Concordia University Wisconsin

Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW) is a private Lutheran university in Mequon, Wisconsin. The school is an affiliate of the eight-member Concordia University System operated by the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod.

Concordia University Wisconsin
Former names
  • Concordia College Milwaukee
  • Concordia College Wisconsin
TypePrivate
Established1881
Religious affiliation
Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod
Endowment$88.5 million (2018)[1]
PresidentPatrick T. Ferry
Academic staff
739
Administrative staff
240
Students7,721
Undergraduates3,830
Postgraduates3,891
485
Other students
523 International
Location
Mequon
,
Wisconsin
,
United States

43°15′13″N 87°54′52″W
Campus200 acres of lake front property
ColorsLake Blue   and Sunrise Gold  
Athletics
NicknameFalcons
Affiliations
Sports
MascotFreddy the Falcon
Websitewww.cuw.edu

The university is a coeducational institution accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, offering 78 undergraduate majors and minors, 17 graduate programs, eight accelerated adult education programs, and three doctoral/professional programs, as well as accelerated evening and e-learning programs. Doctoral degrees are offered in pharmacy, physical therapy, and nursing practice. CUW also has 10 classroom centers providing community outreach with full adult education and post-graduate programs. CUW's School of Pharmacy is one of three pharmacy schools in Wisconsin—the others being University of Wisconsin–Madison and Medical College of Wisconsin.

The university is organized into five schools or colleges: the School of Education, the School of Business and Legal Studies, the School of Human Services, the School of Arts and Sciences, and the School of Adult and Continuing Education.

In 2013, Concordia University Ann Arbor (CUAA) merged with Concordia University Wisconsin. This merger was due to low enrollment and financial troubles at the Ann Arbor campus. CUW became the administration for both campuses, with Ann Arbor considered a satellite campus to the Mequon campus. By 2018, CUAA had nearly doubled in enrollment, successfully started a School of Nursing, built a new football stadium, and completed extensive renovations to 75% of the classroom buildings.

Campus

The university is located at 12800 North Lake Shore Drive in Mequon, Wisconsin, a city north of Milwaukee of just over 23,000 citizens. The university owns a 192-acre (78 ha) campus with over 3.5 miles (5.6 km) of indoor walkways, better known as "tunnels". These "tunnels" connect all academic and residence halls on campus except for the Concordia Center for Environmental Stewardship. The university and its 10 Concordia Centers are home to more than 7,900 undergraduate and graduate, traditional, as well as non-traditional students from 46 states and 34 countries. The university offers 70 undergraduate majors, 22 master's degree programs, and doctoral degrees in Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, and Nursing Practice. There are also a variety of accelerated evening and e-learning programs.[3]

History

Concordia was opened in 1881 at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in downtown Milwaukee. Classes were taught in the basement of the building, with only 13 students in attendance. One year later, the college, known then as Concordia College, purchased nearby land to erect a permanent facility. The college was located between 31st and 33rd Streets and State Street and Highland Boulevard in Milwaukee until 1983. That campus is now owned and operated by the Forest County Potawatomi Community (the owners of the Potawatomi Hotel & Casino).

For the first 83 years, from its inception to 1964, the college featured a classical education with a pre-theology emphasis. Its main mission was to prepare young men for pastoral careers in the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. Originally, graduates matriculated to Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, for an additional four years of divinity studies, leading to ordination within the Lutheran Church.

Prior to the fall of 1964, the combination high school and junior college operated as a male-only institution. Even after women students were accepted in the junior college program for the first time that fall, the high school and the pre-seminary program continued to restrict admissions to men.

Growth

Under the direction of President Wilbert Rosin, the college requested four-year institution status from the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod for its programs, and in 1978 the request was approved. Dr. R. John Buuck became president in 1979. In 1982, the former campus of the School Sisters of Notre Dame in Mequon, Wisconsin, was purchased and now has become the permanent home of CUW. In 1996, the original Milwaukee campus was turned over to the Native American Educational System of Wisconsin, which teaches tribal youth about their culture and language as the Indian Community School of Milwaukee.

As construction on the modern campus continued throughout the 1980s, the college petitioned its board of regents for full university status on August 27, 1989, and the request was approved for the fall 1990 term, making it the first among the ten Concordia University System campuses to achieve that standing. During his 17-year tenure, President Buuck led the university to unprecedented growth. With the introduction of programs such as business, nursing, adult education, physical therapy, occupational therapy etc., the university grew rapidly to become the largest Lutheran college and university in North America in 1996.

