A search committee appointed by the Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS) is reviewing candidates to replace current CTS president Susan Thistlethwaite.

Don Clark, chairman of the CTS Board of Trustees, said that the committee will interview “six candidates that they have identified as finalists” on February 6 and 7. He did not release the candidates’ names.

Thistlewaite served as a professor of theology at CTS for 16 years and was director of the Ph.D. program for five years. She has written or edited 10 books and has worked on various translations of the Bible.

“[Thistlethwaite] has been a very articulate spokesperson for theological education and progressive Christianity,” Clark said.

Trustee Craig Mousin and Advisory Trustee David Bueschel are co-chairing the search committee, which consists of 16 members of the CTS community, including representatives from the student body, faculty, and trustees.

Clark said that the committee hired the search firm Boardwalk Consulting to help expand the committee’s applicant pool, which has enabled them to correspond with “approximately 200 people as either candidates or sources.”

Founded in 1855, the CTS has provided higher education longer than any other institution in Chicago. The president’s responsibilities include “promoting and overseeing the academic mission of the seminary and insuring its financial security,” according to their website.

After serving nearly 10 years as CTS president, Thistlethwaite will return to the CTS as a faculty member following a yearlong sabbatical. She will step down June 30 of this year, and according to Clark, the committee hopes to swear in the Seminary’s 12th president on July 1.