Welcoming Dr. Alberto La Rosa Rojas

May 6, 2022

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About Western Theological Seminary

Located in Holland, Michigan, WTS offers 16 graduate programs online, in residence, in English, and Spanish for women and men preparing for faithful Christian ministry. WTS was founded in 1866 when seven of the eight members of Hope College’s inaugural graduating class wished to become ministers and petitioned their denomination to allow them to complete their education in Holland. Since that time, WTS has been preparing women and men for a lifetime of ministry all around the world in many ministry and denominational contexts.

By Western Theological Seminary

Introducing Dr. Alberto La Rosa Rojaas

Western Theological Seminary is pleased to announce that Dr. Alberto La Rosa Rojas will be joining the faculty of Western Theological Seminary beginning in the 2022-2023 academic year to serve as Assistant Professor of Theology and Ethics.

“We are delighted to welcome Dr. La Rosa Rojas back to the WTS community,” said Dean and Vice President of Academic Affairs Kristen Deede Johnson. “His addition to our faculty marks an important milestone; as our third fully bilingual professor, it is now possible for us to provide rigorous academic degree programs in both English and Spanish.  Further, as one who draws constructively on both Reformed voices and the voices of Christians in the majority world, Dr. La Rosa Rojas has invaluable contributions to make in the classroom,  in the world of scholarship, and in the wider church.”

Dr. La Rosa Rojas’ Background

Dr. La Rosa Rojas’s scholarship lies at the intersection of systematic theology and ethics, focusing on theologies of migration and home.  He is currently a postdoctoral associate and an advisor to the Presbyterian/Reformed House of Studies at Duke University Divinity School. He has also been involved in the divinity school’s Hispanic House of Studies and Hispanic Latino Preaching Initiative.

Dr. La Rosa Rojas received his Th.D. in Theology and Ethics from Duke Divinity School (2022) with a dissertation titled, “God’s Journey Home: Toward a Theology of Migration and Home from the Americas.”  He’s a graduate of Western Theological Seminary and Trinity Christian College.  He has received fellowships from the Hispanic Theological Initiative, the Golieb Fellowship in Interfaith Education and Engagement, and the Kenan Institute for Ethics.

Alberto has written a number of book reviews and book chapters, including “A Migrant at the Lord’s Table: A Reformed Theology of Home,” included in Reformed Public Theology: A Global Vision for Life in the World, and “The God Who Elects Leaving,” in Before the Face of God: Essays in Honor of Tom Boogaart. He has been involved in and presented at the Society of Christian Ethics, the American Academy of Religion, and the Annual Karl Barth Conference at Princeton Theological Seminary.

Dr. La Rosa Rojas has taught courses in the United States, El Salvador, and Peru in Christian ethics, theology in the early Church, Karl Barth and Reformed theology, and theology of the sacraments.

He has been involved in a local Presbyterian church throughout his years in Durham while retaining his membership in the Reformed Church in America (RCA).  He is also a licensed candidate for ordination in the RCA.

Published May 2022

Revised January 2024