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Development gets new VP
April 25, 2007
Steve Titus has been appointed PLU’s new vice president for development and university relations. He will arrive at PLU on June 1.
“PLU is one of the most dynamic, comprehensive universities in the western United States,” Titus said. “My family and I are privileged to now be a part of PLU’s commitment to educating world citizens for service and its compassion in caring for others, for community and for the earth.”
Titus is concluding his fifth and final year as president and distinguished professor of leadership and change at Midland Lutheran College in Fremont, Neb. He said he is a passionate student and practitioner of leadership, personal and purpose mastery and the human side of enterprise.
“Steve is a distinguished educator and leader, an experienced administrator and fund-raiser, as well as a strong and committed proponent of Lutheran higher education,” said President Loren Anderson.
During his five years at Midland, Titus led the building of two new state-of-the-art residence halls and a new $10 million event center. He also increased overall fundraising by 20 percent, implemented the first strategic marketing and branding program and completed the college’s first comprehensive strategic planning effort.
Titus and his wife, Sara, were on campus a few weeks ago to meet with PLU employees at a reception in the University Gallery at Ingram Hall. Titus visited PLU in March, and after his time here, he and Sara determined PLU was the right place for them and their family.
“We were compelled to accept this invitation after our extended and extraordinary visit with PLU students,” Titus said. “The students are of a special character and they feel deeply supported and led by the dedicated faculty.”
Titus co-created and co-directs the Lutheran College and University Leadership Program, a 12-month leadership experience created to identify and equip qualified candidates for leadership positions in Lutheran colleges, universities and seminaries. Additionally, Titus is an adjunct professional executive coach and founder of the Presidential Leadership Group, a leadership and executive coaching firm for college and university senior leaders.
Prior to joining Midland, Titus was executive assistant to the president at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn., and a tenured professor of leadership studies and organizational behavior at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, Minn.
He served as an attorney and commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps from 1990 to 1995. He held several positions while on active duty, including legal advisor to the deputy assistant secretary of the Army, labor and employment law attorney on the Department of the Army staff at the Pentagon, and as trial defense counsel with the 3rd Infantry Division in Wuerzburg, Germany during Operation Desert Storm.
Titus served as Minnesota’s civilian aide to the secretary of the Army from 1999 to 2002. He was awarded the United States Army Outstanding Civilian Service Medal in 2002.
Titus holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Southwest Minnesota State University and a juris doctor degree from Marquette University Law School. He earned a doctorate in higher education and strategic leadership from the University of Virginia, where he was a Governor’s Fellow.
Steve also holds a diploma from the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s School and certificates from the Advanced Leadership Education Program at the Kennedy School of Government and the Institute for Educational Management at the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University. He is a graduate of The Coaches Training Institute and is a member of the International Coach Federation and is an inaugural member of the International Leadership Association.
Steve and his wife, Sara, have two daughters, Emma, 6 and Lilian ("Lily"), 2.
Titus is concluding his fifth and final year as president and distinguished professor of leadership and change at Midland Lutheran College in Fremont, Neb. He said he is a passionate student and practitioner of leadership, personal and purpose mastery and the human side of enterprise.
“Steve is a distinguished educator and leader, an experienced administrator and fund-raiser, as well as a strong and committed proponent of Lutheran higher education,” said President Loren Anderson.
During his five years at Midland, Titus led the building of two new state-of-the-art residence halls and a new $10 million event center. He also increased overall fundraising by 20 percent, implemented the first strategic marketing and branding program and completed the college’s first comprehensive strategic planning effort.
Titus and his wife, Sara, were on campus a few weeks ago to meet with PLU employees at a reception in the University Gallery at Ingram Hall. Titus visited PLU in March, and after his time here, he and Sara determined PLU was the right place for them and their family.
“We were compelled to accept this invitation after our extended and extraordinary visit with PLU students,” Titus said. “The students are of a special character and they feel deeply supported and led by the dedicated faculty.”
Titus co-created and co-directs the Lutheran College and University Leadership Program, a 12-month leadership experience created to identify and equip qualified candidates for leadership positions in Lutheran colleges, universities and seminaries. Additionally, Titus is an adjunct professional executive coach and founder of the Presidential Leadership Group, a leadership and executive coaching firm for college and university senior leaders.
Prior to joining Midland, Titus was executive assistant to the president at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn., and a tenured professor of leadership studies and organizational behavior at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, Minn.
He served as an attorney and commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps from 1990 to 1995. He held several positions while on active duty, including legal advisor to the deputy assistant secretary of the Army, labor and employment law attorney on the Department of the Army staff at the Pentagon, and as trial defense counsel with the 3rd Infantry Division in Wuerzburg, Germany during Operation Desert Storm.
Titus served as Minnesota’s civilian aide to the secretary of the Army from 1999 to 2002. He was awarded the United States Army Outstanding Civilian Service Medal in 2002.
Titus holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Southwest Minnesota State University and a juris doctor degree from Marquette University Law School. He earned a doctorate in higher education and strategic leadership from the University of Virginia, where he was a Governor’s Fellow.
Steve also holds a diploma from the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s School and certificates from the Advanced Leadership Education Program at the Kennedy School of Government and the Institute for Educational Management at the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University. He is a graduate of The Coaches Training Institute and is a member of the International Coach Federation and is an inaugural member of the International Leadership Association.
Steve and his wife, Sara, have two daughters, Emma, 6 and Lilian ("Lily"), 2.