Eric Parsons / Star staff file photo California Lutheran University's departing president, John Sladek, will return to the University of Colorado. He had taken an unpaid leave of absence there.

John Sladek has resigned as president of California Lutheran University, only a year after taking the job.

The Board of Regents for the Thousand Oaks university accepted Sladek's resignation Monday.

"It's a mutual agreement," Sladek said Monday afternoon from Colorado, where he has spent much of the summer working on research. "I'm returning to my life and family and research mission in Colorado."

Sladek will become a professor of pediatrics and neuroscience at the University of Colorado, where he had served as vice chancellor before coming to CLU. In that position, he will continue his research into the effects of Down syndrome and Parkinson's disease.

Sladek, 64, said he had taken an unpaid leave of absence from the University of Colorado "in the event I decided to return."

In accepting the resignation, the CLU board released Sladek from a four-year contract. Neither the board nor Sladek would discuss details of the agreement.

The Rev. Howard Wennes will serve as CLU's interim president while the board searches for a successor. Wennes also served as interim president when Sladek's predecessor, Luther Luedtke, resigned 14 months ago.

The search for a new college president typically takes a year, said Bill Kane, chairman of the board. "We'll look for the right person internally and externally," Kane said.

Sladek was hired during a transitional time for the private university, which is trying to boost its science programs along with its national reputation.

It's not uncommon for a president who comes in during a time of change to have a short tenure, said Robert Oakes, vice president of the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities.

"You eat up a lot of good will," Oakes said. "You have to confront reality versus expectations."

During Sladek's tenure, CLU faculty and staff became eligible for merit raises of 7 percent to 15 percent. Those raises are part of a five-year plan to make faculty and staff pay competitive, Sladek said. Enrollment is growing, and the university recently completed a $93 million fundraising campaign.

Sladek also had hoped to build a new science building with a research center. CLU has received a $5 million donation for that building, but more money needs to be raised, he said.

"I'm sorry if I disappointed anyone by not staying longer," Sladek said. "But I'm confident CLU is very strong and will continue without missing a beat."