Concordia is completing several campus improvement projects this summer and fall thanks to gifts from alumni and friends.
“Each of these campus projects—some large, some small—is aimed at enhancing the student experience at Concordia,” said Rev. Dr. Brian Friedrich, president of the university. “Thanks be to God for our generous donors who have enabled our students to return to a campus this fall that features enhanced spaces where they can live, study, gather and, yes, play.”
The university completed renovations to David Hall, Concordia’s largest residence hall, before students arrived on campus in mid-August. Renovations included remodeled common area kitchens and lounges, upgraded climate control systems, expanded electrical capacity, fire sprinkler system installation and improved lighting. All residential rooms were included in the renovations. Kingery Construction of Lincoln, Nebraska, was the general contractor on the project.
An outdoor plaza is being built between the Janzow Campus Center and Thom Leadership Education Center. The plaza, which features a fountain, three separate levels and glacial stones, was designed by The Clark Enersen Partners of Lincoln, Nebraska, to reflect the university’s mission and purpose as well as the Concordia community itself.
“This design prepared by The Clark Enersen Partners is exceptional,” said Friedrich. “It simultaneously reflects the Christ-centeredness of Concordia and the university’s mission of equipping students to learn, serve and lead in the church and world.”
The plaza is scheduled to be dedicated during the university’s Homecoming and Alumni Reunion Weekend Oct. 3–5, 2014.
These projects are made possible by donations to the university’s Blessed to be a Blessing campaign. The five-and-a-half-year campaign, publicly announced earlier this summer, has the goal of raising $38 million—$6 million for capital projects, $15 million for endowment and $17 million for university priorities and operational needs—by Dec. 31, 2014.
The campaign has funded, in addition to the David Hall renovation and the outdoor plaza, the renovation of the Janzow Campus Center, installation of a wireless network across campus and related technology upgrades and the ongoing refurbishment of the Physical Education Building, which is used for both intramural and intercollegiate athletics.
Over the next two years, the university will renovate Weller Hall auditorium where campus chapel services and gatherings are held; proceed with renovation of Ruth A and B residence halls; further integrate technology upgrades across campus; and enhance traffic flow and provide gathering spaces between the Walz Human Performance Complex, the Physical Education Building and Bulldog Stadium.
Gifts for endowment provided during Blessed to be a Blessing have enabled the university to continue to provide financial aid to 100 percent of its students.
“Donations for university priorities have allowed Concordia, already one of the best values in both the Concordia University System and the Great Plains Athletic Conference, to continue to provide a Lutheran, Christ-centered education at a competitive tuition rate,” said Kurth Brashear, Concordia’s associate vice president for institutional advancement. “The university began classes this year with the largest undergraduate enrollment in 40 years. We want to help keep that going.”
According to Brashear, Blessed to be a Blessing is on track to be the second-largest campaign in the university’s history.