Thomas J. Schwarz, Drew University
THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF DREW UNIVERSITY HAS announced the appointment of Thomas J. Schwarz as interim president, beginning August 1, 2020. He succeeds Mary Ann Baenninger who departed at the end of July after serving as president since 2014.
Schwarz served as president of Purchase College in the State University of New York (SUNY) system from 2002 to 2019. Previously he was a partner at the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in New York, where he was a founding partner of the firm’s Committee on Diversity.
Schwarz is a graduate of Hamilton College and the Fordham University School of Law. He is a life member of the Hamilton board of trustees and served as the college’s acting president in 1999, during the president’s six-month sabbatical.
Drew University is home to Drew Theological School, one of 13 seminaries affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
Javier A. Viera, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF GARRETT-EVANGELICAL Theological Seminary has appointed the Rev. Dr. Javier A. Viera as the institution’s next president, beginning January 1, 2021. He will succeed Dr. Lallene J. Rector, president since 2014, who earlier this year announced her intention to step down from the president’s role.
Viera was dean and professor of pastoral theology at Drew University Theological School from 2014 until September 1, 2020, and vice provost of Drew University from 2017 until this year. He will complete an earned research sabbatical before beginning his new role.
Before joining the faculty at Drew, Viera was in congregational ministry for two decades, most recently as executive pastor at Christ Church (United Methodist) in New York. He is an ordained elder in the New York Conference of the United Methodist Church.
Viera is a graduate of Florida Southern College, Duke Divinity School, Yale Divinity School, and Columbia University. He is completing an additional doctorate at the Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico. A native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and raised in Florida, he and his wife, Laine Rolóng, have three children.
Garrett-Evangelical is one of 13 theological schools affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
MaryKate Morse, Portland Seminary at George Fox University
DR. MARYKATE MORSE HAS BEEN NAMED DEAN OF Portland Seminary at George Fox University, effective July 1, 2020. She succeeds Dr. Roger Nam, the dean since 2018, who in April 2020 was named professor of Hebrew Bible at Candler School of Theology at Emory University.
Morse has been a member of the faculty at Portland Seminary for more than 30 years, during which she has taught New Testament Greek, spiritual formation, and leadership and organizational change. She has also served as associate dean, director of hybrid programs, and director of strategic planning for the seminary’s parent institution, George Fox University.
Morse is a graduate of Longwood University, Portland Seminary, and Gonzaga University. She and her husband, Randy, have three adult children.
Ross A. Lockhart, St. Andrew’s Hall
THE BOARD OF MANAGEMENT OF ST. ANDREW’S HALL has named the Rev. Dr. Ross A. Lockhart as dean, effective July 1, 2020. He succeeds the Rev. Dr. Robert S. Paul, who stepped down in 2020 after serving as dean since 2015.
Lockhart was previously associate professor at St. Andrew’s Hall and director of Presbyterian formation at Vancouver School of Theology. He is the founding director of the Centre for Missional Leadership at St. Andrew’s Hall.
Lockhart is a graduate of the University of Winnipeg, Emmanuel College of Victoria University (part of the University of Toronto), and McCormick Theological Seminary. He is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in Canada. He and his wife, Laura, have three children.
St. Andrew’s Hall, on the campus of the University of British Columbia, is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in Canada and provides theological education through its partnership with the Vancouver School of Theology.
Alfredo I. Hernandez, St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary
FATHER ALFREDO I. HERNANDEZ HAS BEEN NAMED ACTING rector at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida, by the board of trustees. He succeeds Msgr. David L. Toups, who was named bishop-elect of Beaumont, Texas, in June.
Hernandez, a graduate of St. Vincent de Paul Seminary, had served as vice rector since January 2019. He has been a member of the seminary faculty since 2013 and has served as director of liturgy, dean of pastoral formation, and academic dean.
He is a graduate of Gregorian University in Rome and North- West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa.
He was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Palm Beach in 1992.
St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary is owned by the seven Catholic dioceses of Florida, and the chairmanship of the board rotates among the seven bishops.
Guy Erwin, United Lutheran Seminary
THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF United Lutheran Seminary in Pennsylvania has named Rev. Dr. R. Guy Erwin as its new president, effective August 1, 2020. He succeeds the Rev. Dr. Angela Zimmann, interim president since December 1, 2019, who will continue as the seminary’s vice president of institutional advancement and adjunct professor of homiletics.
