Barbara B. Zikmund Papers

Barbara Brown Zikmund was born October 16, 1939. She graduated cum laude from Beloit College in 1961, receiving her BA with a major in Philosophy. In 1964, she obtained a BD from Duke Divinity School and in 1969 she went on to receive a PhD with emphasis in American church history from Duke University Graduate School. Her dissertation was entitled, “Asa Mahan and Oberlin Perfectionism: 1835-1850.” Zikmund was certified from the ATS Institute for Theological Education Management in 1984. She received honorary DD degrees from Doane College (1984), Chicago Theological Seminary (1985), and Ursinus College (1989). In 1998 she was awarded an honorary LLD from the University of Hartford.

Dr. Zikmund, known by many people as “BBZ”, has taught and been a leader in theological education in the United States for the past 25 years. From 1990-2000 she was the president of Hartford Seminary in Hartford, Connecticut – a progressive multi-religious graduate school with programs for Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders. Before that, from 1981-1990 she was the academic dean at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California. She was an assistant professor and Director of Studies at Chicago Theological Seminary from 1975-1980. She holds a professional theological degree and a PhD from Duke University. She was ordained as a Christian minister in the United Church of Christ in 1964.

Since April 2001, Professor Barbara Brown Zikmund has been teaching in the Graduate School of American Studies at Doshisha Univeristy. At Doshisha she offers graduate courses in American religion, American thought, and women’s studies. She is also teaching one undergraduate course in theology entitled, “A Women and Contemporary Christian Theology.” She plans to retire in April of 2005, at which time she will return permanently to the United States. For the immediate future she will be Visiting Scholar at the Life Cycle Institute at the Catholic University of America.

Dr. Zikmund was the first female president of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS). She also served as the president of the World Conference of Associations of Theological Institutions (WOCATI). She has served on the Programme on Theological Education of the World Council of Churches, and the Faith and Order commission of the National Council of Churches. At present, she is chair of the Interfaith Relations Commission of the National Council of Churches, returning to the United States twice each year for its meetings.

Dr. Zikmund has written and spoken extensively about religion in America, especially on the role of women and on the history of her denomination – the United Church of Christ. She is author of Discovering the Church (Westminster, 1983), editor of two volumes entitled the Hidden Histories of the United Church of Christ (Pilgrim Press, 1984, 1987), co-author of Clergy Women: An Uphill Calling (Westminster John Knox Press, 1998) and the general editor of a seven volume series The Living Theological Heritage of the United Church (1995-2005).

Dr. Zikmund has a deep commitment to understanding the changing role of religion in the world today. Her work as a Christian church leader, historian, educator and advocate for women has taken many forms. She is married to Joseph Zikmund II, who holds a doctorate in political science, and also teaches as an adjunct professor in the Graduate School of American Studies. They have one son, Brian Zikmund-Fisher, who is married and has one child and lives in Ypsilanti, Michigan. When the Zikmunds are not in Kyoto, they live near Washington, DC in Rockville, MD.

Sources Consulted

Barbara B. Zikmund provided information.

See Zikmund’s Curriculum Vitae for additional information.

Note written by Cara McKibbin and Archives staff.