Dr. Nelson T. Strobert, Professor Christian Education, Announces Retirement
Gettysburg, PA (August 27, 2012) With expressions of gratitude and vocational fulfillment, the Rev. Dr. Nelson T. Strobert announced his retirement in early 2013 from the faculty of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg.
In a letter to Seminary President Michael Cooper-White, the Professor of Christian Education in the Paulssen-Hale Chair of Church and Society and Director of Multicultural Programs indicated his retirement to take place January 31, 2013. Strobert wrote “It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as professor of Christian education and to prepare students in this area of the church’s ministry.” Strobert also expressed appreciation for the collegial relationships at the Seminary, writing, “Through my time here, I have had the support of faculty colleagues as well as the administration, staff and friends of the seminary and I have been blessed by this pastoral and theological adventure for twenty-five years.”
Strobert has taught Christian Education curricula at the seminary since 1987, served as host of “The Seminary Explores” weekly radio program, and served as a teaching theologian for the Lutheran church through local, national and international expressions. He has guided the seminary’s multicultural programming, its International Student Association, and the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation. He was elected by the faculty to present the 2011 opening convocation lecture, and is author of the forthcoming biographical study of Daniel Alexander Payne, Gettysburg Seminary’s most distinguished alumnus (1835-1837), a Bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal tradition and the first president of Wilberforce University (Ohio).
In his work in broader ecclesiastical and academic circles, Strobert served as a member of the Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a trustee with Wittenberg University, and member of the American Academy of Religion. He has served with distinction in multiple capacities with the National Council of Churches, Religious Education Association, and numerous other national and international organizations.
Strobert received undergraduate and advanced degrees from Hunter College (NY, NY), Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, John Carroll University (University Heights, OH), and the University of Akron (Akron, OH). Following his ordination in 1973, he served as a pastor in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands and Cleveland, Ohio before his election to the Gettysburg faculty in 1987.
“It has been my privilege to know Nelson Strobert for forty years since we were both students at the Seminary in the 1970’s. My admiration and appreciation for him is shared by countless colleagues, current and former students, and church leaders throughout this country and beyond. His forthcoming conclusion of full-time service will mark the end of an era in which Dr. Strobert expanded the Seminary’s horizons in so many dimensions.” said Michael Cooper-White, Seminary President. During a meeting on August 21st, the Seminary’s Board of Directors, upon learning of Dr. Strobert’s plans to retire, took formal action expressing profound appreciation for his distinguished service.
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