Events under 'Academic'

Unification Theological Seminary's 47th Annual Commencement Ceremony will be held at our main campus in New York City on Saturday, May 27, 2023 at 2 pm ET. In addition to the presentation of the master and doctoral degrees, an honorary doctorate degree will be conferred upon Former European Commissioner and Special Envoy for Religious Freedom, Hon. Ján Figel'.

For those unable to join us in person, we invite you to register to receive the Zoom link for the livestream.

We look forward to having you join us in celebration of this year's graduation class on May 27!

We invite you to join us on July 20, 2023 at 7 pm ET, as we commemorate the 39th Anniversary of Reverend Moon's entry into Danbury Prison.

HJI President Dr. Thomas Walsh will host HJI Professor Dr. Thomas Ward who will speak on The Fraudulent Myth of the "Cult Expert": Factors Contributing to the Wrongful Indictment and Imprisonment of Sun Myung Moon.

HJI Graduate School for Peace and Public Leadership commemorates the U.S. Constitution

Join us for this important event on Thursday, September 28, 2023 at 5 PM ET.

HJI President, Thomas Walsh will be speaking on: "The US Constitution and the UN Charter: Key Similarities and Differences." HJI Provost, Thomas J. Ward will be the host, and welcoming remarks will be given by HJI Dean of Enrollment Management and Student Life, Steven Boyd.

Join us for the first Faculty Roundtable event of the academic year on Thursday, October 5, 2023 at 7 PM ET, hosted by HJI President Dr. Thomas Walsh.

HJI Provost, Dr. Thomas Ward will be speaking on "The Life, Beliefs, and Dreams of China's President Xi Jingping."

HJ International Graduate School for Peace and Public Leadership is pleased to co-host a special program with the Higher Purpose Forum (HPF). We invite you to register for "Individual Sovereignty and Social Institutions" to be held on Tuesday, October 24 at 7PM ET.

HPF Chair James Edgerly will be the host for this insightful evening with a presentation from President of Paragon House, Dr. Gordon Anderson, followed by response from President of SunHak UP Graduate University, Dr. Thomas Selvover, and comments from President of HJI, Dr. Thomas Walsh.

Based upon his 2023 book, titled Integral Society, Dr. Anderson will present his Principled understanding of individual sovereignty. Individual sovereignty, as envisioned in our country's founding documents, should be upheld and served by social institutions, not exploited by them. However, the scale and scope of leading social institutions in contemporary society have expanded so as to threaten individual sovereignty, self-sufficiency, and human rights. Of primary concern are major financial institutions, political parties and government bureaucracies.

We look forward to seeing you at this unique event.

“HJ International Graduate School for Peace and Public Leadership is pleased to co-host a special program with the Higher Purpose Forum (HPF) and the Center for Economic and Social Justice (CESJ). We invite you to register for "Economic Democracy" to be held on Tuesday, November 7 at 7PM ET.

HPF Chair James Edgerly will be the host for this engaging program with a presentation from North American Coordinator for the International Association for Peace & Economic Development, Alan Jessen, followed by his respondent, Director of Communications of CESJ, Dawn Brohawn. The program will conclude with Q&A from the audience and comments from HJI Provost, Dr. Thomas Ward.

The modern formulation of free market economics has consistently yielded unprecedented creativity, productivity, and wealth. Yet is this system optimal for maximizing a broad distribution of prosperity? Or can reforms be made, within the free market system, such that future prosperity will be less disproportionately concentrated in the hands of an economic and political elite?

Alan Jessen’s presentation is Part II of a discussion on achieving economic democracy congruent with Unificationist ideals of “interdependence and mutual prosperity”. He will present a new paradigm, developed over the past forty years at the CESJ, called Binary Economics.”

"Join us for our Faculty Roundtable on Wednesday, November 15, 2023 at 7 PM ET, hosted by HJI President Dr. Thomas Walsh. HJI Adjunct Professor, Dr. Claude Perrottet will be speaking on "How Positive is (Galtung's) Positive Peace?" Dr. Keisuke Noda, HJI Associate Provost, will be the emcee for the evening.

The concepts of Positive Peace and Negative Peace, popularized by Johan Galtung, have dominated the discourse of Peace Studies over the last few decades. Even the newcomer quickly understands that Positive Peace refers to peace as "more than the absence of war." But what that "more" consists of is less obvious. Establishing social equality and justice, economic equity, ecological balance, civil peace and more have been suggested as key requisites. The aim of this presentation is to suggest further clarification that might be useful to Unificationist and other peace practitioners.

We look forward to an insightful and engaging event. "

Register here!

"HJ International Graduate School for Peace and Public Leadership is pleased to co-host a panel discussion with the Higher Purpose Forum (HPF). We invite you to register for "Perspectives on the Crisis in Gaza" to be held on Tuesday, November 21 at 7PM ET. Our three panelists will present principled perspectives on the recent tragic events in Southern Israel and the Gaza Strip.

HPF Chair James Edgerly will be the host for this important event. Panelists include Dr Drissa Kone, HJI Associate Professor of Conflict Resolution and the Ministry, Dr. Andrew Wilson, HJI Professor of Scriptural Studies, and William Haines, Universal Peace Federation, UK. The program will conclude with Q&A from the audience and comments from HJI President, Dr. Thomas Walsh. 

We look forward to seeing you at this event!"

Register Here

"Join us for our Faculty Roundtable on Thursday, December 14, 2023 at 7 PM ET, hosted by HJI President Dr. Thomas Walsh. HJI Associate Provost, Dr. Keisuke Noda will be speaking on "Viktor Frankl's Hermeneutic Space and Belief Systems."  

Viktor Frankl, a holocaust survivor and a psychiatrist, is known for his 'Man's Search for Meaning.' Frankl identifies self-transcendence as the essence of being human and the key to making life meaningful. The presentation articulates the philosophical characteristics of Frankl's hermeneutic space and its relation to a religious belief system, briefly commenting on its implications for Unificationism.