Rev. Dr. Willard Ashley, Sr. Named Acting Dean of NBTS
September 1, 2012
The Reverend Dr. Willard Ashley, Sr., has been appointed to the position of Acting Dean of the Seminary, effective August 1, 2012.
The Rev. Dr. Ashley assumes the office previously held by the Rev. Dr. Renee House, who is moving toward full-time congregational ministry. Dr. House has been with the Seminary for more than 25 years and will continue to teach at NBTS.
“We are both delighted and honored that Dr. Ashley has assumed the role of Acting Dean at this most important time in the Seminary’s history, said the Reverend Dr. Gregg Mast, president of New Brunswick Theological Seminary. With a new seminary campus on the drawing board, changes to the curriculum percolating among the faculty, and with a community that has grown increasingly diverse and creative, Wills rich experience as a pastor, scholar, therapist and community activist will add much to the leadership of the Seminary.”
The Rev. Dr. Ashley, founder and senior pastor of the Abundant Joy Community Church in Jersey City, New Jersey, most recently was Director of Field Education and Associate Professor of Practical Theology at NBTS. He brings to the role of Acting Dean more than 30 years of pastoral, teaching, business and community activism experience.
My mission is to help people from all walks of life to realize and celebrate their full potential, and to prepare them to be effective leaders in any setting in any place in the world, stated Dr. Ashley. I love this Seminary because of its outreach to second career students as well as students right out of college. NBTS offers them a quality, academically rigorous graduate-level education on a flexible schedule and at an affordable price.
This news builds upon two other faculty appointments announced recently. The Rev. Dr. Bernadette Glover, an adjunct professor at NBTS for the past 12 years, has been appointed Associate Professor of Preaching and Worship. In addition, the Rev. Dr. Jaeseung Cha has been appointed to the position of Associate Professor of Constructive and Foundational Theology. Dr. Cha, an ordained minister in the Reformed Church in America, has received graduate degrees in both the United States and Europe and was previously teaching Theology at the Presbyterian Seminary in the Philippines.