News Release
August 2005
Bethlehem, Pa., Tuesday, August 23, 2005— Dr. Ervin J. Rokke,
president of Moravian College and Moravian Theological Seminary, has announced that
he will depart that position effective July 31, 2006. Dr. Rokke has served as president
of the College and Seminary since August 1997.
In an announcement to the campus community, Rokke said that he and
his wife Pam had been “richly blessed by our daily association with students, faculty and staff
whose culture and values continue to reflect the inclusive and caring spirit of our Moravian
founders.” He added that “Moravian College and Moravian Theological Seminary
are healthy and vibrant institutions with a record of progress that extends more than
260 years and nearly 200 years, respectively. Working together with boldness and determination
during the past eight years, we have all built upon that record.”
Dr. Rokke’s past eight years of service at the helm of the
College and Seminary have been marked by widespread institutional change that included
substantial increases in both the quality and quantity of the student body, introduction
of new curriculums and academic programs, turnover of more than a third of the continuing
faculty, and major improvements to campus infrastructure.
Mrs. Priscilla Payne Hurd, Chair of the Joint Board of Trustees for
the College and Seminary, said that the Board had accepted Dr. Rokke’s request “with greatest
regret and reluctance.” She applauded Rokke’s “enlightened leadership
and the tremendous achievement of his administration – nothing less than the revitalization
of Moravian’s people, programs, and facilities.” Mrs. Hurd also announced
that the Board of Trustees would soon launch a national search for “yet another
dynamic and transformational president.”
Before his appointment as Moravian’s president, Dr. Rokke completed
a 35-year military career distinguished by operational, diplomatic, and academic leadership
positions. He retired at the rank of lieutenant general in 1997 while serving as President
of the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. Rokke graduated from the U.S.
Air Force Academy in 1962 and holds master's and doctorate degrees from Harvard University.
Moravian College is a private, coeducational, selective liberal arts college located
in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Tracing its founding to 1742, it is recognized as America's
sixth-oldest college. Visit the Web site at www.moravian.edu
