wfn.org | [LCMSNews] Ahlersmeyer's installation at Ann Arbor

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	October 28, 2005 .................... LCMSNews -- No. 71

	Ahlersmeyer named fifth
	president at Ann Arbor

	Dr. Thomas Ahlersmeyer will be installed Nov. 4 as the fifth
president of Concordia University, Ann Arbor, Mich., and says he's
looking forward to continued leadership at the school, which has seen a
number of positive developments.

	Ahlersmeyer, 51, has served as the school's interim president
since August 2003. He succeeds the university's fourth president, Dr.
James Koerschen, who retired earlier that year.

	"It is a privilege to be able to continue to do the work that
God placed before us two years ago," Ahlersmeyer said. "I'm looking
forward to taking a ministry which has grown over the last two years and
leading energetic students, faculty, and staff as we expand and impact
our community for Christ."

	Over the past two years, the school has reduced its operating
loss by 81 percent -- from nearly $1.9 million in 2003 to $190,000 this
year. This fall's new student enrollment of 159 is the largest in 18
years, Ahlersmeyer noted, and the school's total enrollment of 600 is
the sixth-largest in its 43-year history. The number of students
pursuing church careers also has grown -- nearly half of incoming
students are preparing for church work.

	"We are not only growing but enrolling more Lutheran church-work
students," he said.

	Proceeds from the impending sale of university property will be
used to renovate the science building, upgrade student housing, build a
health-and-fitness center, and reduce past debt, according to
Ahlersmeyer. And, administrators are in the early stages of planning
further campus construction and improvements with a capital campaign
that would culminate with a 50th anniversary celebration in 2013, he
said.

	Prior to his appointment as interim president, Ahlersmeyer
served eight years as executive director of Cleveland's Lutheran High
School Association. He also has served as pastor of Synod congregations
in Ohio, California, and Florida.

	A 1979 graduate of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne,
Ahlersmeyer earned a Ph.D. in interpersonal and public communication in
1989 from Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio. He has
taught at the high-school and college levels, and served as a member of
Concordia-Ann Arbor's Board of Regents (1999-03) and the Synod's Board
for Communication Services (1986-95).

	***************************************

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contact Joe Isenhower Jr. at joe.isenhower@lcms.org or (314) 996-1231,
or Paula Schlueter Ross at paula.ross@lcms.org or (314) 996-1230.

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