The College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University announced that Brian J. Bruess will be the first president of both institutions. He officially begins July 1.
Since 2017, Bruess has been president of St. Norbert College, a Catholic school in De Pere, Wisconsin. Before that, he served for 21 years at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota, with more than three years as the school’s executive vice president and chief operating officer.
“I am deeply humbled to be entrusted with this momentous and consequential opportunity,” Bruess said in a news release March 15. “For nearly 30 years I have studied and admired St. Ben’s and St. John’s. Both are nationally recognized for offering a profoundly impactful educational experience, for generating exceptional learning outcomes, and for producing principled and action-oriented graduates who contribute to the betterment of society.
“I relish the opportunity to play a role in continuing the traditions of excellence and community found on both campuses, while at the same time harnessing our collective power to move forward in bold new ways that I believe can serve as a national model of cooperation, togetherness and superior educational quality.”
Bishop Donald Kettler, bishop of the Diocese of St. Cloud, said, “I offer my congratulations to Brian Bruess as the first president of both the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University. He brings with him a wealth of experience in Catholic higher education and a strong commitment to the Catholic Benedictine mission of both campuses. This is an exciting time of transition and opportunity, and I look forward to continuing the mutually supportive and collaborative relationship between the schools and the diocese.”
In a press conference, Bruess said, “The 2,000-year Catholic tradition and 1,500-year Benedictine charism and values, expressed by the communities of monks and sisters, are deeply integrated in the faculty, staff and students at St. Ben’s and St. John’s. Students experience these values and traditions — what it means to be Benedictine — by engaging the communities of sisters and monks who are living the values. The communities make a unique contribution to Catholic liberal arts education, with a commitment to remain distinctive.
“A wonderful curriculum already is in place, integrating faith and reason, the pursuit of the common good and the dignity of the individual person. To develop quality leaders, students have the Institute for Women’s Leadership, initiated and run by women, and the Eugene J. McCarthy Center for Public Policy and Civic Engagement, which engages students in civic life. Another way curriculum is integrated powerfully are the co-curricular experiences and study abroad programs which produce great outcomes.”
Bruess said he will invest in current and new programs, encourage strong enrollment in the face of declining national demographics, and grow endowments allowing for intergenerational equity and the long-term health and vitality of the institutions.
‘Given my high regard for the board, staff, students, it is an honor to join the journey,” Bruess said.
Since January 2022, CSB and SJU have operated under two boards made up of one set of common members. As president, Bruess will oversee a more integrative administrative structure. The mission is to channel the best of both schools in new ways while still maintaining the individual identities of each, the schools said.
Under Bruess’s leadership, St. Norbert was named one of the “Best in the Nation” in an article in The Princeton Review on the Best 366 Colleges in 2020. And, over the years, he has produces results in areas including fundraising, enrollment management, student affairs, information technology, athletics, finance and administration and governance.
Bruess helped guide the school to record enrollment numbers and the most diverse student body in the school’s history. He planned and presided over the “Support What Matters” fundraising campaign that focused on student learning and doubled the size of the institution’s endowment. In total, the school’s endowment is up 85% since he assumed the presidency in 2017.
During his tenure, St. Norbert has also expanded its academic offerings to include data analytics, integrated studies, actuarial science, new math concentrations and a redesign of the MBA, as well as pathway partnerships for post-baccalaureate programs.
While at St. Catherine, he played an integral role in efforts that helped the school achieve 17 straight years of record enrollment.
LeAnne Stewart, the chair of the CSB and SJU Common Boards, said, “The leadership capabilities and strategic focus that Brian brings will allow us to execute our vision for Strong Integration — a new and innovative model of governance in higher education. A model that enables the development of a plan for the future that will provide our students the life-changing experience of St. Ben’s and St. John’s for decades to come.
“Brian characterizes the perfect inaugural president,” Stewart said. “He is deeply committed to Catholic higher education and the Benedictine missions of our schools. Brian also sees the incredible opportunity for this new era of leadership at schools he already knows very well. His impact will be profound.”
A native of Monroe, Wisconsin, Bruess graduated with degrees in sociology and psychology from St. Norbert in 1990. He went on to earn master’s and doctoral degrees at Ohio University, where he later served in a variety of leadership roles before he was hired at St. Catherine.
His wife, Carol Bruess, is a professor emerita of communication and the former director of family studies at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. Most recently she served as the resident scholar at St. Norbert’s Cassandra Voss Center. Bruess and Carol have been married for 30 years and have two adult children.