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CLU names provost to be president
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Kimball
Chris Kimball
Job: New president of California Lutheran University.
Age: 52.
Education: Bachelor's degree in history, McGill University in Montreal; master's and doctorate in history, University of Chicago.
Residence: Thousand Oaks.
Personal: Married, two children.
Last book read: "March Violets" by Philip Kerr.
Favorite movies: "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" and "Eight Men Out."
Quote: "People sometimes miss opportunity because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work."
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California Lutheran University has named one of its own to serve as its seventh president.
Chris Kimball, provost and vice president of academic affairs, was named president of the Thousand Oaks private university Thursday afternoon. He will start his new job April 1.
Kimball brings experience, integrity and a passion for education to the position, said James Power IV, vice chairman of the university's Board of Regents.
Beyond that, "he's an incredibly well-rounded guy," Power said.
"He loves baseball and sports," Power said. "He comes from New England, so he has that Yankee sensibility about him. He's a great guy to hang out with, but he's also scholarly."
Kimball came to CLU in 2006 after serving as provost and dean of the faculty at Augsburg College in Minneapolis.
At CLU, he helped develop the university's strategic plan, which the regents approved two weeks ago. The four-year plan calls for CLU to attract and retain high-quality students and faculty, and to add arts and science buildings on campus.
That will require a focus on building relationships outside the university, said Kimball, 52, of Thousand Oaks.
"We're going to need to widen our circle of friends and supporters," he said. "We need to make as strong a case as we can that those buildings are essential to maintaining and increasing our academic quality."
Kimball succeeds John Sladek, who resigned in July after only a year on the job. The Rev. Howard Wennes has been serving as interim president.
CLU conducted a nationwide search for a new president. University officials said they interviewed about 10 applicants before narrowing the field to Kimball and another candidate, whom they declined to name.
On its Web site, the university listed the qualifications it was seeking in an ideal candidate. Among them: an ability to serve as the university's chief fundraiser.
That's a job Kimball will be able to do, even though his background is academic, said Sharon Docter, faculty chairwoman.
"He knows how to relate to people," Docter said. "He's someone who can discuss the mission of CLU with people outside of CLU."
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