New Brunswick Theological Seminary is a seminary of the Reformed Church in America (RCA), a mainline Protestant denomination in Canada and the United States that follows the theological tradition and Christian practice of John Calvin. It was founded in 1784 and is one of the oldest seminaries in the United States. First established in New York City under the leadership of John Henry Livingston, who instructed aspiring ministers in his home, in 1810 the seminary established its presence in New Brunswick, New Jersey, where its main campus is now located. Although a separate institution, the seminary's early development in New Brunswick was closely connected with that of Rutgers University (formerly Queen's College and Rutgers College) before establishing its own campus in the city in 1856.
New Brunswick Theological Seminary offers professional and graduate degree programs (Masters and Doctoral) to candidates for ministry and to those pursuing careers in academia or non-theological fields. It also offers certificates and training programs to lay church leaders seeking advanced courses in Theological Studies or Church Leadership. While rooted in the Reformed faith, New Brunswick Theological Seminary is dedicated to providing a comprehensive Christian education as "an inter-cultural, ecumenical school of Christian faith, learning, and scholarship committed to its metro-urban and global contexts". As of the fall semester of 2012, the seminary enrolled 197 students.
History
Establishment and early history (1784–1810)
thumb|right|Beginning in 1784, John Henry Livingston (1746–1825) (pictured) initially offered theological instruction to students at his home.
The Dutch Reformed Synod of New York recognized that there was a shortage of adequately trained ministers to supply the church's congregations in the British American colonies. Young men had to journey to the Netherlands to pursue several years of theological studies at a Dutch university. Church leaders sought to obtain the right to examine and ordain ministers in the colonies (later in the United States), and to operate a school to train them.
However, in these early years, the trustees of Queen's College and the Synod of New York disagreed on the purpose of the new institution. With uncertainty about the college's financial stability, the Synod desired to directly oversee the theological training of their ministerial candidates. However, the question of whether to open a seminary was delayed because of the ongoing hostilities of the American Revolution. After the war concluded, the Synod decided in 1784 that it was necessary to support the study of theology and recommenced the effort to establish a seminary. John Henry Livingston, a graduate of both Yale College (1762) in Connecticut and the University of Utrecht (1770) in the Netherlands, was appointed to be the Synod’s Professor of Sacred Theology and to organize theological education at Queen's College.
Campus on "Holy Hill" (1856–2012)
thumb|right|Hertzog Hall (1856) was built when both the seminary and Rutgers College became too large to be accommodated in Old Queens.
In the 1850s, the student bodies of Rutgers College and the Seminary began to expand, overcrowding the space provided at the Queens Campus. The seminary professors realized that students renting rooms at boarding houses in the city were paying more for their housing than students at other seminaries—over double the costs of housing at New York City's Union Theological Seminary or at nearby Princeton Theological Seminary. The professors surmised that it would be cheaper to build a seminary building that provided both student housing and instruction space.
Throughout the nineteenth century, the institution became known because of the efforts of missionaries serving throughout the world. In the 1870s, the campus was expanded with the construction of two buildings—one housing a gymnasium and additional lecture space; the second, a library. The seminary desired to build a library first, citing the need to house its expanding collection of books. However, local businessman and seminary benefactor James Suydam donated funds to build the gymnasium, to be named Suydam Hall, because he was concerned with student health. Suydam Hall was built in 1873 and was designed by architect Henry Janeway Hardenbergh. Hardenbergh had finished completing the design for Kirkpatrick Chapel and Geology Hall on the Rutgers campus and later would become known for buildings in New York City, including the Plaza Hotel and Dakota Apartments. After receiving a donation from Gardner A. Sage earmarked for the construction of a library, the trustees commissioned Hardenbergh's former teacher, German-American architect Detlef Lienau, to design it. The Sage Library was completed in 1875. and preparing its graduates to "inspire missions in a post-colonial world where the gospel is taking deep root, especially in urban areas of Africa, Asia, and Central and South America."
College Avenue redevelopment (2012–2014)
thumb|The seminary's new building, completed in 2014
New Brunswick Theological Seminary partnered with Rutgers University and the New Brunswick Development Corporation (DEVCO) on a $300 million project to redevelop the seminary's campus and a portion of the Rutger's College Avenue Campus in New Brunswick. Citing declining enrollment and financial constraints, and recognizing the maintenance needs of an aging campus including empty and unused on-campus student housing (as their student body transitioned to commuter students), the seminary sold a portion of their campus to Rutgers. On 20 June 2012, the outgoing president of Rutgers University, Richard L. McCormick announced that Rutgers would "integrate five acres (20,000 m²) along George Street between Seminary Place and Bishop Place into the College Avenue Campus" to build a 500-student Honors College, a dining facility, and a major academic building featuring lecture halls and departmental offices. The seminary's Board of Trustees approved this plan and the sale on 20 May 2013.
