Chuck Conniry named dean of George Fox Evangelical Seminary

March 13th, 2008

Former pastor helped develop seminary’s innovative online and in-person hybrid-learning platform

NEWBERG, Ore. – Chuck Conniry, director of the doctoral programs at George Fox Evangelical Seminary since 1998, has been named vice president and dean of the seminary.

George Fox President Robin Baker made the announcement, culminating a search that began in the fall after Jules Glanzer, dean of the seminary for six years, announced his intention to leave the position to serve as president of Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kan.

Conniry arrived at the seminary 10 years ago to direct its doctor of ministry program, which includes two tracks: leadership in the emerging culture and leadership and spiritual formation. Conniry also teaches theology and pastoral studies courses at both the doctoral and master’s levels.

Conniry began the leadership in the emerging culture program in 2001 and has coordinated its development with the assistance of author and lead faculty mentor Len Sweet. Cohorts of 15 students engage in real-time online chats, interact using blogging software, and attend three week-long face-to-face classes in downtown Portland, Mt. Hood and Orcas Island. The program has attracted students who live around the world, including Australia, the United Kingdom, Egypt and Africa. “The community building has been more powerful than we could ever imagine,” Conniry said. Two years ago, he revamped the Leadership and Spiritual Formation program, updating the curriculum and relocating its hybrid-learning program to the Oregon Coast.

“One thing that energizes me is the chance to be one of the architects of the present and future shape of theological education,” Conniry said. “At George Fox Evangelical Seminary, I get the opportunity to work with top-quality faculty and be in dialogue with the influential leaders of the church. I look forward to seeing our students find all that God has called and gifted them to be.”

Prior to his arrival at George Fox, Conniry spent 15 years in full-time pastoral ministry – most recently as a pastor in Southern California from 1982 to 1997. Also, from 1992 to 1998, he was a professor at Bethel College in San Diego, serving as lead faculty for that institution’s Program in Adult College Education. He also worked as a faculty mentor and assistant professor in Bethel Theological Seminary’s doctor of ministry program from 1996 to 1998.

Conniry earned a doctorate in systematic theology from Fuller Theological Seminary in 1997 and a master of divinity degree from Bethel Theological Seminary in 1988. His areas of expertise include systematic theology, pastoral ministry, modern and postmodern philosophy, American religious history, and New Testament Greek.

“Chuck has demonstrated that he has an entrepreneurial spirit and a strong relational connection with our constituents, churches, and those who are leaders of what is happening in the church,” said MaryKate Morse, interim dean of the seminary and a member of the search committee that sought Glanzer’s replacement. “We conducted a very thorough search and are pleased with our choice. Chuck has an intimate knowledge of the seminary and brings the whole package – someone who is knowledgeable in hybrid education, the missional church movement, and spiritual formation. He rose to the top of our candidate pool.”

Conniry has been instrumental in the seminary’s developing relationships with those associated with the emerging church movement, including Sweet, Brian McLaren, and Jason Paul Clark.

Conniry’s appointment comes as he releases his second book, “Soaring in the Spirit,” which addresses “experiencing the presence of Jesus Christ in the moment-by-moment ‘nows’ of daily life.” His first book, “Christianity in a Postmodern World: A Theological Analysis,” was published in 2002.

Conniry lives in Sherwood with his wife, Dianne. They have three children.

George Fox University is the only evangelical Christian university in the Pacific Northwest classified by U.S. News & World Report as a national university. More than 3,200 students attend classes on the university’s campus in Newberg, Ore., and at teaching centers in Portland, Salem, and Redmond Ore., and Boise, Idaho. George Fox offers bachelor’s degrees in more than 40 majors, degree-completion programs for working adults, five seminary degrees, and 12 master’s and doctoral degrees.
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Contact: Chuck Conniry
Dean, George Fox Evangelical Seminary
503-554-6163
cconniry@georgefox.edu