As far as the records go, Dr. Hermann Austel appears to have been a genius in every subject he encountered. Born in 1927 to recent German immigrants, Austel grew up amid the Great Depression in Los Angeles. Nevertheless, he graduated high school two years early, studied chemistry at UCLA, and served as a chemist’s assistant in World War II, serving mostly in Japan.

Austel then came to Los Angeles Baptist Theological Seminary to pursue a Master of Divinity. In his second year, it became evident that he possessed immense linguistic abilities, and he began teaching Greek to his fellow classmates. He graduated summa cum laude, having never received a grade lower than an A. After planting a church, Austel eventually stepped down from the pastorate in order to devote himself to teaching at LABTS. He became dean of the school in 1964.

Austel served in academia for 58 years, and he was even part of the translation committee of the New American Standard Bible. Throughout his life, his great faithfulness to the Lord was evident to everyone around him. He set a godly example for classmates, students, and faculty alike, leaving a lasting impression on Dr. Carl Sweazy, who called Austel a “valiant musketeer” in his service to LABTS.

When the school’s seminary division moved to Tacoma, Washington, in 1974, changing its name to Northwest Baptist Seminary, Austel and several faculty members (including Richard Patterson, Marchant King, and Bruce Stabbert) went with it. Austel served as dean.

Writes longtime LABC and TMC professor John Hotchkiss: “I believe they carried with them the spirit and heritage of The Old School, continuing a tradition of biblical fidelity and sound scholarship.”

Editor’s note: Several of these details about Austel’s life come from an unattributed biography published on Corban University’s website. Northwest Baptist Seminary and Corban merged in 2010.