Concordia University - Seward, NE

The information on this page was last updated 3/20/2023. If you see errors or omissions, please email: [email protected]


Summary

Founded in 1894 by The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, Concordia University, Nebraska is a private, coeducational institution of higher learning. Our campus is located in Seward, which has a population of 7,200 and is located 25 minutes west of Lincoln.


Contact information

Mailing address:
Concordia University
800 N. Columbia Ave.
Seward, NE 68434

Website: cune.edu

Phone: 800-535-5494

Email: [email protected]


Organization details

EIN: 470378777

CEO/President: Dr. Bernard Bull

Chairman: Stuart Bartruff

Board size: 18

Founder:

Ruling year: 1941

Tax deductible: Yes

Fiscal year end: 06/30

Member of ECFA: No

Member of ECFA since:


Purpose

To keep up with our growing university, we update our vision statement every five years. The current vision theme is EXCEL 2025. Concordia University will EXCEL by delivering a distinctive Lutheran education that increasingly engages and influences the world.

We use our Lutheran tradition to help students strengthen their own Christian identity and gain the practical experience they need to successfully learn, serve and lead in the church and world.


Mission statement

Our mission hasn't changed since the first class was held in 1894 with professor George Weller and the 13 students who lived and learned in Founders Hall. Concordia University, Nebraska is an excellent academic and Christ-centered community equipping men and women for lives of learning, service and leadership in the church and world.


Statement of faith

Donor confidence score

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Transparency grade

C

To understand our transparency grade, click here.


Financial efficiency ratings

Sector: Colleges/Universities

CategoryRatingOverall rankSector rank
Overall efficiency rating296 of 105031 of 129
Fund acquisition rating283 of 105135 of 129
Resource allocation rating300 of 105131 of 129
Asset utilization rating612 of 105078 of 129

Financial ratios

Funding ratiosSector median20212020201920182017
Return on fundraising efforts Return on fundraising efforts =
Fundraising expense /
Total contributions
12%8%9%19%7%15%
Fundraising cost ratio Fundraising cost ratio =
Fundraising expense /
Total revenue
2%2%2%3%2%3%
Contributions reliance Contributions reliance =
Total contributions /
Total revenue
16%22%24%14%29%19%
Fundraising expense ratio Fundraising expense ratio =
Fundraising expense /
Total expenses
2%2%2%3%3%3%
Other revenue reliance Other revenue reliance =
Total other revenue /
Total revenue
84%78%76%86%71%81%
 
Operating ratiosSector median20212020201920182017
Program expense ratio Program expense ratio =
Program services /
Total expenses
84%89%90%86%86%86%
Spending ratio Spending ratio =
Total expenses /
Total revenue
95%85%85%95%80%92%
Program output ratio Program output ratio =
Program services /
Total revenue
79%76%77%82%69%78%
Savings ratio Savings ratio =
Surplus (deficit) /
Total revenue
5%15%15%5%20%8%
Reserve accumulation rate Reserve accumulation rate =
Surplus (deficit) /
Net assets
4%9%10%3%16%7%
General and admin ratio General and admin ratio =
Management and general expense /
Total expenses
13%9%7%11%11%11%
 
Investing ratiosSector median20212020201920182017
Total asset turnover Total asset turnover =
Total expenses /
Total assets
0.500.440.400.450.480.53
Degree of long-term investment Degree of long-term investment =
Total assets /
Total current assets
2.662.662.612.802.252.76
Current asset turnover Current asset turnover =
Total expenses /
Total current assets
1.561.171.031.261.081.47
 
Liquidity ratiosSector median20212020201920182017
Current ratio Current ratio =
Total current assets /
Total current liabilities
7.2911.405.944.9613.609.17
Current liabilities ratio Current liabilities ratio =
Total current liabilities /
Total current assets
0.140.090.170.200.070.11
Liquid reserve level Liquid reserve level =
(Total current assets -
Total current liabilities) /
(Total expenses / 12)
6.229.349.677.5810.327.28
 
Solvency ratiosSector median20212020201920182017
Liabilities ratio Liabilities ratio =
Total liabilities /
Total assets
25%17%28%25%24%31%
Debt ratio Debt ratio =
Debt /
Total assets
15%12%19%14%16%19%
Reserve coverage ratio Reserve coverage ratio =
Net assets /
Total expenses
140%188%181%166%158%130%

Financials

Balance sheet
 
Assets20212020201920182017
Cash$5,086,597$4,175,294$1,090,204$7,091,496$2,305,677
Receivables, inventories, prepaids$16,352,805$23,404,968$12,576,882$16,960,023$8,383,337
Short-term investments$38,712,737$31,590,439$34,467,499$33,092,658$30,909,087
Other current assets$0$0$0$0$0
Total current assets$60,152,139$59,170,701$48,134,585$57,144,177$41,598,101
Long-term investments$8,167,144$4,663,377$3,529,015$3,541,007$5,529,121
Fixed assets$84,938,659$84,346,634$76,550,384$61,110,373$61,120,304
Other long-term assets$6,507,777$6,109,606$6,779,336$6,626,509$6,474,320
Total long-term assets$99,613,580$95,119,617$86,858,735$71,277,889$73,123,745
Total assets$159,765,719$154,290,318$134,993,320$128,422,066$114,721,846
 
