Photo by The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

The Rev. Dr. Dean O. Wenthe, new president of Concordia University System

The Concordia University System has named the Rev. Dr. Dean O. Wenthe as its next president.

Wenthe will lead 10 colleges and universities belonging to the higher education system including the Austin location. Concordia universities are overseen by The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, based in St. Louis, Mo.

Concordia University Texas near RR 620 in Austin was founded in 1926 and is currently conducting a search for its own university president, spokesperson Melinda Brasher said.

President of Concordia University Texas since 2002, Dr. Thomas Cedel in 2013 announced his plans to retire in August 2014. The organization hopes to have a new president for the Austin school hired in May or June, Brasher said.

About 2,500 students at the Austin campus study 22 undergraduate majors at four colleges.

Wenthe is a retired president of Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Ind. and has been the university system's interim president since October 2013. He will help maintain Lutheran identity at university locations, the organization said in a statement. Wenthe will oversee the locations' funding, services, and curriculum and information systems development.

Wenthe said he has already benefited from Corcordia universities in Wisconsin and Indiana. He holds two master's degrees in biblical fields and a doctorate from the University of Notre Dame.

"It is a great privilege to serve in this capacity and by God's grace support enhance a system that has enriched the church's life so significantly and promises to provide the spiritual depth and intellectual rigor that will form students as witnesses to the beauty and trustworthiness of the Christian faith," Wenthe said in a statement.

Wenthe is also a former pastor and pastoral assistant at two Lutheran churches in the Midwest and has edited several commentaries on the Bible.

The Rev. Dr. Daniel N. Jastram, Concordia University System board chairman, praised Wenthe's service to the church.

"I give heartfelt thanks to God for leading Dr. Wenthe to accept this call of service to his Lord, Jesus Christ," Jastram said in a statement. "We pray that God will bless Dr. Wenthe's work of ministry as president of the Concordia University System to the glory of God's holy name, the building of His church, and the temporal and eternal welfare of many people."