Paige Patterson

As the eighth president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Paige Patterson has four decades of experience in educating pastors and missionaries. After almost 18 years as president of The Criswell College in Dallas, he served for 11 years as president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, before his decade at Southwestern. After graduating from Hardin-Simmons University, Patterson completed the Master of Theology (Th.M.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Southern Baptists elected him as president of the Southern Baptist Convention for two terms, 1998–2000. The beginning of his tenure as President in August 2003 marked Paige Patterson's return to Fort Worth. He was born in Fort Worth in 1942 while his father, T.A. Patterson, was completing his Th.D. degree at Southwestern Seminary under the tutelage of W.T. Conner. President Patterson’s wife, Dorothy, is professor of theology in women's studies at Southwestern, but she sees her most critically important role as that of wife, mother, and grandmother. Their son Armour is a writer and, together with his wife Rachel, lives in Arizona's Sonora Desert. Their daughter Carmen is married to Mark Howell, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Daytona Beach, Florida.