HIU to Honor Former President Barbara Brown Zikmund on November 2

Hartford International University for Religion and Peace will hold a service of remembrance and thanksgiving for the Rev. Dr. Barbara Brown Zikmund on Monday, November 2, from 11 a.m. to noon in the HIU Chapel.

Affectionately known as “BBZ,” President Zikmund served as Hartford Seminary’s first woman president from 1990 to 2000. Her leadership deepened the institution’s commitment to interreligious understanding, bringing Muslim scholars onto the faculty and Jewish and Muslim members onto the Board of Trustees. She also supported new programs for women and Hispanic students.

President Emerita Heidi Hadsell remembered her as “a creative and energetic leader in American theological education,” while President Emeritus Joel N. Lohr reflected: “She was a brilliant scholar and leader, and a kind person who became my friend.”

The service will include reflections from President Sherry L. Turner, former students Dr. Lucinda Mosher and Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, and Board Chair Clare Feldman. A memorial slideshow will feature narration by Dr. Benjamin Watts, alongside prayers and music offered by members of the HIU community.

A reception will follow in the library. All are welcome.

Those unable to attend in person may join through Zoom. All Zoom participants will be muted during the service so everyone can hear and fully experience the program.

In keeping with her family’s wishes, memorial gifts may be made to HIU’s General Fund.