To Members and Friends of the BDS Community,
Andrew McGowan has informed the BDS Board that he will step down as Dean at the end of his third term on June 30, 2026. Most deans at Yale serve only two terms. I am so grateful Andrew was willing to accede to our request that he stay for a third term.
Andrew’s impact on Berkeley’s mission has been unprecedented. He has exceeded the Board’s expectations as a priest, scholar, intellectual, manager, administrator, and fundraiser. Andrew has been a great partner and effective advocate for Berkeley with our partners at Yale Divinity School and the Institute of Sacred Music. Most importantly, we have been blessed to have a Dean who recognized and honored the centrality daily worship must play in the formation of Episcopal priests.
Andrew’s accomplishments as Dean are too numerous to mention here. They include: a ten-year Reaccreditation from the Association of Theological Schools.; a ten-year renewal of Berkeley’s Affiliation Agreement with Yale University and Yale Divinity School; the successful completion of the largest Capital Campaign in School history; and the restructuring of the seminary’s core Anglican Studies courses; One of his greatest legacies was expanding the School’s mission to serve ordained ministers and lay leaders in what is now known as the Transforming Leaders initiative. All the while, he has maintained his focus—and that of the trustees—on the lived experience of Berkeley’s students.
Both Berkeley and the greater YDS community have been blessed by Felicity Harley-McGowan’s active presence. Andrew and Felicity’s partnership has served Berkeley well in obvious and, quite frequently, less obvious ways. Any attempt to describe Andrew’s legacy in New Haven would be incomplete without acknowledging her many contributions.
We will celebrate Andrew and recognize his impact on Berkeley in the coming months. For now, please join me in thanking Andrew for the wonderful gift of his service to the School.
Sincerely,
James L. Elrod, Jr.
Chair of the Board of Trustees