# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2019_S117
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS
The Concordia community—our 2,500 students, our faculty and staff partners in ministry, regents, foundation directors, 23,000 living alumni, and friends and supporters—have
been diligently carrying out a variety of initiatives and activities
to more fully realize our vision to be a thriving Lutheran university. As we do so, we “rejoice always, pray continually, give
thanks in all circumstances” for we know that this is God’s will
for His university (1 Thess. 5:16–18).
In 2019, Concordia is celebrating its 125th anniversary of
service to God’s Church and world. While the activities and
items set forth in this report may differ from those that Rev.
George Weller, Concordia’s first president, shared with the Synod in the late 1800s, the reason for them has not changed—to
equip our laity and our Synod to share, teach, and learn, by
the power of the Holy Spirit, the Good News we have in Christ
Jesus.

••

Our Promises of a Lutheran Education
Central to our 2020 strategic plan was to “articulate and
deliver” the promises of a Lutheran education. While our undergraduate student body is nearly 50 percent LCMS, we are
increasingly serving men and women from other Christian denominations. As this transition takes place, we resolved to explain what a “Lutheran education” means so that all who want
to attend a Christ­-centered university know what they will experience at Concordia.
During the past triennium, we have identified and articulated the four promises of a Lutheran education—Community,
where guidance is provided and, when we fall short, grace is
offered; Inquiry, as we firmly stand on the Truth, we explore,
discover, and discuss the truths of God’s creation and interactions with each other; Purpose, understanding that we have been
given a multitude of vocations by God, through which we serve
Him by serving others; Wisdom, the knowledge that we live as
citizens of two kingdoms and the ability to navigate their numerous intersections in ways that are faithful to our Lord and
Savior.

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Agricultural Science program in December 2018. An
innovative program designed in partnership with the
industry, Concordia’s integrated approach to agriculture provides students with a broad educational foundation in animal science, plant science, food science,
and agribusiness. Taking advantage of our distinctive
as a Lutheran Christian university and our unique
location in a small town in America’s Great Plains,
the program features hands-on, practical experiences
and internships with local industry partners, equipping students to serve throughout this important
industry wherever workers are needed. The response
to this program, both within the state of Nebraska
and throughout the Synod, has been tremendously
positive.
The university has formed strategic partnerships with
two community colleges in Nebraska, giving students
who graduate from these public institutions the opportunity, for the first time, to receive their bachelor’s
degree from a Christ-centered university.

Essential to equipping our undergraduate students, both
body and soul, are facilities. During the past triennium, Concordia renovated and rededicated Weller Chapel Auditorium,
where more than 1,400 gather throughout each week of the academic year to praise, worship, and pray. We also commenced
construction on the Dunklau Center for Science, Math, and
Business, a state-of-the-art, 86,000-sq.-ft. academic facility that
will house the university’s natural science, business, computer
science, math, and agricultural science programs. The science
wing of this facility will open in July 2019, while the entire complex will be completed in December 2019. As the new home of
two of our three largest academic majors—business and biology, the Dunklau Center is a transformative project for the university.
During the past triennium, Concordia’s College of Graduate Studies and Adult Education has expanded its academic
programs to include the following:

Equipping Men and Women

••

Master of Arts in School Counseling

In August 2018, Concordia welcomed 428 new undergraduate students, leading to a full-time enrollment of 1,247
students on the Seward campus, our highest undergraduate
enrollment in 45 years. Counting all students, undergraduate,
graduate, and those taking dual credit courses at our partner
high schools, Concordia had more than 2,500 learners enrolled
during the 2018–2019 academic year. Thanks be to God!
Driving this undergraduate enrollment growth is a number
of factors, including the strategic addition of undergraduate
programs. During the past triennium:
•• Concordia started a Bachelor of Arts in Art Therapy,
the only higher education institution in the state of
Nebraska to offer such a program.
•• In October 2016, Concordia launched its Bachelor
of Music in Music Therapy. Concordia is the only
higher education institution in the Concordia University System and within the state of Nebraska to offer
a music therapy program and one of only 81 colleges
and universities nationwide, out of more than 4,700,
with such a program.
•• Concordia launched its Bachelor of Science in

••

Master of Education in STEAM (science, technology,
engineering, the arts and mathematics)

Concordia is also furthering the College of Graduate
Studies and Adult Education through partnerships within the
Synod. In 2018, Concordia partnered with Concordia University, Irvine, to offer a Master of Arts in Coaching and Athletic
Administration and a Master of Science in Coaching and Exercise Sciences. This program, which builds on prior established
and recognized programs of each institution, is the largest such
graduate athletics administration program in the United States.
The university is in the process of relocating our Lincoln,
NE, campus to the Nebraska District of the LCMS’s University
Lutheran Chapel. Through this partnership, the university is
gaining a high visibility site in downtown Lincoln, less than one
block from the state’s flagship campus, while ensuring that the
Nebraska District’s renovated facility is fully utilized. This has
financial benefits for both the university and the district.
In the area of dual credit, Concordia currently has 26 high
school partners, 21 of which are high schools of The Lutheran
Church-Missouri Synod. During the 2018–19 school year, more
than 775 students took courses with Concordia through these
2019 Convention Workbook