With processional, song, and prayer, Yale University officially installed alumnus Richard J. Wood as the 12th dean of the Divinity School on Nov. 13. The ceremony took place in the Marquand Chapel of the Sterling Divinity Quadrangle.
Standing before the assembled crowd, Dean Wood was officially "charged" with his obligations as dean.
President Richard C. Levin, who officiated, invited Dean Wood to "lead this great school into the 21st century," and described the Divinity School as a place dedicated to "many faiths and creeds sharing a common belief that the life of the spirit must take its place with the life of the mind in a great institution of higher learning."
Provost Alison Richard charged Dean Wood to "provide bold leadership and serve this school as a steadfast steward."
The Reverend Harry Baker Adams, master of Trumbull College and professor of pastoral theology, said, "As a faculty, we ask vision, a strong voice advocating for us, skill in administering the school, and faithfulness to the call of God which you and we believe has brought you to this place at this time."
W. Burley S. Salmon, president of the Divinity School student body, charged the dean to "be holy, honest, human, and of God."
Other participants included Philip W. Turner III, dean of the Berkeley Divinity School; Margot E. Fassler, director of the Institute of Sacred Music ; University Chaplain Frederick J. Streets; University Secretary and Vice President Linda Koch Lorimer; and former deans of the Divinity School Leander E. Keck and Thomas W. Ogletree.
The Right Reverend Victoria Matthews delivered the installation address. A 1979 graduate of the Divinity School and a fellow of Trumbull College, she was elected to the Yale Corporation in 1995. She was the first female bishop of the Anglican Church of Canada and is one of five women in the world to serve in that capacity.
Dean Wood received his B.A. from Duke University and a B. Div. from Union Theological Seminary. He earned master's 1964 and doctoral degrees 1965 in philosophy from Yale, was ordained a minister in the Methodist Church in 1961 and became a recorded Quaker minister in 1988. From 1966 to 1980, he was professor of philosophy at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, where he developed a career-long interest in Japanese philosophy and culture. He served as president of Earlham College for 11 years prior to coming to Yale.
"The task you have laid on me is a daunting and humbling one," Dean Wood said in his formal remarks. "I ask your help and prayers, and I promise you that I will do my best to lead us in fulfillment of our mission."