STH Honors Outstanding Alumni/ae 2015
Boston University School of Theology is proud to announce the recipients of the annual Distinguished Alumni/ae Award: Fr. Alexander Veronis (STH 1960, PhD), Dr. Lallene J. Rector (STH ’78, GRS ’86), and Reverend Dr. William Bobby McClain (STH 1962, STH 1977). Alex Froom (STH 2012, SSW 2012) has received the award of Emerging Leader.
School of Theology Distinguished Alumni/ae Awards honor outstanding alumni and alumnae. The Emerging Leaders award category is reserved for alumni 45 and younger who show exceptional promise as emerging leaders while also living a life that corresponds to the values of the school’s mission statement.
Dr. William Bobby McClain earned both his master’s and doctoral degree at STH. He founded and served as executive director of the Multi-Ethnic Center for Ministry at Drew University. In 1991, his Clark Atlanta University alma mater awarded him the Doctor of Divinity degree in recognition of his achievements in religion and civil rights. In 1999, he was named to the Mary Elizabeth McGehee Joyce Chair in Preaching and Worship at Wesley Theological Seminary, the first full endowed chair in the seminary’s history, where he taught preaching and worship for 34 years. He was the commencement speaker for Wesley’s Commencement in 2013 and is now Professor Emeritus at the Seminary.
Fr. Alexander Veronis served as pastor/assistant pastor at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Lancaster from 1961 to 2011 and is now Pastor Emeritus. A leader in local and global church and ecumenical life, he has served as President of the Lancaster County Inter-Faith Fellowship, the Board of Missions of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, the National Council of Presbyters of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, and many other organizations. Also a leader in global Orthodox missions, he initiated the first Missions Program for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America in 1967, which led to the establishment of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan Missions Center. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the “Excellence in Ecumenical Relations Award” from the General Assembly of the National Council of Churches in the USA.
Dr. Lallene J. Rector is president of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, where she has served as an esteemed faculty member since 1986 and as Vice President of Academic Affairs and Academic Dean from 2006-2013. As Academic Dean, she developed and implemented the seminary’s strategic plain, chaired the budget reduction task force, initiated curriculum review, and negotiated the seminary’s charter membership in the Seminary Stewardship Alliance. She has been committed to creating a diverse community at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and serves on the Association for Theological Schools Advisory Committee for Chief Academic Officers, and as a member of the Board of Directors for the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry.
Alex Froom is the Executive Director at the nonprofit organization Rez Refuge. At Boston University, where he earned both an MDiv and a Master of Social Work, his research interests included Christian theologies of suffering and trauma, Liberation theologies, Christian histories in relationship with Native Americans, and community organizing. He has worked in local church ministry and as a community organizer in Massachusetts. Alex’s work for Rez Refuge draws from his passion for community building on neighborhood levels, his interest in the intersections of religion, culture, economics, and politics, and in his desire to be a part of a community that leaves nothing out of its vision for coming generations.
The School will celebrate its Distinguished Alumni at the following events on September 17, 2015 at Boston University School of Theology:
Distinguished Alumni Presentation and Panel: The Three Greatest Challenges Facing Us in the Next Decade
2:30pm-4pm
STH Community Center, 745 Commonwealth Avenue
Meet and Greet with the School of Theology Dean’s Advisory Board
4pm-6pm
STH Community Center, 745 Commonwealth Avenue
Distinguished Alumni Dinner and Celebration
6:30pm – 9pm
George Sherman Union, Back Court on the first floor, 775 Commonwealth Avenue
RSVP for all events to Jaclyn Jones, Alumni Relations Officer.