George Hunsinger is an American theologian who is Hazel Thompson McCord Professor of Systematic Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. He served as director of the Seminary's Center for Karl Barth Studies from 1997 to 2001.
Educational background and career
Hunsinger graduated from Stanford Universitywith honors in Humanities in 1967. Immediately after graduating from college, he lived and taught in Bedford-Stuyvesant in a store-front school for high school dropouts sponsored by the New York Urban League. He then received a Bachelor of Divinity degree cum laude from Harvard Divinity School in 1971. Through the German Academic Exchange Service program, he spent his time in Tübingen University during 1971–1972. Hunsinger worked as volunteer teacher, Benhaven School for Autistic Children in New Haven, CT in the period of 1973–1975. After he received a MA and MPhil degree from Yale University in 1977, he served as the "Theologian in Residence " in Riverside Church Disarmament Program in NYC between 1978–1979. In 1988, he finished his doctoral studies and gained his PhD under the supervision of Hans Frei in Yale University. Throughout his career his work has focused largely on the theology of Karl Barth. Hunsinger has also been associated with postliberalism. Along these lines, he is viewed as an authoritative interpreter of the work of his teacher Hans Frei. In terms of ecclesial aspects, Hunsinger was ordained as minister in the Presbyterian Church in 1982. He also served as one of the members of a special committee of the PCUSA to write a New Presbyterian Catechism, in which he was the principal author. This catechism was approved by the 210th General Assembly of the PCUSA in June 1998. He has also been leading adult bible studies in Nassau Presbyterian Church starting from 1995.
Theological education
He served as the Instructor in Theology in 1979–84, and as the Assistant Professor of Theology in 1984–85 in the New Brunswick Theological Seminary, which is a seminary running by the Reformed Church in America. He then served as the Assistant Professor of Theology in 1986–88, as the Associate Professor of Theology in 1988–92, and finally as the Professor of Theology in 1992–94 in Bangor Theological Seminary, which has been closed by 2013. Before teaching in Princeton Theological Seminary, he was the member of the Center of Theological Inquiry in between 1994–97. This center was established by the Princeton Theological Seminary's Board of Trustees in 1978. He later became the director of the Center for Barth Studies of the seminary from 1997–2001. Since 2001 he has been the McCord Professor of Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. Hunsinger also served as visiting professor of Union Theological Seminary , Haverford College, Andover Newton Theological School, Princeton University He took the role of program chair and the president of the Karl Barth Society of North America. Furthermore, he was the recipient of the 2010 Karl Barth Prize. Previous recipients include Eberhard Jüngel, Hans Küng, John W. de Gruchy, Johannes Rau, and Bruce McCormack.
