| The focus of the Project Demonstrating Excellence is a collection of rare books that document the intellectual history of Unitarianism, from the Radical Reformation up through Transcendentalism. This collection had received no attention for over thirty years, and was inaccessible because of fragility, lack of application of modern library science, loss of historical consciousness within the Unitarian Universalist denomination and the fact that they are printed in eight different languages.; The Project Demonstrating Excellence outlines the transformation of this collection and its environment to one that is educationally and physically accessible. How the collection came to be known as the "sacred relics" of a denomination, through basic changes in attitude and perceptions, is the story that this Project Demonstrating Excellence conveys.; Graduate schools of theological education are currently seeking ways to remain relevant and viable as they enter the twenty-first century. My work at Union Institute, known as The Earl Morse Wilbur Project, addresses the need to integrate the practical with the theoretical, and to consider practical subjects worthy of scholarly inquiry. A critical evaluation of the effects of a highly specialized education is called for in this project.; The areas addressed in this paper include History, Leadership, Educational Accessibility in a highly specialized environment and Stewardship.; A documentation of practical application necessary to implement the theoretical runs throughout the work, clarifying how one is inextricably bound to the other. The method applied is one that demonstrates relationships between all of the parts that make up the whole. While the Earl Morse Wilbur Project addresses a problem within a particular seminary which has come about through disassociation, loss of historical consciousness and general disregard for that which is considered tainted by the practical, it may be of use to others searching for new ways to address problems which undermine an institution's striving toward the strength and balance required in order to be relevant to a world in crisis. |
