New York Theological Seminary

New York Theological Seminary

Former names	Bible Teachers’ College, Bible Teachers’ Training School, The Biblical Seminary in New York
Type	Seminary
Established	1902
Founder	Wilbert Webster White
Religious affiliation	Non-Demoninational Christian
President	Dale T. Irvin
Location	New York City, New York, USA
Website	www.nyts.edu

The New York Theological Seminary (NYTS) was established as a non-denominational institution in 1900 with the founding of the Bible Teachers’ College in Montclair, New Jersey by Wilbert Webster White. President White moved the school to New York City in 1902, when it was renamed the Bible Teachers’ Training School. In 1921 the corporate name was changed to The Biblical Seminary in New York, and then in 1966 to New York Theological Seminary. In 2002 the seminary moved to the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, with offices in the Interchurch Center and classrooms in the Riverside Church and the Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. The Rev. Dr. Dale T. Irvin, an ordained minister in the American Baptist Churches, was appointed President of the seminary in 2005. He also serves as Professor of World Christianity.

As President of the seminary from 1969 to 1983, George W. Webber doubled enrollment, expanding attendance by African American, Hispanic and female students.

New York Theological Seminary began its life in 1900 as the Bible Teacher’s College in Montclair, NJ. Under the direction of its founder, Wilbert Webster White, the school sought intentionally to bridge the divide that had then begun to open between university-based and Bible school forms of theological education. A gifted scholar and teacher, President White was a leading proponent of what was known as “the inductive Bible study method.” He believed that the Bible ought to be taught in English and allowed to occupy the central position in the theological curriculum. The method lent itself easily to an emphasis on practical training for ministry, which characterized the institution from its inception.

President White moved the school to New York City in 1902 in order to provide what he called a more “cosmopolitan” setting for the ministerial training of students, renaming it the Bible Teachers’ Training School. In 1921 the corporate name was changed to The Biblical Seminary in New York, and then in 1967 to New York Theological Seminary. From 1900 through the 1960s the Seminary trained numerous men and women who went on into pastoral ministry, missions work, Christian education and teaching around the world. From its founding the school demonstrated a strong commitment to the education of women as well as men, and to members of all races and denominations.