Simmons College, a historically Black educational institution in Louisville, announced that the Baptist Seminary of Kentucky will establish offices on campus and begin to offer a master of divinity degree at the college. The first students are expected to enroll for the Spring 2018 semester.
The Baptist Seminary of Kentucky was founded in 2001. It has been located on the campus of Georgetown College, near Lexington.
Kevin Cosby, president of Simmons College, stated that “this is perhaps the first time in history that an accredited seminary has moved onto the campus of a HBCU. It is critical that we go beyond talking about racial reconciliation and live into it. Presence matters, and we look forward to growing and learning as we serve within and alongside this vibrant community.”
Simmons College was founded in 1879 as the Kentucky Normal Theological Institute. The school was later renamed to honor its second president, W.J. Simmons, who served from 1880 to 1890. The school fell on hard times during the Great Depression and refocused on training African Americans for the clergy. In 1982 it was renamed Simmons Bible College. Now known as Simmons College of Kentucky, the school was recently accredited by the Association for Biblical Education. Since the educational institution was founded prior to 1965, its accreditation made it eligible for designation as a historically Black college in 2015.
