When a new seal and logos were adopted in 2004, Reformed Theological Seminary selected the stately colors that have come to be associated with the Seminary’s commitment to biblical fidelity, academic integrity, and service to the church. However, the accompanying brand standards document prepared by the designers sterilely referred to the hues as “Corporate Burgundy” and “Warm Gray” – names that fail to capture the deeply personal nature of the ministry preparation for which RTS is known. It is appropriate then, that the Seminary has renamed the familiar shades “RTS Bailey Burgundy” and “RTS McReynolds Stone Grey.” Chancellor Ligon Duncan officially retitled the colors in honor of Robert “Bob” Bailey and Polly McReynolds Stone, two longtime administrators whose faithful service embodied the commitments these colors represent.
RTS Bailey Burgundy
Having invested 26 years into a banking career in Yazoo City, Mississippi, Bob Bailey had no intention of making a transition to educational administration. But the Lord had other plans. In 1995, Reformed Theological Seminary began searching for someone to lead its advancement efforts. By then, Bailey and his late wife Amanda already had a deep appreciation for RTS. In fact, Amanda had even audited courses at the Seminary for nearly a decade. They were also members of First Presbyterian Church in Yazoo City, a congregation that had tragically lost its beloved pastor in a motor vehicle accident. A relatively new RTS professor by the name of Ligon Duncan stepped in to serve the church as its interim pastor and developed a close friendship with the Baileys.
“Over some period of time, they began looking for a chief development officer down here for the whole system. And so Ligon recommended to Luder Whitlock that he might want to talk to me,” said Bailey in a 2022 interview. Of course, Bailey landed the role as the Seminary’s vice president for development under Dr. Whitlock, then president of RTS. His service continued under the leadership of Dr. Ric Cannada: “When we got a chancellor, we kind of changed our structure. And so I became chief operations officer and assistant to the chancellor, and that’s what I was for the rest of the time I worked here.” Bailey retired in 2008, but his imprint on the Seminary continues. Recently, he played an important role in the relocation of its Jackson campus, preserving artwork, photographs, and other historical assets. On display at the new campus, these artifacts provide continuity with the original campus and tangible reminders of God’s ongoing faithfulness to the Seminary.
RTS McReynolds Stone Grey
Polly McReynolds, a Yazoo City and Starkville, Mississippi native, arrived at the RTS Charlotte campus in the early 1990s. After graduating from Mississippi State University, a passion for ministry led her to work for Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) at Clemson University, where she met her husband, Bob Stone, whom she married in 1993. The Stones settled in Charlotte, where they became charter members of Ballantyne Presbyterian Church (ARP), and Polly enrolled in the Master of Arts (Theological Studies) program at RTS (a degree she received in 2001).
Alongside her coursework, she served as one of the first staff members at the nascent campus, wearing multiple hats ranging from registrar to bookstore manager. Ultimately, Stone advanced to become one of RTS’s chief officers: as chief institutional assessment officer, she worked alongside the Provost, Dr. Robert Cara, to ensure educational quality and maintain the seminary’s accreditation status.
Stone’s commitment to excellence earned the respect of colleagues at peer institutions, as acknowledged by her appointment to the board of directors of the Association for Theological Schools. But just as much, students and colleagues at RTS admired her for modeling a love for the Lord, constant joy, and faithfulness even in the mundane—the latter captured memorably by her motto, “paperwork to the glory of God.” Stone entered her eternal rest in August 2020 after a nearly four-year battle with cancer. Bob Bailey’s wife, Amanda, would succumb to complications from COVID-19 mere weeks later.
“Amanda Bailey and Polly Stone were godly women who were much beloved by the RTS family. They are sincerely missed by all who had the opportunity to know them and serve alongside them,” said Dr. Duncan. “Additionally, both Bob Bailey’s and Polly Stone’s faithful service to RTS has enabled it to send forth many men and women to share his gospel and serve the church. RTS would not be what it is today without each of them.”