• Dr. Stephen Wilke, Executive Director

Stephen K. Wilke came to Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas as the Dean of Students on October 1, 1991. Beginning in July of 2001, he became the Vice President of Enrollment Management, Planning and New Programs. In July of 2004 he added the Executive Directorship of the Institute.

Dr. Wilke has served on the staff and now the board at the Counseling and Mediation Center in Wichita, Kansas, and has provided American Association of Pastoral Counseling (AAPC) training to pastors. Dr. Wilke has co-authored a set of five marital books.

Prior to coming to Southwestern College, Dr. Wilke worked on the staff of Prairie View Hospital. There he conducted counseling with individuals, couples, and families. He has also functioned as a consultant, mediator, and workship leader for churches and community agencies. He is a licenced psychologist in the state of Kansas, and has been a training supervisor with the American Association of Pastoral Counselors.

In 1987, he became the founding President of Recovery of Hope Network, Inc., and stayed in that position until 1991. The Recovery of Hope Network helped local organizations establish programs in the community for troubled marriages.

Prior to his work at Prairie View, Dr. Wilke worked with children and families at the Wichita Guidance Center. Dr. WIlke received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) in Fresno, California, in August, 1982. His undergraduate work was done at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas. He was reared in Kansas in a United Methodist clergy family. In his doctoral research, he studied the role of the church and clergy as agents of community mental health.

Steve and his wife, Beth, have four children. All are involved in school, church, and community activities. Beth serves as the Director of Ministries at First United Methodist Church in Winfield. Return to top

Southwestern College Administrative Team:

Dr. Dick Merriman
Bishop Richard Wilke
Dr. Stephen Rankin

• Dr. Dick Merriman, President of Southwestern College

W. Richard (Dick) Merriman Jr. was inaugurated as 17th president of Southwestern College March 15, 1999. He had assumed presidency of the college in August 1998.

During his tenure at Southwestern Merriman has overseen such projects as construction of Cole Hall, a new freshman women’s residence hall occupied in fall 2001 and named in honor of Wellington physician Ward Cole; institution of the master of business administration degree and master of education degree with emphasis in special education; expansion of professional studies programs to include five centers (one recently opened in Oklahoma City) and booming enrollment in online studies; and increase in total enrollment to more than 1,400 students for the first time. Merriman has been instrumental in the Builders of Excellence capital campaign, the most successful fund-raising drive in Southwestern’s history. The college also has been named a top-tier institution by the “U.S.News and World Report” college guide.

Merriman grew up in Kansas, the son of William R. and Neva Merriman. His father was a United Methodist minister in various churches of the Kansas East and Kansas West Conferences.

Following graduation from Hardtner (Kan.) High School, Merriman attended Emporia State University where he received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social science. He earned a Ph.D. in political science from Indiana University in 1986, where he was named outstanding associate instructor in the department of political science (1981). He received the Katherine G. Greenough Dissertation Prize in 1987.

Merriman taught courses in American politics at Berea (Ky.) College from 1983 to 1985, then moved to Washington D.C. where he became executive director of the Jefferson Foundation, a non-profit, non-advocacy educational organization. Merriman directed creation of a national network of volunteers who planned and staged public discussions of constitutional issues in conjunction with the bicentennial of the U.S. constitution.

He then served as a program officer at the National Endowment for the Humanities in Washington before returning to the educational arena as part of the advancement team at Le Moyne College, Syracuse, N.Y.

Merriman began as director of academic resources at Le Moyne, eventually being promoted to the top position in the development office. He led the college’s $25 million capital campaign, provided leadership in the development of the college’s first comprehensive strategic plan, and directed staff in charge of development and alumni activities at the private college. Le Moyne is an independent college founded by the Jesuits, with full-time enrollment of about 3,000 students.

Merriman is married to Margot Kelman. Kelman is a speech-language pathologist, and had been director of the speech-language clinic at Syracuse University for before moving to Kansas. She is completing doctoral studies at Wichita State University. They have two sons. Return to top

• Bishop Richard Wilke, Bishop-in-Residence at Southwestern College and author of DISCIPLE Bible Study

Bishop Richard B. Wilke created excitement in local churches with his books And Are We Yet Alive? and Signs and Wonders. With his wife, Julia, Bishop Wilke coordinated, designed, and wrote the DISCIPLE Bible study, a training for Christian leaders, with nearly two million graduates in more than 10,000 congregations in 30 denominations. In use at this time are: DISCIPLE I, Making Disciples Through Bible Study; DISCIPLE II, Into the Word and Into the World; DISCIPLE III, Remember Who You Are, and DISCIPLE IV: Under the Tree of Life. The DISCIPLE series is now available in German, Korean, Spanish, and Chinese. Many DISCIPLE graduates have entered the ministry.

