Paul C. Pribbenow

Paul C. Pribbenow, Ph.D. is the 10th president of Augsburg University, an institution affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and located in heart of Minneapolis. Since joining Augsburg in 2006, Pribbenow has enhanced the College’s role as an active community partner in its urban setting and has led a comprehensive strategic planning process known as Augsburg150, which names the university’s signature commitments to equity, inclusion, and community engagement. Pribbenow also has led unprecedented fundraising efforts at Augsburg, including $55 million to build the Hagfors Center for Science, Business, and Religion, a signature academic building; and $129 million in the Sesquicentennial “Great Returns” campaign.

Pribbenow serves on the national boards of Campus Compact and the Coalition for Urban and Metropolitan Universities. He also is active in the Anchor Institutions Task Force. Locally, he chairs the Cedar-Riverside Partnership and serves on the Executive Committee of the Minnesota Private College Council. Before coming to Augsburg, Pribbenow served as president of Rockford College (now Rockford University) in Rockford, Illinois. He also has served as research fellow for the Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts at Wabash College (Indiana); dean for College Advancement and secretary of the Board of Trustees at Wabash College; vice president of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; and associate dean of the Divinity School of the University of Chicago.

Pribbenow holds a BA from Luther College (Iowa), and an MA (1979) and PhD (1993) in social ethics from the University of Chicago. He received the Distinguished Service Award at Luther College in 2008; the William Burke Award for Presidential Leadership in Experiential Education in 2012; the Professional Fundraiser of the Year from the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) in 2019; and the University of Chicago Divinity School Alumnus of the Year Award in 2025.