Hartford Seminary proudly announces that the Chair in Transformative Leadership and Spirituality will be named after the founder and director of the Master of Arts in Transformative Leadership and Spirituality, Prof. Miriam Therese Winter.

Prof. Winter was honored on Friday night at a concert to mark the progress in funding the chair and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of her most famous song, the Gold-Record-winning Joy Is Like the Rain. Members of Prof. Winter’s order, the Medical Mission Sisters, traveled from the order’s home base in Philadelphia to support her.

The MT Winter Chair in Transformative Leadership and Spirituality will ensure that Hartford Seminary has leadership for this groundbreaking master’s degree, a 36-credit program for women and men within various faith traditions or no tradition who are seeking a deeper understanding of the Divine and want to contribute more effectively to peace and cross-cultural harmony in our tumultuous times.

Prof. Winter describes the program this way: “Transformative spirituality radiates an enlightened understanding of the world in which we live and a more inclusive awareness of what it means to be fully human. It is rooted in a transformation of consciousness that acknowledges an interconnectedness with all life on planet Earth and its cosmic origins. As a result people of faith grow in their relationship with the Divine. As their inner spirit is affirmed and energized, they cultivate a concern for the wider world that often leads to outward action oriented toward systemic change. The result? Transformative leadership.”

At Friday evening’s event, Academic Dean Uriah Kim announced the naming of the chair, saying the program had become an important part of Hartford Seminary’s offerings since it began in 2014. Dean Kim praised Prof. Winter for her kindness, her scholarship and for her important contributions to Hartford Seminary, where she has taught for the last 35 years.

Donations to the MT Winter Chair in Transformative Leadership and Spirituality can be made by contacting the Development Office, online or by sending a check made out to Hartford Seminary (please note in memo line – MT Winter Chair) to:

Development Office
Hartford Seminary
77 Sherman St.
Hartford, CT 06105