A Letter from the Dean (2023-24)
Dear Truett Family and Friends,
“How are things at Truett?” This is the question I am asked most frequently by those who are interested in and committed to Truett but do not study or work at Truett. I warmly welcome this question and am truly grateful that people care about and ask about our school. In responding, I seek to be both frank and succinct. As of late, I have started my response to this question by saying, “We are in a good season.”
Those who know me know that I am optimistic. Those who know me also know that I seek to be honest and realistic. So, why am I responding this way in these days? As it happens, there are a goodly number of reasons, including, but not limited to, a near record fall enrollment, superlative new faculty and staff hires, excellent placement rates, ongoing fundraising success (not least with respect to endowed student scholarships), expanding ecclesial and relational networks, and a strong, shared commitment by our various “stakeholders” to our identity, mission, and vision with a simultaneous commitment to improvement and innovation.
I trust that the stories in this edition of The Cord will capture and convey some of what I am seeing and sensing in this season of our seminary’s life. It highlights a handful of the people, places, programs, and partners that make our school special and enable it to be successful. I am especially excited about this issue’s cover story, for it unveils our new strategic plan, OneTruett: Striving Together Toward the Upward Call. The creation of this new roadmap for our Seminary has been over a year in the making and has actively engaged faculty, staff, students, and alumni as well as our Board of Advocates, other constituents, and an external consulting agency.
My hope is that you will find both this edition of The Cord and OneTruett to be informational, inspirational, and aspirational and that you will continue to lend both your prayers and support to our school so that Truett, which turns thirty in 2024, will continue to grow from strength to strength by God’s grace and for God’s glory.
With a grateful heart and in steadfast hope,
Todd D. Still, PhD
Charles J. and Eleanor McLerran DeLancey Dean
William M. Hinson Professor of Christian Scriptures