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Crane Theological School

April 11, 2024

The Crane Theological School was a Universalist seminary at Tufts University founded in 1869 as the Tufts College Divinity School and closed in 1968.[1] It was one of three Universalist seminaries founded in America during the nineteenth century, along with the Theological School of St. Lawrence University and the Ryder Divinity School at Lombard College. During its history, it granted 281 Bachelor of Divinity degrees (some in religious education), 152 Bachelor of Sacred Theology degrees, and two Masters of Religious Education, for a total of 435 degrees.[2]

Crane Theological School
Former names
Tufts College Divinity School, Tufts College School of Religion
Typeseminary
Active1869–1968
AffiliationUniversalist
Location
Medford
,
Massachusetts
Tufts in 1910, with Goddard Chapel visible at left, and Miner Hall at right

The name changed multiple times. Founded as "Tufts College Divinity School", it became "Crane Theological School" in 1906 upon Albert Crane's gift of $100,000 in 1906 in honor of his father, Thomas.[3] In 1925, the school became officially the "Tufts College School of Religion - Crane Theological School," after extensive discussions, including a conference with the widow of Albert Crane.[4] By the 1960s, the name had shortened again to "Crane Theological School". The Crane Chapel remains part of the Tufts campus as the Crane Room.

The school was one of the Associated Schools of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences from 1903-1962 and 1965-1968. The school was never officially denominationally controlled, nor was it accredited by the American Association of Theological Schools.[5]

History edit

Founding – World War I edit

 
Crane Chapel while still in Miner hall, prior to the 1929 addition to the Crane Building

Universalist layman and major Tufts supporter Silvanus Packard founded the school with a bequest in 1869.

The divinity school was initially housed on the second floor of Ballou Hall. With the construction of West Hall in 1872, divinity students were offered accommodation there. In 1891, students saw the building of separate quarters for the school with the construction of Miner and Paige halls. Miner Hall provided classroom and office space for the school while Paige Hall served as a dormitory and chapel.

Miner Hall was constructed in 1891 to serve as headquarters for the School of Theology and was named for Alonzo A. Miner, second president of Tufts College and the major donor to the project ($40,000). Paige Hall was built in 1892 to serve as a dormitory for Theological School Students and bears the name of Lucius R. Paige, Universalist minister and trustee 1859–1896.[6]

In 1902, the school began to offer a combined 5-year A.B./S.T.B.[7]

Between 1910 and 1915, both Miner and Paige halls became home to the newly established Jackson College for Women, until women were integrated into the rest of Tufts in 1915 and the facilities were returned to the Crane School.[6]

 
Paige hall (at left) and Miner Hall prior to construction of the Crane Chapel and arcade between the two buildings

During World War I, the school's buildings were taken for use as barracks and training facilities and Dean McCollester held classes for the handful of students enrolled in his living room for the duration of hostilities.

In 1929, architects George, Lloyd and Ruffing designed Crane chapel as an addition to Paige Hall along with the two-level Fischer arcade connecting it to Miner Hall. Designed as an adaptation of a chapel in Oxford, England, the oak paneling was brought from Warwick Forest in England.[8]

Postwar edit

By 1945, the school had almost no endowment and faculty. After the 1951 destruction by fire of Fisher Hall, the main building of the Universalist St. Lawrence Theological School, Ratcliff favored merging the two schools, an offer which St. Lawrence rejected. The next year included a fundraising drive by Tufts, although it ignored the school itself. The school then launched into its own fundraising program, although this was unsuccessful.[9]

Closing edit

In 1953, when Dean Ratcliff died unexpectedly, Eugene Ashton, a Congregational minister and assistant chaplain of Tufts, was appointed to replace him until a successor could be found. Shortly before his successor's appointment in 1954, Ashton released a report on the school arguing that it was "not in a particularly healthy state".[10] He observed that of 151 men enrolled between 1947 and 1952, 80 were non-graduates; of the 33 women who attended during the same period, 14 were non-graduates.

