Mark Young will retire as the eighth president of Denver Seminary Dec. 31 and will then serve part time as chancellor and lead a “major capital campaign.” The school, the nation’s 10th largest seminary, has appointed a search committee to find its next leader.
Young cited two factors in a video titled “Seasons of Transition:” his health problems and the school’s fitness.
“Denver Seminary is in a good place, and that fact gave me the freedom and the peace to even think about retirement,” said Young, who is in his 15th year leading the 75-year-old school. He did not give specifics about a “December health scare” that concerned him and his wife, Priscilla.
Mark Young
The seminary’s board of trustees accepted Young’s request March 7. The school announced the news March 8.
Founded in 1950 by members of the Conservative Baptist Association, the school was initially called the Conservative Baptist Theological Seminary before changing its name to Denver Conservative Baptist Seminary in 1982. In 1988, it changed its name to Denver Seminary, reflecting its appeal to students from a wide variety of denominations and its embrace of a nondenominational identity. The school is based in Littleton, Colo.
Denver Seminary identifies as an “evangelical” school and as multidenominational, enrolling 900 students from more than 50 denominations.
Its 11-point doctrinal statement includes affirmation of biblical inerrancy. Each year trustees, administration and faculty are required to affirm and sign the doctrinal statement, while students and staff are required to affirm and sign the National Association of Evangelicals’ Statement of Faith.
During Young’s tenure, the seminary launched a strategic initiative to make every degree program accessible fully online and fully in-person. An additional campus was added in suburban Washington, D.C., and a virtual campus was built to serve Korean students.
Young also has been instrumental in growing the school’s endowment.
“Dr. Young has been instrumental in equipping the institution to fulfill its mission on local, national and global scales, leaving an indelible mark on our students, alumni, faculty, staff and the wider community,” said trustee Chairwoman Elisa Morgan. “We are grateful for the passionate and strategic leadership of Dr. Young. Because of his commitment, we are prepared for this next stage in the Seminary’s history, as we transition our mission to the next generation of leadership.”
Prior to joining Denver Seminary in 2009, he served as professor of world missions and intercultural studies at Dallas Theological Seminary from 1995 to 2009 and was the founding academic dean of the Biblical Theological Seminary in Wroclaw, Poland.
Young earned a Ph.D. in educational studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and a master of theology degree in New Testament literature and exegesis from Dallas Theological Seminary. He is a past president of the board of directors for the Association of Theological Schools.