Golden Reunion Alumni Profile: Jenny Mueller-Roebke

July 10-13, 2023 Concordia Nebraska celebrates the college classes of 1972 and 1973, and also the high school class of 1968 during a spectacular “Golden Reunion” celebration.  

Jenny Mueller-Roebke ’73 has a unique connection to Concordia Nebraska. Not only did she attend the university, she was practically raised on campus, as her parents were both Concordia faculty. 

“My Concordia experience is not a typical one,” she said. “I only spent two years in college at Concordia, but have spent almost my whole life connected to Concordia. My parents came to Concordia in 1947. My mother was the first dean of women at Concordia, and my father was professor of English and academic dean. I grew up on campus. We lived in a house on Faculty Lane and our lives revolved around campus life and activities.” 

Roebke attended Concordia High School and graduated in 1969. After two years at St. Paul’s College in Concordia, Missouri, she transferred to Concordia Nebraska and graduated in 1973.  

Roebke has an associate of arts degree from St. Paul’s College in Concordia, Missouri. She has a bachelor of science degree in education from then-named Concordia Teacher’s College in Seward, Nebraska. She has a master’s degree in education with classroom teacher emphasis from Concordia Nebraska, and a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. 

Following graduation from Concordia, Roebke accepted her first teaching call to Milwaukee Lutheran High School. After a year in Milwaukee teaching senior high English, she returned to Seward and taught ninth grade English at Seward Junior High School. She completed her master’s degree during that time and began teaching in the English department at Concordia Nebraska in 1981. After receiving her Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln in 1990, she taught English at Concordia Nebraska for 26 years, and was chair of the Department of English, Communication and Theater Arts and chair of the General Studies Department for a time. In 2007, she accepted a position in administration and served as the university’s provost and chief academic officer until her retirement in June 2018. 

She recalls her time at Concordia Nebraska fondly and said that the wonderful memories are too numerous to count. 

“It would be impossible to identify a favorite thing after a lifetime of wonderful experiences at Concordia,” she said. “I have precious memories of growing up as a ‘faculty kid,’ treasured memories from years as a student, and even more wonderful memories of working with incredible students and faculty and staff colleagues during my years of teaching and administration.” 

She said she grew up surrounded by dedicated teachers and faithful servants of the Lord who lived their faith on a daily basis inside and outside their classrooms and offices.  

“They were living out their vocations in the true sense of the word. Their examples and the Concordia community at large shaped my values and nurtured and inspired me,” she said. “Certainly the example of Concordia’s faculty and staff influenced me profoundly. But the many Concordia students I taught over the years were equally influential in my faith development. It may sound like a cliché to say I learned more from my students than they could ever have learned from me, but it is absolutely true.” 

She married her husband, Stan Roebke, a Nebraska farmer, in 1975. They have two children, Madeline and Patrick. Madeline ‘00 graduated from Concordia University, Nebraska, and received her J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis. She is an attorney for Kiewit Corporation in Omaha. Patrick graduated from Concordia University, Irvine and completed his master’s degree at Columbia University in New York and his doctorate at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He is a clinical psychologist in private practice in New York City. 

Although her years as a student, educator and administrator on the Concordia campus have concluded, Roebke remains connected to many friends and alumni. She and her husband enjoyed the Bulldogs on the Road alumni and friends Concordia Nebraska cruise to Alaska in the summer of 2022, and they are looking forward to the group’s 2024 Mediterranean cruise. 

Learn more about the Concordia Nebraska Golden Reunion celebration here. 

Are you interested in discovering teacher education offerings available at Concordia Nebraska? Learn more here.