Pittsburgh Theological Seminary has elected one new member and three emeritus members to its Board of Directors. Major Dr. Corinne Cameron ’23 is the newest Board member, and Paul Dimmick, the Rev. Dr. David Hosick ’76, and John Shortridge are now emeritus members of the Board.
Corinne Cameron joins the Board as the student representative after graduating from Pittsburgh Seminary’s Doctor of Ministry Program in the Christian Spirituality cohort. She also holds a B.A. in history from York University, an M.A. in spiritual disciplines and ministry practices from the University of Winnipeg, and certificates in spiritual direction (Prairie Jubilee and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary), peace-making circles (University of Waterloo), mental health in the workplace (Queens University), and infant mental health (Conestoga College). Alongside her husband, for 21 years she served as a pastor in four different Salvation Army corps (churches) across Canada. For the last three years, she has been serving at the College for Officer Training, most recently in the roles of assistant training principal and spiritual formation coordinator. In addition to serving as a pastor, Corinne served as the area youth secretary for Saskatchewan, worked with newcomers to Canada as the executive director of the Barbara Mitchell Family Resource Centre, and was executive director of the Parent Child Resource Centre. Her passion for ministry includes creating safe, inclusive, and hospitable spaces for people to encounter Jesus and deepen knowledge of themselves.
Paul Dimmick is deeply committed to PTS, serving three terms (nine years total) on the Board before being elected to an additional three-year term by special election to facilitate leadership transition on the Finance Committee (which he chaired). Additionally, he chaired the Committee on Institutional Effectiveness, the precursor to what is now the Governance Committee, and he was instrumental in facilitating the most recent strategic plan. He chaired the presidential search committee that identified and recommended Dr. David Esterline to be hired as the Seminary’s president starting in 2015. During his active career, Dimmick held management committee level positions in capital markets, corporate banking, global bank treasury, and mortgage finance. He is a graduate of Lafayette College and received an M.B.A. degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He currently resides in Atlanta, Ga., where he attends First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta.
David Hosick served two and a half three-year terms on the Board, chaired the former Student Affairs Committee that became the Student Life and Enrollment Committee, and was instrumental in addressing the institutional racism and implicit biases experienced by the Seminary’s students of color. Hosick’s commitment to dismantling racial injustice and bias resulted in the Black Board members coming together to challenge the Board to address these concerns and issues, ultimately resulting in the Board’s adoption of the “Commitment to Racial Justice.” Hosick calls himself a “cradle Presbyterian,” and during a brief career in retail and purchasing he sensed a call to ministry. After graduating from PTS, he served Presbyterian congregations in Nebraska, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Florida, retiring in 2015. He now resides in Tyron, N.C. In addition to his M.Div. from PTS, Hosick earned a B.A. from Grove City College and a D.Min. from Fuller Theological Seminary. In 2016 he received the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Distinguished Alumnae/i Award for Pastoral Ministry.
John Shortridge served on the Board for three terms, a total of nine years. He has been a great supporter of the Seminary’s World Mission Initiative, believing that formation includes exposure to, and enriching and building bridges between, people of different cultures, contexts, ethnicities, and experiences. Shortridge, an attorney, is retired from U.S. Steel Corporation, where in his last position he served as manager of governmental affairs. He is a 1962 graduate of the PCUSA-affiliated Hanover College and earned a J.D. from Northwestern University Law School in 1965. In 1999, John and his wife, Margo, established an endowment called the John & Margo Shortridge Scholarship program at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary administered and awarded by the World Mission Initiative. The scholarships enable students to participate in cross-cultural mission experiences through the World Mission Initiative with the goal of helping them discern whether God is calling them to a mission vocation and/or to prepare them to become world Christian pastor-leaders. The scholarships have been funded through the Shortridges’ generosity, matching gifts from U.S. Steel Foundation, and gifts given through Westminster Presbyterian Church in Upper St. Clair, Pa., where the Shortridges are members.