CST Names K. Samuel Lee as VP for International Relations
We are pleased to announce that President Grant J. Hagiya has named Rev. Dr. Kyungsig Samuel Lee as the new Vice President for International Relations at Claremont School of Theology, effective March 1, 2024.
Lee brings nearly 30 years of teaching and administrative experience in graduate theological education. Having served as a local church pastor and a faculty member at three theological schools, he is deeply committed to promoting the connection between the church and the academy. “We need the Rev. Dr. K. Samuel Lee,” said President Hagiya, “to revitalize our connection with our international partners, especially those in Korea.”
Lee earned his PhD in Counseling Psychology from Arizona State University and his MDiv from Yale University Divinity School. Before this appointment, Lee served as Edna & Lowell Craig Professor of Practical Theology, Spiritual Care, & Counseling. He taught at both Yale University Divinity School and Wesley Theological Seminary before joining the faculty of Claremont School of Theology in 2004.
An ordained elder of the California-Pacific Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, Lee served as pastor of four local congregations. He is also a licensed psychologist and has served as the Executive Director of The Clinebell Institute for Counseling & Psychotherapy for the past 20 years.
Upon accepting the new appointment, Lee emphasized the need to educate students and pastors as effective and responsible leaders for church and society. He stressed the importance of international awareness in expanding their horizons to our complex world, where national and international issues are inextricably interconnected.