 | Sharon Kugler |
Sharon Kugler, university chaplain at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) and director of JHU Campus Ministries since 1993, has been named as the next Yale chaplain, President Richard C. Levin has announced.
Kugler will assume her Yale post when the Reverend Frederick Streets finishes 15 years of service this summer.
In a Feb. 9 letter to the Yale community announcing the appointment, Levin noted that Kugler is widely recognized as one of the nation's most creative university chaplains.
"At Johns Hopkins, she has cultivated a chaplaincy that defines itself by serving the needs of the diverse cultural and religious traditions there," said Levin. "The members of the search committee and I were impressed by her success in building programs that support numerous faiths, by her work to facilitate interfaith dialogue, and by her keen pastoral skills that were appreciated by students of every background."
As president of both the National Association of College and University Chaplains and the Association of College and University Religious Affairs, Kugler earned wide respect for her innovative leadership in interfaith chaplaincy, noted Levin.
"In recognition of her important role in supporting religious life at Yale," he added, "I will be asking Kugler to join in the regular meetings of deans and directors throughout the academic year."
Kugler, a graduate of Santa Clara University with a master's degree from Georgetown, is a lay Roman Catholic. In keeping with a provision by the Yale Corporation years ago, because the new Yale chaplain is not a Protestant, the president will appoint someone else to serve as pastor of the University Church that worships in Battell Chapel.
"Ms. Kugler and I will be consulting with the congregation of Battell to hear their recommendations about the strengths needed to build the Protestant community on campus," said Levin.
"This arrangement," added the president, "seems entirely suitable for a University that has greatly diversified its student and faculty populations. It is fitting that the University chaplain focus on the religious needs of the University as a whole and exercise stewardship for students, faculty and staff of all faiths. At the same time, Yale, with its history firmly rooted in the Protestant tradition, also should have a Protestant chaplain, whose ministry focuses on the increasingly vibrant ecumenical community at Battell in much the same way that Father Robert Beloin serves as chaplain for the Roman Catholic community and Rabbi James Ponet serves as our Jewish chaplain."
Kugler's early career was devoted to social service ministry. She was the resident counselor for a battered women's shelter in Ohio before becoming an associate campus minister at Santa Clara University where her work focused primarily on spiritual development and pastoral care. Later she became the founding director of AIDS Interfaith Residential Services, which was Baltimore's first residential program for adults living in the last stages of HIV/AIDS.
"Active engagement with people of faith in serving the needs of the world has been a vital part of her work as chaplain," noted Levin. "At the same time, she has cultivated a respect for the deep traditions of spiritual engagement that mark all of the world's great religious traditions.
"Religious life at Yale," added Levin, "is poised to become even richer than it traditionally has been, uniting many across boundaries that have often divided people of good will. The future of our global community requires the kind of leadership that Sharon Kugler has already provided at Johns Hopkins in forging mutual respect and understanding. We look forward to her creative role in guiding the religious life of the University."
Kugler's husband, Duane Isabella, and their two daughters will join her at Yale.
Levin expressed his thanks to the search committee, which was led by Divinity School Dean Harold Attridge and Vice President and Yale Secretary Linda K. Lorimer, and whose members included Robert Blocker, Dianne Davis, Martin Jean, Edward Kamens, Heather Reynolds, Edeli Rivera, Betty Trachtenberg and Thomas Troeger.
He concluded, "There will be other occasions to offer appreciation, but I now want to thank publicly Jerry Streets, whose many years of service has brought us to the point where we can envision a new and expanded role for the University chaplain, even as we hope and expect Chaplain Streets' successor to carry forward his deep commitment to the spiritual well-being of our community."
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