Description
Concordia College, one of ten postsecondary institutions in the Concordia University System of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, is a historically black, four-year, coeducational college, where the Christian faith is taught from the Holy Scriptures and subscribed to by The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, is the foundation and guide for all programs, activities, and relationships.
Concordia’s student body represents a diversity of geographic, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Concordia, therefore, provides a faculty and administration that are sensitive and responsive to the needs of its entire student body.
Concordia is committed to the premise that a Christian education is essential for the total development of the potential of each individual, and that instruction must begin at the students level of skills and ability. Therefore, the Christian faith is reflected in its academic programs and services, both developmental and regular college level, as well as in its student life services and activities.
All disciplines in the traditional liberal arts curriculum provide the conceptual framework necessary for analysis and problem solving in society while the fine arts enlighten and enrich the human spirit. Its academic programs are supported by the latest technology and learning resources. Concordia’s faculty is sensitive and responsive to the academic needs of each student and the college is committed to educating students for responsible and effective service to God and fellowman.
Concordia fosters a community in which the Christian values of group living are emphasized. The college provides special activities and programs that promote the development of social concern and sensitivity toward the dignity and worth of each individual. These activities and programs help students acquire attitudes and skills essential for self-understanding, leadership, and cooperation with others. Its Christian campus atmosphere is also supported by such activities as chapel worship, Bible study, dormitory devotions, intercollegiate and intramural athletics, and participation in various organizations and clubs.
Concordia College Alabama (CCA) is a four year, private, not for profit, institution of higher education
Concordia College Alabama is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award the Associate of Arts degree and Bachelor of Science Degree. It is a member of the Concordia University System (CUS), ten colleges and universities across the United States offering more than 160 undergraduate degrees and 50 graduate degree programs. The CUS is affiliated with the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.
CCA is also a member of the Alabama Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (AAICU) and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).
History
Concordia College has grown much from its humble beginnings in 1922 as Alabama Luther College. Today, Concordia boasts a student body representing a diversity of geographic, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, as well as the distinctive status as the nation’s only Historically Black Lutheran College or University (HBCU).
Concordia’s beginning has its roots in the desire of a woman named Rosa Young, to provide good Christian education to the rural African-Americans of central Alabama. Through her tireless efforts, her school in Wilcox County, which began with seven students, had grown to 215 in just three terms. In 1914, however, the Mexican Boll Weevil devastated the cotton industry and economy in the area, and many of the parents were now unable to continue sending their children to Young’s school. In desperation to find financial help, Young wrote to the famed founder of the Tuskegee Institute (Tuskegee University), Booker T. Washington. About their correspondence, Rosa Young said, “In this letter he told me he was unable to help me in the least; but he would advise me to write to the Board of Colored Missions of the Lutheran Church. He said they were doing more for the colored race than any other denomination he knew of. He liked them because of the religious training which they were giving the colored people.” By the end of 1915, Young had followed Washington’s advice and wrote to the Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America for help.
The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, a member of the Lutheran Synodical Conference, responded favorably to Young’s letter and sent the Rev. Nils J. Bakke to evaluate the situation and report back. Bakke arrived on Dec. 17, 1915 and on Dec. 21, he returned to St. Louis with his report. Bakke’s report was a plea for assistance in establishing a mission to the area.
In January 1916, Bakke returned to Alabama, and by Easter 1916, had performed a total of 61 baptisms and 70 confirmations in Rosebud, Ala., including that of Young herself. Within just a few years, there were almost 30 new congregations, and preparations were begun for a school. A conference held in Midway, near Millers Ferry in 1919, adopted a resolution petitioning the Synodical Conference for funds to begin a school for the purpose of training church workers. On Nov. 13, 1922, in a rented cottage at 521 First Ave., the first classes of Young’s new school were held in Selma, Ala. As the student body continued to grow, the need for space became more pressing. On Sept. 20, 1925, the first buildings on the present campus were dedicated to the glory of God. The next year, four women made up the school’s first graduating class.
Under God’s watchful eye, Alabama Luther College survived the Great Depression, but it had lost its college and been renamed Alabama Lutheran Academy. It was not long though before the necessity of bringing a college education to African-Americans was again realized, and a program of modernization was initiated, which resulted in the formation of Alabama Lutheran Academy and College. On July 1, 1981, Alabama Lutheran Academy and College was officially changed to Concordia College.
Two years later, Concordia received accreditation as an associate-degree granting institution by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). In 1994, SACS granted Concordia accreditation as a bachelor’s degree granting institution. Concordia continued to grow as a four-year institution, and in 2010, it acquired the property of the United Methodist Children’s Home, expanded the size of the campus from 22 acres to 57, as well as adding additional housing and historic buildings.
In her valedictorian speech during her graduation from Payne University in 1909, Young stressed the obligation of service when she wrote, “‘He that is greatest among you shall be your servant,’ is the language of the Great Teacher. To serve is regarded as a divine privilege as well as a duty by every right-minded man.” Today, Concordia continues in those words as it seeks to “prepare students through Christ-centered education for lives of responsible service to the church, community and the world.”
Financial Status
Tax ID
63-03899412013 Revenue
$15,720,904.00
2013 Net Assets
$14,114,680.00