LOUISVILLE, Ky. (SBTS) — President R. Albert Mohler Jr. announced the appointment of two senior vice presidents at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, installing Craig Parker as senior vice president of institutional administration and Matthew J. Hall in a newly created role as senior vice president for academic strategy. Parker, currently vice president of institutional advancement, and Hall, dean of Boyce College, will both continue to serve in their current roles in addition to their new responsibilities.
Parker has previously served as vice president for business services and vice president for institutional advancement at Southern Seminary. He grew to know and love Southern Baptists through his service in administrative roles in Tennessee, including 15 years as senior administrator at Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova — the church once pastored by Adrian Rogers and a significant church in the history of the Southern Baptist Convention.
“Craig Parker is an absolute natural when it comes to leadership, building a team, and understanding how institutions work. He is also a veteran Southern Baptist whose love for this denomination is so evident in everything he does,” Mohler said. “Craig’s acceptance of this new position provides great continuity and brings leadership with invaluable experience in various capacities of leadership within the Southern Baptist Convention and within Southern Seminary. Craig and Selwyn are already much beloved and I am very thankful that he has agreed to take on these responsibilities.”
Parker, also a former trustee for Guidestone Financial Resources, says Rogers influenced his life like no one else, and that he is inspired by Mohler’s leadership.
“I’ve had the opportunity to serve two of the greatest leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention in Adrian Rogers and Dr. Mohler. It’s a tremendous honor that Dr. Mohler would entrust me with the opportunity to be the senior vice president of institutional administration,” said Parker. “Dan Dumas has left a massive footprint here and has been an incredible boost to this institution.
“There is no one who has greater respect for our president than I, so I am honored by the trust Dr. Mohler has placed in me,” Parker continued. “The goal of institutional administration is unchanging. God has entrusted us with thousands of God-called men and women who have come to us to be equipped for ministry by the finest faculty in the world. It remains our job to provide the services and support to permit our students to receive the best training possible to prepare them for a lifetime of service to the church. Southern Seminary — especially the students — are very dear to Selwyn and me. This is going to be a difficult job, but definitely a labor of love for us.”
Hall is a two-time alumnus of Southern Seminary (M.Div. and Th.M.). Prior to serving as dean of Boyce College, Hall oversaw SBTS enrollment, library, and assessment initiatives in his administrative role in academic services. He also previously served as chief of staff in the Office of the President at Southern Seminary. He earned his Ph.D. in American History from the University of Kentucky and was co-editor of the 2015 book, Essential Evangelicalism: The Enduring Legacy of Carl F.H. Henry.
“Matt Hall is one of the brilliant young leaders in both higher education and in the Southern Baptist Convention,” Mohler said. “Matt and Jeannie are a wonderful couple who model what we hope for in terms of Christian ministry and leadership, and I’m looking forward to what Matthew Hall is going to contribute to this institution.”
Hall is an elder at Clifton Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky, and a research fellow on the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. He previously served on the SBC Committee on Resolutions in 2014 and 2015.
“Serving as dean of Boyce College has been one of the most rewarding and energizing opportunities of my professional life,” said Hall. “I am delighted to continue to give my primary energies toward that effort, but also look forward to serving the broader seminary in these expanded ways. I count this a wonderful privilege and am grateful to Dr. Mohler for the opportunity to serve the institution I love.”
Parker and Hall will be two of three senior vice presidents at Southern Seminary, joining Randy L. Stinson, provost and senior vice president for academic administration. Hall’s position will oversee a new division focused on admissions and academic strategies, intended to meet the increasing demands of a rapidly changing culture. The president’s cabinet will also expand, Mohler said, in order to keep pace with the growth of Southern Seminary and Boyce College.
“It has become clear to me as president that Southern Seminary has grown over the last several years in such a way that we need a larger senior executive team. So this is a sign of God’s blessing on the institution, but also a sign of our responsibility to make sure we have the leadership in place as we look to the future,” said Mohler. “This is the time to bring some other vice presidents and leaders to that table in order to seek their wisdom and to make certain that we are all working out of the fulfillment of a common mission, the development of a common strategy, and the living out of a common purpose.”