A new portrait hangs in Princeton Theological Seminary Library, commissioned by the Seminary’s Women in Ministry Initiative. The gaze of this poised woman holding the Bible exudes a quiet strength that epitomizes her story of unrelenting determination. The subject of the painting, Muriel Van Orden Jennings, ’32, was the first woman to graduate from the Seminary as well as the first person to receive two degrees simultaneously.
In spite of opposition, Jennings maintained a firm resolve to achieve a degree in theology at a time when such academic pursuits were not encouraged for women. Her profound desire to teach the Bible fueled her quest.
“The more I learned about Muriel Jennings, it became increasingly evident she should be recognized for having the perseverance for obtaining a degree at the Seminary during that era,” says Mary Lee Fitzgerald, PhD, Princeton Seminary trustee emerita, who spearheaded the commission of the portrait. Fitzgerald was herself the first woman chair of the Seminary’s Board of Trustees.
“Although she serves as a great symbol for women who attended the Seminary years later, she was very modest and would not want to be portrayed as someone who broke barriers,” Fitzgerald says. “She sincerely felt called by God to teach the Bible. She simply wanted to do her best. To do that, she had to know the Bible.”