Those who have made an impact on evangelical theological education through the years are too numerous to mention. Many have made important contributions to an individual institution despite having little if any name recognition outside of the schools they served. This list of movers and shakers is not exhaustive. Rather, the following leaders, listed randomly, highlight some of those whose influence has in some way been noteworthy.

HAROLD JOHN OCKENGA
Harold Ockenga, though probably best known for his long pastorate at Park Street Church in Boston, was in on the ground floor of three of the nation's best known evangelical seminaries. In the late 1920s, he left Princeton Theological Seminary (where he was a student) to follow a small group of scholars who established Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia.

Ockenga helped found Fuller Theological Seminary, serving as its first president in 1947. Unwilling to relinquish his pastoral post, he served Fuller as president "in absentia" from 1947-54 and again from 1960-63. Then, after retiring from Park Street in 1969, he became president of Gordon College and Divinity School. He led efforts to merge Gordon Divinity School and the Conwell School of Theology. He served as president of Gordon- Conwell Theological Seminary from 1970 to 1979.

DAVID ALAN HUBBARD AND RICHARD MOUW
Fuller Theological Seminary went on to become what Daniel Aleshire, president of the Pittsburgh-based Association of Theological Schools (ATS), labels an "icon in the development of evangelical theological education." The primary reason for this, according to Aleshire, are the late David Alan Hubbard, who served from 1963-93 as Fuller's president, and the school's current president, Richard Mouw. In 1965, Hubbard added the School of Psychology and School of World Mission. Not only were Hubbard and Mouw capable administrators, but both have been widely recognized as first-rate scholars who, in Aleshire's words, remained "intellectually engaged" with the larger evangelical and religious communities.

ROBERT COOLEY
Robert Cooley served as president at Gordon- Conwell from 1981 to 1997 and helped this fairly young institution to emerge in significant ways. He led the school's pioneering efforts in the area of theological education by extension by overseeing the launching of GCTS campuses in Boston (focusing on urban ministry) and in Charlotte, North Carolina.

LUDER WHITLOCK
In his twenty-three years as president, Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS), was transformed from a small regional school to being one of the most innovative seminaries in North America. Under Whitlock's leadership, RTS established multiple campuses in North America, as well as in Asia, South America, and Europe.

LEON PACALA AND DANIEL ALESHIRE
(Association of Theological Schools)
The Association of Theological Schools (ATS) has played a major role in assuring the quality and the development of theological education. The association accredits institutions and approves degree programs. ATS has played a leading role in the development of leaders of theological institutions, as well as helping institutions address the challenges they face.

Much of the credit for ATS's vitality goes to former executive director Leon Pacala. He played a leading role in theological education's effort in the 1980s and '90s to take "a major critical look at its aims and purposes," according to Barbara Wheeler at the Center for the Study of Theological Education. This led to the development of substantive thinking and literature on the purposes of theological education. Daniel Aleshire has continued the tradition as executive director. He has written extensively on issues of ministry and theological education, Christian spirituality, and Christian education.

BARBARA WHEELER
Not only is Barbara Wheeler in a position to comment on those who have made significant contributions to theological education in recent decades, but she is among those worthy of recognition by virtue of her work as director of Auburn Theological Seminary's Center for the Study of Theological Education. Under her leadership and through publications, research, and consulting, the center, based in New York City, focuses on strengthening educational programs, helping seminaries find adequate financial resources, and making connections between seminaries and the church and society.

ROBERT WOOD LYNN AND CRAIG DYKSTRA
Robert Wood Lynn is a past senior vice president at the Lilly Endowment working in the area of religion, and Craig Dykstra currently serves in that position. Both helped secure financial support for graduate theological education. "The amount that the Lilly Foundation put into theological education from 1975 to 2000 was truly significant," says Aleshire. Lilly-funded projects addressed not only issues of purpose and quality, but practical challenges related to board development and fund raising.

EDWARD FARLEY
In terms of scholarly, theological reflection on the task of theological education, Edward Farley is at or near the top of virtually everyone's list. A former professor of theology at Vanderbilt University Divinity School, Farley is the author of The Fragility of Knowledge: Theological Education in the Church and the University (Fortress Press, 1988). Wheeler's list of significant contributors to the enterprise of theological education also includes Joseph C. Hough, Jr., president of Union Theological Seminary. She credits David Tiede, recently retired president of Luther Seminary, for making Luther an extremely strong institution and James I. McCord, Douglas Oldenburg, and James Laney for doing the same for Princeton, Columbia, and Emory respectively.

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