From the President's Desk: Spring/Summer 2025 - Princeton Theological Seminary
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From the President‘s Desk

Spring/Summer 2025

What a season of grace and gratitude we have shared! Over the course of a week this May, the Seminary witnessed a confluence of holy moments—a spirited Class Reunion that reached across generations, a gathering of the Board of Trustees, and a stirring Commencement celebration. Each of these events revealed the vibrancy of this learning community and testified to the faithfulness, imagination, and courage of our shared mission and purpose.


2025 ReunionThis year’s Reunion was among the most joyful and generative in recent memory. We celebrated the classes ending in 0s and 5s, stretching back to 1960. Each shared inspiring stories of ministry and service that continue to ripple through congregations, classrooms, and communities across the globe.

A highlight of the weekend was the annual Edwin H. Rian Alumni Lecture, delivered by Dr. Emily Dumler-Winckler (MDiv ’07, ThM ’09, PhD ’15), Associate Professor of Christian Ethics and Constructive Theology at Saint Louis University. Dr. Dumler-Winckler’s scholarship on dissent, virtue, and imitation of Christ offers a prophetic moral vision that is as timely as it is timeless.

This year, the Alumni Council Service Award was presented to Dr. Teddy Reeves, an award-winning producer, and Dr. Erin Raffety, a Practical Theologian. The Distinguished Alumni Award was presented to Dr. Richard A. Grounds, who works with Yuchi Elders.

This year, the Alumni Council Service Award was presented to Dr. Teddy Reeves, an award-winning producer, and Dr. Erin Raffety, a Practical Theologian. The Distinguished Alumni Award was presented to Dr. Richard A. Grounds, who works with Yuchi Elders.

Faculty Spotlight ThumbnailThe Faculty Spotlight showcased the breadth, brilliance, diversity, and dynamism of our faculty. It featured presentations by Professors Kenneth Appold, Keri Day, Mary Farag, Elaine James, Gordon Mikoski, and Mark Taylor. Their work reminds us that theological inquiry is ever-evolving, rooted in tradition, yet responsive to the world God so loves. 


This year’s Reunion included a meaningful educational event hosted by the Office of the President in partnership with Seminarians for Peace and Justice and the SGA Executive Council: “Stewarding with Purpose: Sustaining Mission with Integrity.” This panel gathered leading voices in faith-based investing from the PC(USA), the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, the Church Pension Group, and our own Seminary to discuss the spiritual and moral dimensions of endowment stewardship. This spiritually edifying conversation invited us all to discern how our financial commitments reflect our theological convictions. 

Browse our Reunion Photo Gallery

Congratulations to the Class of 2025!

And then came Commencement—our grand moment of benediction and sending. 

It was a radiant day marked by joy, reflection, and the anointing of new beginnings. Among the 106 graduating members of the Class of 2025, we celebrated 44 recipients of the Master of Divinity, 9 recipients of the Master of Arts in Theology and Ecology, and 7 earned their PhDs, each one a scholar in the service of church, academy, and society. 

Class of 2025 hybrid MA graduates 

The Class of 2025 also included the inaugural cohort of our Master of Arts with a concentration in Theology, Justice, and Public Life. Launched in 2023 as Princeton Seminary’s first primarily online degree, this hybrid program equips working professionals engaged in social justice to integrate theological reflection into their public leadership. Their journey has modeled what it means to learn across time zones, sectors, and communities while remaining deeply grounded in faith.

From Students to Alums

This year also marked the institution of new traditions that honor the sacred transition from student to alum.

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As part of a more robust Senior Week, graduates enjoyed a series of events, including a senior banquet at the conclusion of Reunion, excursions throughout Princeton, and, most notably, a pinning ceremony during the Senior Worship Service. There, each graduate received their class pin placed upon their lapel by someone who had loved them, taught them, mentored them, or prayed for them. This pinning ceremony offers a visible sign of an invisible bond. This small emblem carries significant meaning, as it symbolizes their belonging to a vast alumni network that spans generations and encircles the globe. 

We look forward to continuing this sacred tradition, year after year, as a reminder that while graduates may leave campus, they never leave the learning community that shaped them.


Finally, I want to close this message, as I often do, with a reaffirmation.  In these turbulent times—when fear and cynicism stalk our public discourse—it is tempting for institutions like ours to retreat. Yet I want to be clear. Princeton Theological Seminary does not merely tolerate difference. We are a Christian community that celebrates it. 

Our strength lies not in homogeneity but in the beautiful patchwork quilt of voices, identities, and experiences that make up our learning community. The Gospel does not call us to safety but to solidarity. It does not ask us merely to welcome strangers but to trouble the logic that keeps people estranged from one another.

This conviction animates our scholarship. It shapes our pedagogy. It guides our teaching and learning.  

So, thank you to each of you—students, alums, faculty, staff, trustees, and friends of the Seminary. Thank you for walking with us, laboring alongside us, and believing in us. Together, we are expanding moral and theological imaginations for a world in flux. 

May you have a blessed and love-filled summer! 

One Luv,

Jonathan Lee Walton, President

“The love of God and the love of humanity are one love”—Benjamin Elijah Mays