CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of directors at Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kan., appointed Dr. Paul K. Formo as the school's 12th president effective July 1. Formo is presently provost and dean at Dana College, Blair, Neb. Bethany College and Dana College are both higher education institutions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
Formo, 53, will succeed the Rev. Christopher M. Thomforde, who became the president of St. Olaf College, an ELCA institution in Northfield, Minn. Thomforde was formally installed April 29. After Thomforde left, Dr. Mike L. Mitchell, vice president and academic dean at Bethany College, served as interim president.
"In looking for our new president the board wanted someone who would embrace the benefits of Bethany College and the Lindsborg community, someone who was prepared to lead our planned capital funding campaign, and someone who would be able to help us with the recruiting and retention of students," said Glenn Kerbs, Dodge City, Kan., chair of Bethany College's board. "We believe Dr. Formo meets all of those criteria and are pleased he accepted our offer to become our next president."
"I'm honored and privileged to be here," Formo said after he was introduced as Bethany's next president. "I look forward with excitement to what Bethany is and what it can be in the future. I look forward to working at the challenges we will face."
"Many of the challenges here are similar to those we face at Dana, and some of the strategies we have employed may be transferable," he added.
Formo is a native of Minneapolis. Before he came to Dana College in 1993, he served eight years as dean of the conservatory of music at Capital University, an ELCA institution in Columbus, Ohio.
Formo earned a bachelor's degree in music at Luther College, an ELCA institution in Decorah, Iowa. He holds a master's degree in music and a doctorate of musical arts in conducting, both from the University of Iowa, Iowa City.
Formo is a member of First Lutheran Church, an ELCA congregation in Blair, Neb. He and his wife, Pat, have two grown children.
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*Bud Rothgeb is director for communication and public relations at Bethany College.
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John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
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