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Austin Seminary receives $4.3 million Lilly Endowment Inc. grant to manage the Hispanic Summer Program
With a $4.3 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. Austin Seminary is poised to support the next phase of development of The Hispanic Summer Program (HSP). The program will be housed at the Seminary as they launch new undergraduate and scholarly initiatives.
Founded in 1989, HSP is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to support the development of Latinx theological leaders. Nearly forty university departments of theology, seminaries, divinity and theological schools representing Protestant, Catholic, evangelical, Pentecostal, and interreligious traditions have joined the roster of HSP sponsors during its three-decade history. More than 1,800 graduate students, mostly Latinx, have studied at the HSP under more than 100 Latinx professors. Many students now serve on the faculty or administration of institutions across the Americas, have become ministers in a variety of religious institutions throughout the continental U.S. and Puerto Rico, or become organizers, activists, or political leaders in their communities. Austin Seminary Professor Emeritus Ismáel Garcia was the second director of HSP (1999-2002).
Under the leadership of Dr. Daisy L. Machado, the HSP has been awarded a series of grants (including from the Forum for Theological Exploration and Lilly Endowment) to establish new programming and infrastructure that builds upon the historic vision and mission of the organization. With these new funds, the HSP has been able to meet the challenges of an ever-evolving Latinx community—one that is more religiously and linguistically diverse—while ensuring that it continues its ongoing work of shaping the next generation of Latinx theological and academic leaders.
From its new home, HSP will continue highly acclaimed programs like the HSP Summer Session, HSP J-Term, Latinx Discernment Workshop, HSP Exchange, and El Semillero Workshop on Finance, Fundraising, and Development (in partnership with the Lake Institute on Faith and Giving). Exciting new initiatives include:
• launching HSP for Undergrads, a credit-granting program for undergraduate students discerning graduate-level studies
• hosting the Latinidad in the Context of Theological Education Summit to produce public materials on Latinidad and theological education.
• expanding the HSP Fellows Program which will now hire early career professionals alongside Latinx master’s students to gain tools in nonprofit management while supporting the work of the HSP
• creating Through Hispanic Eyes @ Workshops, an initiative that will equip graduate-level faculty with tools to better serve Latinx populations
• expanding the HSP Pedagogy Workshop to equip Latinx faculty with teaching tools for graduate courses across multiple modalities
“Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary is excited to partner with the Hispanic Summer Program for this next phase of service,” says Austin Seminary President José Irizarry, who served as the executive director of the Hispanic Summer Program from 2003 to 2006. “The Seminary’s proximity to the U.S.-Mexico border in a state with a Hispanic majority population makes this a natural fit for the organization’s next stage of growth. This grant will open new avenues of collaboration for the HSP and Austin Seminary as we embrace a shared mission of service to Hispanic/Latinx communities and to the diversification of scholarly sources for theological research and learning.
“We are delighted to welcome the Hispanic Summer Program to Austin Seminary as a concrete expression of our vision to widen our place,” he continued, “not only by intentionally welcoming diverse cultural and linguistic communities into this site of learning, but by deliberate engagement with the ways those voices enrich our capacity to do theological education well.”
Two begin teaching career on the Austin Seminary faculty
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary has called The Reverend Patricia Bonilla as instructor in Christian education, effective July 1; upon the successful completion of her doctoral work at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, she will be promoted to assistant professor of Christian education. Her dissertation topic is “Anticolonial Latina Feminist Praxis: Toward a Decolonial (Re)framework of Christian Religious Education with/for Latinx Youth, A Case Study of the Hispanic Youth Leadership Academy.”
Bonilla has served in several roles with the Hispanic Youth Leadership Academy including national program director. She co-coordinated and implemented programing for a $100,000 grant from the United Methodist General Board of Higher Education and Ministry for the Young Clergy Initiative (2015-19). She has teaching experience with the Hispanic Summer Program and at Lexington Theological Seminary, Garrett Seminary, and Drew University.
