Letter from the Board: Fuller Seminary Begins Presidential Transition

Dear Members and Friends of the Fuller Community,

At the request of the president, the Board of Trustees of Fuller Seminary formally affirmed today the start of a two-year transition process through which Mark Labberton will eventually conclude his presidency and pass the executive mantle to a new leader.

Since he became president in the summer of 2013, Fuller has faced surprises and setbacks few could have predicted and which the seminary might not have weathered without Mark Labberton’s remarkable intelligence, imagination, and love. Amidst an era of tremendous disruption for the church, society, and Christian higher education, Mark has been the steady, adaptive, resilient leader Fuller has needed. He has cared for every part and person of Fuller’s unique community. He has assembled a superb senior leadership team with whom he’s crafted a truly generative alliance among trustees, faculty, and staff. This partnership has yielded a visionary strategic plan, a balanced budget, the first surplus in many years, and the foundations of a capital campaign with transformative potential for Fuller’s life and mission.

It is this strength, stability, and creative movement that gives our board peace in embracing Mark’s recommendation and beginning the process of seeking a successor who can carry on the good work of FULLER NEXT. We are heartened by Mark’s assurance that he remains fully engaged in his role until the right person is found and will be a continuing asset as we implement our strategic plan, complete our capital initiative, and discern ongoing needs. We are grateful, too, for the ongoing commitment expressed to us by other members of the senior administration, faculty, staff, and alumni.

To mount the process by which we will eventually identify a new president, the Board of Trustees has appointed a Transition Discernment Team, chaired by trustee Santiago “Jimmy” Mellado, CEO of Compassion International. The team will be made up of trustee and faculty representatives and be aided by a premier executive search firm. Input on the critical characteristics of the next president will be sought from the wider Fuller community. We believe that God has already prepared someone special for this highly significant role.

On behalf of my fellow trustees, I thank you for what YOU mean to the past, present, and future of Fuller Seminary. We value your prayers and counsel as we begin this important discernment process, confident in God’s good hand upon us all.

With love in Christ,

Daniel D. Meyer, MDiv, DMin
Chair, Fuller Board of Trustees