The American Unitarian Association (AUA) Board of Trustees in 1959 appointed a commission to study theological education in anticipation of merger with the Universalists. In 1962, the report advocated the merger of St. Lawrence and Crane, and the 1964 General Assembly debated a resolution that advocated a merger with Star King or Meadville, however neither attempt was successful.[11] The lack of funds to continue operation was the main reason for closing Crane.[12] The school operated with a deficit for a number of years—in 1964 half of the $90,000 (~$675,940 in 2023) Crane budget required funding from Tufts general operating fund.[13]

In 1962, Crane disassociated itself from the faculty of arts and sciences to report directly to the trustees. While the aim was to become a graduate school independent of a college, resources were inadequate for even a quasi-independent existence, and in 1965 the faculties recombined.[14] The program would have included an undergraduate degree for admission called for elimination of the combined AB/STB program.[10]

In 1967, the trustees finally reached the decision to close the school the following year. A number of factors contributed to the decision. The committee that recommended closure gave finances as the primary reason, estimating $250,000 per year was required to operate the school, with no funding prospects, as the Tufts operating deficit in 1967 was more than $500,000. However, the trustees' June 1967 recommendation for closure cited that the school had not "maintained its place of considerable distinction in theological education."[15]

Tufts President Hallowell was given authority by a Massachusetts state court to dispose of school funds, and he created the Crane Program fund amounting to $213,000 (~$1.18 million in 2023) in 1972 to support Tufts's religion department and chaplaincy, as well as scholarships for students pursuing liberal ministry and social welfare work.[16] The Crane Library Collection was always a part of the Tufts University Library and was now retained by the university library; the Universalist Historical Society Library which had been housed at Tufts was transferred to Harvard Divinity School in 1975.[10] Source Russell Miller's History of Tufts, v. 2, page 66. "When the school closed, the collection was indeed broken up and much of it became part of the general library holdings."

Deans edit

All of Crane's deans were Universalist clergy.

  • 1869–1891, Thomas Jefferson Sawyer
  • 1891–1910, Charles Hall Leonard (second dean)
  • 1912–1933, Lee Sullivan McCollester
  • 1933–1945, Clarence Skinner
  • 1945–1953, John Moses Ratcliff
  • 1953, Eugene S. Ashton (acting Dean after Ratcliff's unexpected death)
  • 1953–1968, Benjamin Butler Hersey

Enrollment edit

 
The graduating class of 1897, notable for the presence of three women among the graduates that year.

Tufts records indicate that over the course of its ninety-nine year history, the Crane Theological School granted a total of 485 degrees, 50 more than appear in records of the Unitarian Universalist Association.[17][4]

  • 1869: 4 students
  • 1871: 12 students[18]
  • 1892: 44 students
  • 1906: 9 students
  • 1910: 15 students[3]
  • 1912: 4 students[19]
  • 1923: 24 students[4]
  • 1928: 36 students
  • 1937: 60 students
  • 1955: 31 students
  • 1957: 22 students[10]
  • 1959: 21 students
  • 1960: 20 students
  • 1968: 12 students[15]

In the period between 1947 and 1952, 151 men were enrolled, on 71 of whom completed a degree. Similarly, 33 women were enrolled on 19 of whom completed a degree.[5]

