Honorary Degree Presented to Dr. De La Torre from Virginia Theological Seminary

We are proud to announce that Iliff faculty member, Dr. De La Torre, is a recipient of a Doctor of Divinty, honoris causa, from Virginia Theological Seminary!

Dean Cathie Kelsey writes,

Dr. De La Torre is the first faculty member in a generation to be recognized for his extraordinary scholarship and advocacy with an honorary doctorate. I’m so proud to be Dr. De La Torre’s colleague, and glad that another esteemed graduate theological school has honored him.

From VTS’s official Press Release:

The Class of 2024 requested Dr. De La Torre to be their commencement speaker. Dr. De La Torre has been the Professor of Social Ethics and Latinx Studies at Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado since 2005. He frequently serves as an expert commentator on ethical issues, mainly Latinx religiosity, LGBTQI+ civil rights, and immigration rights, on a range of local, national, and international media outlets.

In his address, Dr. De La Torre called on the Class of 2024 to be prepared to be persecuted and to stand in solidarity with those who were fighting the fight but were unlikely to win. He urged them to think of Jesus walking into the temple and overturning the tables, and challenged them to radicalize the message of the gospel so that liberation and justice could occur.

“This is an ethics that nonviolently lies so that we can discover what is true, that cheats in order to create a level playing field, that steals so that we can feed those whose necessities have been stolen from them, that jokes so that we can say truth, that is disruptive and deceitful so that new opportunities of liberation can be created,” he said.

Honorary Degree Recipients pictured above:

  • The Rt. Rev. Matthew Davis Cowden ’06, Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of West Virginia
  • The Rt. Rev. Sally J. French ’12, D.Min., Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of New Jersey
  • The Rev. Asa J. Lee ’15, D.Min., President of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
  • The Rt. Rev. David G. Read ’92, D.Min., Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of West Texas
  • The Rt. Rev. Ann M. Ritonia ’08, Episcopal Bishop Suffragan of the Armed Forces and Federal Ministries
  • The Rev. Miguel A. De La Torre, Ph.D., Professor of Social Ethics and Latinx Studies, Iliff School of Theology.
  • Katrina Browne, documentary filmmaker, director and writer, and advisor to The Episcopal Church’s Becoming Beloved Community Initiative
WATCH DR. DE LA TORRE'S COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS