Written by Karina Kosmala

After five years, (and only taking 14 days off within those five years,) of always being on a tight schedule, running from meeting to meeting, and walking through campus greeting Concordia University Chicago (CUC) students, Dr. Daniel L. Gard is retiring as President of CUC at the end of the 2019 summer.

One of the reasons that Dr. Gard shared why he is retiring as President (after his five year contract has ended), said, “One is always for me, the best interest of the University (CUC). It’s always, the most important thing to me, and when I say best interest of the University that means, fundamentally, the best interest of the students, now and into the future. We made tremendous progress over these last years, in facilities, with others coming, plans are laid and in motion…”  

Dr. Gard never thought he would be appointed President of CUC. He served in the Navy. He was a theological professor and as a dean at the Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and a parish pastor (for five years) of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Mishawaka, Indiana.

He was entered into a list among 50 possible candidates for president. The Board of Regents, faculty, staff and student voices along with other factors narrowed the list down until there were three candidates left.

“I had no idea I was going to be in the final three, and at the end of that process, the Board of Regents chose, of the three, me to elect as President. When I got the phone call, my first words were, ‘You’ve got to be kidding.’ So my wife and I had to make the decision (with my wife), … She was supportive of it, and I made the decision then to accept the call as President and so we moved here (from Fort Wayne, Indiana) within a month to begin my work,” said Dr. Gard.

The responsibilities of the president of CUC or any of the Concordia Universities fall under the Bylaws of the Lutheran Church of Missouri Synod.

“The president is the academic head, administrative head, and the spiritual head of the University (CUC)… For example, with academics, I am not the chief academic officer, Dr. John Zillman is and he serves and reports to me. He has responsibility for all academic issues at the university,… I am responsible for everything from the budget of the university, to the facilities of the university, to the security of the university, to personnel and staff. In other words, everything ultimately flows to the president.” said Dr. Gard

However, when Dr. Gard stepped into his role, he didn’t know the other aspects that apply to the role as President.

“The only person who knows what it is to be University President is one who is or has been. There’s always lots of surprises, things you didn’t know were part of the job. Just an example with athletics and being a part of the leadership of the athletic conference, responsibility to the NCAA, National Collegiate Athletic Association, to ensure that we are in compliance always…. I didn’t know anything about that, but I did have to learn it and fortunately the athletic leadership here has and keeps me well informed and they are very careful that we remain always in compliance with everything…” said Dr. Gard  

During these five years, Dr. Gard helped with improving CUC’s facilities, such as the residence halls, Trusheim Hall and the newly built Concordia Hall, the first new residence hall since 1969, along with the renovated and renamed West Annex as the Kreft Center. He mentioned that the upcoming plans for CUC include renovating or building a new science building, as well as improving the facilities for athletics.

As for retirement, Dr. Gard and his wife plan to move back to Fort Wayne, Indiana (where he lived with his wife for 25 years).

“I am now 12 years overdue on a book (The Concordia Commentary Series, The Concordia Publishing House), a commentary that I have to finish, so I’ve not been able to do anything since I’ve been here. So, I’ll be writing, I have no firm commitments yet, but I’ll probably teach once in a while in different places,” said Dr. Gard.

He added, “I want to also let people know that even though, that I will at that point retire. I’m not retired yet, this Monty Python thing, ‘I’m not dead yet.’ I intend to be fully engaged. I’m not going to be a lame duck president, or something like that, but when I do move back to Indiana, this University will always be a place, I’m going to do everything I can to support. To what extent that is, will be up to the new president cause I [will] no longer be a president, there will be a new president’s decision, and I respect that. But my love for this university’s going to last the rest of my life. So whatever I can do, whatever that might be, I will do for this place.”

Thank you for serving as our President of CUC, and we wish you the best of luck on your retirement.