{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Small College America","title":"Faith, Mission, and the Future of Lutheran Higher Education with Rev Lamont Wells","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1651,"description":"Welcome to Small College America, a podcast dedicated to exploring the role and value of small colleges in the higher education landscape. I'm Dean Hoke, and I’m joined by my co-host, Kent Barnds.  Kent: Our guest today is Rev. Lamont Anthony Wells, Executive Director of the Network of ELCA Colleges and Universities, an association representing 28 institutions connected to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. In this role, he works with presidents and campus leaders across the network to strengthen collaboration and support the mission of Lutheran higher education.Earlier in his career, Rev. Wells served as Program Director for Campus Ministry in the ELCA, helping lead a network of faith and service communities on and near more than 240 college campuses across the country. He also served as a Lutheran campus pastor within the Atlanta University Center, one of the nation’s most prominent historically Black college communities.He is a graduate of Morehouse College and later completed graduate studies in ministry and leadership at the Interdenominational Theological Center.Question 1: Understand NECUDean: Rev. Wells, you serve as Executive Director of Higher Education, which represents 28 Lutheran-affiliated institutions. For listeners who may not be familiar with the network, could you describe NECU and the role it plays among those colleges and universities? Question 2: Maintaining IdentityKent: Many church-related colleges now enroll students from a wide range of backgrounds, and relatively few may be members of the founding denomination. How do Lutheran colleges maintain their identity and mission in that environment?Question 3: Closures, Mergers, and AlliancesDean: In recent years we’ve seen some small colleges close, merge, or explore new partnership models. Do you foresee similar developments among Lutheran colleges—perhaps closures, mergers, or new forms of alliances or coalitions? Question 4: Relationship Between Church and CollegeKent:...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/znlC7CX69qE7r5pUJE2XJslxrx-kQRnGqXvS0RvbqbM/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9kMjAw/ZTk5Nzg4NDA4ODlj/NjI1MzgwOTJjYTY5/MmUzYi5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}