leadership and pastoral formation. Our D.Min. program welcomed two new cohorts, one in Traditional Leadership and one in Missional Leadership, with support from the Parish Ministry Fund and The Duke Endowment. These 39 students are strengthening their capacity for leadership, establishing new faith communities, and meeting the challenges confronting churches and communities. Master of Divinity students in the UMC had the opportunity in the spring 2024 semester to enroll in a course designed to prepare them to be observers at the UMC General Conference, held in Charlotte, N.C. So many students were interested that the enrollment cap had to be raised. Students met weekly with Duke Divinity faculty who are ordained elders in the UMC as well as with nearly half a dozen bishops and denominational leaders. As one student (pursuing ordination in the Virginia Conference) said: “It is a time when we hold fast to our convictions and identify what is unique to the United Methodist Church. What is our role, currently and in the future? It’s amazing: our mission is to make disciples for Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. I am excited about my ministry journey and the future of the UMC.” Duke Divinity continues to build on our connection to Methodist churches around the world through a formal partnership with Methodist Theological University in Seoul, South Korea. This agreement, signed on Sept. 21, 2024, supports the creation of pathways for the exchange of students, faculty, and academic programming. Closer to home, Duke Divinity remains committed to our deep roots in the North Carolina and Western North Carolina Conferences of the United Methodist Church. We mourned the devastation from Hurricane Helene that affected so many of our alumni, supporting congregations, and community partners in western North Carolina. The school—and many students and staff—have sought to support Bishop Ken Carter and the Western North Carolina Conference with resources and relief items. Our faculty continue to excel in their committed service to teaching, research, and ministry. Two scholars joined our faculty this year: Aaron Griffith, assistant professor of American church history, and Kevin Hart, Jo Rae Wright University Distinguished Professor, with a joint appointment in the Duke University department of English. William Turner Jr., James T. and Alice Mead Cleland Professor Emeritus of the Practice of Preaching, received the Duke University Medal for Distinguished Meritorious Service, the highest honor bestowed by the university. Duke Divinity commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Women’s Center at the
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