wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] Longtime Louisville Seminary president resigns

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Note #7490 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

Longtime Louisville Seminary president resigns
02423
October 28, 2002

Longtime Louisville Seminary president resigns

Mulder cites health problems, wants to spend more time with his family

by Jerry L. Van Marter

LOUISVILLE - After 21 years of leading Louisville Presbyterian Theological
Seminary (LPTS) to unprecedented growth, the Rev. John M. Mulder, 56,
resigned on Oct. 26, citing health problems that often have kept him away
from his duties in recent months.

The surprise announcement came from Dorothy Ridings, chair of the seminary's
board of trustees. "John's leadership of the Seminary, and indeed of
theological education generally, has been remarkable," she said. "He will be
remembered for his years of outstanding leadership."

Ridings said the seminary's administrative cabinet will tend to day-to-day
operations until an interim president is named. A presidential search
committee will be chaired by Dr. Robert Reed, a Cincinnati physician, the
immediate past chair of the board. He said the denomination-wide search could
take a year or more. 

In his resignation letter, Mulder, who also was a tenured faculty member,
wrote: "As you know, I have had a number of health problems in recent years,
and recently learned that I have suffered some mild strokes. I have so much
more I want to accomplish in service to God, and  I want to devote more time
to my dear family." 

Mulder said he came to the seminary because of "a profound sense of call,"
and "I leave with an equally profound sense of God's call to do something
which does not involve the daily demands of the presidency." 

Mulder, who came to LPTS at the age of 35, often joked that the seminary
"robbed the cradle" when it called him to the presidency in 1981. 
His tenure was marked by dramatic strides.
The number of faculty positions doubled, and the number of endowed chairs
rose from one to 10; the endowment increased from $11.5 million to more than
$73 million; 13 merit scholarships were added; and several innovative
programs were launched, including the Lilly Endowment-funded Louisville
Institute, the Lay Institute of Theology, the Grawemeyer Award in Religion, a
degree program in Marriage and Family Therapy, and the Center for
Congregations and Family Ministries.

Mulder often said he wanted to be remembered as a president who built a
first-rate faculty at the seminary. During his tenure, the faculty has not
only grown but has become far more diverse, with one-third of its members now
women, and nearly 20 percent racial-ethnic. In addition to training people
for ministry, LPTS is known nationally for its research and reflection on the
challenges facing denominations in contemporary American culture.

Mulder has had a hand in producing much of that research. With faculty
colleagues Milton "Joe" Coalter and Louis B. Weeks - now president of Union
Theological Seminary/Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Virginia -
he produced the landmark Presbyterian Presence series in the early 1990s,
documenting the history of American Presbyterianism in the 20th century.

Mulder spearheaded the successful effort to persuade the General Assembly to
relocate its post-reunion national offices in Louisville. A site-selection
committee had recommended Kansas City, but Mulder and Louisville civic
leaders waged a successful campaign during the 1987 Assembly in Biloxi, MS.
The establishment of the Presbyterian Center on the Ohio River in downtown
Louisville helped spark the redevelopment of the entire riverfront and the
economic revitalization of the area.
	
Mulder said he leaves with a "profound sense of God's call to continue to
serve the church through preaching, writing, and teaching."

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