Concordia University Irvine is a private

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

university in

Irvine, California Irvine () is a master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on December 28, 197 ...

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

Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), also known as the Missouri Synod, is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With 1.8 million members, it is the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States. The L ...

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 one of nine colleges and universities in 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 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 ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

, north of

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, 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, 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 student athlete, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic sports, ...

(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 now has members as far east as Pennsylvania. The conference participates at the NCAA Division I ...

(MPSF); and its men's water polo team competes in the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). CUI previously competed in the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) of the

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

(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 21 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, lacrosse, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, volleyball and water polo; while women's sports include softball, basketball, beach volleyball, cheerleading, cross country, soccer, softball, stunt, swimming & diving, 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. Concordia hosts

conversion therapy Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. In contrast to evidence-based medicine and cli ...

and anti-same-sex-marriage events and speakers, such as a debate featuring gay marriage opponent

Ryan T. Anderson Ryan Timothy Anderson (born 1981) is an American conservative political philosopher who is best known for his opposition to same-sex marriage. He is currently president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center. He was previously the William E. S ...

. Concordia hosted the annual conference of Exodus International 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 a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals (staff members and administrators). A subscription is required to r ...

'' 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 ar ...

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

Amanda Fama Amanda is a Latin feminine gerundive (i.e. verbal adjective) name meaning, literally, “she who must (or is fit to) be loved”. Other translations, with similar meaning, could be "deserving to be loved," "worthy of love," or "loved very much ...

- member of Italy women's national softball team *

Cameron Gliddon Cameron Richard Gliddon (born 16 August 1989) is an Australian professional basketball player for the New Zealand Breakers of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played four years of college basketball for Concordia University before retu ...

– professional basketball player in Australia * Misty May-Treanor – three-time Olympic gold medalist; beach volleyball champion *

J. A. O. Preus III Jacob Aall Ottesen Preus III (March 20, 1953 – August 4, 2022) was an American academic administrator who was the president of Concordia University, Irvine from 1998 to 2009. Previously, he was a professor at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, ...

– former president of Concordia * Christian Ramirez – professional soccer player * Rod Rosenbladt – professor of theology *

Larry Tieu Larry Tieu (born July 13, 1986) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Saigon Heat of the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL). Tieu holds dual citizenship in the United States and Vietnam due to his parents having Vietname ...

(2007) –

ASEAN Basketball League The ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) is a professional men's basketball league in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong/Macau, which includes six teams from Southeast Asian nations (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam), one tea ...

player for the Saigon Heat

References

External links

*
CUI athletics website
{{authority control 1976 establishments in California Council for Christian Colleges and Universities Education in Irvine, California Educational institutions 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