News and Events
DR. CONDE-FRAZIER NAMED DEAN OF ESPERANZA COLLEGE
St. Davids, PA, October 21, 2008: The Eastern University Office of the Provost has announced that Dr. Elizabeth Conde-Frazier will be the new Dean of Esperanza College (http://esperanza.eastern.edu/) effective January 2009. Dr. Conde-Frazier, a graduate of Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary (now Palmer Seminary), is a religious educator with a fine regard for the discipline of religious education and its ties to theology, spirituality and the social sciences. She has written on multicultural issues, Hispanic theological education, and the spirituality of the scholar. In addition to her M.Div. from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Dr. Conde-Frazier holds a B.A. from Brooklyn College and a Ph.D. from Boston College. She possesses the skills, drive and background to enhance Esperanza’s Latino driven mission of improving the knowledge, skills, and outlook of young people and adults so they can live even more thoughtful, positive, productive and purposeful lives.
"As the incoming dean of Esperanza College, I will seek to continue the rich legacy of the college as a Hispanic serving institution with the purpose of helping students to be successful academically as a step toward their dreams,” Dr. Conde-Frazier said. “I hope to instill in the graduates a strong sense of their gifts and vision and to nurture a desire to serve the community as a part of their expression of faith.”
Esperanza College was created in a partnership between Esperanza, the largest faith based network in the country, and Eastern University. The President of Esperanza, Reverend Luis Cortés, Jr., is excited about the transition, saying, “Bringing Dr. Elizabeth Conde-Frazier to Esperanza College is a special moment in the life of our college and community. To bring a senior scholar to serve a neighborhood college is rare. To have her in the only Pennsylvania Hispanic serving institution is a blessing.”
Dr. Conde-Frazier has served as the associate professor in religious education for the Claremont School of Theology in Claremont, CA., and teaches at Latin American Bible Institute in La Puente, CA. Prior to that, she served as lecturer in field education (Andover Newton Theological School, Newton Centre, MA), director of the Orlando E. Costas Hispanic and Latin American Ministries Program, facilitator for Women of the Cross, Hispanic Women’s Support Group, and Pastor of the Primera Iglesia Bautista Hispana, (New London, CT).
“I will bring my strengths as an educator formed in the liberative tradition,” Dr. Conde-Frazier said. “I will use this formation to strengthen the work of the college's very capable staff and faculty to expand the concentrations it offers so that together we may strengthen our commitment to develop the gifts of the students at a variety of levels.”
Her scholarly passion involves participatory action research with communities working on justice issues, such as immigration and ecumenism, as they relate to religious education. Dr. Conde-Frazier, an ordained American Baptist minister with more than 10 years experience in the local church, is the author of Hispanic Bible Institutes and co-author of A Many Colored Kingdom: Multicultural Dynamics for Spiritual Formation. She has also authored many academic and church-related papers, including "Multiversity and Clinical Pastoral Education" (Association of Clinical Pastoral Education, Dallas, TX), "Multiculturalism and Pastoral Care" (Pastoral Care Center, Los Angeles, CA), "Religious Education for Justice: Participatory Action Research" (Religious Education Association) and “Testimonios: Women Voice and Agency" (Confraternidad Teológica Latinoamericana).
Dr. Conde-Frazier has won many accolades including The Justo González Award for Excellence in Theological Education (2004), Teacher of the Year from the Latin American Bible Institute (2004), Dissertation Series Award from the Hispanic Theological Initiative (2002), and the Latina In Ministry Award from the Latino Pastoral Action Center (2002).
Eastern University is a Christian university of the arts and sciences which enrolls approximately 4000 students in its undergraduate, graduate, professional, urban, Seminary and international programs. Eastern University is located at 1300 Eagle Road in St. Davids, PA. For more information about Eastern University, call 610.341.5930 or visit www.eastern.edu.
Esperanza College seeks to provide members of the Hispanic and local communities a Christian faith-based education that is affordable and culturally appropriate so that they can continue their contributions to, and leadership in, their communities and become even more effective in their service. For more information, visit http://esperanza.eastern.edu/ or call 215.324.0746.
