good morning and welcome. always a privilege to host mosaic. i am especially grateful to have as our guest this morning the president of the graduate theological union. we call it gtu for shirt. great to have you, reese. >> thank you. >> as we were talking earlier, we know that you have a lot of experience as being president of seminary. tell us a little bit about your background. >> i began my vocation as a parish minister and then got involved in creating a large homeless shelter in the san fernando valley. following that i went to the

pacific school of religion in berkeley. i was there three years and became president of lancaster seminary and then was called back to pacific school religion for three years as president. then last year i became president of the graduate theological union. >> before we get into the gtu your experience as a parish minister first. you were saying something about they deal in housing for the homeless? >> yes. in the san fernando valley there were a group of about 35 churches and synagogues and they became interested in the vulnerable population of single women with children who were homeless. so we ended up buying a motel and converting it to a shelter. from that we went on to develop in the project of this organization to build some

additional shelters and also some low-income housing or affordable housing so that some people could actually find a trajectory towards independence. >> so a lot of funds were raised as a result? >> we had to raise about $1 million a year in the beginning. of course, homelessness was very much in the public imagination. >> what year was this again? >> 1986. >> okay. okay. so from there how did you get into seminary? >> well, i became interested in trying to go to a place where leaders were being trained. the next generation. and to see what i could do from my own experience in helping to develop a school that would mentor and educate and prepare leaders for the church and the non-profit sector. >> okay. okay. and that's how it started? >> that's how it started. > le well, now let's talk about gtu. you had the privilege to go there, too, pacific school of

religion there, in the late '60s, early '70s. one of the factors that drew me was gtu. for those who don't know gtu, tell us about that. >> it's 50 years old, first of all. it's the largest ph.d. program in religous studies in north america. >> great. >> there is 300 students in the ph.d. and m.a. programs. the gtu itself is made up of nine theological seminars and then other affiliates. so centers where there is the study of buddhism, islam, judaism. and now we're trying to build more of a true interreligous center with all of the great traditions of the world represented. >> tell us before we take a break, the other denominations represented. >> well, there are three roman catholic schools and then there are five protestant schools.

presbyterian, united baptist, united church of christ, lutheran, episcopalian and star king which is a school which represents multiple traditions. >> that's great. we are going to come back it that because it's such an exciting place. we said earlier a lot of people maybe don't know about it? >> right. it's a well kept secret. >> please join us to talk about gtu.

welcome back. we have been speaking to dr. reese pottervale. tell us more about that.

part of the problem with the gtu is it's not tied with a particular religous organization organization. a lot of the graduates have gone out to teach in colleges and universities. they seven in the churches. and so within the theological world it is well known. if you stop someonen the treat they are apt not to know about it even they it's been here for 50 years. >> i went on the website and read some things about it. i think it said it was 1300 students in total. would that be accurate if you count all the seminaries? >> there is about 1,200 students today. >> okay. >> those, of course, some are in the seminaries doing master divinity or master of arts degrees. of the students at the gtu they

are doing either the ph.d. or the m.a. degree or the thd, which is a doctor of kneology. >> when i was in seminary, some of them came out to be pastors. is that still a major concern? >> yes. among the seminaries probably 70, 80% of the students are seeking ordination or some kind of certification for leadership in their own churches. there are more people coming who are not necessarily coming from a denominational background. we call them the spiritual seekers or searchers. and the younger generations are producing a lot of these people that are interested in religion or their own spiritual journey but are not necessarily interested in becoming what we will call a priest or a pastor leader. >> i thought i saw also, is

this course a christian spiritualality? >> christian spiritualality has always been one of the discipline areas of the gtu. of course, upon for seminaries. but today there are more people coming again to have exposure to their own spiritual journey. exposures to islam, buddhism, hinduism, so forth, they it represent unique spiritual pathways or journeys, too. so people want to come to a school or a center where there are multiple exposures and they can kind of taste, if you will, from all of the wonderful traditions. >> sounds exciting. sounds very exciting. now, we were speaking earlier that dalai lama was in town a month ago. is he is an interesting fellow. i think someone asked him how do i get my children to, you know,

