 Nearly
two centuries ago, a visitor to Auburn's campus described the seminary as
"a little swerved."* That characterization has long been appropriate. Auburn
has always been an open and progressive institution, slightly eccentric,
with an unusual ability to respond to change.
Founded in 1818 by Presbyterians in the central New York town of Auburn,
the seminary worked across denominational lines to prepare clergy for the
American frontier and foreign missions. Faculty participated in the great
social movements of the time: the struggles against slavery and for women's
suffrage, temperance, and reforms that uplifted the poor. Auburn was one
of the first theological schools in the country to educate women and to
enroll students from Asia, and it was among the first to establish a summer
session and a school of religious education.
By the beginning of the 20th century, Auburn had become a prominent seminary
and a center of theological inquiry. In the battles over the authority of
the Bible, Auburn's name became attached to a famous defense of freedom.
The Auburn Affirmation opposed efforts of fundamentalists to impose a single
interpretation of scripture on others.
 In
1939 the Great Depression forced the seminary to move from Auburn, New York,
to the campus of Union Theological Seminary on Manhattan's upper west side
in 1939. The two seminaries have never merged but enjoy a remarkable friendship.
Union offers degree programs; Auburn focuses on lifelong learning for clergy
and laity, and on research addressing the needs of religious communities
and the academy.
Throughout its history, Auburn has reached out in an inviting and tolerant
spirit.
* In 1825, John Williamson Nevin, then a student at Princeton Seminary, observed that Auburn's theology was "a little swerved" from the straight line of Calvinist doctrine
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