Lamberta Voget
According to "Social Integration: a history of the Sociology and Anthropology Department at Wheaton College" (2003) by Nicolette Manglos, Lamberta Voget first came to Wheaton in 1935 to teach German, having received her undergraduate degree from UCLA in 1930 and a Master's from USC in 1935, and having spent some time teaching at LA Pacific college from 1930-35. She would later receive her Ph.D. from Berkeley in 1943 [1]. She had experience in German and History, and taught both at Wheaton for several years. Initially, sociology was not her field; however, when V. Raymond Edman became president in 1940, he did not feel that it was appropriate for a woman to teach in history, and therefore suggested that she expand into the discipline of sociology and essentially develop the department [2]. Yet despite the fact that her entry into the field was perhaps neither intentional nor entirely willing, her commitment to it and to the college remained strong for almost 40 years. She was a very "spiritual woman," and believed that the foundation for establishing this Christian discipline was in piety and in doing God's will. She was "concerned with keeping everyone orthodox," and potentially had some misgivings about the propriety of sociology for the Christian mind, but also believed that it was God's will to address the social issue [3]. Voget was instrumental in founding North American Association of Christians in Social Work.
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