Date: February 5, 2026
Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS) and The General Theological Seminary (GTS) announced today that the Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D., will retire at the end of the 2027-28 academic year.
His retirement will conclude 21 years of transformative leadership as the dean and president of VTS, and six years as the president of GTS, a role he assumed following the Affiliation Agreement between the two seminaries.
Dean Markham’s tenure has been marked by a deep commitment to excellence in theological education, with the two seminaries offering outstanding Master of Divinity programs in both residential and hybrid modalities. He has attracted and supported an outstanding faculty and senior leadership team, recruited an increasingly diverse student body, and fostered a strong culture of faculty scholarship, teaching, formation and institutional health, leading the seminaries with courage and conviction.
During his time at VTS, Dean Markham oversaw the creation of a Reparations Program, under which VTS became the first educational institution in the United States to make annual cash payments in perpetuity to the descendants of those who labored on its campus during slavery and the Jim Crow era. The initiative formed part of a broader institutional commitment to acknowledge participation in oppression in the past and work towards healing and justice in the future.
Dean Markham also ensured the long-term stewardship and renewal of the campus, leading two major capital campaigns at VTS. The first funded the construction of a new chapel after the historic 1881 chapel was destroyed by fire. The second campaign, undertaken to mark VTS’ historic Bicentenary, enabled the renovation of several historic buildings and addressed deferred maintenance across the campus.
In 2022, Dean Markham led the affiliation between VTS and GTS, under which the two seminaries continue to operate as separate institutions with distinct identities and their own accreditation, endowment, and boards, while sharing an overlapping governance structure and executive leadership team—establishing a new model for cooperation and shared mission. In 2025, he oversaw the lease of GTS’ historic home in New York City, the Close, to Vanderbilt University. Under the terms of the lease, GTS retains a year-round presence on the Close and continues to hold its intensive weeks there.
Dr. David Charlton, chair of the Boards of Trustees of VTS and GTS, said: “I have had the enormous privilege of working closely with Ian Markham since 2007. He is an extraordinary leader, scholar, teacher and pastor, and he has become a cherished friend. I know I speak for all when I offer our profound gratitude for what he has contributed to theological education, to The Episcopal Church and to the Anglican Communion.”
Dean Markham said: “It has been a profound privilege to serve as leader of these two institutions, and I am deeply grateful to the staff, students, faculty, and board members who have walked this path with me. I remain humbled by the trust I was given and by the chance to serve our shared mission. I look to the future with confidence and hope as my successor leads these seminaries into fresh possibilities.”
The Boards of Trustees of VTS and GTS are launching an international search for the next Dean and President of the two seminaries. The Boards have appointed a Search Committee, whose membership represents a range of stakeholders, to lead the process and have engaged the executive search firm Isaacson, Miller to assist them.
The search process will begin with extensive listening sessions with stakeholder groups, such as alumni, students, faculty, staff and members of the wider Episcopal Church, to identify the qualities and experience the new Dean and President should have. A position description will be created in the summer of 2026 following these listening sessions, after which the seminaries will begin accepting applications.
The new Dean and President will be announced in the summer or fall of 2027, with a view to them taking office on July 1, 2028, when Dean Markham retires. The seminaries have opted for an extended timeline for the search to enable them to access the broadest possible pool of candidates.
A hub containing details about the search has been created on each seminary’s website and will be updated when there is news to share. You can view them here: https://vts.edu/dean-search/ and here: https://www.gts.edu/dean-search/overview.
Notes to editors:
For media inquiries, please contact Nicky Burridge, Senior Vice President for Communications and Institutional Advancement at Virginia Theological Seminary and The General Theological Seminary.
Tel: (703) 461-1782
Mobile: (703) 300-2876
Email: [email protected]
Photo caption: The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D., Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary and President of The General Theological Seminary.
About Virginia Theological Seminary:
Virginia Theological Seminary was founded in 1823 and has a long tradition of shaping faithful women and men, lay and ordained, for leadership in The Episcopal Church and beyond. It is the strongest seminary in the Anglican Communion and provides more than 25 percent of the clergy of The Episcopal Church.
About The General Theological Seminary
The General Theological Seminary of The Episcopal Church was founded in 1817. It is the oldest seminary of The Episcopal Church and has educated and formed leaders for the church in a changing world for more than 200 years. The Seminary was chartered by an act of The Episcopal Church’s General Convention, and its name was chosen to reflect its founders’ vision that it be a seminary to serve the whole church.