Concordia College

Executive Leadership

Concordia College is a private, four-year liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America under the leadership of President Pamela M. Jolicoeur. She became the 10th president of Concordia College in 2004 and is a leading proponent of independent higher education. Her leadership of Concordia includes the development of a five-year strategic plan to more fully define the context in which Concordia operates and to identify the college's challenges and opportunities as it advances into the 21st century.

Under Jolicoeur's guidance the college has received numerous recognitions, including being one of only five schools to be honored with the Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization by NAFSA: Association of International Educators. Concordia is also ranked seventh in the nation among baccalaureate institutions for the number of students studying abroad, according to the Open Doors 2006 report published by the Institute of International Education. The college ranks in the top 15 percent nationally - and sixth in Minnesota - in the number of students who go on to earn their doctorates.

Concordia has celebrated the opening of the Arabic Language Village, five NCAA Postgraduate Scholars in just two years, a half-million dollar National Science Foundation CAREER grant, an NCAA Woman of the Year Finalist, a half-million dollar Lilly Endowment Inc. grant to establish the Institute for Faith and Public Life, and construction of a new Campus Center.

Jolicoeur's recent highlights as a distinguished leader include:

• Invitation as one of 25 independent college and university leaders from the United States and the Muslim world to gather in Istanbul for a unique dialogue and exchange of ideas

• Part of a select group invited to attend the Secretaries' U.S. University Presidents Summit in Washington, D.C., hosted by Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings

• Travel on a delegation study tour to China, led by David Laird, president of the Minnesota Private College Council, to meet with business and government leaders and explore partnership opportunities

The college's leadership also includes that of the Board of Regents and six vice presidents, an associate vice president, two deans and a senior director.