Assuming the presidency of ITC in September 2010, Dr. Ronald E. Peters is the institution’s eighth president in its 54 year history. Dr. Peters is an internationally known and respected preacher, educator, author and advisor on social witness policy and urban theological education.

During his tenure, Dr. Peters has begun the development of a strong institutional resource base to ensure the future of ITC. Dr Peters re-established the Office of Institutional Advancement, established an Office of Institutional Effectiveness, restructured and enlarged the Center’s distance learning program, began growing enrollment, and addressed a wide range of issues related to institutional growth and development. Under Dr Peters’ leadership, the Center has a new Director for its Gardner C. Taylor Archives and Laboratory, new Vice President for Administrative Services, and authorized three new faculty searches for next year. He led the Center in reorganizing its approach to the education of Baptist students within this ecumenical consortium leading to the establishment of the Baptist School of Theology in honor of Dr. Benjamin E. Mays. In addition to ITC’s 16 satellite Certificate of Theology programs in the continental U.S.A., Dr. Peters has encouraged establishment of new satellites in Hawaii, Johannesburg, South Africa, Port Au Prince, Haiti, and Tokyo, Japan (Fall 2012). Dr. Peters has also been a frequent speaker in a wide range of churches, institutions, and educational forums during his first year at the Center.

Prior to his appointment as president at ITC, Dr. Peters was the Henry L. Hillman Professor of Urban Ministry and director of the Metro-Urban Institute, an interdisciplinary program of religious leadership development for urban society, at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Before joining the faculty at Pittsburgh, he served as founding pastor at Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Church in Springfield, Massachusetts and later as pastor of the New Covenant Presbyterian Church of Miami, Florida.

A native of New Orleans, Louisiana, Dr. Peters received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Southern University (Baton Rouge, LA), the Master of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (Hamilton, MA) and the Doctor of Education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. A member of the Presbyterian Congregation of the USA, Dr. Peters is married to Mary Smith Peters, also of New Orleans, and they have two adult children.