CLU Celebrates Inauguration of Sixth President with Week of Events

(THOUSAND OAK, CA – January 2007) California Lutheran University will celebrate the inauguration of the sixth president with a series of special events, beginning Feb. 20. The formal inauguration of John R. Sladek, Ph.D., will be held on Friday, Feb. 23. The ceremony, with a theme of “Dreaming on Things to Come,” will be held at 2 p.m. in the Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center. Members of the community are invited to attend the installation ceremony as well as the lectures and concerts during the week.

Dr. Sladek, who was selected by the University's Board of Regents in June 2006, officially assumed the presidential role in September. A renowned researcher and successful administrator, Sladek’s scholarly work is in the field of neurology and anatomy. He has served as Vice Chancellor of Research and Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at University of Colorado at Denver since 2001. Previously, he held faculty leadership positions at Chicago Medical School (1991-2001) and University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry (1982-1991).

An undergraduate alumnus of Carthage College (a sister institution of CLU) with degrees in biology and chemistry, Sladek received his master of science in biostructure from Northwestern University Medical School in 1968. He went on to receive his doctorate in anatomy in 1971 from Chicago Medical School where he began his career in teaching, researching and publishing.

Sladek succeeds former president Luther S. Luedtke, Ph.D., who served CLU for nearly 14 years before accepting a position as President and Chief Executive Officer of Education Development Center in January 2006.