Meet Fletcher's President - Dr. Dan Stiver
Prior to his appointment as President of Fletcher Seminary, Dr. Dan Stiver has been teaching graduate classes and serving as Program Director of Graduate Studies for Fletcher Seminary. Prior to joining Fletcher, he taught Christian theology and Christian philosophy at Logsdon Seminary at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, for twenty years. He came to Logsdon Seminary from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1998, where he taught Christian philosophy for fourteen years.
A prolific author, Dr. Stiver’s publications include The Philosophy of Religious Language: Sign, Symbol, and Story (1996), Theology after Ricoeur: New Directions in Hermeneutical Theology (2001), Life Together in the Way of Jesus Christ: An Introduction to Christian Theology (2009), and Ricoeur and Theology (2012).
He is a co-editor with Greg S. Johnson for Paul Ricoeur and the Task of Political Philosophy (2014) and a co-editor with Stephanie Arel for Ideology and Utopia in the Twenty-First Century: The Surplus of Meaning in Ricoeur’s Conception of the Dialectical Relationship of Ideology and Utopia (2018).
Dr. Stiver has also authored essays for numerous books and journals. A recent essay is “Revelation from the Ground Up: Embodied Hermeneutics,” in Paul Ricoeur, Hermeneutics, and the Question of Revelation, ed. Christina M. Gschwandtner (2024). He is a co-editor with Greg S. Johnson for the Series on the Thought of Paul Ricoeur, with over thirty books published. He frequently presents scholarly papers to professional societies and organizations and more recently has been on several podcasts, such as “Poor Hermeneutics Are Killing Us! Why Evangelicals Are Falling for Conspiracy Theories,” Hermeneutics in Real Life Videoconference (2021). He has had sabbaticals in England, Germany, and Mexico.
Dr. Stiver served as president of the faculty in two different institutions and received the Faculty of the Year award. He also served as president of several professional organizations and was Chair of the Board for the nonprofit Just People in Abilene, Texas. An ordained minister, Dan served as pastor in Missouri and Indiana and engaged in missions in Mexico.
He has recently pursued a deep interest in spirituality, receiving a certificate in the Richard Rohr Center of Action and Contemplation and is finishing a certificate in spiritual direction at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. Dan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Religion from William Jewell College with Honors (1976), an MDiv from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (1979), and a PhD. in Theology and Christian Philosophy from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (1983).
Dan is married to Beth Stiver. They have one child, Carrie Stiver, and two grandchildren, Iylan and Canyon, who all are close in Fort Worth, Texas. He loves reading, playing and watching basketball, and playing the saxophone. They are active members of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth where he is now serving as a deacon and involved in their justice initiatives.
Email: d.stiver@fletcherseminary.org
President Emeritus, Dr. Don Williford
The Rev. Dr. Donald D. Williford is the Founding President of Fletcher Seminary. He formerly served as Dean of the Logsdon School of Theology and Logsdon Seminary at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas. He is a graduate of Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Texas, where he earned the Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education with teaching fields in Mathematics and Physical Education. He completed his graduate studies at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, receiving the Master of Divinity and the Doctor of Philosophy in New Testament Studies. Dr. Williford served twenty-five years on the faculty of Hardin-Simmons University where he has served in numerous additional capacities, including two years as Church Relations Director of Hardin-Simmons University, seven years as Associate Provost, one year as Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs, and one year as Interim Dean of the Logsdon School of Theology and Logsdon Seminary prior to his appointment as Dean on June 1, 2011. Dr. Williford retired from Hardin-Simmons on May 31, 2017.
Prior to joining the faculty of Hardin-Simmons University, Dr. Williford served as the Pastor of First Baptist Church of Brownwood, Texas for ten years. His work experience additionally includes serving as Pastor of First Baptist Church of Eldorado, Texas and as Associate Pastor of Birdville Baptist Church of Fort Worth, Texas for almost seven years. Dr. Williford has served as Interim Pastor of more than a dozen churches, including First Baptist Church of Abilene. He also served on numerous denominational commissions and committees.
Dr. Williford retired as President of Jesse C. Fletcher Seminary on April 1, 2024. The Board of Trustees of Fletcher Seminary named Dr. Williford President Emeritus of the Seminary upon his retirement. He has graciously agreed to bless our students by teaching courses on the graduate program as an adjunct faculty member when he has time. Dr. Williford is married to Dr. Pam Williford. They have one daughter and two grandchildren.
Email: d.williford@fletcherseminary.org
Administrative Staff
Faculty
Fletcher’s graduate and certificate program faculty are gifted ministry practitioners and scholars from a variety of faith traditions. Each individual listed below is either teaching for Fletcher at present, or has agreed to teach for Fletcher in the scope and sequence of our programs.
Dr. Jonathan Davis
- Alliance of Baptist & Cooperative Baptist Fellowship
Dr. Margot Ann Perez-Greene
- United Methodist Church
Dr. Fran Tilton Shelton
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