The Seminary’s former president and current faculty member has been nominated by The Upper New York Conference of The UMC. U.S. delegates will elect new bishops during jurisdictional conferences Nov. 2-5.
DAYTON, Ohio, November 1, 2022 — United Theological Seminary congratulates Dr. Wendy J. Deichmann, President Emerita and Professor of History and Theology, on her nomination to serve as bishop in The United Methodist Church. During the 2022 Upper New York Annual Conference, her gifts for leadership were recognized by her peers who nominated and endorsed her as the conference’s candidate for the episcopacy in the Northeastern Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church.
Dr. Deichmann has served as a leader in higher education preparing faithful and fruitful Christian leaders to make disciples of Jesus Christ for nearly three decades. An ordained elder of The United Methodist Church, full-time faculty member, Director of the Center for the Evangelical United Brethren Heritage, Academic Dean (2005-2007), and Seminary President (2007-2015), Dr. Deichmann has always led from a place of deep faith. During her tenure as president, she introduced new initiatives in church renewal and expanded United’s reach through innovation in online education, tripling the Seminary’s enrollment in four years. Having returned to full-time teaching in the classroom, Dr. Deichmann currently teaches courses on United Methodist Doctrine and Polity and History of the Methodist Movement, and she upholds the spiritual legacy of the Methodist movement through her direction of the Center for the Evangelical United Brethren Heritage.
While the United community would be saddened to lose Dr. Deichmann’s incredible leadership at the Seminary, we recognize her spiritual gifts and are surrounding her in prayer. We trust in whatever God’s future holds for Dr. Deichmann and her leadership role in The United Methodist Church.