an end...and a beginning

All stories have a beginning and an end. The beginning is often at the - well - beginning; and the end is at the end (nothing gets by me, does it). However, today's story will begin with an end and end with a beginning... The past month's blogs have been mostly about my journey in a quest for the presidency at Concordia University, St. Paul. From being patient...to falling in love...to trusting the process - I have discovered a lot about myself and my hopes and dreams regarding my vocation and calling. If you have not yet heard, Tom Ries received the call to be the 9th president of Concordia University, St. Paul this past Monday. I received the phone call informing me of the Board's decision at 3:53 PM. A bit dissapointing...a bit disheartening..and a bit of sadness - these feelings have all come and gone during this past week. It has been an END to a really great part of my life. Over the past 5 months (my inital letter of intent went to the Board on October 30, 2010) I have done the following:

• read the Minneapolis Star-Tribune on a daily basis off of my Kindle


• talked with numerous people in the Twin Cities area to better understand the school


• read multiple books and articles on what it means to be a college president


• pictured myself in the role and how I would react to different situations


• prayed with friends and colleagues about the position


• learned all kinds of things about myself through the lens of a college president


• learned about all aspects of the University by asking questions of my colleagues


• explored the housing market in St. Paul and Minneapolis


• made new friends at Concordia, St. Paul and elsewhere


• and much, much more...

But that now comes to an END...but rather than close this book and place it on the shelf, I have chosen to let it lead to a new BEGINNING. One of my strengths is that of LEARNER, so I have now begun to ask the question of what I have learned from this experience and how I can put that learning into practice for this new beginning. While my title continues to remain Dean of the College of Business, I am no longer the same Dean I was before October 30, 2010. I have been given a set of tools to use in this position that I did not have before, and my goal is to use those tools in this new beginning. Here's are the questions I will ask to guide me in this journey...

• Understanding more deeply the big picture of a university, how can I position my College to expand and grow at an even quicker rate?


• Having put in place an interim succession plan, how will I use that to develop people in their leadership skills and capacity?


• Having had to consider a vision for an entire University, can a vision for the College of Business now be even more robust and energizing?


• Having pictured myself in the role of President, what can I take from that to leverage my role as a Dean of this College?


• With many friends and colleagues having told me they are glad I am staying at CTX, how can I now better serve them in reaching their goals and dreams?


• How will what I learned about myself through this process prepare me for what comes next in my current role?


• Having made many new connections, especially at CSP, how will I not only keep those alive but partner with these new friends to serve God's Kingdom?


• Knowing that a part of my "falling in love" with CSP was its urban/diverse setting, where and how will I use that passion to further the Kingdom of God?


• Having tasted the role of being a college president, what are the next steps in my growth toward having that opportunity in the future?


• What questions are important for me to ask - especially over the next month - to fully realize the learning I can receive from this process?

I am excited about this beginning - it is almost as if this is the first day of the rest of my life. And though the ending was not what I might have wanted at this time, I know that this beginning is just that - a BEGINNING that will have yet another ending of which I am not aware. And so, I end this story with a beginning, and share these words which I came across the first morning of my new beginning...

I leave all things to God's direction, He loves me both in joy and woe.

His will is good, sure his affection; His tender love is true, I know.

My fortress and my rock is He: What pleases God, that pleases me.

falling in love

The past week has been a blur - from St. Paul to Austin to Cincinnati and back to Austin...from interviewing for a College President's position to presenting on the topic of teaching leadership to catching up on my blog...from rainy weather to snow and ice to 80 degrees to 30 degrees and back to 80 degrees...from making new friends and colleagues to catching up with past friends and colleagues...from fear to joy to nervousness to confidence to anxiousness...let's suffice it to say that my emotions pretty much ruled the week and I'm ready for an uneventful and fairly boring week. Having invested myself in the presidential search process over the past several months, I finally came face to face with that entity which had consumed me - Concordia University, St. Paul. We spent 48 hours together, dancing together, wooing one another, and I slowly but surely fell in love with the place and its people. The questions I had going in were quickly answered and what I discovered was a gem - a jewel - a beautiful representation of what a Lutheran urban institution of higher learning should be. Concordia University, St. Paul (or as it is more affectionately known, CSP) resonates with who I am and what I most believe about Lutheran higher education. It represent for me what I love and care about:

• a commitment to the broad spectrum of student engagement - music, drama, athletics, fine arts, student-faculty engagement, service learning, travel, student leadership, and more.


• a commitment to serving students in the margins - not only does CSP find funds for these students to attend an institution of higher learning, they provide positions and people to support these students, many of whom are first generation college students.


• a commitment to the community - CSP is located right among homes, apartments, businesses, high income households, low income households, and in-between income households. The community (which has a strong international flavor) sees CSP as its college, using it for plays, exercise, classes, gatherings, and support. CSP is not in institution FOR the community, but an institution OF the community.


• a commitment to diversity - diversity is not just a marketing slogan for CSP - it is an integral part of who they are and how they function as a community, supporting the learning process and enriching the lives of its students, faculty and staff.


• a commitment to the best aspects of Lutheran higher education - there is a consistent dialogue going on that wants to understand and figure out what it means to be distinctly Lutheran and how that "ethos" supports the learning environment.


• a commitment to excellence - whether it is in the classroom, in the theatre, in the music building, on the athletic courts and fields (4 consecutive national volleyball chamionships), as well as in the support services and the administration of the institution, everyone wants to do an outstanding job in their calling and vocation.


• a commitment to the church - CSP is affiliated with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and considers itself to be a university of the Church. That understanding shapes its culture, its way of being, its programs, and its mission. As they wrestle with what that means in the 21st century, they are willing to question how that looks and how best to serve the church at large as a partner in its broader mission.

And so I fell in love (I have to admit that I felt as if I was "cheating" on my current institution, Concordia University Texas). With falling in love can also come several things that caught me by surprise:

• every institution has its warts (some may even see them as gross disfigurations). However, it is the warts and all that makes that insititution the place it is today


• some people have not fallen in love with the institution - in fact, they may not even like it at all. I suppose if everyone liked any given entity, it would be very dull and not have its own unique personality


• falling in love is an emotional venture - I found myself feeling "verklempt" during much of my time there (and still do) as I got to know more and more people and emotionally invested myself in them and the institution


• the preparation and anticipation made falling in love much easier than I thought it would be. My time on campus was meant to confirm whether I would "fall in love" or not...and I did (head over heels)


• falling in love may not always guarantee a reciprocal feeling. There was a point during my visit in which I saw myself as having fallen in love with CSP and realizing that they might not chose to call me for this position - an interesting moment in time that affected me deeply


• falling in love changes one's view of the rest of the world - I fear I might start begin comparing everything else to what I felt and saw at Concordia University, St. Paul. The last thing my colleagues will want to hear for the next month or so is "at CSP they do it another way..."


• one person can have two loves at the same time - I love Concordia University Texas and know that should my calling and vocation remain there, I will embrace it 110% and serve its mission with a renewed sense of engagement and vigor. At the same time, I have a new view of the world (and one which has changed me for the better) because of what I saw and experienced at CSP.

And so I spend one more week waiting patiently to see how I and my wife will spend the next years of our lives. God's plan for His Kingdom is always beyond what I can know at any given time. And maybe that is where I most need to place my love - to commit myself (talents, time, and treaures) to the growth of God's Kingdom, so that I can most fully live out my personal mission statement of "living life abundantly and helping others do the same." We'll see what happens - and what the future brings.