About Eleanor Humes Haney
Eleanor Humes Haney, scholar and activist, was born in Milford, Delaware, on December 30, 1931. She received a B.A. in English (Phi Beta Kappa) from William and Mary College, an M.A. in English from Wellesley College, an M.R.E. from the Presbyterian School of Christian Education, and a Ph.D. in Christian Ethics from Yale University. She taught at Virginia Union, Concordia College, the University of New England, Westbrook College, Maine College of the Arts, Bangor Theological Seminary, and the University of Southern Maine. She was the author of six books on feminist theology, ecological ethics, economic justice, anti-racism and alliance-building.
Arriving in Maine in 1979, Dr. Haney was instrumental in the initiating and/or founding of the Feminist Spiritual Community, Astarte Shell Press, the Center for Vision and Policy, MaineShare, the Community Loan Fund, Communiversity, and the United Voice Community Land Fund.
Elly's life was passionate commitment to justice, combined with academic skill and wisdom, grass-roots organizing, and commitment to both feminist theory and process. She was an organic intellectual, one whose knowledge is at the service of the community, who stands with rather than over, who challenges from the midst of those who struggle, rather than disdaining engagement in the process.
We are all the richer and fuller for her life in our midst. Her continuing presence, embodied in the Haney-Leighton Fund, challenges each of us to move forward in the struggle for justice and peace, for shalom in all creation.
Elly Haney died on July 10, 1999, in Phippsburg, Maine.