Concordia University Irvine is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

university in

Irvine, California Irvine () is a Planned community, planned city in central Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was named in 1888 for the landowner James Irvine. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the ...

, United States. It was established in 1976 to provide a

Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

college to serve the Pacific Southwest and provide training for pastors, religious education teachers, and Christian school administrators. Concordia University Irvine has a total undergraduate enrollment of 1,592 and its campus size is . It is part of the Concordia University System.

History

In 1955, Dr. Victor Behnken, then president of the Pacific Southwest District of the

(LCMS), proposed the creation of a preparatory college for the Pacific Southwest. In 1962, the LCMS agreed to build the school. A search committee commissioned by the district considered 87 sites before commercial and residential real estate developer

The Irvine Company The Irvine Company LLC is an American private company focused on real estate development. It is headquartered in Newport Beach, California, with a large portion of its operations centered in and around Irvine, California, a planned city of more ...

offered the present location in Irvine. In 1973, Rev. Dr. Charles Manske accepted the call from the district to be the founding president of the school, which was originally named Christ College Irvine. In February 1993, the Board of Regents of Christ College Irvine voted to change the school's name to Concordia University Irvine. At that time, the university became the tenth campus in the national Concordia University System (CUS). In addition to the Concordia University System, the LCMS and its congregations also operate two seminaries, 130 high schools, and more than 900 elementary schools, making it the second largest church-operated school system in the United States.

Academics

The university currently includes five schools: Christ College (School of Theology), School of Arts and Sciences, School of Business, School of Education, and School of Professional Studies; and offers 20 undergraduate majors and 50 specializations, nine graduate programs, four adult bachelor's degree completion programs, and three nursing programs. In 2014, Concordia University Irvine added its first doctoral program, Educational Leadership.

Campus

The campus is located south of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, north of

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, and inland from the Pacific Ocean in the city of Irvine. Irvine is a planned community which is rated one of the safest cities of its size in the United States. The campus rests on a plateau overlooking Orange County in a private residential community surrounded by wildlife and hiking trails. The offices of the School of Professional Studies - Adult Degree Programs, M.A. International Studies, Nursing programs, and the Masters in Coaching and Athletic Administration (MCAA) teams moved to an offsite location in Irvine.

Athletics

The Concordia–Irvine (CUI) athletic teams are called the Golden Eagles. The university is a member of the Division II level of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA), primarily competing in the

Pacific West Conference The Pacific West Conference (also known as the PacWest) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in California and Hawaii. T ...

(PacWest) for most of its sports since the 2015–16 academic year; while its men's volleyball team competes in the

Mountain Pacific Sports Federation The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) is a college athletic conference with members located mostly in the Western United States, although it has added members as far east as Massachusetts. The conference participates at the NCAA Divisio ...

(MPSF); and its men's water polo team competes in the

Western Water Polo Association The Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) is a single sport college athletic conference sponsoring men's and women's water polo. The WWPA is affiliated with the NCAA, and includes 15 member institutions, mostly in California, with one institution ...

(WWPA). CUI previously competed in the

Golden State Athletic Conference The Great Southwest Athletic Conference (GSAC), formerly known as the Golden State Athletic Conference, is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The conference commissioner is M ...

(GSAC) of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for higher education, colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic schola ...

(NAIA) from 1987–88 to 2014–15; and as an NAIA Independent from 1981–82 to 1986–87. The CUI women's water polo team competed in the Golden Coast Conference (GCC) until the 2022 spring season. CUI competes in 20 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, lacrosse, soccer, tennis, track & field, volleyball and water polo; while women's sports include softball, basketball, beach volleyball, cheerleading, cross country, soccer, softball, stunt, tennis, track & field and volleyball. Former sports included women's lacrosse and women's water polo.

Accomplishments

The university was previously a member of the NAIA from 1981 to 2015. During that time, Concordia–Irvine earned 7 NAIA Team National Championships and 25 NAIA Individual National Championships. In addition to the NAIA championships, Concordia–Irvine won 26 GSAC Regular-Season Championships and 13 GSAC Tournament Championships.

LGBT prohibition

Concordia University Irvine's code of conduct for students prohibits sexual intimacy for unmarried people, and defines marriage as heterosexual only. In 2018, Concordia hosted a religious liberty and discrimination debate featuring LGBT-rights advocate John Corvino and religious liberty advocate Ryan T. Anderson. Concordia hosted the annual conference of

Exodus International Exodus International was a non-profit, interdenominational ex-gay Christian umbrella organization connecting organizations that sought to limit homosexual desires. Founded in 1976, Exodus International originally asserted that conversion therapy ...

until the organization was disbanded in 2013 because of the failure of conversion therapy to make people straight.

Rankings

In '' U.S. News & World Report''s 2013 rankings of the best colleges in America, Concordia University Irvine is listed as 63rd in the Western region. In 2016, the university earned a ranking of 55 among regional universities in the Western U.S. In 2015, ''

The Chronicle of Higher Education ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is an American newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals, including staff members and administrators. A subscription ...

'' ranked Concordia University Irvine as one of the fastest-growing private nonprofit master's universities in its 2015–2016 edition of ''Almanac of Higher Education'', noting that the university grew over a 10-year period (2003–2013). Also in 2015, ''

Money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are: m ...

'' magazine included Concordia University Irvine in a list of schools "that provide the best value for your tuition dollar."

Notable alumni and faculty

Tayshia Adams Tayshia Adams (born September 4, 1990) is an American television personality and television host. She received national recognition after appearing as a contestant on season 23 of '' The Bachelor'' and the sixth season of '' Bachelor in Paradis ...

– phlebotomist, replacement lead in ''The Bachelorette'' (16th season) *

Cameron Gliddon Cameron Richard Gliddon (born 16 August 1989) is an Australian basketball coach and former professional player, currently the head coach of the Auckland Tuatara in the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He played four years of col ...

– professional basketball player in Australia *

Misty May-Treanor Misty Elizabeth May-Treanor (; née May; born July 30, 1977) is an American retired professional beach volleyball player. She is a three-time Olympic gold medalist, and , was the most successful female beach volleyball player having won 112 tou ...

– three-time Olympic gold medalist;

beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two to four players each on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side o ...

champion * J. A. O. Preus III – former president of Concordia * Christian Ramirez – professional soccer player * Rod Rosenbladt – professor of theology *

John Shimkus John Mondy Shimkus (, born February 21, 1958) is an American politician who served as a United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from 1997 to 2021, representing the 20th, 19th and 15th congressional districts of Illinois. Shi ...

- Congressman from Illinois * Larry Tieu (2007) – ASEAN Basketball League player for the Saigon Heat

References

External links

*
Athletics website
{{Coord, 33.653575, -117.811385, format=dms, display=title 1976 establishments in California Council for Christian Colleges and Universities Education in Irvine, California Universities and colleges established in 1976 Schools accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Universities and colleges affiliated with the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod Universities and colleges in Orange County, California Private universities and colleges in California