References edit

  1. ^ Reich, David (Spring 2002). "Founding Fathers: Tufts and the Universalist Tradition". Tufts Magazine. Vol. IX, no. III.
  2. ^ Miller, Russell E. (1979). The Larger Hope: The First Century of the Universalist Church in America, 1770-1870. Unitarian Universalist Association. p. 274. ISBN 978-0933840003.
  3. ^ a b "Philip Schaff: Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia Vol.: 0415=393 - Christian Classics Ethereal Library". The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. Vol. 11. Funk & Wagnalls. May 1908. pp. 393–394. Retrieved 2014-12-19.
  4. ^ a b c Miller, Russell E. (1966). . Vol. I. Boston: Beacon Press. p. 536. Archived from the original on 2014-12-20. Retrieved 2014-12-19.
  5. ^ a b Miller 1979, p. 275.
  6. ^ a b Sauer, Anne; Branco, Jessica; Bennett, John; Crowley, Zachary. "Paige Hall, 1892". Concise Encyclopedia of Tufts History. Tufts University. hdl:10427/14829.
  7. ^ "Tufts College". The Encyclopedia Americana. Vol. 27. 1920. pp. 131–132. Retrieved 2014-12-19.
  8. ^ Sauer, Anne; Branco, Jessica; Bennett, John; Crowley, Zachary. . Concise Encyclopedia of Tufts History. Tufts University. Archived from the original on 2014-12-20. Retrieved 2014-12-19.
  9. ^ Seaburg, Alan (25 January 2005). . Dictionary of Unitarian and Universalist Biography. Archived from the original on 10 February 2012. Retrieved 2014-12-19..
  10. ^ a b c d Miller, Russell (1986). "The End of Theological Education at Tufts". The Light on the Hill. Vol. 2. pp. 54–73. hdl:10427/14798.
  11. ^ Howe, Charles (February 1993). The Larger Faith: A Short History of American Universalism. Skinner House Books. pp. 129–30. ISBN 9781558963085. Retrieved 2014-12-19.
  12. ^ Ross, Warren (May 2001). The Premise and the Promise: The Story of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Unitarian Universalist Assn. p. 127. ISBN 978-1558964181. Retrieved 2014-12-19.
  13. ^ Miller 1979, p. 334.
  14. ^ Miller 1979, p. 329.
  15. ^ a b Miller 1979, p. 336.
  16. ^ Miller 1979, p. 337.
  17. ^ Sauer, Anne; Branco, Jessica; Bennett, John; Crowley, Zachary. . Concise Encyclopedia of Tufts History. Tufts University. Archived from the original on 2014-12-20. Retrieved 2014-12-19.
  18. ^ Miller 1979, p. 303.
  19. ^ Seaburg, Alan (18 March 2007). "Lee Sullivan McCollester". Dictionary of Unitarian and Universalist Biography. Retrieved 2014-12-19.

