Dallas Theological Seminary’s main campus, bounded by Live Oak, Floyd and Washington streets and Haskell Avenue, sits squarely in the heart of Old East Dallas, And that’s exactly where the seminary belongs, because it represents the best of our community in more ways than one.

The 961 students enrolled at the Dallas campus during the 1991-92 school year included 80 blacks, 157 international students from 38 countries, 73 Asian-Americans and 10 Hispanics.

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With this diverse student body, the school has the same proud, multi-ethnic character as Old East Dallas.

I am deeply grateful for the lucky star that led Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer to this spot in 1924, when he was looking for a place to fulfill his dream of educating students for the ministry with a course of study rooted in the Bible.

He chose one of the most historic sites in Old East Dallas, part of the homestead of Capt. William H. Gaston, one of our earliest and most philanthropic citizens.

Ever since that choice, Dallas Theological Seminary has been a positive influence on our community.

The seminary’s purchase over the years of the former Greek Orthodox Church and of Proctor Hall, the old YWCA residence for women, has saved two East Dallas landmarks.

Proctor Hall, renamed Lincoln Hall, is now a dormitory and cafeteria for single male students. The site has a long history of housing young people. From 1914 until 1919, the site held Miss Hockaday’s fledgling school for girls.

The Hockaday School (now off Forest Lane in North Dallas) moved to a new Greenville campus in 1919. Then, during the 1920s, the current building was erected as a YWCA residence that proved popular with single women who worked Downtown.

The former Miss Ona Brown House on Apple Street is now part of a women’s dormitory, and the Greek Orthodox Church is being remodeled to provide a chapel and dining room.

The seminary’s mission is preparing young people for the ministry by giving them a thorough grounding in the Bible and the techniques of effectively teaching and preaching it, the seminary deals daily in matters of the heart and spirit.

The seminary offers both master’s and doctoral degrees. It has an international reputation (as should be obvious from the enrollment figures).

Hebrew and Greek are both required subjects so students can read original biblical manuscripts.

The newly expanded, three-story, Mosher-Turpin libraries house 146,800 volumes, 42,300 microfilms, 1,100 periodical titles and an extensive computer network that connects users with library collections around the world.

This outstanding library, long overseen by East Dallasite Dr. John Witmer, is available for use by anyone in the City for a small user’s fee.

We’re a more beautiful neighborhood because of the presence of the seminary’s handsome buildings and beautifully landscaped open spaces.

We also have benefited from the presence of more than 1,000 students, faculty and staff, riding our buses, walking our streets and patronizing our stores and restaurants – helping to make East Dallas more pleasant.