Editing Concordia University System

{{Short description|University network of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod}}
{{for|other similarly named educational institutions|Concordia University (disambiguation)}}{{Use American English|date=September 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2021}}{{Infobox organization
| name                     = Concordia University System
| image                    = 
| image_size               = 
| alt                      = 
| caption                  = 
| logo                     = 
| logo_size                = 
| logo_alt                 = 
| logo_caption             = 
| map                      = 
| map_size                 = 
| map_caption              = 
| abbreviation             = CUS
| formation                = {{start date and age|1992}}
| type                     = 
| tax_id                   = <!-- or | vat_id = (for European organizations) -->
| registration_id          = <!-- for non-profit org -->
| status                   = 
| purpose                  = Lutheran higher education
| headquarters             = [[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]], United States
| coords                   = <!-- {{coord|LAT|LON|display=inline, title}} -->
| region                   = United States
| leader_title             = President
| leader_name              = Jamison Hardy
| leader_title2            = Vice President
| leader_name2             = Douglas H. Spittel
| parent_organization      = [[Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod]]
| website                  = {{URL|cus.edu}}
| formerly                 = 
}}
The '''Concordia University System''' ('''CUS''') is an organization of five colleges and universities and one satellite campus in the United States that are operated by the [[Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod]] (LCMS). All of the institutions are named "Concordia"—a reference to the Latin title of ''[[Book of Concord|The Book of Concord]]'', the collection of Lutheran confessions—and all include professional church work programs as part of their [[curriculum|curricula]]. The CUS was formed in 1992. In 2011, 28,421 students attended Concordia University System institutions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://reporter.lcms.org/pages/rpage.asp?NavID=19358|title=CUS enrollment hits new record high of 28,421|accessdate=28 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111101084140/http://reporter.lcms.org/pages/rpage.asp?NavID=19358|archive-date=1 November 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2021, the official website for the system claimed an enrollment of over 35,000 students.<ref>{{cite web |title=Campuses |url=https://cus.edu/cus/?page_id=13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028222102/https://cus.edu/cus/?page_id=13 |url-status=dead |website=Concordia University System |access-date=15 June 2024 |archive-date=28 October 2021}}</ref>

Each Concordia except the one in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is independent and has its own president, faculty, and board of regents; [[Concordia University Ann Arbor]] is now a satellite campus of [[Concordia University Wisconsin]]. At the same time, the schools interact with one another and share some resources and services. One service offered by the CUS, the Simultaneous Enrollment Program, allows any student enrolled at one Concordia to attend another CUS college for up to a year as a "visiting student". During that time, visiting students are considered to be enrolled at both CUS institutions simultaneously.

The 2019 convention of the LCMS passed Resolution 7-03 to create a new governance model for the schools. In February 2021, a committee appointed by the synod's board of directors tentatively proposed a new model under which each school's board of regents and administration would be responsible for its own property and business matters, while the CUS would be replaced with a Commission on University Education which would govern the "ecclesiastical functions and connections of the schools" and would establish "ecclesiastical accreditation process". The plan is not complete and the committee is receiving comments from interested parties in the LCMS.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Str|first=David|date=2021-03-08|title=BOD advances new CUS governance model|url=https://reporter.lcms.org/2021/bod-advances-new-cus-governance-model/|access-date=2021-09-07|website=Reporter|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Campuses==
The six campuses in the Concordia University System are:
*[[Concordia University Ann Arbor]] in [[Ann Arbor, Michigan]] - A branch campus of Concordia University Wisconsin since 2013
*[[Concordia University Chicago]] in [[River Forest, Illinois]]
*[[Concordia University Irvine]] in [[Irvine, California]]
*[[Concordia University (Saint Paul, Minnesota)|Concordia University, Saint Paul]] in [[Saint Paul, Minnesota]]
*[[Concordia University (Nebraska)|Concordia University, Nebraska]] in [[Seward, Nebraska]]
*[[Concordia University Wisconsin]] in [[Mequon, Wisconsin]]

