ELCA's Waldorf College Names 14th President
On March 30, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)-affiliated Waldorf College named its 14th president.
According to the ELCA news release, Dr. Richard A. Hanson, who is currently serving at Augusta College - another ELCA-affiliate in Sioux Falls S.D. - as its dean and vice president for academic affairs, will assume presidency on June 1. Hanson will be succeeding Rev.Thomas L. Jolivette who resigned Dec. 1.
"I am honored and thrilled to be given the privilege of joining the Waldorf College community," Hanson said, according to ELCA news. "It is exciting to think about building on the strengths of the Waldorf community as we establish a compelling vision of the future of the college."
"Lux et Veritas (Light and Truth) says it best: Together we will forge a distinctive and powerful educational experience for our students," he continued. "I am excited about the challenge and I am eager to begin the journey."
"I am very pleased that we have been able to engage Dr. Hanson as the next president of Waldorf, and I am looking forward to his becoming a part of the Waldorf community," said Roger Espe, Des Moines, Iowa, board and search committee chair.
"His successful experience as vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college at Augustana College has helped to make him particularly qualified to lead Waldorf through its final transition to a four-year institution."
"Dr. Hanson is a consensus builder with high academic expectations and is most comfortable with the mission and culture of a small, church-affiliated residential liberal arts college," he continued. "He understands the importance of financial advancement and fund raising and is deeply committed to the college and to its mission."
Dr. Hanson received his Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of California, Davis, and earned both his Master of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees from North Dakota State University.
His teaching and research experience of more than 20 has earned him a tenure at two colleges and gave him the status of a full professor. He became an assistant professor at California State University, Chico in 1974 and accepted a faculty position at North Dakota State University in 1980 where he has served for 15 years.
He also served three years as the associate vice president for academic affairs, and one year as interim vice president for academic affairs and as interim dean for the college of university studies.
At Augustana College, Hanson served as vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college for 10 years. Having served as a professor of sociology, he also assisted in the formation of the current development campaign there.
He is an active fundraiser for the Center for Western Studies and has played an active role in planning, designing and creating a fundraising network for the College Center for the Visual Arts and in the remodeling/renovation of the Gilbert Science Center.
Hanson serves as a member of the board of directors for the Center for Western Studies, member of the advisory board for the Children's Theatre Company of Sioux Falls, advisor to the Augustana College board of regents and advisor to the board of directors for the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation. He was a member and president of the board of directors for the Village Family Service Center, Fargo, N.D.
Waldorf College, located in Forest City, Iowa, is one of the nation's 28 universities and colleges of ELCA. The college aims to "model in all its programs and activities the Lutheran understanding of life lived in response to God's grace--a divine calling in service to God and the human community."
