For more than three decades, his behind-the-scenes work has shaped campus life and the spaces students call home.
When Paul Wangerin (’76) learned he’d been selected for Concordia’s Distinguished Alumnus Award, his first reaction was surprise. He thought, “that’s for important people like pastors, people in the ministry and teachers,” he said. “That’s not me.”
But for anyone who has benefited from his research guidance, studied in the commuter lounge or library, or received a Wangerin family scholarship, his impact is unmistakable. His nominator for the Alumnus of the Year distinction described him as “a quiet engine”—a phrase that fits perfectly.
Wangerin has powered Concordia’s transformation for 31 years—not with fanfare, but with steady, essential work that helps keep things running.
From setting up the university’s first course evaluation system and managing computer labs before students had laptops, to providing data and insights that documented Concordia’s journey from a small junior college to a leading Christian university, Wangerin has been a force you don’t always see but absolutely feel.
“I like to be the little guy behind the scenes,” Wangerin, 70, said. “I try in my own very small and human way to be a humble servant.”
Wangerin started his career at CUW helping to develop many of the college’s technology systems while working in computer science and information technology. When he moved to the Office of Institutional Effectiveness as a senior research analyst, he assisted faculty with more than 20 doctoral dissertations. He was a “data scientist to the max with a true love of working with people,” said Dr. Tamara Ferry, Wangerin’s friend, previous boss and colleague for more than 20 years.
“He’s student-centered and student-focused, which is not easy to do in the data field,” said Ferry, who retired from her position as executive director of the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs in 2023. “He is emotionally attached to work and, by extension, to Concordia.”
A childhood rooted in Concordia
Wangerin’s story at Concordia didn’t start with his career—it started in childhood. His earliest memories are inseparable from Concordia. He grew up among faculty families in Milwaukee’s Sherman Park neighborhood and walked Concordia College’s halls with his father, Rev. Dr. Norman Wangerin (‘43).
Rev. Wangerin taught theology and social studies for almost 40 years at Concordia College in Milwaukee and Concordia University in Mequon. Wangerin earned his associate degree in arts at Concordia College. Having witnessed Concordia’s journey, Paul Wangerin’s mission became clear: to provide the research to help define who we are. That bridge is his foundation.
That bridge inspired a legacy of giving. His mother was one of the first employees at Lutheran-founded La-Z-Boy Inc., as it is now known. This relationship became a financial blessing for the family—and gifts to Concordia. His family’s donations have included four endowments and chapel windows with the theme “faith alone, grace alone”—a fitting tribute to a family steeped in Lutheran tradition. His brother, Mark (’72), is a retired minister.
Paul Wangerin continues to support CUW because of loyalty and history, he said. “My ties to campus run deep.”
Those deep ties have translated into gifts that shape daily student life. Much of his support comes from a desire to create “an environment where students feel they belong,” he said. His donations have included library resources, furniture and original works of art. For example, a 3-foot-by-4-foot painting of him and his father walking in front of Concordia College hangs in the library. He provided La-Z-Boy furniture for the library to create a cozy study space. He funded Heidelberg Lounge, a commuter space with a fireplace, rug and inviting seating.
Spaces that welcome
The importance of the student experience stems from his days as a commuter student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in experimental psychology and his master’s degree in educational research. Unlike at Concordia College, Wangerin said he struggled to find comfortable spaces to go between classes at UWM, especially when cold weather made Lake Park near campus less appealing.
“Seeing students relaxing or studying in spaces I helped create is very rewarding to me,” he said. “It makes one feel happy and fulfilled when you can make someone else happy. There’s not much more satisfying in life.”
Just like his behind-the-scenes approach in his professional work, few of his donations bear his name. The Wangerin Seminar Room in the Robert Plaster Building is dedicated to his mother. The Heidelberg Lounge honors Rev. Fred Mueller, his friend and high school classmate who died in 2007.
Although the “quiet engine” retired in 2025, he continues to support the university through special data projects, creating comfortable spaces to welcome students and providing scholarships for future servant-leaders.
Being chosen to receive the 2026 Distinguished Alumnus Award may have surprised him. But Wangerin is the kind of “important people” who deserve recognition: a humble servant whose life’s work has helped develop generations of students in mind, body and spirit for service to Christ in the Church and the world.
To learn more, read “The many donations of the Wangerin family.”
Written by Rosland Gammon, Advancement Communications Specialist.
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Concordia University Wisconsin is a Lutheran higher education community committed to helping students develop in mind, body and spirit for service to Christ in the Church and the world.