History

“The universities, then, directly and indirectly, dominate the world;  their influence is so pervasive and total that whatever problem afflicts them is bound to have far-reaching repercussions through-out the entire fabric of Western civilization.  No task is more crucial and urgent today than to examine the state of the mind and spirit in the Western University.”

-Charles Malik, Christian Statesman, former President- U.N. General Assembly

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Introducing the Rivendell Institute

Over twenty years ago we began to dream about creating a work that would cultivate the voice of vital Christian faith within academia. From those early ruminations came a vision and a plan. Since many of us already worked as campus ministers at Yale, in 1995 we founded the Rivendell Institute as an affiliate organization here, and for eighteen years now we have pursued our mission to explore the intersection of Christian faith and contemporary scholarship.

We chose the name Rivendell from the works of J.R.R. Tolkien because of its many resonances with our mission and values. In those works, Rivendell is a place animated by a love of wisdom and learning, and warmed by effusive hospitality. In effect, Rivendell expressed exactly the atmosphere we hoped to provide for members of the Yale community.  When in 2005 a home was provided for our institute on Lynwood Place, we set about the business of creating just such a space.

Today, our team of research and spiritual formation fellows and administrative staff has grown considerably from those early years (see ‘Staff’). Our enduring commitment to engage and equip Yale students and faculty has seen great progress as well over this time. Now in our nineteenth year, we maintain the same ambition to explore, examine, stimulate, and nurture a thoughtful  Christianity for this age.

For more about us, click here…