Rev. Thomas K. (Tom) Ries of Burnsville, Minn., has accepted the presidency of the LCMS Fou
ndation, with plans to join the staff at the Synod’s International Center in
St. Louis on Apri1 1.
Ries, 49, has been vice president for finance and operations at Concordia University, St. Paul, Minn., since 1999.
He succeeds Mark Stuenkel, who left the Foundation last summer to accept a position in California. Since then, Wayne Price, vice president, finance, has served as interim Foundation president.
“I feel privileged to have been entrusted with the responsibility of giving leadership to the Foundation, and ask for the prayers of all in the church for this vital ministry,” Ries said. He referred to the Foundation as “a unique treasure of [the Synod], with the capacity to influence the spreading of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for many generations to come.”
A university news release announcing his decision to accept the Foundation presidency said that Ries “implemented a comprehensive budget approach that increased total assets for the university in each budget year since 1999.” The release also said he “orchestrated the refinance and issue of $11.4 million in taxable and tax-exempt bonds that saved the institution thousands of dollars in financing costs” and allowed the university to complete a building project and acquire property.
From 1982 to 1985, Ries was assistant to the president of Concordia, St. Paul.
A 1980 graduate of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Ries served pastorates at Trinity Lutheran Church, St. Francis, Minn. (1980-81) and Messiah Lutheran Church, Lakeville, Minn. (1986-94). From 1995 until he returned to the university in 1999, he was a senior associate with Howard Schultz and Associates, an auditing firm in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.
Posted March 4, 2004
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