For Immediate Release
Date: January 27, 2018
Contact: Holli Emore, Cherry Hill Seminary, CHS@cherryhillseminary.org
Columbia, S.C. —Wendy Griffin, Ph.D., has been named Academic Dean Emerita by Cherry Hill Seminary, as she retires from seven years of service as Academic Dean for that institution.
Wendy Griffin, Ph.D.
Griffin was the first permanent academic dean for Cherry Hill Seminary (CHS), taking the position on January 1, 2011. Professor Emerita of Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies at CSU Long Beach, Griffin was one of the first scholars to publish academic research in Goddess Spirituality and Wicca. She is founding Co-chair of the Contemporary Pagan Studies Group for the American Academy of Religion, co-editor of the first academic series in Pagan Studies, and on the editorial board of The Pomeganate: the International Journal of Pagan Studies. Editor of the anthologies Daughters of the Goddess: Studies of Healing, Identity and Empowerment and of Sacred Land & Spiritual Landscapes, she has published numerous articles and chapters here and internationally. In her spare time, she has published two historical novels.
The announcement was delivered today by former CHS board chair Jeffrey Albaugh at the 14th annual Conference on Pagan Studies, following Griffin’s conference presentation. Albaugh noted his gratitude for her dedication to strengthening and shaping CHS programs. The full text of the proclamation is given below.
Executive Director Holli Emore said, “It is rare that one is able to enjoy the kind of experience I have had working with Wendy for the past seven years. It has been a deep privilege, and I know that I speak for the entire staff when I say how very much she will be missed.”
Longtime colleague Michael York, who also has taught for CHS for more than ten years, provided this statement:
Throughout my own academic career, Wendy Griffin has constantly impressed as a most esteemed colleague. In addition, I have also come to be extremely privileged to be able to call her a dear friend. But apart from our friendship, she has never failed to inspire one and all with her professional abilities and acute intellectual engagement. With all challenges of education and research, she has become a distinguished model, and what has been particularly appreciated is the warm and human touch she brings to every aspect of her work. Certainly, Cherry Hill Seminary has benefitted immensely from her directorship for which she freely sacrificed much of her retirement time. I believe everyone who has had contact with her has nothing but gratitude for her sensitive concerns as well as her achievement in bequeathing the seminary a durable legacy to carry the institution skillfully into the future.
The Seminary continues its search for a new academic dean. Applicants may find more information about the position and apply at this link: http://cherryhillseminary.org/blog/announcements/academic-dean/
For more information, contact the office at CHS@cherryhillseminary.org.
PROCLAMATION
In Honor of Wendy Griffin
Presented by The Board of Directors
WHEREAS Dr. Griffin
Recognized the value of a professional educational program to serve the unique needs of students desiring to learn about Pagan and other Earth-Based Spiritualities and to serve those communities;
Offered her profound expertise and experience to shape a graduate program which could be presented successfully for formal accreditation;
Showed vision for the future of Cherry Hill Seminary through a generous endowment gift;
Supported her Cherry Hill Seminary colleagues and students in every way she was asked for these past ninety-five months, earning their deep admiration and full trust;
Demonstrated exceptional commitment to the organization by serving a full seven years as Academic Dean, far beyond her original three-year term;
Remained dedicated to standards of academic integrity even in times of shifting public opinion;
Exemplified resilience, fortitude and faith in the importance of Cherry Hill Seminary to the world; and
In all of her work as Academic Dean, shared wisdom, compassion, and the accumulated expertise of her career in academia, without reservation;
BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Directors of Cherry Hill Seminary do proclaim on this 26th day of January, 2018 the appointment of Dr. Griffin as Academic Dean Emerita.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, Cherry Hill Seminary will preserve a copy of this PROCLAMATION for posterity, making it a part of the Seminary permanent record.
