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Concordia University Texas

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Concordia University Texas

Concordia University Texas is a private university in Austin, Texas, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate, and online degrees as well as an adult degree program for part-time and returning students.

Concordia University Texas was affiliated with the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) and a member of the Concordia University System (CUS)—the six-member association of LCMS colleges and universities—until November 2022, after which it adopted a new governance structure independent from the LCMS and CUS. As a Lutheran university, Concordia's stated mission is to develop Christian leaders.

Concordia was founded in 1926 as "Lutheran Concordia College of Texas", a four-year high school that prepared young men for careers in ministry and teaching. The school opened with 26 students on its original site along East Avenue (now Interstate 35) on the then northern outskirts of Austin, Texas. In 1929, a two-story classroom building, later called the Music Building, and still later known as College Central, was built.

Concordia was founded by members of Texas's Wendish immigrant community. The original main building, Kilian Hall, is named for John Kilian, founder of the first Texas Lutheran church associated with the LCMS and leader of a large group of Wends (also called Sorbs) who settled in the Serbin area. Today, between 10 and 15 percent of Concordia's faculty, staff and students are of Wendish heritage.

Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, many buildings were added to the campus, such as Hirschi Memorial Library and Kramer Hall, the college's first fully air-conditioned classroom building. Also in 1951, Concordia started using a two-year junior college curriculum.

Building developments on campus continued throughout the 1950s and 1960s. The campus built its chapel, named Birkmann Memorial Chapel, in 1952. Texas Hall, which housed dining services and faculty offices was dedicated in 1953. Studtmann Hall, an all-girl's dormitory opened in 1955. The first Beto Hall on the Concordia campus was built in 1969 and housed science labs. In the early 21st century, this building was converted into the school's mail services facility.

In 1955, Concordia admitted women as students for the first time and the institution changed its name to "Concordia Lutheran College" in 1965. In 1969, the four-year high school program was disbanded and Concordia's curriculum expanded to four years after receiving permission to award Bachelor of Arts degrees in 1980.

Concordia joined the Concordia University System (CUS) in 1993. The CUS represents the colleges and universities run by the LCMS. In 1995, the name of the institution was changed to "Concordia University at Austin". The Accelerated Degree Program (ADP), with sites in Austin, Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio, within the College of Adult Education, was launched in 1995 to offer working adults the opportunity to earn a degree. Harms Hall, a dormitory, opened in January 2000, more than doubling campus resident capacity. The first graduate program was developed during this period.

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