On October 13, 2021, Hartford Seminary will announce a new name and logo, the culmination of a two-year strategic planning process.

The public is invited to watch the announcement via livestream on our Facebook page. The program begins at 11 a.m. ET and will be recorded.

In an article on the front page of the Sept. 20 Hartford Courant, President Joel N. Lohr said the seminary is committed to deepening and expanding its work in peacebuilding and interreligious dialogue. The new name, he said, will reflect that focus.

Board of Trustees Chair Clare Feldman spoke to the ways the Seminary is working to address the current moment.

“The level of vitriol and anger and frustration has risen, it seems to many of us on the board, over the last few years,” she said. “We’ve looked at one another in our meetings and said: ‘What can we do to help lower the temperature, to have people listen to one another?’”

The Courant highlighted the three new MA programs that started this fall: Interreligious Studies, Chaplaincy, and International Peacebuilding. The article also focused on the new area of Executive and Professional Education, which will bring the Seminary’s expertise into the workplace.

“Gone are the days where [companies] can just expect people to check part of their identity at the door,” Katy O’Leary, Director of Executive and Professional Education, said. “Employees want more than that, they want to feel seen and understood. Employers … want to be able to attract and retain top talent.”

The Seminary launched its strategic planning project on Sept. 16, 2019. The project steering team, co-led by Professor Deena Grant and Trustee Nancy Roberts, and project partner rpk GROUP collected data and conducted interviews with faculty, staff, alumni, Trustees, donors, and community members. Additionally, the project Steering Team engaged in drafting a shared future vision (SFV) for Hartford Seminary, which was then approved by the Board of Trustees in March 2020. In 2020-2021, we engaged a digital communications firm based in Pittsburgh to lead us through a rebranding process, culminating in Board of Trustees approval of a new name and logo in May 2021.