[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 10 (Friday, January 25, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E61]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING THE SERVICE OF DR. CHRISTOPHER M. THOMFORDE, PRESIDENT OF 
           MORAVIAN COLLEGE AND MORAVIAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. CHARLES W. DENT

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 25, 2013

  Mr. DENT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. Christopher M. 
Thomforde, who has ably served as the 15th President of Moravian 
College and Moravian Theological Seminary in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 
for the past seven years, and will be stepping down in July.
  When Dr. Thomforde announced his intention to retire, he expressed 
that Moravian College and Seminary needs a president with ``abounding 
energy, aspiration, and imagination.'' He has surely exemplified those 
values in his years of service to Moravian College, its students, 
faculty, the Bethlehem community and the greater Lehigh Valley.
  One of Dr. Thomforde's most steadfast pursuits during his tenure has 
been recruiting and supporting a diverse student body that reflects the 
surrounding community and honors the College's founding principles and 
mission. The Moravian tradition is exemplified by the words of the 
Unity of Brethren Bishop John Amos Comenius, the ``father of modern 
education,'' who wrote in 1632 that ``not the children of the rich or 
of the powerful only, but of all alike, boys and girls, both noble and 
ignoble, rich and poor, in all cities and towns, villages and hamlets, 
should be sent to school.'' Dr. Thomforde has continued to challenge 
Moravian College to live by those values even during difficult economic 
times.
  During his presidency, Dr. Thomforde has overseen the renovation of 
the Collier Hall of Science, the construction of the 231-bed Hurd 
Integrated Living and Learning Community between East Church and Lehigh 
streets, the construction of a state of the art Fitness Center and the 
renovation of the Haupert Union Building on the main campus. His vision 
has been instrumental in establishing Advancing Into Moravian, a three-
week summer program that helps incoming freshmen transition from high 
school to college life, and IN FOCUS, a year-long program to promote 
in-depth examination of complex issues, such as poverty, 
sustainability, health care, and war & peace, from multidisciplinary 
perspectives.
  Dr. Thomforde came to Moravian after a distinguished career which 
included: serving as the president of St. Olaf College in Northfield, 
Minnesota for five years; president of Bethany College in Lindsborg, 
Kansas; chaplain and teaching in the Department of Philosophy and 
Religion at Susquehanna University; pastor at St. Paul's Lutheran 
Church in Dansville; assistant chaplain and instructor in philosophy 
and religion at Colgate University; and teaching Western languages and 
medieval European history at Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan.
  Dr. Thomforde earned a B.A. in medieval and Russian history from 
Princeton University in 1969. He received a Master of Divinity degree 
from Yale University Divinity School in 1974, with concentrations in 
biblical studies, church history, and philosophy. Dr. Thomforde was 
awarded a D. Min. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 2000, and 
Susquehanna University awarded him an honorary D.D. in 2001.
  I wish Chris and his wife, Kathy, the best as they pursue the next 
chapter of their life, and I thank them for their service to Moravian 
College, the Moravian community as a whole, and the Lehigh Valley.

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