Concordia University (Portland, Or.)

The high school was first accredited in 1948 with both the State of Oregon and the Northwest Association of Secondary and Higher Schools. The college faculty worked on accreditation issues for several years until in 1960 the Board of Control resolved that the institution go forward with the accreditation process. The college was first accredited with NASHS in December of 1962. Later the accreditation came from the Northwest Association. The Board for Higher Education of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod also required regular reports and sent evaluation teams.

From the guide to the Concordia University Accreditation Collection, 1947-1998, 1962-1998, (Concordia University Archives)

The minutes of the January 12, 1954, faculty meeting report that "It was resolved that a committee be appointed to compile a faculty handbook containing all resolutions relating to policy matters." Two months later a committee was formed. A note in the March 21, 1955, faculty minutes read "Attention was called to the fact that it is a desirable thing to have a faculty handbook." At the August and post-Christmas retreats in 1955, the faculty devoted considerable time to discussing the content of the handbook. Finally, in the August 28-29, 1956, pre-school retreat, President Weber presented the college faculty handbook. Various editions have appeared since then, and its scope has been broadened to include all the policies and procedures pertaining to the position of faculty and administrators as employees.

From the guide to the Concordia University Faculty Handbooks Collection, 1956-2001, (Concordia University Archives)

Concordia University was founded in 1905. Significant events in the life of the institution were marked with ceremonies and celebrations. The collection documents those events.

From the guide to the Concordia University Ceremonies and Celebrations Collection, 1930-2010, (Concordia University Archives)

On August 1, 1973, a detailed institutional self-study began the preparations for seeking funding as a developing institution under Title III of the Higher Education Act of 1965. Title III funding enabled the institution improve the development program, establish and equip an Independent Learning Center and Educational Media Center, grant study leaves to faculty, establish and sustain a minority program, study and experiment with programs, and complete institutional studies in preparation for accreditation visits. According to the President's Report for 1976-77, "The purpose of Title III, called 'developing institutions, is to enable a college which has the potential but not the resources, to join the mainstream of American educational life. Concordia's concentration has been in long-range planning (institutional research), minority affairs, development (fund solicitation), center for educational enrichment (Independent Learning Center), faculty enrichment, and new programs for new publics. Institutional research and development (beginning with 1978-79) are no longer dependent on federal dollars." The college received $100,000 in each of the 1973-1974 and 1974-1975 funding years; $200,000 for 1975-1976; and $150,000 each for 1976-1977 and 1977-1978.

From the guide to the Concordia University Title III Records, 1975-1980, (Concordia University Archives)

Concordia began in 1905 with a faculty of one, F.W.J. Sylwester. Even when enrollment growth necessitated additional faculty, for about the first forty years the faculty acted as a committee of the whole. By the early 1950's the faculty had organized into nine committees: Worship, Discipline, Guidance, Library, Student Activities, Tests & Measurements, Admissions, Curriculum, and Publicity & Public Relations. In 1956 the faculty reorganized into three committees: Worship, Student Life (to include Discipline, Guidance, Tests & Measurements, and Activities), and Educational Policies (to include Curriculum and Library); Admissions and Public Relations were placed under the newly created Administrative Council. After the high school and college separated adminis-tratively in 1961, High School Academic, Student Life, and Admissions Committees were created. An Athletic Council was also introduced, but was apparently dropped as a faculty committee by 1967. A Faculty Hearings Committee was formed in 1974.

In June 1973 the Committee on Admissions, Retention, Financial Assistance and Academic Status (CARFAAS) replaced the college Admissions Committee until it ceased in 1985. The high school moved from the campus in 1977. By 1979 the faculty was organized into these committees: Educational Policies, Faculty Welfare, Student Life, Worship, CARFAAS, and Faculty Hearings. In 1985, the recommendation of the Task Force on Faculty Structure was accepted, and the faculty reorganized into two standing committees: Academic Policies (formerly Educational Policies) and Community Life (formerly Student Life). The Hearings Committee continued as a special committee. A third standing committee, Faculty Welfare Policies, was reintroduced in 1992.

