Our Mission
Candler School of Theology is grounded in the Christian faith and shaped by the Wesleyan tradition of evangelical piety, ecumenical openness, and social concern. Its mission is to educate—through scholarship, teaching, and service—faithful and creative leaders for the church’s ministries in the world.
Commitments
Candler is committed to:
- Scholarship and teaching that are in critical and creative dialogue with the traditions of both church and university.
- The interaction of theoretical and practical learning both in the classroom and in church and in other public settings.
- An approach to curriculum and to teaching that seeks to enhance and integrate the intellectual, personal, professional, and spiritual growth of students.
- The preparation of leaders to participate in ministries of justice and reconciliation.
- A community of faith and learning inclusive of women and men who are diverse in ethnic, economic, social, and national background.
- An educational community that embraces voices and gifts from diverse religious and theological traditions.
- An educational context and educational goals that are ecumenical and international.
- A dynamic relationship of research and learning with local church congregations.
- The fulfillment of its calling as a theological school of the United Methodist Church.
Mission Statement and Commitments adopted by the Candler Faculty, December 7, 1992
Candler's Distinctiveness
As a vital part of an internationally ranked research university, and with strong educational programs, a world-class theological library, a superb faculty with an impressive record of research and publication, a diverse student body, alumni serving in leadership positions around the world, and a stimulating setting in a vibrant, culturally rich city, Candler School of Theology is the best story to be told in American theological education today.
Our goals acknowledge our firm desire to climb even higher in theological education by gathering more financial resources, by dramatically improving our physical plant, by seeking out the finest students available, by embracing the best in teaching technology, by celebrating and nourishing faculty research, by enlivening our administrative structures, by strengthening already vital relationships to Emory University and to the university’s Graduate Division of Religion and Office of Religious Life, and by opening our doors wide to Atlanta and to the world. In a time when ethically aware, theologically profound voices are desperately needed in our society, Candler’s strategic plan calls for us to build upon our clear strengths in educating superb and active religious leaders and first-rate scholars. By drawing upon our deep roots in the Wesleyan theological tradition, we intend to speak with wisdom, clarity, compassion, and tolerance in the urgent conversation among the streams of Christianity and the religions of the world.
Goals
- To enhance the quality of religious and public life in America and the world by training intelligent, creative, resourceful, ethically alert, and faithful religious leaders for Christian faith communities, including the United Methodist Church, other Christian denominations, service agencies, and ecumenical bodies.
- To help prepare a new generation of superbly-prepared research scholars and teachers of religion who will set the standards in their academic fields.
- To create an exceptional educational and physical environment to support effective teaching, significant and influential research, and vibrant community life.
- To participate in the healing of religious strife and to encourage inter-religious conversation, understanding, and cooperation by providing opportunities for learning about and engagement with the traditions, practices, and cultures of the world’s contemporary religions.
- To draw even more deeply, in all of our educational programs, upon the resources of metro Atlanta and the surrounding region.
- To secure the financial resources needed both to support and nourish Candler’s present vision and to encourage the continual broadening and deepening of our mission.
- To attract a larger, more excellent and diverse student body with gifts and promise for religious leadership, scholarship, and service.
- To strengthen Candler’s participation in the wider university and to make visible to the Emory community Candler’s mission, educational excellence, and significant contributions to university life.
- To make available to the wider community easily accessible information about Candler and its programs and to present a compelling public portrait of Candler’s heritage, resources, achievements, and contributions.
Strategic Initiatives
- To ensure excellence in Candler's MDiv, MTS, and ThM degree programs by diligently evaluating and carefully revising the current curricula, including the contextual education program.
- To develop, in conversation with key church leaders, an educational plan that coordinates the activities of all of Candler’s varied program units and strengthens the school’s ability to equip students for effective ministry in today’s church and world.
- To develop and to put into action a plan for the life-long learning of religious leaders that coordinates the activities of all of Candler’s varied program units and strengthens the school’s ability to equip Candler’s clergy constituency (alumni and others) for effective ministry in today’s church and world.
- To develop and to begin implementation of a campus building plan that provides for a new building for educational, library, and administrative uses; for the renovation of Bishops Hall; and for the remodeling of the present library for other educational uses.
- To strengthen Candler as a leading research institution.
- To increase opportunities for students and faculty to engage in international education.
- To establish Candler as a vibrant center for learning and conversation in the Emory and Atlanta communities on issues of religion and public life.
- To evaluate and to strengthen Candler’s role and contribution to the Graduate Division of Religion.
- To establish—in conversation with other units in the university—a top tier MA in religious studies.
- To establish a vigorous financial development plan aimed at acquiring ample fiscal resources to support Candler’s programs, operations, and buildings.
- To increase the amount of scholarship funding available for students in all degree programs.
- To develop and to put into action a recruitment plan that will increase the academic quality, expand the diversity, and attain the ideal numerical size of the student body.
- To assess and reorganize Candler’s administrative structures to enable them to become more efficient and effective.
- To create a fresh vision and mission for the Office of Student Programming, and to reorganize it accordingly so that it will be even more useful to Candler’s students.
- To enable Candler to be a state-of-the-art school in the use of new electronic technologies for teaching and research.
- To develop and to put into action a plan for making Candler’s communication to the church and to the general public about its identity, mission, and activities more informative and attractive.