The Divinity School appointed one of its faculty members to a new endowed professorship and promoted four others to chairs vacated within the last year, George E. Rupp, Dean of the Divinity School, said yesterday.

First

Krister Stendahl, Professor of Divinity and former Dean of the Div. School, will be the first Andrew C. Mellon Professor of Divinity.

"I am very honored to hold this special chair," Stendahl said, adding. "I will start in style and go on a sabbatical."

Richard R. Niebuhr, previously Florence Corliss Lamont Professor of Divinity, is the new Hollis Professor of Divinity. The Hollis professorship, the oldest endowed chair at Harvard, was vacated when professor George H. Williams retired last semester.

John Strugnell, Professor of Christian Origins, will fill Niebuhr's vacated chair.

The Parkman Professor of Divinity chair was vacated last semester when professor William Rogers left the faculty. John B. Carmen, professor of Comparative Religion will take his place.

Paul D. Hanson, Professor of Old Testament, is the new Bussey Professor of Divinity, filling a seat vacated when the previous faculty occupant died last year.

"This promotion comes at a good time." Hanson said, adding. "It is stimulating to be on the Divinity School faculty now because we recently created new positions, took in more women and are revising our curriculum."