The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia has announced a series of administrative staff changes to take effect over the summer months. The announcement came from Dr. Robert G. Hughes, the Seminary's president.

Leaving the Seminary is the Rev. William A. Shafer of Oreland, PA, director of seminary services, who has decided to step down at the end of August to return to parish ministry. Accepting new responsibilities are the Rev. George E. Keck of Harleysville, PA, who is leaving his current post as director of admission to direct part-time a new lay theological initiative for the Seminary; Rene Diemer of Philadelphia's East Mt. Airy section, who has been named registrar; and Ellen McGarr, also of East Mt. Airy, who takes over as coordinator of student services. Dr. Hughes announced that Mark A. Staples of Lansdale, PA, has been appointed to the post of director of communication and public information.

The new director of admission will be the Rev. Richard H. Summy of Telford, PA, a 1985 graduate of the Seminary who currently serves as Region 7 coordinator for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and also as ELCA deployed staff -- Department for Synodical Relations and Division for Ministry.

Summy graduated cum laude in 1980 from Wittenberg University, where he earned a B.A. in political science. He is married to Christine (Haas) Summy and is the father of two daughters, Ashley and Haley. He will assume his post July 1.

Diemer has been serving the Seminary as facilities use coordinator and secretary to Shafer. For the past seven years, Diemer has been responsible for a student registration database, coordinated the use of Seminary facilities and provided administrative assistance in the areas of food, housing, financial aid and guest services. She previously served as administrator for University Lutheran Church, Philadelphia; as an ordering clerk for the Fortress Church Supply Store in Chicago, IL; as secretary to the director for the Baltimore Council for Mission in Maryland, and as a congressional legislative assistant in Washington, D.C. Diemer holds a B.A. in American Studies from George Washington University, Washington, D.C., and is a native of Overland Park, KS.

McGarr has worked at the Seminary for several years counseling prospective students, assisting with mailings, publications and special events.

A native of Tallassee, AL, McGarr has a theatrical background. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater from William Carey College in Hattiesburg, MS. McGarr began her career by touring the eastern half of the United States with the Sheffield Ensemble Theater and later served as an executive assistant for a Japanese magazine publishing firm in New York City. Her duties there included serving as an events manager, interpreter, personnel manager, office manager and in the area of editorial research. She also served briefly as executive assistant to the CEO for the American Red Cross of Greater New York. She attended LTSP as an M.Div. candidate for several years before deciding to accept a different kind of "call" to the Seminary in administration.

Keck, an ordained pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, will head up a pilot initiative in lay theological education for three years. The program is being set up in partnership with congregations to bring to the whole people of God "a greater sense of what discipleship really means in today's world," he says. He has served as the Seminary's Admission Director for more than 10 years. Previously, he was an executive with the Division for Professional Leadership of the Lutheran Church in America, a predecessor body of the ELCA. He's also served as a parish pastor in Greenville, PA. Keck and his wife, Betty, a retired nursing supervisor, are the parents of three adult children.

Shafer, also an ordained ELCA pastor, joined the Seminary staff as assistant registrar and director of student services in 1989 and assumed his current responsibilities in 1990. A graduate of Haverford College, Shafer served three years in the Army Intelligence Corps and was then associate director of admissions and director of financial aid for Haverford College. He received an M.Ed. from Temple University and an M.Div. from LTSP. During service as pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, Wyndmoor, PA, he was visiting lecturer in homiletics at LTSP. He anticipates serving as an interim pastor for congregations in transition between calls. He and his wife, Marie, are parents of three adult children.

Staples came to the Seminary in the summer of 1997 as coordinator of publications and public information. Previously he served La Salle University as associate director of public relations and manager of media relations. He has a business background as a consultant to non-profit organizations and held several editorial posts for The Lutheran when it was the magazine of Lutheran Church in America, a predecessor body of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He began his career as a general assignment reporter for the Call-Chronicle Newspapers in Allentown, PA. He and his wife, Lynn, a hospice nurse for Abington Hospital, are parents of three adult children.

The Seminary has previously announced that President Robert G. Hughes will leave the Seminary's presidency at the end of 1999. After a brief sabbatical, Hughes anticipates returning to the LTSP classroom in the fall semester of 2000, teaching in the areas of homiletics and professional leadership.

"The Seminary has been experiencing quite a bit of transition due to timing issues in people's lives," Hughes said. "Many individuals have served the Seminary admirably and with great energy for many years, and they feel the time is right to begin a new chapter. The Seminary has just completed an important building phase. Enrollment has grown dramatically in our first professional degree and graduate programs. It is always easier to move to a different chapter personally when things are going well."