The John Leland Center for Theological Studies is a Christian institution of higher education, comprising a seminary and a school of ministry. The center offers classes in Falls Church, Virginia, and at several satellite locations throughout Virginia. Leland is partnered with the Baptist General Association of Virginia and the District of Columbia Baptist Convention, though the center has ties with a range of denominations and churches. Leland is a member of the Washington Theological Consortium. The center's namesake, John Leland, was an 18th and 19th Century Baptist minister in the United States who was a proponent of the separation of church and state. At a 1997 Baptist World Alliance meeting, several Baptist leaders discussed developing the Washington Metropolitan Area's first Baptist seminary. These individuals resolved to create the center which began offering classes the next year. Randel Everett, the center's first president, stepped down in late 2006. Mark J. Olson became Leland's second president in 2007. Leland Seminary offers the center's graduate courses. The seminary is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS).