Wichita Falls, Texas (ABP)—Landrum Leavell, who led New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary for nearly three decades, died after an extended illness Sept. 26. He was 81.

Leavell was elected the seminary’s president in January 1975, and helmed the institution through some of the most turbulent years in the life of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Although he retired from the post in 1994, Leavell remained as interim president for a year until Chuck Kelley, the current president, succeeded him.

“By any standard of measurement, Dr. Leavell is one of the greatest presidents that this seminary ever had,” Kelley said.

Leavell led New Orleans Seminary through the entirety of the fundamentalist-moderate conflict that fractured the SBC during the 1980s. However, unlike his colleagues at the other five Southern Baptist theological schools, Leavell managed to avoid significant scrutiny and controversy on his campus. That may have been, Kelly told the New Orleans Times-Picayune, because many in the conservative camp recognized Leavell as a theological ally—if not necessarily a political one.

He “kept the institution focused on its mission, which was turning out the next generation of pastors and ministers,” Kelley said. “There was no talk of the conflict in chapel (services), no public reference to it anywhere. He never asked what side anybody was on.”

Leavell was ordained to the ministry in 1948 and was a graduate of Mercer University in Atlanata and New Orleans Seminary. Prior to accepting the NOBTS presidency, he spent 27 years as a pastor of churches in Mississippi and Texas.

Leavell is credited with several innovations and improvements during his tenure at New Orleans. He led the school to establish a network of extension centers, established the first center for evangelism and church growth, and re-established an undergraduate program, which the seminary renamed Leavell College in 2003.

He also was active in denominational life, including a stint as the SBC’s first vice president in 1968 and as president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas from 1971 to 1973.

Funeral services were held Sept. 30 at First Baptist Church of Wichita Falls, where he served as pastor before taking the seminary’s reins. He is survived by his wife, Jo Ann, four children and 10 grandchildren.