A new leader for The Fund for Theological Education

Richard Haythorn (FTE)

The board of trustees of The Fund for Theological Education has named the Rev. Richard Haythornas the new president of the organization, replacing the Rev. Ann M. Svennungsen, who left to become president of Texas Lutheran University. Haythorn is founder of the Center for Servant Leadership at Hastings College and has been assistant professor of religion and director of the Vocation and Values program there.

Dr. Haythorn is a graduate of Austin College, Princeton Theological Seminary, and Syracuse University. An ordained Presbyterian minister, he has served congregations in Nashville, Tennessee, and Melbourne, Australia. He and his wife, Mary Stoops, who is also a Presbyterian minister, have two children.

The Fund for Theological Education, founded in 1954, is an organization based in Atlanta that encourages people to pursue vocations in Christian ministry and scholarship. It provides more than $1.2 million in scholarships annually.

Seminary and university reach degree-granting accord

The John Leland Center for Theological Studies, an accredited Baptist seminary in Arlington, Virginia, has reached a degree-granting agreement with Hampton University, a historically black college in Hampton, Virginia.

According to the Associated Baptist Press, students who complete Leland's diploma in theology will now be able to count their 48 credit hours toward a bachelor's degree in religion from the university. In return, Hampton University graduates will be able to return to the Leland Center to earn a master's degree in divinity or theological studies.

Changes at the top

■ The Rev. Ronald W. Toews has been appointed principal of ACTS Seminaries and associate vice president of graduate theological studies at Trinity Western University in Langley, British Columbia. He replaces the Rev. Phil Zylla, who this year was appointed academic dean at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario.

Ronald W. Toews (TRINITY WESTERN UNIVERSITY)

ACTS, an acronym for "Associated Canadian Theological Schools," comprises six institutions --Canadian Baptist Seminary, Canadian Theological Seminary, Trinity Western Seminary, Northwest Baptist Seminary, Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary, and Canadian Pentecostal Seminary. They cooperate under the umbrella of Trinity Western University, and the new principal will be a member of university president Jonathan Raymond's cabinet.

Since 2002, Dr. Toews has been assistant professor of leadership studies at Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary. He is a graduate of Bethany Bible Institute, Mennonite Brethren Bible College, Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary, and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

Robin E. Baker (GEORGE FOX UNIVERSITY)

■ Dr. Robin E. Baker, provost of George Fox University since 1999, has been named president of the school following the retirement of Dr. David Brandt, who had been president since 1998. George Fox, an evangelical institution founded by Quaker pioneers in Newberg, Oregon, in 1891, includes George Fox Evangelical Seminary.

Dr. Baker is a graduate of Grand Canyon University, Hardin-Simmons University, and Texas A&M University. Before moving to George Fox University, he taught at Wheaton College and John Brown University and was dean, vice president, and finally senior vice president of Grand Canyon University. He and his wife, Ruth, have three children.

Donald J. Hying (ST. FRANCIS SEMINARY)

■ Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan has appointed Father Donald J. Hying to be the rector of Saint Francis de Sales Seminary in St. Francis, Wisconsin -- the oldest center for priestly formation in the Midwest. He replaces Father Michael Witczak, who had been rector since 2002.

After ordination in 1989, Father Hying served parishes in Menomonee Falls and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and in the Dominican Republic. He was appointed director of priestly formation at Saint Francis Seminary in 2005.

In the last two years, Saint Francis Seminary has been undergoing a transition to a new model of priestly formation. Under the new plan, seminarians receive their "human, spiritual, and pastoral formation" from Saint Francis Seminary, but they pursue their coursework at Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corners, Wisconsin.

Craig Cox (ST. JOHN'S SEMINARY)

■ Cardinal Roger Mahony, the Catholic archbishop of Los Angeles, has appointed Msgr. Craig Cox to be president-rector of St. John's Seminary in Camarillo, California, replacing Msgr. Helmut Hefner, who served as president-rector from 2001 to 2007.

Son of a mayor of Pomona, California, and a graduate of St. John's, Msgr. Cox has served in a variety of pastoral and administrative positions in the Los Angeles archdiocese since his ordination in 1978. He was vicar for clergy, offering pastoral care and oversight to other priests, from 2003 to 2007.

John H. Rodgers Jr. (TESM)

■ Bishop John H. Rodgers Jr. has been appointed interim dean and president of Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pennsylvania, following the resignation of the Very Rev. Paul F. M. Zahl, who resigned earlier this year. Bishop Rodgers was the first professor of systematic theology at the school and served as its second dean and president from 1978 to 1990.

Dr. Rodgers was consecrated a bishop within the Anglican Province of Southeast Asia in 2000. He serves the Anglican Mission in America, an affiliation of conservative congregations, clergy, and lay people that has separated from the Episcopal Church over matters of doctrine and polity. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Virginia Theological Seminary, and the University of Basel, and he is married to Blanche Rodgers.

Jeanette L. Hsieh (TIU)

■ Dr. Jeanette L. Hsieh, executive vice president of Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois, has been appointed interim president of the university following the resignation of the Rev. Greg Waybright, who had served as president for 12 years. Dr. Waybright became senior pastor of Lake Avenue Congregational Church in Pasadena, California, in August. One of the component schools of Trinity International University is Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

Dr. Hsieh was formerly dean of the college and graduate school and senior vice president of academic affairs at Trinity for seven years. Previously she served as chair of the education department at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, and she currently serves on the board of trustees there. Dr. Hsieh is a graduate of Westmont College, Wheaton College, and Northern Illinois University. She and her husband, Theodore, have two children.

Departures

■ Benedictine Father Mark O'Keefe has announced that he will step down as president-rector of Saint Meinrad School of Theology in St. Meinrad, Indiana, in 2008. He has led the school since 1996.

■ The Rev. Joseph C. Hough Jr., president of Union Theological Seminary, will retire in 2008. He has led the seminary in New York City since 1999.

■ The Rev. G. Edwin Zeiders has been appointed senior pastor of St. Paul's United Methodist Church in State College, Pennsylvania. He served as president of United Theological Seminary in Trotwood, Ohio, from 1999 to 2007.

Chicago seminary triumphs in Luther Bowl

Flag football teams compete for trophy, bragging rights

On November 10, flag football teams from eight seminaries competed in the annual Luther Bowl, a coed tournament held at the Lutheran seminary in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

(GETTYSBURG SEMINARY COMMUNICATIONS)

At the end of the day, the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago won the coveted "Book of Concord" trophy.

John Newton, co-captain of Virginia Theological Seminary's Fighting Friars, told the Evening Sun of Hanover, Pennsylvania, that his team was serious about winning, but "winning always takes a back seat to having fun and building community."