St. John's names interim president

St. John's names interim president.

Last update: October 22, 2008 - 4:05 PM

THE LATEST: Dan Whalen, a 1970 graduate of St. John's University, has been named interim president of the Collegeville, Minn., university, board chairman Jim Frey announced Tuesday.

Whalen replaces Brother Dietrich Reinhart, who is resigning after announcing that he has melanoma, a form of cancer.

"Dan is a remarkably kind and generous man," Reinhart said. "His willingness to serve as interim president ... reflects a deep love and gratitude for the educational community that has nurtured his heart and fired his desire to make a difference in the world."

HIS BACKGROUND: Whalen grew up in Argyle, Minn., and East Grand Forks, Minn., where after attending St. John's Preparatory School for one year, he graduated from Sacred Heart High School. In the mid-1960s, he and his family moved to St. Cloud. He graduated from St. John's University, majoring in government.

CAREER: He then attended the University of Minnesota's School of Public Affairs, served as a policy analyst at the federal government's Administration on Aging, managed George McGovern's 1972 presidential campaign in Minnesota's Sixth Congressional District, was a policy analyst with the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, worked as a management consultant in Washington, D.C., was director of health planning for New York state and served as a health policy specialist for Gov. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia.

Whalen now is principal investor and executive chairman of Vello Inc., a startup teleconferencing company.

PERSONAL: Whalen lives in Oakland, Calif., with his wife, Katharine, and their three children.

PAUL WALSH