Thompson, who will turn 66 this summer, has served as the seminary’s president since 2004, taking the position after serving as a pastor in West Virginia, California, and Texas. He has been the seminary’s eighth president, following John Mulder.
During his tenure, Louisville seminary has seen significant changes. Five professors have joined the faculty. The board of trustees has substantially new leadership — 21 trustees have come on to the board since 2004, as the board has shifted to a rotating system of leadership in which trustees rotate on and off.
Next year will mark the end of a four-year strategic plan for the seminary, and Thompson said in a statement that the transition will allow “the next president to fully participate in charting strategic directions” for the seminary.
Along with many other schools, Louisville seminary has been hard-hit financially by the economic downturn. In April, Thompson announced that the seminary was cutting eight staff positions, including one vacant position, and freezing salaries.
But Thompson also has worked to build scholarship opportunities for students; to strengthen partnerships within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and ecumenically – creating, for example, a new Black Church Studies Program that will begin this fall; and to complete physical improvements to the 40-year-old campus, including building new residential apartments for students.
Following his retirement, Thompson and his wife, Rebecca, plan to move to their home in Black Mountain, N.C.
