From left: Karen Whitehead, Professor Murray Rae and Dr Andrew Shepherd
Generous support from the Longview Trust has created a wealth of new opportunities for the Theology Programme, Mātai Whakapono Karaitiana, at Otago.
Longview is a Waikato-based Trust set up by a small group of farmers to grow the New Zealand church. They have invested profits from their farming endeavours into Christian work and serving their local communities since 1951.
Chair of the Trust, Karen Whitehead, says the quality and vision of the teaching staff in Otago's Theology programme initially drew the Trust to invest.
“The Trust’s purpose is to develop Christian leaders who are well-grounded and can make a positive contribution to the church and wider society. The programmes offered and visioned by the leadership team within the Theology programme aligned with these objectives,” she says.
In 2022, Longview pledged $300,000 to establish a Pacific Lecturer in Theology position at the University. The Trust has provided funding for a three-year fixed-term appointment, to establish the role and investigate the sustainability of a teaching and research programme in Pacific Theology.
During the appointment, the lecturer will contribute a Pacific perspective on papers within the programme, teach the Moana Pasifika Theology paper, and develop two further papers in some aspect of Christian theology.
“The generosity of the Trust has enabled the Theology programme to develop fresh areas of teaching and research that address contemporary challenges for the church and for wider society both in New Zealand itself and internationally,” says the Acting Head of the Theology programme Professor Murray Rae.
In 2019, Longview donated nearly $300,000 to a Wellington-based lectureship in Theology held by Dr Andrew Shepherd. Dr Shepherd is a Senior Lecturer in Theology and Public Issues and has recently been named as one of 12 international scholars chosen for the Centre of Theological Inquiry study programme ‘Thriving in Diverse Contexts’. The programme, based in Princeton, New Jersey, is a two-year interdisciplinary programme in psychological science for researchers in theology.
Longview has also provided funding of $99,000 to support the Teaching of Biblical Languages for a three-year period and fulfilled a large pledge of $309,184 to contribute to the salary of the Chaplaincy lecturer for five years. In 2021, Dr Graham Redding joined the Theology programme as a Chaplaincy lecturer in a five-year, fixed-term post funded by Longview and the Presbyterian Synod of Otago and Southland.
“We are particularly pleased to be supporting a professional pathway for chaplains in New Zealand, teaching in Theology and Public Policy based in Wellington, and look forward to supporting the wider goals of the University and community with the up-coming appointment of a role in Pacific Theology,” says Mrs Whitehead.