[1]FORT WORTH, Texas (BP)–A new executive vice president and provost was elected by trustees at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Oct. 16.
Craig Blaising, 52, a native of San Antonio, Texas, will join the staff of the world’s largest seminary January 1. He will also join the faculty as a professor of theology.
Blaising’s responsibilities will be to function as the chief operational officer and chief academic officer of the seminary.
Southwestern Seminary President Kenneth S. Hemphill said “an extensive [Southern Baptist] convention-wide search” for a new chief academic officer has come to a successful conclusion.
“Craig’s theological scholarship is well respected by the entire evangelical community. He is a competent administrator who is both convictional and compassionate. Craig will make a wonderful addition to the theology faculty and will stand tall in the Southwestern tradition of great academic officers.”
Blaising has served as Joseph Emerson Brown Professor of Christian Theology and associate vice president for doctoral studies at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary since 1995. He earned a PhD at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, a master of theology and a doctor of theology at Dallas Theological Seminary, and a bachelor of science in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas in Austin.
[2]Blaising served as professor of systematic theology and director of the PhD program in Theological Studies at Dallas Seminary from 1980-1995. He was the first faculty member to sit in the Evangelical Bible Chair at the University of Texas at Arlington in 1978. His work has been recognized in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in Religion.
Blaising has an extensive background in theology and patristic studies and has written widely in the field of eschatology. He dealt with this subject in his book Progressive Dispensationalism and as a contributor to Three Views on the Millennium and Beyond. He wrote a commentary on Malachi for the Bible Knowledge Commentary and has contributed to several reference works in theology and church history.
Michael Dean, chairman of Southwestern’s trustee board, said part of Blaising’s responsibility would be to “take some of the load off of the president to free up Ken to use his extraordinary gifts in leadership and casting a vision.
“We also believe Craig will bring an added dimension to academic administration at the seminary. We are very pleased to bring such an academic heavyweight to further enhance the world-class faculty at
Southwestern Seminary.”
Hemphill called Blaising “a Texan with a capital ‘T’ and a Baptist with a capital ‘b.'”
“We were blessed by the leadership of Tommy Lea, another fine Dallas Seminary scholar,” Hemphill added. “Dr. Blaising’s coming will help forge a healthy relationship between two great Bible-believing seminaries.”
Blaising and his wife Diane have a son, Jonathan, and a daughter, Emily. His parents, Claude and Mildred Blaising, are longtime San Antonio residents and now live in Riesel.
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