Grady C. Cothen is a pastor, state convention executive secretary-director for the Southern Baptist Convention, author, university president, and seminary president.

Cothen was born in Poplarville, Ms. on August 2, 1920 to Rev. & Mrs. J. H. Cothen. He married Martha E. (Bettye) Major and had two children; Grady, Jr., Carole Shields.

He attended from Hattiesburg High School, graduated Mississippi College, and received his masters degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He was ordained in to Baptist Ministry at Richton, Ms. Baptist Church in 1939.

Service

• Chaplain, U. S. Navy, 1944-46
• Pastor: White Oak Baptist Church, Chattanooga, Tn. 1946-48
• Olivet Baptist Church, Oklahoma City, Ok. 1948-59
• First Baptist Church, Birmingham, Al. 1959-61
• Executive Secretary, Southern Baptist General Convention of Ca. 1961 – 1966.
• President of Oklahoma Baptist University
  Oklahoma Baptist University
  Oklahoma Baptist University is a co-educational Christian liberal arts university located in Shawnee, Oklahoma, and owned by the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. Established in 1910, OBU is ranked No.2 among baccalaureate colleges in the western region in the 2010 U.S...
  
   1966-70
• President of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
  New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
  The New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary is a private, non-profit institution of higher learning affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, located in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. It was the first institution created as a direct act of the Southern Baptist Convention. Missions...
  
   1970-74
• President of Southern Baptist Sunday School Board 1975-84

Awards

• Distinguished Alumnus Award, New Orleans Baptist Seminary
• Order of The Golden Arrow, Mississippi College
  Mississippi College
  Mississippi College, also known as MC, is a private, Christian university located in Clinton, Mississippi. Mississippi College comprises the main campus in Clinton, as well as satellite campuses in Brandon and Madison, Mississippi, and the Mississippi College School of Law in Jackson...
  
  
• E. Y. Mullins Denominational Service Award, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
  Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
  The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary , located in Louisville, Kentucky, is the oldest of the six seminaries affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention . The seminary was founded in 1859, at Greenville, South Carolina. After being closed during the Civil War, it moved in 1877 to Louisville...
  
  
• Listed in Who's Who in America since 1970 until retirement.

Honorary Degrees

• Doctor of Divinity, Mississippi College
  Mississippi College
  Mississippi College, also known as MC, is a private, Christian university located in Clinton, Mississippi. Mississippi College comprises the main campus in Clinton, as well as satellite campuses in Brandon and Madison, Mississippi, and the Mississippi College School of Law in Jackson...
  
  
• Doctor of Divinity, California Baptist College
• Doctor of Laws, William Jewell College
  William Jewell College
  William Jewell College is a private, four-year liberal arts college of 1,100 undergraduate students located in Liberty, Missouri, U.S. It was founded in 1849 by members of the Missouri Baptist Convention and other civic leaders, including Robert S. James, a Baptist minister and father of the...
  
  
• Doctor of Humanities, University of Richmond
  University of Richmond
  The University of Richmond is a selective, private, nonsectarian, liberal arts university located on the border of the city of Richmond and Henrico County, Virginia. The University of Richmond is a primarily undergraduate, residential university with approximately 4,000 undergraduate and graduate...
  
  
• Doctor of Humane Letters, Campbell University
  Campbell University
  Campbell University is a coeducational, church-related university in rural North Carolina, USA. Its main campus is located in the community of Buies Creek; its law school moved from Buies Creek to a new campus in the state capital of Raleigh in 2009. Campbell has an approximately equal number of...
  
  
• Doctor of Humane Letters, Oklahoma Baptist University
  Oklahoma Baptist University
  Oklahoma Baptist University is a co-educational Christian liberal arts university located in Shawnee, Oklahoma, and owned by the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. Established in 1910, OBU is ranked No.2 among baccalaureate colleges in the western region in the 2010 U.S...
  
  

Books

• The God of The Beginnings
• Faith and Higher Education
• Unto All The World: Bold Mission
• What Happened to The Southern Baptist Convention?
• The New SBC: Fundamentalism's Impact on The Southern Baptist Convention

OBU President

During Cothen's tenure as president the Howard Residence was completed, the Oklahoma Baptist University Authority was incorporated, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education accredited all OBU programs, and The Geiger Center for University Life was completed.