This collection contains information and materials documenting the operations of the Divinity School, including the activities of its deans, faculty, students, as well as various councils, committees and organizations within and associated with the school. Types of documents include correspondence, reports, convocations, information about the expansion and renovation of the school, strategic plans, minutes of various council, committee, and faculty meetings, photographs, sermons, bulletins, records of the theological society and other organizations within the school, financial records, lectures, publications, subject files, statistics, deans' files, academic programs, information about field education, alumni affairs, information about faculty members, documents relating to the early history of the Divinity School when it was known as the School of Religion, and other administrative files and records.
Established in 1926, the Divinity School is one of 13 seminaries founded and supported by the United Methodist Church, and attracts students from around the nation and several different countries. The Divinity School's distinctive vocation is to equip students for faithful leadership and critical reflection on the church's role in a dramatically changing global culture. The Divinity School has from its beginnings been ecumenical in aspiration, teaching, and practice.
Following its founding, the Divinity School (known then as the School of Religion) achieved recognition rapidly for offering above average training for all types of Christian service. While focusing clearly on the role of the minister in a local church, the school also sought to prepare missionaries, teachers, directors of religious education and social workers. Proud of its Methodist heritage and ties, the school, nevertheless, was conducted on ecumenical and not narrow denominational lines. But above all, it was launched on the strong conviction that the education offered should be based on standards of the highest level.
Chronology List
| Date |
Event |
| 1919 | Graduate School of Religion established as part of Trinity College |
| 1926 | School of Religion formally opens with 23 students and 7 faculty. Two degrees were offered, a B.D. and M.A. in Religion. |
| 1938 | School of Religion accredited |
| 1939 | First Ph.D awarded in Religion |
| 1941 | School of Religion renamed as the Duke Divinity School |
| 1948 | Petition signed by 107 Divinity School students presented to the dean requesting integration of qualified African American students. |
| 1954 | Major Renovation to the School |
| 1961 | First African American Student enrolled in the Divinity School |
Processed by Matthew Spangler, May 2010.
Encoded by Molly Bragg, May 2011.
Accession UA2014.0061 processed by Tracy M. Jackson, March 2015.
Finding aid updated to include UA2014.0061 by Tracy M. Jackson and Patrick Dollar, March 2015.
Accession UA2015.0017 processed by Elizabeth Hannigan, June 2015.
Collection level notes updated by Tracy M. Jackson, January 2019.
Accession UA2019.0080 added by Tracy M. Jackson, February 2021.
