Thursday, May 01, 2008

REID RESIGNS AS ACADEMIC DEAN AT BETHANY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Stephen Breck Reid, academic dean at Bethany Theological Seminary, has accepted a position as professor of Hebrew Bible at George W. Truett Theological Seminary in Waco, Texas, beginning Aug. 1. He has served in his current position at Bethany Seminary since 2003.

As academic dean, Reid led the work of the seminary's teaching faculty and the administration of the Brethren Journal Association. He gave oversight to partnerships with the Susquehanna Valley Ministry Center and the Church of the Brethren General Board to offer graduate and undergraduate ministry training opportunities through offsite courses and the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership.

He also facilitated much of the process of a 10-year accreditation review with the Association of Theological Schools and the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, completed in 2006.

Reid graduated from Bethany in 1976 and earned a Ph.D. from Emory University in Atlanta, Ga., in 1981. He was professor of Old Testament Studies at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary prior to joining the Bethany faculty. He also served as an adjunct professor at Bethany for many years, and was a member of the Board of Trustees from 1990-98.

"It is with deep regret that I accept the resignation of Stephen Breck Reid," said Bethany president Ruthann Knechel Johansen. "As academic dean, Steve has served the Bethany faculty, the students, and the denomination eminently through his passion for preaching and teaching, particularly the Hebrew language and Hebrew Bible, his devotion to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and his commitment to the Church of the Brethren. To the faculty he has been both a fine mentor for creative teaching and a strong supporter of faculty members' scholarly research and publication. He has been a prophetic voice in the denomination."

--COB Newsline