MASC graduates Christine Boyle and Som Pourfarzaneh
MASC: Transformative Leadership for Just and Sustainable Communities
MASC is accepting applications for Fall 2012 admission.
Deadline is May 1st.
Rev. Gabriella Lettini, Ph.D.
When Starr King launched the Master of Arts in Social Change (MASC) degree program in the Fall of 2005, it was the first program of its kind in the nation. SKSM leadership noticed a large percentage of its Master of Divinity graduates not pursuing ministerial ordination and remaining committed to social justice work in faith and secular communities. This reality inspired the imagination, vision and labor of SKSM faculty, staff and the Board of Directors. Paired with a generous grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundation, the MASC program was born. Professor Gabriella Lettini was asked to launch and direct it.
MASC: SPIRITUALITY, LOVE, AND JUSTICE
Tyson Casey
Commencement 2010
MASC students come from multiple religious traditions and professional backgrounds, but they all share a dedication to justice work. Many explored master’s degrees in social work, education, non-profit management, and public policy, to name a few, before choosing MASC. But, none of these traditional public service programs fully embraced their vision of spiritually rooted justice work that could ethically ground and sustain them, along with the larger community. MASC formally recognizes spiritually inspired transformative leadership that is committed to grassroots activism, non-profit work and other forms of service and justice-making.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
The first class contained 5 students. After May 2012, 18 people will have completed the program. Here are a few:
- Som Pourfarzaneh (2007). Founder of Seibukan Jujutsu of the East Bay, a martial arts school and GTU Islamic Studies doctoral candidate.
- Betty Jeanne Rueters-Ward (2008). Program Coordinator of Youth and Young Adult Ministries at UU Congregation of Shelter Rock.
- Tyson Casey (2010). Program Associate overseeing the Leading from the Inside Out Yearlong Fellowship Program at the Rockwood Leadership Institute.
- Christine Boyle (2010). Strategic Communications Specialist at Centre for Civic Governance at the Columbia Institute and Coordinator at the Interfaith Institute for Peace, Justice and Social Movements.
Other grads serve as educators, chaplains, grassroots organizers, and other transformational leaders.
What will you do with your gifts? Formalize your contribution to blessing the world; consider the unique and pioneering MASC program.
Deadline to apply for Fall 2012 admission is May 1, 2012.
Contact Crystal Weston at recruitment@sksm.edu for more information.
Note: The Association of Theological Schools has just approved the new definition of MASC as Master of Arts in Social Change. The name change will apply to students starting the program in the Fall of 2012. 
