This concern and others raised in the early phases of the school’s curricular review speak to many of the larger issues confronting HDS. And the review is the logical way to begin a reexamination of the school, Gomes says.

“We’re looking at the curriculum because that’s the thing that most of us agree upon is at the heart of what we do at the divinity school,” he says. “In a practical sense, the curriculum is the only place to begin.”

Wandering in the Desert

The ongoing review will provide a window onto the search for the school’s mission.

But no consensus has been reached thus far on any of the major questions facing the school.

“We’re not in possession of a clear mission in several areas,” Gomes said last August.

And for now, it appears that such uncertainty about the school’s future continues to be prevalent.

“Everything’s up in the air right now,” Little says. “It remains to be seen what the final form of the new direction of the school will be.”

Keen says different faculty members have fundamentally divergent views of the school’s role.

“The faculty, like every other large discipline, is divided,” he says. “If anything, the clarity has come in the form of identifying the issues—I think that’s especially true in a school that has both an academic and a vocational mission.”

Faculty members agree that the only resolution that has been achieved thus far is a “both-and” desire to do it all—to be academic and ministerial, Christian and worldly.

But this was self-evident in Summers’ convocation address. The challenge is rather how to effectively balance academic and vocational concerns, and Christianity and other religions.

And while Little emphasizes the importance of expanding non-Christian offerings, he says how the school would integrate Christian and non-Christian traditions remains an “open question.” There is some disagreement among the faculty at this point, he says.

“That’s what makes the discussion very lively right now,” Little says.

Gomes insisted last year that the school should remain true to its Christian roots.