Campus clips – Spring updates from CUS schools

Composer Michael John Trotta holds a clinic with the Sheboygan Area Lutheran High School Choir, which is directed by Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW) alum Matthew Thiel. (CUW)

Note: The following reports predate the campus closures required by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Assistance for nursing and law students

Concordia University, St. Paul (CSP), St. Paul, Minn., is providing pathways and solutions for nursing students from Concordia University, Portland (CUP), Ore., and law students from the Concordia University School of Law in Boise, Idaho, to continue in their degree programs with as little interruption as possible. CSP will provide high-quality nursing education opportunities to students in the Portland region and become the new parent institution for the law school. The transition will provide students, faculty and staff financial and institutional stability and preserve the legacy established by CUP leadership.

New setting of Te Deum premiered

Concordia University Wisconsin, Mequon, Wis., alumnus Matthew Thiel (’08), who directs the Sheboygan Area Lutheran High School Choir, had the opportunity, along with his choir, to work with composer Michael John Trotta in March. The choir performed Trotta’s most recent work, a new setting of the Te Deum. After Trotta worked with the choir on the piece, Thiel said, “It was very unexpected and really an honor that he recognized the potential in our group.” Learn more at blog.cuw.edu/te-deum.

Students serving others

During February’s Inauguration Week at Concordia University, Irvine, Calif., more than 1,000 students, faculty and staff participated in service events. The first annual “Concordia Serves” event partnered with 13 different local nonprofits and ministries to serve neighbors in the community.

Students at Concordia University, Irvine, Calif. (CUI), worked to help others during the “Concordia Serves” event in February. (CUI)

Environmental stewardship

Concordia University Texas, Austin, Texas, is demonstrating its commitment to environmental stewardship with its environmental science and conservation programs, its Texas Master Naturalist student chapter, its annual Nature Fest and its new outdoor learning spaces. Each student, staff and faculty member has also received reusable food and drink containers, eliminating the need for 750 Styrofoam containers each week and as many as 35,000 plastic cups and utensils each year.

Summer STEAM camp

Registration for the first-ever STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) camp at Concordia University, Ann Arbor, Mich., is now open. The camp, Visual Ventures, is for students in middle and high school and will cover engaging and educational topics such as coding, gaming, illustration and branding. The camp runs July 20–24. Please visit blog.cuaa.edu/visual-ventures for more information or to get updates about possible postponement or cancellation due to COVID-19.

Alumni recognition

Five alumni from Concordia University Chicago, River Forest, Ill., were recognized as Distinguished Educators by the Lutheran Education Association in 2020:

Charles Winterstein (’71, MA ’88), Christus Magister award;

Roy Stuckwisch (’10, Colloquy), Distinguished Early Childhood Administrator;

David Bahr (’87), Distinguished Secondary Educator;

Brian Young (’67), Distinguished Retired Lutheran Educator; and

Allyson Hoger (’17), Outstanding New Lutheran Elementary Teacher.

Free resources for graduate students

Concordia University, Nebraska (CUNE), Seward, Neb., recently received a grant that will provide funding for seven online graduate courses to remove required textbooks and replace them with resources that are free for students. The $6,300 grant, provided by Wiley Education Services, a partner of CUNE that assists in marketing and recruitment for graduate and online programs, will be used to update the M.Ed. program in curriculum and instruction.

Posted June 4, 2020