Concordia University has narrowed to three the number of candidates under consideration to become the institution’s 11th president, school officials said last week.
All three – all men, all ordained within the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod – will be on the River Forest campus in the coming weeks and attend a total of 16 events where they can engage with students, staff, administration and regents, said Rev. Gary Schalk, chairman of the university’s Board of Regents, who led the nine-member search committee.
“It will be an intensive two-day schedule with many opportunities for open face-to-face discussions. Each will present his vision to the entire university. These are really important sessions, open to the entire campus community. We expect a larger turnout for that,” said Eric Matanyi, assistant vice president for university communications and marketing.
The sessions will be important as they will help the board of regents determine who they will elect as the college’s new president. They plan to meet in a special session on May 9 – one day before the school’s spring commencement – to make a selection, Matanyi said.
“At that point a call will be made to the candidate (the following week) because it is a church-related position,” said Matanyi, who noted the candidate would have 15 days from date of the call to accept or decline election into that position.Â
The three finalists are:
Rev. Dr. Daniel Gard, from Fort Wayne, Indiana. He is a theology professor at the Concordia Theological Seminary. Gard has a bachelor’s in history from Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin; a master’s of divinity from Concordia Theological Seminary and a master’s and doctorate in Hebrew Bible from Notre Dame. He is a rear admiral in the U.S. Naval Reserve, the highest rank that a clergy member can have in that branch of the service. He was on campus March 31 and April 1.
Rev. Dr. Scott Murray, from Houston. The pastor at Memorial Lutheran Church, Murray is also fourth vice president in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. He also has led churches in Louisiana and Ontario, Canada. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Concordia College in Ann Arbor; a master’s in divinity from Concordia Seminary; a master’s in theology and ethics from Loyola University in New Orleans and a PhD in the New Testament and theology from New Orleans Baptist Seminary. He will be on campus April 7 and 8.
Rev. Dr. Carl Sickenscher from Ft. Wayne. He also is a theology professor at the Concordia Theological Seminary. He held positions as pastor in Garland, Texas and Midland, Michigan. He has a bachelor’s in political science from Southern Methodist University in Dallas; an MBA, also from SMU; a master’s in divinity from Concordia Theological Seminary and a PhD in homiletics (public preaching) from Southwestern Baptist Seminary in Fort Worth. He will be on campus April 14 and 15.
The committee received 29 valid nominations, Schalk said. Thirteen chose to decline nomination. Another nominee removed his name from consideration at a later point in the process. Fifteen candidates were vetted by the search committee and presented to the regents board for their consideration, Schalk said.Â
Nominees came from any congregation in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, through their pastors; Concordia’s board of regents; Concordia’s faculty as a group; and the governing board that oversees the entire Concordia University system.
The successful nominee will replace John F. Johnson, who retired Aug. 16 after serving a decade as Concordia’s 10th president. His replacement will be named about a year after he submitted his intention to leave Concordia.
Alan Meyer, senior president for planning and research search, has been serving as interim president.