Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

Christian Century, July 12, 2003

* Paige Patterson, a principal strategist in the fundamentalist-led drive to power in the Southern Baptist Convention, has been named president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, the largest seminary in the world. Currently president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, Patterson was approved by Southwestern trustees June 24 to succeed Ken Hemphill, who left for a newly created denominational position in Nashville.

Hemphill and other officials have denied reports that he was pressured to leave Southwestern. But numerous sources related to the seminary have told the Baptist Standard, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the Dallas Morning News that Hemphill was forced to leave by a group of fundamentalist trustees and some SBC leaders. Trustees reportedly wanted a stronger personality to sweep out all faculty deemed at odds with fundamentalist theology and conservative politics.