Bethany Fosdyck 
By Annette Brill Bergstresser
Kajsa Herrstrom, MDiv, MSLIS, of Champaign, Illinois, began Aug. 22, 2022, as full-time Resource Access Librarian for Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Indiana. She had been serving as Interim Librarian since May 2022.
In her new role, Herrstrom will serve participants in the seminary’s graduate-level and Lifelong Learning programs, connecting students and faculty members with a diverse range of library resources for research and study. She will purchase print and electronic library materials, manage resource sharing with partner libraries, and provide instructional design services, among other responsibilities.
Herrstrom graduated from AMBS in April 2022 with a Master of Divinity with a major in Christian Faith Formation. She previously earned a Bachelor of Arts in Germanic Languages and Literature in 2002 and a Master of Science in Library and Information Science in 2006 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
While studying at AMBS, Herrstrom served in the AMBS Library as a student employee and also worked on the seminary’s custodial and summer crews (2018–2022). She also brings experience from having held various office support roles at the University of Illinois (2015–17) and from having worked in the Conservation Unit of the University of Illinois Library (2005–07) and at Champaign Public Library (2003–08).
“Kajsa’s graduate work in both library science and theology — with a specialty in faith formation — and her experience in customer service and library settings enable her to facilitate the AMBS Library’s role in forming leaders for God’s reconciling mission in the world,” said Karl Stutzman, MLS, Director of Library Services. “I look forward to the ways in which she will improve the library’s services through her gifts for careful, detailed work as well as her creativity and artistry.”
Herrstrom’s home congregation is First Mennonite Church of Champaign-Urbana, a congregation of both Central District Conference and Illinois Mennonite Conference of Mennonite Church USA. Locally, she attends Hively Avenue Mennonite Church, a congregation of Central District Conference.
ELKHART, Indiana (Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary) — Paul A. Keim, PhD, of Goshen, Indiana, began Sept. 6 as half-time Student Services Coordinator for Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Indiana. He also serves in the seminary’s Bible Department as a Core Adjunct Faculty member, a role he has held since 2003.
Keim brings many years of academic and intercultural experience to his new role, in which he oversees support services for all AMBS students, both individually and systemically.
He has served at Goshen (Indiana) College as Professor of Bible, Religion and Philosophy (2001 to present) and as Academic Dean (1997–2001). During the 2021–22 academic year, he served AMBS as Visiting Professor of Biblical Studies and Chair of the Bible Department. He also has been a visiting professor at Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany; the College of Charleston (South Carolina); and Indiana University in Bloomington. He has taught courses in biblical studies, the Hebrew Scriptures, ancient and modern languages, Judaism, Islam, creation and evolution, and religion and sports.
Keim has co-led semester-long Study Service Terms for Goshen College students in Germany (2005) and Morocco (2012); served in Poland as a Country Representative for Mennonite Central Committee (1980–82); and was a Resident Volunteer at the Salam Medical Center and Noor Es-Salaam School in El-Qanatir Elkhaireya, Egypt (2013). He reads and speaks a variety of ancient and modern languages.
“Paul has shown students care and compassion throughout his years of teaching — balancing both the academic and personal needs of students in his classes and beyond,” said Mary Ann Weber, MA, Director of Enrollment. “He is well suited to the Student Services Coordinator role because of his excellent relational and cross-cultural skills and his concern for students. I look forward to seeing how Paul will use his gifts and experience in working with AMBS students.”
Keim earned a PhD in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1992; a Master of Divinity with a concentration in Old Testament from AMBS in 1985; and a Bachelor of Arts from Goshen College in 1978, majoring in Biblical Studies and minoring in German. He attends Assembly Mennonite Church in Goshen, a congregation of Central District Conference of Mennonite Church USA.
Located in Elkhart, Indiana, on ancestral land of the Potawatomi and Miami peoples, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary is a learning community with an Anabaptist vision, offering theological education for learners both on campus and at a distance as well as a wide array of lifelong learning programs — all with the goal of educating followers of Jesus Christ to be leaders for God’s reconciling mission in the world.
