Kent Schlichtemeier has enjoyed serving for over four decades as a leader in education. He began his career in 1978 teaching 6th-8th grades. After completing his Master’s degree at the University of Denver in 1984, he taught and coached at the high school level in Orlando, FL. Kent served as a Professor in the School of Education at Concordia University Irvine from 1988-2003 where he mentored future teachers. In addition to teaching at Concordia, Kent was the women’s basketball coach until retiring from coaching in 1993 to pursue his doctoral degree. During the final two seasons of Kent’s tenure as coach, the Lady Eagle basketball team made two consecutive appearances at the NAIA National Basketball Tournament after winning the Golden State Athletic Conference Championships. Kent was named the District Three NAIA Coach of the Year in 1992 and 1993 and was inducted into the Concordia Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006.

In 1996, Kent completed his Ed.D. at UCLA in Educational Leadership. Kent served as a teacher and Assistant Principal at Orange Lutheran High School from 2003-2007 before returning to teach at Concordia University Irvine and most recently serve as the Dean of the School of Education. Today, Kent is thrilled to serve as the inaugural Director of the Servant Leadership Institute. Kent enjoys frequent opportunities to speak at sports banquets, school graduations, teacher conferences, leadership retreats, and business seminars.

Kent and his wife Cindy, are blessed by God with two children - Aaron and Kayla.