April 19, 2024
FORT WORTH, Texas —Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary plans to resume on-campus instruction on its Fort Worth campus this fall after thorough preparations have been completed to “make our facilities as safe as possible for students, faculty, staff, and others on Seminary Hill,” President Adam W. Greenway announced today in a press release.
Greenway said in a statement that it’s the “appropriate time” to announce fall semester plans in the light of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s April 27 announcement that he will allow the stay-at-home order to expire at the conclusion of April and begin a phased re-opening of businesses in the state.
The seminary’s common spaces will undergo a “deep cleaning” in the months preceding the beginning of the semester, Greenway said, noting adjustments will be made to class sizes and the use of classrooms “to ensure all public health recommendations relevant upon re-opening are strictly and faithfully observed, with a heightened cleaning regimen upon resumption of classroom instruction. The Campus Clinic will continue to evaluate student health and provide testing, when appropriate. As good citizens, our plans will be consistent with any governmental limitations when on-campus classes resume, while also doing everything possible to advance our mission of theological education.”
Greenway praised the seminary’s faculty and Campus Technology team for their “seamless” transition to entirely online instruction in the midst of the spring semester, which was necessary due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Now, we believe it is appropriate to make ready a return to on-campus instruction this fall, while observing all necessary precautions and continuing to make allowances for students to make use of online instruction when necessary,” Greenway said.
The coronavirus pandemic has “heightened” the urgency of taking the Gospel message around the world and the duty of God-called men and women to prepare for ministry, he said.
“I am prayerful that God is using the coronavirus pandemic in a way that will make us more faithful ministers of the Gospel and that will see the advancement of the Gospel across the world,” Greenway said. “As Robert E. Naylor, our fifth president, frequently said, ‘The sun never sets on Southwestern.’ That truism remains undiminished in our time, and it is our prayerful ambition that because of the training they receive here our students will continue to be a part of fulfilling the Great Commission across Texas, throughout the United States, and around the world.”
