Money in College Sports
Feb 27, 2018
Christopher Thomforde, past president of St. Olaf
Money in College Sports

The Rev. Dr. Christopher Thomforde​ served as President and Trustee of Moravian College from 2006-2013. He brought to Moravian an impressive record of seasoned and successful leadership in higher education, at colleges and universities. From 2001-2006, he served as President of St. Olaf College. He also directed the development and implementation of an ambitious five-year strategic plan, as well as that institution’s first comprehensive marketing plan. Dr. Thomforde served as President of Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas, from 1996 to 2000, where he led efforts to reshape academic programs, revise the college's constitution and by-laws, develop a comprehensive master facilities plan, establish policies for successful endowment management, and restore fiscal responsibility. From 1974 to 1978, he was an assistant chaplain and instructor in philosophy and religion at Colgate University. From 1978 to 1986, he served as pastor at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Dansville, New York, where he provided pastoral care and leadership for his congregation, held leadership roles in regional and synod church affairs, and was very active in community organizations. He also did extensive pastoral work at nearby Attica prison. From 1986 to 1996, he served as chaplain at Susquehanna University and taught in the Department of Philosophy and Religion. Following intensive course work in Mandarin Chinese at Middlebury College, he taught Western languages and medieval European history at Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan, until 1971. A member of Princeton's basketball team, Thomforde was named AP/UPI Honorable Mention All-American in 1969. He received the Franklin Bunn Award for contributions to Princeton University in 1969. During his tenure as Bethany president, he completed requirements for a Doctor of Ministry degree from Princeton Theological Seminary; he was awarded that degree in 2000. Susquehanna University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree in 2001. He subsequently enrolled at Yale University Divinity School, where he received a Master of Divinity degree in 1974, with concentrations in biblical studies, church history, and philosophy. Dr. Thomforde earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in medieval and Russian history from Princeton University in 1969.