New Concordia University Wisconsin president brings experience in Lutheran higher education
A college administrator with nearly 15 years of experience in leadership positions at Lutheran higher education institutions will take the reins of Concordia University Wisconsin next year.
The university Board of Regents unanimously named Erik Ankerberg as its next president, capping an end to a search that began more than a year ago. His term begins Jan. 9, the school announced Monday.
Ankerberg, 52, brings an extensive background with the private Lutheran university system. He currently serves as provost of Concordia University Chicago and briefly led the institution on an interim basis in summer 2019. He has also served as provost of Concordia University Texas and assistant provost at Wisconsin Lutheran College.
Concordia University Wisconsin is the largest university affiliate of The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod in the country, the school said. It merged with its Ann Arbor sister campus in 2013. The Mequon campus has about 2,200 undergraduates and 2,300 graduate students.
Ankerberg earned his bachelor's degree from Concordia Chicago and a doctorate in British Renaissance Literature from Marquette University. He and his wife, Jennifer, have two sons who are both in college.
Ankerberg takes over for the Rev. Patrick Ferry, who led Concordia’s Mequon campus from 1997 through his retirement in June 2021.
“I am humbled and honored to accept the Call to serve as President of Concordia University Wisconsin and Ann Arbor," Ankerberg said in a statement. "This university has a long and rich history of serving Christ, the Church, and the wider world by providing a rigorous, Christ-centered education that forms each student’s mind, body, and spirit as preparation to find 'uncommon' ways to meet the needs of others."
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Concordia University Wisconsin names Erik Ankerberg new president
