MOORHEAD
Concordia College president
announces 2023 retirement
William Craft, president of Concordia College, announced that he will retire at the end of the term in the spring of 2023. Craft took office in 2011 as the 11th president of the Lutheran liberal arts school. Founded in 1891, Concordia has nearly 2,000 students enrolled.
Mary Ranum, chair of the college's Board of Regents, called Craft "an exemplary leader for our college. We express our deep gratitude to Dr. Craft for his invaluable, far-sighted contributions, which have positioned Concordia to thrive in the decades to come."
During his tenure, Craft spearheaded a wide range of initiatives, including a doubling of the college's endowment and construction of many new campus facilities, including an athletic center, a school of business, a science center and the Center for Student Success. He also was a key player in raising money to expand and strengthen the college's Sanford Heimarck School of Health Professions.
Craft was active off-campus as well, serving on bodies devoted to economic revitalization of the Fargo-Moorhead downtown areas. He has chaired the Presidents' Council for the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and also chaired the Association of American Colleges & Universities.
"Working in mission for this great college will always be the highest honor of my professional life," Craft said in a statement. "I am forever grateful for the opportunity to work alongside our remarkable students, faculty, staff and all who fulfill that mission to influence the affairs of the world. Anne [his wife] and I remain all-in for Concordia for the next 18 months, and every day after."
