Dr. Dean O. Wenthe, president of Concordia Theological Seminary (CTS), Fort Wayne, since 1996, has announced his intention to retire. Wenthe, 66, said he plans to step down from the post when his successor is installed.
The process to name a replacement has begun and will take several mon
Those who are interested in following the progress of the transition may visit www.ctsfw.edu/presidentialtransition. Also available online is a “Call for Nominations” page that details the qualifications and experience required for nominees to the position. Deadline for nominations is April 8.
“It is with great gratitude that I have shared my intent to retire from the presidency with the CTS Board of Regents,” Wenthe said in his Jan. 11 announcement. “The past 15 years have witnessed and exhibited extraordinary blessings from our gracious heavenly Father upon Concordia Theological Seminary.
“I am most grateful for the supportive and visionary Board of Regents, for an extraordinary, gifted faculty, for a superlative seminary staff, for dedicated seminarians and deaconesses — led to give their lives to Christ — and for the saints of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod who have supported the seminary so generously,” Wenthe said.
He continued, “To have experienced so many good and gracious gifts — all ordered to serve Christ and His church — is simply to know how bountifully God attends His people. I wish to thank each person who has made serving in the presidency of Concordia Theological Seminary such a delight.
“It is clear that, under God’s grace, the seminary is positioned to serve into the future in unique and substantive ways to refresh and renew the church with Christ’s presence in Word and Sacrament, committed to the mission of forming servants in Jesus Christ who teach the faithful, reach the lost and care for all.”
The CTS faculty, staff and students “thank Dr. Wenthe for his faithful years of service and pray for God’s continued blessings on him and his family,” according to a seminary news release. “They also ask for the prayers of the church as the search for a new president begins.”
Posted Jan. 12, 2011/Updated Jan. 24, 2011