Liabilities20212020201920182017
Payables and accrued expenses$2,475,230$2,748,242$7,595,148$2,566,239$2,484,613
Other current liabilities$2,801,831$7,211,496$2,106,972$1,636,139$2,049,882
Total current liabilities$5,277,061$9,959,738$9,702,120$4,202,378$4,534,495
Debt$19,040,116$29,673,391$18,753,886$20,401,395$21,993,748
Due to (from) affiliates$0$0$0$0$0
Other long-term liabilities$2,679,613$4,194,590$5,339,335$6,738,943$8,646,906
Total long-term liabilities$21,719,729$33,867,981$24,093,221$27,140,338$30,640,654
Total liabilities$26,996,790$43,827,719$33,795,341$31,342,716$35,175,149
 
Net assets20212020201920182017
Without donor restrictions$63,918,855$53,926,618$32,988,782$32,958,257$32,299,778
With donor restrictions$68,850,074$56,535,981$68,209,197$64,121,093$47,246,919
Net assets$132,768,929$110,462,599$101,197,979$97,079,350$79,546,697
 
Revenues and expenses
 
Revenue20212020201920182017
Total contributions$17,987,610$17,420,676$8,855,135$22,265,477$12,499,364
Program service revenue$63,942,266$54,096,080$54,424,109$54,207,719$53,906,959
Membership dues$0$0$0$0$0
Investment income$715,731$397,873$502,107$799,869$384,740
Other revenue$26,637($37,711)$18,965$17,706$620
Total other revenue$64,684,634$54,456,242$54,945,181$55,025,294$54,292,319
Total revenue$82,672,244$71,876,918$63,800,316$77,290,771$66,791,683
 
Expenses20212020201920182017
Program services$62,451,889$55,234,558$52,454,358$53,195,437$52,348,066
Management and general$6,501,368$4,326,985$6,727,123$6,752,736$6,948,178
Fundraising$1,514,230$1,495,747$1,695,849$1,634,669$1,838,471
Total expenses$70,467,487$61,057,290$60,877,330$61,582,842$61,134,715
 
Change in net assets20212020201920182017
Surplus (deficit)$12,204,757$10,819,628$2,922,986$15,707,929$5,656,968
Other changes in net assets$0$0$0$0$0
Total change in net assets$12,204,757$10,819,628$2,922,986$15,707,929$5,656,968

Compensation

NameTitleCompensation
Tim PreussProvost$321,682
David KummEx Vp, Cfo, COO$254,744
Kurth BrashearInst Adv/General Councel$209,716
Russell SommerfeldInterim President$153,477
D Gene BrooksVP Student Affairs & Athletics$145,677
Gary McDanielsVP For Enrollment, Student Services$45,929
Ryan BurgerRegent - Secretary$2,000

Compensation data as of: 6/30/2021


Response from ministry

No response has been provided by this ministry.


The information below was provided to MinistryWatch by the ministry itself. It was last updated 3/20/2023. To update the information below, please email: [email protected]


History

Concordia University, Nebraska has been equipping students for service in God's church and world since the doors opened on Nov. 18, 1894 with one professor, 13 male students and a three-year high school curriculum. More than 125 years later, Concordia has grown into a fully accredited, coeducational university offering more than 100 programs and has granted degrees to tens of thousands of students.

We officially became Concordia University, Nebraska in 1998. In the 104 years prior, we were known by a multitude of different official and non-official names.

From 1974-1998, we were Concordia College.

From 1924-1974, we were Concordia Teachers College, initials that can still be found around campus, and the Concordia Teachers College name is inscribed in the front of Weller Hall.

The cornerstone on Founders Hall bears the initials E.L.S.L.S., short for Evangelische Lutherische Schullehrer Seminar, apparently the first name given to Concordia in 1894 by our German-speaking founders. Translated into English, the name was Evangelical Lutheran School Teachers Seminary. However, the school's early leaders didn't worry much about settling on a consistent name.

Dr. Jerry Pfabe, emeritus history professor and the university's archivist, has found references to a dozen official and unofficial names. Several of those names cropped up in the first few decades: Zweites Schullehrer Seminar zu Seward, Nebraska (The second school teachers' seminary): The school's only purpose in the early years was to train teachers for Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) parochial schools. The LCMS started its first teachers' seminary in Indiana and later moved it to Illinois.

Seward College: This was an unofficial name that appeared on baseball uniforms. No one knows for sure when Concordians first started playing organized sports, but they were believed to have adopted the Bulldog mascot in honor of Coach Walter Hellwege's pet bulldog, who accompanied him to games in the 1920s.

German College: This was an unofficial-sometimes derogatory-name used by Seward County residents to describe the college.

Lutheran Normal School: "Normal school" training was the term for teacher education programs in the early part of the century. Concordia began offering bachelor's degrees in 1939, but in many states teachers were not required to have bachelor's degrees for several more years.

Look long enough and you may still find the initials CTC stamped on objects around campus. Concordia Teachers College was the school's official name for more than 50 years. The "Teachers" was gradually dropped from recruitment materials as the curriculum expanded to include DCE and pre-seminary programs, followed by a host of liberal arts majors in the 1970s and 1980s. We were officially known as Concordia College from 1974-1998.

Although Concordia still operates as part of the LCMS, we recruit students from many Christian denominations.


Program accomplishments

Ranked No. 17 by U.S. News and World Report's Best Value Schools in the Midwest region, Concordia will provide you with a purposeful education that includes a variety of opportunities that are not always available to students at larger, public universities for a comparable cost to public universities in the Midwest*.


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