Sharon Daloz Parks is a senior fellow at the Whidbey Institute at Chinook in Clinton, Wash. In 2010, she spoke before the faculty at Washington Theological Consortium on the subject of challenges to contemporary theological education.

Malcolm L. Warford served as director of the Lexington Seminar, a 10-year project on theological teaching for the church’s ministries supported by the Lilly Endowment and sponsored by Lexington Theological Seminary. He is the editor of Revitalizing Practice: Collaborative Models for Theological Faculties.

David Sebastian is dean of Anderson University School of Theology in Anderson, Ind., which saw a dip in enrollment through the 1990s and a steep increase through 2008. He has written about the turnaround and about trends in theological education.

Sister Katarina Schuth is a member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Rochester, Minn., and holds the Endowed Chair for the Social Scientific Study of Religion at the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. She is an expert on Catholic American seminary education.

Ramesh Richard is professor of global theological engagement and pastoral ministries at Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas. He can discuss the challenges facing the evangelical world from pastors in developing countries who lack seminary educations, as well as the difficulties facing foreign pastors who come to the U.S. for seminary educations.

Nadine S. Pence is director of the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion. She is also a former seminary professor.

The Rev. Stephen Lewis is  president of the Fund for Theological Education, an organization that promotes and supports theological education.

Derek Cooper is an assistant professor of biblical studies and historical theology at Biblical Seminary in Hatfield, Pa. He is the author of So You’re Thinking About Going to Seminary: An Insider’s Guide.

Robert E. Cooley is president emeritus of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a past president of the Association of Theological Schools. He now serves as a governance mentor for In Trust, an association of the boards in theological education, where he advises theological institutions on possible mergers and affiliations.