The Rev. James B. Lemler, rector of Trinity Church, Indianapolis, and president of St. Richard's School there, has been named dean and president of Seabury-Western Theological Seminary.

Fr. Lemler, 45, was elected by the seminary's board of trustees, and will assume the position with the fall term of the 1998-99 academic year. He succeeds the Rt. Rev. Mark Sisk, consecrated recently as Bishop Coadjutor of New York [TLC, May 17].

"I am honored to be called as dean and president of Seabury-Western," Fr. Lemler said. "There are so many significant and stimulating developments in its life right now: a diverse and committed student body, a remarkable faculty and staff, an extremely dedicated board of trustees, enthusiastic alumni/ae, exceptional work in congregational life and development through the Seabury Institute, growing partnerships throughout the Episcopal Church and within the invigorating theological community of Chicago."

"We have great expectations for Jim Lemler's capacity to lead Seabury in meeting the future challenges and opportunities presented by the church in modern society," said Fred W. Ruebeck, chairman of the seminary's board of trustees.

Fr. Lemler is a graduate of DePauw University. He did graduate study at the University of Oxford before earning an M.Div. at Nashotah House. He earned a D.Min. from Christian Theological Seminary. He was ordained to the diaconate and priesthood in 1976 in the Diocese of Northern Indiana. He was assistant to the dean of St. James' Cathedral, South Bend, Ind., 1976-77; canon precentor of Christ Church Cathedral, Indianapolis, 1977-79; and chaplain at DePauw in 1980 and 1981. He moved to Trinity, Indianapolis, in 1981, and became president of St. Richard's in 1984.

He is dean of the Indianapolis Mid-Central Deanery, first convenor of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Episcopal Council, and a faculty member of the diocesan school of the Presiding Bishop's Diploma for Small-Church Musicians. He is also president of the Church Federation of Greater Indianapolis and is a member of the Indianapolis Mayor's Advisory Committee on Citizen's Police Review Process. He is a board advisor of the Consortium of Endowed Parishes, and is a former member of the Standing Commission on the Church in Metropolitan Areas.

He and his wife, Sharon, are the parents of three daughters, Katherine, Anna and Maria.

Seabury-Western, located in Evanston, Ill., was founded in 1933 with the merger of Seabury Divinity School and Western Theological Seminary.