Following a nationwide search, the School of Theology and Ministry is proud to announce our new Assistant Dean of Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue, Dr. Michael Reid Trice.  Dr. Trice currently serves as the Associate Executive of Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.   

“Dr. Trice has a breadth of formal education and experience in ecumenism and interreligious dialogue, and a global consciousness that will enhance STM’s growing role in theological education at the national and international levels,” Dr. Mark S. Markuly, the school’s dean said.   “He will bring wonderful new energy to the School of Theology and Ministry and will allow the school to serve our denominational partners more effectively.”

Dr. Trice’s work has included collaboration with the Lutheran World Federation, the World Council of Churches and the Bossey Ecumenical Institute.  He has taught courses across the nation, served on the White House Task Force for Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation, and was the co-coordinator for annual study in Geneva, Switzerland on ecumenical and multi-religious trends.  “I am truly delighted to join STM and the committed leadership of faculty, staff and students that inspires the narrative and direction of this School,” Dr. Trice said.  
 
As Assistant Dean, Dr. Trice also joins the faculty as an Assistant Professor of Practical Theology, where he will continue his current research interest on the theological practicalities of reconciliation when trespass and trauma defy language.  His recent book, titled Encountering Cruelty: A Fracture in the Human Heart, (Brill, 2011) won the 2006 distinguished best original dissertation award for Loyola Jesuit University, Chicago.

Dr. Trice received his PhD in Constructive Theology from Loyola University at Chicago in an intentionally ecumenical program of study with the Evangelische Fakultat at Ludwig-Maximillan University in Munich, Germany.  He earned his Masters in Theology from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, as well as a Masters in Theological Studies from Duke University in North Carolina.  “It is a joy for me to accept this invitation and I look forward to our collective efforts in the very near future.”  

Dr. Trice will begin at the School of Theology and Ministry on September 1st, 2011.