The Wartburg Theological Seminary community is eager to welcome two new professors to the faculty beginning July 1, 2020: Dr. Man-Hei Yip, who is called to serve as Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology, and Rev. Dr. Jan Schnell, who is called to serve as Assistant Professor of Liturgics.
The searches for these new faculty members were conducted during the spring semester in a process that included the work of two search committees, who each moved forward with their designated responsibilities using digital meetings and communication under the conditions of pandemic. We are grateful for the gifts Dr. Man-Hei Yip and Rev. Dr. Jan Schell will bring to enrich perspectives and the WTS community’s global horizon!
Dr. Man-Hei Yip
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY
Dr. Man-Hei Yip will be teaching required courses in systematic theology, electives, and team teach integrated courses with other faculty. Prof. Yip holds a PhD in Theology of Mission from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia and an MATDE and STM from Wartburg Theological Seminary. Before beginning her graduate studies, Prof. Yip joined short-term mission teams to Mongolia. She also worked with the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in offices located in Geneva, Switzerland and Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She has been invited on several occasions by the LWF and World Council of Churches (WCC) to speak about issues concerning justice, peace, and sustainable development. Prof. Yip has taught at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, Wartburg Theological Seminary and held a Visiting Researcher position at the Boston University School of Theology Center for Global Christianity and Mission. In her teaching, Prof. Yip invites participants to learn to appreciate diverse theological viewpoints and encourages them to draw references from lived experience in addressing specific cultural situations. Dr. Yip is convinced that the cross calls church leaders and pastors to rightly speak power and justly consider the difference between individuals.
Rev. Dr. Jan Schnell
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF LITURGICS
Rev. Dr. Jan Schnell will teach the required courses in worship, electives, and team teach integrated courses with other faculty. Jan brings a rich experience in congregational ministry, including leadership of JustChurch, a worshiping assembly in Iowa City, and a strong commitment to social justice. Trained as a Lutheran pastor and professor, she earned her MDiv at Wartburg Theological Seminary and her PhD at the University of Iowa. Prior to her appointment at WTS, she served on the faculties of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and the Association of Chicago Theological Schools. Additionally, she has taught as a visiting and adjunct professor at the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary and WTS, and as a research and teaching assistant at the University of Iowa. In her teaching, preaching and research, she is committed to interdisciplinarity, and pedagogies or methodologies that recognize the inherent value and wisdom that each participant brings. A conference speaker and preacher, she delights in God’s spirited movement in the fabric of our daily lives and on the streets of our public spaces. Prof. Schnell and her family live dependent on solar energy on an acreage where they steward and help restore a natural Iowa prairie.