Bennett Probably New Dean at Divinity School

The new dean of the Divinity School will almost certainly be John Coleman Bennett, dean of the Faculty at Columbia University's Union Theological Seminary, it was learned yesterday.

A prominent professor at the Divinity School, who refused to be named, stated yesterday that the announcement of Bennett's appointment will be made late next spring. Bennett is scheduled to serve is Acting President of Union Theological Seminary beginning in February, when Henry Pitney Van Dusen, Union's President, will take a leave of absence for the spring term.

The final decision on Bennett's election to the local deanship will probably depend on his performance at Union during this spring. On November 23, President Pusey told a group of Divinity School students that the new dean would not be chosen until late next term. The Corporation will evidently have evaluated Bennett's performance at Union by that time.

Several years ago, Bennett turned down the deanship of the University of Chicago's Federated Theological Faculty in order not to hamper his research work with an administrative post. Now, however, he is believed by the Divinity School professor of have changed his decision.

Graduate of Oxford

Bennet, born in 1902 in Kingston, Ontario, prepared at Phillips Exeter Academy and received his B.A. from Oxford University in 1926 and his master's degree from the same university in 1930. He holds a B.D. degree from Union and a D.D. from the Divinity School of the Pacific. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

An ordained clergyman of the Congregational Christian Church, Bennett chairs that church's Council for Social Action. Traditionally, Harvard Divinity School deans have been members of the Congregational Christian Church. He is also a member of the editorial council for the magazine "Christianity and Crisis."

His books include "Social Salvation," "Christianity and Our World," "Christian Realism," "Liberal Theology," and "Christianity and the Contemporary Scene."

Since 1943 he has been professor of Christian Theology and Ethics at Union. Previously he taught at Auburn Theological Seminary, Chicago University, and Yale University.

Bennett is co-editor of 'Christianity and Crisis" and is a member of the American Theological Society. He lives in New York City.