Historic Presbyterian seminary elects first female president
A seminary in Virginia affiliated with the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States has elected the first female president in its 200-plus year history.
The Board of Trustees of Union Presbyterian Seminary of Richmond, a Presbyterian Church (USA) seminary that traces its origins back to 1812, voted last month to elect Princeton Theological Seminary Professor Jacqueline Lapsley as its new president. She will take office on July 1.
In an interview with The Christian Post, Lapsley said that while it "feels wonderful to be called" as the first female president of Union, she does not "spend a lot of time pondering those 'firsts.'"
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"I look forward to working with the Union community to fulfill its mission for the church in the world, which I will endeavor to do with God's help," said Lapsley.
Lapsley explained that after current Union President Brian Blount announced his retirement last year, she joined the pool of candidates last autumn "after prayer and reflection."
Lapsley told CP that she has "long admired" the work of Blount, a former colleague of hers at Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey. She noted, "Union is already beginning a strategic planning process that I look forward to joining."
"The community is now hard at work on the ways it can maximize its potential for being one school with two campuses and make the wonderful education it offers to degree students even more accessible to others who are interested and would benefit from it," she said.
A professor and scholar of the Old Testament, Lapsley's academic credentials include a master of arts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a master of divinity from Princeton Seminary, and a doctorate from Emory University.
In addition to being the first female president of Union, Lapsley also holds the distinction of being the first woman to serve as dean and vice president of Academic Affairs at Princeton Theological Seminary.
Lapsley is a "cradle Presbyterian," with her family on her father's side having been in the Presbyterian tradition for generations, many of whom were clergy. Her father was also an alumnus of Union Presbyterian Seminary.
"I am deeply shaped by the Reformed tradition with, for example, its emphasis on total reliance upon God's grace, and the life of the mind in service to God. The Reformed tradition is a gift for the church and the world that Union has and should continue to steward," she told CP.
"The Reformed faith is also inherently ecumenical in its orientation: it acknowledges how much we have to learn from those outside the tradition, and how much we are enriched by other expressions of faith. Being rooted in one's tradition gives one the humble confidence to be open to others."
