News from the Hill March 09, 2007 | back to index
Installation of Dean William Herzog II To Be Held on March 24, 2007
On Saturday, March 24, the Andover Newton community will gather to celebrate the installation of Dr. William R. Herzog II as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty for Andover Newton Theological School. The installation service will be held at 2:00 p.m. in First Baptist Church in Newton. All are invited to attend the public service and the reception to follow.
Dr. Herzog began his duties officially on July 1, 2006. He came to Andover Newton from Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School (CRCDS), where he served as the Sallie Knowles Crozer Professor of New Testament Interpretation. During his tenure at CRCDS he also served for ten years as Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Life. He is widely respected for his Biblical scholarship, his popular teaching style, and his outspoken commitment to justice. Born in Rutland, Vermont, Bill was raised in Orwell, Vermont, a small town on the southern end of Lake Champlain. He graduated from Harvard University (1966) before receiving his M.Div. at the American Baptist Seminary of the West (1969) and his doctorate at Claremont Graduate School (1976).
Herzog has published three studies of the historical Jesus: Parables as Subversive Speech: Jesus as Pedagogue of the Oppressed (1994); Jesus, Justice and the Reign of God (2000); and Prophet and Teacher: An Introduction to the Historical Jesus (2005) as well as numerous other articles. In addition to his work in New Testament, Bill is interested in the relationship of baseball, religion and American culture. Working with a faculty colleague, Christopher Evans, he has co-edited a collection of essays entitled The Faith of Fifty Million: Essays on Baseball, Religion and American Culture (2002). He is a life-long member of Red Sox Nation.
Bill was ordained on July 20, 1969 (the day that Neil Armstrong walked on the moon) at the First Baptist Church of West Covina, California, and served as minister of the Loraine Avenue Baptist Church in Glendora, California from 1971-1974. During his years as a Professor of New Testament, he has served a number of churches as an Interim Minister.
He has served on the faculties of three American Baptist Seminaries: the American Baptist Seminary of the West and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, from 1974-1988; Central Baptist Theological Seminary from 1988-1991; and Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School from 1991-2006. He was dean at both Central Baptist Theological Seminary and Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School. While at CRCDS, Herzog played a leading role in helping develop that school’s nationally recognized Black Church Studies program.
