Luther College has named Provost Brad Chamberlain as president-elect. (Photo courtesy of Luther College)
Following Luther College President Jenifer Ward’s announcement of her plans to retire at the conclusion of the current academic year, the Decorah private college has named its provost as president-elect.
Brad Chamberlain, who has served in both academic and administrative roles at the university since 2001, was chosen by the Luther College Board of Regents to become Luther’s 12th president after a national search, according to a news release.
Chamberlain, as well as members of the board of regents, spoke to the campus community Friday, where he said he is “humbled” to have the faith and support of the board and college to name him as its new leader.
“When people think about a college that is drawing excellence out of students, I want them to think about Luther College,” Chamberlain said in the release. “Students arrive at Luther with a set of dreams, and we help them achieve those dreams. But we also want to plant within them dreams that are bigger than the ones they brought with them to college.”
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According to the release, Chamberlain is the first internal candidate in more than 100 years to be chosen as president. Shannon Duval, vice chair of the Board of Regents and co-chair of the Presidential Selection Committee, said in the release that during the search, consultants shared that Chamberlain “brings a national-caliber set of experience and skills” to Luther, and the university is lucky that he chose Decorah to make his home.
“Brad is a remarkable leader and remarkable human being,” Duval said in the release. “Whenever the college has asked him to step up and lead a different area or to learn a new set of skills for the benefit of the college, he has said yes. Once again today, he is saying yes. His ability to know the college, help maximize our momentum and have a vision for Luther makes him the perfect choice to become the next president.”
Before taking on the provost role on an interim basis in August 2022 then permanently in December 2022, Chamberlain served as the college’s vice president for mission and communication, according to the release, where he led efforts to put in place an integrated brand strategy, created a strategic internal communications plan and helped lead a response team to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He started at Luther as a visiting professor before joining the chemistry department full-time.
In his speech to students, staff, faculty and alumni, Chamberlain said Luther and its community has shaped the last 20 years of his life, and while the university is facing challenges seen across higher education today, he has hope and confidence for the future.
He said in the release he wants to use Luther’s identity as an institution that “inspires and equips students to courageously serve the common good” to ensure the university, and the students it prepares to lead meaningful and purposeful lives after graduation, thrive in the years to come.
“At liberal arts colleges, we talk about the power of ideas, and we teach our students how to evaluate ideas and connect ideas, how to activate ideas,” Chamberlain said in the release. “This is what I think the world needs right now. As we look at the challenges that society is facing, these are not necessarily technical challenges — they are adaptive challenges. This is what a place like Luther College prepares students to do. They are prepared to lead and to serve, but above all, through their leadership and service to others, to make everyone around them better.”
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