[1th May 2005]-In a colorful procession along the sidewalks outside its historic home in Chelsea, the trustees, faculty, staff, and students of The General Theological Seminary (GTS) today marked the beginning of construction on the new Desmond Tutu Education Center. After a brief ceremony, the Very Rev. Ward B. Ewing, Dean and President of the Seminary, perching high atop a ladder in his clerical vestments, took a large pair of wire cutters and removed several links in the security fence surrounding the Seminary buildings which face 10th Avenue.

Following the conclusion of a dedicatory prayer, the assembled members of the procession, many carrying colorful balloons, burst into joyous applause. The symbolic action signaled the beginning of construction on the $23 million project which will begin in several weeks, with completion expected in two years. Having been long in the design and planning stage, the new Tutu Center will contain four learning centers, a high tech conference facility, and sixty well-appointed guestrooms. The name of the new facility honors Anglican leader and Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu. A longtime friend of the Seminary, Archbishop Tutu was a visiting professor here when he was awarded the prize in 1984.

The overriding impetus for the education complex is the Seminary's enduring commitment to serving the educational needs of the Church. Trends in theological education over the past several decades indicate a need for short-term educational programs--weekend workshops, summer programs, continuing education events, national and international theological conferences. Such programs are needed for both the Church's lay leadership and its clergy. As a result, the Seminary found itself in critical need of a modern conference facility and guest rooms to further its stated mission of serving "the church in a changing world."

Creating a facility for the Seminary's existing programs, the Center for Christian Spirituality and the Center for Jewish-Christian Studies and Relations, will be highly beneficial. They will be joined by two new centers, the Center for Peace and Reconciliation and the Center for Continuing Education. "Our existing centers have made enormous contributions to the life of the church," said Dean Ewing. "These two new centers will embody this institution's longstanding commitment to the values exemplified by Archbishop Tutu as well as our ongoing commitment to make theological education a lifelong enterprise." The Dean continued, "In two years this wonderful new facility will enable GTS to bring our ordained and lay leaders back to Seminary at regular intervals in their ministry for the kind of training and spiritual exploration that we know is critically necessary for ministry in the 21st century."

The renovation is also expected to have lasting benefits to the neighborhood, particularly 10th Avenue. "This is yet another tangible step in the Seminary's long-term commitment to preserve and develop the exquisite piece of living history known as Chelsea Square," explained GTS Executive Vice President Maureen Burnley. "Although most of the work for the Tutu Center will focus on adapting and improving the interiors," Burnley said, "when completed, bright and clean facades will also present a much more welcoming face to the neighborhood." GTS plans to install new slate and copper gutters and flashing and to remove outdated fire escapes. Since most of the wall and fencing around the 10th Avenue enclosure will be removed to create a beautifully landscaped entrance to the new facility, ceremonially opening up the fence seemed a great way to symbolize that GTS is opening itself up to the world. As has been done in renovating several of the Seminary's other historic buildings, original architectural features of the interior will be retained as much as possible. Over the past six years, the Seminary has invested nearly $9 million in renovating its historic buildings, a masterwork of 19th century architect Charles Coolidge Haight. GTS was recently given an award by the New York Landmarks Conservancy for the quality of exterior work done on the 10th Avenue property.

Prior to the procession and "groundbreaking" ceremony, GTS trustees formally authorized renovation of the three buildings-currently known as Chelsea 8-9, Eigenbrodt and Hoffman Halls-to create the new center, as well as to renovate two dormitories, Kohne and Dodge Halls.