Concordia Magazine

Dr. Shawn Carruth, OSB

Dr. Shawn Carruth is retiring after 24 years in the religion department.

Carruth graduated from the College of St. Catherine, St. Paul, Minn., in 1972 and earned a master’s degree from St. John’s University, Collegeville, Minn., in 1982. She earned her doctorate with a concentration in the New Testament from the Claremont (Calif.) Graduate School (now Claremont Graduate University) in 1992.

From 1963 until 1980, she taught in parochial elementary schools in northern Minnesota and the St. Paul area and high school at Mount St. Benedict High School, Crookston, Minn. 

She is a member of the Order of St. Benedict, Crookston, and served as the order’s director of ongoing formation from 1982 to 1985.

Carruth has presented numerous papers and authored many publications. She was featured in “Scholar in Focus” in the Bulletin for the Institute for Antiquity and Christianity. She was also the recipient of the Ole and Lucy Flaat Distinguished Scholarship Award for 1997-99.

Despite the demands and stresses of work, Carruth is known for always “listening” carefully and colleagues say it’s this ability to listen that has made her a brilliant professor of biblical texts.

“Sister Shawn seeks to cultivate in her students not just their intellectual development but also their growth as ethically responsible human beings,” says Dr. Michelle Lelwica, chair and associate professor of religion.

A former student says, “Sister Shawn exemplifies the heart of a Concordia education. She changed the direction of my life, and I cannot express how grateful I am for her advice and counsel. … I am honored to call her my friend.”

After a trip to Australia in August to give lectures on the Book of Revelation and conduct a weeklong retreat for a group of Benedictine monks in Western Australia, Carruth will be moving back to her monastery in Crookston.

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