Sherry Turner
April 1, 2025
Hartford International University names alum, Memphis native as new president
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Hartford International University at 77 Sherman St., Hartford.
Hartford International University, a private theological school, has named Rev. Sherry Turner as its 12th president, effective July 1.
Turner will replace President Joel N. Lohr, who has led Hartford International since 2018.
Turner, an alumnus of Hartford International’s Black Ministries Program, has been a member of the seminary’s board of trustees since 2023.
“I am deeply honored to have been selected to lead an institution that I love,” Turner said. “HIU played an important role in my development as an ordained minister and helped me to balance my identity as a faith leader and as a scholar-researcher in the academy.”
Turner will be the first African-American and the third woman to lead Hartford International.
She was recently the vice president of strategic initiatives at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee.
Turner received a Ph.D. in educational psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a master's degree in developmental psychology from North Carolina State University, a master's in theological studies from Emory University's Candler School of Theology, and a bachelor's degree in psychology-anthropology and sociology from Rhodes College.
Also, she has served as executive director and CEO of the Atlanta University Center Consortium, a nonprofit collaboration between four historically black colleges and universities in southwest Atlanta.
Turner was vice president for student affairs and the president's chief-of-staff at Spelman College in Atlanta, and has worked as a faculty member, academic dean and ombudsperson at Mt. Holyoke College, a private women's liberal arts college in South Hadley, Massachusetts.
Hartford International was founded in 1835 as the Hartford Theological Seminary. In 1961, it merged with the Kennedy School of Missions and became known as the Hartford Seminary Foundation. The name was later shortened to Hartford Seminary.
Joel Lohr
During seven years as president, Lohr was known for overseeing major changes, including renaming the institution in 2021 to the Hartford International University for Religion and Peace, which was meant to better reflect its interfaith focus.
Hartford International’s board of trustees began searching for a new president after Lohr announced last May that he would step down in 2025.
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments