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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2026, Page 89

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS
area, providing us with opportunities to reach the large local
base of aligned families.

D.1.d. Threats
•

Demographic trends: Declines in the traditional college-age population in the U.S., overall population loss in
the upper Midwest, and decline in LCMS membership impact our university.

•

International laws: Some laws pose a deterrent to international students.

•

Governmental policy: Federal laws and regulations reward
colleges whose programs fit the government’s goals for education and punish those that do not. These goals do not
necessarily match our own goals and may negatively impact
church work programs and awards given to students. State
government regulations also attempt to dictate that some
programs adopt non-Christian ideologies.

D.2. Future Goals
Please refer to section B of our report for a list and explanation
of our current goals, which will take us through 2028. Beyond that,
we will continue to set intermediate goals in pursuit of our 15-year
strategic vision to:
Strengthen CUC’s reputation as a Christ-centered institution
of academic excellence and student success, expanding its
impact regionally and nationally while developing financial
independence and enhancing operational effectiveness and
employee engagement to achieve its mission.
Dr. Russell P. Dawn, President

A.3. Core Convictions and Values
CUI serves our students, colleagues, and community by being:
•

Gospel-Centered: The faculty and staff, guided by God’s
Word and the Lutheran Confessions, welcome all students
who are both willing and able to engage with its mission and
proclaim God’s grace in Christ to each person.

•

Faithfully Relevant: CUI offers exceptional, rigorous, holistic, and sought-after programs in the liberal arts and professional studies, rooted in the Lutheran intellectual tradition, that prepare servant leaders who proactively address the
contemporary needs of the church and the world.

•

Sustainably Excellent: CUI invests its finite resources of
time, talent, and treasure in wise and sustainable ways by
empowering each faculty, staff, and student to live out their
vocations and to support the ongoing excellence and fulfillment of the university’s mission.

•

Courageously Loving: At CUI, all are called to love one
another, forming a community that faithfully cultivates humility and responsibility, fosters honest and charitable conversations, and offers a path to personal growth that equips
students for lives of service in a diverse world.

•

Relentlessly Hopeful: CUI is ever hopeful as it carries out
its mission in the face of the world’s challenges. Our hope is
rooted in the confidence that God in Christ has reconciled the
world to Himself and that Christ is the Lord of all creation.

Lutheran Identity is enshrined in our faculty and staff as they interact daily with our students in and out of the classroom:
•

Each full-time faculty and staff member is a professing,
practicing Christian who is interviewed for fidelity by the
Chief Mission Officer, Rev. Dr. Steven Mueller. At CUI,
57 percent of our full-time faculty are members of Synod
congregations, and 39 percent of full-time faculty are called
church workers of the Synod.

•

All full-time employees, both faculty and staff, are required
to complete Vision-Mission-Vocation, a Lutheran higher education orientation program which helps ensure the continuance of Lutheran identity and culture.

•

Our church work programs continue to raise up faithful leaders for the Synod in undergraduate and graduate programs.
With generous financial aid (matching what we provide to
the children of our faculty and staff) and with high-quality, faithful instruction, they are being well formed for their
callings.

R14.2

Concordia University, Irvine
A. 1976–2026: 50 Years of Faithfulness
Our Lord and Savior continues to bless the ministry of Concordia University, Irvine (CUI)! Called into being as Christ College Irvine, with 38 students, 5 professors, and 1 building, CUI
now serves 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students annually
by offering 60+ degree programs throughout southern California
and beyond. Join us in early October as we celebrate this amazing
milestone!

A.1. CUI’s Continued Faithfulness
We are proud to report that the formal and informal ecclesiastical accreditation visits by the Concordia University System (CUS),
as required by 2023 Resolution 7-04B, have demonstrated CUI’s
exemplary commitment to our shared confession as we carry out
our specific calling as a university of the LCMS. CUS’ official reports are filled with commendations testifying to how we carry out
our mission and inculcate our core convictions and values each and
every day, in classrooms, labs, athletic fields, music and theatre
venues, residential halls, and online.

A.2. Mission Statement
Concordia University Irvine, a comprehensive Lutheran Christian university guided by Christ’s Great Commission, develops
wise, honorable, and cultivated citizens to serve society and the
church.

B. University Updates
CUI, as a faithful and thriving university of the Synod, is grateful to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for innumerable blessings
and is excited to report the following updates:
•

As part of the 50th anniversary celebration, CUI will “cut the
ribbons” and open several new facilities: (1) the CU Center
for Worship and the Performing Arts has been fully remodeled with the addition of 300 seats (for a total of 800); (2) the
Golden Eagle Athletics Complex, which includes two new
buildings to support NCAA Division 2 athletes and the entire
undergraduate student community, adds 20,000 square feet
of amenities; (3) a new softball stadium; and (4) a renovated
CU Arena. These projects total $45 million (M). As of Janu2026 Convention Workbook