ELCA NEWS SERVICE November 8, 2004 Phyllis Anderson Elected President Of ELCA Seminary 04-208-FI CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Phyllis B. Anderson will become the seventh president of Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary (PLTS), Berkeley, Calif., on Feb. 1, 2005. On Nov. 5 the PLTS board of directors unanimously elected Anderson, a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and director of the Institute for Ecumenical Theological Studies, Seattle University School of Theology and Ministry. PLTS is one of eight ELCA seminaries. Anderson will be the first woman to head a Lutheran seminary in the United States. Dr. Faith E. Rohrbough became president of the Lutheran Theological Seminary, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in 1996. Anderson succeeds the Rev. Timothy F. Lull, who died May 20, 2003, from complications following surgery. The Rev. Ted F. Peters continues as the seminary's interim president until Anderson takes office. Peters is a professor of systematic theology at PLTS. "We are delighted to find a leader of Dr. Anderson's vision and experience for this important time in the life of both the seminary and the church at large," said the Rev. Steven L. McKinley, House of Prayer Lutheran Church, Richfield, Minn., chair of the seminary's board. "The PLTS commitment to ecumenism, to diversity, to the spiritual experience of people in the American West, and to the mission of ELCA seminaries and congregations across the country will be truly enhanced by her leadership," McKinley said. "I am excited about the opportunity to lead this excellent seminary as it shapes Lutheran leaders for our time and place, marked by rapid change, diversity, secularity, spiritual longing, and great human need," Anderson said. "I pray God will continue to bless this institution with outstanding faculty, staff and students, with good friends and partners, and with all that we need to fulfill our part in God's mission," she said. "Anderson's experience in strategic planning, fund raising and administration, coupled with her collaborative approach to all decisions, make her the ideal leader for PLTS," said Dr. Gary Andeen, executive director, Oregon Independent Colleges Association, Portland, chair of the presidential search committee. "Our committee's work was deeply graced by the Holy Spirit bringing to PLTS just the right person to engage the challenges and opportunities ahead," he said. Born June 7, 1943, in Baltimore, Anderson attended Concordia Teachers' College, Seward, Neb., and graduated from California State University, Sacramento, and Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa. She earned her doctorate from Aquinas Institute of Theology, St. Louis. Wartburg is a seminary of the ELCA. Ordained in 1978, Anderson served as pastor of three congregations in an Iowa parish -- Trinity Lutheran Church, Dyersville; Immanuel Lutheran Church, Earlville; and Grace Lutheran Church, Farley -- before joining the staff of the Iowa District of the former American Lutheran Church. In 1985 she became director of pastoral studies at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, another ELCA seminary. When the ELCA was formed in 1988 from the merger of three Lutheran church bodies, Anderson was its first director for theological studies in the Division for Ministry. In that role she oversaw a six-year study of theological education, which developed a comprehensive plan for a theological education network in the new church. In 1998 Anderson became the first director of the Institute for Ecumenical and Theological Studies in Seattle, which serves 10 denominations and two religious umbrella groups in the northwest United States. The institute prepares women and men for lay and ordained ministry in their specific traditions. Soon after PLTS was established in 1952, it was a founding member of the Graduate Theological Union (GTU). The GTU is an ecumenical venture to provide theological education with eight other Protestant and Catholic seminaries, nine affiliated centers, institutes and specialized programs, and the University of California at Berkeley. It is a combined community of 128 professors and 1,400 students. Dr. Martha Ellen Stortz, PLTS professor of historical theology and ethics, noted that, in Seattle, Anderson prepared students from various denominational affiliations for ministry. "This experience gives her unique insight into the GTU and its interfaith and interreligious communions," she said. "I am delighted that she can bring her own vibrant blend of theological vision and institutional savvy to our seminary. We are richly blessed," Stortz said. "I'm thrilled PLTS will have a president whose very unique personal and professional skills so seamlessly meet the particular needs of the seminary community at this time," said Derek Nelson, a member of the search committee and a doctoral student at PLTS. Anderson is married to the Rev. Herbert E. Anderson, an ELCA pastor, visiting professor of pastoral theology, Yale Divinity School, New Haven, Conn., and professor emeritus of pastoral theology, Catholic Theological Union, Chicago. They are the parents of two adult children. -- -- -- The homepage of Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary is at http://www.plts.edu/ on the Web. For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask] http://www.elca.org/news