Seminary of the Southwest has completed a fundraising effort for a $2.5 million endowed chair in memory of J. Milton Richardson, Bishop of Texas from 1965 until his death in 1980.
In 1981, the seminary’s board of trustees established the chair in memory of their late board chairman and friend. The seminary’s current Campaign for Leadership includes increasing the endowment principal for the J. Milton Richardson Chair of Anglican Studies, currently held by the Rev. Nathan Jennings, PhD.
“The leadership of the seminary’s trustees and of the committee which dedicated itself to this project has inspired members of the Richardson family, alumni and friends across the country,” said the Rev. Rev. Dena Harrison, chairwoman of the board. “We are thankful for every gift and celebrate the most recent major gift from a Houston couple, which brought us to our goal.”
Bishop Richardson was known as a man of faith, intelligence, wit, courage and integrity. He led the Diocese of Texas to financial health, maintained harmony in a time of unrest and met the challenge of growth while serving as chairman of the board at Seminary of the Southwest and other diocesan institutions.
The Campaign for Leadership, a $15.9 million major gifts campaign, is raising funds to endow professorships, increase scholarships, and develop a more robust annual fund. The seminary expects to close the campaign by May 31. A celebration of thanksgiving is planned for the seminary’s John Hines Day in October.
Seminary of the Southwest is an accredited Episcopal seminary in Austin, Texas offering master’s degrees for ordained ministry and for people seeking education and formation for counseling certification, chaplaincy and pastoral care, spiritual formation, and religion. The seminary’s mission is to form men and women for the service of Christ in lay or ordained ministry within the church and the larger society.
