CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of directors of Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa, elected the Rev. Dr. Stanley N. Olson to be president of the seminary, effective January 1, 2011, according to a November 4, 2010 seminary news release. Wartburg Theological Seminary is one of eight seminaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
Since 2005, Olson has served as executive director of the Vocation and Education program unit in the ELCA churchwide organization. This position is scheduled to end in January 2011.
"The Wartburg community gives thanks to God for the appointment of Dr. Olson as our president," said the Rev. James A. Justman, chair of the presidential search committee and chair of the Wartburg Theological Seminary board of directors.
"His grace, strength, and integrity are gifts among many that will lead us in mission and inspire us to love and serve in Jesus' name," said Justman, who serves as bishop of the ELCA East-Central Synod of Wisconsin.
The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, said Olson brings to his new role "exceptional gifts as a servant leader," and is a "wise theologian and collegial administrator."
"In his ministry as parish pastor, seminary professor, synod bishop and churchwide executive, Stan has consistently asked how we serve the free course of the gospel and lift up the vocations of all the baptized," Hanson said. "As the former executive director of the Vocation and Education program unit, Dr. Olson is very familiar with and committed to the vocation of theological education in the ELCA, and the vital role of our seminaries in preparing leaders for a church engaged in God's mission."
"With confidence in God and deep appreciation for the mission and people of Wartburg Theological Seminary, I accept this call to serve as president," Olson said. "Wartburg is a wonderful asset to the church. In these challenging times, the ELCA needs the kinds of leaders Wartburg is gathering and sending out. And, Wartburg needs the church to send the people who should be nurtured for leadership and the resources and partnerships that will make that possible."
Olson will follow the Rev. David L. Tiede, the seminary's interim president who has served since July 1. Tiede was appointed interim president after the Rev. Duane H. Larson resigned as the seminary's president earlier this year to pursue other opportunities.
In his current role, Olson, 64, has provided leadership for the ELCA's partnerships with seminaries, colleges and universities, lifelong learning programs, outdoor ministries and campus ministries, as well as supporting young adult and youth ministries, and guiding the ELCA candidacy program.
From 2002 to 2005, Olson was executive director of the ELCA Division for Ministry. He served as bishop of the ELCA Southwestern Minnesota Synod from 1994 to 2002. Olson served as senior pastor of Our Savior's Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minn., and associate pastor of First Lutheran Church, Duluth, Minn.
Olson also was an assistant professor of New Testament at Luther Seminary, an ELCA seminary in St. Paul, Minn.
He was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa and raised on a farm near Eagle Grove, Iowa. He holds degrees from Waldorf College, Forest City, Iowa, and St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn., one of 26 ELCA colleges and universities. In 1972 Olson earned a master of divinity degree from Luther Seminary. He earned a doctorate in 1976 from Yale University, New Haven, Conn., where he wrote a dissertation on the New Testament.
Olson is married to Nancy Olson, ELCA associate in ministry and member care coordinator at St. Luke's Lutheran Church, Park Ridge, Ill. She is an organist, and has served as a parish music director and on the staff of a synodical resource center. The Olsons are parents of two adult daughters.
During the meeting the board of directors also took action to sustain Wartburg Theological Seminary's financial strength, the news release said. The board approved a work plan for the seminary which identifies initiatives to be taken in the next three years to create stability and move from recovery to health. The board also voted to end two years of retrenchment, the release said.
Information about Wartburg Theological Seminary is at http://www.wartburgseminary.edu/ on the web.