Caryn D. Riswold, a professor of religion at Illinois College, will join the Wartburg College faculty as a professor of religion serving as the McCoy Family Distinguished Chair in Lutheran Heritage and Mission. Her appointment begins with the 2018-19 academic year.

Riswold, who started at Illinois College in 2002, has taught more than a dozen different religion and women and gender studies courses. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Augustana University (South Dakota) in 1993, a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Claremont School of Theology in 1995 and a Master of Theology and Doctor of Philosophy from Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago in 1997 and 2000, respectively.

“We are excited about welcoming Dr. Riswold to Wartburg College. Her focus on vocation and her wide-ranging engagement with theology in practice are a perfect fit for our mission,” said Brian Ernsting, Wartburg’s dean of the faculty.

Riswold was a postdoctoral fellow with the Lilly Fellows Program in Humanities and the Arts at Valparaiso University from 2000 to 2002. She has authored three books, including “Two Reformers: Martin Luther and Mary Daly as Political Theologians,” as well as numerous articles in academic, denominational and online journals. She also has presented on Lutheranism, vocation, women studies and other topics at conferences and other events across the United States.

“Joining the Wartburg College community enables me to live into my own vocation as a theologian and educator at an institution whose commitment to faith and learning empowers my own,” Riswold said. “The vibrant community of students inspires me to engage the Lutheran tradition for 21st century higher education. This is because it both grounds the college’s mission to equip students who are freed to lead and serve the world, and it deepens our collective understanding of those very things: leadership, service, faith, learning and freedom.”

She also is a member of several national organizations, including the Association of Teaching Theologians of the ELCA, National Women’s Studies Association, American Association of University Professors and the American Academy of Religion.