Elizabeth Liebert 
Dean of the Seminary
Vice President for Academic Affairs, Professor of Spiritual Life
PhD, Vanderbilt University
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Biographical Information
Elizabeth Liebert, SNJM, has seen significant changes in how spiritual disciplines are embraced by Presbyterians since joining San Francisco Theological Seminary in 1987. Now the Dean of the Seminary, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of Spiritual Life, Liebert, who holds a PhD from Vanderbilt University, has helped seminary students expand their understanding of spiritual formation and prayer from a ritualistic recital of spoken words in worship to a wide range of community and individual actions and practices. In addition to establishing formal courses of study in spirituality, Liebert has authored and co-authored five highly affirmed books on spiritual disciplines with her most recent book being Way of Discernment: Spiritual Practices for Decision Making. A Roman Catholic Sister of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, Liebert is the first Catholic sister to serve as dean of a Presbyterian seminary. While surprising to some at first glance, Liebert's election as dean was based on her extensive years of teaching at SFTS. "The oddity is gone because I've been around for so long," Liebert said. Liebert looks forward to discovering how each class she teaches forms into a new community with its own mix of personalities and experiences. She looks for that moment when the day's lesson focus catches fire in a student's heart or when a new community insight emerges from a class discussion. "It's always a gift." Liebert said. "You can hope for that moment, you can prepare for that moment, but it can't be ordered into existence."
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