After a long period of discernment about the future of our mission, in May the Luther Seminary board voted unanimously to divest from our current physical campus and seek new space that will better meet our needs around teaching, learning, scholarship, and community going forward.
This transition is the result of many faithful and strategic conversations about how to sustain our mission of educating leaders for Christian communities over the long term. Last year, we commissioned a study on the state of our physical campus, which underscored that the capital investments needed to maintain our buildings had climbed to unsustainable levels.
In addition to facilities assessments, we have conducted multiple studies to understand better how well our physical spaces align with the realities of providing theological education today. Over 70 percent of our current students engage primarily online from all over the US. Students are learning in their church communities, not apart from them. We engaged students, staff, and faculty in a consultative process to determine teaching methods that ensure vibrant, sustainable learning that reflect this reality. We spent months digging deeper into a variety of campus issues to develop a path forward—relying throughout on three guiding principles: always being mission-first, making data-driven decisions, and leaning into the strength of our shared governance structure.
As a result, our time in this location will be coming to a close. For over 150 years, we have equipped leaders to serve the needs of the church. That call has not changed—in fact, it is more urgent than ever. Faith communities are changing and the landscape of theological education is changing. We at Luther Seminary have been changing and adapting for years. By refocusing and streamlining resources, we can better steward the many gifts God has blessed us with.
While it’s not easy to say goodbye to beloved spaces that hold so much history, our campus is no longer able to serve our mission as we understand it to be today. Luther Seminary will remain an accredited, degree-granting graduate school of theology and ministry with a physical presence and an enduring commitment to in-person learning. But we are letting go of infrastructure that no longer serves our mission so we can invest in people, learning, and the church’s future.
This is very much a beginning rather than an end. We look forward to sharing more information as additional details take shape. As we step into our next chapter, we invite our community to come with us—to imagine, build, and lead a future full of hope.
Peace,
Robin Steinke
President
Read other installments in our recent 2025 series on how Luther Seminary continues to lead in providing theological education for the church:
- Disruptions and Discernment in Theological Education – January 2025
- What a Strong Seminary Can Offer – February 2025
- One Mission, Many Ways – March 2025
- Reimagining Leadership Everywhere – April 2025
- Adaptation and Academic Rigor – May 2025