At its November meeting, the board of Central Baptist Theological Seminary created the new position of Research Professor of Systematic Theology. Kevin T. Bauder, the seminary’s president for the past seven years, has been appointed to the post and will commence his new duties in July of 2011. The purpose of the new position is to enable a trained theologian to focus on research and writing.

The new research professor will teach a reduced class schedule and will be entirely liberated from administrative responsibilities. According to Dr. Matt Morrell, chairman of the Central Seminary board, “Both the board and the faculty are unanimous in supporting Dr. Bauder as the logical choice for this position.”

Kevin Bauder came to Central Seminary as an associate professor in January of 1998, accepting appointment to the presidency in 2003. The board cites both his academic skills and his commitment to the seminary as qualifications for the seminary’s new research professorship.

The seminary believes that Bauder will be a good research professor partly because he is already writing. He has published chapters in several books and co-edited (with Roy Beacham) the volume One Bible Only? published by Kregel. He also writes a weekly essay for In the Nick of Time, an electronic periodical of Central Seminary.

Bauder looks forward to assuming the new responsibility. “For me, this is a dream job,” he says. “I’ve enjoyed the presidency, but I believe that I can do more good for the seminary and its mission by teaching and writing.”

Students at Central Seminary also support Bauder’s appointment. Rob Wagner, senior class president, said, “I am excited to know that another generation of Central Seminary students will have Dr. Bauder as their theology professor, and even more excited that future generations will benefit from what Dr. Bauder is able to put into print.”

Larger institutions regularly create research professorships for noteworthy scholars. Smaller and more conservative Christian schools rarely take this step, however, because it involves a substantial financial commitment. Central Seminary believes that it may be the first among its peer institutions to authorize a full research professorship.

Why has Central Seminary made such a commitment now? Morrell voices the thinking of the board: “Our desire is to provide Dr. Bauder with the opportunity to make an important contribution to the current body of theological literature.”

Bauder is contributing a chapter in a forthcoming Zondervan Counterpoints book on American evangelicalism. He has also agreed to write a volume on Baptist distinctives for Regular Baptist Press.

What other projects might Bauder pursue? “One of my main interests is ecclesiology,” he says. “I’d like to examine the topic of Christian fellowship and separation against the backdrop of a fully-articulated doctrine of the church.” Bauder also aims to write a book-length study on Christian conservatism and one on Christian affections. “Years ago I wrote a short essay entitled “A Fundamentalism Worth Saving,” states Bauder. “I would like to expand that into a full-length discussion. And, of course, every theologian’s ambition is to write a complete systematics. But I’ll probably save that for retirement.”