As of August 1st, the Rev. Dr. Victor Aloyo, Jr., began his new calling as Columbia’s president. As a Covenant Partner (https://synodlw.org/resources/) with the Synod of Living Waters, Columbia Seminary has been an engaged and meaningful collaborator with our presbyteries for many years. In the old PCUS, various synods officially sponsored and maintained covenant relationships with specific seminaries. The synods of Alabama and Mississippi of the PCUS were both among CTS’s sponsoring synods. So, our ties with CTS, as well as our ties with Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary located within our synod’s bounds, are historic.
Victor Aloyo comes to us with a vast set of experiences in the church and in the world. Formerly he had been Administrator and Associate Dean for Institutional Diversity and Community Engagement at Princeton Theological Seminary and Lead Pastor of Iglesia Presbiteriana Nuevas Fronteras in Plainfield, New Jersey. He chaired Princeton Seminary’s Urban Ministry Initiatives Cabinet and was Convener of the Covenant Architects Network. Victor received degrees from the University of Pennsylvania (Ed.D) and Princeton Theological Seminary (M.Div.).
Columbia has covered Rev. Aloyo’s new arrival well in this featured article on their website – https://www.ctsnet.edu/home/president . As to why he felt called to CTS, and what he aspires for this seminary in days to come, perhaps Victor says it best in this YouTube clip… https://youtu.be/0mE8-7x4Sg0nt/.