R. Albert Mohler Jr.

The Rev. R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, was released on January 10, 2007, from a hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. Dr. Mohler had been admitted on December 27 with abdominal pain and underwent surgery to remove scar tissue from a previous operation. While hospitalized, he developed potentially fatal blood clots in both lungs.

President of Southern Seminary since 1993, Dr. Mohler is considered one of the leaders of the conservative resurgence within the Southern Baptist Convention. He writes a popular blog and hosts a daily radio program that is broadcast on more than 45 stations nationwide.

Changes at the top

Thomas R. Hefty (Kern Family Foundation)

Thomas R.  Hefty, former president of Blue Cross & Blue Shield United of Wisconsin, has been named president of the Kern Family Foundation, which supports theological education through its Pastoral Ministry Program, coordinated by the Rev. Fred Oaks.

Through the Pastoral Ministry Program, Kern Scholars receive full-tuition scholarships at seven participating evangelical seminaries -- Ashland Theological Seminary (Ohio), Bethel Seminary (Minnesota), Covenant Theological Seminary (Missouri), Denver Seminary (Colorado), Haggard School of Theology (California), Northern Baptist Theological Seminary (Illinois), and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Illinois).

Hefty is currently an attorney with the Wisconsin law firm of Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren. The Kern Family Foundation was created in 1998 by Robert and Patricia Kern, co-founders of Generac Power Systems.

Douglas Travis (ETSS)

The Rev. Douglas Travis has been named seventh dean and president of the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas. He replaces the Rev. Philip Turner, who became interim dean in 2005 after former dean-president the Rev. Titus Presler moved to New York to become sub-dean and vice president for academic affairs at the General Theological Seminary.

Dr. Travis's term begins July 1. He arrives at the seminary from Trinity Episcopal Church in The Woodlands, Texas, where he has been rector since 2001. Travis is a graduate of Trinity University, McCormick Theological Seminary, the University of Chicago Divinity School, the General Theological Seminary, and the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. He and his wife, Pamela, an attorney, have two adult daughters.

Robert W. Canoy (Gardner-Webb University)

The Rev. Robert W. Canoy has been named fourth dean of the Gardner-Webb University School of Divinity in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. He replaces the Rev. Charles Bugg, who was dean for one year before returning to the classroom to teach.

Dr. Canoy has been associate dean and associate professor of theology at the school since 2000. A graduate of Mississippi College and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, he was formerly pastor of the First Baptist Church in Shelby, North Carolina.

The School of Divinity was established in 1992 as a graduate school of Gardner-Webb University and is affiliated with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.

The trustees of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary have selected two Orthodox priests to serve as joint leaders of the school in Crestwood, New York. In June, the two will replace the outgoing dean, Father John H. Erickson, who will return to the classroom as professor of church history. The president of the board of trustees is Metropolitan Herman, head of the Orthodox Church in America.

Father John Behr, professor of patristics at St. Vladimir's, will serve as dean of the seminary, with responsibility for ecclesial and academic leadership. A graduate of St. Vladimir's and Oxford University, he was ordained in 2001 and is the editor of St. Vladimir's Theological Quarterly. He and his wife, Kate, have three children.

Chad  Hatfield (SVOTS)

Father Chad Hatfield will serve as chancellor of the seminary, with responsibility for financial and operational leadership. He and his wife, Matushka Thekla, will arrive at the seminary in June 2007 from St. Herman Seminary in Kodiak, Alaska, where he has been dean since 2002. Ordained in 1994, he is a graduate of Nashotah House (an Episcopal seminary in Wisconsin) and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.