It has always been desirable for faculty to have at least one degree from a non-Southern Baptist or non-state Baptist convention-owned and operated school. This provided students with a wider spectrum of scholastic thought.

However, some SBC seminaries have an inordinately large number of teachers who have no degree from any Southern Baptist or state Baptist convention-owned college or university. Schools like Bob Jones University, Criswell College, Liberty University, and Mid-America Seminary may have some Baptist connections, but those connections represent very narrow viewpoints. They do not represent widespread Southern Baptist or statewide Baptist thought.

For instance, Southern Seminary had 15 out of 51 teachers in its 1999 faculty that did not have degrees from traditional Baptist schools. This is 29% of the faculty. Twelve out of the 15 have been hired since Albert Mohler, Jr., became president.

In an August 11, 2000, Baptist Press release, Mohler hired four new faculty members, three in the seminary and one for the undergraduate school. Only one out of the four had any educational degree from a Southern Baptist seminary or state Baptist owned college or university.

In other words, Mohler continues to hire non-Southern Baptists as professors, and the percentage of non-Southern Baptist professors for the 2000 school year will likely increase.

Southeastern has 10 faculty with non-Southern Baptist seminary or Baptist state convention-owned school degrees.

The four other SBC seminaries had only a few faculty members with non-Southern Baptist seminary or non-Baptist state convention-owned school degrees.

October 2000