Concordia Nebraska recognizes endowment donors through unique art installment

On Friday, July 10, Concordia University, Nebraska announced Shine Forth, the university’s comprehensive campaign, a fundraising effort focused on strengthening the foundation of the university’s Christ-centered mission and preparing for the future. For more than 130 years, generations of Concordians have invested in the university so students can learn, grow and serve. Because of their faithfulness, Concordia Nebraska continues to provide a transformational education that prepares students for lives of service to the church and world.

As one way to thank the university’s generous supporters, Concordia Nebraska created and recently unveiled a donor recognition art installment in the university’s Cattle Conference Room, located in Janzow Campus Center. Both an artistic focal point and also a unique way to recognize university supporters, the piece was inspired by the irrigated fields that surround Concordia. The circles represent center pivots seen from above, carrying nourishing water to crops. The image reflects the character of Concordia in work ethic, preparation and faithful stewardship. Psalm 65 says that “God waters the earth, blesses its growth and crowns the year with bounty.” In the same way, the shapes in this piece point to God’s provision and the work of many hands that have made growth possible.

The names of 500 families and entities that have established endowments at Concordia Nebraska are engraved on the wood pieces that make up the display, which measures 7.5 feet tall and 12.5 feet wide.The display was crafted to allow for additional endowment names to be added in the future.

“Concordia has done a great job over the years of stewarding donors and publicly recognizing them for contributions to important capital projects. Many of our buildings have wall displays recognizing those who helped make projects happen, but there was a gap in recognizing people who have prayerfully and generously supported Concordia in other ways, such as the annual fund or endowment gifts,” explained Concordia Nebraska Senior Director of Development and Engagement Scott Seevers ’89. “Since our Shine Forth campaign has such a strong endowment focus, we sought to make up for lost time by acknowledging the various families and entities whose endowments are helping Concordia students today and for generations into the future.”

The university’s advancement team met with the Concordia Nebraska Center for Liturgical Art and others to discuss the conception and creation of the endowment wall.

“We agreed that it should be in a place where people would see it,” said Seevers. “The Cattle Conference Room emerged as a strong candidate because we host so many events and celebrations there, but we also wanted to make sure it wasn’t just a list of names. We wanted something beautiful, so we turned to Concordia’s Center for Liturgical Art.”

Center for Liturgical Art Director Michael Scheer was engaged to craft a piece that would not only honor those who have established endowments at the university but would also add a beautiful enhancement to the space and reflect the lasting legacy of the endowments that support the university.

“Michael came up with the idea of crop circles. Did you know center-pivot irrigation got its start in Nebraska?” asked Seevers. “Deep beneath our Nebraska soil lies one of the state’s greatest resources, an abundant, life-giving aquifer that is vital to our ag industry’s stability and prosperity. When irrigated fields are viewed from above, crop circles are evidence of water’s impact on those fields. In a similar way, endowment gifts provide a vital resource to ensure Concordia’s stability and prosperity. When Michael presented this concept to our Shine Forth steering committee, they were unanimously impressed and excited about it.”

After the concept of the endowment wall was approved, Scheer set out to figure out how to produce the components of the larger piece. A timely solution was provided in the form of Concordia friend Les Weber. His daughter attended the university and his granddaughter is a current student. He attends chapel on campus from time to time and keeps up with the university’s news. An avid woodworker, Weber had a few years ago purchased a large table laser engraver that – among other things – can burn text into pieces of wood. He recently asked if it would be of any use to the university. Weber and Scheer connected; Scheer assembled the machine and became familiar with the software needed to run it. He discovered it was the perfect solution to engrave text onto the pieces of wood that make up the endowment recognition wall.

“Les’ generosity really helped us get this thing off the ground in time to unveil it on July 9 at our campaign kickoff,” said Seevers.

“Since our Shine Forth campaign has such a strong endowment focus, we sought to make up for lost time by acknowledging the various families and entities whose endowments are helping Concordia students today and for generations into the future.”

Scheer knows firsthand the importance of Concordia’s endowments. When he was a student at the university, he was blessed to be a recipient of the Lillich Endowed Graphic Design Scholarship. Now as the director of the university’s Center for Liturgical Art, he said he has seen first-hand the incredible impact of the Lange and Schultz Center for Liturgical Art endowments.

“I am thankful to have had the opportunity to help see these gifts and all the others here recognized. As this wall is an offering of thanks, so it is fitting for it to have been inspired by a psalm of thanks. Psalm 65 speaks to all the good gifts God has so graciously granted us,” said Scheer. “It also reminds us of Concordia’s first gift in 1893. This gift was not monetary. In fact, the donors knew that once in the hands of Concordia, this gift would never be sold, spent or even invested. But without this gift, Concordia would not have been able to provide education for 13 students in 1894 and the thousands of students to followover the next 130 years. This gift of 20 acres of farmland became the campus surrounding us today, truly a college in the cornfields. It was with this gift in mind that the design for this piece began to materialize. As a Nebraska native and the grandchild of farmers, I hold agricultural pursuits in high esteem, and I always feel at home when I’m driving through fields of corn and soybeans or looking down at the fields from an airplane. This feeling and the visual cue of center-pivot irrigation inspired the abstract shapes of the wall before you. As homage to that original foundational gift, and to recognize the other gifts of the past, present and future, this wall reflects the fields that surround our community, and connects the gifts to the concept of irrigation, carrying nourishing water to the crops. These gifts direct resources to students and faculty so that the mission of Concordia can flourish for generations.”

University donors provided the funding to create the endowment recognition wall.

“Mr. Weber supported Concordia in one unique way, and another couple provided funding to make this project happen. It’s a wonderful blessing,” explained Concordia Nebraska Vice President of Institutional Advancement Derek Engelbart ‘01. “Their contributions, along with the partnership with the Center for Liturgical Art – a treasured institute of the university – honors the collective, ongoing impact of hundreds of people dating back many decades. Without a doubt, a highlight at the unveiling was watching attendees scan the wall for familiar names, often beloved relatives, friends or faculty who shaped them decades ago. Whether those folks are still with us here on earth or have moved on to heaven, their gifts to Concordia’s endowment will live on, collectively blessing a new generation who will carry on their legacy of faith, service and generosity.”

Concordia Nebraska manages more than 500 endowment funds which support student scholarships, campus facilities, faculty positions and various academic departments.

“Our endowments continue to grow, both in number and in impact. Thanks to the Lord’s provision, hard work over decades, and the generosity of those who choose to make enduring gifts, Concordia’s endowment is in a far better place than it was 30 years ago and will continue to be important in future fundraising,” added Seevers. “Endowment resources, both in times of institutional drought and in times of plenty, will provide a steady stream of reliable income to help ensure Concordia's Christian mission flourishes.”

“This is generosity that looks ahead to equip students in their vocations and strengthen those who teach and mentor them. In the same way that God waters the earth, blesses its growth and crowns the year with bounty, these endowments point to God’s provision and to the work of the many hands that have made the work of Concordia possible,” added Scheer. “This university started with a generous gift of cornfields, by individuals who understood the potential to grow and harvest a different kind of crop. Concordia has often been called the “college in the cornfields”, and although that may not always be usedas an honorific title, perhaps it should be.”

For more than a century, Concordia Nebraska has been a place where faith and learning come together to shape lives of purpose. Like a light set where it can be seen, the work done here has never been meant to be hidden; generation after generation of students has been formed, equipped and sent out to serve, lead and reflect Christ in the world. Learn more about the Shine Forth comprehensive capital campaign here.