SWBTS trustees elect Trawick as institutional advancement VP

FORT WORTH  Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary trustees elected Travis Trawick to serve as vice president of institutional advancement, promoted two professors and named two other faculty members to occupy academic chairs in their Oct. 18 meeting prior to the dedication of Mathena Hall.

Trawick will begin leading institutional advancement in January, replacing Mike Hughes who has served in the role since 2006. Hughes has been named chairman of the Harold E. Riley Foundation, but will remain available to the department as a special assistant to the president.

A native of Florida, Trawick served in student ministry in Tallahassee and Arcadia before enrolling at Southwestern Seminary, where he worked in the school’s donor relations, managed technology and became a development officer and associate vice president for the department.

He earned a B.S. degree in information science with a minor in business from Florida State University and the M.Div. degree at Southwestern Seminary. He expects to receive his Ph.D. in systematic theology with a minor in preaching next year.

Assistant professor Keith L. Loftin was promoted to associate professor of philosophy and humanities, while missions professor Daniel Sanchez was named distinguished professor of missions. Dean Sieberhagen will occupy the Vernon D. and Jeannette Davidson Chair of Missions, and Matthew Harrison will assume the Jack D. and Barbara Terry Chair of Religious Education.

Trustees welcomed SBC Executive Committee President Frank Page, who participated in the dedication festivities and thanked board members for serving as “custodians of a great trust,” reminding them they represent the Southern Baptist Convention.

“Since 1928, Southwestern has received $372,612,792, which makes the Cooperative Program, by far, the largest single donor you’ve ever had,” Page shared. “That brings a sense of gratitude, but also a sense of stewardship.”

In his report to the board, Southwestern Seminary President Paige Patterson addressed three recommendations that trustees approved, including three appointments to the faculty of the partner seminary in Bonn, Germany, with no financial obligation required. He addressed a proposed response to a motion referred to all Southern Baptist Convention entities requesting easy access to trustee contact information. The board noted the continued practice of listing trustee addresses in the annual report of the SBC that is available online, finding that sufficiently accessible.

After trustees approved his final recommendation of future meeting dates through 2023, Patterson quipped that he would not be available for the board meeting in 2023, adding, “I’ll be praying for you either from heaven or some hunting location in Africa.”

In other business, the board:

• approved next year’s B. H. Carroll and L. R. Scarborough award recipients,
• accepted graduates for December commencement as approved by the faculty and registrar, 
• received and approved the audited financial statements,
• continued the use of Guinn, Smith & Company to conduct annual audits through 2020, 
• updated a financial records retention policy to reflect changes requested by administration, and
• heard a committee request that Strategic Initiatives Vice President Charles Patrick develop a new social media policy for the board to review in their spring meeting.