Memphis Theological Seminary (MTS), a force of education and social justice for more than 60 years, is likely to close at the end of July next year.
Dr. Jody Hill, president of the institution, sent a letter on Tuesday saying that it’s been too great of a challenge to sustain the seminary. “In recent years, the challenges confronting theological
education nationwide reached our doorstep. As a standalone seminary without the support of a larger university structure, we have borne all operational costs on our own.”
He said that for two years, the seminary has sought to find a way to continue, but that “the limited amount of endowment and assets under our direct control has left us unable to secure a … partner. Under our current operational model as a standalone seminary, we have been left with few options.”
MTS is affiliated with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church (CPC) and the seminary’s board of trustees is submitting its recommendation of closure to the church. Denominational representatives will consider it at a meeting in January.
When the CPC moved the seminary to Memphis in 1964, it declared that the institution be urban and multiracial, educating men and women and welcoming persons of all Christian
denominations. It was a bold move in a time when the Civil Rights Movement was gaining traction and also encountering resistance. It was the first private, voluntarily integrated school in the city and its mission was intentional — to be ecumenical.
MTS has also been purposeful in having a mix in its faculty, including men and women and Black scholars as well as representation from various denominational backgrounds, including
Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Nazarene, Roman Catholic, and Jewish traditions.
Hill, the ninth president to lead MTS, told Memphis Magazine in a 2021 interview that, “It’s what we like to call practical theology. There’s nothing wrong with a deep-rooted educational journey for those who are going to do Ph.D. work in education, but the history of this institution has really been to prepare leaders for the church to truly serve whatever needs there are within the local community in congregations. Being ecumenical means to celebrate the unity of the church, that we are one, and that certainly is evident here. We have in our 200 students about 25 different denominations educated here.”
A number of Memphis leaders have studied at MTS, including Todd Richardson, president and CEO of Crosstown Concourse; Dr. LaSimba Gray; Grammy Award-winning artist Kirk Whalum;
Rev. Lisa Anderson, founder of Room in the Inn–Memphis; Bishop Dorothy Sanders Wells, the first woman and first African American Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi; Dr. Carmichael Crutchfield, General Secretary of the Department of Christian Education and Formation, CME Church; Dr. Christopher Davis, pastor and President of LeMoyne-Owen College; and Dr. Keith Norman, pastor and Vice President for Governmental Relations at Baptist Memorial Health Care.
Hill said that if the CPC General Assembly approves the recommendation to cease operations on July 31, 2026, MTS will work with accrediting bodies and academic partners to support
students during the transition.