The Rev. Dr. Kah-Jin Jeffrey Kuan became the seventhPresident of Claremont School of Theology on July 1, 2013. Prior to that heserved as Dean of Drew Theological School and Professor of Hebrew Bible fromJanuary 2011 to June 2013. A scholar of ancient Israelite and Near Easternhistory, Dr. Kuan’s current research addresses Asian and Asian Americanhermeneutics, as well as approaches to biblical instruction for the churches.
The Rev. Kuan began his career serving as an associatepastor from 1980 to 1983 in Malaysia. In 2002, he became an ordained elder andfull member of the California-Nevada Annual Conference of The United MethodistChurch. From 2004 to 2012, he served on the Board of Directors of the UMC’sGeneral Board of Higher Education and Ministry, the last four years as the VicePresident and chair of the Division of Higher Education. Currently, he serveson the University Senate of the United Methodist Church and chairs theCommission on Theological Education.
President Kuan is the chair of the Member Council ofthe Hispanic Theological Initiative Consortium, a member of the Board ofCommissioners of the Association for Theological Schools, and a member of the Boardof Trustees of the Foundation for Theological Education in Southeast Asia.
Dr. Kuan previously served on the faculties of the PacificSchool of Religion and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California,and the South East Asia Graduate School’s Regional Faculty. He also served asOld Testament Editor for the multi-volume New Interpreter’s Dictionary of theBible from 2006-2009, and served on the council of the Society of BiblicalLiterature from 2007 to 2012.
In 2004, the Reconciling Ministries of the California-NevadaAnnual Conference named him the winner of the Turtle Award for “sticking hisneck out” for the LGBTQ community.