42°24′25″N 71°07′11″W / 42.406949°N 71.11982°W / 42.406949; -71.11982

April 11, 2024
crane, theological, school, universalist, seminary, tufts, university, founded, 1869, tufts, college, divinity, school, closed, 1968, three, universalist, seminaries, founded, america, during, nineteenth, century, along, with, theological, school, lawrence, un. The Crane Theological School was a Universalist seminary at Tufts University founded in 1869 as the Tufts College Divinity School and closed in 1968 1 It was one of three Universalist seminaries founded in America during the nineteenth century along with the Theological School of St Lawrence University and the Ryder Divinity School at Lombard College During its history it granted 281 Bachelor of Divinity degrees some in religious education 152 Bachelor of Sacred Theology degrees and two Masters of Religious Education for a total of 435 degrees 2 Crane Theological SchoolFormer namesTufts College Divinity School Tufts College School of ReligionTypeseminaryActive1869 1968AffiliationUniversalistLocationMedford MassachusettsTufts in 1910 with Goddard Chapel visible at left and Miner Hall at rightThe name changed multiple times Founded as Tufts College Divinity School it became Crane Theological School in 1906 upon Albert Crane s gift of 100 000 in 1906 in honor of his father Thomas 3 In 1925 the school became officially the Tufts College School of Religion Crane Theological School after extensive discussions including a conference with the widow of Albert Crane 4 By the 1960s the name had shortened again to Crane Theological School The Crane Chapel remains part of the Tufts campus as the Crane Room The school was one of the Associated Schools of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences from 1903 1962 and 1965 1968 The school was never officially denominationally controlled nor was it accredited by the American Association of Theological Schools 5 Contents 1 History 1 1 Founding World War I 1 2 Postwar 1 3 Closing 2 Deans 3 Enrollment 4 ReferencesHistory editFounding World War I edit nbsp Crane Chapel while still in Miner hall prior to the 1929 addition to the Crane BuildingUniversalist layman and major Tufts supporter Silvanus Packard founded the school with a bequest in 1869 The divinity school was initially housed on the second floor of Ballou Hall With the construction of West Hall in 1872 divinity students were offered accommodation there In 1891 students saw the building of separate quarters for the school with the construction of Miner and Paige halls Miner Hall provided classroom and office space for the school while Paige Hall served as a dormitory and chapel Miner Hall was constructed in 1891 to serve as headquarters for the School of Theology and was named for Alonzo A Miner second president of Tufts College and the major donor to the project 40 000 Paige Hall was built in 1892 to serve as a dormitory for Theological School Students and bears the name of Lucius R Paige Universalist minister and trustee 1859 1896 6 In 1902 the school began to offer a combined 5 year A B S T B 7 Between 1910 and 1915 both Miner and Paige halls became home to the newly established Jackson College for Women until women were integrated into the rest of Tufts in 1915 and the facilities were returned to the Crane School 6 nbsp Paige hall at left and Miner Hall prior to construction of the Crane Chapel and arcade between the two buildingsDuring World War I the school s buildings were taken for use as barracks and training facilities and Dean McCollester held classes for the handful of students enrolled in his living room for the duration of hostilities In 1929 architects George Lloyd and Ruffing designed Crane chapel as an addition to Paige Hall along with the two level Fischer arcade connecting it to Miner Hall Designed as an adaptation of a chapel in Oxford England the oak paneling was brought from Warwick Forest in England 8 Postwar edit By 1945 the school had almost no endowment and faculty After the 1951 destruction by fire of Fisher Hall the main building of the Universalist St Lawrence Theological School Ratcliff favored merging the two schools an offer which St Lawrence rejected The next year included a fundraising drive by Tufts although it ignored the school itself The school then launched into its own fundraising program although this was unsuccessful 9 Closing edit In 1953 when Dean Ratcliff died unexpectedly Eugene Ashton a Congregational minister and assistant chaplain of Tufts was appointed to replace him until a successor could be found Shortly before his successor s appointment in 1954 Ashton released a report on the school arguing that it was not in a particularly healthy state 10 He observed that of 151 men enrolled between 1947 and 1952 80 were non graduates of the 33 women who attended during the same period 14 were non graduates The American Unitarian Association AUA Board of Trustees in 1959 appointed a commission to study theological education in anticipation of merger with the Universalists In 1962 the report advocated the merger of St Lawrence and Crane and the 1964 General Assembly debated a resolution that advocated a merger with Star King or Meadville however neither attempt was successful 11 The lack of funds to continue operation was the main reason for closing Crane 12 The school operated with a deficit