Robert C. Dykstra, MDiv '82, PhD '90, is the Charlotte W. Newcombe Professor of Pastoral Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary, where he has served since 1997. He earned his PhD and MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary, and his BA from Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington. Before coming to Princeton he taught at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary as assistant and then associate professor of pastoral theology and congregational care. Dykstra’s academic interests include pastoral care and counseling, psychoanalytic theory, developmental psychology, contemporary issues impacting children and adolescents, human sexuality, pastoral preaching, and the integration of biblical and theological precepts with research in the human sciences. He is on the editorial boards of Pastoral Psychology and the Journal of Childhood and Religion and is cofounder of the annual scholarly conference “Group for New Directions in Pastoral Theology.”

A native of Minnesota, Dykstra is a lifelong member of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and an ordained Presbyterian minister. He served for a number of years as a minister, youth minister, hospital chaplain, and pastoral counselor.