The Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III, longtime pastor of Harlem’s historic Abyssinian Baptist Church, passed away Friday, October 28 at the age of 73. The Rev. Dr. Butts served as a distinguished visiting professor in the Fordham Graduate School of Education’s Educational Leadership, Administration and Policy Division (ELAP) during the spring 2022 semester.
José Luis Alvarado, Ph.D., dean of the Graduate School of Education, stated, “We mourn the loss of Dr. Butts today. He made innumerable lasting contributions to how we understand the social, educational, religious, and ethical issues of our time. Our students are fortunate indeed that they experienced his wisdom and insights as an inspirational educational leader. The legacy of Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III will endure as part of our mission to help develop transformational educational leaders.”
This semester, students studying in the administration and supervision, church and nonpublic school leadership program’s Social Theories course had the opportunity to gain insight into real world practice from Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III. The course focuses on the implications of social theories on restructuring educational and other institutions.
Reverend Butts emphasized to his class that they need to unpack what they want to accomplish and then become change agents. He noted, “To make a serious impact on society, we need to take who we are and what we are and take that into the marketplace to make a major impact right now.”
The students are using the book, Higher Education as a Moral Enterprise by Edward LeRoy Long, Jr., to guide their examination of higher education through a moral lens. According to a description of the book, higher education must be guided by a commitment to what is morally right and fundamentally good, not just by what is necessary in intellectual or financial endeavors.
Rev. Butts believes the only true agent of change is education, that in fact, “Education is a moral enterprise.”
“As the pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church and former president of State University of New York (SUNY) College at Old Westbury, Rev. Calvin Otis Butts III, D.Min., is a towering figure in the Black church and higher education. He is a distinguished minister, a higher education leader, and a New York social activist,” said Gerald M. Cattaro, Ed.D., professor and executive director of the Graduate School of Education’s Center for Catholic School Leadership and Faith-Based Education. “It is a delight for us to have Rev. Dr. Butts as a distinguished visiting professor at the center. His expertise adds to the ecumenical dimensions of our center and degree programs. No stranger to the center, Rev. Butts also participated as an invited scholar in the 2020 World Congress of Catholic Education we sponsored.”
Kate Ofikuru, doctoral candidate in the program, described being a student in Rev. Butts’ class: “Being in class with Rev. Butts is like being in a master class on bringing the values of faith to bear on the priority of furthering education. We have been challenged weekly to push our understanding of the work we do and our previously held perspectives. It has truly been an honor.”
“I am so glad to be part of a university rooted in faith,” said Rev. Butts when reflecting on his teaching at Fordham Graduate School of Education. “My students are a wonderfully diverse group hailing from the far reaches of Vietnam and Kenya as well as the local tri-state area. They are intellectually stimulating and a special group of men and women who are trying to make a difference in the world.”
