Dr. Russell Dawn currently serves as the twelfth president of Concordia University Chicago, a position he has held since his appointment in 2019.
From 2012 to 2019, Dr. Dawn was part of the faculty in the Department of History and Political Thought at Concordia University Irvine in California. During his time there, he took on several administrative roles, including director of the Vision-Mission-Vocation program, member of the academic council, chair of the education policies committee, and director of the pre-law program. Before that, between 2010 and 2012, he was a faculty member at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri.
Dr. Dawn earned a B.S. in Finance from Arizona State University, as well as a J.D. and an MBA from the University of Colorado Boulder. He began his career in law and finance in Colorado, working as an associate attorney for Rothgerber Johnson & Lyons LLP from 1994 to 2000, as an associate investment banker for Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. from 2000 to 2001, and as assistant general counsel for Cenveo, Inc. from 2001 to 2003.
Afterward, Dr. Dawn returned to academia, attending Oxford University, where he received a B.A. in Theology, a Master of Studies in Church History, and a D.Phil. focused on the history of theology and politics in 17th-century England.
He and his wife, Sharon, are proud parents of two daughters.

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