Dallas Theological Seminary

==History==
DTS was founded as '''Evangelical Theological College''' in 1924 by Rollin T. Chafer and his brother, [[Lewis Sperry Chafer]], who taught the first class of thirteen students, and [[William Henry Griffith Thomas]],<ref name="DTSLibrary">{{cite web | title=DTS Library| publisher=Dallas Theological Seminary | url=http://library.dts.edu/Pages/TL/Special/80th.shtml| access-date = 21 November 2012}}</ref> who was to have been the school's first theology professor but died before the first classes began.<ref>Randall Herbert Balmer, ''Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism: Revised and expanded edition'', Baylor University Press, USA, 2004, p. 202</ref> Their vision was a school where [[expository preaching|expository]] [[Bible]] preaching was taught simply, and under Chafers' leadership, DTS pioneered one of the first four-year degrees in theology, the [[Master of Theology]] (Th.M.). The present location of the school was purchased in 1926 and [[Doctor of Theology]] (Th.D.) program was started in 1927.<ref name=dtsmile>[http://www.dts.edu/about/history/ DTS] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170507203037/http://www.dts.edu/about/history/ |date=2017-05-07 }} Historical Milestones.</ref> Chafer remained president until his death in 1952.

The seminary had a considerable influence in the [[Christian fundamentalism|fundamentalist]] movement by training students who established various [[Bible College]]s and independent fundamentalist churches in the southern United States.<ref>Samuel S. Hill, ''The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture: Volume 1: Religion'', University of North Carolina Press, USA, 2006, p. 77</ref>

DTS has continually published a quarterly entitled ''[[Bibliotheca Sacra]]'' initially edited by Rollin T. Chafer, since 1934. In 1983, a complete collection of "Bib Sac" articles was published as a book commemorating fifty years 
of the journal.<ref>[https://www.amazon.com/dp/0802404596/ Fifty Years of Bib Sac] listing at Amazon.com</ref>

[[John F. Walvoord]] took over as president in 1952 after Chafer's death in 1952. In 1974, DTS added a two-year [[Master of Arts]] (MA) program in biblical studies, and in 1982, a two-year program in Christian Education was begun. In addition to these, a [[Doctor of Ministry]] (D.Min.) program was opened in 1980. Walvoord retired as DTS president in 1986.<ref name=dtshist>[http://www.dts.edu/about/history/ DTS] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170507203037/http://www.dts.edu/about/history/ |date=2017-05-07 }} A Brief History.</ref>

From 1986 to 1994, Donald K. Campbell served as president of DTS. During his tenure, DTS opened a three-year MA program in Biblical Counseling and a two-year MA program in [[Biblical exegesis]] and [[linguistics]].<ref name=dtshist/>

[[Charles Swindoll|Chuck Swindoll]] served as president of the seminary from 1994 to 2001. Mark Bailey followed, serving as president from 2001 to 2020.<ref name="dtshist" /> Under Bailey's tenure, the seminary added a two-year MA program in media and communication, a two-year MA in Christian leadership, a Spanish D.Min. program, and a multi-lingual online education program. He was succeeded by Mark Yarbrough in 2020.

As of Spring 2014, DTS had over 15,000 alumni serving in various ministerial capacities in 97 countries worldwide.<ref name="DTSStats">{{cite web | title=DTS Statistics| publisher=Dallas Theological Seminary | url=http://www.dts.edu/about/statistics/| access-date = 28 July 2015}}</ref>