Five Divinity School graduates were honored on Oct. 15, during the school's annual Convocation. They are:
The Reverend A. Ralph Barlow, '59 B.D., '64 S.T.M. , who was honored for "Distinction in Ordained Ministry within the Church." Mr. Barlow served Beneficent Congregational Church, UCC, in Providence, Rhode Island, for 33 years, first as teaching minister and later as senior pastor. Throughout his ministry, Mr. Barlow challenged his parishioners to address societal issues from a Christian perspective and invited the entire Providence community to share his commitment to equality, justice and education. In 1995, for example, he successfully lobbied the Rhode Island State legislature to change the observance of V-J Day (celebrating victory over Japan in World War II) to a Peace Remembrance Day. Now retired, he is currently at work on a biography of former Divinity School dean Liston Pope.
Jewelnel Davis '83 M.Div., who received an award for "Distinguished Service by a Recent Graduate." Ms. Davis has focused her leadership and ministry on community building, both on and off campus. She currently is university chaplain and director of the Earl Hall Center at Columbia University, the campus' center for religious and spiritual life and community service. Before joining Columbia in 1996, she worked at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, where she is credited with revitalizing the Office of the Chaplain and advising the college president on human relations policy. Her teaching and ministry have included positions at Colgate University, Yale and the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. She is a former president of the National Association of College and University Chaplains.
M. Gregor Goethals '52 B.D., who was recognized for "Distinction in Lay Ministry" within the church. As a scholar, artist and theologian, Ms. Goethals has devoted her career to the role of art in society and in the Christian community. For nearly 30 years she was a professor at the Rhode Island School of Design, where she served as dean of graduate studies for 15 years. Currently she is artistic coordinator for an American Bible Society project to produce a comprehensive series of CD-ROMs illustrating the Bible, drawing on art from all historical periods.
James B. Nelson '57 B.D., who was honored for "Distinction in Theological Education/ Scholarship." Professor Nelson is recognized as a leading scholar in the area of sexuality, theology and ethics. A prolific writer, he has authored 12 books, 39 book chapters, 50 articles and 91 book reviews. While serving on the faculty of United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, Professor Nelson was a visiting scholar at both Oxford and Cambridge universities. In 1995 United Theological Seminary named him professor emeritus of Christian ethics.
Ruth Shinn '55 B.D., who received an award for "Distinction in Service to the Community." Throughout her career and in retirement Ms. Shinn has been outspoken in her commitment to racial and economic justice, and women's equality issues. She has worked at the Uskudar Amerikan Kiz Lisesi, an academy for girls in Istanbul, Turkey; the University of Nebraska; and the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University). From the early 1960s until her recent retirement, Ms. Shinn worked with the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., where she was influential in transforming federal public policy and rewriting administrative rules and regulations regarding the equality of women in the workplace.