Dr. Dan Bruss was born in Milwaukee and raised in Franklin, Wisconsin. He received his undergraduate degrees from Bethany Lutheran College and Augsburg College (MN), a Master of Science in chemistry from Minnesota State University, Mankato, and earned his Ph. D. from Montana State University in 1985. Prior to accepting the Presidency of Bethany Lutheran College, Bruss had been at Central College in Pella, Iowa, since 1990. While at Central, he was named full professor in spring 2002, and had been the school's Natural Science Division Chair since 1999. He has taught full-time at Albany College of Pharmacy (NY), and has been a visiting professor at Drake University (IA) and Cornell University (NY). Bruss began his academic career as a chemistry instructor at Bethany Lutheran College in 1975 where he taught until 1981. Bruss has been an active member of the American Chemical Society and has been published within the field of chemistry.

Bruss and his wife, Kathryn, a 1979 graduate of Bethany, have two children: Elisabeth and Robert.