
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Theological_Seminary_(New_York_City)
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York is an independent, ecumenical, Christian seminary located in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan, bordered by Claremont Avenue, Broadway, 120th Street, and 122nd Street. It is the oldest independent seminary in the United States, having been founded in 1836 by members of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, but was open to students of all denominations. In 1893, Union rescinded the right of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church to veto faculty appointments, thus becoming fully independent. In the 20th century, Union was world renowned as a center of liberal Christianity and neo-orthodoxy, in addition to being the birthplace of the Black Liberation Theology, Womanist Theology, and Mujerista Theology movements.
Union is affiliated with neighboring Columbia University and the seminary serves as Columbia's constituent faculty of theology, a status it has held since 1928. Union, although independent, is represented in Columbia's governance structure and appoints one faculty member to be a senator in the Columbia University Senate. In 1964, Union established an affiliation with neighboring Jewish Theological Seminary. Union houses the Columbia University Burke Library, the largest theological library in the Western Hemisphere.