LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2023, Page 70

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70

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS
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Reflecting the mission of CUC and in response to the mission field God has provided, CUC established the Dr. Rosa
J. Young Opportunity Scholarship, to provide financial relief
for African-American students pursuing church-related professions at the university.

•

The university has been designated a College of Distinction
for the 12th year in a row, has also been named as a Christian College of Distinction, and is recognized for exemplary
business and education academic programs by the Colleges
of Distinction Association for “high-impact educational
practices.”

•

The university is ranked among the Best Online Bachelor’s
Degree programs in the nation by U.S. News & World Report for 2023 and achieved recognition among the Best Online MBA Programs, Best Online Graduate Education Programs, and Best Online Bachelor’s Programs for Veterans
as well.

•

During 2023, the university is honoring a century of concert choral music. While choral music has been an integral
component of the Concordia Chicago experience since its
founding in 1864, organized, faculty-led, concert-level singing formally began 100 years ago as the College Chorus. A
century later, today’s Kapelle honors and advances sacred
musical traditions.

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The Lectureship in Humanities, Christianity and Public Life,
founded by Dr. and Mrs. C. Ross Betts in 2021, is an oncampus biannual lecture series committed to the biblical
teaching that by and through Christ all things were created,
and “in Him all things hold together” (Col. 1:16–17).

•

The Center for Urban Education Ministries (CUEM) moved
from Concordia Wisconsin’s campus to CUC’s campus in
2023. Led by Dr. Steven Gerner, the CUEM is an independent entity, but will partner with the university on many initiatives. Dr. Gerner also joined CUC’s faculty to establish
the new Center for Christian Education with Dr. Maja Miskovic, Dean of the College of Education.

•

CUC is one of only a few colleges in the country to operate
in the black every year for 19 straight years.

•

In the 2020–21 academic year, a record number of CUC students, mostly graduate, successfully completed their degrees.

•

Non-traditional undergraduate Accelerated Degree Program
enrollment nearly doubled between Fall 2018 and Fall 2022.

The university continues to expand its degree programs,
including the addition of a Bachelor of Science in Nursing
program for students answering God’s call to help others.
Work has been completed on the brand-new Health Science
Simulation and Instruction Learning Lab, a bright and airy
4,000-square-foot learning space in the Christopher Center.
The fully revamped program will begin welcoming new students during the Fall of 2023.

•

CUC is preparing for on-site visits from both the Higher
Learning Commission (HLC) and the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) in 2024.

•

Athletics programs have expanded since 2019 to include
STUNT, a competitive cheer-based sport, and eSports, a
popular form of video game competition that many universities across the country have added to their athletics departments.

•

Concordia Chicago was ranked as a 2023 Best Regional
University—Midwest and a Top Performer on Social Mobility by US News & World Report.

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Track and field athletes Kayla Armstrong and Simone Wilson were the first Cougars ever to attend USA Championships, the country’s most prestigious track meet.

•

The university was among those recognized for Campus
Ethnic Diversity by U.S. News & World Report. The university is blessed to carry out the Great Commission in bringing
Jesus Christ to all nations and people.

•

A team of undergraduate students were awarded first place
in the Chicago IEEEXtreme 24-Hour Programming Competition, for the seventh time in eight years. Their performance in the annual Institute of Electrical and Electronics

•

The Ferguson Art Gallery has hosted a number of exhibits,
including, in 2021, “Photography and Fiber Reveal God’s
Beauty” featuring works by Anastasiya Camp and Sara Nordling.

•

Professor Andy Pederson served as head writer for the
LCMS Youth Gathering’s mass events.

•

The College of Business serves as the academic home for
CUC’s Free Enterprise Center, (FEC) which has been directed since 2021 by Dr. Rachel Ferguson. The vision of the
FEC is to cultivate virtuous leaders who embrace the role of
free enterprise in developing healthy communities.

•

Under the auspices of the Free Enterprise Center, the College of Business relaunched the Business Leaders Breakfast
(BLB) in 2022. The BLB is a gathering of local community
leaders dedicated to engaging in the work of creating healthy
communities in the surrounding area.

•

The administrative offices of the LCMS Northern Illinois
District moved to Concordia University Chicago’s campus
in 2022. The two organizations are bound together in Christ
as they continue to feed the faithful, bring the Gospel to a
world in need, and educate students of all ages.

•

The historic campus in River Forest, Illinois, has undergone
major facilities changes including:
o

o

Crossroads Dining Hall was completely renovated with
focuses on student convenience, up-to-date aesthetics, and
more efficient processes for reducing food waste.

o

The Academic Center for Excellence was moved to the
newly redesigned CULearn commons in the Christopher
Center, an attractive and functional one-stop shop for students seeking academic support.

o

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The decommissioning of Gross Hall, a residence hall that
was built in 1969 and had $12 million in deferred maintenance. The building was carefully dismantled so that its
materials could be salvaged for reuse elsewhere, and more
than one hundred pieces of its dorm furniture were donated
to Humble Design, an organization that helps individuals
emerging from homelessness.

The former McCormick Recital Hall was upgraded—by
modernizing HVAC, improving acoustics, refurbishing the
recital organ and more—and renamed the Gieschen Recital Hall in honor of the university’s first full-time choral
conductor, Dr. Thomas Gieschen.

2023 Convention Workbook