Press Release, Indianapolis IN, April 22, 2023
The Board of Directors of Higher Education and Leadership Ministries (HELM) of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is excited to share with the larger church the election of the Rev. Dr. Tamara Nichols Rodenberg as the newly elected President of Higher Education and Leadership Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
The Rev. Dr. Rodenberg served as the 20th President of Bethany College in Bethany, West Virginia (2016-2022). From 2011-2016, Dr. Rodenberg served as Vice President for Advancement at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, TX. Prior to Brite, Dr. Rodenberg served as a two-year intentional interim President at the Disciples Seminary Foundation in Claremont, CA (2009-2011).
In addition to her academic administrative work, Dr. Rodenberg is an ethicist, earning her PHD from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA. She earned her Master of Divinity from Lexington Theological Seminary and was ordained by the Christian Church in Kentucky in 1992. Her call to be the President of HELM is historic, as she is the first woman to serve in this capacity.
The Rev. Dr. Rodenberg comes to HELM as an accomplished administrator, collaboration-builder, and gifted leader of our church. The HELM Board of Directors congratulates the Rev. Dr. Tamara Nichols Rodenberg and welcomes her to the HELM family. We also honor her husband, the Rev. John Rodenberg, and two adult children, Heather and Matthew. Dr. Rodenberg will begin her ministry with HELM on May 1, 2023.