‘A gift from God.’ Once-troubled Fort Worth seminary enjoying turnaround

As a Phoenix rises from ashes, so too is the hope for resurrection of the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary under President David Dockery. As the new school year gets underway, there are plenty of reasons for optimism as it bounces back from severe declines in enrollment and finances.

“The spirit across the Southwestern campus is truly hopeful,” Dockery said.

Momentum has been building of late, coinciding largely with Dockery’s time as president, which began on an interim basis in September of 2022 and became full-time in April of 2023. For example:

• The annual headcount has increased from 3,403 to 3656. 
• The total credit hours taught increased from 33,253 to 36,284. 
• Full-time enrollment increased from 1,375 to about 1,515.

“In a short amount of time, God has used Dr. Dockery to lead Southwestern in extraordinary ways. It’s a pleasure to serve under Dr. Dockery’s leadership,” said Lilly Park, associate professor of biblical counseling at SWBTS.

The Southwestern student body includes students from every region of the U.S. and almost 60 countries. It is the fifth-largest seminary in the U.S.

Along with enrollment, the school has experienced an estimated $9 million operational turnaround. Dockery said that was connected to taking more responsibility for the patterns and practices that led to the serious financial challenges.

The 2021-22 fiscal year showed an operational loss of almost $9 million and a decrease in net assets of more than $15 million.

Dockery said beginning in the fall of 2022, Southwestern focused on initiating ways to increase revenue, including the tuition and fees that came from the enrollment increases, as well as concerted efforts related to unrestricted giving. In addition, the seminary worked hard to decrease operational expenses by nearly $6 million.

“The decreases were the result of an overall examination of spending across the campus, which included efforts to right size the institution,” he said.

Dockery noted that while they do not yet have audited financial numbers for the 2024-25 year, based on what can be projected, operational revenue has increased from $33.8 million in 2022 to more than $37.5 million this past year. He added that operational expenses have decreased from $42.7 million to about $37 million during this same time.

He also said the budget prospects for the 2025-26 year are encouraging at this point.

Space and property use project

In the fall of 2023, board leaders suggested that the administration appoint a team to study the efficiency of space use across the campus.

“We have been blessed with a large and beautiful campus, but largely due to increased online enrollment, there are areas of the campus that are now under-utilized,” Dockery said. “The task team brought a report to the board members in the fall of 2024, which is in the process of being implemented.”

Dockery said the result has been finding new partners who can lease unused portions of the campus. An example is the Prestonwood Pregnancy Center that opened on campus earlier this year.

The seminary also sold the Carroll Park Apartments student housing to the city.

“The sale of the Carroll Park property was essential to help ensure the survival of the seminary. Any future considerations will not be for the purpose of survival, since institutional stability has now been reached,” he said.

Advance Southwestern 2030 Plan

The Advance Southwestern 2030 Plan, adopted by the board of trustees in the spring of 2023 is 35% complete, Dockery said. New initiatives have taken place, including a major campus technology project, and the reevaluation of several other matters continues.

“The plan has become the guidebook for prioritizing budgetary, programmatic, and personnel matters at the seminary, enabling the community to work together toward shared goals and objectives,” he said, stressing that the 2025-26 school year will be used to evaluate where the seminary stands in the overall process and to re-prioritize matters, if needed, with the goal still being to complete the plan by 2030.

Ongoing sanctions

While things are looking up once again, the seminary is still under sanctions by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, dating to July 2022. Those were continued for good cause in June.

“The accreditors noted numerous areas of improvement in the areas of financial responsibility and financial resources — their two areas of concern,” Dockery said. “They also noted areas needing ongoing work.

“The positive conclusion to the 2024-25 year and the hopeful beginning to the 2025-26 year, coupled with what we trust will be wise decisions related to the Space and Property Utilization project, will, we trust, demonstrate to SACSCOC that Southwestern has reached a new level of financial health that points toward a genuinely hopeful future for the seminary.”

The good news for students is that the institution and all degree programs remain fully accredited. Moreover, Dockery said Southwestern is in good standing with its other accreditors, including the Association of Theological Schools and the National Association of Schools of Music.

Moving forward

Dockery said SWBTS has ongoing work to do, but he takes pride that the seminary has addressed challenging legal issues, reputational issues, morale issues, relational and trust matters, enrollment and financial issues, and overall institutional stability concerns.

“Southwestern Seminary has experienced an amazing turnaround in its financial soundness, faculty and staff morale, and mission focus. These great achievements are largely due to the wise, experienced, and integrity filled leadership of David Dockery,” said Robert Sloan, a former SWBTS faculty member and current president of Houston Christian University.

And while Dockery acknowledges there is more to do, he is excited about the continuity in all aspects of the work.

“We certainly recognize that whatever good that has taken place at Southwestern Seminary over the past three years has been a gift from God and the answer to the prayers of many,” he said. “What has taken place has been a shared team effort with every sector of the Southwestern community contributing to the work to bring Southwestern to a new place of stability and hopefulness.”

This story was originally published September 15, 2025 at 4:50 AM.