Hartford Seminary will award an Honorary Doctor of Divinity to the Rev. Donald R. Steinle, the recently retired Executive Director of the Hartford-based Christian Activities Council, at its graduation exercises on May 16.

An ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, the Rev. Steinle led the Christian Activities Council, a faith-based organization focused on affordable housing and empowering the poor, for more than 30 years. The CAC, founded in 1851 as the Hartford City Missionary Society, promotes social, economic and racial justice in the Hartford region.

The Rev. Steinle, a graduate of Yale Divinity School, built the CAC from one half-time employee with a budget of $150,000 to a staff of 12 with a budget of $1 million. He led the Upper Albany Revitalization Initiative, which combined housing redevelopment and neighborhood organizing around issues such as public safety and streetscape improvements.

The Rev. Steinle and his wife Sharon live in Hartford while their son Marcus resides in Middletown where he is employed by Change, Inc., a social service agency, while also serving in the Naval Reserves.  Rev. Steinle also has a daughter, Stacey Goodnow, who lives in Norwalk with her two children, Daniel and Suzanne.

Hartford Seminary will present the Rev. Steinle with his Honorary Doctor of Divinity during graduation exercises that start at 4 p.m. on May 16 at Hartford Seminary, 77 Sherman St., Hartford.

Dr. Jane I. Smith, a nationally known scholar in Islamic Studies and Faculty Emerita at Hartford Seminary, will be the graduation speaker.