From the guide to the Concordia University Academic Policies Committee Minutes, 1958-1996, (Concordia University Archives)

• 1907 December: The first building, housing all major functions of the school, was dedicated.
• 1911: A home was constructed for President F.W.J. Sylwester on NE 27th Avenue.
• 1921: The attic of the 1907 building was remodeled into sleeping quarters.
• 1921: A small gymnasium with a dirt floor and no heat was constructed.
• 1923: A home was constructed for Prof. E.H. Brandt on NE 27th Avenue.
• 1941: The 1921 gymnasium was enlarged and improved.
• 1947: A service building [heating plant] was constructed. The Sylwester and Brandt houses were purchased by the college.
• 1947 September 14: Centennial Hall was dedicated.
• 1948 September: Luther Hall was dedicated; the 1907 building was razed.
• 1950 May 7: A new gymnasium was dedicated; the 1921 gymnasium was first razed.
• 1951 September 23: A library and chapel were added to the west end of Luther Hall.
• 1953: A president's home was constructed at NE 29th Avenue and NE Liberty Street.
• 1954 May 30: Guild Hall was dedicated.
• 1958 September 14: Elizabeth Hall was dedicated.
• 1960 June 3: Mary Neils Lounge was dedicated.
• 1961 April 15: The cornerstone from the first building (1907) was placed in a new setting.
• 1963: The north wing was added to Elizabeth Hall. South Hall was dedicated.
• 1972 March 12: A new physical education building was dedicated.
• 1976 November 5: The 1950 gymnasium was remodeled and dedicated as a Fine Arts Building.
• 1980 September 28: The Selma and Gerhard Neils residence halls were dedicated on Concordia Day.
• 1981 April 25: Hagen Campus Center, housing the F.W.J. Sylwester Library and dining services, was dedicated.
• 1991: Two modular classroom buildings were placed along NE Liberty Street.
• 1992: South Hall was renamed Weber Hall in honor of retired President E.P. Weber.
• 1993 June 12: The Luther Hall east end addition was dedicated on commencement day.
• 1995: Hagen Center second floor was remodeled to accommodate the Concordia University Foundation offices.
• 1997: The campus was wired in preparation for an information network.
• 1998 August 22: New residence halls on NE 30th Avenue and on NE Holman were blessed.
• 2003 June 4: The chapel, constructed in 1951, was decomissioned and converted to classrooms.
• 2008 October: The new Throw Center on NE 33rd Avenue was dedicated.
• 2009: The space formerly occupied by the library in Hagen Center was remodeled into a student union and physical plant offices.
• 2009 August: The George R. White Library and Learning Center, and the Geraldine White Campanille, were dedicated. The Concordia Place Apartments on NE 27th Avenue were dedicated.
• 2009 October 24: The apartments on NE Holman were renamed after former President Thomas Coates.

From the guide to the Concordia University Physical Facilities Collection, 1950-1972, (Concordia University Archives)

Concordia began in 1905 with a faculty of one, F.W.J. Sylwester. Even when enrollment growth necessitated additional faculty, for about the first forty years the faculty acted as a committee of the whole. By the early 1950's the faculty had organized into nine committees: Worship, Discipline, Guidance, Library, Student Activities, Tests & Measurements, Admissions, Curriculum, and Publicity & Public Relations. In 1956 the faculty reorganized into three committees: Worship, Student Life (to include Discipline, Guidance, Tests & Measurements, and Activities), and Educational Policies (to include Curriculum and Library); Admissions and Public Relations were placed under the newly created Administrative Council.

After the high school and college separated administratively in 1961, High School Academic, Student Life, and Admissions Committees were created. An Athletic Council was also introduced, but was apparently dropped as a faculty committee by 1967. A Faculty Hearings Committee was formed in 1974. In June 1973 the Committee on Admissions, Retention, Financial Assistance and Academic Status (CARFAAS) replaced the college Admissions Committee until it ceased in 1985. The high school moved from the campus in 1977. By 1979 the faculty was organized into these committees: Educational Policies, Faculty Welfare, Student Life, Worship, CARFAAS, and Faculty Hearings. In 1985, the recommendation of the Task Force on Faculty Structure was accepted, and the faculty reorganized into two standing committees: Academic Policies (formerly Educational Policies) and Community Life (formerly Student Life). The Hearings Committee continued as a special committee. A third standing committee, Faculty Welfare Policies, was reintroduced in 1992.

From the guide to the Concordia University Faculty Minutes, 1926-1999, (Concordia University Archives)

President FWJ Sylwester reported to the Board of Control on September 20, 1938, that he had started a Students' Council, consisting of the head of every room, with whom he had been meeting every Wednesday to discuss problems with them. An entry in the March 29, 1943 Board of Control Minutes states, "A student council has been formed and is proceeding nicely." Whether the 1938 council grew into the second, the 1962 council, or the second is a new organization is not known. The December, 1945, issue of Where Rolls the Oregon lists the council members with Allan Nauss as faculty advisor. The Student Council held regular meetings in addition to meetings of the student body. A student judicial council was also formed to deal with discipline cases.

