On May 12, Eastern’s graduation commencement will take place, and Roberta Hestenes will be speaking to the graduates.
Hestenes served for almost 10 years as president of Eastern University, then Eastern College, and was the first woman to be president of a n institution in the Coalition of Christian Colleges and Universities.
Hestenes has had a distinguished career, almost equally divided between parish ministry and college teaching and administration. She has pastored churches in Washington state and California and taught as an associate professor at Fuller Theological Seminary.
She earned her Doctor of Ministry degree at Fuller Theological Seminary and is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church.
In 1996, Hestenes left Eastern to become the senior pastor of Solana Beach Presbyterian Church in Solona Beach, Calif.
Hestenes’ accomplishments are many. She is a past chairperson of the board of World Vision International and serves on the board of the Evangelical Environmental Network.
Additionally, she is the founder of the Center for Christian Women in Leadership and the program for Christian formation and discipleship at the School of Theology at Fuller Seminary.
Hestenes is the author of or contributor to nine books and numerous published articles, including Using the Bible in Groups and Turning Committees into Communities.
Hestenes’ articles have appeared in Christianity Today, Eternity and Sojourners magazines. She has also been invited to speak throughout the world in places such as Africa, Asia, Australia, Latin America, Europe, Russia and throughout the United States.
Having such an accomplished speaker who not only has roots at Eastern but whose life’s model students can look up to will surely be a highlight of commencement.
Information obtained from www.whitworth.edu and www.csec.org.