George Forell

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George Wolfgang Forell (1919 –) is the Carver Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the School of Religion at the University of Iowa. He is an internationally known author, lecturer, and guest professor in the field of Christian ethics.

[edit] Early life and education

Forell was born on September 19, 1919 in Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland). He studied philosophy and theology at the University of Vienna. In 1939 he came to the USA as a refugee from Nazi Germany. He enrolled at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, as a student in theology. He graduated in 1941 and was ordained as a Lutheran minister the same year. While serving as a parish pastor, he continued his education at Princeton Theological Seminary and Union Theological Seminary. In 1949 he received a Th.D. from Union Theological Seminary. In 1945 he married Elizabeth Rossing in Argyle, Wisconsin. They have two daughters, Dr.Madeleine Forell Marshall and The Rev. Mary Forell Davis.

[edit] Academic career

Forell joined Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter MN as a Professor of Philosophy in 1949. In 1954 he moved to the University of Iowa as Professor of Religion. He was Director of the School of Religion from 1966 to 1971. In 1973, he was named Carver Distinguished Professor of Religion. Forell is a past president of the American Society for Reformation Research. Forell has also served as a Professor of systematic theology at the Chicago Lutheran Theological Seminary in Maywood, Illinois (now part of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago).After his retirement from Iowa in 1989 he lectured for extended periods of time in seminaries in Taiwan, Hong Kong and other academic institutions in Asia and Europe.

[edit] Recognition

In 1984 a Festschrift, Piety Politics and Ethics, edited by Carter Lindberg was published by the Sixteenth Century Journal Publishers, Inc. He was named the distinguished alum for 2002 from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia.