Press Release: The General Theological Seminary Announces Tenure Track Faculty Appointments

NEW YORK, Mar. 6, 2023 – The General Theological Seminary (GTS) today announced three tenure track faculty appointments.

Following GTS’ decision to focus on its innovative hybrid Master of Divinity (MDiv) program, the Seminary will become a faculty of seven. We are pleased to announce that after a robust interview process, the Rev. Carla E. Roland Guzmán, Ph.D., currently Affiliate Professor in History at GTS, the Rev. April Stace, Ph.D., currently Senior Associate Dean for Hybrid Programs at GTS, and the Rev. Eric A. Thomas, Ph.D., currently Louisville Institute Post-Doctoral Fellow at GTS, have been appointed as full-time Assistant Professors. The positions are all tenure track.

They will work alongside the Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D., President of GTS, responsible for Ethics, the Rev. Melody Knowles, Ph.D., Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, in Bible, the Very Rev. Michael DeLashmutt, Ph.D., Senior Vice President for GTS and Dean of Chapel, in Theology, and the Rev. James Farwell, Ph.D., who becomes the next holder of the H. Boone Porter Chair in Liturgics. Teaching will also be supplemented by outside talent, with Dr. Rowan Williams and Brian McLaren set to teach courses in 2023-24.

The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D., President of GTS, said: “We are pleased that these contracts are tenure track. We take the view that faculty need to be able to exercise their voice confident that their service to the academy and the church will continue.”

The Rev. Melody Knowles, Ph.D., Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, said: “We are confident in the gifts of these scholars and their commitment to the future of GTS. All the canonical areas are represented in this faculty of seven. As we look to the future, we are grateful for the amazing work of the entire GTS faculty, especially over the past several years. Building on a legacy of academic excellence and dedication to God’s work in the world, their creativity and dedication grew and strengthened the educational program at GTS and put it on its future track.”

Following the recent Affiliation Agreement with Virginia Theological Seminary, GTS is embarking on an exciting season of renewal. It has drawn up a five-year plan with the three core aims of providing a flagship MDiv program that responds to the changing needs of the church, tackling previously deferred campus maintenance, and establishing a new business model to provide long-term financial stability.

About the faculty:

The Rev. Carla E. Roland Guzmán, Ph.D., is currently serving as Affiliate Professor in History at GTS. Dr Roland Guzmán earned a Ph.D. in Theology at the University of Exeter/Hartford Seminary, writing on Baptism and Conversion in Sixteenth Century Spain. Dr. Roland Guzmán’s most recent book is Unmasking Latinx Ministry for Episcopalians: An Anglican Approach (Church Publishing, 2020). Dr. Roland Guzmán currently serves as Senior Pastor at Episcopal Church of St. Matthew and St. Timothy, New York. 

The Rev. April Stace, Ph.D., is currently serving at GTS as Senior Associate Dean for Hybrid Programs and heading up the Contextual Ministry program. She earned her doctoral degree in Religion and Culture at the Catholic University of America, and has taught at Marymount University and in the Correctional Education program at Ashland University. She is the author and editor of three books: White Knuckle Love: A Memoir of Holding (Wipf and Stock, 2020); Secular Music, Sacred Space: Secular Music in Evangelical Worship Services (Lexington, 2017), and Crossing Boundaries, Redefining Faith: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Emerging Church Movement (Wipf and Stock, 2016). Dr. Stace currently serves as Priest-in-Charge at Church of the Epiphany in Trumansburg, NY. 

The Rev. Eric A. Thomas, Ph.D., is currently serving at GTS as the Louisville Institute Post-Doctoral Fellow. He recently earned his Ph.D. from Drew University in New Testament and Early Christian Origins, writing on race, sexuality, and the New Testament. Before coming to GTS, he taught at The New School, Hartford Seminary, Kean University, Union Theological Seminary, and the Interdenominational Theological Center. He was a Forum for Theological Exploration Dissertation and Doctoral Fellow from 2016 to 2020 and has published several articles in academic journals. He is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and currently serves as Pastor at Siloam Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn, New York. 

About GTS:

The General Theological Seminary of The Episcopal Church is a seminary of The Episcopal Church in New York. Founded in 1817, GTS is the oldest seminary of The Episcopal Church and a leading center of theological education in the Anglican Communion. The seminary was chartered by an act of The Episcopal Church’s General Convention and its name was chosen to reflect its founders’ vision that it be a seminary to serve the whole church.