The Next President of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa

The board of regents at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, has announced that it has selected Paula J. Carlson as the tenth president of the institution. The liberal arts college enrolls about 2,500 students and women make up 56 percent of the student body. Dr. Carlson will take office on July 1.

Dr. Carlson currently serves as vice president for mission at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. A scholar of medieval and modern American literature, she is the former director of the Wendt Center for Character Education and associate dean for academic affairs at the University of Dubuque in Iowa.

“I am deeply honored to become Luther’s next president. I look forward to working with students, faculty, staff, regents and the wider Luther community to continue building Luther’s strengths as an excellent, vibrant and thriving liberal arts, residential college of the church,” Dr. Carlson said.

Dr. Carlson is a graduate of St. Olaf College. She holds two master’s degrees and a Ph.D. in English and comparative literature from Columbia University in New York City.