Dr. Jenifer K. Ward, provost and dean of the college for Centenary College of Louisiana in Shreveport, was unanimously elected by the Luther College Board of Regents as Luther’s 11th president.

In addition to her duties as provost and dean of the college, Ward served as professor of modern language and culture and as the Caroline and Ed Crawford Eminent Scholars Chair of Liberal Arts at Centenary, the only tier-one national liberal arts college in Louisiana.

“Dr. Ward is a visionary and passionate leader who has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to effectively lead transformational change with an inclusive and collaborative style that builds relationships and inspires and motivates her colleagues across campus to achieve a shared vision,” says J. Robert Paulson Jr. ’78, vice chair of Luther’s Board of Regents and chair of the presidential search committee.

“We are at a crucial inflection point in the history of liberal arts education in our country, and in a world that needs the kind of graduates Luther College fosters,” Ward says. “Everyone I met during the search process impressed me with their tough questions, their love for Luther, and their commitment to ensuring a bright future for our students and the communities and environments they will help steward. I look forward to exploring Decorah and to joining in the work of the generations who have shaped the legacy of this great institution.”

Ward’s experience in higher education is punctuated by a love of the liberal arts. Her work at Centenary as provost included integrating a liberal arts curriculum with cocurricular programming to “shape an educational experience designed to promote the intentional intellectual, creative, personal, and professional growth of the whole student,” she says.

More than 15 departments reported to Ward as provost at Centenary, including Academic Affairs, which houses all of the college’s academic departments, schools, and programs; Student Development; Residence Life; Career Services; and Integrated Advising. She was responsible for overseeing roughly half of the college’s annual $25 million operating budget.

Prior to her time at Centenary, Ward served as dean of the college, interim provost, and associate provost at the Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, Washington. She was chair of the Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Department at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, where she also taught German. Ward began her academic career with faculty appointments at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, and the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio.

A distinguished scholar, Ward earned her PhD in Germanic languages and literatures from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and received her bachelor of arts degree with distinction from Hendrix College in her hometown of Conway, Arkansas.

Ward will begin her duties as president of Luther College on July 1, 2019.

To read a letter from Dr. Ward to the Luther community, visit lczine.com/ward-letter.