VTS magazine

The General Theological Seminary (GTS) has completed a lease agreement with Vanderbilt University for the Close in Chelsea, after receiving approval from the New York State Attorney General.

The agreement secures GTS’ continued presence on its historic campus, the Close, while strengthening the Seminary’s long-term financial stability, expanding capacity for its hybrid Master of Divinity (MDiv) program, and creating new opportunities for alumni programing.

Under the terms of the 99-year lease, Vanderbilt will pick up the running costs of the Close, carryout building improvements and pay GTS an annual rent. GTS will retain a year-round presence on the Close, and continue to hold intensive weeks there in May and August, with new programming for alumni taking place in June. Commencement and Matriculation will also still be held in the Chapel of the Good Shepherd.

GTS will have access to more than twice the current level of accommodation on the Close for student intensive weeks, enabling it potentially to increase the number of students in each cohort of its innovative hybrid MDiv program over time.

In August, the Seminary welcomed 24 new students on to the program, the largest incoming MDiv class since 2008. The first cohort of hybrid MDiv students graduated last May, achieving a 100% placement rate in both parish and chaplaincy roles. GTS was also the only Episcopal seminary where every student was marked proficient in all six areas of the General Ordination Exams.

The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary and President of The General Theological Seminary, said: “The lease agreement with Vanderbilt University ensures that General continues its sacred work of forming leaders for the Church from the Seminary’s historic home in Chelsea. It enables us to grow the innovative hybrid MDiv program and deepen our offerings for alumni, while securing General’s presence on the Close for generations to come.”

Approval from the New York State Attorney General was necessary to close on the lease agreement. Vanderbilt also required approval from the New York State Education Department to provide academic programming on the Close, including an undergraduate study away program and a one-year master’s program.

VTS and GTS entered into an Affiliation Agreement in 2022. Under the agreement, the two seminaries operate as separate entities, retaining their own accreditations, endowments, and boards, but sharing an overlapping governance structure, executive leadership team, and a range of shared services, including library services, student support, communications and institutional advancement. The agreement prohibits the subsidy of one institution by the other.