Carol Lytch
She offers "an ecumenical perspective and a knowledge of what it takes to lead a theological seminary in these changing times."
And she's hoping to be a good fit at the Lancaster Theological Seminary and continue the legacy the school has built over the years, Carol Lytch said.
Lytch, a nationally known leader in theological education, has been named the seminary's 11th president, school officials announced Monday.
She will assume her role at the nearly two-century-old Lancaster city institution in mid-August.
She hopes to "lead the seminary into its next chapter … and work with wonderful colleagues in making a fine institution even better."
The 55-year-old Lytch is currently assistant executive director of the Pittsburgh-based Association of Theological Schools, an accrediting agency that serves 260 Protestant and Catholic theological graduate schools in the U.S. and Canada.
A central New Jersey native, Lytch was chosen by a 10-member search committee and unanimously approved as the seminary's new president by its board of trustees.
She "absolutely personifies the optimistic commitment to the future of the Christian church that the school seeks to encourage in its students," said school trustee Richard Kratz, who chaired the search committee.
The previous president of the 555 W. James St. seminary, Riess Potterveld, left the school last fall.
Potterveld, president of the seminary since 2002, resigned Sept. 30 to become head of Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, Calif., where he had earlier served for 10 years.
Lytch noted in an interview Monday how the seminary "means a great deal to the Lancaster community and in fact the entire region, and I would want to continue that by how we serve the community."
"I'm very committed to the church and its vitality and to quality education for ministry," she said, adding that she wants to be about "benefiting the multicultural and multiracial society that is becoming increasingly multireligious."
A cum laude graduate of Mount Holyoke College, Lytch earned her master of divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary and her doctorate from Emory University in the department of ethics and society.
Her dissertation focused on the faith development of church-affiliated high school youth, a topic that has continued to inform her scholarship over the years, seminary officials said.
Earlier, Lytch had been a minister of word and sacrament in the Presbyterian Church and served as co-pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Cranberry, N.J.
Daniel Aleshire, the executive director at Lytch's current organization called her "the kind of person who will be disciplined about doing what most needs to be done."
"I know no one who has a more abiding personal faith or deeper commitment to the church and its witness in the world than Carol," Aleshire said.
Lytch and her husband, Stephens — he has a second "s" in his first name because "Stephens" is his mother's maiden name — have a 23-year-old son, Bill, who lives in Austin, Texas; a 26-year-old daughter, Katie, who lives in Madrid with her husband; and a grandson.
The Lancaster seminary, which is affiliated with the United Church of Christ, features students and faculty members from many Christian traditions and backgrounds.
Its mission is to "educate and strengthen Christian leaders for congregations and other vocations serving church and society," school officials said.
