Concordia University Chicago

Steadfast in Jesus Christ as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, Concordia University Chicago (CUC) promotes academic rigor in its liberal arts and professional programs; grounds students in objective truth, integrity, and excellence; and practices faithfulness to the Confessional teachings of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, as it forms students for vocations in church, family, and the world. • In 2019, in addition to the mission statement above, the university adopted a new vision statement: “Concordia University Chicago is a Christ-centered Lutheran university where truth, freedom, and vocation form students for lives of influence and service for the common good.”

• Dr. Russell P. Dawn was inaugurated as Concordia University Chicago’s 12th president in October 2019.
• Concordia Chicago responded to and weathered the storm brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic thanks to the grace of God and the resilience of our community. The university remained faithful to its mission and to delivering a high-quality education for all students.
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A comprehensive academic reorganization culminated during the summer of 2021, establishing two new colleges at the university: the College of Theology, Arts & Humanities and the College of Health, Science & Technology. Along with the existing Colleges of Business and Education, the two new colleges replaced and absorbed programs from the former Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Graduate Studies, and Innovation and Professional Programs. CUC’s strategic plan, Focusing Our Future 2025, is being lived out every day at the university. The plan’s four themes are: Formative Student Experience, Fiscal Agility and Strength, Partnerships for Mission and Excellence, and Vibrant Unified Community. This plan is an exciting and important step in CUC’s pursuit of its vision and positions the university for a thriving future.

• Lutheran teacher education, director of Christian education, director of parish music, the pre-seminary program, and the deaconess program form the foundation for the university’s long-standing church professional programs.
• The university president, directors of the church professional programs, and other members of the CUC community have been actively involved in supporting the Synod’s Set Apart to Serve church worker recruitment initiative.

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Every new CUC student attends the “Faith Matters” orientation session with the university pastor, who presents the Gospel and offers an opportunity for Christian growth for all students.

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Every CUC freshman is required to read portions of Callings for Life (CPH, 2020) which outlines Luther’s theology of vocation while also presenting the Gospel.

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Daily chapel continues to embrace the long, rich history of Lutheran preaching and liturgy, maintaining excellence in sacred music with our numerous musicians and ensembles.

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CUC’s Spiritual Life student organization remains the most active group on campus, living the Word of God, loving all people in Christ’s name, and serving their neighbors on campus, in Chicago, and to the ends of the earth.

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CUC 4 Life, the university’s life ministry organization within Spiritual Life, promotes life ministry from conception to natural death, continually engaging the university community with opportunities for service and education.

• The Division of Theology hosted its first workshop for local preachers in June 2022.
• The Division of Theology hosted a Confessionalism Seminar in June 2023.
• 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.
• The Lectureship in Humanities, Christianity and Public Life, founded by Dr. and Mrs. C. Ross Betts in 2021, is an on campus 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 e Sports, 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.
• 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

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

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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.

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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 Mc Cormick 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.elor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees, educates 5,000 students annually to serve society and the church.

Engineers (IEEE) contest placed them sixth in the United States and 314th in the world—in the top five percent—out of 6,373 teams.

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The Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching has been awarded to 22 CUC alumni as a recognition of their exceptional dedication to both their students and schools. The related Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois program is designed to help place top teachers into high-needs schools— more than 30 CUC students and alumni have been named as scholars.

Lutheran identity is enshrined in our hiring practices, as every faculty and staff member is a professing, practicing Christian. Each full-time hire is interviewed for fidelity by the Chief Mission Officer, the Rev. Dr. Steven Mueller, who also oversees Human Resources. 65 percent of our full-time faculty are members of LCMS congregations; 39 percent of full-time faculty are called church workers of the LCMS.

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Founded in 1864 with earlier roots traced to 1857, CUC was the first Concordia and remains faithful to its mission as it looks forward to its 160th anniversary in 2024. The institution is dedicated to serving the Synod in its mission of education and, through that mission, our Lord’s Great Commission. At the center is Jesus Christ, the Savior of all the world. Here, His blessings abound.

All full-time faculty complete Vision-Mission-Vocation (VMV), a Lutheran higher education orientation program. VMV has proven so important to enshrining our Lutheran identity and culture that Concordia is now building a VMV training program for all staff.

• Concordia has recently launched new BS degrees in Engineering and Computer Science, a Ph D in Counselor Education and Supervision, and established the Servant Leadership Institute to provide Lutheran Christian character and leadership formation for education leaders from public and private schools.
• Concordia recently completed a brand discovery process that under girds a new marketing and communication strategy to communicate our Lutheran Christian identity more boldly, clearly, and widely. This brand research also informed our new 8-year strategic plan: Developing “wise, honorable, and cultivated citizens”: 2023–2030. This quote, included in our mission statement, comes from Luther’s letter written in 1527: “To the Councilmen of All Cities in Germany That They Establish and Maintain Christian Schools.”
• In 2020, Concordia celebrated the completion of a 7-year comprehensive campaign: “Forward in Faith,” with 3 goals: (1) grow the permanent endowment, (2) enhance student aid and scholarships, and (3) build a building dedicated to Theology and Music. The goal of $85 million was shattered. Thanks be to God! $100 million total!
• The opening of the 38,500 square foot Borland-Manske Center in 2019 enables us produce exceptional music. This has led to a partnership with PBS-So Cal and national PBS syndicates to produce “A Concordia Christmas.” Since 2021, Concordia has created three, award-winning broadcasts, sharing the gospel through music and spoken word, which have reached audiences in the millions throughout the U.S. Thanks be to God for this partnership!
• Concordia is embarking on the construction of Phase II of our campus master plan. This plan calls for the construction and renovation of four projects: Renovating the CU Center for Worship and the Performing Arts (adding 300 seats, for a total of 800) and the Nelson Amphitheatre; and building the Golden Eagle Athletics Complex and a new softball stadium. These projects are estimated to cost between $32–36 million, yet Concordia has already raised $28 million in gifts and pledges!
• Concordia remains financially very strong. Our current asset to debt ratio is less than 0.25. In 2022, our financial strength was reviewed independently. We received an investor-grade bond credit rating of BBB+ from Standard and Poor’s. Goldman-Sachs Wealth Management’s non-profit team now manages our ever-growing permanent & quasi endowments, valued at more than $55 million.