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Meadville Lombard Theological School, the Unitarian Universalist seminary in Chicago, announced May 9 that its president since 2003, the Rev. Lee Barker, will retire at the end of August 2019.
Meadville Lombard President Lee Barker
“I am announcing my plans now because I want to give the Board of Trustees the time it needs to conduct a well-planned and thorough search for the next leader of the school,” Barker said in a letter the school sent to supporters. “The Trustees will begin that process when they convene their meeting in Chicago next week.”
Barker oversaw a series of dramatic changes during his tenure, including a transformation of the school’s curriculum; the sale of its campus near the University of Chicago; a multiyear search for new educational partners; and the move to a new home at the Spertus Institute for Jewish Studies. UU World profiled the school’s transformation in 2014.