People

Christian Century, Dec 22, 1999

* The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Foundation, one of the nation's largest religious philanthropies, has named a Hershey, Pennsylvania, banking executive to be its new president and chief executive officer. Robert E. Leech, 54, a lifelong Presbyterian, joins the foundation after serving eight years at Keystone Financial, Inc., in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Although Leech, 54, is expected to begin his new duties on January 1, final approval of his appointment will not come until his selection is confirmed at the denomination's General Assembly next summer.

* Darold H. Beekmann, president of Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, will retire from the post on July 31, 2000. Beekmann, 64, became the seminary's 11th president in 1990. It is one of the eight seminaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Founded in 1826, Lutheran Theological Seminary is the oldest Lutheran seminary in North America.