Scotty McLennan

William L. McLennan Jr., widely known as Scotty McLennan, is an American Unitarian Universalist minister, attorney, academic, and administrator. Born in 1948, he has held significant positions including Dean for Religious Life at Stanford University from 2001 to 2014, where he managed campus religious affairs and served as minister of Stanford Memorial Church. He also teaches about the ethical dimensions of business leadership at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. McLennan's background includes a strong academic foundation, earning degrees from Yale University and Harvard Divinity and Law Schools. He was ordained as a Unitarian Universalist minister and admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1975. His career has spanned legal work in low-income communities, university chaplaincy at Tufts University, and lecturing at Harvard Business School before his tenure at Stanford. He is also recognized as a public speaker and author on topics related to religion, ethics, and their intersection with secular life.

Scotty McLennan was born William L. McLennan Jr. on November 21, 1948. He is the grandson of Donald R. McLennan, a co-founder of Marsh & McLennan. McLennan received his undergraduate education at Yale University, graduating magna cum laude and as a Phi Beta Kappa member, where he also participated in the Wolf's Head Secret Society and played ice hockey. His academic focus at Yale included scholarly research as a "Scholar of the House" during his senior year. He went on to earn both a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) and a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree, graduating cum laude from Harvard Divinity School and Harvard Law School, respectively, in 1975.

Ordained as a Unitarian Universalist minister in 1975, McLennan is also identified as a Unitarian Universalist Christian. In the same year, he was admitted to the Massachusetts bar. He dedicated nearly a decade to practicing poverty law in a Boston low-income area, establishing the Unitarian Universalist Legal Ministry. This foundational experience in service law likely informed his later roles in spiritual and ethical guidance. His path then led him to academia and spiritual leadership within educational institutions, culminating in significant administrative and teaching positions.

McLennan served as the University Chaplain at Tufts University from 1984 to 2000 and concurrently held a position as a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School from 1988 to 2000. His most prominent administrative role was as the Dean for Religious Life at Stanford University, a position he held from January 2001 until August 2014. In this capacity, he was responsible for overseeing religious life on campus, managing the Stanford Associated Religions student groups, and acting as the minister for Stanford Memorial Church. Since 2003, he has been a faculty member at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, teaching about the moral and ethical aspects of business leadership and political economy.

Scotty McLennan has authored several books exploring the intersection of faith, personal meaning, and secular life. His published works include "Finding Your Religion: When the Faith You Grew Up With Has Lost Its Meaning" (1999), "Church on Sunday, Work on Monday: The Challenge of Fusing Christian Values with Business Life" (2001, co-authored), "Jesus Was a Liberal: Reclaiming Christianity for All" (2009), and "Christ for Unitarian Universalists: A New Dialogue with Traditional Christianity" (2016). He has undertaken national book tours and presented at various venues, including Authors@Google. McLennan is also a recognized public speaker, frequently featured in media outlets discussing religion and ethics, and has appeared on national television and radio programs.