News from Gustavus Adolphus College
Office of Public Relations ~ 800 W. College Ave. ~ St. Peter, MN 56082-1498
News Director Stacia Senne ~ (507) 933-7510 ~ ssenne@gustavus.edu
Dennis Johnson Named Interim President
at Gustavus Adolphus College
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Dennis J. Johnson
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ST. PETER, Minn. (April 19, 2002) – The Board of Trustees of Gustavus Adolphus College announced that it has selected the Rev. Dennis J. Johnson as the interim president of the college. Johnson succeeds Dr. Axel Steuer, the 13th president of the college, who announced Jan. 21 that he was resigning at the end of the current academic year after having served as president for the last 11 years.
Johnson is well known to the Gustavus community and throughout the Lutheran Church. He is a 1960 graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College and earned his master of divinity at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago. He also earned a master of sacred theology at the Andover Newton Theological Institute and was a Farmington Fellow at Manchester College, Oxford University, in England.
Ordained in 1965, Johnson served as a parish pastor in Dallas, Texas, before accepting a call in 1977 as senior pastor of First Lutheran Church in St. Peter, Minn. In 1985, he accepted the position as vice president of church relations of Gustavus Adolphus College and in 1996 was named vice president of college relations. During his tenure in the college relations position, he twice served as interim vice president for development. Previously, he served on both the Gustavus Board of Trustees and the Gustavus Alumni Association Board. He retired from Gustavus in 2000. In the last year, he has served as the bishop's associate for the Minneapolis Area Synod of the ELCA. Dennis and his wife, Carol, have two children.
"Dennis Johnson is an ideal candidate to lead Gustavus Adolphus College as interim president, and we enthusiastically welcome him back to the campus and the Gustavus community," said Trustee Anita Young, chair of the Interim President Search Committee. "While several excellent individuals were recommended to the committee, Dennis combines strong leadership skills, an intimate knowledge and strong affection for the College, and is well known to Gustavus students, faculty, staff, donors, trustees, and the ELCA community. We could not be more pleased."
Johnson will officially assume the position of interim president on June 11, 2002. "Gustavus Adolphus College has been a significant part of my life since my student days," said Johnson. "The opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to Gustavus during the transition to a new president is a challenge that excites me, and I look forward to working closely with many of the wonderful people who value and support this exceptional institution."
With the work of the Interim President Search Committee concluded, the Board of Trustees is expected to appoint a Presidential Search Committee in June. The Presidential Search Committee will seek input from all the constituencies of the college and will be developing a vision of the leadership skills desired of the next president of the college. Four of the 17 private colleges in Minnesota are currently in various stages of seeking a new president.
Gustavus Adolphus College is a private liberal arts college in St. Peter, Minn., that prepares 2,500 undergraduates for lives of leadership, service, and lifelong learning. The oldest Lutheran college in Minnesota, Gustavus was founded in 1862 by Swedish immigrants and named for Swedish King Gustav II Adolf. At Gustavus, students receive personal attention in small-sized classes and engage in collaborative research with their professors. Fully accredited and known for its strong science, writing, music, athletics, study-abroad, and service-learning programs, Gustavus hosts a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa and is internationally recognized for its annual Nobel Conference.