News of note
Austin Seminary planning
$44M capital campaign
The Layman, December 28, 2010
According to a Dec. 16, 2010 article in the Austin Business Journal, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary has big plans for the future. The plans include increasing enrollment, student housing, scholarships and facilities, according to the article.
The $44 million capital campaign is in the “silent stages,” and likely to go public in 2012. The article states that plans for the funding include a $13 million expansion and renovation of the library; an $11 million, four-story student housing building; and endowing three new faculty chairs.
Reporting of the plan comes amidst declines in endowment funds due to the recession, and continued church closures and membership declines across the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Cole named new academic dean at Austin
Allan Hugh Cole Jr. will be Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary’s new academic dean effective Jan. 1, 2011, according to an article in The Presbyterian Outlook.
Cole succeeds Michael Jinkins, who was chosen to become president of Louisville Seminary. Cole holds degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary, Columbia University and Davidson College.
Ethiopian Lutherans concerned with direction in U.S.
Reiterating their rejection of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) actions in 2009 to change policies regarding same-sex relationships and the ordination of unrepentant, practicing homosexuals, the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY) in Ethiopia has asked the ELCA to reconsider its position.
“The fundamental position of the EECMY on any ethical issue including homosexual practice rests on her belief in the eternal truth of the teaching of the Holy Scripture and not on human decision that deviates from Scripture,” the EECMY states in a letter to the ELCA. “The unilaterally taken direction by ECLA, has deeply disturbed, saddened and dismayed the EECMY constituency at large and provoked worries and uncertainties pertaining to the long-standing relations between EECMY and ELCA.”
The Lutheran dispute could be a preview of what’s to come as the PCUSA continues reconsidering its long-held standards regarding ordination and marriage, as well as tolerating teachings that contradict Scripture. The PCUSA has already seen its communion with the largest Presbyterian denomination’s in East Africa and Brazil dissolved for similar reasons.
RTS-Atlanta’s new campus spurs growth
Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) in Atlanta had record enrollment for its fall semester, and is attributing the growth to the opening of its new campus, according to an article in byFaith magazine. Its MDiv program was especially popular.
Located in Marietta, Ga., just outside I-285, the new campus provides office space for staff and faculty, as well as room for a chapel, a library and convention facilities. Before the move, RTS-Atlanta had kept its collections in storage space in anticipation of one day having a library.
RTS-Atlanta President John Sowell attributes the growth to the new campus and the higher profile the purchase has provided.