Concordia University (Portland, Oregon)

Concordia University

Concordia University Portland logo
Motto	Christi Crux Est Mihi Lux
Motto in English	The Cross of Christ is Light to Me
Type	Private
Established	1905
Religious affiliation	Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
Endowment	$7.2 million (2009)
Chairman	George Thurston Jr.
President	Charles Schlimpert
Students	1,300 undergraduate 500 graduate 5,200 online & off-site (2014)
Location	Portland, Oregon, U.S. 45°34.097′N 122°38.218′W / 45.568283°N 122.636967°W / 45.568283; -122.636967Coordinates: 45°34.097′N 122°38.218′W / 45.568283°N 122.636967°W / 45.568283; -122.636967
Campus	Urban, 13 acres (5.3 ha)
Colors	Blue and white
Athletics	NCAA Division ll
Nickname	Cavaliers
Website	www.cu-portland.edu

Concordia University is a private, nonprofit, Lutheran liberal arts university in Portland, Oregon in the United States. Opened in 1905 as a University-preparatory school, the institution added college classes in 1950 and the high school formally split in 1977. The school of approximately 5,400 undergraduate and graduate students is affiliated with the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod and the Concordia University System. Located in Northeast Portland, the school also has branch campuses across Oregon and operates the Concordia University School of Law in Boise, Idaho. The university has four colleges and eighteen majors. Its athletic teams, known as the Cavaliers, currently compete in NCAA's Great Northwest Athletic Conference at the Division II level.

Concordia Academy was founded in 1905 by a growing Lutheran community in the Pacific Northwest to meet the need for pastors and parochial school teachers. The school added a junior college by 1950 and in 1968 women were first admitted to then Concordia High School. In 1962, Concordia became accredited by the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges.

In 1977, an association of local Lutheran churches, the Portland Lutheran Association for Christian Education, assumed ownership and management of the high school. At this time, Concordia separated from the high school and became a four-year institution, graduating its first baccalaureate students in 1980. Concordia College became Concordia University in 1995 and converted to the semester calendar. The next year the school added master's degrees in teaching and education, followed by a Master of Business Administration program in 2001. In 2002, the master's degree in education became Concordia's first program to also be fully online.