A Paradise Valley couple donated $40 million last month – on top of a $10 million gift several years ago – to Claremont School of Theology (CST) in Claremont, Calif., to enable the 126-year-old school to cofound a multifaith institution of higher learning.
The new Claremont Lincoln University (CLU) is named after philanthropists Joan and David Lincoln. In addition to offering master’s degrees and doctorates in areas of religious studies, CLU will serve as an umbrella organization that creates ties between Claremont School of Theology, a theological school of the United Methodist Church that ordains ministers; Academy for Jewish Religion, California (AJRCA), a nondenominational, pluralistic school that ordains rabbis and cantors; and the Islamic Center of Southern California (ICSC), which will open for the 2011-12 school year to educate Islamic leaders. AJRCA and ICSC are the other two founding members.
