Richmond seminary getting new name

It’s not official yet, but Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education has a new name.

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The school will become Union Presbyterian Seminary as soon as “legal and operational steps” are completed for the name change, said Philip G. Graham, interim director of communications for the seminary. That will take place no later than November, but the new name is already in use, he said.

The change was approved May 15 by the board of trustees and announced yesterday.

The seminary on Brook Road in North Richmond has about 300 students, and its Charlotte, N.C., campus has nearly 100. On Saturday, 67 students will receive diplomas during commencement exercises in Richmond.

The seminary was founded in 1812 and relocated in 1898 from Hampden-Sydney College near Farmville to Richmond. In 1997, it combined with the Presbyterian School of Christian Education and took its current name.

Seminary President Brian K. Blount said the new name fits the seminary’s history and its future and is “the promise of something more than the sum of its previous parts.“ In a sermon about the change posted on the seminary’s Web site, he noted that some fear a loss of identity because the name will no longer contain PSCE.

Blount also said the new name reflects the seminary’s commitment to “serve an ecumenical church and spirit.“

Graham said replacing “Theological” with “Presbyterian” in the name is an acknowledgement that “we are who we are.“

“We are Presbyterians,“ he said, adding that the Presbyterian spirit is to be ecumenical.

Selection of the name comes after the adoption of a strategic plan for the seminary, which calls for increasing the number of applicants but reducing the size of the student body over time to a level that can be efficiently supported by endowment resources.

The seminary also is planning a capital campaign, although the fundraising goal has not been set yet, Graham said. The seminary raised $53 million in its previous campaign, completed two years ago.

Karin Kapsidelis is a staff writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.