Atlanta’s historically Black seminary loses interim president to Chicago

The Rev. Maisha I.K. Handy, interim president of the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, has been named the first Black president of McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago.

The ITC in Atlanta is a consortium of several seminaries and a fellowship. Handy assumed the interim presidency role there in 2023.

At McCormick, the Chicago native will become the 12th president of the institution, succeeding David H. Crawford, who retired on June 30 after serving as president since 2017, according to a posting on McCormick’s website.

“We are very pleased to welcome Dr. Maisha Handy back to Chicago and now to McCormick where she will continue our mission of nurturing the gifts of women and men for faithful Christian ministry and leadership in a challenging and complex world,” Connie Lindsey, a trustee and chair of the McCormick board said in a news release.

Handy’s resignation from ITC is effective Aug. 30.

“While we are deeply saddened at her departure, we are excited for the opportunity that lies ahead for Dr. Handy,” said Calvin Booker, chairman of ITC’s board said in a news release announcing her departure posted on the institution’s website earlier this month. “Dr. Handy’s achievements during a 10-month period as interim president have been remarkable and she is commended across ITC’s community and beyond for bringing a collaborative leadership style, a positive work environment, and excellent relations with ITC’s constituents.”

A spokeswoman for ITC could not be reached for comment.

In recent years, ITC has struggled with accreditation and financial issues.

Enrollment has dropped drastically from a peak of 400 or so in the early 2000s to 267 in 2019 and was about 60 earlier this year.

After she was named interim president, Handy began an ambitious fundraising campaign seeking donations and contributions from major donors, alumni, churches and other supporters.

She has served more than two decades in various roles including vice president for academic and student affairs and provost. During her tenure, she also served as the Black Women in Church and Society Womanist Scholar.

Handy is also a professor of religion and education, pastors Rize Community Church in Southwest Atlanta and is a commissioned teaching elder in the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta.

ITC was founded in 1958 and its graduates include Judge Penny Brown Reynolds; the Rev. Gina Stewart, president of Lott Carey Foreign Mission Society; and the Rev. Jacquelyn Grant, who is a retired professor emeritus, author and a well-known thought leader on womanist theology.

Get all the news about the Atlanta Braves delivered each morning. Sign up for Braves Report.