Position Profile

President of Bexley Hall Seminary and Seabury Western Theological Seminary

Bexley Hall Seminary and Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, two theological schools of the Episcopal Church, are jointly seeking a person to serve as president of both institutions. In the last decade, both schools have undergone major changes to fit themselves for the future and are now financially stable and educationally strong.

Over the past four years, the two schools have created a partnership, coordinating programs, consolidating some administrative functions, and conducting portions of their board meetings jointly.  This year, the seminaries appointed an Interim Joint President, Dr. Robert Bottoms.

In the next period, the schools will increase their collaborative efforts to serve the Episcopal Church while remaining at their current locations, Seabury in Chicago and Bexley in Columbus, Ohio. Bexley will continue to offer the Master of Divinity degree in conjunction with Trinity Lutheran Seminary. Seabury will continue to develop a wide array of non-degree programs for church leaders as well as Doctor of Ministry degrees in conjunction with the Church Divinity School of the Pacific and the Association of Chicago Theological Schools. Both institutions will maintain their current locations and offer additional programs at other sites.

The seminaries now seek a permanent president who will promote the vision and mission marked out for these two forward-looking institutions by their boards. The president will accomplish this by:

• Working closely with the active and committed boards of both schools
• Representing the schools and their values and goals in a wide variety of public settings
• Articulating the gifts and needs of the seminaries to the church, especially to supporting dioceses, potential students, graduates, and donors
• Raising the funds that the seminaries require for their support
• Managing the resources of the institutions wisely
• Overseeing the work of the deans and other academic officers as they develop programs in a variety of formats responsive to the needs of the church in Province V and beyond
• Building a strong faculty and pool of adjunct instructors
• Building a strong and productive administrative team
• Guiding a process of increased collaboration between the two institutions
• Maintaining strong relationship with other partner institutions

Candidates for the presidency should have the following qualities:

• Creativity, educational imagination, and an entrepreneurial spirit
• Appetite and aptitude for fund raising
• A collegial style that encourages colleagues and subordinates to do their best work
• The ability to listen to and work with a wide range of participants in the teaching, learning and governance in the schools, including categories of persons who are not usually involved in theological education
• The ability to delegate and supervise
• The ability to build trust inside the institutions and with their constituencies
• The ability to manage change
• Disciplined work habits and the capacity to set priorities and follow them

The committee welcomes both applications and the suggestion of names. It seeks suggestions of and applications from women, minority persons, and persons with experience in church leadership and academic theology, as well as those with non-traditional backgrounds.  Applications and names for the committee to consider should be sent, by postal or electronic mail, as soon as possible, but no later than November 11, 2011, to:  

Bexley-Seabury Search Committee

21720 W. Long Grove Road, Suite C #341

Deer Park, IL  60010

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Search Committee

Dr. Robert Bottoms 
The Rev. Dr. Jane Clark
The Rev. Alan M. Gates
Ms. Amy Hill
The Rt. Rev. W. Michie Klusmeyer
The Rt. Rev Jeffrey Lee 
Dr. Eugene Y. Lowe, Jr.
Dr. Robert Reber
The Rev. Michael Way
The Rev Dr. Gwynne Wright