Kathy Luther joined Concordia Seminary, St. Louis in December as executive director of Seminary Support in Seminary Advancement. In this role, Luther oversees a staff of 20 and directs fund development strategies, including the major gifts and annual giving programs.

“We are delighted to welcome Kathy to our team,” says Vicki Biggs, senior vice president for Seminary Advancement and chief communications officer. “Kathy brings more than two decades of experience in advancement — especially serving at higher education and religious organizations — to her new role at the Seminary. We are eager to see how the Lord will direct her gifts and abilities for the sake of His mission at Concordia Seminary.”

Before joining the Seminary staff, Luther served as executive director for institutional advancement at Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, Mo. Luther succeeds Rev. John Bush, who retired from the Seminary Dec. 31, 2019.

“I am very excited to be a part of the Seminary support team. It’s an outstanding and diverse group of professionals,” Luther said. “Most important, I welcome the opportunity to work on behalf of a higher purpose, which resonates with me personally and professionally.”

Luther is an alumna of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., where she earned a bachelor’s degree in communications and a master’s degree in public policy and public administration, and completed additional graduate course work in foreign languages and literatures.

She began her career as a volunteer at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pa., and left 13 years later as the director of development and marketing. She then became the director of annual fund at Chatham University in Pittsburgh. Following a family move to St. Louis in 1998, she became the director of fund development for The Sarah Community in Bridgeton, Mo., a new senior care facility founded by five women’s religious congregations.

Luther went on to become executive director of Young Audiences of St. Louis, a midsized arts education organization, followed by an 11-year tenure at Saint Louis University (SLU). While at SLU, she served in four fund development roles, most recently as executive director of corporate and foundation relations. She then moved to Aquinas Institute of Theology before joining Concordia Seminary.

In addition to her professional career, Luther has served in a variety of volunteer roles for the local American Cancer Society chapter, Forest Park Forever, Arch Grants, the St. Louis Men’s Group Against Cancer, SLU Hospital Auxiliary and USO of Missouri. She also serves as an appointed member of the design and review board for the city of Bridgeton, Mo., where she lives with Mark, her husband of 39 years.

The Luthers have three grown children, Neal, Tilly and Alex. They also have four grandchildren, Chloe, Macklind, Mark and Charlotte.

About Concordia Seminary

Concordia Seminary, St. Louis provides Gospel-centered graduate-level theological education for pastors, missionaries, deaconesses, scholars and other leaders in the name of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). To learn more, visit csl.edu.