McCormick Theological Seminary
McCormick Theological Seminary is a private Presbyterian school of theology in Chicago, Illinois. It shares a campus with the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, bordering the campus of the University of Chicago. Primarily a seminary serving the Presbytery of Chicago and the Synod of Lincoln Trails, McCormick Theological Seminary also educates members of other Christian denominations.
Type | Seminary |
---|---|
Established | 1829 |
Religious affiliation | Presbyterian Church (USA) |
Endowment | $78.0 million (2019)[1] |
President | David Crawford |
Academic staff | 8 |
Postgraduates | 215 |
Location | , , United States |
Website | www |
History


Hanover Seminary was established in 1829 as a preparatory school in Hanover, Indiana for prospective ministers in the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., hoping to serve on the western frontier of the expanding United States. After about ten years, the seminary moved a short distance to New Albany, Indiana where it became the New Albany Theological Seminary. When the western frontier boundary moved, the school also moved and opened in Chicago's present-day Lincoln Park neighborhood in 1859 where the school was first known as the Theological Seminary of the Northwest. In 1886, it was renamed in honor of American industrialist Cyrus McCormick (1809–1884), who had served as a member of the seminary's board of trustees.
In 1975, facing a dire financial situation and declining enrollment, McCormick sold the Lincoln Park campus to DePaul University and moved to the Hyde Park neighborhood in Chicago. This move divested the institution of infrastructure while reinforcing its commitment to urban ministry. Sharing facilities with the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC), McCormick began to help foster important ecumenical cooperation between the Presbyterian and Lutheran churches. In 2003 McCormick reinforced and recommitted itself to its ecumenical partnership with LSTC by building a new building on the LSTC campus.
The Lincoln Park campus, on Fullerton Avenue between Halsted and Racine Streets, is now part of the DePaul University campus.
Notable people
References
- As of June 30, 2019. "U.S. and Canadian 2019 NTSE Participating Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2019 Endowment Market Value, and Percentage Change in Market Value from FY18 to FY19 (Revised)". National Association of College and University Business Officers and TIAA. Retrieved September 19, 2020.