The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary history

Another historic landmark, the stone wall now surrounding the central campus, was begun about 1885 by Wake Forest College President Charles E. Taylor and “Doctor Tom” Jeffries.

Built in 1888 as Lea Laboratory, it served Wake Forest College as a science building and then as the chemistry building.

In 1889, John A. Broadus became the seminary's second President.

After Broadus, William Whitsitt became the third President of Southern in 1895.

The seminary began a program of studies for women in 1910 and soon built a women’s dormitory later named Barnard Hall.

B.H. Carroll, the first president, served from the embryonic stages of the school until his death in November 1914.

Founded: 1917 as the Baptist Bible Institute of New Orleans

Built in 1928 as the residence of the president of Wake Forest College, the house is located off the southwest corner of the campus facing Durham Road.

Stealey Hall was built by Wake Forest College in 1934.

The Ledford Center is an expansion of the Gore Gymnasium, which was first dedicated by Wake Forest College in 1938.

Southeastern began classes in the fall of 1951 on the campus of Wake Forest College in Wake Forest, NC, a campus recognized then and now as one of the most beautiful in the southeastern United States.

In 1956, when Wake Forest College moved to its new location in Winston-Salem, NC, Southeastern occupied the rest of the Wake Forest campus.

Founded: 1957 in Kansas City, Missouri

In 1958, the school achieved recognition from the American Association of Theological Schools, now known as the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada.

It replaced the Old College Building, later named Wait Hall, which had been destroyed by fire in 1933. It was renamed in 1961 in honor of the Seminary’s first president, S. L. Stealey.

In 1963, after thirteen years of service, Stealey retired and Olin T. Binkley was elected president.

In 1969, the Board of Trustees named it in honor of Doctor Emery B. Denny, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina, a trustee of the Seminary, and a longtime friend and supporter.

Southern began to offer the Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) program in 1970.

Southeastern’s third president, W. Randall Lolley, was elected in 1974.

Russell H. Dilday was elected sixth president of Southwestern Seminary by the board of trustees on November 22, 1977.

In 1980, it was renovated and renamed Broyhill Hall in appreciation of the generous gifts of J. E. and Paul Broyhill, trustees from Lenoir, NC. It now houses offices and the Hall of Presidents.

McCall retired in 1981 and his legacy has drawn praise and controversy.

The ground floor of the chapel was redesigned in 1982 and furnished as five classrooms and church music facilities, including organ and piano practice areas.

The idea of a Prayer Garden was begun by students in the Class of 1983 with a graduation gift of $546 and has been expanded as funds have become available.

Under his leadership, the seminary opened the Carver School of Church Social Work and reached an all-time peak in enrollment of students in 1986.

In 1991, an anonymous donor gave a gift of the gazebo which was placed in the center of the garden as a formal place of quiet prayer.

Several new defining documents such as the Seminary’s “Faculty Profile” and revised “Statements of Purpose and Mission” were finalized and adopted in 1992.

The seminary Board of Trustee's then elected R. Albert Mohler as the 9th President of Southern in 1993.

Curriculum revisions in 1994 brought about a more traditional theological degree plan, and in the fall of 1994, Southeastern Baptist Theological College was established as a school of the Seminary.

In 1996, the Seminary purchased the property at 377 Durham Road, now named the Hunt House, to provide additional accommodations for prospective students and guests.

New programs in women’s studies and advanced biblical studies were begun in 1998, along with an expanded undergraduate program.

Programs in Christian school administration, North American church planting, and a new master’s degree in theological studies began in 1999.

Southeastern’s accreditation with the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) was reaffirmed in 2003.

In 2005, seminary trustees established the seminary’s fourth graduate school, the Roy J. Fish School of Evangelism and Missions, as well as the seminary’s undergraduate school, the L.R. Scarborough College, now Texas Baptist College.

Gerald K. Stephens of Morganton, NC. Today it is dedicated to faculty offices and Southeastern’s Writing Center, which was launched in 2009.

In 2017, the seminary experienced the largest enrollment of students ever in the school's history.