The story
Columbia Theological Seminary was founded in 1828 in Lexington, Georgia, by several Presbyterian ministers. In 1830, the seminary was moved to Columbia, South Carolina (taking its name at that location), and in 1927, to its current location in suburban Atlanta. During the American Civil War, the seminary became affiliated with the Presbyterian Church of the Confederate States of America, renamed the Presbyterian Church in the United States after the war. The school became a battle ground in the debate over the theory of evolution in the PCUS during the 1880s, due to the controversial views of James Woodrow, an uncle of U.S. president Woodrow Wilson and seminary science professor, who aligned with evolution, a controversy which led to the school not operating during the 1887–1888 academic year.
In 1830, Columbia, South Carolina, became the first permanent location of the seminary. The school became popularly known as Columbia Theological Seminary, and the name was formally accepted in 1925. The decade of the 1920s saw a shift in population throughout the Southeast. Atlanta was becoming a commercial and industrial center and growing rapidly in its cultural and educational opportunities. Between 1925 and 1930, President Richard T. Gillespie provided leadership that led to the development of the present facilities on a fifty-seven-acre tract in Decatur, Georgia. Because the early years in Decatur were difficult, the future of the institution became uncertain. Columbia, however, experienced substantial growth under the leadership of J. McDowell Richards, who was elected president in 1932 and led the seminary for almost four decades.
Columbia was one of the several PCUS seminaries that joined the PC (U.S.A.) following the 1983 PCUS and United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. merger. It upholds its historic covenants with the Synods of Living Waters and South Atlantic.
Presidents
1911–1921 Thornton Whaling
1921–1924 John M. Wells
1925–1930 Richard T. Gillespie
1932–1971 J. McDowell Richards
1971–1976 C. Benton Kline
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1976–1987 J. Davison Philips
1987–2000 Douglas Oldenburg
2000–2009 Laura S. Mendenhall
2009–2014 Stephen A. Hayner
2015–2022 Leanne Van Dyk
2022–present Victor Aloyo
From Wikipedia’s article on Columbia Theological Seminary, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3