New York State Attorney General approves lease agreement with Vanderbilt University
NEW YORK, August 11, 2025 – The General Theological Seminary (GTS) today announced it had received approval from the New York State Attorney General to lease the Close to Vanderbilt University.
The 99-year lease will enable GTS to expand its innovative hybrid Master of Divinity (MDiv) program, while securing its presence at its historic home in New York City for decades to come.
Under the terms of the lease agreement, GTS will have access to more than twice the current level of accommodation on the Close for student intensive weeks, enabling it to increase the number of students in each cohort of the MDiv program over time. Intensive weeks will be held on the Close in August and May, with programming for alumni taking place in June. Commencement and Matriculation will continue to be held in the Chapel of the Good Shepherd.
GTS’ hybrid MDiv, which is designed for students in the ordination process for The Episcopal Church, is significantly oversubscribed. This week, the Seminary welcomed 24 new students on to the program, the largest incoming MDiv class since 2008. The first cohort of hybrid MDiv students graduated this May, achieving a 100% placement rate in both parish and chaplaincy roles. GTS was also the only Episcopal seminary where every student was marked proficient in all six areas of the General Ordination Exams.
The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, President of The General Theological Seminary, said: “The lease agreement with Vanderbilt University ensures that General continues its sacred work of forming leaders for the Church from our historic home in Chelsea. It enables us to grow our innovative hybrid MDiv program and deepen our offerings for alumni, while securing our presence on the Close for generations to come.”
Approval from the New York State Attorney General was necessary to close on the lease agreement. Vanderbilt also requires approval from the New York State Education Department to provide academic programming on the Close, including an undergraduate study away program and a one-year master’s program.
GTS entered into an Affiliation Agreement with Virginia Theological Seminary in 2022. Under the agreement, the two seminaries operate as separate entities, retaining their own accreditations, endowments, and boards, but sharing an overlapping governance structure, executive leadership team, and a range of shared services. The agreement prohibits the subsidy of one institution by the other.
Notes to editors:
For media enquiries, please contact Nicky Burridge, Senior Vice President for Communications and Institutional Advancement at GTS.
Tel: (703) 461-1782
Mobile: (703) 300-2876
Email: nburridge@vts.edu
Photo caption: The Close in Chelsea, New York City.
About The General Theological Seminary:
The General Theological Seminary of The Episcopal Church was founded in 1817. It is the oldest seminary of The Episcopal Church and has educated and formed leaders for the church in a changing world for more than 200 years. The seminary was chartered by an act of The Episcopal Church’s General Convention and its name was chosen to reflect its founders’ vision that it be a seminary to serve the whole church.