The Concordia University Board of Regents announced Dec. 1 that Dr. Bernard D. Bull has accepted a Divine Call to become the university's 11th president, effective August 2021.
Bull is currently serving as president of Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont.
"Dr. Bull had the unanimous support of the Board of Regents," said Stuart Bartruff, Board of Regents chair. "He expressed a strong desire to return to serving in a Christ-centered Lutheran institution of higher learning. He has a strong commitment to Lutheran theology, and he looks forward to faithfully fulfilling the Concordia University Promises of a Lutheran Education. Dr. Bull is known nationally for his innovative insights regarding Christian education at all levels. Concordia University will be well-served given Dr. Bull's leadership attributes and experience. The Lord has blessed us by raising up Dr. Bull, a faithful servant."
Bull will succeed the Rev. Dr. Brian Friedrich, who served as Concordia's president from 2004-19. The Rev. Dr. Russ Sommerfeld has served as interim president since Jan. 1, 2020.
Under Bull's leadership, Goddard College renewed its accreditation status from the New England Commission of Higher Education following a two-year probationary period.
"I'm humbled to heed God's call to serve as the next president of Concordia University, Nebraska," Bull said in a statement. "I've long admired Concordia's legacy of cultivating a rich, academically challenging, vibrant and Christ-centered higher education community and its inspiring track-record of equipping men and women for lives of learning, service and leadership in the church and world."
Bull earned a bachelor's degree in education, theology and history from Concordia University Wisconsin in 1994 before earning a master's in curriculum and instruction from Concordia University Chicago in 1997, a master of liberal studies from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2005 and a doctor of education in instructional technology from Northern Illinois University in 2007.
Dr. Bull and his wife Joyanna have two children, Bethany and Nathaniel. Dr. Joyanna Bull served as an adjunct instructor at Concordia University Wisconsin, as well as a kindergarten-12th grade teacher in Lutheran and public schools.
