BOSHART APPOINTED TO SECOND TERM
By Annette Brill Bergstresser
ELKHART, Indiana (Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary) — The Board of Directors of Anabaptist MennoniteBiblical Seminary (AMBS), Elkhart, Indiana; the Board of Directors of Mennonite Education Agency (MEA); and the Mennonite Church Canada Joint Council are pleased to announce the reappointment of David Boshart, PhD, as President of AMBS for a second four-year term, beginning July 1, 2023.
A Presidential Review Committee formed by the AMBS Board and chaired by board member Sue Neeb of
Goshen, Indiana, recommended Boshart’s reappointment after conducting a comprehensive review process of his work. According to AMBS Board Chair James Gunden of Sellersville, Pennsylvania, the process included surveying AMBS faculty and staff, current students and recent alumni, board members, members of AMBS’s constituency in the U.S. and Canada, and organizations and individuals who are served by or collaborate with AMBS.
The AMBS Board expressed gratitude for the review committee’s work and unanimously approved the
nomination to reappoint Boshart during its April 20–22, 2023, meeting at AMBS. In early May, the MEA Board and MC Canada Joint Council gave unanimous approval as well.
“David has proven to be an exceptional leader for AMBS,” said Gunden. “Faculty and staff have been energized by his leadership and have valued his humble nature as he has built relationships within and outside of AMBS. His many years of experience in church leadership have served to strengthen the seminary’s domestic and international partnerships. As a board, we’re excited to invite him to continue his service in this role.” Neeb said the feedback received by the review committee showed widespread affirmation for Boshart’s leadership and support for his reappointment as President.
“The overwhelming sentiment is that he is just the right person for this role at this time, and people are
immensely grateful for who he is as a person and for his leadership gifts,” she reported on behalf of the
committee. “Many people noted David’s highly effective leadership skills and the ways in which he guides and supports. AMBS employees in working toward the seminary’s strategic goals — which he has also helped refine and. focus,” she said. Respondents described Boshart as being collaborative, approachable, empowering, and good. at listening and building trusting relationships, she added.
“He was also widely affirmed for his open, honest and caring presence, both on campus and beyond,” she said. During Boshart’s first term, which included the global COVID-19 pandemic, the seminary saw increases in. enrollment — both in numbers and diversity; expanded its global partnerships; and launched its Doctor of Ministry in Leadership program — all while reaching financial equilibrium.
“Under David’s leadership — and building on foundations laid by previous President Sara Wenger Shenk —international education has blossomed into the AMBS Global Leadership Collaborative, in partnership with Mennonite Mission Network and in collaboration with Mennonite World Conference,” Gunden noted.
In 2021, the seminary also conducted a listening process with church leaders in the U.S. and Canada that
resulted in the creation of Practical Leadership Training modules that will launch this August. The modules aredesigned to help pastors and leaders increase their capacity to provide effective Anabaptist leadership in a variety of settings. AMBS leaders are currently collaborating with Mennonite Education Agency and Seminario Bíblico Anabautista Hispano (SeBAH) to offer the first Spanish-language graduate-level certificate program in Mennonite Church USA.
Neeb noted that Boshart’s many connections to the Mennonite Church in the U.S., Canada and around the world bring vitality to the seminary’s work and collaborative relationships.
“David has been instrumental in connecting AMBS with the wider church in new ways, asking the question, “What does the church need from us?,’ and then responding to the answers with focused strategic plans,” Neeb reported for the committee.
Boshart said he is “humbled and deeply grateful” for the church’s invitation to a second term as AMBS
President. “I understand leading the AMBS learning community to be a sacred trust,” he reflected. “It’s been an honor to serve AMBS alongside a team of mature and spiritually grounded administrators, faculty and staff who love Jesus and the church.“In the next four years, I hope to strengthen our partnership with the church so that we can both broaden and deepen the reach of all we are doing in order to educate followers of Jesus Christ to be leaders for God’sreconciling mission in the world.”
Boshart joined AMBS on Jan. 1, 2020, serving as the fourth president since Goshen Biblical Seminary and
Mennonite Biblical Seminary incorporated as Associated (now Anabaptist) Mennonite Biblical Seminary.