Dale A. Lunsford, Ph.D. is the sixth president of LeTourneau University. With a commitment to Christ-centered education and excellence on a global scale, he sees LETU as an interdenominational Christian university preparing competent leaders in many professions to serve a world hungry for the good news of Jesus Christ. In correlation with Lunsford’s vision for the future of LETU, the university embraced the new theme, “Answering the Call: Every Workplace. Every Nation.”

Lunsford joined the LeTourneau family in July 2007 and has been instrumental in improving students’ quality of life at LETU. Under his leadership, the university embarked on a campaign to provide a new home for the School of Aeronautical Science at the East Texas Regional Airport and construct The Café, a new dining facility on campus. Both renovations are underway and set for completion in 2009. Lunsford has also overseen an upgrade of on-campus meal service, now provided by Bon Appétit, one of the nation’s premier restaurant-quality food management companies.

To further the university’s international presence, Lunsford has expanded LETU’s relationship with Handong Global University, a Christian University in Pohang, South Korea. Additionally, he was invited by the U.S. State Department to attend the first ever “Higher Education Summit for Global Development” in Washington, D.C. to promote the partnership of higher education institutions in worldwide social and economic development.

Lunsford has also been named to the board of directors for the Independent Colleges and Universities of Texas to serve a two-year term through 2010.

Lunsford attended The University of Tulsa, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1982 and a Masters of Business Administration in 1985. In 1989, he received a Ph.D. in Business Administration from Oklahoma State University.

Prior to his tenure at LETU, he served in academic and administrative roles at The University of Texas, The University of Tulsa and Oklahoma State University. Lunsford was associate dean and director of undergraduate programs at The University of Tulsa’s College of Business Administration. At Tulsa, Lunsford was an award-winning business professor. He has published numerous research studies, served as editor of a marketing education journal and co-hosted a popular radio program, “ Businessworld,” on a National Public Radio affiliate in Tulsa.

The University of Texas at Tyler led the state in enrollment growth during Lunsford’s years there as vice president. He was a fellow in Texas Governor George Bush’s Executive Development Program and has testified numerous times before the Texas Legislature on concerns regarding higher education. For his work following the Hurricane Katrina disaster, Lunsford received the Tyler Ministerial Alliance’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian Award.

Lunsford and his wife, Marsha, have been married twenty plus years and have two daughters: Rachel and Hannah. The Lunsfords are members of Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler, Texas where they are active in several ministries.