Gustavus Professor of Religion and Drell and Adeline Berhardson Distinguished Professor of Lutheran Studies Reverend Dr. Darrell Jodock, will retire from his Gustavus position Aug. 31, 2011. Jodock has pioneered several programs at Gustavus and has been a major factor in Gustavus’s Church relations with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
Jodock began his career by serving as a parish pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Washington, D.C. He continued on to teach at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minn., and then spent the next 21 years teaching at Muhlenberg College in Allenstown, Penn., another ELCA- affiliated school. Jodock began teaching at Gustavus in 1999 when he filled the newly created chair as the Drell and Adeline Bernhardson distinguished professor of religion. The chair was created by an endowment and intended to give more visibility to a distinguished professor and to open avenues for this professor to be invited to participate with the Lutheran community beyond Gustavus.
In his time at Gustavus, Jodock has assisted in the creation of several successful programs that have been replicated at other colleges since their installment at Gustavus.
“I was part of a group my first year here that designed the grant application and designed what has come to be the Center for Vocational Reflection,” Jodock said. The CVR has flourished as a place for students, faculty and staff to reflect on themselves and their vocations and find direction and meaning in their lives. “I think that’s been a very important addition to campus, so I’m pleased and happy to have been a part of that,” Jodock said.
Jodock also brought the Pastor-to-Pastor program to Gustavus. The program allows clergy from southern Minnesota to meet in small groups of five each month, and come together as a large group three times a year on the Gustavus campus. This program assists clergy to connect with their peers, especially those from rural areas, and to participate in continuing education.
“It seems to have played an important role both in terms of connecting clergy to the college and the college to clergy, and in terms of doing something helpful for clergy,” Jodock said.
“Exploring Religious Questions” is a series of non-credit mini courses designed by Jodock for area adults that has become very popular in the community. The series has been given four times so far, and the fifth will begin Oct. 11. The courses are two hours each, five consecutive Mondays. Last spring, the classes had an enrollment of 70 people from areas such as St. Peter, Gaylord, Belle Plaine, New Ulm and Mankato.
“It’s been fun,” Jodock said. “It seems to have generated a good deal of interest and excitement.”
In his teaching at Gustavus, Jodock has been responsible for several key courses in the religion department, including “Luther and His Legacy” and “Holocaust and Theology.” Jodock has experience in multiple aspects of interfaith relations, including Jewish-Christian relations, which added a depth to his teaching abilities.
“Jodock has been a full participant in the religion department,” Professor of Religion John Cha said. “He’s very passionate about undergraduate education.”
“I really care about [undergraduate teaching]; I love it and I love to be with students whenever I can,” Jodock said.
Though the religion department will have to replace Jodock after his retirement, his presence will be missed.
“I think we all appreciate all that he has done for the department, as well as the college. On the other hand, we’re kind of sad to see him leave because he’s been so integral to our department,” Cha said.
Besides being a distinguished professor, Jodock has received recognition for his services to the college. In 2007, he was given the Covenant Award for his work in advancing the church-college relationship. The award is given by the Gustavus Adolphus College Association of Congregations, of which there are currently 546 active congregations.
Jodock has authored and co-authored four books in his career: The Church’s Bible: Its Contemporary Authority (1989); Ritschl in Retrospect: History, Community, and Science (1995), Catholicism Contending with Modernity: Roman Catholic Modernism and Anti-Modernism in Historical Context (2000), and Covenantal Conversations: Christians in Dialogue with Jews and Judaism (2008).
“Everything I have written has come out of some kind of involvement, and so it’s grown out of something I’ve been doing with other people,” Jodock said. “I sit down to write when there’s something that seems important to say.”
In retirement, Jodock plans to continue working on multiple projects, including one project from a John Templeton Foundation grant. He will also continue adult education, including church groups and clergy groups. Jodock will actively participate in Lutheran higher education by speaking and giving workshops at Lutheran colleges to faculty and campus leaders.
“I will continue to be involved in defining what it means to be a college that takes a Lutheran tradition seriously and tries to build it into its campus life,” Jodock said.
Though Jodock will keep busy after his retirement from Gustavus, he looks fondly on his time as a professor at the college.
“Students, adults, congregations, colleagues and other institutions, [working at Gustavus] has given me a chance to work with all of them, and it’s really been exciting. It’s really been fun,” Jodock said.