ABOUT THE CENTER
THE CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION
PURPOSE AND HISTORY
The Auburn Center carries out sustained, in depth study of major issues in theological education to assist decision-makers in theological schools, denominations, and other settings as they make critical decisions about training future religious leadership. The Auburn Center serves Roman Catholic, evangelical and mainstream Protestant, and Jewish constituencies.
The work of the Auburn Center builds on a thirty-year tradition of studies in theological education at Auburn Seminary. Dean Robert Wood Lynn began the tradition during the 1960s with studies in the history of theological education and research into innovative forms of theological education. Research in theological education expanded during the 1980s under the direction of President Barbara G. Wheeler, culminating in the founding of the Auburn Center for the Study of Theological Education in 1991.
PROGRAMS OF RESEARCH
The Auburn Center structures its research around three guiding themes:
- Practices of Teaching and Learning
- Assessing Institutional Resources
- Theological Education in Religious and Public Life.
These guiding themes are implemented through a program of permanent research and a program of occasional studies. The permanent or core research activity of the Auburn Center is the Cycle of Surveys. Initiated in 1997, the Cycle of Surveys is a set of surveys of four key groups in theological education. One group is surveyed each year, with the set of surveys being repeated every four years. The four groups in the Cycle of Surveys are: faculty, students, trustees and senior administrators, and the religious and secular publics of theological education.
Occasional studies are one-time, focused research projects on major concerns facing theological education, such as the indebtedness of seminarians or the development of junior faculty.
Database Access. Because the Auburn Center's databases are created largely from confidential data, the databases cannot generally be made available directly to researchers or institutes. Queries for information from the databases and requests for limited datasets will be answered as possible.
Grants and Fellowships. The Auburn Center does not award grants or sponsor fellowships as part of its research programs.
RESEARCH-BASED INSTITUTIONAL SERVICES
Auburn Center staff are available for institutional research and consultation.
Direct inquires to Anthony Ruger at atr@auburnsem.org
Click here for more information regarding consulting services
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