As a pragmatic requirement, some theology majors must achieve a 4.5 in business school.
Tim Tai
In 2017, Newton Andover Seminary was transformed from being the only vocational institution outside of Boston to an annex to Yale Theological Seminary. During the move, Sarah B. Drummond '93, founding dean of the ANS Divinity School, asked an important question: How can the seminary benefit from this new consortium that now calls it home?
The answer was found at the Yale School of Management, which is located next to the seminary. Andover Newton students now must achieve a 4.5 in business school to graduate, making Andover Newton the first seminary in the nation to require all students to attend a business school. Beria spoke to teachers and students about this special relationship, which began in 2018 and is now celebrating its fifth anniversary.
“When we were at Newton, we didn't have SOM,” Drummond said. “But in fact, no one else has SOM, because our business school is recognized worldwide for training leaders in various sectors of the economy. This is not a place where you get an MBA and only work in finance or business.”
Andover Newton, unlike divinity schools in general, where students aspire to enter various fields after graduation, focuses on serving local religious communities. According to Drummond, such a role requires extensive leadership knowledge; their duties are not only religious, but also related to the payment of wages, insurance and other business matters.
Recognizing that ministers are leaders and administrators in their own way, Drummond believed that requiring students to attend SOM would be good for their education. Others agreed: since Drummond consulted with alumni, the more successful the ministers were, the more they supported the business school demand.
At the same time, members of the SOM community were looking for new perspectives in their classes. When management professor Rafael Dugues joined SOM three years ago, he was in charge of teaching how to measure social performance and wanted to open the course to students from other professional schools.
Duguet has taught students at the Yale School of Environmental Health and Yale Law School, but has said that he considers students from divinity schools to be "most special". He explained that when studying a problem, SOM students are initially interested in the ethical issues of business, while Divinity School students focus on the inherent morality of certain decisions.
"[Divinity students] generally don't focus on the potential litigation risks or public relations consequences of acting when [business decisions] are perceived as bad," Duguet said. “They will worry about what will happen if we do something inherently wrong, not what is right. There is this inner idea of right and wrong, or right and wrong, which is definitely stronger in the students of theological school.
Duguay's class structure is based primarily on case studies where students study mostly non-profit organizations.
Duguet believes that Andover Newton students are particularly sympathetic to these cases.
“One of the characteristics or qualities of these students is precisely their proximity to the general population,” Duguet said. “When we talk about the types of population that non-profit organizations serve, we are talking about people who are struggling in life. YDS students understand very well the needs of these people, their reality.”
Y'only Hal DIV '22 was the executive pastor of his church in North Carolina before entering seminary. As a student at Andover Newton Seminary at YDS with a natural interest in business, Hall "lost count" how many SOM classes she took.
Hall saw two different points of view that a Divinity School student encountered during his business class.
“It was definitely a different mindset when I was thinking about profitability and profitability, knowing it was the main driver,” Hall said. "[To serve God and improve the world, to love people well and solve these existential issues." This is definitely a shift in consciousness that needs to happen. And it can be a little overwhelming, you know, to move from one setting to another.
As executive pastor, Hall handled financial management, logistics, and business management of the church.
After fulfilling her requirements, Hall said the SOM courses helped her think more critically and challenge assumptions about how to serve.
“I think too often that we separate spirituality from many aspects of our lives,” Hall said. “I think spirituality is part of life, period. Spirituality determines the way of life. And if we are truly connected to Spirit, we will let it dictate how we make decisions, whether it be business or family, whatever we do. "let's do it".
Andover Newton Seminary of Yale Divinity School was founded in 2017.
ALEX GOLDAlex covers campus politics. She is a freshman at Trumbull College studying English.
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