wfn.org | ELCA Gustavus Adolphus College Names Interim President

[News News <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

April 26, 2002

ELCA GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS COLLEGE NAMES INTERIM PRESIDENT
02-100-MR

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Dennis J. Johnson was named interim
president of Gustavus Adolphus College effective June 11.  Gustavus
Adolphus, St. Peter, Minn., is one of 28 colleges and universities of
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
      Johnson serves as the bishop's associate for the ELCA
Minneapolis Area Synod.  He will succeed Dr. Axel Steuer, the 13th
president of Gustavus Adolphus, who announced his resignation Jan.
21.  Steuer served as president of the college for the past 11 years
and will finish his term at the end of the current academic year.
     "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," he said.
     Johnson earned his bachelor's degree at Gustavus Adolphus in
1960.  He received a master of divinity degree at the Lutheran School
of Theology in Chicago (LSTC) and earned a master of sacred theology
degree at the Andover Newton Theological Institute, Boston.  He was a
Farmington Fellow at Manchester College, Oxford University, England.
LSTC is one of eight seminaries of the ELCA.
     Ordained in 1965, Johnson served as a parish pastor until 1977.
In 1985 he became vice president of church relations at Gustavus
Adolphus College and was named vice president of college relations
there in 1996.  Johnson also served on the college's board of
trustees and the Gustavus Alumni Association board. Johnson retired
from Gustavus in 2000.
     Johnson and his wife Carol have two children.
- - -
     Information about Gustavus Adolphus College is maintained at
http://www.gac.edu on the Internet.

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