The Enduring Impact of Rev. Dr. Carol Bechtel: 2025 Distinguished Alumna

In a season focused on cultivating God’s call in students’ lives, it’s fitting to honor a distinguished alumna who has spent her career planting and nurturing those very seeds.

Western Theological Seminary is pleased to honor Rev. Dr. Carol Bechtel as the 2025 Distinguished Alumna. In 31 years as a member of the WTS faculty, she impacted over 1,000 students, preparing their hearts and minds to answer God’s call on their lives.

Dr. Bechtel joined the faculty in 1994, bringing with her a deep love of Scripture, a gift for making the ancient world come alive for contemporary hearers, and her harp. Dr. Kristen Johnson shares, “Dr. Bechtel’s steadfast presence at Western Theological Seminary has shaped generations of students for ministry.  Her teaching and her wider ministry in the church have had a tremendous impact, including forming women for ministry in deep and significant ways.”

“Dr. Bechtel’s steadfast presence at Western Theological Seminary has shaped generations of students for ministry.”

And her students agree: “I can feel the warmth and passion of Prof. Bechtel as she helps and guides us to reflect on the essence of theology,” one student shared.

A dedicated mentor, Dr. Bechtel especially encouraged women preparing for ministry. Dr. Bechtel broke through the “stained glass ceiling” as the first woman ordained by the Classis of Illinois. She was also the first woman in the RCA to be ordained as a General Synod Professor of Theology.

Before joining WTS, she taught at the Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, Virginia, was a teaching fellow at Yale Divinity School, and pastored Turn of River Presbyterian Church in Connecticut. In addition to a Master of Divinity from Western Theological Seminary, she holds degrees from Hope College and a PhD in Old Testament from Yale.

Dr. Bechtel has also served the broader church in many roles. A General Synod Professor of Theology in the Reformed Church in America, she was President of the RCA’s General Synod (2008–2009) and currently serves as Executive Director of the American Waldensian Society.

She grew up on a farm in Fulton, Illinois, and now resides in Holland, Michigan, with her husband, Tom Mullens. They enjoy life with their four children and ten grandchildren. Her hobbies include singing, gardening, cooking, and playing the harp.