Fuller Seminary Kicks Off Year of Celebrations for 75th Anniversary

For 75 years, Fuller Seminary has been a center for innovative theological training and world-class scholarship, and a leading voice in the evangelical movement. Fuller plans to celebrate this milestone anniversary, centered on the theme “Faithfully Forward,” throughout the 2022–2023 academic year. This winter, a community-wide, in-person event will take place on Fuller’s campus in Pasadena, the city where the seminary was founded in 1947.

“Fuller Seminary at 75 years old remains vitally alive for the sake of the church and the world in the 21st century,” said President Mark Labberton. “In the beauty and pain, hope and crises, love and division of these years, I am so thankful for Fuller’s distinctive contributions. As we celebrate God’s faithfulness toward us in the past and present, so we lean faithfully forward into our next 25 years.”

As part of this year’s 75th anniversary celebration, visitors to Fuller’s main campus in Pasadena’s Playhouse Village District can enjoy a self-guided audio walking tour of the seminary’s historic buildings. Those interested in learning more about the history of Fuller can listen to a new podcast series, FULLER curated: Faithfully Forward, featuring sermons, speeches, and lectures drawn from the archives and spanning Fuller’s history. Merchandise bearing the 75th anniversary logo will be available for a limited time in the online Fuller Store.

A commissioned art installation by visual artist and Fuller alum Olga Lah will be in the foyer of Travis Auditorium for the entire academic year. Titled Anew, the installation is made up of pages from old issues of FULLER magazine, as well as materials including wine, acrylic, and drywall mixture. “The work looks to shift the context of its site and perhaps the perceptual paradigm of what may be possible within spaces at Fuller,” said Lah in an artist’s statement. “Its presence is meant to point to transformation and transcendence.”

Chief Academic Officer Alexis Abernethy, who also serves as professor of psychology, said, “I am so thankful to the Lord for the work and ministry that he has accomplished through Fuller Seminary over the past 75 years. I am deeply grateful to the students, staff, faculty, administration, Board of Trustees, alumni, donors and every friend of Fuller who have contributed to Fuller’s mission. As we continue in our work, we will build on the strength of our past and move forward to innovate for the future.”

As the Fuller community commemorates its past achievements, they also look toward a bright future as they welcome David Emmanuel Goatley as the seminary’s next president, succeeding Mark Labberton, who served as president since 2013. “I am personally delighted that, by the joyful providence of God, Dr. David Goatley will begin in January 2023 as Fuller’s sixth president,” said Labberton. “Our first Black president will be leading our strong and diverse board, administration, faculty, staff, and students.” A formal inauguration for Goatley will take place this winter, alongside 75th anniversary celebrations.