Robin Steinke Inaugurated President of Luther Seminary

By Marta Spangler

The Rev. Dr Robin Steinke was inaugurated on 12 October as President of Luther Seminary, at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church congregation in Apple Valley, Minnesota.

She becomes the first woman to take on the role of president in the seminary’s 145-year history, but she is no stranger to leadership positions. She has continuously shared her gifts for leadership and service within the realm of theological education as well as the wider church.

Steinke serves the LWF communion as a Council member on the Committee for Theology and Ecumenical Relations, Standing Committee for Constitution and Membership, and chairs the Endowment Fund Board.

She comes with a wealth of background in education and leadership, having served as dean of the seminary and professor of theological ethics and public life at Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg since 1999. Additionally she co-chairs the ELCA Theological Education Advisory Council, and serves on the ELCA Ecclesiology Task Force.

Steinke was recently featured on the LWF blog with reflections from the last series of the LWF international conferences on hermeneutics.

We are truly grateful that she shares her expertise with all of these efforts, and especially for the gracious spirit that she brings to her work with the communion. 

With joy, we join the multitude of voices raised up in celebration for Dr Steinke and for Luther Seminary this past weekend. 

Marta Spanger is Junior Advocacy Officer in the LWF Office for International Affairs and Human Rights.