Guide to the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Special Committee on Theological Education Records

Descriptive Summary

Title

Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Special Committee on Theological Education Records

Inclusive Dates

1939-1943

Call Number

RG 36

Creator(s)

Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Special Committee on Theological Education.

Quantity

1.00 cubic foot

Restrictions on Access

Open for research. Medical, educational, and psychological records of living people are closed.

Repository

Presbyterian Historical Society, 425 Lombard Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147-1516 USA

Biographical Note / Administrative History

Administrative History

In May of 1940, the General Assembly (PCUSA) approved the appointment of a special committee to study the field of theological education. This was not the first time the General Assembly had decided to study this subject: it had appointed committees in 1917, 1922-23, 1929-30, 1938, and 1939-40. The new Committee held its first meeting in May of 1941, with Dr. Charles F. Wishart as chair. Drs. Herman Morse and Charles T. Leber of the Board of National Missions served on the committee, along with six others. They soon realized that a study of not only the number and location of Presbyterian seminaries but of the problem of theological education for which the Presbyterian Church was responsible would take far longer than the year which would pass before their report to the 1942 General Assembly. At the Assembly they requested funding, a reappointment of the Committee until the 1943 General Assembly, and three additional members. These requests were granted.

During 1941-42 Committee members visited the ten Presbyterian seminaries to acquaint themselves with the seminaries, to interview faculty and students and discuss curricula and other issues, and to hold conferences on the "Policies and Programs of Theological Education" which the Committee had developed.

The 1943 report to the General Assembly was a lengthy and thorough study on Presbyterian theological education. It included the procedures of the Committee, a statement of the standard of the Presbyterian Church for theological education, a plan for achieving those standards, and recommendations to the Assembly.

Collection Overview

Record Group 36 includes correspondence, minutes, financial records, reports and publications.
In 1943 Luther Morse Dimmit, who was Executive Secretary of the Committee and kept its records, created an index to facilitate their use by researchers. Record Group 36 maintains this original order. The folders are all numbered on the right-hand side to show their relationship to the index and stamped on the left-hand side to show their relationship to this finding aid.

Catalog Headings

The following headings have been used to index the description of this collection in the society’s electronic catalog.

Corporate Subject

Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Special Committee on Theological Education--Archives.

Topical Subject

Presbyterian Church--Education.

Presbyterian theological seminaries.

Theology--Study and teaching--Curricula

Personal Added Name

Dimmitt, Luthur Mason, b. 1889.

Wishart, Charles Frederick, 1870-1960.

Collection Inventory

Box	Folder	Description

1	1	Finding Aid to RG 36, 1991: Index to Research Materials, 1943
	2	History of General Assembly Committees on Theological Education, 1917-1943
	3	GA Action on Seminary Curricula, 1936
	4	Report to GA, 1943
	5	Report to GA, 1943
	6	Minutes, 1941
	7	Minutes, 1942
	8	Minutes, 1943
	9	Executive Secretary Correspondence, 1941-43
	10	GA Correspondence, 1941-43
	11	Seminary Correspondence, 1941-43
	12	General Correspondence, 1941-43
	13	Outline of Proposed Research, 1942
	14	Statistical Data
	15	"Policy and Program of Theological Education," 1942
	16	Seminary Conference Schedule
	17	Princeton Seminary Conference, 1943
	18	Western Seminary Conference
	19	Louisville Seminary Conference
	20	McCormick Seminary Conference
	21	San Francisco Seminary Conference
	22	Dubuque Seminary Conference
	23	Bloomfield Seminary Conference
	24	Lincoln Seminary Conference
	25	Johnson C. Smith Seminary Conference
	26	Omaha Seminary Conference
	27	Conference with Board of Directors
	28	Correspondence and Reports on Visits to Seminaries
	29	Map of Seminaries in USA and Canada
	30	Plans for new Council of Theological Education, 1943
	31	Reports and Minutes of the Committee of Five, 1939
	32	Seminary Objectives
	33	Seminary Materials
	34	Seminaries--Women Students
	35	Seminaries--Enrollments
	36	Seminaries--Libraries and Faculty Organization
	37	Seminaries--General Information
	38	Seminaries--Trustees, Tuition, Degrees Offered
	39	Seminaries--Home States of Students
	40	Statistics--Supply and Seminary Enrollment
	41	Rating of Seminary Equipment
	42	Specific Deficiencies of Seminaries
	43	Seminary Finances, 1941-43
	44	Seminary Finances
	45	Curriculum Studies
	46	Required and Elective Courses
	47	Organization of Curriculum
	48	Arguments re Study of Hebrew and Greek
	49	Study for Doctorate of Theology
	50	H.N. Morse--Study of Field Work
	51	Princeton Department of Field Work
	52	Field Work Plans
	53	Study on Non-Presbyterian Seminaries
	54	Study of Ecumenical Movement in Seminaries
	55	Statistics on Colleges and Seminaries Attended by Missionaries and Ministers
	56	Contacts in Colleges and Universities
	57	Standards and Procedures of Missionary Appointment
	58	Study of Dubuque/Omaha Situation
	59	Conference on Seminaries with PCUSA
	60	PCUS Seminary Survey
	61	Summary of "The Education of the American Minister" by H.N. Morse
	62	American Association of Theological Schools
	63	Status of the Commissioned Church Worker
	64	GA Report on Committee's Work
	65	Articles
	66	Statistics
	67	Article on Seminary Improvements
	68	Seminary Bulletins
	69	Bulletins of American Medical Association

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Guide to the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Special Committee on Theological Education Records

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