THOUSAND OAKS : Cal Lutheran Fills Vice President Post

Cal Lutheran University has appointed a Midwestern college administrator, Dennis R. Johnson, to the newly created position of vice president of enrollment and student life, President Luther S. Luedtke announced.

Johnson will be responsible for recruiting and evaluating undergraduate applications, setting admissions policy and overseeing all aspects of student life, from dormitories to extracurricular activities, for the school’s 1,800 undergraduates. Previously, enrollment and student life were distinct positions at the Thousand Oaks campus.

“We are bringing these two divisions together under one vice president to address the student experience at California Lutheran holistically from the moment of first contact and on through graduation,” Luedtke said in a statement announcing the appointment.

Johnson has worked for 12 years as an admissions and financial aid administrator at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, one of Cal Lutheran’s sister institutions. He now serves as Luther College’s dean for enrollment management.

Selected after a nationwide search, Johnson will join the Cal Lutheran administration when Ronald Kragthorpe, the university’s current vice president for student affairs, retires in May.

The post of vice president for enrollment has been vacant since last June.