# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2007_S82 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 82 SYNOD REPORTS CUS Goals for the Next Triennium * Increase the percentage of full-time Lutheran faculty from 82% to 87% ¢ Increase the number of church career students from 2,400 to 2,700 * Increase the number of LCMS students from 4,900 to 6,000 ¢ Increase For the Sake of the Church endowment fund contribu- tions, pledges, and estate-designated gifts from $151M to $200M ¢ Identify and train 30 individuals for positions of leadership in the CUS ¢ Conduct governance seminars for the 10 boards of regents ¢ Establish and coordinate an effective study abroad program for CUS students ¢ Develop a program to equip non-rostered and non-Lutheran fac- ulty members, full-time and part-time, to understand and promote the values of Lutheran higher education Significant Achievements: Individual Campuses Concordia University, Ann Arbor, MI—Thomas Ahlersmeyer, President ¢ Rev. Dr. Thomas R. Ahlersmeyer, Interim President and former Executive Director of the Cleveland Lutheran High School As- sociation, was installed as Concordia’s fifth president on Novem- ber 4, 2005. ¢ Traditional undergraduate enrollment has increased 23% since 2003. Overall enrollment has increased 48% in the same time pe- riod, with a record total enrollment of 917 as of spring semester 2007. ¢A $4.8 million, campus-wide Energy Savings Project (ESP) began in October 2006, with completion scheduled for July 2007. The ESP redirects current operating dollars from the purchase of utilities and breakdown maintenance to the purchase, installation, and startup of modern energy and water-saving equipment and management systems. The ESP repays the $4.8 million invest- ment in less than 15 years, securing a future of reduced annual operating expenses. ¢ The Master of Science in Educational Leadership degree with concentrations in Administration, Curriculum & Instruction, or Religious Studies was launched in January 2005. The program has expanded to 12 off-campus sites as of January 2007, with ad- ditional sites being developed. ¢ Family Life Ministry (FLM) has become the second largest church- work program on campus since becoming a rostered (commis- sioned) ministry by action of the 2004 LCMS convention. ¢ A new campus facilities master plan is being finalized that re- flects strategic planning priorities, including expanding on-cam- pus educational and physical/social activities for the growing traditional student population. ¢ The STEPS (Serving and Training Experiences for Pre-Seminary Students) Program brings together the Michigan District and in- dividual donors to help pre-seminary students earn money while gaining valuable experience working in area congregations. Concordia University, Austin, TX—-Thomas Cedel, President ¢ Concordia has focused its efforts in the last few years on strategic planning and developing a vision for its future while seeking to serve God and His people. As part of this process, it became clear that remaining at its current site beside Interstate 35, a major na- tional north-south corridor, did not give Concordia the ability to provide housing or parking for our students. The board of regents decided in May 2005 to relocate the university. Over the next 8 months, the university researched 30 potential new locations. In May 2006, a site for the new campus was selected along with a buyer for the current campus. The Board for University Educa- tion and the Synod’s Board of Directors approved the financial model for the campus relocation that same month. Concordia is proceeding through the relocation process, looking forward to moving in the summer of 2008. 2007 Convention Workbook ¢ In conjunction with Concordia’s work on the campus relocation, the university has developed a master plan for the new property. This master plan describes a picture of the university’s physical infrastructure for the next 20 years. ¢ Enrollment has continued to reach record levels with more than 1,200 students for the fall of 2006. Accelerated Adult Degree, tra- ditional, and Master of Education programs are all growing. ¢ Concordia University at Austin was again named a top tier uni- versity in the “Best College and University” issue of U.S. News and World Report, moving up several spots. In addition, the uni- versity was named an Austin “Best Place to Work” in 2006. ¢ In 2005, CAN-DO missions (a program to provide mission experi- ences for junior high and high school students) became a part of Concordia University. CAN-DO was an outreach effort of the Texas District. CAN-DO’s association with Concordia will provide our _ Students with additional mission and leadership experience. Concordia College, Bronxville, NY—Viji D. George, President ¢ Concordia celebrated its 125th anniversary with a series of events, including an opening service keynoted by Synod President Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick and an Anniversary Festival Reformation Service at the U.S. Military Academy Chapel in West Point, NY, attended by more than 1,700 Lutherans from the Eastern Seaboard. ¢ September 2006 marked the opening of the new 12,000-square- foot Donald A. Krenz Academic Center, which offers Concordia students two large networked presentation classrooms equipped with the latest multimedia educational technology and a new 20- station computer classroom. ¢ The Concordia Experience, the most significant curricular revi- sion since Concordia became a four-year college in 1973, was launched in fall 2006. The new curriculum is comprised of seven dynamic programs of study—biology, business, education, Eng- lish, liberal studies, socia! science, and social work—and rein- forces traditional classroom academics with real-world experiential learning and leadership development. ¢ The new OSilas Art Gallery at Concordia opened with an extra- ordinary exhibition of religious-themed old masters’ paintings, including three works by Rubens loaned by a local collector. The gallery, underwritten with a significant grant from an area foun- dation, drew 3,000 visitors in its first three months of operation in the fall of 2006. ¢ Concordia awarded over $2.8 million in Fortress Scholarships to deserving Lutheran students in the past three years. ¢ Concordia’s New Media Communications Area of Study, intro- duced in a new studio/classroom space in fall 2006, focuses on digital technologies within a liberal arts framework, with particu- lar emphasis on ethical and social awareness. ¢ In fall 2006, Concordia enrolled its largest incoming class in sev- eral decades. Overall enrollment has increased by 34% in the past decade and by 8.5% since fall 2003. * Concordia has achieved four straight years of positive net operat- ing results and has launched its first general capital campaign since the early 1990s. ¢ Concordia’s teacher education program was accredited by the Na- tional Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education for the first time in fall 2004; the social work program was reaccredited by the Council on Social Work Education the following spring. ¢ The Yeager Collection of autograph material by America’s busi- nessmen, financiers, and wealth creators went on permanent ex- hibition at Concordia in the fall of 2006. Donated by a retired Wall Street investment manager, it is the finest collection of its kind on public display anywhere. CA—Jacob A. O. Preus, President ¢ An enrollment of 2,317 students in fall 2006 again confirmed the university’s upward trend in student recruitment and retention. Enrollment in 2004 was 1,761. Full-time and resident faculty grew from 76 in 2004 to 89 in 2006. Concordia University, Irvine,