Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary (BLTS), is the training school for pastors of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Founded in 1946, BLTS was a department of Bethany Lutheran College (BLC), before the two institutions were officially separated in 1974. BLTS is located adjacent to the BLC campus which overlooks the Minnesota River valley in Mankato, Minnesota, a community of about 40,000. From 1946 through 1974, as a department of the college, the seminary was headed by the "Dean of the Seminary." These deans included Norman A. Madson and Milton Otto. In 1974, the seminary was separated from the college and given its own president, thus the office of "Dean of the Seminary" was eliminated. The first president of the newly separated seminary was Theodore A. Aaberg who was forced to resign due to health issues a few years later. Glenn Reichwald served as acting president for the 1979-1980 school year until Wilhelm W. Petersen was installed as the new president. Upon his retirement in 1997 the current president, Gaylin R. Schmeling, was called. BLTS offers a four-year course of study culminating in the Master of Divinity degree (M.Div.