Crane Divinity School
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Former names
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Tufts College Divinity School, Tufts College School of Religion |
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| Type | seminary |
| Active | 1869–1968 |
| Affiliation | Universalist |
| Location | Medford, Massachusetts |
The Crane Theological School was a Universalist seminary at Tufts University founded in 1869 as the Tufts College Divinity School and closed in 1968. It was one of three Universalist seminaries founded in America during the nineteenth century. (The others were the Theological School of St. Lawrence University and the Ryder Divinity School at Lombard College.) During its history, it granted 281 Bachelor of Divinity degrees (some in Religious education), 152 bachelor of sacred theology degrees, and two masters of religious education for a total of 435 degrees.
The name changed multiple times. Founded as "Tufts College Divinity School", it became "Crane Theological School" in 1906 upon Albert Crane's gift of $100,000 in 1906 in honor of his father, Thomas. In 1925, the school became officially the "Tufts College School of Religion - Crane Theological School," after extensive discussions, including a conference with the widow of Albert Crane. By the 1960s, the name had shortened again to "Crane Theological School". The Crane Chapel remains part of the Tufts campus as the Crane Room.
The school was one of the Associated Schools of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences from 1903-1962 and 1965-1968. The school was never officially denominationally controlled, nor was it accredited by the American Association of Theological Schools.
Universalist layman and major Tufts supporter Silvanus Packard founded the school with a bequest in 1869.
The divinity school was initially housed on the second floor of Ballou Hall. With the construction of West Hall in 1872, divinity students were offered accommodation there. In 1891, students saw the building of separate quarters for the school with the construction of Miner and Paige halls. Miner Hall provided classroom and office space for the school while Paige Hall served as a dormitory and chapel.
Miner Hall was constructed in 1891 to serve as headquarters for the School of Theology and was named for Alonzo A. Miner, second president of Tufts College and the major donor to the project ($40,000). Paige Hall was built in 1892 to serve as a dormitory for Theological School Students and bears the name of Lucius R. Paige, Universalist minister and trustee 1859–1896.
In 1902, the school began to offer a combined 5-year A.B./S.T.B..
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