After nearly two decades of serving the Catholic Church in various academic and administrative positions, Dr. Darren Dahl has been tapped for a job combining these specializations.

On April 22, the Newman Theological College (NTC) board of governors announced that Dahl would begin his duties as the next president of the Edmonton-based Catholic institution on July 1.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Dahl as the next president of Newman Theological College,” said Tracey Bailey, the board’s vice-chair. “He brings with him not only an impressive academic and administrative background but also a deep personal commitment to the Catholic Church and the transformative role of theological education in today’s world.”

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Dahl has taught courses at the University of Saskatchewan, St. Thomas More College and Lutheran Theological Seminary in Saskatoon, and at Briercrest College and Seminary in Caronport, Sask. He holds a PhD in Religious Studies from McMaster University, a Master of Philosophy from the University of Guelph, a Master of Divinity from Lutheran Theological Seminary and a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Saskatchewan.

From 2012-19, Dahl served as executive director of the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism in Saskatoon. He sought to cultivate interdenominational partnerships and foster initiatives steeped in the Catholic intellectual tradition.

Dahl said he now hopes to utilize his relationship-building facilities on behalf of Newman.

“We have to build deep connections, obviously, with our donors and supporters,” said Dahl. “They're the people who we rely on. We want them to be passionate about what we're passionate about and to support that passion.

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“Alliances with other institutions are always crucial, so I'm very pleased that Newman has a strong connection to St. Joseph's College,” continued Dahl. “(President) Dr. (Shawn) Flynn has already reached out to me very graciously, and I expect to have a wonderful working relationship with him. Of course, the partnership right there on the campus with St. Joseph Seminary is crucial to Newman.”

Edmonton Archbishop Richard Smith warmly welcomed the new president, saying he has “every confidence that the college will continue to grow and prosper under Dr. Dahl’s leadership.”

Smith will already be serving as Archbishop of Vancouver by the time Dahl officially starts his tenure. The academic, currently working on a book about how the field of phenomenology can bring to light overlooked aspects of the Doctrine of Revelation, is keen to collaborate with Edmonton's next spiritual shepherd.

“I'll be eager to see the kind of vision that he has for the archdiocese, and hopefully (gain) a good sense of how Newman can fit into that vision and help the archdiocese,” said Dahl.

Dahl assumes his role at a time when the school of theology continues to garner notices for its Bachelor of Arts in Catholic Studies. This program made history in September 2020 as the first degree of its kind to be launched in western Canada. Dahl also commended the strength of Newman's lay ministry, priestly ministry and religious education graduate degrees.

He declared his belief that “Newman is very well-positioned to advance and deepen theological formation in the Archdiocese of Edmonton and beyond.”

Dahl understands that to achieve that noble aspiration means Newman must embrace blazing its own trail in a Canadian cultural landscape manifestly embracing secular ideals.

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“Theological formation right now is a delicate business,” said Dahl. “It's tricky because we live in a world influenced as it is by the market and by social media. It doesn't particularly hold to the virtues of contemplative formation and submitting oneself to a tradition that is larger than oneself. We're more interested in immediate gratification. 'How many likes does my Facebook post get’ and so on.

“Part of what Newman (must do) is embracing a kind of alternative and to say that what we're offering here is something rooted in a profound spirituality — one that people can be invited into and one that can transform lives.”