At the time of his appointment, Erwin was the fourth bishop of the Southwest California Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. From 2000 until he was elected synod bishop in 2013, he held the Gerhard and Olga J. Belgum Chair in Lutheran Confessional Theology at California Lutheran University, where he taught in the religion and history departments, served as faculty chair for two years, and directed the university’s Segerhammar Center for Faith and Culture. A graduate of Harvard and Yale, he is married to Robert T. Flynn.
United Lutheran Seminary was formed in 2017 by joining the Lutheran seminaries in Philadelphia and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The united school continues to maintain both historic campuses.
Daniel Preus, Concordia Seminary
THE BOARD OF REGENTS of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis has named the Rev. Dr. Daniel Preus as interim president. He succeeds the Rev. Dr. Dale A. Meyer, who, after leading the seminary for 15 years, retired on June 30, 2020. He has been named president emeritus.
A former member of the seminary’s board, Preus will serve until a search for the next president is completed. He has served at various times as the first, third, fourth and fifth vice president of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and has led congregations in Minnesota, Illinois, Colorado, and Missouri. He was previously director of the Concordia Historical Institute and of Luther Academy, two church organizations based in St. Louis.
Preus is a graduate of Concordia Senior College (formerly in Fort Wayne, Indiana) and Concordia Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Linda, have five adult children.
John Byron, Ashland Theological Seminary
DR. JOHN BYRON HAS BEEN NAMED DEAN OF ASHLAND Theological Seminary, a graduate division of Ashland University, effective June 1, 2020. He succeeds Dr. Juan F. Martinez, who served as the seminary’s executive dean from July 2019 to May 2020.
Byron, professor of New Testament at the seminary, has been a member of the faculty since 2003 and served as interim academic dean from 2015 to 2017.
Byron is a graduate of Elim Bible Institute, Regent University, and the University of Durham in the United Kingdom. He is married to Lori Byron.
Joseph L. Crawford Sr., Gammon Theological Seminary
THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF GAMMON THEOLOGICAL Seminary in Atlanta has named the Rev. Dr. Joseph L. Crawford Sr. as interim president-dean, effective July 1, 2020. He succeeds the Rev. Dr. Ken Walden, president- dean since 2018, who has been appointed senior pastor of Holman United Methodist Church in Los Angeles.
A retired elder in full connection with the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church, Crawford was previously pastor of Fort Street United Methodist Church in Atlanta. He is a Gammon graduate and a former member of its board of trustees. He previously served as president of the board of the Interdenominational Theological Center.
Gammon is one of the constituent institutions that make up the Interdenominational Theological Center, an ecumenical, Afrocentric consortium of theological schools in Atlanta. The seminary is one of 13 theological schools affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
NEW CHAIRS
Recently elected board chairs at member schools and affiliates of the In Trust Center
David Arnett Association for Biblical Higher Education
Sandra Steiner Ball Duke University Divinity School
Pamela Bauser Trinity Lutheran Seminary at Capital University
David E. Beaty American Baptist Seminary of the West
Eric Bishop Bethany Theological Seminary
Bill Blackburn Chapman Seminary of Oakland City University
Carol Boettcher Wycliffe College
Teri Cannon Pacific School of Religion
Piper Chamel Wake Forest University School of Divinity
James Cook Central Baptist Theological Seminary
Shannon Conklin-Miller United Methodist Church, Division of Ordained Ministry
Vernon Crawley Northern Seminary
Larry Derkach St. Stephen’s College — University of Alberta
Ron Dove Emmanuel Christian Seminary at Milligan
Joan Fowler Baptist Seminary of Kentucky
Joan Franz Providence University College and Theological Seminary
Thomas Kiley University of Saint Mary of the Lake, Mundelein Seminary
Stan Hoover Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University
David Otfinoski North Park Theological Seminary at North Park University
Randal Phillips Knox College
Ron Prins Westminster Seminary California
Susan Nell Rowe Eden Theological Seminary
George Smith Toronto School of Theology
Rhodes Woolly Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary at Lenoir-Rhyne University
Laureen Wray Lutheran Theological Seminary