Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
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Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (GCTS) is an interdenominational evangelical theological seminary in the United States. Besides its 80 acre (324,000 m²) main campus in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, it also has an urban campus in downtown Boston known as the Center for Urban Ministerial Education (CUME) and another newer campus in Charlotte, North Carolina.
It is one of the largest seminaries in the United States and is considered a leading independent theological school that is neither attached to a university nor any specific denomination. While maintaining a distinctive evangelical outlook, Gordon-Conwell participates in the wider theological community as a member school of the Boston Theological Institute (BTI). The latter is a consortium of nine theological schools in the Greater Boston area, representing a wide spectrum of theological persuasions. Students in any one schools of the BTI enjoy full library access and are entitled to take a certain percentage of their courses in all other member schools, while the degrees are conferred by their own respective institutions.
As a fully accredited institution of higher learning, the seminary offers the programmes of Master of Divinity (MDiv), a wide range of specialized programs leading to other master's degrees as well as several tracks of Doctor of Ministry(DMin) program.
Though the present Gordon-Conwell was established in 1969, its historical roots can be traced to the 1880s, since it is the result of the merger of two schools: Gordon Divinity School in Wenham, Massachusetts and Conwell School of Theology of Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The major personnel behind the merger were several noted evangelical theologians in the country, including Harold J. Ockenga, who was also the first president of the seminary.
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary announced the appointment of Dr. James Emery White as president, effective July 1, 2006. Dr. White succeeds Dr. Walter C Kaiser Jr. who will retire on June 30, 2006. Many of its former and existing faculty members are leading scholars in their respective fields and are influential especially in the evangelical wing of Christianity.
In February 2002, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft sang a rendition of "Let the Eagle Soar" at the seminary. His performance was recorded by CNN (Windows Media Player, Real Player).