[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15490]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY'S 100TH-YEAR ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Danny K. Davis) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, Concordia University of 
Chicago is an American private Lutheran liberal arts university, 
located in the village of River Forest, Illinois, 10 miles west of 
downtown Chicago.
  In 1855, Lutheran ministers Friedrich Johann, Carl Lochner, and 
Philipp Fleischmann established a private teachers seminary in 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to train day school teachers for Lutheran 
schools. In 1857, the responsibility for the operation of the school 
was taken over by the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. The synod moved 
the school to Fort Wayne, Indiana, uniting it with a theological 
seminary which had been founded there by followers of Johann Konrad and 
Wilhelm Lohe. In 1861, the theological seminary was moved to St. Louis, 
Missouri, later to Springfield, Illinois, and then back to Fort Wayne, 
Indiana, in 1864. The teachers seminary was moved to Addison, Illinois. 
Concordia University makes its foundation with the 1864 move to 
Addison, Illinois.
  Originally called Concordia Teachers Seminary, then Concordia 
Teachers College, the institution is the oldest in the Concordia 
University system. The original building is gone, but a monument still 
stands on the site of the seminary in Addison, Illinois.
  In 1913, the college moved to its present campus in River Forest, 
Illinois. In 1979, the institution expanded its education-centered 
program to become a full liberal arts institution, and it changed its 
name to Concordia College. In 1990, having experienced a tremendous 
growth in its graduate offerings, the school recognized and changed its 
name to Concordia University. The university was officially known as 
Concordia University, River Forest until 2006, when the current name 
was adopted.
  In 2006, CURF was the only university in the 10-school system to 
achieve the rank of top tier on U.S. News & World Report's ``best 
college'' list. They were also awarded this ranking in 2010.
  Concordia University Chicago has a prominent and a prestigious music 
department among schools of a similar size. However, education is still 
Concordia's largest academic program. Other programs include business, 
communications, theology, and many other undergraduate degree programs. 
Concordia University's enrollment for the 2012-2013 academic year is 
5,454 students, and many of these students plan to become church 
workers.
  I am inspired when I read the university's mission statement, which 
is:

       As a distinct, comprehensive university of the Lutheran 
     Church-Missouri Synod, centered in the gospel of Jesus Christ 
     and based in the liberal arts, Concordia University equips 
     men and women to serve and lead with integrity, creativity 
     and compassion in a diverse, interconnected and increasingly 
     urbanized church and world.

  Mr. Speaker, I congratulate and salute Concordia University on its 
100 years of teaching and service in the Chicagoland community.

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