Elected to the episcopacy of the United Methodist Church in 1984, Bishop Wilke served for 12 years in the Arkansas area. While serving as bishop, he worked to emphasize church growth and evangelism, at all times maintaining his love for the local church. He served on boards of colleges, hospitals, and on general boards of the United Methodist Church.

During his 30 years in the pastoral ministry, Wilke pastored United Methodist Churches in Scandia, Kan.; Pleasant Valley in Wichita, Kan.; University United Methodist in Salina, Kan., and served as district superintendent for the Winfield District. For nearly 11 years, Wilke preached and initiated televised services from First United Methodist Church in Wichita, reaching out to all of central and western Kansas.

Bishop Wilke has traveled in South America, Africa, Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Near East. He is widely known as a speaker and preacher, often serving as conference preacher and keynote speaker at regional and national meetings.

The Wilkes have four children and nine grandchildren. Steve is vice president for enrollment management and new ventures at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kan. Paul is pastor of Woodlawn United Methodist Church in Derby, Kan. Susan is an occupational therapist and former youth director residing (with husband, the Rev. Rob Fuquay, and children) in North Carolina. Sarah is president and C.E.O. of the United Methodist Reporter in Dallas.

The Wilkes now make their home in Winfield, Kansas. Return to top

• Dr. Stephen Rankin, Director and Associate Professor of Religious Studies

Steve Rankin holds the position of associate professor of religious studies at Southwestern College where he is also the Kirk professor of philosophy and religion. The Rev. Dr. Rankin serves the college as campus minister and director of Discipleship Southwestern.

Dr. Rankin is a graduate of Kansas State University (B.S.), St. Paul School of Theology (M.Div.), Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Th.M.) and Northwestern University (Ph.D.).

Honors and Publications

•  John Wesley Fellow
• "Theology in Eighteenth-Century Conversion Narratives: What History Might Teach Us" Journal of the Academy for Evangelism in Theological Education. October 2000.
• "A Perfect Church: Toward a Wesleyan Missional Ecclesiology" Wesleyan Theological Journal, volume 38 #1, Spring 2003.
• "On Teaching Evangelistic Preaching" Journal of the Academy for Evangelism in Theological Education, October 2003.
• "Confronting Our Fears: A Conservative Laments the Erosion in Dialogue" in Zion's Herald, vol. 178 E2 (March/April 2004), 9-10, 38-40.
• "Misunderstanding the Worship Wars" in Christian Networks Journal (Winter, 2004), pp. 70-73.
• "DISCIPLE Bible Study and Transformed Lives" in W. Stephen Gunter and Elaine A. Robinson, eds., Considering the Great Commission: Toward a Wesleyan Praxis of Mission and Evangelism (Nashville: Abingdon Press, forthcoming)

As an educator, Dr. Rankin believes "learning involves the whole person, so real learning influences attitudes and behaviors, as well as concepts. I believe learning is a lifetime vocation. I believe learning involves hard work. I believe real education gives one a humble confidence and deep sense of satisfaction. I believe it is the teacher's job to stimulate rigorous, disciplined thought and to help the students see the value in the material being studied."

Classes Taught

• REL 130 Introduction to the Church
• REL 220 Introduction to Christian Theology
• REL 307 Worship Planning
• REL 335 History of American Christianity
• REL 337 History of Methodism
• REL 340 Hermeneutics
• 20th Century Theology

Steve is married to Joni. The Rankins have lived in Winfield since 1995. They have four children and one grandchild.

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Board of Directors:

• Mr. Robert W. Christensen, Medicine Lodge, KS

• Mr. James W. Coy, Evansville, IN

• Dr. and Mrs. Robert Dockhorn, Prairie Village, KS

• Mr. Alan J. Ebright, Wichita, KS

• Dr. and Mrs. Tom Elasy, Nashville, TN

• Dr. Keith L. Kreutziger, Metairie, LA

• Mr. George Miller, Lincoln, KS

• Rev. Danny Moss, Edmond, OK

• Mrs. Mary Lou Reece, Wichita, KS

• Rev. Anne M. Rosebrock, Indianapolis, IN

• Mr. Gregory N. Thompson, Winfield, KS