Auburn’s Leadership Journey: A Season of Joy and Promise
Last fall, we shared a deliberate, love-rooted plan for Auburn's leadership transition. Today we write with joy, and with news that the road ahead has come into focus.
With the Board's affirmation in March and its unanimous vote in May, we are overjoyed to share that Rev. Dr. Patrick B. Reyes will become Auburn's 12th President on October 1, 2026, and Rev. Emma Jordan-Simpson will step into a new role as Senior Advisor on that same day.
This is a celebration years in the making. It is the fruit of shared leadership, deep trust, and a love for this institution and the world it serves. And it unfolds in faithful stages.
Beginning July 1, 2026, Emma enters a season of sabbatical, rest she has earned and a practice Auburn cherishes. During this time, Patrick will carry the responsibilities of the presidency, continuing the partnership that has shaped Auburn's recent chapter.
As Senior Advisor, Emma will help ground Patrick in the relationships and rhythms of New York City, continue her public thought leadership with a new book arriving in Spring 2027, and work alongside Patrick to secure Auburn's long-term success and resilience. She is not stepping away. She is stepping into a role only she can hold.
Why this matters
When we announced this transition, we named it a faithful act of leadership, built on transparency, foresight, and love. Moving the timeline forward is that same act, continued, and accelerated by confidence. Confidence in Auburn's foundation. Confidence in the model of shared, healing-centered leadership that Emma and Patrick have built together, in full view of the field.
Auburn does not just practice faithful succession. We studied it. Our own research, Executive Turnover in Theological Education, found that executive leadership is best understood as a relay race, won not by holding on but by handing off well. We are running our own race by the wisdom we have gathered for the field.
Auburn remains where faith leaders learn to heal the world, together, across every tradition. That mission does not change hands. It deepens.
A word from our Board
We asked our Board Chair and trustees to share why this moment, and this timing, matters.
Succession done well is not a contingency plan. It is a gift. We honor this timeline not out of necessity but out of love. What Emma and Patrick have modeled in shared leadership is something the field can and should learn from. When an institution has discerned together, lead together as they have, we can begin to living into the healed future we have been building towards. We are celebrating the future we were hoping for. — Kim Anderson, Chair, Board of Directors
What's ahead
This upcoming year, Patrick will undertake a listening tour, sitting with the partners and friends who make Auburn's work possible. If you are willing to host Patrick and introduce him (or reintroduce him) to your friends or colleagues, or simply share coffee and conversation one on one, we would love to hear from you. (More on his 100 coffee conversations below.)
Auburn's future is being built today, with joy. To ensure this leadership season is strong and that Auburn continues to thrive, we invite your partnership. Please consider a generous gift in this moment of promise. Together, we will keep healing-centered leadership alive for a world that needs it.
With deep gratitude and great joy,
Rev. Emma Jordan-Simpson, President
Rev. Dr. Patrick B. Reyes, President-Designate
Kim Anderson, Chair, Board of Directors
Auburn Theological Seminary
Lead with love.