A native of Illinois, Rev. Bonilla received her education from Lake Forest College (BA, international relations and French), Drew University (MPh), and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary (Master of Arts in Christian education and PhD in Christian education and congregational studies, ABD). An ordained United Methodist (UMC) deacon, Bonilla has served churches throughout Illinois since 2005, primarily in the area of Christian education and youth and family ministries. She has served as the chair of the Hispanic/Latinx Ministries Committee of the Northern Illinois Conference of the UMC since 2019.
Among many awards and honors, she is a 2022-2023 Hispanic Theological Initiative / Lilly Dissertation Fellow and was named United Methodist Woman of Color Scholar (2018-21). Her professional affiliations include the Asociación para la Educación Teológica Hispana (AETH), the Association of Practical Theology (APT), and the Religious Education Association (REA, 2022). Bonilla has published in Religious Education, the official journal of the REA, Connecting Faith and Justice: Junior High Curriculum, Lectionary Year C (UMC Church and Society, 2018), and Wellsprings, A Journal of United Methodist Clergywomen (2015).
The Reverend Crystal Silva-McCormick (MDiv’10) began a two-year appointment as visiting instructor in evangelism and missions on July 1; she will be promoted to assistant professor upon defense of her dissertation. A native of El Paso, Texas, Silva-McCormick began her education at Lubbock Christian University. After earning her MDiv at Austin Seminary, she completed a Master of Theology degree (2016) and matriculated into the PhD program at Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. With an emphasis on Christian-Muslim relations and world Christianity, her research interests include Christian Zionism, post-colonial studies of global Christianities and world mission, Latine theologies, and the intersection between colonialism, imperialism, and Western missions.
She is a Hispanic Theological Initiative (HTI) Doctoral Fellow (2021-present) and has been an adjunct instructor at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities (2022-present). She also has teaching experience from St. Edward’s University, Texas Lutheran University,
the University of Texas at El Paso, and Elmhurst College.
An ordained minister in the United Church of Christ (UCC), Silva-McCormick has served as a pastor, chaplain, director of youth ministries, and immigration advocate for congregations and hospitals in Texas and Iowa. She serves the UCC denomination as treasurer for the Colectivo de UCC Latinx Ministries (2021-present) and is the moderator for a new church plant in the Rio Grande Valley. Professional affiliations include the Asociación para la Educación Teológica Hispana (AETH), the American Academy of Religion (AAR), and La Comunidad AAR/ SBL.
Scott follows up fund-raising success with Peace Corps experience
Donna Scott, vice president for Institutional Advancement, leaves her position in August to pursue a lifelong dream of volunteering with the Peace Corps. She will be stationed in Thailand for twenty-seven months, teaching English to elementary-age children.
Scott directed the Seminary’s largest ever fund-raising initiatives raising more than $57 million for capital improvements, endowing the College of Pastoral Leaders, eleven student fellowships and scholarships, and three faculty chairs. Additionally, more than $18 million was raised for annual operating expenses under her watch.
“Serving on the Institutional Advancement Board Committee for many years, it was truly amazing to witness her consistency,” says board member John Van Osdall. “Donna was even-keeled—with the planned destination in mind and her sails to the wind. Donna will be a blessing to the people she serves half-way around the world just as she has been to all of us for many years.”
During her tenure, the Advancement Office— which comprises donor, church, and alumni relations as well as database management and marketing and communications—tightened its focus on cultivating support for the Seminary’s programs and facilities. She oversaw an expansion of the donor prospect base with the introduction of regional fund-raising events, new sustained-giving and legacy-giving plans, and a robust alumni and church relations program, along with newsletters, dedicated marketing functions, a strategic branding campaign, and a revitalized website and social media presence.
At its May meeting, the Institutional Advancement Committee of the Board presented a resolution in “praise and gratitude” for Donna’s service which said, in part, “Donna has, with the aid of the Holy Spirit and those who also love and serve the Seminary community, helped cultivate among the supporters of the Seminary a spirit of devotion and generosity without which the Seminary would not be the exceptional theological institution it is today.”
The Seminary has begun a national search to fill the vice presidency.