The Association of Theological School’s Board of Commissioners met in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on June 5-6, 2023, and included on its agenda Berkeley School of Theology (CA)’s comprehensive visit and the resulting report by the evaluation committee.
After reviewing the information in light of the pertinent Commission Standards and Policies and Procedures, the Board voted:
1. To reaffirm the school’s accreditation for a period of ten years, until 31 July 2033, with the next comprehensive evaluation visit in spring of 2033.
2. To approve the following educational offerings:
a. Degree programs: Master of Divinity Masters in Community Leadership Master of Theological Studies Doctor of Ministry
b. Distance education: Comprehensive
c. Additional locations: None
3. To affirm these distinctive strengths to be maintained during the next period of accreditation:
a. The thoughtful response to the series of concerns raised in the last comprehensive reaccreditation visit, especially evident in the attention to shared governance, the maturing educational evaluation plan and process, and the improved relationships between faculty, staff, administration, and board working together in a shared vision for the mission of BST.
b. The intentional shift to establishing a more sophisticated systems-thinking ethos to serve the school in its next season of institutional life.
c. The lived commitment to mission-driven issues of justice evidenced in such diverse initiatives as the restructuring of faculty and staff compensation, board development that focuses on a range of skills and includes diverse stakeholders, and the establishment of delivery models aimed at accessible theological education such as the bachelor’s equivalency program and the newly launched competency-based DMin.
d. The strategic allocation of resources to further the mission and vision of BST as evidenced in the establishment of the Center for Truth, Racial Healing and Restorative Justice, along with the newly endowed J. Alfred Smith, Sr. Chair of Theology in the Public Square
