最后，克鲁格总统宣布退休

库尔特·克鲁格, president of 欧文康考迪亚大学 since 2010—and 欧文康考迪亚大学 English professor and provost before that—will retire in December 2019, 离开这所可能是学术上最强的大学, 在传教和财政方面.

“库尔特热爱这个机构和这里的人们——教职工, 教职员及学生,埃尔默·古丁说, former chairman of 欧文康考迪亚大学’s board of regents and had a nearly-forty-year career as professor of economics, 亚利桑那州立大学副教务长和其他职位. “他是一个安静的领导者，坚定地致力于 任务 这个机构和整个教会. 他以身作则，而不是夸夸其谈. 其他人看到并尊重这一点.”

He’s a quiet leader, strongly committed to the 任务 这个机构和整个教会. 他以身作则，而不是夸夸其谈. 其他人看到并尊重这一点.

克鲁格还“让学校的财务状况变得很好”. Without a doubt it’s the best financial position the university has ever achieved,” Gooding says. “库尔特以身作则，是上帝忠实的仆人.”

Krueger-Hemingway博彩平台网址大全, 密尔沃基当地, and four-year starter on his college football team—says he never even made a career plan.

“I didn’t take the advice of people in leadership books,他说 with a chuckle. “我对Call的理念很有信心. 我努力工作，做一个负责任的老师和员工. 我想如果人们想提拔我, they would give me more responsibilities and I’d do my best to fulfill those and see where God would lead. 我基本上是让上帝在我身上起作用.”

他很快补充说，作为总统，他每天都有一份任务清单, 以及大学战略举措的长期计划. 但“当涉及到我的个人事业时, 我唯一的职业目标是做一名忠心的教会教师,他说.

库尔特和他的三个兄弟姐妹是牧师的孩子，在一个“非常安全的, 培育环境”. 他们的母亲是路德教会学校的老师.

“在教堂的经历, 在青年组, 在一个不断壮大的会众中，这是一种非常愉快的气氛,他回忆道. “我爸爸是一个积极向上的人，总是乐观、精力充沛、很受欢迎. 那是一个美好的童年.”

克鲁格家所有的孩子都成了这样或那样的路德教教师. 库尔特对英语的热爱可以追溯到高中时代, where extensive footnotes in an English textbook helped him crack the code of Shakespeare’s language.

“I was flabbergasted that after a couple minutes it was understandable,他说. “从那一刻起，我就被迷住了. 我一生中最喜欢的事情之一就是打开一本崭新的书, 坐下来花一个小时和它在一起.”

但克鲁格不是书呆子. At 瓦尔paraiso University he played wide receiver for four years on a team that won two conference championships, 遇见了他的妻子, 瓦尔, 在一个为贫困儿童服务的社区俱乐部.

他们在圣。. Louis in 1971 and their honeymoon trip was to his first Call as a teacher at Concordia High School in Portland, 俄勒冈州. 他们在那里待了九年, 库尔特教授英语和司机教育, 执教篮球和足球.

But it was a year-long break to sell insurance that perhaps changed their lives most. 作为路德会援助协会的推销员试水, Kurt was on a house call to visit a pastor who had five adopted children and wanted more life insurance. That conversation led him to connect the Kruegers with a Lutheran attorney who was trying to find a home for an infant to be born six months later. That child became the first of the Kruegers’ two adopted children, Tim, 40, and Debbie, 32.

“当我问上帝为什么让我离开我的教学职责, 我想他的回答是, “这样你就能找到这个小婴儿了,’”克鲁格说.

后来，这个不断壮大的家庭回到了密尔沃基, Kurt教英语的地方, 执教过足球和女子篮球, 曾担任威斯康辛州康考迪亚大学的体育主管. They enjoyed six years near family—and Lambeau Field for Green Bay Packers games. 然后，阳光明媚的地方传来了一个电话.

“It was intriguing to come to a small school, Christ College, that was just starting,克鲁格说. “我们面临的挑战是帮助建立一所致力于大使命的学校. 自我们成立以来，我们一直被称为大使命学院. 帮助创始人意识到这个愿景是非常吸引人的.”

更不用说不再做教练了. 第一次, 克鲁格可以完全专注于学术研究, 这意味着要教他心爱的海明威. 克鲁格的硕士论文是《博彩平台网址大全》, 克鲁格访问了海明威在伊利诺斯州和基韦斯特的家, 佛罗里达.

“海明威是一个令人讨厌的角色, but wrote in such a way that he was in touch with some of those timeless beliefs, 主题和理念, 主要以自然为中心, 关于做人的意义, 正直和勇气意味着什么,克鲁格说.

我对《正规博彩网站排名亚洲体育博彩平台》的理念很有信心. 我基本上是让上帝在我身上起作用.

Courage was needed when he was asked to serve in his first administrative role at Christ College (now 欧文康考迪亚大学). 在会议上, the 教师 appointed committee members to an accreditation self-study team—“not a prestigious position,克鲁格回忆道. “没有人真的想要它.被选中的人碰巧正在休假, 于是他们环顾了一下房间, 看到我说, “你愿意在这个委员会任职吗??’我说:‘嗯，当然，好吧.“这就是我进入高等教育管理的真正原因.”

