The honorary degree recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions in support of theological education, and/or who have demonstrated effective Christian leadership, global ministry, or service.

The Rev. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson is recognized with the Honorary Doctor of Divinity for his leadership in the church and a lifetime of advocacy and commitment to social justice and ecumenism.

After graduating from Hope College in Holland, Michigan, in 1967, he served for nine years on the staff of United States Senator Mark O. Hatfield of Oregon as chief legislative assistant and legislative strategist on Vietnam. While serving in this position, he was a member of Church of the Saviour in Washington, DC, which shaped much of his understanding of how commitment, spiritual growth, small groups, and social witness shape the life of the local congregation.

Accepting an opportunity to offer his voice to issues of social justice, Granberg-Michaelson served as managing editor of Sojourners magazine from 1976-79. In 1981 he and his wife, Karin, relocated to Missoula, Montana, where he founded and served as president of the New Creation Institute, working on issues of Christian responsibility for the environment and the church’s role in healing and health.

Following these experiences, Granberg-Michaelson completed his theological education, begun earlier at Princeton Seminary, at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan, graduating in 1984.

Granberg-Michaelson served for six years on the World Council of Churches (WCC) staff in Geneva, Switzerland, from 1988-94. His responsibilities included serving as director of Church and Society and serving as moderator of the task force on relations with evangelicals, which seek to strengthen links between the WCC and evangelical communities around the world.

In 1994 he was installed as general secretary of the Reformed Church in America (RCA) where he continues to serve. As RCA general secretary, Granberg-Michaelson has led the RCA through a major visioning process that has focused the church on new means by which to revitalize existing congregations and multiply new congregations, with emphases on leadership, discipleship, mission, and a multiracial future for the church.

A fierce proponent of ecumenism, Granberg-Michaelson was among a core group of Christian leaders who, in 2001, sought to bring together all families of Christian expression in the US for the purpose of fellowship, unity, and witness. Their efforts launched the creation of Christian Churches Together (CCT), a gathering of all of the major Christian groups — Evangelical, Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Pentecostals, historic Protestant, and Racial and Ethnic churches. He has served two terms as chair of the CCT steering committee since his initial election in 2002. Today, CCT represents over one-hundred-million Christians in our country. He is also a member of the steering committee of the Global Christian Forum, a new worldwide ecumenical initiative gathering a diverse body of Christian churches and interchurch organizations to explore and address common challenges.

Granberg-Michaelson has authored four books, his most recent being Leadership from Inside Out, as well as numerous articles for publications such as Perspectives, Sojourners, Christianity Today, The Christian Century, and Ecumenical Review. He and his wife, Karin, have two children, Jonkrister and Karis.