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This research guide is meant to point students, researchers, and curious faculty and staff to some of the resources available on the history of the Boston University School of Theology, while pointing them to the tools where one can find more information. The following in this column presents brief summaries of some of the book resources available about the history of the School of Theology. See the resources list to the left to discover more, but not that this list isn't exhaustive.
"...I venture to say that as a class librarians are as ready to be of service as any people I know about." -Richard Morgan Cameron, Professor Emeritus of Church History at Boston University, in Boston University School of Theology, 1839-1968, p.108.
An 1834 essay published by Rev. LaRoy Sunderland in the Methodist Review called for the establishment of a theological school. A theological education, Sunderland argued, was considered an "indispensable qualification" for Christian ministry "since the earliest ages of the world." Why, then, he asked, were Methodists the exception to this rule? Rev. Sunderland's proposal was considered controversial. Some argued that formal education distracted ministers from their main task of bringing the Gospel to sinners (as noted by Kilgore in Transformations). However, in 1839, after a meeting at the Bromfield Street Church, a biblical studies program, a School for the Prophets, was established in Newbury, Vermont. This eventually became accepted as the beginning of the Boston University School of Theology.
A brief history of the School of Theology can be found on the STH website. This history details the growth of the school from its early days in Vermont through the time in Beacon Hill to the present day. A list of notable alumni/ae, the school's strategic plan, accreditation, and facts about the school can be found in the content navigation as well.
Many of the resources listed on this guide focus on the growth of development of the school; this people's history tries to aggregate the stories of the scholars and educators of those who attended the School of Theology. Names of many past graduates link to their stories and work- whether it be educating, social activism, or missionary work.
The Boston University School of Theology was founded in 1839 as a project of the Boston Wesleyan Association. Beginning with the appointment of Rev. John Dempster in 1842, books were collected for the project, at first housed at the Newbury (VT) Biblical Institute under the directorship of Rev. Osman Baker, and later moved to Concord, N.H., with the incorporation of the Methodist General Biblical Institute in 1848. The Institute moved to Boston in 1868 to become the founding school of Boston University. Still preserved are several hundred books from the pre-Boston days. Check out our History of the School of Theology research to discover information about the history of the School of Theology from its founding in Vermont through the present day.
Boston University by Most universities begin with a plot of land on which to build. This was not the case with Boston University. Founded originally in Newbury, Vermont, in 1839, the school moved to Concord, New Hampshire, in 1847 and finally took root in Boston in 1867. The university developed seven schools and colleges within the first few years, with more to come later. Located in the center of a vibrant city, Boston University has become the fourth largest independent university in the nation. In Boston University, follow the development of the school as it grew and changed over one hundred and sixty years. Through vintage images, learn about the Boston University School of Oratory, where the telephone was invented; the Massachusetts Agricultural College, in the heart of the city; and subterranean passages in some of the earliest buildings. Find out about the ghost that haunted one campus building and why the institution was not named Rich University for one of its founders and most generous donors.
Written in 1968 (a year after the 100th anniversary of the school's move to Boston), this book, by Professor Emeritus of Church History Richard Morgan Cameron, tracks the growth of the school, the curriculum, and the people who ran it from its humble (and financially unstable) years in Vermont, through its move to New Hampshire, Beacon Hill in Boston, and finally its current address at 745 Commonwealth Avenue.
Transformations: A History of Boston University by Published by Kathleen Kilgore and published in 1991, this book chronicles the history of the entire Boston University (with first few chapters cataloging the early days in Vermont and New Hampshire). The School of Theology continues to be mentioned throughout the book as in chronicles life in and around the university throughout the history of the school.
Remember that the following isn't an exhaustive list; consult footnotes, subject headings, author searches, and more to discover more resources about the history of the School of Theology.
Sunderland, LaRoy (1834). Essay on a Theological Education.
“A People’s History of the School of Theology.” Boston University School of Theology.
“History.” Boston University School of Theology.
"Timeline." Boston University. A timeline of the seminal events in the founding of the university.
Transformations: A History of Boston University by Boston University by While searching for journal articles in the ATLA Religion Database, once more you are able to discover more interesting resources about the School of Theology. Searching Boston University School of Theology for example brings up among the first results an article from v.47 no.3 of Methodist Review from Richard A. Hughes about the School of Theology's role in the Civil Rights Movement. Search for any of the Library of Congress subject headings in our database, or the names of STH Professors/Deans for articles written by/about them, or the names of alumni/ae.