Campus clips: Border ministry, literacy, rare books

Yuma Lutheran School in Yuma, Ariz., serves as a diverse community on the Arizona-Mexico border. (Angela Schiller)

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

Border school

Yuma Lutheran School (YLS), Yuma, Ariz., serves almost 500 students from diverse backgrounds. Among the students at YLS, 52% do not have a church home, creating a significant opportunity for outreach. The school community is made up of military students (25%), local students and students who cross the border from Mexico. Many of the families who send students to YLS are farmers, since Yuma is known as the “winter vegetable capital of the world.” YLS, a ministry of Christ Lutheran Church, Yuma, has been serving the Yuma community for 65 years.

Prescribing for prisons

Makayla Hopp, Pharm.D., a 2018 graduate of the Concordia University Wisconsin, Mequon, Wis., School of Pharmacy, serves as assistant pharmacy director for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. With an office based in Waupun, Wis., she oversees a team of 18 pharmacists who play a role in filling prescriptions for the entirety of the state’s prison population. Read more.

Ribbon cutting

Concordia University Irvine (CUI), Irvine, Calif., celebrated its newly remodeled and renamed library with a ribbon cutting and reception on Oct. 6. The Paul and Cathy Schroeder Library and Learning Commons was renovated to better serve student learning with a modern and collaborative design.

The library updates include a new welcome center, movable collection stacks and dynamic student study areas. The Learning Commons features comprehensive student support services with a Writing Center, Unity Center and Center for Career and Vocation, as well as enhanced tutoring services and academic advising.

“Paul and Cathy are longtime friends and generous supporters of Concordia University Irvine,” said Tim Jaeger, vice-president of University Advancement, Marketing and Communications. “Paul has been a member of the Board of Trustees for over 30 years. Paul and Cathy served as the chairs of the Forward in Faith campaign, our recent campaign that raised over $100 million. We are grateful for their faithful support.”

Faith and academics

The Solus Christus Fellowship Program at Concordia University, St. Paul (CSP), St. Paul, Minn., integrates Christian faith and academics. In a small group setting, Christian students in a wide array of academic majors such as business, nursing, biology, psychology and creative writing gather to deepen their Christian faith, build community and reflect on living well in their God-given callings. The program is directed by the Rev. Dr. Mark Koschmann, associate vice-president of Faith and Ministry at CSP.

Top performer

In the U.S. News & World Report rankings released this fall, Concordia University Chicago (CUC), River Forest, Ill., was recognized as a Best Regional University—Midwest, Top Performer on Social Mobility, and noted for its ethnic diversity on campus.

“Our most meaningful work here at CUC is to form students for lives of influence and service for the common good,” said Dr. Russell Dawn, CUC president. “These rankings exemplify our continued dedication to providing an exceptional Christian education that is accessible to students from a wide range of economic and cultural backgrounds.”

Top Performers on Social Mobility are schools that have a high graduation rate for students who receive federal Pell grants. As economically disadvantaged students are less likely to finish college, this ranking places CUC among universities that are successful at advancing social mobility by enrolling and graduating large proportions of these students.

Navigating change together

An unplanned transfer to a new university. A trip across the country. An adjustment to a new nursing program, new city and new community of friends. Within the past few years, Joe Wright and Beckah Bottorff, nursing students at Concordia University Ann Arbor (CUAA), Ann Arbor, Mich., have navigated it all together. The two were study buddies at Concordia University, Portland, Ore., but when they transferred to CUAA’s nursing program, their relationship blossomed, and they’re now engaged to be married. Read their story.

Plum Creek Literacy Festival

Concordia University, Nebraska (CUNE), Seward, Neb., hosted its 26th annual Plum Creek Literacy Festival Sept. 22–24. The special event featured a children’s day with activities and special presentations as well as an adult conference that included numerous nationally renowned authors and illustrators, some of whom also visited local area schools. As a part of the festival, CUNE’s Marxhausen Gallery of Art hosted a special exhibition titled “Our Voice: Celebrating the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Awards.” Read more.

Books collection dedicated

Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne (CTSFW), dedicated The Reverend Doctor D. Georg Williams Collection of Rare Books on Sept. 16. Williams, a CTSFW alumnus (M.Div., 1977; S.T.M., 1985), was a “consummate pastor-scholar who placed his considerable intelligence in the service of the crucified Savior,” according to the Rev. Dr. William Weinrich, CTSFW professor of Historical Theology.

It was Williams’ passion for the acquisition of knowledge and artifacts in service of the church that yielded the 378-volume Williams Collection, taking CTSFW’s rare book collection to just over 6,000 volumes.

Definitive pieces in this collection include a 1523 Wittenberg printing of a Martin Luther sermon for Pentecost; Philip Melanchthon’s 1560 Corpus Doctrinae Christianae (Summary of Christian Doctrine); six 1580 first editions of the Book of Concord; and numerous Chemnitz volumes, especially editions of the Examen (The Examination of the Council of Trent), the Harmoniae Evangelicae (The Harmony of the Gospels), and the Loci Theologici (Topics of Theology). Williams also collected publications from the many branches of Lutheranism in America, including hymnals and various editions of Luther’s Small Catechism.

CTSFW President Rev. Dr. Lawrence Rast Jr. thanked the Williams family at the dedication, noting the importance of collections like these in the formation of future leaders of the church. “With the Georg Williams Rare Book Collection, you see how all the people of God, working together, provide these resources for the continued proclamation of Christ and His Gospel throughout the ages,” said Rast.

New video podcast

“Under the Fig Tree,” a podcast hosted by Concordia Seminary, St. Louis’ Director of Recruitment Rev. Micah Glenn and Associate Provost Rev. Dr. Benjamin Haupt, is now also available as a video podcast. The first installment debuted Oct. 3 on the seminary’s YouTube channel. The two-year-old audio podcast has also resumed and is available on most major streaming services. The new format offers an invitation for existing and new podcast listeners to “come into the studio” as the hosts dig into Scripture and explore the vocation of pastoral and diaconal ministry. New video and audio episodes will be added each Monday and are available on most streaming services. View a trailer and playlist.

Posted Nov. 14, 2022