The Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary community gathered September 27, 2022, to welcome and bless its new vice president and dean.
Faculty and other supporters literally laid hands on and broke bread with Sharon Tan, Ph.D., in a ceremony and dinner that began in BC Lounge and ended in the Rose Garden. Between 60-80 people attended the festivities that began at 5:00 p.m.
Tan, who began work July 1, 2022, brings a background in the church and the law to her position. As she entered the position, she called FPBS “an amazing gift to the Central Valley.”
“I am honored and grateful to be invited to join the Spirit’s work in Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary at Fresno Pacific University,” she said at the time, “and I hope to continue the good work in growing it even more in its call to be an Anabaptist witness to God’s redeeming love and grace in the world.”
Before coming to the seminary, Tan was acting dean of the seminary and professor of theological ethics at Eden Theological Seminary, St. Louis. At United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, she was vice president for academic strategy as well as dean and vice president of academic affairs and McVay Professor of Christian Ethics. She began her career as an attorney at Sutherland, Asbill and Brennan in Atlanta.
Tan earned her Ph.D. in Religion from Atlanta’s Emory University as well as a Juris Doctor from the Emory University School of Law. Her Master of Theological Studies is from the Candler School of Theology at Emory, and her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and English Bible from Oral Roberts University, Tulsa.
PHOTO: University administrators and seminary faculty and staff lay hands on Sharon Tan (center) to bless her time at Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary.