Cornelius (Neal) Plantinga, Jr. has degrees from Calvin College (A.B., 1967), Calvin Theological Seminary (B.D., 1971), and Princeton Theological Seminary (Ph.D., 1982). He has served as the pastor of Webster (New York) Christian Reformed Church, preacher at Cliffwood Beach ( New Jersey) Presbyterian Church, and on the faculties of two colleges and three seminaries. An author and editor, his most recent book is Engaging God's World: A Christian Vision of Faith, Learning, and Living (Eerdmans, 2002).

He wants the seminary to keep on providing top-quality education in Bible, history, theology, and ministry, and to attract strong students to this program

of education. But classical education must be portable to new ministry contexts, and the seminary must not only shape the minds, but also steep the hearts of its students in the gospel so that each can carry forward the good news with their entire being. And the seminary needs to be open to listening to voices outside itself and outside its own denomination.

A native of Jamestown, North Dakota, Plantinga is married to Kathleen F. (Talsma), a school teacher of twenty-five years' experience. They have two sons, Nathan D., an attorney in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Adam J., a police officer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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