The seminary reconstructed its New Brunswick campus on at the corner of Seminary Place and College Avenue, with a central building featuring "a chapel, classrooms, offices, conference facilities and space for commuting students as well as a 100-car parking lot" while preserving the Gardner A. Sage Library.
Academics
thumb|right|An 1880 print of the seminary campus, depicting the Sage Library (left center), Hertzog Hall (center), and Suydam Hall (right center)
New Brunswick Theological Seminary is accredited by the Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada and the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. The seminary offers admission to students after the review of a submitted application accompanied by college transcripts and letters of recommendation. It offers courses and programs leading to four degrees: the Master of Divinity (M.Div.), Master of Arts (M.A.), Master of Arts Theological Studies, and Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) degree; as well as certificates and training programs for lay church leaders seeking advanced courses in Theology, Bible studies, Church History, and Servant Leadership. Students are able to register in classes or complete joint degree programs with Rutgers University, Princeton Theological Seminary (Presbyterian), Western Theological Seminary (Reformed), and the Wesley Theological Seminary (Methodist).
Gardner A. Sage Library
thumb|right|The seminary's library, the Gardner A. Sage Library (built 1873–1875) combines Romanesque and Victorian architecture.
The Gardner A. Sage Library was built in 1873–1875 and was designed by nineteenth century German-American architect Detlef Lienau. Lienau combined the elements of a Romanesque fourth century basilica and a "Victorian bookhall" to create a space conducive to "the contemplation of God." According to the seminary, the Sage Library's collection contains more than 150,000 books and 10,000 bound periodicals, spanning the topics of biblical studies, theology, Reformed Church studies, general church history and denominational history. The library houses the official archives of the Reformed Church in America and contains comprehensive resources regarding Dutch history, culture, and Dutch Colonial Studies. New Brunswick Theological Seminary, established in 1784, offers classes on two campuses. The board consists of twelve to twenty-four trustees, serving for three-year terms, who are required to be "confessing Christians who acknowledge a commitment to the authority of the Bible over all matters of faith and practice, the sovereignty of God, and the Lordship of Jesus Christ over all of life". who joined NBTS on 15 July 2017. He succeeded Gregg A. Mast, a clergyman who had served congregations in New Jersey, New York, and Johannesburg, South Africa, and held leadership positions within the Reformed Church of America. Mast was appointed by the trustees as the seminary's 14th president in 2006, succeeding Norman J. Kansfield.
Notable people
thumb|upright|right|[[Thomas DeWitt Talmage graduated from the seminary in 1856 and became a popular nineteenth century Presbyterian minister.]]
The New Brunswick Theological Seminary's bylaws establish its mission "to educate persons and strengthen communities for transformational, public ministries in church and society." Several members of the Scudder family, including Jared Waterbury Scudder (B.D. 1855), received their theological training at the seminary before serving as missionaries in India. His younger brother, Thomas DeWitt Talmage (B.D. 1856) became known for his pulpit oratory, drawing large crowds to hear his sermons. Talmage's sermons were later published in 3,000 journals and said to reach 25 million readers worldwide. One of the main buildings on the seminary's campus, Zwemer Hall (built 1966, razed 2013) was named for Samuel Marinus Zwemer (M.A. 1890), a missionary in the Middle East who was nicknamed the "Apostle to Islam." Zwemer served in Basra, Bahrain, the Arabian peninsula, later in Egypt from 1891 to 1929, and believed that distributing literature was effective in spreading God's word. Horace Grant Underwood (B.D. 1884), served as a missionary in Korea, and was influential in establishing several educational institutions with the financial support of his brother, John T. Underwood, a typewriter entrepreneur and manufacturer. A financial gift in Spring 2011 to the seminary from the Luce Foundation and Korean Christians established an endowed professorship, the Underwood Chair for Global Christianity. Two seminary graduates served as presidents of Rutgers: William Henry Steele Demarest, a clergyman and ecclesiastical history scholar, and Philip Milledoler Brett, a prominent New York City attorney (both also alumni of Rutgers College). Demarest served as the seminary's president for ten years from 1925 to 1935. Several other seminary alumni have served on the seminary's faculty and as its leaders—including its first dean and faculty president, Samuel Merrill Woodbridge (A.M. 1841), and its previous president, Gregg A. Mast (M.Div. 1976).