do their homework? he said, first, i have to have children and get married and have children and do that. he has a great sense of humor. what was your impression? i understand you were there. >> he is very humble and approachable human being. so even nope he is a leader of this vast -- even though he is a leader of this vast movement and known throughout the whole world and audiences, of course, with the president, he is very approachable. and he was talking about the role of compassion, and particularly compassion in business. so there were leaders from the silicon valley and there were leaders from santa clara university and other centers. and he really made the case that it sort of has to start within each person, but that there are ways that leaders can encourage compassion within their organization. i think he had a profound impact on the people that he addressed. >> the buddhist center that it's at, the gtu, would that be a

connection there or how would that -- if someone has buddhism -- >> it's a form of buddhism that whose origins are really in japan. and the center became an affiliate of gtu in 1985. and so they have a rather robust program where students come each year and study meditation and the spiritual masters. some of them prepare for buddhist chap lansy. >> your tenure will be how long, will you a i, being president? >> i was invited to serve for two years. i am 71. i am edging up on retirement age. but i'm very committed to strengthening the gtu and its member schools. and so i'm going to do what i can in this two-year period to both add it the circle of religion that are represented and also to try to do some serious fundraising because we all know that we have to have

those resources to carry out our aspirations and dreams. >> right. i was on the board of trustees when you came to be interim pastor. i should say interim president of the psr, because it's a school of religion. what is your assessment of the seminaries now? >> the seminaries feel a little bit beleaguered. for one thing, they are all undercapitalized. we never build up in dominance really large enough to sustain them. and there has been a shrinking enrollment. fewer people are going into the ministry or want to. we have not felt that shortfall or down turn in the gtu yet. but it affects the seminars because they are dependent on the tuition that comes from those students. many of those students are carrying a lot of debt. and when they go into ministry they don't really have a high-paying job to pay off that debt. so it all con spires to put

pressure on the system. >> i think when you were here two or three years ago you might have mentioned that there is a 250 seminaries in the country, i think you said? >> yes. >> and about 60% struggle in terms of being in the red? >> yes. we call many of them free standing, meaning the ones that are affiliated with a college or university complex are going to be stronger. >> stronger, right. >> and the ones that are free standing or independent have to either get their money from gifts or endowment or from tuition. we don't have football teams to help us raise money. >> right. >> so we're very much dependent on the jep rossty of individuals -- generosity of individuals who think this is important. >> we are going to come back to that in the next segment because we want to talk more about how we can get support for the seminaries and what seminaries can do to be connected with the community and with the churches. so thanks for being with us. >> thank you.

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welcome back to mosaic. to be president of any school, university, high school, college, whatever, especially seminary, is quite a challenge and it takes a commitment. it takes passion, i'm sure, and it takes intensity. so, doctor, why are you involved so many years in seminary? >> well, ron, i did grow up in the church. so that is an institution that's always been woven in and an important part of my life. what i find at the graduate theological union is that we're

more and more a global society. and if you're a minister or if you're a professor, if you are serving a non-profit world you are going to have exposure to people who come from all these different religous traditions. and of course religion also spawns conflict. we are aware of that throughout the world. so the graduate theological union is a center where all the religion can come together where students and leaders and people from the community can engage not only in dialogue and mutual study, but in some common projects together. this is a unique place. i don't know of another one really like it where there is not only scholarship, but people are interested in the practice of religion and are reverential, have an openness to all of the traditions that are found throughout our world. and so we want to take that to

like the next step and say, once we have people assembled and all the religion are represented, are there some projects, maybe something on the environment or something on social justice that we can work on together and develop resources that will be available to churches, synagogues, you know, religous centers as a resource. so we're putting more things online, for instance, and using the electronic education and resources to reach more people so that we can talk about having an impact that is wider or deeper than just the bay area. >> right. i think i read people who are passionate about their faith but also critical thinkers? >> why he. >> and that combination of the two being involved. well, the challenge, of course, is that churches also are shrinking. not just seminaries.

