Cherry Hill Seminary provides quality higher education and practical training in Pagan ministry.
Cherry Hill Seminary evolved from the desire by members of Vermont’s Church of the Sacred Earth to train Pagan clergy. From that initial impetus, in the early 1990′s Kirk White developed the plans for a program of distance training by mail called Cherry Hill Seminary, with the assistance of Cat Chapin-Bishop and Laura Wildman-Hanlon. By 2000, classes had moved online, and on November 17, 2000, White submitted Articles of Incorporation to the Vermont Secretary of State. The seminary was granted 501(c)3 tax-exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service on March 15, 2007. White recruited nonprofit consultant and Cherry Hill Seminary student Holli Emore to serve as the chair of the first working board of directors, which began meeting in January 2008. The first directors were Gail Schiesser, Debbie Fields-Berry, Sue Curewitz Arthen, Todd Berntson, Cindy Carter, Kirk White, and Holli Emore.
In January 2008 the board asked Ms. Emore to resign from the board and become the seminary’s first executive director, a position in which she continues to serve. With the move of its business office, Cherry Hill Seminary became incorporated in the State of South Carolina. The South Carolina Commission on Higher Education granted in December 2008 a letter of exemption from state oversight, enabling the seminary to move forward with plans for master’s degrees. The current master’s program was announced in July 2009. In fall of 2010, 38 students are matriculated into either a master’s or a certificate program, and many more take courses on an audit or occasional basis.
Cherry Hill Seminary prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, age, marital status, national origin, mental or physical disability, political belief or affiliation, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression or any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under state or federal law in any aspect of the access to, admission, or treatment of students in its programs and activities, or in employment and application for employment. Furthermore, Seminary policy includes prohibitions of harassment of students and employees, i.e., racial harassment, sexual harassment, and retaliation for filing complaints of discrimination.
Please visit the pages below to learn about our mission, board leadership, administrative staff, and more.
