During President Loren J. Anderson's 19 year tenure, Pacific Lutheran University has focused on its mission of "educating students for lives of thoughtful inquiry, service, leadership and care-for other people, for their communities and for the earth." In support of this mission, the campus community has forged a clear and shared educational vision through two comprehensive long-range plans, "PLU 2000: Embracing the 21st Century" and "PLU 2010: The Next Level of Distinction." These two plans - and PLU 2020 which is now under development - set forth the university's hopes and aspirations, guide its strategic initiatives and serve to measure the university's progress.
Under President Anderson's leadership, three pathways to distinction have set the course for strengthening the university's academic program: global education and service to the world, student-faculty research and creative projects, and helping students discern meaning and purpose in their lives. In recent years the university has been recognized nationally for distinguished leadership and achievement including:
President Anderson's philanthropic expertise also has been a significant factor in the university's success. Two major fund-raising campaigns - one in the mid-1990s and the second concluding in 2004 - helped complete and upgrade campus facilities and infrastructure and build the university's endowment and fiscal strength. Together they yielded over $200 million in current gifts and future resources, including nine major capital construction projects. The endowment stood at $8 million when Anderson became president in 1992 and now has grown to almost $70 million with an additional $100 million in deferred gifts and pledges.
President Anderson is among the most respected university presidents in the country. He currently serves as a board member of the Independent Colleges of Washington, the American Council on Education and of the Institute for the International Education of Students, the premier study-abroad organization. He has served on the boards of the American Leadership Forum in Tacoma and of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, where he was chairman.
Anderson's career has been dedicated to Lutheran higher education. At Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., he served as assistant professor of speech communication and director of institutional research starting in 1972. After serving as assistant to the president from 1975 to 1976, he became vice president for planning and development there.
In 1984, he became executive director of the division for college and university services of the American Lutheran Church. He returned to Concordia in 1988 as executive vice president with responsibilities for fund development, communication, academic planning and general administration.
Anderson earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Concordia College, a master's degree in rhetoric and public address from Michigan State University, and a doctorate in communication theory and research from the University of Michigan. In 1981, he received a diploma from Harvard University's Institute for Educational Management and he completed Harvard's 1992 Seminar for College and University Presidents.
Anderson was born and raised in Rugby, N.D. His wife, MaryAnn, is PLU's external relations coordinator. Their daughter, Maren, is a graduate student at the University of Washington. Loren and MaryAnn Anderson live in Tacoma.