NEW CLU CHIEF EAGER TO TAKE ON JOB DUTIES SLADEK BEGINS WORK AUG. 15.

Byline: ERIC LEACH Staff Writer

THOUSAND OAKS -- As incoming president of California Lutheran University, John Sladek hopes to take advantage of the university's potential for growth and for new cooperation with leading industries in the area.

Sladek, 63, is the vice chancellor for research at the University of Colorado's Health Sciences Center and has served as a professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at the University of Colorado at Denver since 2001.

``I am honored to be selected to lead a rising star among America's universities,'' he said. ``California Lutheran University has unlimited potential. It is positioned to take the next steps to greatness as a university.''

Sladek said he is still learning about Ventura County, but noted that the area is home to leading companies in the health care and and biotechnology industries.

``I would very much like to see the university and the major business leaders form partnerships to create new opportunities, particularly for disadvantaged students,'' he said. ``I have been impressed by CLU's commitment to excellence in undergraduate and graduate studies, the high-quality faculty and students, its strong sense of tradition and community and its very evident potential for growth and greatness.''

CLU is 47 years old and has 2,000 undergraduate and 1,000 graduate students. The university is in the process of building an $18 million sports and fitness center scheduled to open in October.

Sladek's wife Celia is a professor of physiology and biophysics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and they have three grown children.

He will be the sixth leader of the university, following Luther Luedtke, who served as president for nearly 14 years and resigned in December to become president and chief executive officer of the Education Development Center in Newton, Mass. Sladek starts Aug. 15.

He is a Chicago native and earned bachelor's degrees from Carthage College -- a Lutheran college in Wisconsin -- in biology and chemistry. He received his master's of science degree from Northwestern University's School of Medicine and his doctorate in anatomy from the Chicago Medical School.

CLU officials said Sladek has shown an aptitude for leading successful campus building campaigns and was involved at the University of Colorado with the construction of a new 400-acre, $2 billion campus.

``Dr. Sladek's distinguished career as a leader and scholar and his commitment to the distinctive mission and excellence of Lutheran higher education uniquely qualify him for the tasks ahead,'' said Kate McLean, a regent of CLU who chaired the committee that conducted a national search for a new president and announced Sladek's selection Monday.

``The selection of Dr. Sladek as the sixth president is an important step for CLU given the progress that the university is making both academically and physically.''

eric.leach(at)dailynews.com

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(color) ``I am honored to be selected to lead a rising star among America's universities,'' said incoming California Lutheran University President John Sladek.