Campus clips: Collaboration, service and a tuition guarantee

Members of Laudamus and of the St. Louis Lutheran Chorale sing during a hymn festival at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis (CSL), in March 2025. (CSL)

The monthly “Campus Clips” column includes brief reports from LCMS day schools, campus ministries, universities and seminaries.

Proclaiming the faith through song

On Sunday, March 1, at 4 p.m., Concordia Seminary, St. Louis (CSL), will host a hymn festival featuring the hymns of Dr. Lisa Clark, senior editor at Concordia Publishing House, and Katie Schuermann, author and musician.

The hymn festival, which will take place in the Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus, is part of the CSL Music Series, which celebrates and proclaims the Christian faith through the gift of music. The event will feature the seminary’s premier choir, Laudamus; the St. Louis Lutheran Chorale; the CSL Youth Choir; and instrumentalists.

There is no charge to attend, and the hymn festival will be livestreamed at csl.edu/live. For more information, contact the Rev. Dr. Jon Vieker, dean of chapel, at viekerj@csl.edu.

Marketplace benefits students

On Dec. 13, 2025, at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne (CTSFW), students and their families enjoyed the annual Christmas marketplace following Advent Candlelight Evening Prayer and a dinner hosted by the dean of students’ office.

At the Christmas marketplace, students received donated gifts collected by the food and clothing co-op, including handmade quilts from friends of the seminary across the country. This year, donors also provided 46 gift baskets; 38 additional prizes; two large gifts for drawings; and enough gift cards to provide substantial gifts to residential students, graduate assistants and international students.

Elijah Anderson, a first-year student at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne (CTSFW), poses with a quilt donated by supporters of the seminary. (CTSFW)

Church work tuition guarantee

Concordia University, St. Paul (CSP), St. Paul, Minn., is strengthening its commitment to the church through an expanded Church Work Tuition Guarantee, offering $0 tuition for all students preparing for full-time church work vocations. This initiative affirms CSP’s long-standing mission to prepare workers for the church wherever and however they are called to serve.

“This commitment reflects who we are and what we value — affordable tuition, outstanding faculty and a robust, confessionally Lutheran curriculum,” said the Rev. Dr. Mark Koschmann, CSP chief mission officer. “Our prayerful hope is that this removes financial barriers so that more students can joyfully prepare for lives of service in the church, strengthened by the gifts God has entrusted to them.”

Through this commitment, CSP seeks to ensure that financial barriers do not prevent students from responding to God’s call into church work

“We pray that this commitment to ensuring an affordable, Christ-centered Lutheran education will bless countless students now and in the years to come,” said the Rev. Dr. Brian Friedrich, CSP president. “We are grateful to CSP’s many friends and alumni who generously support our students through scholarships and endowments, which help us underwrite their educational costs.”

Two are better than one

On July 8–17, 2027, Concordia University, Nebraska (CUNE), Seward, Neb., will join Concordia University Chicago (CUC), River Forest, Ill., on a shared travel experience to Iceland, centered on the theme “One Journey — Stronger Together.”

Rooted in Ecclesiastes 4:9 — “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil” — the trip celebrates fellowship, faith and the enduring bonds formed through Concordia education.

Alumni and friends from both campuses will explore Iceland’s stunning natural beauty — towering waterfalls, dramatic glaciers, volcanic landscapes, geothermal wonders and charming coastal villages — while enjoying the comfort and hospitality of a world-class cruise experience and strengthening connections between CUC and CUNE.

The travel tour is offered in partnership with Lutheran Church Extension Fund. For more information, visit cune.edu/bulldogsontheroad.

Students serving others

The School of Nursing program at Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW), Mequon, Wis., is honored to travel alongside occupational therapy, physical therapy and pharmacy students this spring in Ensenada, Mexico.

Over the next two years, through a grant of $119,800 approved by the Theodore W. Batterman Family Foundation and in partnership with Agua Viva Ministries, CUW’s School of Nursing will establish three clinics to provide health care and to advocate for the health of individuals living in extreme poverty.

These clinical mission trips often provide the only form of health care for many who live in the area. Students, along with accompanying faculty, care for roughly 150 to 300 patients from the time clinic doors open until they close three days later.

Jill Krell, associate professor in the School of Nursing, said the mission program stretches family nurse practitioners’ scope in a positive way. “For undergraduate students, they gain a strong sense of autonomy. One faculty member oversees them as they perform blood sugar checks, take vital signs and complete initial assessments, so they realize how much they actually know.”

“I also see that ‘aha’ moment on their faces in the clinic when they realize how much they enjoy serving and how rewarding it is,” Krell continued. “That’s one of the clearest signs the program is achieving its goals.”

Jenna Mundt, a senior in the nursing program who is graduating this May, will return to Ensenada for the second time. Throughout her time at CUW, Mundt has participated in various local service opportunities. She feels blessed to be able to return to Mexico this spring.

“Last year, I was amazed at the impact of health care ministry in Mexico,” she said. “As Christians, we are called to share the Gospel and love of Christ with all people. Several times throughout the mission, we were able to pray with the people we were serving, and I was in awe of the work the Lord was doing.”

Learn more at blog.cuw.edu.

New chief academic officer

Dr. Robert Balza

Concordia University Chicago (CUC), River Forest, Ill., has appointed Dr. Robert Balza as vice-president of academic affairs and chief academic officer. Balza will oversee all academic colleges, offices and resources, ensuring alignment with CUC’s mission, Lutheran identity and strategic plan.

“It’s difficult to exaggerate the importance of the chief academic officer position and the difficulty of finding someone with the right confluence of gifts,” said CUC President Dr. Russell Dawn. “Our CAO must be faithful and scholarly, energetic and disciplined for targeted innovation, committed to the liberal arts, and an interpersonal fit. Rob is the right man, and I could not be more pleased.”

Balza will continue to strengthen CUC’s academic programs; expand innovative offerings; and work toward the university’s vision of a Christ-centered Lutheran university where truth, freedom and vocation form students for lives of influence and service.

“Now more than ever, Chicago needs courageously Christ-centered higher education,” Balza said. “Anchored in our Lutheran Confessions, we will innovate boldly and hold fast to the values on which CUC was built.”

Posted Feb. 16, 2026