Former CLU provost dies

(MOORHEAD, Minn. - June 9, 2010) Pamela Jolicoeur, former provost and dean of the faculty at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, died this afternoon after suffering a stroke this morning. She was 65.

Jolicoeur, who has a home in Thousand Oaks, left CLU in 2004 to become the first woman president of Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn. She had spent more than 30 years at CLU, working her way up from a sociology professor to the university's second-in-command.

"The magnitude of the loss is indescribable both to Concordia College and to CLU," said CLU Provost Leanne Neilson, who served under Jolicoeur for 12 years. "Pam was the kind of leader who made you want to follow her lead. She was passionate about her work, and her energy was contagious."

A graduate of Santa Clara University with master's and doctoral degrees from Purdue University, Jolicoeur joined the CLU sociology faculty in 1972 and served as department chair from 1979 to 1983. She assumed key leadership positions in the dean's office beginning in 1981 and became vice president for academic affairs in 1993. She became provost in 1996.

Stephen Wheatly, CLU's vice president for university advancement, said Jolicoeur was a motivational professor who went on to become a visionary administrator.

"Pam was loved, admired and respected," said Wheatly, who graduated from CLU in 1977. "She will be missed greatly by all of us who had the pleasure of learning from her as a teacher, working with her as a colleague, and knowing her as a friend."

During Jolicoeur's tenure, CLU achieved many academic milestones including regional and national accreditations and increasingly higher rankings by U.S. News & World Report and other well-respected organizations.

It was during this time that CLU President Chris Kimball first met her.

"Pam was a real dynamic force," said Kimball, who credits Jolicoeur for drawing his attention to the Thousand Oaks university. "She stood out among other provosts and presidents because she had such incredible energy and intellect."

While at CLU, Jolicoeur also served as an adviser to the Ventura County Community Foundation, a member of the Civic Alliance for Ventura County and a board member for United Way of Ventura County.

Jolicoeur is survived by her husband, Michael A. Doyle, a CLU criminal justice professor emeritus, and her daughter, Jessica.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 26, in CLU's Samuelson Chapel. A reception will follow in the Kwan Fong Gallery of Art and Culture and the Soiland Humanities Center Plaza.

The chapel is located south of Olsen Road near the corner of Campus Road. Parking is available in the lot at the corner of Olsen Road and Mountclef Boulevard.

A memorial fund has been set up at CLU. Donations can be sent to the Pamela M. Jolicoeur Memorial Fund, c/o University Advancement, California Lutheran University, 60 W. Olsen Road #1700, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360.

For more information, call (805) 493-3100.

--- For reflections on Jolicoeur's contributions to Lutheran higher education, please visit the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America website.