他也继续教书, 以及康考迪亚大学欧文分校的克里斯汀·施密特教授, 谁在1990年加入克鲁格英语系, 看到学生们如何享受他的教学和他的“伟大”, 干燥的智慧.” Nowhere was that more apparent than in the legendary “chapel wars” between Krueger and math professor Ken Mangels, 他后来担任了文理学院院长, 并于2009年退休.

他说:“当英语教授这件事，我让他很为难, 他还取笑我是数学教授,曼格斯回忆道. “然后他们安排我们背靠背(作为礼拜堂的演讲者)就是因为这个.”

与此同时, 作为编辑的认证自学, 克鲁格负责监督撰写该书各个部分的教员, 他发现自己会去他们的办公室鼓励他们, 加快他们的速度或者帮助他们创作一些东西.

“我就是这样学会与大学教员合作的, 谁是敬业的, 有天赋和聪明, 但可以非常独立,他说.

He was called to be dean of Arts and Sciences, then provost for nine years before heading to St. 路易斯成为康考迪亚大学系统的校长. He saw his job as encouraging individual schools and sharing best practices across the system.

2010年被提名为康考迪亚大学欧文分校校长, “我们对回归的前景感到非常兴奋, 更贴近学生, 和家人更亲近,他说.

克雷格·奥尔森, Fresh Start面包店的前首席执行官, 麦当劳和其他餐厅的全球食品供应商, served as chairman of 欧文康考迪亚大学’s board of regents and chairman of the search committee whose yearlong efforts led them to select Krueger.

“最突出的是他冷静而谦逊的举止, 还有同事们对他的尊重. 奥尔森说:“他是一个忠实的路德教基督徒.

克鲁格在那一年接受了这个电话.

When it came to my personal career, 我唯一的职业目标是做一名忠心的教会教师.

“绝对, it would have shocked me when I began my career 46 years ago to know I would be president of a Lutheran university,当被问到这个问题时，他说. “I'm still surprised by the way the Lord has blessed me and my wife all these years.”

在他担任总统的头两年, 从总统的家走到他的办公室, Kurt会说, "我是康科迪亚欧文分校的校长. 亲爱的上帝，你在想什么呢?... [But] I did feel well-prepared because of my years of experience and because I knew most of the people here at Irvine and had helped hire most of the 教师.”

今天, 克鲁格办公室的架子上放着一张海明威的巨幅海报, overlooking a man familiar with the challenges facing many Christian liberal arts colleges today.

克鲁格说:“我们有一个学费驱动的商业模式. “That means there’s the constant challenge to recruit students at the undergraduate level, 以及我们所有的硕士和成人课程. 你要不断地查看漏斗，看看有多少查询, 应用程序, 存款和登记. 这是一个不会消失的挑战.第二个挑战是“发现伟大”, 愿意为微薄的薪水而教书的敬业的教师,他说.

面对这些和其他不利因素, 康考迪亚大学欧文分校的领导团队, 以克鲁格为首, 八年来取得了多少成就, 观察人士说. 他们将使命宣言保持在可见和中心位置, 成为它所需要的引导力量,奥尔森说. “It’s focusing on the Great Com任务 while combining it with the desire to develop wise, 高尚有修养的公民.

Kurt made it the marching orders for the executive team and all of those on staff, 教师, 还有校董会.古丁说，克鲁格“在我们所处的时期当然是合适的人选。. 他有合适的经验，把康科迪亚带到下一个层次. 在我看来，他是一位杰出的总统.”

Gooding and Olson agree that Krueger strengthened the senior team well “by being trusted, by delegating and challenging those folks to be fully accountable and responsible for their area, 把想法提出来,古丁说。. “他们在财务上处理得非常好, yet held firm to the 任务 of the institution and commitment to Christian education.”

在过去的九年里, 欧文康考迪亚大学 increased its cash reserves from $2 million to about $24 million. 捐款从900万美元左右增加到3000万美元左右, 现在每年提供数十万美元的奖学金. 学生人数从2人增加到2人,900 to 4,300名学生, 提供的课程也越来越多，越来越多样化.

克鲁格赞扬了康考迪亚大学欧文分校的领导地位, 包括他的前任, 快速进入 在线教育. “I was a skeptic until I taught my first online class [while serving as provost], 但我很快就了解到，在线教育可以是一个强大的学习工具,他说. “The adults were learning as much as the students were in the face-to-face classes. 你不需要淡化任何东西. 真正的好处是，在在线课堂上，没有人可以躲在后排. 每个人都要参与，并在课堂上回答问题, 通常通过电子邮件或在线门户网站.”

这种洞察力帮助康考迪亚大学欧文分校建立了最大的 教练与体育管理硕士(MCAA) 在乡下. 克鲁格也为自己的创新感到自豪 教育领导的教育博士课程 (康考迪亚欧文分校第一个也是唯一一个博士学位), which because of its excellent design and streamlined approach now has 75 students.

他最想念的是什么? “I’m going to really miss going to chapel four days a week and hearing my colleagues express their faith in very winsome, 诚实和个人的方式,他说. 他和瓦尔也将怀念与康考迪亚大学欧文分校的教职员工在一起的时光, 各位教职员、朋友和捐款人.

The Kruegers are moving an hour away to be near their grandchildren, 8 years old and six months old. 克鲁格说:“我真的很期待与两个孙子重新联系。. “这太有趣了. 这可能是第一点.”

Reading and exercise will also be part of the retirement plan, and a river cruise through Germany.