Biography of Dr. Tom Cedel:

Dr. Cedel is currently a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Leadership at Valparaiso University and Co-Director of the Thrivent Fellows Program.  Prior to this he was the president of Concordia University Texas in Austin, TX from 2002 to 2014.  During his tenure, Dr. Cedel presided over the relocation of the main campus, improvement of satellite centers and a more than doubling in enrollment.  His Ph.D. is in biology from the University of Pittsburgh and he was a postdoctoral fellow in biophysics at Carnegie-Mellon University.  His academic honors include being elected to Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa.  He was also designated an Andrew W. Mellon pre-doctoral fellow and National Institutes of Health post-doctoral fellow.   Prior to coming to Concordia, Dr. Cedel was the Chief Academic Officer and Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Concordia University Ann Arbor, in Ann Arbor, MI.   Dr. Cedel has authored and co-authored articles in publications ranging from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences to Armed Forces Journal International. 

Dr. Cedel is also a retired Air Force colonel and was a fighter pilot, having flown the F-4, A-7 and F-16 aircraft.  He commanded a fighter squadron and was vice commander of a fighter wing.  During his career he was assigned overseas in Pakistan, Japan, Korea, Europe and the Middle East.  His last assignment prior to retiring was in the Pentagon working for the Secretary of Defense on strategy and requirements issues.  His military decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal and the Legion of Merit. After he retired from the military, Dr. Cedel was head of the Operations Analysis Department at Northrup Grumman-TASC, Inc in Rosslyn, VA for one year.  

Dr. Cedel is married to the former Penny Garrard of Pittsburgh, PA and has a son David and grandson Jacob, and daughter Becky and grandson Rigel.