Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary

More than 150 Years - Building Up the Body of Christ

More than 150 years old, Louisville Seminary has been building up the Body of Christ in a tradition rooted in Scripture and the Reformed tradition while developing innovative ways to respond to contemporary society's needs.

Its heritage stems from two seminaries founded by two branches of the Presbyterian Church. In 1853, Danville Theological Seminary welcomed its first students in Danville, Kentucky. In 1893, the Louisville Presbyterian Seminary was founded in Louisville. But in 1901, the seminaries in Danville and Louisville were united. For 60 years, the Seminary ministered to the Louisville community from its downtown home at First and Broadway. During the 1937 flood after most of the city was evacuated, some Seminary faculty and administrators stayed behind to shelter refugees trapped by the flood waters. The institution housed nearly 500 servicemen during World War II, and Seminary enrollment surged with veterans retiring from the military after the war.

In April of 1963, spring hailed the rebirth of the Seminary in a new location on Alta Vista Road. The campus is surrounded by historic Cherokee Park with easy access to the City's system of highways. Rebirth came for the Presbyterian Church as well when the northern and southern streams reunited in 1983 after 122 years of separation. The Seminary welcomed the national offices of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to the city of Louisville in the summer of 1987. That same year the Seminary purchased the historic Gardencourt mansion and proceeded with renovations that later received an award for historic preservation. This mansion now provides classrooms, faculty offices, and community meeting space on the Seminary campus.

In recent years, Louisville Seminary joined with other Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) schools to offer tuition grants to all students eligible for assistance based on need. In this tradition of ecumenical cooperation, leadership, and excellence, Louisville Seminary adds to its future with the Louisville Institute, an outstanding faculty, the Grawemeyer Award in Religion, and a commitment to a vision for theological education in a multicultural environment .