for a number of years in 1964 half of the 90 000 675 940 in 2023 Crane budget required funding from Tufts general operating fund 13 In 1962 Crane disassociated itself from the faculty of arts and sciences to report directly to the trustees While the aim was to become a graduate school independent of a college resources were inadequate for even a quasi independent existence and in 1965 the faculties recombined 14 The program would have included an undergraduate degree for admission called for elimination of the combined AB STB program 10 In 1967 the trustees finally reached the decision to close the school the following year A number of factors contributed to the decision The committee that recommended closure gave finances as the primary reason estimating 250 000 per year was required to operate the school with no funding prospects as the Tufts operating deficit in 1967 was more than 500 000 However the trustees June 1967 recommendation for closure cited that the school had not maintained its place of considerable distinction in theological education 15 Tufts President Hallowell was given authority by a Massachusetts state court to dispose of school funds and he created the Crane Program fund amounting to 213 000 1 18 million in 2023 in 1972 to support Tufts s religion department and chaplaincy as well as scholarships for students pursuing liberal ministry and social welfare work 16 The Crane Library Collection was always a part of the Tufts University Library and was now retained by the university library the Universalist Historical Society Library which had been housed at Tufts was transferred to Harvard Divinity School in 1975 10 Source Russell Miller s History of Tufts v 2 page 66 When the school closed the collection was indeed broken up and much of it became part of the general library holdings Deans editAll of Crane s deans were Universalist clergy 1869 1891 Thomas Jefferson Sawyer 1891 1910 Charles Hall Leonard second dean 1912 1933 Lee Sullivan McCollester 1933 1945 Clarence Skinner 1945 1953 John Moses Ratcliff 1953 Eugene S Ashton acting Dean after Ratcliff s unexpected death 1953 1968 Benjamin Butler HerseyEnrollment edit nbsp The graduating class of 1897 notable for the presence of three women among the graduates that year Tufts records indicate that over the course of its ninety nine year history the Crane Theological School granted a total of 485 degrees 50 more than appear in records of the Unitarian Universalist Association 17 4 1869 4 students 1871 12 students 18 1892 44 students 1906 9 students 1910 15 students 3 1912 4 students 19 1923 24 students 4 1928 36 students 1937 60 students 1955 31 students 1957 22 students 10 1959 21 students 1960 20 students 1968 12 students 15 In the period between 1947 and 1952 151 men were enrolled on 71 of whom completed a degree Similarly 33 women were enrolled on 19 of whom completed a degree 5 References edit Reich David Spring 2002 Founding Fathers Tufts and the Universalist Tradition Tufts Magazine Vol IX no III Miller Russell E 1979 The Larger Hope The First Century of the Universalist Church in America 1770 1870 Unitarian Universalist Association p 274 ISBN 978 0933840003 a b Philip Schaff Schaff Herzog Encyclopedia Vol 0415 393 Christian Classics Ethereal Library The New Schaff Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge Vol 11 Funk amp Wagnalls May 1908 pp 393 394 Retrieved 2014 12 19 a b c Miller Russell E 1966 Light on the Hill A History of Tufts College 1852 1952 Vol I Boston Beacon Press p 536 Archived from the original on 2014 12 20 Retrieved 2014 12 19 a b Miller 1979 p 275 a b Sauer Anne Branco Jessica Bennett John Crowley Zachary Paige Hall 1892 Concise Encyclopedia of Tufts History Tufts University hdl 10427 14829 Tufts College The Encyclopedia Americana Vol 27 1920 pp 131 132 Retrieved 2014 12 19 Sauer Anne Branco Jessica Bennett John Crowley Zachary Crane Room 1929 Concise Encyclopedia of Tufts History Tufts University Archived from the original on 2014 12 20 Retrieved 2014 12 19 Seaburg Alan 25 January 2005 John Moses Ratcliff Dictionary of Unitarian and Universalist Biography Archived from the original on 10 February 2012 Retrieved 2014 12 19 a b c d Miller Russell 1986 The End of Theological Education at Tufts The Light on the Hill Vol 2 pp 54 73 hdl 10427 14798 Howe Charles February 1993 The Larger Faith A Short History of American Universalism Skinner House Books pp 129 30 ISBN 9781558963085 Retrieved 2014 12 19 Ross Warren May 2001 The Premise and the Promise The Story of the Unitarian Universalist Association Unitarian Universalist Assn p 127 ISBN 978 1558964181 Retrieved 2014 12 19 Miller 1979 p 334 Miller 1979 p 329 a b Miller 1979 p 336 Miller 1979 p 337 Sauer Anne Branco Jessica Bennett John Crowley Zachary Crane Theological School 1869 1968 Concise Encyclopedia of Tufts History Tufts University Archived from the original on 2014 12 20 Retrieved 2014 12 19 Miller 1979 p 303 Seaburg Alan 18 March 2007 Lee Sullivan McCollester Dictionary of Unitarian and Universalist Biography Retrieved 2014 12 19 nbsp Religion portal 42 24 25 N 71 07 11 W 42 406949 N 71 11982 W 42 406949 71 11982 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Crane Theological School amp oldid 1193506802, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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