Founding Trustee’s Son to Chair Southeastern’s Board of Visitors

by Dwayne Hastings                                                                                                  Vol. VIII, No. 4, April 1995

Members of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary's new board of visitors gathered for their inaugural meeting March 13, [1995] with its chairman bearing a family heritage linked to the seminary. The chairman, John Simms, is the son of a member of Southeastern's founding board of trustees in 1950, Robert M. Simms Sr.

"I am very much interested in theological education and, even more importantly, what we do with our theology – insuring it is sound and correct," said Simms, visitors' chairman and a resident of Salem, Va. "My interest in theological education at Southeastern is particularly keen because I'm a native of Raleigh (N.C.) and have known Wake Forest for over 65 years." The board, composed of supporters of the school, is squarely pro-Southeastern. According to its bylaws, approved by the school's board of trustees last fall, the board of visitors is "to provide a means by which a broad range of friends of the seminary can assist in fulfilling its purpose of preparing Godcalled men and women for service."

It is not simply their work in the financial support of Southeastern that draws this group together: "These men and women have a heartfelt desire to pray for Southeastern and to stand in the gap as encouragers for the folks in the seminary community," said Bart Neal, Southeastern's vice president for external affairs. "They are the seminary's personal goodwill ambassadors."

While board members will be counted on for their ability to raise funds, Neal said it will not be their only responsibility: "We value their role in securing financial resources for the seminary; yet their commitment to share with others what God is doing on this campus is so very important to Southeastern's longterm vitality. The establishment of this board is no small accomplishment in the future of Southeastern."

The concept of the board of visitors has a precedent in U.S. history. Colleges in early America, founded for the preparation of ministers, such as Harvard, had such a body of friends. The board's purpose then was to monitor by personal visits to the school's campus both the spiritual temperature and theological integrity of the colleges.

“There is a heritage of education on this campus that must be reclaimed”, said Simms, a member of First Baptist Church, Roanoke, Va. "Being a resident of Virginia, I am very much interested in what happens at Southeastern because many of its graduates come to Virginia as pastors. We need all the good, solidly educated, theologically sound pastors we can get in Virginia." [BP]