Administrators continue to seek a permanent replacement for former University Chaplain Scotty McLennan, who left Tufts in January of 2001. Reverend Patricia Budd Kepler has served as interim chaplain over the last year and will stay at Tufts until the search is completed.
President Larry Bacow and Provost Sol Gittleman have worked over the past six months with other undisclosed administrators to interview candidates.
"We've been talking to people, interviewing... and because of the people who are involved, it's got to stay confidential," Gittleman said. Candidates both inside and outside of the University community are being examined, based on the input of a focus committee.
Judy Olson, the president's executive assistant, said last semester that despite multiple forums held last spring aimed at clarifying the role of the University chaplain, Tufts did not initiate an active search last year. "We're very content at the moment with the interim chaplain," she told the Daily in November.
Kepler assumed the position of interim chaplain when McLennan vacated his 16-year post at Tufts to serve as dean of religious life at Stanford University. When she accepted the position, her duties were expected to extend through June 2001, at which time a permanent chaplain was to take over. Administrators were hesitant to make a decision without consulting the new president, however, who had not been selected at the time. The search was delayed, and Kepler's duties were extended through June 2002.
Gittleman said that the search would continue as long as necessary to complete discussions with potential chaplains. "It could be weeks, could be months," he said. "I understand the need for some longer term solution, and that's where we're heading ... Fortunately we've been in such capable hands since Scotty left... [Kepler] is clearly way above the bar."
Kepler will remain with Tufts as late as June 2002 or until a replacement chaplain is found. "The issue of a permanent chaplain is on the president's plate, if you will, and I suppose I could extend my interim position until the issue is resolved," Kepler said.
When Kepler accepted the interim position, she stipulated that she would not assume the role of permanent chaplain. She will retire after completing her interim duties to work on drafted writings, babysitting her grandchildren, traveling, and possibly serving as a consultant to religious communities. "I really do think that the next chaplain should be willing to commit an indefinite number of years to the position," Kepler said. This, however, is a commitment that she says she cannot make.
Kepler has received enthusiastic praise for the role that she has played in the Tufts community over the past year, and many had hoped that she would assume the permanent position. "I would be delighted if she did," Gittleman said, adding that while "she loves her job, but right now she is not a candidate."
Gittleman complimented Kepler and associate chaplains Rabbi Jeffrey Summit, Father David O'Leary, and Reverend Steven Bonsey. "I am very delighted in the chaplaincy and in the activity of the associate chaplains and all the people associated with the chaplaincy." While the associate chaplains have not been directly involved in the search, they have participated in the discussions with Gittleman and Bacow.
Kepler has done an "impressive and admirable job of maintaining this position," Summit said. "Now we need to look at the possibility of deepening this role with a full time appointment."
The role of the chaplain is particularly important now, "at a time when religion and religious issues are increasingly on people's minds," Summit said. He stressed the importance of religious debate both in the greater society and on the Tufts campus. "The University chaplaincy has a history of being a wonderful support and facilitator of this debate between different segments of the Tufts community."
Over the past year, Kepler has worked to maintain the traditions of the University chaplain position while adjusting to the changing global situation and attempting to aid students during this trying time. "I think we were helpful in the beginning after 9/11, helping the community pull together," she said. She stressed the importance of the chaplains' role in ensuring that students felt safe and added that Bacow was "very helpful" in working towards this goal.
Five months after Sept. 11, it is difficult to know how to help students because "the community is probably divided in terms of what the national response should be," Kepler said. "Students need to tell us what is needed. There is a need to talk about it but also a need to not focus on it... to move on."
