Office of the President

Dr. Robert Prosser was elected the 39th President of Bethel College on July 25, 1998, after serving six months as Interim President. Prior to that time, he served as Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church for 11 years.

 

From 1971 until 1986 Dr. Prosser was pastor of the First Cumberland Presbyterian Church in McKenzie, Tenn. He has also held ministerial posts at churches in Knoxville, Memphis and Huntsville, Ala.

 

He holds a bachelor of arts degree from Bethel, and he conducted graduate work at Vanderbilt University Divinity School. He also holds a bachelor of divinity from Memphis Theological Seminary and a master of arts degree from the University of Tennessee. Furthermore, he received the honorary doctor of letters degree from Bethel College, and the honorary doctor of divinity from College of the Ozarks.

 

He has served as President of the McKenzie Rotary Club, President of the Bethel College Alumni Association, Moderator of Hopewell Presbytery and West Tennessee Synod, President of the McKenzie United Neighbors, and he has been active in church and civic affairs.

 

Prosser grew up in Lebanon, Mo. He and wife, Toni (a native of Rutherford, Tenn.), have two children (Steven who is an engineer and Cynthia, an attorney) and seven grandchildren.

 

He is an avid archer, deer and elk hunter and an outdoor enthusiast.