The Reverend Patricia Kepler, pastor of Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church, has taken over as Interim Chaplain while the president's office decides how best to fill the place of former University Chaplain Scotty McLennan.
McLennan, who announced his resignation last fall after 16 years of leadership, stepped into his new position as dean of religious life at Stanford University following winter recess. Members of Tufts spiritual community hope to find a full-time replacement, although the role of the position itself is currently being redefined.
Many members of the student body feel that McLennan's strong passion for justice, fervor for student activism, and perspective on university life cannot be easily matched. The President's Office has formed a committed headed by Executive Associate to the President Judy Olson to look into how the University Chaplain serves Tufts.
"We're trying to take the temperature of the community and find out what they would want from the position," Senior Vice President and Provost Sol Gittleman said.
The University Chaplain was originally a faculty member in the department of religion. In the mid-80s, President Jean Mayer created the position, which McLennan filled shortly there-after.
Tufts' new president will likely make the final decision about the role of the next Chaplain. For the interim, Kepler brings a great deal to campus spirituality.
"I really want to hear from people about where they are and what they want from this office; how I could best serve the community. My door is always open," she said. She believes her job is to foster the religious development of Tufts students.
"The university chaplain facilitates the broad range of religious life on campus and has to be a person who can respect the breadth and depth of religious expression in the world," Kepler said, "people come from all over the world to this place with their religious faiths."
Kepler arrived just at the end of the Tufts Christian Fellowship (TCF) controversy, and said that "ultimately it was handled very well. I think it is the responsibility of the religious community, across the board, to respect and stay within the guidelines of the whole University and in this case the non-discrimination policies." She also said she respects TCF's religious freedom.
"I don't think that anyone can impose, on the religions communities, systems of belief that they do not hold. So I do think there is an issue of both compliance with nondiscrimination policy, which must be respected by everyone on campus, and at the same time room for religious diversity," she said.
In her last year at Drexel College, she abandoned a career in law to enter the Princeton theological Seminary. After graduation, Kepler served at a New Jersey church for nine years.
She then spent a year teaching in Florida before serving on the National Church Board of Education as director of women's programming. Afterwards, she took on a five-year appointment as Director of Ministerial Studies at Harvard, and is currently serving as pastor of Clarendon Hill Church.
Kepler is eager to continue reaching out to students, and holds various programs in similar fashion as McLennan. One service, called Reflections, is held Wednesdays at noon and is a chance to witness presentations from various non-traditional speakers. Speakers range from graduate students in the mathematics department to the director of the African American Center. She also conducts a Chaplain's Table on Thursdays from 5-7 p.m. to encourage religious discussion over dinner.
Unlike McLennan, Kepler will not be teaching or serving other Tufts campuses.
