Jacob S. Shin has been named president of Washington Baptist University in Annandale, the school's board of directors announced last week.
Shin had been serving as interim president of the Korean Baptist seminary since December 2005.
Shin, a graduate of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, served as a professor of missions at WBU from 1985-1989 before being commissioned as a missionary to Japan by the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board. Shin was the first Korean missionary to be appointed by the IMB.
He rejoined the faculty of WBU in 2001 as a professor before being named dean of the graduate school in 2003. In 2004 he was named vice president and academic dean. In September 2005 he was named chairman of the school's administrative committee.
Washington Baptist University was founded in 1981 in Washington. It was later housed for several years at Columbia Baptist Church in Falls Church until moving to its present campus in Annandale in 2004.
It is the largest Baptist Korean seminary in the United States and the only one to receive an associate member designation from the Association of Theological Schools. WBU has applied for full candidate accreditation from the ATS.
Since Shin's appointment as interim president, school enrollment for the fall semester in 2006 has increased by 37 percent, with enrollment at 418. Since inception the university has had more than 600 graduates. WBU is authorized by the U.S. government to issue F-1 visas.
Virginia Baptists assist the school by funding scholarships for students who attend it. Among the members of the board is Wayne Faison, who serves on the staff of the Virginia Baptist Mission Board.
Special to the Herald