CHURCH DIVINITY SCHOOL OF THE PACIFIC
COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER WILL BE LOUIE CREW, FOUNDER OF INTEGRITY

Media Contact: Mollyanne Brewer Maremaa
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Church Divinity School of the Pacific
The Episcopal Seminary of the West

Three Honorary Degree Recipients
April 16, 2004 -- Berkeley, Calif. -- Church Divinity School of the Pacific (CDSP) is pleased to announce the commencement preacher for this year's graduation ceremony will be the well-known Episcopal writer Louie Crew, Ph.D., D.D. Commencement will be held on Friday, May 21, at 10:30 a.m., on the seminary campus, 2451 Ridge Road, in Berkeley, Calif., with 34 seminary students graduating.

"We are especially pleased to have Louie Crew preach at our commencement," said President and Dean Donn Morgan, "for his vision and work in the Episcopal Church represent an important and needed perspective for future ministry and mission. The promise of good leadership to help the Church address the challenges it faces is found in the work completed by our students, which we celebrate on this particular occasion."

Honorary degrees will be bestowed upon three distinguished individuals, including Louie Crew, who will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters degree, along with Dave Toycen, President and Chief Executive Officer, World Vision Canada. The Rev. Canon Joan Butler Ford, Ph.D. will receive an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree.

Professor Emeritus of English, Rutgers University in New Jersey, Crew has long been known in Episcopal Church circles for having founded the organization Integrity in 1974. More recently, he is celebrated for creating and maintaining an extensive collection of web pages focusing on issues facing the church today. Crew's academic areas of expertise include Composition, Writing and Computers, Theology and Gay Studies.

In his home diocese of Newark, New Jersey, Crew has served two terms on the Standing Committee, for two years as its president, and a four-time deputy to the Episcopal General Convention, twice as Chair of the deputation. He presently serves on the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church. A strong advocate of inclusively, Crew embodies the hope that Anglicans of all sorts will continue to talk with each other and maintain the sometimes fragile communion with each other. The author of more than 1,450 articles published in a variety of media, including "Saturday Review," "Chronicle of Higher Education," and "New York Culture Review," he holds a Ph.D. from the University of Alabama, and received a Doctor of Divinity from Episcopal Divinity School in 1999 as well as a Doctor of Divinity from the General Theological Seminary in 2003.

Canon Ford serves as Canon for Communications with St. Paul's Cathedral, Episcopal Diocese of San Diego. After raising four children, Canon Ford completed her undergraduate education and went on to earn a Ph.D. in Sociology at Stanford University '80. Following a teaching stint at Stanford, she and a business partner ran a successful company specializing in market research for high tech companies. Ford then acted upon a long-held call to the priesthood, and received a Master of Divinity '89 from CDSP, and was ordained the same year. With a strong business background in computer technology and communications, Ford was appointed Director of Telecommunications for the Anglican Communion in 1996, in London. The post involved enhancement of global communication via computer for the church. She has recently been named to the newly inaugurated Inter-Anglican Telecommunications Commission for the Anglican Communion. Previously, she was a Trustee for CDSP, and headed a special technology committee of the Board of Trustees.

As president of World Vision Canada, Dave Toycen heads Canada's largest humanitarian relief and development agency. In his seven years as President, he has guided the organization into dramatic growth in its efforts to follow Christ by serving the world's poor. Toycen and his wife, Diane, are active members of Trinity Anglican Church in Streetsville, Ontario, where Diane is Director of Parish Life and Programme. They have been involved in the growth, education and ministry of several Anglican/Episcopal churches in dioceses where they have lived from Pasadena, Calif., to Melbourne, Australia.

Toycen's career with World Vision has spanned 30 years, during which time his strong leadership has been felt internationally. He has provided on-the-scene assessment and support during major humanitarian disasters throughout the past two decades. Under his leadership, World Vision Canada has raised more than $1.5 billion for aid and development programs. Toycen holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Lawrence University in Wisconsin, a Master of Divinity degree from Fuller Theological Seminary, in Pasadena, Calif., and an honorary doctorate from Tyndale College and Seminary in Toronto.

Established in 1893, Church Divinity School of the Pacific is the Episcopal seminary of the West. Degrees and certificates to be given at commencement this spring include Master of Divinity, Master of Theological Studies, Certificate of Anglican Studies, Certificate of Theological Studies, Master of Arts Degree, Doctor of Ministry Degree, and Doctor of Philosophy.

Recently, CDSP launched a major Capital Campaign, "Preserving Tradition - Building the Future." The initial phase of the campaign focuses on strengthening the seminary's endowment, and the urgently needed renovation of Easton Hall, which will become the new home of the Center for Anglican Learning and Leadership (CALL) and provide guest facilities for visiting scholars. Also critical is the seismic retrofitting of Gibbs Hall (CDSP's original building in Berkeley), in order to meet earthquake standards set by the City of Berkeley. The fundraising goal for the initial phase of the campaign is $21 million.

Church Divinity School of the Pacific's mission is to provide the highest quality Christian theological education in an environment of scholarship, reflection and worship, rooted in the Anglican tradition. CDSP is a founding member of the Graduate Theological Union, an ecumenical and interfaith consortium based in Berkeley, Calif. For more information, see www.cdsp.edu.