Eight named to Concordia University, Nebraska Board of Regents

Seward, NE (09/06/2019) — Four members of the Concordia University, Nebraska Board of Regents were elected in July during the 67th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS). Additionally, four new regents were appointed by the board during its Aug. 2 meeting.

The convention re-elected Rev. Brad Birtell of Madison; Jill Johnson of Seward and Timothy Hu of Cheyenne, Wyoming, to serve additional three-year terms as regents. The convention also elected Dr. Craig Ernstmeyer, of St. Peters, Missouri, to his first term as a regent.

John Fraser of Omaha; Dennis Meyer of Miami Beach, Florida and Timothy Moll of Seward, were each appointed to three-year terms beginning Sept. 1, 2019 during the board's Aug. 2 meeting. Trudy Meyer, of Eagle, was also appointed to serve a three-year term on the board, beginning Sept. 1, 2020.

Ernstmeyer, a 1996 Concordia graduate, is the head of school at Lutheran High School of St. Charles County in St. Peters, Missouri, which serves 400 students and recently completed an $8.1 million capital campaign under his leadership. He received his master's from Concordia in 2002 before earning a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Missouri in 2010. Ernstmeyer is a visiting team member for National Lutheran Schools Accreditation, and an advisory council member for the Lutheran Elementary School Association of St. Louis. He previously served as vice chairman of the LCMS Missouri District Board of Educational Services and as a board member of the Association of Lutheran Secondary Schools. Members of Zion Lutheran Church in St. Charles, Ernstmeyer and Tammy, his wife, have three children.

Fraser, who has served the university as a director of Concordia Foundation Nebraska, retired in Dec. 2017 after a 26-year career as a health care executive in Omaha, including 10 years as president and chief executive officer of Methodist Health System, which operates three hospitals with more than 5,200 employees in the Omaha metropolitan area. A native of St. Louis, Fraser joined Methodist Health System in 1991, having previously served in hospital administration in Houston and St. Louis. He has served on numerous professional and civic boards, including the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, the Omaha Symphony, the Boy Scouts of America-Mid America Council, the Salvation Army-Nebraska District, the Knights of Aksarben and the American Red Cross-Heartland Chapter. Fraser is a member of Pacific Hills Lutheran Church in Omaha and previously served as president of the congregation. He and Debbie, his wife, have three adult children and three grandchildren.

Dennis Meyer is a graduate of what was then known as Concordia Teachers College in 1970. After graduation, he worked as a development officer at Concordia and then as the associate director of development. In 1989, Meyer co-founded Meyer Partners, a full service nonprofit communications agency that provides strategic fundraising counsel for national nonprofit organizations. He is a founding member of the Association of Lutheran Development Executives (ALDE), and received the association's Lifetime Service Award in 2003. Meyer has been a leader in Lutheran higher education, serving on the Concordia University System board of directors from 2007-16. Meyer, who was named Concordia's Layperson of the Year in 2000, has served his alma mater as a director of Concordia Foundation Nebraska since 1999. Meyer and Bonnie, his wife, live in Miami Beach, Florida and have four adult children.

Moll is a 1989 Concordia alum, having graduated with a bachelor's degree in business administration. A 1994 graduate with highest distinction of the University of Nebraska College of Law, he is a partner in the Lincoln based law firm Rembolt Ludtke, where he leads the firm's Business Services Practice Group. Moll is a frequent presenter on tax-related topics and serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Nebraska College of Law. Moll serves on the Seward Community Redevelopment Authority and Great Plains Federal Tax Institute board of directors. Moll is a director of Concordia Foundation Nebraska, and previously served Concordia as a regent from 2007-16. Moll, who was named Concordia's Alumnus of the Year in 2016, is a member of The Rock Lutheran Church in Seward and previously served the congregation as president. He and Sara, his wife, have five children and one daughter-in-law.

Trudy Meyer is a Concordia alum, having graduated in 1992 with a bachelor's degree in accounting. She is currently a director with BMG Certified Public Accountants, LLP in Lincoln, and a director of Concordia Foundation Nebraska. She has served with the Nebraska Society of CPAs and was previously chief financial officer of Talent Plus, Inc. Meyer also serves on the Lutheran Education Foundation board of directors. Meyer has twin sons, Colton and Jacob, and is a member of Faith Lutheran Church in Lincoln. She is an award-winning speaker for ALS Associates, ALS in the Heartland and Nebraska Hospice and Palliative Care.

About Concordia University, Nebraska

Concordia University, Nebraska, founded in 1894, is a fully accredited, coeducational university located in Seward, Nebraska, which currently serves more than 2,500 students. Concordia offers more than 100 undergraduate, graduate and professional programs in an excellent academic and Christ-centered community that equips men and women for lives of learning, service and leadership in the church and world. For more information, visit cune.edu.

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