John Nunes has been selected to serve a two-year term as interim president of California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks. He began his interim presidency on June 1.
California Lutheran College enrolls roughly 2,500 undergraduate students and 1,100 graduate students. Black students represent about 5 percent of the undergraduate population.
For the past four years, Dr. Nunes has served on the Academic Leaders Task Force on Campus Free Expression at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C., as well as a senior fellow with the Center for Religion, Culture, and Democracy. Prior to his most recent positions, he spent five years as president of Concordia College in New York. He previously held an endowed professorship with Valparaiso University in Indiana.
In addition to his academic pursuits, Dr. Nunes served as president and chief executive officer of Lutheran World Relief for over six years. He is the author of multiple publications including Meant for More: In, With, and Under the Ordinary (Concordia Publishing House, 2020).
Dr. Nunes received his bachelor’s degree from Concordia University and his master of divinity degree from Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary. He holds a master of theology degree and a Ph.D. in postcolonial identity from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.