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Br. Dietrich Reinhart '71
2009 Fr. Walter Reger Distinguished Alumnus
Saint John's Monk, President
President Emeritus Br. Dietrich Reinhart, OSB, served as 11th president of Saint John's University from July 1, 1991 to October 21, 2008.
During Br. Dietrich's tenure as president, enrollment and the academic profile of entering students rose dramatically, the university's endowment grew from $36 million to just over $145 million, and Saint John's successfully completed the largest capital campaign in its history, One Generation to the Next: The Campaign for Saint John's.
Other significant undertakings during his presidency included the designation, with Saint John's Abbey, of the entire 2,700 acres of Saint John's campus as an Arboretum and the commissioning of calligrapher Donald Jackson to handwrite and illuminate The Saint John's Bible.
Under Br. Dietrich's leadership, the Saint John's campus underwent a physical transformation, including the construction of a new Sexton Commons campus center, expansion and renovation of SJU's athletic facilities, and the construction of a new science building. At the time of his death, Br. Dietrich began leading future plans to renovate and expand the Alcuin Library, make a Saint John's education possible for more first-generation college students, and laying the foundation for the Benedictine Institute at Saint John's University.
Br. Dietrich chaired the board of the Association of Benedictine Colleges and Universities (ABCU), and served on the board of directors for ABCU, Bremer Bank, the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU), Minnesota Private College Council (MPCC), the Central Minnesota Community Foundation and the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Br. Dietrich was born in Minneapolis in 1949. After graduation from DeLaSalle High School, he came to Saint John's as a student in 1967. He graduated from Saint John's magna cum laude in history and entered the monastery the following summer. He was professed as a Benedictine monk July 11, 1972.
Br. Dietrich completed his doctoral studies in history at Brown University in 1984. Upon his return to Saint John's, Br. Dietrich joined the faculty of the department of history, regularly teaching First-Year Symposium, Tudor-Stuart History and Reformation History. He was a faculty resident in the campus residence halls from 1984-1991. In 1988, he was elected dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, a post he held until his election to the presidency by the Board of Regents in January 1991.
- 2012 Bob Gavin ’62
- 2011 Brian Crevoiserat ’81
- 2010 Don Schumacher ’65
- 2009 Bob Spinner ’64
- 2009 Br. Dietrich Reinhart ’71
- 2008 Dave Wendt ’63
- 2007 Dick Nigon ’70
- 2006 Steve Slaggie ’61
- 2005 Dan Whalen ’70
- 2004 Bob Wicker ’64
- 2003 Al Eisele ’58
- 2002 Dan Coborn ’52
- 2001 Joe Mucha ’66
- 2000 Thom Woodward ’70
- 2000 Bill Sexton ’55
- 1999 Don LeMay, OSB ’48
- 1998 Len Mrachek ’58
- 1997 Frank Ladner ’48
- 1996 Mike Dady ’71
- 1995 John Agee ’70
- 1994 John Rogers ’63
- 1993 Tom McKeown ’52
- 1992 Cleve Cram ’38
- 1991 Tom Joyce ’61
- 1990 Bob Shafer ’54
- 1989 Don Talafous OSB ’48
- 1988 Jerry Donovan ’53
- 1987 George Hawkins ’49
- 1986 Frank Grundman ’48
- 1985 Jack O’Connell ’42
- 1984 LeRoy Lilly ’55
- 1983 Martin Schirber, OSB ’39
- 1982 Jerry Terhaar ’48
- 1981 Harry Holtz ’39
- 1980 Joe Ryan ’31
- 1979 Fran Miller ’48
- 1978 Paul Huber ’55
- 1977 Ed Devitt ’32
- 1976 Matthew Kiess, OSB ’21
- 1975 Henry Borgerding ’07
- 1974 Fr. Dunstan Tucker, OSB ’25
- 1973 Herb Adrian ’29
- 1972 George Durenberger ’28
- 1971 Fred Hughes ’31
