LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1975, Page 319

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HIGHER EDUCATION 319

6-14

Concordia College, Bronxville, N. ¥.

“Jesus Christ is Lord.” the summarizing credo of the New
Testament church, is the normative confession in synodical
higher education at Concordia College, Bronxville. N. Y. Having
completed 93 years of service to youth of East Coast Districts
and congregations, Concordia gives thanks to Almighty God for
abundant blessings during the past biennium and. facing
demanding challenges and opportunities ahead. moves forward
rejoicing in hope.

Moving Forward in Undergraduate Academic Programs

During the past 2 years the junior and senior year portions
of Concordia’s 4-year program have been successfully put into
operation, with liberal arts and teacher certification curricula
approved by New York State. In May 1975 approximately 90
teacher education and general students completed bachelor's
degree programs and an additional 50 students (including those
in lower division transfer programs in pretheological. social
work. and deaconess studies) completed 2-year associate degree
programs. The college also made available broader offerings,
without adding new courses. by independent study programs
and cooperative arrangements with a neighboring college.
These successful efforts were welcomed by students. The
college's Middle States Association regional accreditation has
been continued through this 2-year period of “substantive
change.” and the faculty’s reaccreditation self-studies have gone
forward in 1973—75 in preparation for the on-site accreditation
team visit scheduled for fall 1975.

Teacher Education. The teacher education program. which
serves 35 percent of Concordia's total student body, offers New
York State-approved programs leading to Nursery-6 certifica-
tion, Nursery-9 certification in English, general science, social
studies, and mathematics, and nursery-12 music education
certification. Cooperative arrangements are being developed
with neighboring colleges so that certification programs in other
areas can be offered to Concordia students.

In keeping with Concordia’s philosophy and the competency-
based program recommended by the State Education Depart-
ment, teacher education policies and programs have been
developed, evaluated, and refined by a Professional Advisory
Group consisting of teacher and principal representatives from
area schools, teacher education student representatives. and
members of the college’s Department of Teacher Education.
Practical classroom activities are part of the teacher education
student's program as early as the freshman or sophomore year.
These activities continue through practical applications and
micro-teaching experiences until the senior year professional
semester, when the student spends 10 weeks full time at co-
operating schools in supervised student teaching. During 1974 —
75 cooperating Lutheran schools from a broad geographic area.
reaching from Buffalo to Baltimore and from Connecticut to
Pennsylvania, offered their services as student teaching stations.
In addition, five Westchester County schools provided student
teaching stations. Approximately 50 seniors who fulfilled re-
quirements for State Teacher Certification also completed
programs preparing them for the teaching ministry in Lutheran
schools through placement by the synodical Board of Assign-
ments.

Special Programs. Concordia utilizes the 4-1-4 academic
calendar, with the 1-month January (Interim) term devoted to
a single course or study experience. The 1975 Interim term
offerings were varied, ranging from topics dealing with mathe-
matics and probability theory to poets of New York City. Over
90 percent of all students were able to take their first-choice
courses. and two foreign study tours were successfully con-
ducted. Over 10 percent of the student body engaged in Inde-
pendent Study projects. Concordia’s 1976 Interim term will be
wholly devoted to studies and events centered in the nation’s
Bicentennial commemoration and will be organized under the
theme ‘‘Bicenterim: America in Academic Perspective.”

In 1974—75 Concordia introduced a program of Continuing
Education for adults. About 60 new students in the fall semester
and more than 100 new students in the spring semester. chiefly
adults, participated in the Continuing Education program.
Offerings ranged from painting and tennis instruction to profes-

sional in-service courses in Christian day school teaching in the
urban setting and in supervision of instruction.

The 1975 program of summer offerings includes workshops.
institutes, and short courses for pastors. church musicians, and
science teachers: a writer's workshop (cosponsored by the
Synod's Board of Parish Education): a multimedia workshop:
and a workshop on movement education for classroom and
physical education teachers.

Moving Forward in Institutional Development and Support

Concordia Advance Program. The college's synodically
authorized capital funds campaign. named the Concordia
Advance Program, has resulted in $1,500,000 pledged by Con-
cordia’s eastern constituency. with $1,200,000 remitted to date.
This effort has been pronounced an unqualified success by out-
side observers engaged in college and university fund-raising
enterprises. To date, 456 eastern synodical congregations in the
Atlantic, New Jersey. Eastern. New England, Southeastern.
and Florida-Georgia “geographical” Districts, together with
congregations in the eastern regions of the English and SELC
Districts, have participated in the effort to reach the $1,800,000
goal to provide new library and a music-fine arts addition.
Scheele Memorial Library. constructed at a cost of $1.350,000,
is completed and in daily use. Construction of the music-fine
arts addition must await further fund-raising efforts. centered
in Phase II" of the Advance Program.

Auxiliary and Supporting Groups. With the advent of the
Concordia Advance Program, alumni support has become
demonstrably stronger and alumni membership has become
more active in Concordia affairs. Over $135,000 was pledged to
the capital funds campaign by alumni, and the establishment
of an Alumni Annual Fund is a direct result of this effort. The
1974—75 Alumni Annual Fund provided $10,000 for scholarships.

The Concordia College Guild continued its annual program
to support special projects. such as providing furnishings and
equipment. Additionally, the guild supports Parents Weekend,
a well-received college relations venture.

The Lutheran Education Society provides support for special
projects and scholarships. Lutheran insurance firms continue
to give appreciated help. The Aid Association for Lutherans,
in addition to providing funds for the media center of the new
library, remains one of Concordia’s strongest corporate sup-
porters: in 1974, for example. AAL grants of all types totaled
$31,000 and an additional $5,000 was contributed by local agents
and through the firm's matching gifts program. Lutheran
Brotherhood provided important student scholarship grants.

Synodical Support. In addition to the signally important
annual operating subsidy. the Synod has supported Concordia
with short-term construction loans and has assisted the present
expansion program by providing dormitory equipment.

The college deeply appreciates the ongoing interest and
support of her service area congregational constituency, Dis-
tricts. individual and corporate benefactors, and the Synod.

Plant and Facilities. With the completion of Scheele Memo-
rial Library (funded through the Concordia Advance Program),
Herman J. Rippe Hall (a 134-student residence hall, financed
through conventional loan and government debt service grant),
an addition to the physical education building (underwritten by
special gifts, with amortization of a short-term loan from income
derived from facility operation), together with site work develop-
ment and conversion projects. Concordia has added capital
assets of over $3.000,000 in the last 2 years. Concordia can now
accommodate a resident student body of over 500. plus addi-
tional day and evening commuting and special students. As
Concordia moves forward, and the success of Phase II of the
Advance Program makes it possible to provide the music-fine
arts addition. the college will also have to turn attention to
enlarging the dining hall and renovating the 60-year-old men’s
residence halls and the half-century-old building which houses
the student union.

The Concordia Community

Board of Control. Members of the Board of Control during the
biennium were Revs. Rudolph Ressmeyer (chairman), Arnold
Kromphardt (secretary), Albert Bahr. and Merlin Meyer, and
Mssrs. Bernard Guenther, Theodore Hoffmann, F. Carl Kretz-
mann, and Donald Poch. Board members have been called upon