MARSHALL GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP

Honoring his longtime commitment to theological education, the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago has established the Robert J. Marshall Graduate Fellowship. This endowed doctoral fellowship will enable the seminary to prepare promising scholars for teaching ministries in the colleges and seminaries of the church.

Announced by President James Kenneth Echols last June, Dr. Marshall responded with gratitude, indicating that he was "honored to lend his name" to the effort to create a major endowment in the master of theology and doctor of philosophy degree programs at the seminary.

Ordained in 1944, The Rev. Dr. Robert J. Marshall graduated from Chicago Lutheran Theological Seminary, Maywood, Ill., a predecessor institution to the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. He served a congregation in Alhambra, Calif., and taught at Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pa., and Chicago Lutheran Theological Seminary, before being called into leadership roles in the Lutheran Church in America (LCA). From 1962-68, he was president of the LCA’s Illinois Synod and president of the national church from 1968-78. His guidance of the LCA helped pave the way for the merger which formed the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

Appreciated for his commitment to the church, Dr. Marshall also devoted his gifts to world Lutheranism and ecumenism as vice president of the Lutheran World Federation, and through his involvement with the World Council of Churches and the ELCA’s Standing Committee on Ecumenical Affairs, to name a few.

Dr. Marshall has served the seminary in many capacities. He chaired the building committee that oversaw the design and construction of the campus, served on the board of directors, as director of the Center for Global Ministries, and as senior scholar in residence.

The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago gratefully salutes Dr. Robert J. Marshall, and we affectionately remember his wife, the late Alice Hepner Marshall.

The seminary wishes to thank the steering committee and honorary committee of 61 colleagues of Dr. Marshall for their support in making the graduate fellowship a reality. Chaired by Eugene A. Brodeen, steering committee members Jean Bozeman, Ralph E. Eckard, Brady Y. Faggart, William A. Kinnison, Dorothy J. Marple, and Dorthy K. Van Loo contributed leadership gifts, and invited members of the honorary committee and the wider church to support this important ministry.

Current commitments to the fund exceed $275,000. For more information or to make a contribution to the Robert J. Marshall Graduate Fellowships contact Mark Van Scharrel, assistant vice president for advancement, at (800) 635-1116, ext. 676.