Several former members of CUS have closed since 2018: [[Concordia College Alabama]], in [[Selma, Alabama]], closed in 2018;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/concordia-college-alabama-latest-hbcu-shut-its-doors-due-poor-finances/yjS58WYGaLhPN8dU5hndrJ/|title=Concordia College Alabama is latest HBCU to shut its doors due to poor finances|last=Suggs|first=Ernie|website=ajc|language=English|access-date=2020-02-12}}</ref> [[Concordia University (Oregon)|Concordia University]] in [[Portland, Oregon]], closed in 2020;<ref>{{Cite web|title=Portland's Concordia University will close at end of spring semester|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/education/2020/02/portlands-concordia-university-will-close-at-end-of-spring-semester.html|last1=Manning|first1=Jeff|last2=Ryan|first2=Jim|date=February 10, 2020|website=oregonlive|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212145604/https://www.oregonlive.com/education/2020/02/portlands-concordia-university-will-close-at-end-of-spring-semester.html |archive-date=February 12, 2020 |access-date=May 5, 2020}}</ref> and [[Concordia College (New York)|Concordia College–New York]] in [[Bronxville, New York]], closed in 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|date=January 28, 2021|title=Concordia College New York to Close|url=https://www.concordia-ny.edu/about/news/1701180/concordia-college-new-york-to-close|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601113422/https://www.concordia-ny.edu/about/news/1701180/concordia-college-new-york-to-close|archive-date=June 1, 2021|access-date=September 6, 2021|website=Concordia College New York}}</ref> [[Concordia University Texas]] in [[Austin, Texas]] was formerly part of the system, but filed for a governance independent of CUS and the LCMS and declined to seat regents elected at the 2023 LCMS convention.<ref>{{Cite web |last=LCMS |first=The |date=2023-08-16 |title=CTX Board of Regents declines to seat new members |url=https://reporter.lcms.org/2023/ctx-board-declines-new-members/ |access-date=2024-03-08 |website=Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref> {{As of|2025}}, the university is in a legal dispute with the LCMS over ownership and accountability of the institution and is not considered to be a CUS or LCMS school while the court case is unsettled.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Concordia University Texas |date=March 8, 2024 |title=CTX Lutheran Identity - Additional Inforrmation: Status of lawsuit |url=https://www.concordia.edu/about/lutheran-identity.html#:~:text=The%20countersuit%20was%20filed%20after,be%20reached%20during%20the%20mediation. |website=Concordia University Texas}}</ref>

==Non-member institutions==
There are several educational institutions named "Concordia" that are not part of the Concordia University System. For example, neither of the [[Seminaries of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod|LCMS seminaries]] ([[Concordia Seminary]] and [[Concordia Theological Seminary]]) are part of CUS. The non-accredited [[Concordia College and University]] is in no way affiliated with the Concordia University System or its seven campuses.

The educational institutions of the [[Lutheran Church–Canada]] are not part of the CUS even though that church body was originally part of the LCMS and remains associated with it. Those institutions are [[Concordia Lutheran Seminary]] in [[Edmonton]], and [[Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary]] in [[St. Catharines]]. [[Concordia University of Edmonton]] was founded as a Lutheran institution, but has since secularized.

Other schools of higher education named Concordia that are affiliated with neither the CUS nor the LCMS include [[Concordia College (Moorhead, Minnesota)|Concordia College]] in [[Moorhead, Minnesota]], and [[Concordia University (Montreal)|Concordia University]] in [[Montreal]].

==See also==
*[[California Concordia College]] in Oakland, which closed in 1973
*[[Concordia College (Indiana)]] in Fort Wayne, which closed in 1957
*[[Concordia College (North Carolina)]] in Conover, which closed in 1935
*[[Concordia Senior College]] in Fort Wayne, Indiana, which closed in 1977
*[[St. John's College (Kansas)]] in Winfield, Kansas, which closed in 1986
*[[List of Lutheran colleges and universities]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Concordia University System}}
*{{official website|cus.edu}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Universities and colleges affiliated with the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod| ]]
[[Category:Educational institutions established in 1992]]
[[Category:1992 establishments in the United States]]