Cender promoted to Director of Maintenance and Campus Safety
Published: February 8, 2023
ELKHART, Indiana (Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary) — Norm Cender of Elkhart, Indiana, was promoted to Director of Maintenance and Campus Safety of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Indiana, on Aug. 1, 2022.
Cender first joined AMBS’s Maintenance and Campus Security Team in February 2012 and took on the role of Assistant Director of Maintenance later that year. He was promoted to full-time Director following the departure of Jeff Marshall, MDiv, who retired from the role on July 31, 2022.
In Cender’s new position, he is responsible for overseeing the maintenance and upkeep of the seminary’s buildings, equipment, systems and grounds, and for supervising other maintenance personnel. He also leads long-range facility planning; assists in fulfilling the seminary’s commitment to environmental stewardship; and coordinates campus safety.
According to Deanna Risser, MBA, Vice President for Administration and Chief Financial Officer, Cender’s prior work at AMBS prepared him well to move into his new role.
“Norm’s decade of experience with AMBS and his broad knowledge of the campus buildings and grounds and their maintenance, program and capital needs have allowed him to step seamlessly into this position,” she said. “His friendly and laid-back demeanor and his ability to work well with a wide variety of volunteers, students and employees are also great assets.”
Prior to joining AMBS, Cender served as Maintenance Director at Bethany Christian Schools in Goshen, Indiana, for nine years. He also worked for Cook Heating in Elkhart and as an appliance repair technician in Illinois. He got his start in maintenance work by doing voluntary service in maintenance for Laurelville Retreat Center (formerly Laurelville Mennonite Church Center) in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania.
Cender earned an Associate of Arts in Liberal Arts from Hesston (Kansas) College in 1979. He attends Hively Avenue Mennonite Church in Elkhart, a congregation of Central District Conference of Mennonite Church USA..
Located in Elkhart, Indiana, on ancestral land of the Potawatomi and Miami peoples, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary is a learning community with an Anabaptist vision, offering theological education for learners both on campus and at a distance as well as a wide array of lifelong learning programs — all with the goal of educating followers of Jesus Christ to be leaders for God’s reconciling mission in the world.
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