Chris Kimball
Seventh President of California Lutheran University
Chris Kimball became President of California Lutheran University in April 2008 after serving as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at CLU for nearly two years.
The former Provost and Dean of the College at Augsburg College, Kimball served on the faculty and held a variety of administrative positions at the Minneapolis institution beginning in 1991. He also served on the faculty at University of Nebraska.
With a distinguished career as a teacher, scholar, and academic leader, Kimball is an author and speaker on higher education. His scholarly work is in the field of American history, with a specialization in urban history and the history of sport.
An alumnus of McGill University, Kimball received his master's degree and doctorate in history from The University of Chicago. Well respected in academic circles and in the ELCA college network, Kimball served on the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) Chief Academic Officers Task Force from 2002 to 2006 and chaired the group from 2005-2006. He also served as chair of the Academic Council of Associated Colleges of the Twin Cities.
Along with leading the University as it makes an important transition into its second half-century, Kimball is very active in community organizations. He is a member of the American Red Cross of Ventura County Board of Directors, the Workforce Investment Board of Ventura County, and the Ventura County Regional P16 Council.
A native of Massachusetts, Kimball and his wife, Liz, live in Thousand Oaks with their two children, Glenn and Rachel. They are members of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Thousand Oaks.
The weekend of events to celebrate the installation of Chris Kimball, Ph.D., as seventh president of California Lutheran University includes the following:
Friday, April 24
Inauguration Lecture
Mark R. Schwehn, Ph.D., Professor of Humanities, Valparaiso University
10 a.m. in Samuelson Chapel
President's Night at the Arts:
A showcase of performing and display arts
CLUFEST 2009 Exhibition
6:30 p.m. Kwan Fong Gallery of Art and Culture
New Music Concert
8 p.m. in Samuelson Chapel
Saturday, April 25
Habitat for Humanity Playhouse Build
9 a.m. at the Administration parking lot
President's Day at the Ballpark
CLU v. Pomona-Pitzer
2 p.m. at George "Sparky" Anderson Field and Ullman Stadium
Evening Worship
6:30 p.m. in Samuelson Chapel
Sunday, April 26
Installation Service
2:30 p.m. in Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center
Reception following
For information about Inauguration Weekend, please call (805) 493-3695.
Inauguration Speaker
Mark R. Schwehn
Professor of Humanities
Valparaiso University
Mr Schwehn received his BA from Valparaiso University, and his PhD in history and humanities from Stanford University. He has written widely about Henry Adams and William James, including, with other scholars, A William James Renaissance. He has also written essays on the poetry of Robert Frost, film criticism, history, cognitive theory, and human sexuality.
He has published widely on religion and higher learning, including Exiles from Eden: Religion and the Academic Vocation in America (1993) and Everyone A Teacher (2000). With Dorothy Bass he is editor of Leading Lives That Matter: What We Should Do and Who We Should Be (2006).
In 2005-2006 he was a Fellow at the Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Studies at St. John's University (MN). Mr Schwehn is Project Director of the Lilly Fellows Program in Humanities and the Arts at Valparaiso, and serves on the boards of several major institutions addressing religion, education, and American public life.
