FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Brendan Diamond
Director of Communications
Chicago Theological Seminary
P: 773.896.2435 | E: [email protected]

September 2, 2021

CHICAGO—The Board of Trustees of Chicago Theological Seminary has appointed Dr. Marsha Foster Boyd as Interim President of the institution. Dr. Boyd replaces Rev. Dr. Stephen G. Ray, Jr., who retired August 31. Well-known to CTS, Rev. Dr. Marsha Foster Boyd has agreed to serve as interim president while CTS begins an extensive search for Dr. Ray’s replacement. Dr. Boyd begins her service on September 8.

“With Dr. Ray’s decision to retire and the obvious gap between his retirement and securing a new President for CTS, being able to call on Rev. Dr. Marsha Boyd to serve as Interim President was literally a godsend,” said Brian Clarke, Chair of the CTS Board of Trustees. “The breadth of her experience as an administrator and ties with many – in fact a majority – of our key constituencies will serve CTS well as we look to secure a new President. We are grateful for her agreeing to serve.”

Dr. Marsha Foster Boyd is President Emerita of Ecumenical Theological Seminary in Detroit, Michigan. She achieved this milestone upon her retirement from the Presidency in 2013, after 7 years of distinguished service. Prior to her Presidency, she was Director of Accreditation and Leadership Education at The Association of Theological Schools in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Associate Professor of Pastoral Care & Counseling at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio; and, Academic Dean at Payne Theological Seminary in Wilberforce, Ohio. Most recently, she served as Interim Vice President of Academic Affairs & Academic Dean at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. In each of these positions, Dr. Boyd was the first African American woman to serve.

Dr. Boyd retired as an Itinerant Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church after 40 years of service. She is now a proud member of City of Refuge United Church of Christ in Oakland, California, where Bishop Yvette Flunder serves as pastor.

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For over 165 years, CTS has pushed at the boundaries of theological education with an ongoing legacy of progressive firsts and historic social justice. CTS is considered one of the most forward-thinking graduate schools of theology in the nation.