ELCA NEWS SERVICE May 6, 2009 Darrel Colson Named President of ELCA's Wartburg College 09-108-FI CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Wartburg College's board of regents announced May 4 that Dr. Darrel D. Colson, provost and dean at Centenary College, Shreveport, La., will become the 17th president of the liberal arts school in Waverly, Iowa, on July 1. Wartburg is one of 28 colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Colson, 53, succeeds Jack R. Ohle, who resigned to become president of Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minn. Dr. William E. Hamm, former president of Waldorf College, Forest City, Iowa, has served Wartburg as interim president since July 1, 2008. Gustavus Adolphus and Waldorf are also ELCA colleges. "I have long been drawn to the values and character of Lutheran higher education, and I have long held a very high opinion of Wartburg College," Colson said in a news release. Fred Hagemann, Waverly, chair of the regents, said the board selected Colson for his academic and administrative skills. "We felt that an emphasis on improving our exposure, both regionally and nationally, as a fine academic institution meshed well with his qualities and his vision for Wartburg." Colson is a graduate of Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, and earned a master's degree and doctorate from Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn. He taught at Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, N.C., and served on the founding faculty of Louisiana Scholars' College, an experimental honors college at Northwestern State University, Natchitoches, La. Colson was Fletcher Jones Chair of Great Books at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., before becoming a professor of philosophy at Centenary College in 2002. Colson's wife, Christy, is a preschool administrator. They are the parents of two adult children. -- -- -- The home page for Wartburg College is at http://www.wartburg.edu/ on the Web. For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask] http://www.elca.org/news ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog