Longtime St. Catherine University administrator Brian Bruess will become the top official at St. Norbert College after this academic year, the college announced Dec. 12.
Bruess, who serves as the executive vice president and chief operating officer at the St. Paul-based university, will take on his new post July 1, according to a statement released by the college. Bruess graduated in 1990 from the Catholic college with degrees in sociology and psychology.
He will be the college’s eighth president, succeeding St. Norbert’s current president, Tom Kunkel. Bruess is the second alumnus to hold the position. The college is located in in De Pere, Wisconsin, near Green Bay.
Since 1995, Bruess has served St. Kate’s in various capacities, including in enrollment and student affairs. Prior to his work there, he held several leadership roles at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.
His wife, Carol, is also a graduate of St. Nobert and directs the University of St. Thomas’ family studies program.
“It’s a tremendous privilege to be invited to lead and serve the very institution that’s had the most profound effect on not only Carol and me, but on our entire family — the only institution in the world built on the powerful, tripartite mission of Norbertine, Catholic and liberal arts. Carol and I are beyond delighted and humbled to be coming home to the community we admire and love most dearly,” Bruess said in a statement.
