The Hesston College community welcomed Justin Heinzekehr to the role of registrar June 8.

Heinzekehr completed a Ph.D. in religion through the Claremont (Calif.) School of Theology in May. Most recently, he worked as an adjunct instructor of Bible and religion at Bethel College (North Newton, Kan.) while working on his dissertation.

“Justin brings to Hesston College a unique perspective that combines college classroom experience with a broad background in the gathering, analysis and communication of enrollment data,” said Brent Yoder, vice president of Academics. “His focus on systems thinking as it relates to higher education will be valuable to a number of academic areas he serves.”

Heinzekehr also earned a bachelor’s degree in Bible, religion and philosophy from Goshen (Ind.) College and a master’s degree in theology and ethics from Claremont. His past work experience includes coordinator of institutional research at Goshen College, a consulting analyst for Mennonite Education Agency (Elkhart, Ind.) and an admissions assistant at Claremont.

His vast work and research has earned Heinzekehr multiple published pieces and conference presentations across various disciplines and subjects. He’s also received several academic honors, including Lilly Graduate Fellowship from the Lilly Program in Humanities and the Arts at Valparaiso (Ind.) University from 2011 to 2014.

Heinzekehr fills a role that was managed by Gerry Selzer in an interim period during the 2014-15 year. Selzer concluded 35 years of service to Hesston College in May. He served in various capacities during his tenure, including faculty member, Admissions assistant and registrar from 1994-2008.

Prior to the interim period, the registrar role was held by Yoder, who served in that capacity from 2011 to 2014 when he was named interim vice president of Academics before being named to the permanent role in December 2014.