The Rev. Brian E. Konkol, a 1997 graduate of Amherst High School and son of George and Judy Konkol, Amherst Junction, recently earned a doctorate in philosophy from the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. An edited version of his dissertation is expected to be published with Fortress Press in early 2017.

An ordained minister of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Konkol currently serves as chaplain of the college, teaches in its peace studies program and three crowns curriculum and is the current creative director for Christmas in Christ Chapel at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn.

He is a graduate of Viterbo University in La Crosse and Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minn., and has previously served international assignments in Guyana and South Africa.

With a focus on social justice, political theology and service to the common good, Konkol represents the college and church as a sought-after speaker and teacher across the country, and contributes regularly as a featured writer for the Huffington Post and numerous other national publications.