Collection › LCMS Convention Workbook (St. Louis, Missouri) › 1969 · 48th Convention › Page 298
LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1969, Page 298

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

298 HIGHER EDUCATION

the continued generous support received from the
Synod and breathes the prayer that the Synod will
enthusiastically resolve further liberal support of all
synodical ministerial training but that it will particu-
larly aggressively foster pastoral training.

Boarp or CONTROL
FELIx KreETZSCHMAR, Secretary
(6-16)
California Concordia College,
Oakland, Calif.

By the grace of God, California Concordia College
has been privileged to serve the church and the Lu-
therans of the West for 63 years. Located in the historic,
picturesque, culturally rich San Francisco Bay area —
one of the most ethnically diverse, populous, and fast-
est-growing metropolitan centers in the country — Cali-
fornia Concordia College is prepared to make a fresh,
expansion service contribution to synodical higher edu-
cation and the church in this time of revolutionary
change and unprecedented challenge to mission.

The Board of Control

Capably addressing itself to the future of synodical
higher education in California and the West is a dedi-
cated and progressive Board of Control composed of
Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, President of the California and
Nevada District, chairman; Mr. Donald Hingst of Pasa-
dena, secretary; Rev. Paul Huchthausen, Burlingame;
Mr. Willis W. Bredehoft, Orange; Mr. W. A. Kamrath,
Redondo Beach; Mr. Howard L. Iversen, San Luis
Obispo; and Mr. Floyd Oatman, Hillsborough, Calif.

The Staff

California Concordia College, despite the competi-
tive climate of teacher recruitment, is fortunate in hav-
ing a staff of faithful teachers who are all committed
to excellence in education. They have willingly in-
vested many additional hours in study and research
to effect beneficial changes and significant improve-
ments in the teaching-learning process at Concordia.

They have eagerly participated with the administra-
tion in an exhaustive self-study of the college depart-
ment preliminary to seeking full regional accreditation
with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

Looking to the Future ... the California Dilemma

The New York convention wisely postponed a defini-
tive decision regarding the future of synodical higher
education in California until the Denver convention.
“To be or not to be” is still the basic question which
must be answered regarding both the proposed Irvine
junior college in Southern California and the 63-year-
old California Concordia College. Or to state it another
way, shall the base for synodical higher education in
California remain in the West’s strategic, centrally
located San Francisco Bay area, or shall it be shifted
to the Southwest section of the country in Southern
California’s Orange County?

Other Fundamental Questions

Very relevant to any major decision concerning syn-
odical higher education in California and the West are
the following questions: In view of the knowledge ex-
plosion and the changing patterns of higher education,
is it wise at this time to invest 8 to 9 million dollars in
a traditional junior college? Cannot California Con-
cordia College. through the elimination of the high
school and with minimum improvement expenditures,
essentially accomplish what a new junior college might
accomplish? Could not an effective church vocations
recruitment program within California’s 103 free com-
munity junior colleges possibly in the future minimize
or even eliminate the necessity for a synodical junior
college in California? Since the trend in synodical
higher education appears to be in the direction of fewer
and strategically located regional 4-year colleges rather
than more junior colleges, wouldn't prudent planning
for the West suggest the development of a single 4-year
program in the centrally located San Francisco Bay
area, with the existing California Concordia College
as the freshman and sophomore years of this future
4-year college? Should The Lutheran Church — Mis-
souri Synod continue to develop and deploy its synodi-
cal schools without regard for the existence and loca-
tion of non-LCMS Lutheran colleges? Has the time
perhaps come for The Lutheran Church — Missouri
Synod to explore the possibilities of cooperative under-
graduate training programs with non-LCMS Lutheran
colleges rather than plan for the costly construction and
maintenance of more LCMS colleges?

Irvine and California Concordia College Boards
of Control Agree

The California Concordia College Board of Control
and the Board of Control of the proposed Irvine college,
in a special meeting regarding the higher education
concerns of the West, agreed that the number-one need
of the West was for a 4-year synodical college (cf.
WorkKs00K memorial submitted jointly by these two
boards). It was the judgment of both boards that the
LCMS should designate this a priority program in terms
of immediate planning and financing. The question of
location was not considered by the two boards.

California and Nevada District Unanimously
Recommends 4-Year Synodical College for the West,
to Be Located in the Strategic, Central
San Francisco Bay Area

In its comprehensive overture entitled “To Establish
One 4-Year College in California (Bay Area)” (appear-
ing elsewhere in this Worksoox), the California and
Nevada District has offered the LCMS a practical, rea-
sonable solution to the problem of synodical higher
education in California and the West.

In the opinion of the California and Nevada District,
The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod and the West
would be well served through the establishment of
a 4-year college in the strategic and centrally located