Hispanic pastor to lead Iliff seminary, marking a first
4/5/2000 News media contact: Linda Green · (615) 742-5470 · Nashville, Tenn NOTE: A head-and-shoulders photograph is available with this story. By United Methodist News Service The first Hispanic ever to lead a United Methodist-related seminary will take office June 1 as president of 108-year-old Iliff School of Theology,
The Rev. David Maldonado, 57, has been appointed as the 12th president of the Denver seminary, succeeding the Rev. Donald E. Messer, who led the school for 19 years.
Besides being the first Hispanic to take the helm of one of the 13 United Methodist-related theological schools, Maldonado is the only Hispanic to lead one of the 135 Protestant denominational schools that are currently members of the Association of Theological Schools, based in Pittsburgh.
Maldonado is a clergy member of the United Methodist Church's Rio Grande Annual Conference. He is the professor of church and society at Perkins School of Theology, a United Methodist-related seminary in Dallas, and he will hold that same position at Iliff.
"It is an honor and a delight to serve such an historic and prestigious institution," Maldonado said. "Iliff has been at the forefront of many theological and social issues, and I expect that it will continue to be so in the future."
Nearly half of Iliff's 300 students are United Methodist, and the other half consists of students from more than 30 other denominations. International students from 16 countries also contribute to the diversity of the seminary. The faculty includes Christians, a Buddhist and a Hindu. It also has cross-registration with Denver Seminary, a conservative Baptist school in south Denver.
Maldonado said that as president, he joins a community of faculty, staff, students and supporters engaged in "serious theological reflection and sincere efforts to address our social context."
The United Methodist Church and other denominations served by the seminary are "important and integral partners" in preparing clergy and laity for ministry, he said, and "anything I can do to foster these partnerships will be my constant challenge."
"As a fourth-generation Methodist and a Hispanic, I bring a deep appreciation for religious heritage and ethnic identity," he said. "I join Iliff in affirming the ecumenical tradition and the spirit of diversity and inclusion."
Maldonado has been associated with Perkins School of Theology since 1984 and served as associate dean of academic affairs there from 1993 to 1997. He has taught at the School of Health and Human Services at California State University in Los Angeles and the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Arlington. He earned master's and doctoral degrees in social work from the University of California, Berkeley, was a community organizer in Fort Worth, Texas, and worked on a migrant project in Wichita, Kan.
He is the author of numerous articles and has contributed to a number of books. He is the editor of Protestantes/Protestants: Hispanic Christianity Within Mainline Traditions and coeditor with Paul Barton of Hispanic Christianity Within Mainline Protestant Traditions -- A Bibliography.
J. Robert Young, chairman of Iliff's board of trustees, said Maldonado brings to the president's position a record of academic scholarship, service to the church and involvement in the public sector.
Said Young: "We are confident that he shares Iliff's commitment to prepare students for quality religious, academic and community leadership and to enhance the school's position as an educational center for the church and the wider community."
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