Throughout its 175 years of existence, the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) has always
made the training of pastors a high priority. In 1863, the Wisconsin Synod opened its seminary in a rented home in Watertown, Wisconsin, with one professor and one student. Ever since then, the synod has shown the willingness to adapt, change, and expand its facilities to meet new challenges.

In the early 1890s, with growing enrollment, the synod constructed a new building in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. By early 1920, the Wauwatosa building was outdated, and the enrollment had outgrown the building. An eighty-acre farm in Mequon, Wisconsin, was deemed perfectly suitable for a new seminary which was dedicated in 1929, only two months before the stock market crashed.

Various challenges over the decades brought additions to the 1929 structure. At the seminary’s centennial celebration in 1963, a dormitory addition was dedicated in anticipation of growing enrollments. Over the next decade, the enrollment more than doubled. The increasing number of students necessitated additional classroom space. The library on the upper floor was too small for the growing collection of books. A new library addition was completed in 1968, and the old library space was remodeled into two classrooms. The dining hall space became insufficient when the enrollment approached 150 on-campus students. A new dining hall was added in 1970.

The most recent addition to the seminary campus came in 1986 when the auditorium-gymnasium was completed. Prior to 1986, there was no space for large gatherings. Graduation was held outdoors in the inner circle, weather permitting, and few people were able to attend the assignment day service held in the chapel. The only indoor space for athletic activities was a small gymnasium below the chapel. This new building provided much improved athletic facilities for the students. More importantly, it provided the needed space for large gatherings such as graduation, assignment day services, and the Christmas concert.

Recent years have seen new challenges arise. The value of collaborative learning means that classrooms with desks that face forward are giving way to pods of tables. This requires larger spaces. Unfortunately, the current classrooms that allow for such arrangements are in the lower level where there is little to no natural light. The trend in the last few years of classes with enrollments nearing or surpassing forty students means that the classrooms with the best natural light are too small to accommodate the larger class sizes.

The last couple of decades has seen an increased desire for fellowship outside of the classroom. Students and their wives enjoy getting together—and even invite the professors! While the dorm basement has served the purpose for such fellowship gatherings for many decades, it easily gets crowded and noisy. A space for other fellowship gatherings with guests to the seminary is also desirable.

With the seminary’s history of expanding facilities to meet new challenges, it is only natural for the seminary to consider a building expansion to meet today’s challenges. The proposed building project will include six new classrooms with space for flexible seating arrangements, appropriate technology, and ample natural light. A new fellowship addition will allow sufficient space for events that bring people together. The current classrooms will be remodeled to provide offices for every professor and make them more available to students and to each other.

The Lord has blessed the seminary throughout its history with leaders who had the foresight and wisdom to invest resources into the seminary’s facilities. May he continue to shower his gracious blessings so that the seminary has the necessary facilities to carry out its mission of preparing pastors to shepherd God’s people with the gospel.

Joel Otto is dean of students and professor of church history and education at the seminary.