“We were put on earth to help one another.” From a young age, Frank Sims’ mother instilled this message in her children, urging them to love their neighbors by getting involved and giving back. A business person, educator, and philanthropist, he is guided by the question, “What can you do to help uplift others?”
Frank’s connection to and involvement with United originated in an unlikely place: corporate America. He moved to the Twin Cities region in the 1970s for a position with Cargill, Inc., an international agricultural company based in Minnetonka, MN, where he became corporate vice president. It was while at Cargill in the 1990s that he met Dr. Kita McVay (’96, ’09), a member of United’s Board of Trustees, who invited him to join the board. He eagerly accepted the invitation after meeting with President Ben Griffin, establishing an expansive relationship with the seminary that has thrived for over 30 years.
Success at Cargill allowed Frank to orient his life toward education, a passion that complemented his core values and personal experiences. In addition to his involvement with United, Frank, who now lives in Atlanta, has served as Board Chair and Interim President of Fisk University, a Historically Black College and University based in Nashville. “I don’t think there’s anything more important than education,” Frank avows. “When we deprive students of that opportunity, I think it’s a disservice. Any time my wife and I can, we do something to help in that way.”
In the realm of theological education, Frank believes United stands out. “There is what I would call an underpinning understanding of the value of diversity that’s not only instilled in the students at United, but constantly supported throughout their education. They leave United with a better understanding, but also a willingness to be a voice for those values.”
These convictions, coupled with a lifelong admiration for seminary instructors, laid the groundwork for Frank’s commitment to student support at United. “It is so difficult to finance an education, and this is especially true for first-generation scholars,” Frank says. Seeking to address those imminent needs, Frank and his wife, Robyn, endowed a scholarship in 2013 that has provided support to students for over a decade. More recently, their giving evolved in 2024 to become the Sims Scholars Initiative.
Designed to educate and equip leaders to constructively engage issues confronting Black spiritual communities, the Initiative provides intra-program mentorship and a tailored, tuition-free Master of Arts in Leadership degree to a select cohort of students. Received with enthusiasm by students and faculty alike, the inaugural cohort began in the fall of 2024. The second is slated to start this fall, and it will be the first to engage students outside the Twin Cities.
Frank and Robyn’s impact is deeply felt. In an essay written for members of United’s Lydia Society, Sims Scholar Elwyn Young poignantly reflects, “Since I entered United,…I have had five professors, and each of them has made themselves available with knowledge, patience, and understanding, giving a feeling that they desire us all to succeed. Without this Sims Scholar Initiative, I would not have had the opportunity to experience such richness.”
At last month’s Commencement ceremony, Frank was honored for his community leadership, service, and stalwart support for theological education with a Doctor of Humane Letters (honoris causa). As President Molly T. Marshall remarked, “Over the years, Frank Sims has demonstrated his care for theological education and the church through providing generous scholarship assistance to United…. He has contributed greatly to higher education and, particularly, to this good school.” United gives thanks for this visionary advocate whose impact on theological education spans generations.