Orville Dahl (18 May 1910 - 11 September 1994) was an American academic. He was the first president of

California Lutheran University California Lutheran University (CLU, Cal Lutheran, or Cal Lu) is a private university in Thousand Oaks, California. It was founded in 1959 and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but is nonsectarian. It opened in 1960 ...

Thousand Oaks, California Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown Los Angeles, Downtown. It is named af ...

from 1959-1962. A graduate of St. Olaf College, he obtained his degree with honors in 1935 and stayed at his alma mater for the next seven years to direct the college's

forensics program Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...

and to serve as the coach of the college football team. He continued his studies at

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...

where he obtained a doctorate degree in education administration. During World War II, he was an executive officer and commander in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

. He later became Dean of Administration at

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is amon ...

until he became Director of Higher Education for the Evangelical Lutheran Church, which had twelve schools and colleges. He also served as secretary of the National Lutheran Educational Conference for six years, and became president of California Lutheran College (CLC) in 1959.

Biography

Orville Dahl was born at

Duluth , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

in St. Louis County, Minnesota. He was the son of Charles and Carrie Dahl. He graduated from St. Olaf College at

Northfield, Minnesota Northfield is a city in Dakota and Rice counties in the State of Minnesota. It is mostly in Rice County, with a small portion in Dakota County. The population was 20,790 at the 2020 census. History Northfield was platted in 1856 by John W. N ...

. He returned to his alma mater after graduate work at the

to serve as Assistant Dean of Men and Professor of Speech. He was Dean of Administration at the

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, served as Commanding Office of Naval V-12 units in New England. He came to Southern California from Minnesota in 1957 as a representative of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. The church wanted to build a liberal arts college in California, and sent Dahl to find a good location. In 2003, Dr. Dahl was inducted into the California Lutheran University, Hall of Fame on a meritorious basis. Orville Dahl Centrum Buildings are situated on the northwest side of campus of California Lutheran University.''Orville Dahl Centrum Buildings''(California Lutheran University)
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References

External links

Orville Dahl Centrum Buildings, California Lutheran University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dahl, Orville 1994 deaths 1910 births St. Olaf College alumni University of Minnesota faculty University of Vermont people California Lutheran University faculty Heads of universities and colleges in the United States American Lutherans People from Duluth, Minnesota 20th-century Lutherans 20th-century American academics