When student clubs were first formed is unknown. The 1947 yearbook lists the chorus club, the "C" club, and a missionary society as already in existence.

From the guide to the Concordia University Student Organizations Records, 1948-2003, (Concordia University Archives)

The Lutheran Elementary School Tournament began on April 21, 1951, as a "Pre-Junior Talent Festival." The first official program for that year stated the purpose as follows: "In an attempt to encourage interest in cultural endeavor within the Lutheran churches and schools of the Northwest District, Missouri Synod, and to provide for the demonstration and exhibition of the skills and achievements of the children, Concordia College is sponsoring this first district wide Lutheran school and Sunday School Talent Festival." Invited were "All pupils of the Lutheran day and Sunday schools in the Northwest District who are at present enrolled in the first through the eighth grade or the kindergarten through senior division in the Sunday School…."

The program was administered by Concordia students for the first ten years. In 1962 it became an official function of Concordia College when four area schools participated in a boys basketball tournament. Sports contests, chiefly basketball for both boys and girls, were eventually complemented with contests in music, art, spelling, chess, swimming, etc. The name was changed several times until in 1976 it became the Concordia Lutheran Elementary School Tournament and in 1984 Lutheran Elementary School Tournament, or LEST, when the tournament became a program of the College of Education. More recently LEST became a responsibility of the Concordia University Foundation. Programs were printed for each year. Souvenir T-shirts were also available. In the course of time pictures of participants, individually and in groups, were included in the program.

From the guide to the Concordia University Lutheran Elementary School Tournament Records, 1951-2004, (Concordia University Archives)

Following groundwork by Alma Dobberfuhl, Library Director, an organizational meeting convened on January 25, 1981. The goal of the Friends of the Library was stated in the minutes of the first meeting: "To support the development of the materials collection of the Concordia College Library." The list of charter members contains sixty names. The first annual meeting was held on May 17, 1981, with twenty-five persons present. The group decided to apply the initial funds gathered, $1,195, to the purchase of a microfiche reader. On September 18, 1981, Concordia's Board of Regents approved the Friends of the Library constitution.

The Friends of the Library hosted a number of fund-raising events throughout its history and was responsible for the purchase of many library materials as well as needed equipment, including the library's first microcomputer in 1989. The minutes of the September 12, 1993, board meeting announce a future board meeting for November 7, but no record exists that this meeting or any future meetings (or sponsored events) were held.

From the guide to the Concordia University Friends of the Library Records, 1981-1993, (Concordia University Archives)

Concordia College was founded in 1905 as a high school for boys preparing to enter the pastoral ministry of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. From 1944-1958 the official name was Concordia Academy. The freshman college year was added in the fall of 1950. In 1961 the college and high school were separated administratively. In 1977 Concordia became a four year college. The high school moved off campus in 1977 with its own board of directors under the name Portland Lutheran School. Concordia College became part of the Concordia University System in 1995 and changed the name to Concordia University.

According to the Faculty Minutes for October 20, 1942, “The Board for Higher Education has repeatedly asked for a catalogue of this institution. We have a little booklet of information, but no real catalogue. Resolved to consider this till the next meeting, whether we ought to have a catalogue made.” On March 16, 1943, the final decision was made to begin printing a catalog.

From the guide to the Concordia University Academic Catalogs Collection, 1909-2006, (Concordia University Archives)

The Board of Directors of the Northwest District of the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod, in October, 1942, recommended that Concordia's Board of Control appoint a "public relations man" for the school in order to arouse greater interest in the school on the parts of pastors and congregations and to enhance enrollment. Subsequently in the following January, the Board asked Professor Carl Nitz to add to his list of responsibilities outside contact work with congregations and pastors of the district.

When Thomas Coates became President, the Board informed him that public relations would also be one of his duties. He apparently was the first to begin publishing a formal newsletter, "C=Notes," that was included in The Lutheran Witness. Subsequently the responsibility for publications fell to the Department of Public Relations. The Concordia University Foundation eventually assumed responsibility for public relations and began publishing The Portlander in 1993.

From the guide to the Concordia University News Publications Collection, 1953-2010, (Concordia University Archives)