And this semester, thanks again to a bit of wisdom from this group, we have had the added gift of our new Dean’s presence. Through our conversations in the Lexington seminar, the faculty has repeatedly brought up a glaringly obvious question, but one with a less obvious answer. What’s in a dean? A dean, we all agreed, should be first among equals in regards to the faculty—that is to say, a member of the faculty, engaged with us and collaborating with us, while also able to discern how and when to speak with authority. A dean should be an advocate for the seminary to the surrounding church, a dean should be a pastor to the seminary community. And, while all that’s going on, a dean should raise about a jillion dollars and bring in students from around the country and world.

So it became obvious that we were hoping, as Charlie says, for the Messiah.

Now, granted that Dean Travis seems to have arrived without countless throngs of angels in tow (and we’re actually grateful for that), let me say something about our experience of the Dean you have found for us. Doug has spent a semester listening: to students, to bishops, to alums, and to faculty. He has gotten to know us individually and collectively. He has joined our conversations on vision and formation, both listening to us and sharing ideas that his years of experience in the Episcopal Church have formed in him. And he has shared with us an excitement about our future that is, I’m afraid, bound to be contagious. Doug has expressed to us, and I believe also to many of you, what this faculty has hoped to be the case for years: there’s something unique, visionary, and simply right about what we’re up to here. And under his leadership, we are confident that the horizons will only continue to expand and the visions will continue to materialize.

Part of the experience of a dean, as Phil said, may indeed be to discover gifts that the dean himself or herself may not know that he or she has. Another aspect, I believe, is to allow the faculty to discover gifts, both individually and collectively, that they may not know they have. Dean Travis, we’ve now ascertained, is not Dean MacDonald, not Dean Presler, and not Interim Dean Turner: he’s Dean Travis, and we are excited and confident about working with him to become more than what we’ve been, and even perhaps more than what we thought we could be.

I want to say, finally that the biggest question mark hovering over Dean Travis has now been put to rest: a couple of weeks ago, some students hosted a Motown dance party, raising nearly $1000 for scholarships for African American women. And I want you all to rest assured: The new dean can dance

Professor Anthony Baker