Jacob Aall Ottesen Preus III (March 20, 1953 – August 4, 2022) was an American academic administrator who was the president of

Concordia University, Irvine Concordia University Irvine is a private university, private Lutheranism, Lutheran university in Irvine, California, United States. It was established in 1976 to provide a Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod college to serve the Pacific Southwest a ...

from 1998 to 2009. Previously, he was a professor at

Concordia Seminary Concordia Seminary is a Lutheran seminary in Clayton, Missouri. The institution's primary mission is to train pastors, deaconesses, missionaries, chaplains, and church leaders for the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). Founded in 1839, t ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. On September 23, 2009, he resigned as the university president to become the executive vice president of Mission Advancement for Bethesda Lutheran Communities in

Watertown, Wisconsin Watertown is a city in Jefferson and Dodge counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 22,926 at the 2020 census, of which 14,674 were in Jefferson County and 8,252 were in Dodge County. Division Street, several blocks north of ...

Education

Preus graduated from the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

in 1975. He received his

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

(1980),

Master of Sacred Theology Master of Theology (, abbreviated ThM, MTh or MTheol, or ''Sacrae Theologiae Magister''; abbreviated STM) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a ...

(1986), and

Doctor of Theology Doctor of Theology (, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equivalent to the Doctor o ...

(1986), from

Clayton, Missouri Clayton is a city in and the county seat of St. Louis County, Missouri, and borders the independent city of St. Louis. The population was 17,355 at the 2020 census. Organized in 1877, the city was named after Ralph Clayton, a citizen who donated ...

, a suburb of St. Louis.

Career

Upon graduation from the seminary, he was ordained in the

Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

(LCMS) and served congregations in St. Louis and

Rancho Palos Verdes, California Rancho Palos Verdes is a coastal city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated on September 7, 1973, the city has a population of 42,287 as reported in the 2020 United States census. The city sits atop the bluffs of ...

. He also served as a chaplain in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 24th Regiment of the

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...

during the

First Gulf War The Gulf War (1990–1991) was an armed conflict between Iraq and a multinational military coalition led by the United States, triggered by the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. Persian Gulf War may also refer to: * Shatt al-Arab conflict ...

in 1990–91. Preus became a professor of

systematic theology Systematic theology, or systematics, is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines of the Christian faith. It addresses issues such as what the Bible teaches about certain topics ...

at Concordia Seminary and served in that position and as dean of the faculty until 1998, when he became president of Concordia University in Irvine, California. During his tenure at the university, the School of Theology was established in 1999, the School of Business in 2002, and the School of Adult Studies (later renamed the School of Professional Studies) in 2005. Robert Alan Grimm Hall and the Chi Rho, and Chi Sigma residence halls were constructed during his presidency. He retired from the university presidency in 2009 and went on to serve as the executive vice President for Mission Advancement at Bethesda Lutheran Communities until 2014. He subsequently served as North American Liaison for .

Personal life and death

Preus and his wife Sherry had three children. His father, J. A. O. Preus II, was the eighth president of the LCMS and drew fame for his role in the church schism of the 1970s known as Seminex. His grandfather, J. A. O. Preus, was a politician who served as Minnesota's eighth

state auditor State auditors (also known as state comptrollers, state controllers, or state examiners, among others) are fiscal officers lodged in the executive or legislative branches of U.S. state governments who serve as external auditors, program eval ...

and 20th

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

. His extended family has been prominent in American Lutheranism, especially within the LCMS. He died on August 4, 2022, at the age of 69.

References

External links

Concordia University

by Jacob A. O. Preus {{DEFAULTSORT:Preus, J. A. O., III 1953 births 2022 deaths American Lutherans American people of German descent American people of Norwegian descent Concordia University Irvine alumni University of Missouri alumni Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod people Concordia Seminary alumni

Education

Career

Personal life and death

See also

References

External links