Increasing Capacities to
Better Serve Diverse Students 

With generous support from Lilly Endowment Inc., The Association of Theological Schools (ATS) is working on a multi-year initiative to help theological schools engage more effectively with the diverse communities they serve. 

A Mission-Aligned Approach to Diversity 

ATS affirms that diversity is a core value—one that reflects the richness of God’s creation and the breadth of our member schools’ constituencies. Diversity includes, but is not limited to, differences in race, ethnicity, gender, nationality, theology, and educational approach. Each school is encouraged to define and demonstrate diversity in ways that are contextually appropriate and aligned with their mission. 

What the Initiative Offers

This initiative is collaborative, adaptive, and grounded in the lived realities of ATS member schools. It includes six major areas of work:

1. Learning from the Past

Compiling and evaluating past diversity-related efforts across ATS and across theological education to identify what has worked, what hasn’t, and where gaps remain. This includes follow-ups with schools, resource curation, and the development of new tools for immediate use.

2. Mapping Needs and Opportunities

Conducting a comprehensive needs assessment across the ATS membership. This includes data analysis, stakeholder interviews, and contextual mapping to understand where schools are now, where they want to go, and what strategies will help them get there. Each participating school will help define its own key performance indicators (KPIs).

3. Supporting Member Schools

Offering grants, learning modules, peer groups, and targeted interventions to help schools build capacity in serving diverse student populations according to schools’ missions, theological understandings, and the constituencies that they serve. Grant applications will be open to all schools that seek to address the priorities of the initiative, and grantees will reflect the diversity of ATS member schools and their various understandings and approaches of how to best serve diverse student populations. All resources will be designed to be relevant, contextual, and collaborative.

4. Strengthening ATS Staff and Structures

To serve schools effectively, ATS staff, boards, and committees will engage in their own capacity-building efforts. This includes education, onboarding modules, and internal assessments to ensure our structures reflect our values and support our member schools.

5. Improving Organizational Frameworks

Reviewing and refining ATS programs, enhancing leadership pipelines, and developing new accreditation resources to help schools assess and communicate their diversity-related work.

6. Planning for the Future

This initiative is designed to be iterative. As it evolves, strategies will be refined and will inform future phases of work. The goal is to build a sustainable framework for ongoing support and innovation across the ATS membership.

The ATS Commitment 

This initiative reaffirms the Association's enduring commitment to theological education that serves communities of faith, the academy, and the broader public. The organization aims to help schools build capacity and pursue quality and improvement in its diverse expressions. Above all, ATS staff supporting this project are guided by the conviction that faithful theological education must be contextually grounded while adapting to changing times.