i read in the christiansentry that the program, which is normally three years, might have to be reduced to two years to accommodate churches and maybe even pastors having to do other work by vocational. >> yes. >> yes. more and more people are going to be serving as ministers on a part time basis and having to supplement their income. but also students over the past decade are so are coming out of seminary with more and more depth, mounting debt. and so one of the solutions is to maybe shrink the education to two years rather than three. that's under conversation. it's also found in other professional careers. law schools are talking about that as well. >> yeah. >> so if you talk to people, as

i have in the last 40 years, they will say, well, i wish that they had been in school for five years and they would have come out knowing more. but the reality is that we need to sort of compact education and to prepare people as quickly as possible and to know that they are going to have to continue to learn from continuing education programs or things available online throughout their career. they are not done after three years. >> right. the world is complex and you need to keep creating and honing your skills. >> what do you think churches can do to help? i mean, where are they? >> the main line churches, of course, have been shrinking and losing momentum to some extent for the last four decades. so the seminaries have had to go to individuals in the churches

to too i to raise additional financial resources. >> over the years i have been on the board of ministries and interview candidates for the ministry. it's amazing. some chumps feel there is not an educational process. in other words, all of a sudden you are called by good and -- by god and start preaching. it takes years sometimes to be ordained and to give that quality work, you see that as many some of the challenges there still? >> sure. and there have been religous traditions in the united states that put moore emphasis -- put more emphasis on the spiritual presence of an individual, whether they were called from childhood on. many of those denominations would move someone into pastor without going through extensive education. that's still part of the american landscape. >> true. >> but what's happening now is that some of the denominations

have been -- begun to develop leadership programs towards ordination outside of the seminaries. this is usually a shorter tract to ordination. it may not involve much seminary education. and, of course, it's less expensive and more efficient in that way. so that's sort of cannibalizing the seminary programs because people say, well, do i want to take on $60,000 in debt? or do i want to go through some summer programs and be prepared to serve my -- is. >> well, we hope the spirit is there, whatever route they take. the spirit inspires them. we have one more segment and we are going to talk a little bit about your journey again, like your wife and your kids and your personal journey, too. >> okay. >> thank you. please join us in our last

segment with dr. reese pottervale. (singing opera) that's right, you can't beat a free colonoscopy.

enter the cbs cares colonoscopy sweepstakes. you can be our numero uno. if you have been with us you know we have been speaking about graduate theological union, gtu, with the president, reese pottervale. how do i have access to it if i

want to be a student? >> yes. well, one thing i should say is that it runs an enormous number of just public programs. so if you go to the website, gtu.edu, you will find listed there lectures, forums. i mean, there are literally hundreds available throughout the year. >> i see dr. are cornell west is coming? >> yes. >> we are very excited about that in just a few weeks. >> right. right. that's exciting. so helpful to always look at the website. and look at ways in which i can be a part of those lectures or even become a student there? >> yes. there are summer school programs where people come and take courses and these courses are geared towards the general public. each of the centers, the islamic center, for instance, and the jewish program do centers together. so if you are interested in how

those two religion interface in helpful ways you can attend and there is lectures in the evenings, weekends. you need no other social life. just come to gtu. >> that's good to know that. i mentioned in the last segment about your spouse and your children. people like to know what people do and who they are. so tell us a little bit about it, your personal background. >> my spouse, is a sign- language interpreter for the deaf and she especially specializes in -- specializes in interpreting for legal situations. she has written a book on it. she goes around the country training interpreters. >> not one location then? >> no. she is primarily working here. but because of they are expertise she does get invitations to go elsewhere. >> that's great. >> she is -- sculptor, two.

>> 74 sons and seven grandchildren. >> any interest in ministry? >> no. they are all in either other professions or capitalists. >> so they are not going to enroll in got got? >> one. one is a chef. one is a lawyer. one runs a men's clothing store here in san francisco. wing tip. >> wing tip? okay. >> one is an audio engineer. >> fascinating. we are coming close to an end. tell me more. is there anything else we should highlight about graduate theological union, gtu? >> keep your eye on the fact that we are trying to attract right now hindu and-seik groups. we are trying to condition vince number to establish centers

here. that will make all of our lives more robust in terms of having access to all of the great traditions. >> it does sound exciting. any way you are trying to do that, you see it as a possibility yet? >> yes. we're in deep conversations with one group, a hindu group, and they could possibly start off in courses as early of next year, in january of 2015. >> that would be great. great. i might even enroll again. >> sounds good. >> thank you for being with us. >> i appreciate it. >> we appreciate you coming here. we are going to look at some of the other persons who might be able to come from the gtu because we like to always have access to them coming and you being a part of us. we want to highlight all that you do. >> very good. thank you. >> thank you very much. >> thank you for being with us this morning on mosaic and i hope that if you have an interest in gtu, the graduate

theological union, you will check them out and you will support them. as we said earlier, there is lectures coming up. there is always lectures there. so we encourage you to support them because they do great work. thank you for joining us this morning.

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