Concordia University Honors Record Size Graduating Class

• Concordia University honored 664 graduates (395 BA and 269 MA), along with nine distinguished leaders of the church and community, at its commencement on Friday, May 11, 2007. Held UCI Bren Event Center, more than 5,000 family members and friends joined in the milestone day. More than 100 Bachelor of Arts graduates achieved distinctive academic rankings earning the recognition of honor scholars, honors associates, Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude or Summa Cum Laude. More than 80 Bachelor of Arts graduates became members of national honors societies in mathematics, pre-medicine, psychology, leadership, business/management/administration and theology. Senior Division Awards were presented to 35 graduates by the School of Arts and Sciences, School of Business and Professional Studies, School of Education and Christ College.

Academics

• Concordia's SIFE team presented their community outreach projects at the regional SIFE competition this spring. The projects focused on ethics, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, business success skills and market economics. The judges were impressed with the students' strategy of allowing more time for questions allowing them to interact with the panel of 28 judges. Concordia placed first runner up in their division winning against Biola University and USC. Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) is a global non-profit organization that partners with universities to implement programs that create real economic opportunities for members of their communities.
• The Aerie, Concordia University's literary magazine just released its ninth publication. The magazine features contributions from all realms of the humanities including art, poetry, non-fiction, and fictional prose. Students from all backgrounds and disciplines contributed original pieces to the publication. Creativity and uniqueness were encouraged by professors Gretchen Beck, Thea Gavin and Rachel Soo, who coordinated and helped edit the journal. Fifteen poems, ranging in theme from religion, race and social issues were contributed, as were six non-fiction pieces regarding student's real-life personal experiences. Two fictional pieces were contributed, and evoked satirical sentiments about the society. The art selections, which help to segue from artistic to literary expression, were selected from the Art Department's Student Art Exhibition in the Fall of 2006. The Aerie is available throughout campus.
• New Honor Society on Campus: The California Pi Chapter of the national mathematics honor society, Pi Mu Epsilon, has been installed at Concordia University. Pi Mu Epsilon recognizes academic achievement in mathematics, with the mission of promoting scholarship and mathematics.

Athletics

• Concordia University track and field head coach Martin Gonzalez was recently named the NAIA Region II Coach of Character as Concordia named its winners of the 2007-08 Champions of Character Scholarship Award. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Champions of Character program is designed to instill an understanding of character values in sport and provide practical tools for student-athletes, coaches and parents to use in modeling exemplary character traits. Gonzalez was honored among over 4,000 coaches that participate around the country in the program. Concordia has also launched its own Champions of Character Scholarship Award program where one underclassman from each program is awarded a $500 scholarship for the following year.
• In just its second season of intercollegiate competition, the Concordia University men's golf team has earned an at-large berth to the 2007 NAIA Men's Golf National Championship Tournament, taking place May 22-25 at the Indiana National Golf Club at Swan Lake in Plymouth, Ind. "This is the culmination of all the hard work these fine young men have put together," said head coach Joey Cerulle. "I look forward to seeing us in action against the best." The Eagles are one of four NAIA Region II teams to earn a place in the field.

Concordia in the Community

• Concordia selected seven students and two staff members to go with Habitat for Humanity and Thrivent Builds to South Africa to build homes for orphans that have been affected by HIV/AIDS. The trips will be July 20-30 and August 10-20 in Durban, South Africa. This will be in conjuction with Christ Church Lutheran in Phoenix. Closer to home, Student Services recently took 30 students and staff members to Tijuana, Mexico, joining Amor Ministries to build homes for underpriveliged families.
• School of Education Grad Student Named "Teacher of the Year"
  Greg McFall, a graduate student in the School of Education was named 2007-2008 Orange County and Westminster School District "Teacher of the Year." He has taught middle school history and language arts in the district for 10 years.