Hundreds gather on campus to mark a new chapter in the School's history as Marla F. Frederick begins her tenure as HDS’s eighteenth Dean.
The Harvard Divinity School community was in a celebratory mood on January 22. The day marked the official start of classes for the 2024 spring semester, and it was punctuated with a festive celebration to welcome the School’s new Dean Marla F. Frederick.
HDS Administrative Dean Kristen Anderson opened the program by offering the HDS Acknowledgement of Land and People. She then began her welcome remarks, saying: “I've had the pleasure of working with Dean Frederick for three weeks now, and it's been very vibrant, very full of information, and very promising. We are privileged to have her leading our School.”
Anderson was followed by Harvard Interim President Alan Garber, who beamed with delight in talking about Frederick and her return to Harvard, which was announced in August 2023.
“I want to give myself a little bit of credit for starting the recruitment before she even left Harvard," Garber said. "I didn't know in what capacity we’d bring her back, but as you recall, Marla, I said at the time, ‘We'll get you back one way or another.’ This took a lot of planning, but it worked out perfectly.”
To the gathered crowd of over 200 HDS community members and friends, Garber spoke about Frederick’s scholarship and research.
“Marla is a distinguished scholar; she's a top ethnographer; she's done tremendous work on the African American religious experience. She was a star within the FAS when she was here before she left for Emory. She approaches the study of African American religion, race and politics, from a multidisciplinary perspective, and her work has been remarkably revealing.”
Before offering a celebratory toast to Frederick, Garber spoke about her unique abilities to meet today’s challenges. Referencing the 2021 Presidential Lecture that Frederick delivered to the American Academy of Religion, titled, “Religion, Inequality, and the Will to Stop,” Garber said: “If we are going to build the ties that we have—that have been frayed a bit in the turmoil that we have been experiencing—we will need to call upon that will to stop. Maybe to stop making our arguments in favor of our own point of view and actually listen to a different perspective and take it very seriously. And to be willing to change our minds.
“Marla is uniquely capable of taking this on. It shows in how she has approached her entire career. She not only has a brilliant intellect, but she's warm and optimistic. And, now more than ever, what we need in our leaders is optimism.”
Arriving to the podium to thunderous applause and hundreds of smiling faces, Frederick thanked Garber for his support and acknowledged the warm welcome she’d received from the community. She also offered a special thank you to her family and friends who traveled to attend the day’s celebration.
Frederick then spoke directly to the HDS faculty, staff, alumni, students, and friends gathered in the James Room, about how HDS is uniquely suited to meet the challenges of the world and to nurture and train students to lead in our increasingly multireligious and multiracial democracy.
You can read and listen to an excerpt of her remarks below:
"As you all well know, several divisions and conflicts have come into starker contrast over the last several months. These are truly tough times in higher education. But, these conflicts, if nothing else, underscore the deep importance of the work that we do here at Harvard Divinity School.
"We are a community that stands on three pillars—academics, ministry, religion and public life—and while we study intently the nature of religious conflict, whether it is the scriptural texts and interpretations that give rise to conflict or the historical nature of them, we also hold in tension the reality that religion has been and can be a powerful force for good in the world.
"Thus, as a community, we hold a unique commitment to developing religious and civic leaders for our increasingly complex and diverse society. Previous deans have worked alongside HDS stakeholders to craft and implement a transformative global vision for the School, which I humbly respect and embrace, and look forward to cultivating and ultimately expanding.
"The work we do here at HDS is more critical than ever. We will continue to educate, illuminate, and serve the mission of Harvard Divinity School. We are scholars who study religion and its place in history and human affairs. We are an academic and multireligious community inspired by faith, grounded in truthful inquiry and our shared humanity. We are committed to rigorous intellectual engagement as well as civic debate—with the potential to bring understanding to some of the most intractable problems of history and the present day.
"As dean, I feel a special responsibility to nurture this community and its extended network in the world. As I take up this work, I want to express my deep appreciation, truly, for each and every one of you. You play an essential role in supporting our core mission: pursuing academic excellence, building religious literacy, encouraging interreligious dialogue, and developing informed, moral leadership in a multiracial and multireligious world. In the words of the HDS Vision, may we 'provide an intellectual home where scholars and professionals from around the globe research and teach the varieties of religion in service of a just world at peace across religious and cultural divides.'"
—HDS Office of Communications