Puerto Rican Educator to Receive Honorary Doctorate from Graduate Theological Foundation

MISHAWAKA, Ind. - April 5, 2013 - PRLog -- On May 3 Graduate Theological Foundation (http://www.gtfeducation.org/) will confer an honorary doctorate upon Dr. Ángel Luis Vélez Oyola, Director of the School of Theology and graduate professor at Interamerican University of Puerto Rico (http://www.metro.inter.edu/index.asp), Metropolitan Campus.

Dr. Vélez (http://www.gtfeducation.org/faculty-staff/dr.-%C3%A1nge-luis-v%C3%A9lez-oyola.cfm) will receive the Doctor of Humane Letters in recognition of his commitment to ecumenism and continuing education. He is currently a Visiting Professor of Theology at GTF.

Dr. Vélez has been a longtime promoter of ecumenical and interreligious understanding among different faith communities throughout Florida and the Caribbean islands. He also worked for many years in pastoral ministry at a penitentiary, helping to educate inmates.

He has held a number of academic positions, including Assistant Professor of humanities at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras; researcher for the Florida Center for Theological Studies; visiting professor/researcher at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro; Visiting Scholar at Drew University; adjunct professor at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary; and Visiting Fellow at Harris Manchester College of the University of Oxford.

He holds several advanced degrees, including a Doctor of Education in Ecumenism and Church History from GTF.

Dr. Vélez has authored a number of scholarly articles and books, including “History of a Difficult Relationship: Church and State in the Cuban Revolution, 1959-1999” and “The Caribbean and Its Relationship with Spain: Politics and Society in Transformation (XIX and XX Century).” He is currently at work on a project about Jesuit settlements in 18th-century Paraguay.

About the Graduate Theological Foundation:

Since its founding in 1962, the Graduate Theological Foundation has become recognized the world over as a premier non-profit educational institution for ministry professionals and as a leader in ecumenical and interreligious education that encourages pluralism, fosters dialogue and supports academic excellence. We engage in scholarly research, academic publishing, awarding of professional and academic degrees across a range of disciplines, and awarding of fellowships and grants.