By Ariel C. Emberton, student news writer, Office of University Communications
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. - Dr. Linda McKinnish Bridges, president of Baptist Theological Seminary in Richmond, Va., will be the guest speaker at Campbellsville University's chapel service on Wednesday, Oct. 10 at 10 a.m. in Ransdell Chapel, 401 N. Hoskins Ave., Campbellsville, Ky.
In fall 2017, Bridges returned to Baptist Theological Seminary in Richmond, Va. to serve as her third president. She was one of the founding professors of Biblical Interpretation, Ancient Greek and New Testament Interpretation at BTSR from 1991 to 2001.
She then served at Wake Forest University, in Winston-Salem, N.C., from 2001 to 2014, as associate dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, associate dean of international admissions and as a faculty member and administrator in the School of Divinity.
Recently, Bridges served as the managing director of the International University Alliance, Shorelight Education, where she helped international students and U.S. universities reach international education goals.
She has authored several books over the years including, “The Church's Portraits of Jesus” and “1&2 Thessalonians: Smyth and Helwys Bible Commentary.”
In an interview with Baptist Women in Ministry, in June 2017, Bridges spoke about how, after 16 years spent in various positions in higher education, she is able to return to the place it all began.
“With thankful heat and a mind filled with mysterious wonder, I return to Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond to help lead her into the future. I am both humbled and honored,” Bridges said.
Bridges told Baptist Women in Ministry that she wouldn't have been able to assume this position until now. “These years have provided opportunities to explore the world of higher education in offices of academic dean, provost, trustee, student recruitment and admissions, department of religion and school of divinity,” Bridges said.
Baptist General Association of Virginia spoke with Dr. E. Bruce Heilman, Campbellsville Junior College 1949 alumnus and Campbellsville University Board of Trustees member as well as chancellor at the University of Richmond, when Bridges was first named as a presidential candidate. Heilman was president of Meredith College, where Bridges obtained one of her degrees, and said, to BGAV, “She has all the qualifications essential to fulfilling the challenging responsibilities of leading an institution of higher learning.”
Bridges earned her bachelor's degree in religion and education at Meredith College. Her Master of Divinity and Doctorate in New Testament Studies and Greek were both obtained from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. Bridges also has a Master of Business Administration from Wake Forest University School of Business.
Bridges was ordained to the gospel ministry in 1990 by the Northminster Baptist Church in Richmond, Va.
Chapel is designed to provide opportunities for corporate worship and exposure through a variety of informative speakers and presentations.
All chapels are open to the public free of charge and are televised live on WLCU (Comcast Cable channel 10 and digital channel 23.0) and are streamed live on the internet at wlcutv.com.
For information about chapel, call the Office of Campus Ministries at (270) 789-5227. Campbellsville University is a widely-acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 10,000 students offering more than 90 programs of study including Ph.D., master, baccalaureate, associate, pre-professional and certification programs. The university has off-campus centers in Kentucky cities Louisville, Harrodsburg, Somerset, Hodgenville and Liberty with Kentucky instructional sites in Elizabethtown, Owensboro and Summersville, and nationally in Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay, Jacksonville, Fla. and Chicago. The university also has a full complement of online programs. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.