The Rev. Dr. David Vásquez-Levy, president of the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California, discusses how the school is using its Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative grant to create a new ecosystem that includes not just technology but also efforts to reconsider educational modes and methods. The school's programming includes a stackable curriculum and challenges traditional standards.

Rick Staisloff, a consultant with a long history in higher education, explores how theological institutions can thrive amid change by embracing strategic partnerships and shared services. He stresses the importance of aligning with student needs and maintaining a mission-driven approach while calling this a historic time that demands courage.

The Rev. Heather Hartung, Ph.D., has been a student, minister, faculty member, dean, and member of a theological school board. She now serves as a director of accreditation with the Association of Theological Schools. In this episode of the podcast, she discusses how boards and leaders of theological schools can approach shared governance from various perspectives.

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.

McCormick Theological Seminary is using a Lilly Endowment Inc. Pathways for Tomorrow grant to explore how to help people heal from trauma. The Heart-Work Rising Trauma Healing Initiative is exploring theological education that will help students to be trauma-informed. The Rev. Dr. Stephanie Crumpton and Dr. Jina Kang discuss the impact of trauma-informed education, the integration of restorative justice and biblical interpretation, and the transformative potential for theological institutions.

At China Evangelical Seminary North America (CESNA), leaders are looking at ways to engage leaders and congregants of immigrant churches. They've done so with new programming aimed at helping congregations, including a Center for Public Theology. Drs. Frank and Anita Liu, leaders at CESNA, explain how they're doing that with a Pathways for Tomorrow grant from Lilly Endowment Inc.

Dr. Rebekah Burch Basinger considers the "invisible balance sheet" - things that institutions are responsible for that may not be on the actual balance sheet. With candor and years of experience, Basinger offers insight on how a board might consider the welfare of an entire institution.

Kairos University has worked to develop contextual, competency-based theological education, and now educates students across the world using their approach. Greg Henson, the president of Kairos University, and Nate Helling, the CFO and vice president of operations, talk about their work and how a Pathways for Tomorrow grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. is helping.

The Academy for Jewish Religion received a grant in Lilly Endowment Inc.'s Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative and used the money to make a series of explanatory videos about Judaism. Ora Horn Prouser, Ph.D., the CEO and academic dean of the Academy for Jewish Religion, discusses how the project, "Mosaic Religion and the Religious Mosaic," contributes to theological education.

Governing boards can follow these steps to enhance their Wise Stewards journey for institutional change through one-on-one coaching, board self-assessment, peer learning, and immersion into governance habits for long-term effectiveness.

Greg Henson, president of Kairos University, has worked with competency-based educational approaches for years and used competency-based education to remake what was Sioux Falls Seminary. In this discussion, he covers a variety of aspects of the work and discusses the book he co-wrote with Kent Anderson, president of Providence University College and Theological Seminary.

The Rev. Dr. David McAllister-Wilson, president of Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., has been at the school for more than 40 years. Reflecting on his time, he considers the future to be among the constituencies that he serves, and in this episode, he considers what the way forward looks like for theological education.