Chaplain Rich Stoglin

Chaplain Richmond Stoglin

When Chaplain Richmond E. Stoglin arrived on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-River Falls in 1975 as a student, he discovered he was in for more than a few surprises. A Texas native, the climate difference he endured in Wisconsin turned out to be just one shock he’d remember for years.  

“The winters were very memorable. They say Wisconsin has four seasons, I found two: very hot and very cold. And very hot was very humid!” he says with a hearty laugh.

Steered towards UWRF by a mentor, Stoglin came to the university at a time when campus was trying to add diversity to the student body. The gentleman felt that the “outspoken” future chaplain needed to get out of Waco for a bit and River Falls was a great solution.

On campus, Stoglin faced many surprises beyond the weather, but settled in and found his niche. He organized a church for students, became heavily involved in the university’s Black Student Union and developed a fierce rapport with his history professors. He also took a job at the River Falls A&W Restaurant, making him the location’s first African American employee.

Reminiscing on his time at UWRF, Stoglin fondly recalls his time in May Hall and recounts the radical concept of co-ed residence halls. There, he says, you learned boundaries and how to look at someone as a human being. He says he sported a “TWA” – a teeny-weeny afro – as a student and talks about being questioned about his skin and hair while working at the A&W. He describes the phenomenon of Alex Haley’s “Roots” airing during his college years, how things would come to a standstill and parties wouldn’t start until after the evening’s episode.

“Dealing with various cultures stands out to me. To be in a predominantly white environment versus the environment that I came out of. Those were good experiences because it broadened my appreciation of other cultures,” he says.

Memories of his undergraduate experience are abundant for Stoglin but the impact his education had on him is strikingly rich. A history major, Stoglin connected with his professors and their influence runs deep within him today.

“I was quite intrigued by some of the history I was learning,” he says. “Dr. [Edward] Peterson, Dr. Herb Cederberg, Stephen Feinstein, those were some of the key components of my learning. They really understood and took great time and effort in their craft.”

His experiences at UWRF served him well after graduation. After graduating with a history degree in 1979, he moved to Atlanta for seminary. Seminary was always part of the plan, he says, emphasizing that he knew he was going to seminary as early as age 14. He followed those plans and graduated from Gammon Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity in May 1982. He added a Master of Public Administration from the University of Texas-Arlington in 1992, a Doctor of Ministry from the United Theological Seminary in 2003 and a diploma from the Naval War College in 2012.

A brief foray into parish ministry led him to explore other ministerial options and he eventually connected with Chaplain Charles Tyson. Tyson recruited Stoglin to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), where he ended up serving a long and illustrious career, rising from intern to Department Head of Religious Services. Stoglin became a chaplain in 1984 and retired from the BOP after more than 22 years of service in January 2007.

His career wasn’t limited to the BOP, though. Stoglin served in the United States Navy Reserve Chaplain Corps from 1985 to 2013. He attained the rank of Commander and served as Regimental Chaplain to the 14th Marines, the largest artillery command in the United States Marine Corps. He also served as Command Chaplain of the NATO Training Mission- Afghanistan and the Combined Security Training Command – Afghanistan (NTM-A/CSTC-A).

“In Afghanistan, my last assignment was Command Chaplain of 39 Nations. I wasn’t there to just do the prayers, I was there to serve as the senior military adviser to a senior general of the Afghanistan National Army and be the top adviser to the commander of NTM-A/CSTC-A,” he says.

Stoglin’s list of accolades is long. He has been awarded the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal and two National Defense Service Medals, to name a few. He’s been a recipient of the Ft. Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce MVP award and was named UT-Arlington’s Outstanding African American Alumnus. The city of Arlington, Texas, declared May 7, 2019, as “Chaplain Rich Stoglin Day” to honor his military and community service.

His journey, and many accomplishments along the way, could easily fill a book, or two. He’s working on that, having written a manuscript combining his memoirs and experience in Afghanistan. In addition to his book, Stoglin keeps busy with his consulting group, The Stoglin Group; is a licensed family and marriage therapist; is a governor appointee to the Texas State Board of Examiners of Marriage and Family Therapists; and is active in a variety of organizations.  

Stoglin has worked and traveled around the globe, lived in 11 states and moved nearly three dozen times. He wouldn’t be where he is now though without recognizing the impact of his education.

“I think about those days [at UWRF]. It was a great foundation. I was blessed to have professors there to really steer me and encourage me to continue my education and study of history,” he recalls.

The list of what Stoglin has accomplished and experienced in his life is long, so long a multi-hour conversation only begins to touch on them, yet when asked what he’s most proud of, he’s very quick to answer.

“I finished college,” he says. “I broke the cycle and the assumption that poverty can’t be broken.”