Roetzel Family Fellowship

Macalester College gratefully acknowledges the commitment of Dr. Calvin J. Roetzel and Mrs. Caroline Roetzel for establishing an endowed fund at the college for the purpose of supporting students interested in furthering their scholarship in religious studies.

Calvin Roetzel spent 36 years at Macalester as a beloved professor of Religious Studies, chairing the department and teaching wildly popular classes in biblical studies. He was named the Arnold H. Lowe Professor in 1982. He is the author of numerous books and a world-renowned scholar of the apostle Paul. He sought to place Paul in his cultural context as a Greek-speaking Jew, and he was fearless in his approach to texts held to be sacred by many people. He was also a treasured colleague, friend, advisor and mentor. Caroline Roetzel was a longtime teacher and administrator at St. Paul Academy. Calvin and Caroline’s commitment to education is rooted in the belief that knowledge and learning can be pathways to improving one’s own life and the lives of others. Their gift is made possible by Calvin’s parents’ hard work and determination to make certain that he, along with his siblings, would have the opportunity to attend college. In honor of this, Calvin and Caroline have generously established a summer fellowship to allow students to broaden their knowledge and benefit from adventurous academic work.