Richard Giere Endowed Scholarship Fund

The Dr. Giere Endowed Scholarship Fund was established in February, 1966, by Dr. Richard and Laura Giere. Laura’s niece, Nora, was the wife of Dr. Alvin Rogness, a 1932 graduate who later served as the beloved president of Luther Theological Seminary from 1954 to 1974. Richard was a well-respected physician in the Minneapolis area, and both he and Laura were active lay leaders in their congregation. They were proud of their Norwegian Lutheran heritage, and established this scholarship to ensure that future generations of Lutheran church leaders would benefit from these same traditions. This fund provides important financial support for a deserving student from Norway to study at Luther Seminary for a year. The student should be selected by the Luther Seminary faculty based on (1) academic transcripts (2) character references (3) endorsement of an ecclesiastical body, and (4) demonstration of English language mastery reasonable to make one year’s residence and study profitable. For many years, Luther received recommendations from the Norwegian department of the Lutheran World Federation.