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Chowan, BTSR merger talks off
wire services
March 14, 2011
3 MIN READ TIME

Chowan, BTSR merger talks off

Chowan, BTSR merger talks off
wire services
March 14, 2011

After early reports from Associated Baptist Press (ABP), a

North Carolina newspaper article announced March 10 that talks have ended about

a possible merger of Baptist Theological Seminary (BTSR) in Richmond, Va., and

Chowan University.

The Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald said the executive committee

of Chowan’s board of trustees voted March 8 to discontinue discussions. ABP had

reported March 1 that a merger with a university was one option under

consideration by BTSR trustees to secure the seminary’s future.

“The big elephant in the room is money,” said Chris White,

Chowan’s president.

BTSR has $7 million in debt.

A blog by BTSR President Ron Crawford said that talk of a

merger with a particular university was premature and that Chowan’s president

overstated the seminary’s financial woes.

BTSR trustees will meet March 21-22. Before the announcement

that the merger was off the table, it was expected that a formal announcement

would be made at the BTSR trustee meeting. Then the decision would have been up

to Chowan’s board which is slated to meet April 7.

“Last October our trustees looked hard at our business plan

in light of our future,” Crawford said. “They asked a committee to study

possibilities and make a recommendation at the March meeting of the full board

of trustees.”

Crawford said those possibilities include “partnering” with

other institutions, but added, “We’re still in the process of seeing what the

best options are. It’s a little premature to say we have focused on one option

and that’s the only one we’re looking at.”

BTSR receives significant funding from both the Cooperative

Baptist Fellowship and the Baptist General Association of Virginia. It’s not

clear how or if a merger would affect those revenue streams.

Currently, BTSR is one of only two theologically moderate

seminaries not affiliated with a university. In 2008 BTSR downsized its faculty

and staff by seven due to lack of funds.

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