News & Insights

Voting-eligible member schools of the In Trust Center for Theological Schools recently elected three new members and re-elected two members to serve on the In Trust Center’s board of directors.

Newly elected to the board class of 2018

Marsha Foster BoydMarsha Foster Boyd

  • President Emerita, Ecumenical Theological Seminary, Detroit, Michigan

Marsha Foster Boyd was named president emerita of Ecumenical Theological Seminary in 2013 after seven years of distinguished leadership. Previously she was director of accreditation and leadership education at the Association of Theological Schools, associate professor of pastoral care and counseling at United Theological Seminary in Ohio, and academic dean at Payne Theological Seminary. In each of these positions, Boyd was the first African American woman to serve.

Boyd is an ordained minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and has served churches in Arkansas, California, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. She is the founder of Catalyst Connections Global LLC, a consulting firm specializing in leadership development, training, and coaching.  She is also a member of the board of Mycelium, an intergenerational learning organization that connects social change agents and creates the conditions for relevant learning and meaningful action.

A graduate of Tufts University, the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Boyd was awarded an honorary doctorate by Payne Theological Seminary in recognition of her career in theological education.

Newly elected to the board class of 2020

Charisse L. Gillett

  • President, Lexington Theological Seminary, Lexington, Kentucky

Charisse L. Gillett became the 17th president of Lexington Theological Seminary in 2011, and is the first woman and first African American to lead the seminary in its 150-year history. She was previously vice president of administration and special projects at the seminary, and she is also a former trustee and officer of the board of trustees.

Gillett has more than 20 years of administrative experience in higher education, including service at Transylvania University, Midway College, Robert Morris College, and the University of Northern Iowa. She holds a doctorate in education from Northern Illinois University.

A former moderator of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Gillett serves as associate minister at East Second Street Christian Church, where her husband, Donald K. Gillett II, is senior pastor.

Kathryn Glover

  • Vice President for Human Resources and Institutional Effectiveness and Secretary of the Corporation, Virginia Theological Seminary, Alexandria, Virginia

Kathryn Glover joined the administrative team at Virginia Theological Seminary in 2001 and has served in her current capacity since 2013. Previously she was program coordinator for the doctor of ministry and continuing education programs and director of alumni affairs. As secretary of the corporation, Glover works closely with the seminary board, where much of her attention is focused on strategic planning and board development. As a member of the administrative faculty she teaches courses in the areas of governance, leadership, and administration in both the master’s and D.Min. programs.

Glover is a graduate of Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, and George Mason University, where she earned a master’s degree in public administration with a concentration in nonprofit management.

Re-elected to the board class of 2020

David Jennings

  • Founding Member and Principal, Irwin, White & Jennings, Barristers & Solicitors, Vancouver, British Columbia

David Jennings is a former chair of the board at St. Andrew’s Hall in Vancouver, British Columbia, and is a former member of the board of governors of the Vancouver School of Theology.

An attorney who specializes in corporate law, Jennings has served on national and local committees and commissions within the Presbyterian Church in Canada. He provides legal assistance on a myriad of denominational matters.

Jennings also has extensive experience as a board member of charities outside of his denomination. Serving as board chair, he negotiated the merger of the Centre for Cultural Renewal with Cardus, a religious think tank, and continued to serve on the board of directors after the merger. As an advocate for Christian arts, he served as chair of Pacific Theatre, as a director of Humanitas (a charity supporting a travelling and virtual exhibition of Christian visual art), and as a director of the organization that publishes Image. In 2003 Jennings founded Incarnation Ministries, a Christian charity that annually grants more than $500,000 for arts and culture projects. He also sits on an advisory board for Trinity Western University’s arts, media and culture department.

Jennings is an elder in the Presbyterian Church in Canada and is a former convener of the denomination’s Assembly Council. He and his wife, Laura, with whom he has two adult children, are members of St. Andrew’s & St. Stephen’s Presbyterian Church in North Vancouver, British Columbia.

Roger E. McGrath

  • Pastor, Saints Peter and Paul Parish, Turnersville, New Jersey

Pastor of a large suburban parish outside Philadelphia, Msgr. Roger McGrath has served the Diocese of Camden, New Jersey, as director of evangelization, director of communications, director of development, episcopal vicar for pastoral services, and most recently as vicar general and moderator of the curia. 

He previously taught systematic theology at St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore, where he was dean and vice rector. He has served on the boards of St. Mary’s, the Catholic University of America, and the Catholic Theological Society of America, where he was treasurer for 12 years. McGrath is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the Theological College at the Catholic University of America, which awarded him its Alumnus Lifetime Service Award in 2010.

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Upcoming Events

The In Trust Center hosts learning community spaces throughout the year. Check out our upcoming events below.

Who's Next? Succession Planning for Boards

ON DEMAND

Planning for board officer vacancies should start well in advance with an intentional, smooth, and carefully designed transition plan.

Seminaries are people too: Mindsets that make or break institutional change

ON DEMAND

Theological schools are launching innovative projects to reshape education, but many struggle to achieve transformational change despite strong grant funding. Human nature, organizational culture, and governance practices often hinder progress. In this webinar, Drs. Aaron Einfeld and David Rowe provide tools to identify/overcome hidden barriers to change, offer practical steps for institutional leadership to move their institutions forward

I See That Hand

ON DEMAND

Board members are typically recruited for their leadership, business acumen, and networks. Dr. Rebekah Basinger, project director of the In Trust Center’s Wise Stewards Initiative, will discuss how strategic questioning and interrogation skills are essential for effective board stewardship.

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