Fuller Theological Seminary to Hold 75th Commencement Ceremony

Fuller Theological Seminary will hold its 75th Commencement ceremony on Saturday, June 8 at 10:00 a.m. The event will take place at Lake Avenue Church, located at 393 N. Lake Ave. in Pasadena.

According to the seminary’s announcement, doctoral hooding ceremonies will be held in person on the Pasadena campus during the week before Commencement.

For those unable to attend in person, the Commencement ceremony will be livestreamed on the seminary’s website at fuller.edu/watch. The ceremony is expected to conclude around 12:30 p.m.

In addition to the main ceremony, various centers and schools within the seminary will host their own celebrations and hooding events. These include the William E. Pannell Center for Black Church Studies, the Asian American Center, Centro Latino, the Korean Studies Center, the Center for Missiological Research, the Center for Advanced Theological Studies, and the School of Psychology and Marriage and Family Therapy.

Fuller Theological Seminary was founded in 1947 by radio evangelist Charles E. Fuller and pastor Harold John Ockenga to counteract separatism and anti-intellectualism in fundamentalism. The seminary launched that September with 39 students, holding classes at a Pasadena church. Its founding faculty included prominent evangelical scholars like Everett F. Harrison, Carl F.H. Henry, Harold Lindsell, and Wilbur M. Smith.

In 1965, Fuller opened the first seminary-based psychology program accredited by the American Psychological Association. The School of World Mission (now Intercultural Studies) also began that year.

Over the following decades, Fuller expanded with new degree programs, regional campuses, research centers, and clinical services across its three schools — Theology, Psychology, and World Mission.

In January 2023, David Emmanuel Goatley became Fuller’s 6th president, the first African American to hold that role. He succeeded Mark Labberton, who retired after a decade as president.

Over the past 10 years, the multidenominational seminary expanded academic offerings across its three schools of Theology, Psychology, and Intercultural Studies. It also launched new research centers. Campus facilities grew, including the 290,000-volume David Allan Hubbard Library opening in 2013 and new apartment-style student housing within walking distance. Fuller celebrated its 75-year legacy in 2022 with events like a commemorative campus tour highlighting its history in Pasadena.

With over 2,800 students from 90 countries, the seminary has played a key role in shaping modern evangelicalism by integrating faith and academic excellence.

For more information on this event please visit: https://www.fuller.edu/commencement/