Those who have made an impact on evangelical
theological education through the
years are too numerous to mention.
Many have made important contributions
to an individual institution despite
having little if any name recognition outside
of the schools they served. This list of
movers and shakers is not exhaustive. Rather,
the following leaders, listed randomly, highlight
some of those whose influence has in
some way been noteworthy.
HAROLD JOHN OCKENGA
Harold Ockenga,
though probably best known for his
long pastorate at Park Street
Church in Boston, was in on the
ground floor of three of the
nation's best known evangelical
seminaries. In the late 1920s,
he left Princeton Theological
Seminary (where he was a student)
to follow a small group of scholars who
established Westminster Theological Seminary
in Philadelphia.
Ockenga helped found Fuller Theological
Seminary, serving as its first president in
1947. Unwilling to relinquish his pastoral
post, he served Fuller as president "in absentia" from 1947-54 and again from 1960-63.
Then, after retiring from Park Street
in 1969, he became president of
Gordon College and Divinity
School. He led efforts to merge
Gordon Divinity School and the
Conwell School of Theology.
He served as president of Gordon-
Conwell Theological Seminary
from 1970 to 1979.
DAVID ALAN HUBBARD AND RICHARD MOUW
Fuller Theological Seminary
went on to become what
Daniel Aleshire, president of
the Pittsburgh-based Association
of Theological Schools
(ATS), labels an "icon in the development
of evangelical theological education."
The primary reason for this, according
to Aleshire, are the late David Alan Hubbard,
who served from 1963-93 as Fuller's
president, and the school's current president,
Richard Mouw. In 1965, Hubbard
added the School of Psychology and School
of World Mission. Not only were Hubbard
and Mouw capable administrators, but both
have been widely recognized as first-rate
scholars who, in Aleshire's words, remained
"intellectually engaged" with the larger
evangelical and religious communities.
ROBERT COOLEY
Robert Cooley served
as president at Gordon-
Conwell from 1981 to
1997 and helped this
fairly young institution
to emerge in significant
ways. He led the school's pioneering
efforts in the area of theological education
by extension by overseeing the launching
of GCTS campuses in Boston (focusing on
urban ministry) and in Charlotte, North
Carolina.
LUDER WHITLOCK
In
his twenty-three years as
president, Reformed Theological
Seminary (RTS),
was transformed from a
small regional school to being
one of the most innovative seminaries in
North America. Under Whitlock's leadership,
RTS established multiple campuses
in North America, as well as in Asia, South
America, and Europe.
LEON PACALA AND DANIEL ALESHIRE
(Association of Theological Schools)
The Association of
Theological Schools
(ATS) has played a
major role in assuring
the quality and
the development of
theological education.
The association accredits
institutions and approves
degree programs. ATS has
played a leading role in
the development of leaders
of theological institutions, as
well as helping institutions
address the challenges they face.
Much of the credit for ATS's vitality goes to former executive director Leon
Pacala. He played a leading role in theological
education's effort in the 1980s and '90s
to take "a major critical look at its aims and
purposes," according to Barbara Wheeler at
the Center for the Study of Theological Education.
This led to the development of substantive
thinking and literature on the purposes
of theological education. Daniel
Aleshire has continued the tradition as executive
director. He has written extensively on
issues of ministry and theological education,
Christian spirituality, and Christian
education.
BARBARA WHEELER
Not only is Barbara Wheeler
in a position to comment
on those who have made significant
contributions to theological
education in recent decades, but she
is among those worthy of recognition by
virtue of her work as director of Auburn
Theological Seminary's Center for the Study
of Theological Education. Under her leadership
and through publications, research,
and consulting, the center, based in New
York City, focuses on strengthening educational
programs, helping seminaries find
adequate financial resources, and making
connections between seminaries
and the church and society.
ROBERT WOOD LYNN AND CRAIG DYKSTRA
Robert Wood Lynn is a
past senior vice president
at the Lilly Endowment
working in the area of
religion, and Craig Dykstra
currently serves in
that position. Both
helped secure financial
support for graduate theological
education. "The amount that the
Lilly Foundation put into theological education
from 1975 to 2000 was truly significant,"
says Aleshire. Lilly-funded projects
addressed not only issues of purpose and
quality, but practical challenges related to
board development and fund raising.
EDWARD FARLEY
In terms of scholarly,
theological reflection
on the task of theological
education, Edward
Farley is at or near the
top of virtually everyone's
list. A former professor of theology at Vanderbilt
University Divinity School, Farley is
the author of The Fragility of Knowledge:
Theological Education in the Church and
the University (Fortress Press, 1988).
Wheeler's list of significant contributors
to the enterprise of theological education
also includes Joseph C. Hough, Jr.,
president of Union Theological Seminary.
She credits David Tiede, recently retired
president of Luther Seminary, for making
Luther an extremely strong institution
and James I. McCord, Douglas Oldenburg,
and James Laney for doing the
same for Princeton, Columbia, and
Emory respectively.
Randy Frame, a freelance writer and editor, also serves as Executive Director of Marketing and Communications at Palmer Seminary.