Truett Seminary Names Three New Directors and Promotes a Fourth

May 31, 2024
2024 Truett Director Updates

From top left to right: Dr. Steven Turley, Dr. Matthew Kim, Dr. Preben Vang, and Dr. Paul Putz.

WACO, Texas (May 31, 2024) — Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary announced today the appointment of three new directors and the promotion of a fourth. According to Truett Dean Todd D. Still, Ph.D., Matthew D. Kim, PhD (Edinburgh), will assume the role of Director of the PhD in Preaching program effective January 1, 2025; Paul E. Putz, PhD (Baylor), will become Director of the Faith and Sports Institute beginning June 1, 2024; and Steven E. Turley, PhD (University of Wisconsin-Madison), will begin his service as Director of Truett Houston on June 7, 2024.

Additionally, Preben Vang, PhD (Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary), has been promoted from Director to Executive Director of Truett’s Doctor of Ministry (DMin) program effective June 1, 2024. Dr. Kim will also move from the Hubert H. and Gladys S. Raborn Chair of Pastoral Leadership to the George W. Truett Chair in Preaching and Evangelism, held by Joel C. Gregory, Ph.D., until his recent retirement, leaving the Raborn Chair vacant for the time being.  

Whereas Drs. Kim (see https://truettseminary.baylor.edu/person/matthew-d-kim-phd), Putz (see https://truettseminary.baylor.edu/person/paul-putz-phd), and Vang (see https://truettseminary.baylor.edu/person/preben-vang-phd) currently serve at Truett and are well-known to many within the seminary community, Dr. Turley will be new to most, although he has frequently taught at Truett’s Houston campus since 2020. 

Turley, who holds a BA from Stanford, a MDiv from Gordon-Conwell, and both a MA and PhD in history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has also taught courses at Rice University, Houston Graduate School of Theology, and Fuller Seminary. Additionally, from 2010-2019, he served as InterVarsity’s Campus Minister at Rice University. Fluent in Spanish, Turley pastored Iglesia Bautista Emanuel in Nogales, Arizona from 2000-2002 and was an overseer at Ecclesia Houston from 2013-2019.

Regarding these significant appointments, Dean Still remarked, “Even as the PhD in Preaching program, the Faith and Sports Institute, and Truett Houston have been skillfully and sacrificially served by outgoing directors Drs. Scott M. Gibson, John B. White, and George Gaston respectively, I firmly believe and greatly anticipate that these strategic programs of our school will go from strength to strength under the able and energetic leadership of Drs. Kim, Putz, and Turley, even as Truett’s DMin program has under Dr. Vang, who has led Truett’s DMin to grow in size and influence over the course of the past decade as its director.”

Learn more about Truett’s PhD in Preaching, Faith and Sports Institute, Houston campus, and DMin program.

ABOUT GEORGE W. TRUETT THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY 

Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary is an orthodox, evangelical school in the historic Baptist tradition that equips God-called people for gospel ministry in and alongside Christ’s Church by the power of the Holy Spirit. Accredited by the Association of Theological Schools, Truett Seminary provides theological education leading to the Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Christian Ministry, Master of Arts in Contextual Witness and Innovation, Master of Arts in Theology, Ecology and Food Justice, Master of Arts in Theology and Sports Studies (online), Master of Theological Studies, Doctor of Ministry, and Ph.D. in Preaching. Truett Seminary also offers joint degrees through Baylor University school/college partnerships in social work, business, law, music, and education. In addition to the flagship Baugh-Reynolds Campus in Waco, the Seminary also has locations in Houston and San Antonio. Visit the Truett Seminary website to learn more.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.