Since 2000, CUW has added several new buildings. In the summer of 2011, construction of a School of Pharmacy building was completed. The School of Pharmacy program was launched in the fall of 2010 and is a four-year professional pharmacy program designed to prepare students for a variety of careers within the pharmacy profession. By adding a School of Pharmacy, CUW has become one of three schools in the state of Wisconsin to offer a Pharm.D. degree. The building includes many amenities: clinical practice labs to develop patient care skills, state-of-the-art educational technologies, faculty research space, lecture halls, and faculty offices.[4]

Presidents
  • Christoph Henry Loeber – installed 1885
  • Max Albrecht – installed 1893
  • G. Christian Barth – installed 1921
  • Leroy Carl Rincker – installed 1936
  • Walter W. Stuenkel – installed 1953
  • Wilbert Rosin – installed 1977
  • R. John Buuck – installed 1979
  • Patrick T. Ferry – installed 1997 (current president)

Enrollment
CUW Enrollment 1990 to 2009

CUW has doubled in total enrollment from 3719 in 1995–96 to 7485 students in 2010–11. Adult education programs were also expanded, thereby topping the list of the largest such programs in higher education for the Lutheran Church. CUW's enrollment makes it the largest Lutheran university in the United States.[5][6]

Faculty
  • Student/Faculty ratio: 13 to 1
  • Average class size: 18
  • Full-time faculty with terminal degree: 74.2%

Student media

Concordia has several student publications, including the official student newspaper, The Beacon, founded in 1984. Prior to that, papers such as The Courier made up the student news publications. An underground publication at Concordia is The Shadow, which contains humorous fictional stories and is distributed by secret editorial staff. It is in its third incarnation, following in the footsteps of the original, but renamed as The Shadow Reborn.

Athletics

Concordia Wisconsin teams participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division III and are members of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC). Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, shooting, soccer, tennis, track & field and wrestling; women's sports include basketball, cheerleading, cross country, dance, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, shooting, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field, volleyball and field hockey.

In April 2012, CUW opened its new baseball field, Kapco Park. The field is home to both CUW's men's baseball and the Lakeshore Chinooks, a local minor league baseball team part-owned by Robin Yount and Bob Uecker. Kapco Park has the maximum capacity for 3,000 fans in various seating areas throughout the facility including reserved seats, fan decks, general admission and grass seating, all with beautiful views of Lake Michigan. This ballpark has a synthetic turf field, except the pitchers mound, for consistent play throughout the year. It also has a fully functioning press box, dugouts, concession area and restrooms. The park sits on the northeast corner of the campus, located on the shores of Lake Michigan.[7]

In 2013, CUW announced the addition of acrobatics and tumbling, the university's 24th sport with a competitive championship. CUW was expected to begin its first season of competition during the spring of 2015 with an approximate roster of 30-40 student-athletes. The official competition season is February–April. The Falcons will become the 12th school to sponsor the emerging sport, in association with the National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association.[8]

Mascot

CUW is represented by Freddy the Falcon. The school's athletic colors are royal blue, white, and grey.

Student life

Clubs and organizations

The university has more than 70 student organizations in various fields of interest.

Student government

CUW's student government association (SGA) oversees all student organization on campus. It is made up of resident senators from each dormitory, commuter senators who live off campus, organization senators who represent campus organizations, and the executive board. SGA receives its funding from the $40 Student Government Program fee that full-time students pay. SGA works with the students, faculty, campus ministry, and the administration to represent the students in all aspects of life at Concordia.

Campus activities

The CUW Campus Activities Board coordinates, markets, and facilitates activities for the entire campus throughout the year. These events include Homecoming, An Evening at the Lounge, Casino Night, Winterfest, and many new and traditional events.

Notable alumni

References
  1. As of June 30, 2018. "U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 Endowment Market Value and Change in Endowment Market Value from FY17 to FY18" (PDF). 2018 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments. National Association of College and University Business Officers. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  2. NAICU – Member Directory Archived November 9, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  3. "About Concordia". Cuw.edu. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  4. McCarthy, Craig. "School of Pharmacy". Cuw.edu. Concordia University Wisconsin. Archived from the original on 2014-06-06. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 16, 2011. Retrieved January 17, 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "A Group of Colleges that Has Faith in Your Future". Lutherancolleges.org. Retrieved 2016-07-09.
  7. McCarthy, Craig. "Kapco Park". Cuwfalcons.com. Concordia University Wisconsin. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  8. McCarthy, Craig. "Concordia University Wisconsin adds Acrobatics & Tumbling". Cuwfalcons.com. Concordia University Wisconsin. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  9. "Ralph Klein". Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  10. "Richard Lischer CV" (PDF). Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  11. "John Scardina NFL Football Statistics". Pro-Football-Reference.com. 1958-07-26. Retrieved 2016-07-09.
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