Richard Green serves as interim president of United Lutheran Seminary
“My leadership style is inclusive,” said Green, a lifelong Lutheran.
Richard Green is serving as interim president of United Lutheran Seminary in Gettysburg and Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania school was created in 2017 when two seminaries affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America merged.
“My leadership style is inclusive, grounded in the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ, and respectful of the input of all institutional constituents,” Green said.
Green, a lifelong Lutheran, has held many higher education leadership roles, most recently interim president of nearby Lincoln University, a historically black university with campuses in rural Chester County and Center City Philadelphia.
The seminary’s first president, Theresa F. Latini, was fired in March amid a controversy related to an organization she previously led, which endorsed the idea that sexual orientation could be changed. She disavowed that work and any attempts to alter a person’s sexuality.
Recently the seminary’s board of trustees released a joint statement with Latini, writing that “individuals outside and inside the ULS community unfairly mischaracterized Dr. Latini’s past professional endeavors, as well as her character.”
The board apologized to Latini for any harm to her reputation and expressed regret for threats she received.
On Latini’s part, she encouraged the seminary’s constituents to “join together to support the consolidation of the two predecessor schools.”
A version of this article appears in the print edition under the title “People: Richard Green.”
