CLU to honor former president at service

(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., - Sept. 28, 2012) California Lutheran University will hold its Founders Day Convocation at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 19.

CLU’s Founders Day is held annually to give thanks for the university’s heritage and pray for its continued success. This year’s theme is “Discovering Your Purpose.”

Former CLU President Jerry H. Miller of Thousand Oaks will receive the Christus Award. The award is presented to those who have made significant contributions to strengthening the partnership between CLU and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America because of their love for both institutions.

Miller served as CLU’s fourth president from 1981 to 1992. During his tenure, California Lutheran College was restructured as a university to better accommodate its growing graduate programs in business and education. Following his term as president, he held the office of chancellor and led CLU’s development activities. Miller holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University, a Master of Divinity from Hamma School of Theology and a Doctor of Divinity from Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio. After serving as a parish pastor, he was the assistant to the president of the Ohio Synod of the Lutheran Church in America and executive director of the National Lutheran Campus Ministry in Chicago.

The Rev. Frank Nausin, senior pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Thousand Oaks, will be the keynote speaker. He is a 1970 graduate of CLU and chair of the university’s Convocation. As chair, he also serves on the Board of Regents. He holds a Master of Divinity from Pacific Lutheran Seminary and has served three other congregations, including Mount Cross Lutheran Church in Camarillo, in more than 38 years of ministry.

Thousand Oaks resident Mark Glesne will receive the 2012 Outstanding Young Alumnus Award from the CLU Alumni Association. He graduated from CLU in 2003 and, three years later, founded Neutral Dive Gear, a scuba diving lifestyle apparel brand that he still owns and operates. He also is Web marketing director at Bed|Stü in Camarillo.

The service will also feature the commissioning of CLU’s Board of Regents and Convocation.

The event is free and open to the public. The chapel is located south of Olsen Road near Campus Drive on the Thousand Oaks campus. Street parking is by permit only. Limited parking is available on Chapel Drive. Additional parking is available at the corner of Olsen Road and Mountclef Boulevard. For more information, call the Office of Church Relations at 805-493-3936.