Joy J. Moore
President, Northern Seminary
Northern Seminary named Joy J. Moore, Ph.D., as its 13th president in November 2024, succeeding Interim President the Rev. Karen Walker Freeburg, Ph.D.
Moore also will serve on the faculty as a Professor of Homiletics.
An ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, Moore previously served as a Professor of Biblical Preaching at Luther Seminary and as a Visiting Professor at Huntingdon College.
Recognized for her expertise in fostering cross-cultural connections, she founded the William E. Pannell Center for African American Church Studies at Fuller Seminary and served as Associate Dean at Duke Divinity School.
Moore, a native of Chicago, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from National Louis University in Education and Mathematics, a Master of Divinity from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. in Practical Theology from Brunel University/London School of Theology.
Theodore Thomas Turman
President, Ecumenical Theological Seminary
Ecumenical Theological Seminary (ETS) in Detroit, Michigan, announced in November that the Rev. Theodore T. Turman, Ph.D., would become its seventh president. He succeeds the retiring Rev. Kenneth Harris, Ph.D., who served since 2017.
A Detroit native, Turman earned his B.A. from Tuskegee University, Master of Divinity and Certificate in Baptist Studies from Emory University’s Candler School of Theology, and a Doctor of Ministry in Transformational Leadership from Boston University School of Theology
Turman has served as pastor at First Baptist Church in Southfield, Michigan, and worked in spiritual support roles at Corewell Health and Wellstar Health System. In 2014, he became the first African American pastor of First Baptist Church of Detroit in its 195-year history.
Kristen Deede Johnson
Principal, Wycliffe College at the University of Toronto
Kristen Deede Johnson, Ph.D., has been appointed to be the 11th Principal by the Board of Trustees of Wycliffe College at the University of Toronto.
She succeeds the Rt. Rev. Stephen Andrews, Ph.D., who retired after nine years in the role.
Johnson earned a B.A. from The University of Virginia in Political and Social Thought with a minor in Religious Studies, and a Ph.D. in Theology at St. Mary’s College, University of St. Andrews in St. Andrews, Scotland.
An accomplished leader in theological education, Johnson previously served as a member of the faculty and Dean and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Western Theological Seminary in Michigan, where she was founding director of the Studies in Ministry minor and the Center for Ministy Studies at Hope College.
She has deep experience in strategic planning, program development and faculty recruitment, and her scholarly work is widely published. She also is frequently invited as a thought leader in the public sphere on radio and podcasts.
Johnson will assume her new role in July 2025.
F. Douglas Powe, Jr.
President, Phillips Theological Seminary
Following a national search, the Board of Trustees of Phillips Theological Seminary named the Rev. F. Douglas Powe, Jr., Ph.D., as the school’s next president. He assumed office in January 2025.
Powe comes to Phillips – founded in 1906 as part of Phillips University in Enid, Oklahoma – from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., where he served as Professor of Evangelism and Urban Ministry. He also served as director of Wesley’s Lewis Center for Church Leadership and the James C. Logan Chair in Evangelism (an E. Stanley Jones Professorship).
He earned a B.A. degree from Ohio Wesleyan University and a Master of Divinity from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University, where he also was awarded his Ph.D.
A prolific and widely published author (including four books), Powe also has served on the faculties of Saint Paul School of Theology, Spelman College, and the Candler School of Theology at Emory University.
He co-authored Wesley’s successful proposal for Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Phase III Pathways For Tomorrow grant, awarded in conjunction with the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University; the grant-funded certificate education programs for ministry.
Powe is an ordained elder in the Baltimore/Washington Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.
Jason Fout
Acting President, Bexley Seabury Seminary
The Rev. Jason Fout, Ph.D., a member of the Bexley Seabury Seminary faculty for 16 years, has been named the Seminary’s Acting President, succeeding the Rev. Micah T.J. Jackson, Ph.D.
Fout, a 2001 alumnus of the seminary, joined the faculty in 2009 and has served as Academic Dean and Associate Professor of Anglican Theology. He earned his degrees from the University of Cambridge, Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, and the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Ordained in 2001, Fout has ministered in the Diocese of Western Michigan and the Diocese of Ely (Church of England).
Susan Wendel
Academic Director, ACTS, Trinity Western University
Susan Wendel, Ph.D., joined associated Canadian Theological Schools (ACTS) Seminaries, Trinity Western University’s graduate school of theology, as academic director in November 2024.
Wendel previously served as dean and professor of New Testament at Horizon College & Seminary. Prior to Horizon, Wendel had appointments as a dean and an associate professor of New Testament at Briercrest Seminary.
She holds a Ph.D. in early Christianity and early Judaism from McMaster University and a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Briercrest, located in Caronport, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Bryan P. Stone
Dean, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University
Bryan P. Stone, Ph.D., has been appointed the Leighton K. Farrell Dean of Southern Methodist University’s (SMU) Perkins School of Theology.
He will take office in June 2025.
A 1992 SMU alumnus, Stone previously served as the associate dean for academic affairs and E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism at Boston University School of Theology.
At Boston University, Stone helped launch three online/hybrid degree programs and co-founded the Center for Practical Theology in 2005 to strengthen ties between theological education and local Christian communities.
Stone has practical experience leading ministry and nonprofit work in Fort Worth, Texas; the author of 10 books, Stone’s research spans evangelism, congregational development, Wesleyan theology, and the interplay between theology and popular culture.
He holds a B.A. from Southern Nazarene University, a M.Div. from Nazarene Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from SMU.
Michael Cooper-White
Interim President, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago
The Rev. Michael Cooper-White, D.D., has been appointed interim president for Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.
He began his new duties in February 2025. Lutheran’s Board of Directors has convened a committee to conduct a search for a permanent appointment to lead the school, which has 121 currently enrolled students pursuing graduate-level degrees (including doctoral level degrees) and non-degree certifications.
Cooper-White brings extensive experience as a seminary president, church leader, pastor, and educator to his new role. He served nearly two decades as President of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (LTSG) from 2000-17, orchestrating the historic merger that created United Lutheran Seminary. He also helped establish the internationally renowned Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center, housed on the campus of United Lutheran.
Cooper-White earned his B.A. from Concordia College and an M.Div. from LTSG. After serving an inner-city parish in Los Angeles, he worked as an assistant to two synod bishops in California and the Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America before being appointed president of LTSG.
Most recently, he served as interim president at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, Texas, from October 2022 through March 2024.