David H. Crawford becomes president of McCormick Theological Seminary
Crawford came to the seminary from a career in law and business.
McCormick Theological Seminary’s board of trustees named David H. Crawford as the school’s president.
He was interim president in the prior year after being executive vice president and chief business officer since 2008. His earlier career included practicing law at the multinational firm Kirkland and Ellis. He also founded and was CEO of Allied Riser Communications Corporation, later taking the company public.
“He knows McCormick inside and out,” Ted Hiebert, former dean, said in a statement. “As a former board member, chief business officer, and interim president, he has skillfully and thoughtfully led McCormick toward new programs and stronger financial stability.”
Steed Davidson, the current dean, said the faculty has confidence in Crawford’s leadership, which he described as “gentle, participatory, supportive, and visionary.”
Crawford sees the seminary as having “set a new course that honors McCormick’s rich tradition of innovation and projects our mission and programs outward into congregations and the communities we and our alums serve.” He said, “In these extraordinary times, McCormick, perhaps more than any other institution in our great city, has an opportunity to bring communities together in faithful pursuit of justice, service, and reconciliation.”
The prior president of McCormick, Frank M. Yamada, left in July 2017 to become executive director of the Association of Theological Schools.
A version of this article appears in the print edition under the title “People: David H. Crawford.’”
