Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary to Move to Hickory, 北卡罗莱纳
ELCA seminary to relocate to Lenoir-Rhyne University main campus
Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, one of the ELCA’s seven seminaries, will move from Columbia, 南卡罗来纳, to the main campus of Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, 北卡罗莱纳, early next year pending approval of the university’s trustees in March.
“The reasons for this decision are clear: The budget deficits that we face at the seminary are insurmountable considering current enrollment 和 broad national trends in theological vocations,牧师说. Dr. Chad Rimmer, lts’s rector 和 dean, wrote in a letter announcing the plan to the seminary’s 校友. “While many have faithfully 和 valiantly guided our seminary through difficult years, including the psycho-social 和 financial pressures of the COVID-19 p和emic, the time has come to realize that without bold action, the mission of the seminary is simply not sustainable.”
By moving the seminary, the university will save about $2.1 million per year in lts operating costs 和 eliminate significant deferred maintenance costs on the Columbia campus, which is far larger than lts’s current program requires.
While the seminary plans to relocate, its mission to prepare leaders for the church’s public ministry will remain unchanged. “Embedded on a campus with a long 和 rich history of Lutheran higher education, we will be more able to fulfill the seminary’s strategic plan that guides the way in which we nurture, educate 和 form leaders for public ministry in today’s world,里默说。.
All current full-time teaching 和 library faculty as well as full-time lts staff will be offered jobs in Hickory, 和 university 和 seminary leaders have pledged to work with faculty 和 校友 to find thoughtful ways of relocating meaningful artifacts from the seminary’s Columbia chapel 和 campus to its new space in Hickory. The seminary’s theological library will also move to Hickory.
“In the last several years, we have invested heavily in lts by adding admissions personnel, a Lutheran studies chair, 新的支持人员, a lifelong learning director, 和, 最近, hiring Chad Rimmer as rector 和 dean,” Lenoir-Rhyne President Fred Whitt 说. “We want to continue to invest in the seminary’s program 和 curriculum, 和 moving the seminary to the Hickory campus will mean that we can be good stewards of the resources we have. This will resolve the seminary’s operating deficit, reduce the cost of deferred maintenance, 和 allow us to continue to invest in lts’s program 和 mission. We are committed to faithful stewardship 和 to the seminary’s long-term sustainability.”
When the seminary moves to Lenoir-Rhyne’s Hickory campus, 学生 preparing for ministry will be able to take courses in fields related to ministry, including Spanish language; business; counseling; environmental 和 health sciences, 和 will also be able to take advantage of campus amenities for recreation 和 arts 和 culture. Seminary leaders anticipate that the move to the vibrant Hickory campus, 家里有2个以上,200名学生, will make lifelong learning opportunities for lay 和 clergy leaders more attractive 和 create a pipeline of undergraduate 学生 called to ministry.
“As a Lutheran for nearly all of my adult life, I believe that moving the seminary to the Hickory campus will make us even more able to meet the needs of the ELCA today 和 into the future,玛德琳·达索, chair of the Lenoir-Rhyne University board of trustees, 说. “Embedding the seminary on the Hickory campus will allow us to build on our proud tradition of Lutheran education 和 Southern’s particular call to train 学生 for public ministry. We are grateful to our bishops, 校友, 学生, faculty 和 staff for their commitment to create a new future for lts in Hickory.”
More information about Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary’s planned move to the Lenoir-Rhyne University Hickory campus, including answers to frequently asked questions, 可在 大学的网站.