Statement of Purpose
Concordia College, Moorhead MN

Founded by Norwegian immigrants in 1891, Concordia College is a four-year, residential, liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It invites women and men with diverse backgrounds and aspirations to join a community committed to educating students as whole persons for a life of meaningful and successful participation in their professions, their communities and the world.

Concordia College, strives to nurture articulate, thoughtful, well-informed and open-minded men and women who know how to use their talents for the common good and who have a passion for life long learning, service, personal fulfillment and active participation in God's world. Concordia is a place where modern scholarship, a commitment to teaching excellence and open-mindedness are not viewed as contrary to Christian beliefs and values, but where ethical principles and values are an integral part of an open and engaged learning community. Students are free and encouraged to think about what they learn and how what they learn relates to their personal sense of vocation and to the larger concerns of the world around them.

Given its commitment to open-mindedness, values and responsible citizenship, Concordia's educational programs focus on strong written and verbal communication skills, critical thinking skills, the ability to analyze information, , international and multicultural literacy and applied learning that is relevant to specific careers and life long learning goals alike. Education at Concordia means both breadth and depth, both the ability to learn and apply skills across a wide variety of fields and the ability to specialize and develop expertise in a specific discipline. Concordia affirms the purpose of a liberal arts education as equipping all persons with a sense of excitement about the life of the mind and open, intellectual inquiry and with a sense of commitment to service and active engagement in the world.

In our time, when virtually everything is related to everything, and when our world is moving ever closer together, campus life must embody the diversity and interdependence of our world. Concordia students are engaged in studies that bring them into dialogue with the world beyond the campus. Preparing students to be informed and at ease in a world that is increasingly connected and diverse are important goals for our world today.

Concordia welcomes those of other faith traditions to be full and active participants in the college community and in the intellectual discourse that is at the center of a liberal arts education. Concordia serves society by being committed to studying, transmitting and contributing to the breadth of human knowledge and activity; and Concordia serves the Church by helping students to find authentic lives in conversation with the Christian tradition and other religious faiths and traditions. . Following the convictions of Martin Luther, Concordia students engage and examine the Christian faith both for personal growth and for strengthening the wider world community.

Martin Luther thought of the liberally learned person as someone of "wondrous ability subsequently fit for everything." In the Lutheran view, students glorify God and serve society by doing their best to engage the educational and campus life opportunities the College offers with wisdom and commitment. Students are thus called to pursue an education that is both challenging and rewarding and to be engaged in a community that affirms learning in the classroom, on campus and it the world around us. Concordia’s commitment is support students in this exciting and challenging process of exploration and active engagement so that students who leave this community are indeed ready to influence the affairs of the world.