Campus clips: Philanthropy, technology and a visit from Luther

Retired teacher Lowell Petzoldt, dressed as Martin Luther, explains the meaning of “simul justus et peccator” to a student at St. John Lutheran School, Napoleon, Ohio. (St. John Lutheran School)

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

Visit from Luther

Students at St. John Lutheran School, Napoleon, Ohio, celebrated Reformation with a visit from Martin Luther. Luther was portrayed by Lowell Petzoldt, a retired St. John teacher.

Students in preschool through sixth grade learned about the life of Martin Luther, his nailing of the 95 Theses, life in Wartburg Castle, and Luther’s hymns and writings. Each student and staff member received a T-shirt with the Five Solas (five key teachings of the Reformation) on it and a freshly baked soft pretzel. (In the early church, monks would make pretzels for their students as rewards for learning prayers and memory work.)

Engineering majors wanted

Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW), Mequon, Wis., has announced that, beginning in Fall 2024, CUW students can enroll in a Bachelor of Science program in chemical or industrial engineering. CUW’s engineering programs are anchored in the liberal arts and designed to prepare engineers with a Lutheran worldview.

“Engineering has been on our radar for several years,” said Dr. Leah Dvorak, CUW interim provost. “In addition to our exceptional faculty in the STEM areas and the abundance of updated labs and available workspace on Concordia’s Mequon campus, a significant portion of the engineering curriculum is existing coursework, so our entry into this high-growth field is already rooted in expertise and experience.”

The creation of these programs responds to a dire need for more engineers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are 2,000 openings for chemical engineers annually. Wisconsin has the third-highest concentration of industrial engineer jobs in the U.S., with an especially high need in counties within driving distance of CUW’s Mequon campus.

“The jobs of the future are in STEM, particularly engineering,” said Dr. Sarah Holtan, CUW special advisor to the president and architect of the engineering programs. “We see engineering as an investment not only in our university but also in the broader community. Our graduates will make a real impact on the state and nearby counties.”

Beautiful Feet conference

Concordia University Irvine, Irvine, Calif., welcomed the 2022 Beautiful Feet Mission Conference Nov. 3–5. Funded by grants from the LCMS and the LCMS Pacific Southwest District, the conference brings together mission-minded students from across the Concordia University System to equip them to be bearers of Good News to the world through mission service. Nearly 150 students and staff members worshiped together, served together, attended breakout sessions and met with exhibitors to learn more about domestic and international mission opportunities.

Top programmers

For the seventh time in eight years, a team of Concordia University Chicago (CUC), River Forest, Ill., undergraduate and master’s students finished in first place among Chicago-area competitors in the IEEEXtreme 24-Hour Programming Competition. Their performance in the annual Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers contest also placed them sixth in the United States and 599th in the world out of 6,373 teams.

The competition is a global challenge in which college students compete in a 24-hour period to solve a set of programming problems. The team was made up of CUC students Haotai Qi, Ron Prasad and Yagnik Patel, who competed against many students with up to 10 years of experience. Associate Professor of Computer Science Dr. Victor Govindaswamy said, “All of our students had no or little programming experience … [and] learned from scratch when they got to CUC.”

‘Better Together’

Concordia University, St. Paul, St. Paul, Minn., celebrated National Philanthropy Week Nov. 14–17.  Students took part in a week of activities centered around stewardship of time, talent and treasure. Under the theme “Better Together,” students expressed gratitude to donors via handwritten cards or videos, volunteered on campus and shared of their treasure through personal donations.

Christmas at Concordia

Concordia University, Nebraska, Seward, Neb., hosted its annual “Christmas at Concordia” events Dec. 2–4. The events included a Christmas open house and tree lighting, a Christmas buffet, and three “Christmas at Concordia” concerts with more than 2,500 attendees. Proceeds from the Christmas buffet will benefit the youth of St. John Lutheran Church in Seward who will attend the 2025 LCMS Youth Gathering.

Books for Ethiopia

Four pallets of boxes packed with core Lutheran texts and stacked high in the lower level of Kroemer Library at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, will soon be headed to Africa, where they will expand the modest library holdings of three seminaries of the Ethiopian Evangelical Lutheran Church Mekane Yesus. Some of the books will also help rebuild the library of the Rev. Eric Stinnett, an LCMS missionary whose home in Ethiopia was flooded in 2021.

The project is part of the seminary’s Chemnitz Library Initiative, which aims to strengthen confessional Lutheran seminaries around the world by providing materials, expertise and training in theological librarianship. The books in this shipment — including Luther’s Works and commentaries — will help develop regional libraries in Bossa and Assela and seed the library of a planned seminary in Addis Ababa.

The Chemnitz Library Initiative has partnered with the Theological Book Network in Grand Rapids, Mich., to get the books to Africa.

Digital partnership

With an increasing number of churches embracing hybrid services, video conferencing and other digital means, it’s important for pastors and ministry leaders to think through the benefits and limitations of online ministry. That topic will be explored in a new six-week online continuing education course, “Making Sense of Ministry in a Digital World,” offered by Concordia Seminary, St. Louis (CSL), and Concordia University Wisconsin and Ann Arbor (CUWAA).

“We are excited to offer our fourth course in partnership with Concordia University Wisconsin,” said Erika Bennett, CSL director of Continuing Education. “This course was created based on feedback from our past students and is very timely in this post-pandemic environment.”

Six live sessions will be taught via Zoom on Tuesdays from Jan. 17 through Feb. 21:

The digital world versus the analog world;

Evangelism and engagement;

Teaching and Bible study;

Pastoral care and relationships;

Worship and proclamation; and

Community and congregation.

Posted Jan. 17, 2023