LOREN SWARTZENDRUBER
LOREN SWARTZENDRUBER, became the eighth president of Eastern Mennonite University on Jan. 1, 2004.
Dr. Swartzendruber came to EMU from Hesston College, a two-year Mennonite school in Hesston, Kan., where he served as president since 1994. Before that, he was associate executive secretary of the former Mennonite Board of Education in Elkhart, Ind. for 10 years.
A native of Kalona, Iowa, Loren graduated from EMU in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in liberal arts and earned a Master of Divinity degree from Eastern Mennonite Seminary in 1979. He completed a Doctor of Ministry degree at Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2000. His thesis focused on "Increasing Mennonite Parental Involvement in the College Choice."
After graduating from EMU, Loren was an associate director of admissions and part time associate campus pastor at his alma mater. He was ordained to the Christian ministry in 1975 at Lower Deer Creek Mennonite Church near Kalona, Iowa, and was pastor at Salford Mennonite Church, Harleysville, Pa., 1978-83.
Dr. Swartzendruber is a member of Park View Mennonite Church, Harrisonburg, Va., and serves on the advisory board of Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance, a local community organization that works for the restoration and preservation of the downtown area.
Loren is married to Pat Swartzendruber, a native of Wellman, Iowa. She works full time as a volunteer for Eastern Mennonite University and serves on several church-wide boards. The couple has four adult children, three of whom are EMU alumni.