Meet Dr. Lorinda Sankey ‘80, Concordia Nebraska dean of the College of Education Health and Human Sciences, professor of education and head teacher of education

Dr. Lorinda Sankey ‘80 serves Concordia University, Nebraska as dean of the College of Education Health and Human Sciences, professor of education and head teacher of education. She has served the university for eight-and-a-half years. 

“A dean's job is to support the faculty and staff who work in her college, as well as carry out the plans, initiatives, programs and academic processes of the university. I provide leadership for three undergraduate departments: the education department, the human and social sciences department and health and human performance department.” 

She also provides leadership for the graduate programs in the college of education, which includes M.Ed. programs, M.A. Programs and M.S. programs as well as a master’s in public health. 

“I am responsible for ensuring that Concordia's education programs continue to be approved by the state of Nebraska for teaching certification and accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation programs,” she explained. 

She also teaches one course each semester: EDUC 362 Teaching the Christian Faith.  

Sankey has a bachelor of science degree in elementary education with social sciences emphasis from Concordia Nebraska. She also has a master of science degree in elementary education from Southern Illinois University and a doctorate in education with emphasis in curriculum and instruction from St. Louis University. 

I am an ordinary person to whom God has given an extraordinary opportunity to serve and lead in the legacy of Concordia University, Nebraska. I am regularly reminded through various interactions with people inside Concordia and outside of Concordia that I am blessed to be a part of the university's legacy.

She has been commended by the university provost for her leadership at the university and has also been recognized for serving more than 35 years as commissioned minister in The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. She feels strongly about the importance of Lutheran education. 

“My favorite thing is teaching EDUC 362 Teaching the Christian Faith. I trust in the Holy Spirit to use my teaching in this course to lead each of my students to value the importance of teaching their future students about Jesus, the Bible and Lutheran theology and to grow in the knowledge, skills and dispositions for how to teach the faith,” she said. “I work with a lot of talented people who are very good at their jobs. My next favorite thing about my job is to lift up and back up these people. I listen to them, collaborate and problem-solve with them and support them in their work. Support sometimes means helping them accomplish something, accomplishing something for or with them or advocating to the university administration for them.” 

She reflected on what makes Concordia Nebraska a special place to work, citing the legacy of the university. 

“I am an ordinary person to whom God has given an extraordinary opportunity to serve and lead in the legacy of Concordia University, Nebraska. I am regularly reminded through various interactions with people inside Concordia and outside of Concordia that I am blessed to be a part of the university's legacy” she said. “This legacy is exhibited to me through stakeholders I meet when I represent the university at conferences, meetings and conventions, through stakeholders who are my colleagues inside the university, and through our graduate and undergraduate students as stakeholders who seek academic and professional growth here. These various stakeholders exhibit understanding, whether spoken or unspoken, that the legacy of Concordia is the formative experience of women and men who impact the world where they are called. Well beyond the students' time here at Concordia, this formative experience influences students' Christian faith walk, impacts them personally and is reflected in their interactions with others. Concordia is revered for this legacy.”  

She said working at Concordia Nebraska definitely helps to develop her faith in Jesus Christ.  

“’I attend chapel, lead or am led in devotions and prayer in class and meetings. I am challenged to be active in my own faith formation, not just to rest on my previous knowledge,” she said. “The weight of my job reminds me every day that I can only accomplish the work through God's provision and providence. He's got it.”  

Sankey and her husband Ken ‘80 have three grown children, three children-in-law and nine grandchildren.  

“Ken and I try to keep in touch with all of our family, especially to know our grandchildren well,” she said. “Ken and I like to go on road trips and have been road-tripping ever since we drove to our first teaching calls at Grace Lutheran School in Key West.” 

When she’s not serving on campus, she walks most days and enjoys hiking. She also enjoys growing flowers and keeping a small garden, and she recently expanded her houseplant collection. She also loves to cook and bake for others to enjoy. She is also currently serving as president of the Nebraska Association of Colleges for Teacher Education and volunteer as the building manager for Thom Leadership and Education Center on campus. She has also accompanied the university’s Bulldogs for Life youth Lutherans for Life group to Washington, D.C. for the annual March for Life for the past two years. 

“When a family chooses to send their child to a Lutheran school, it joins in the school's commitment to lead and guide the child in the daily walk of Christian faith that is lived out in that school. I'm thankful that my parents sent me to a Lutheran school where my Christian faith was strengthened and formed every day. Part of the faith formation in Lutheran schools is deepening students' understanding that God created each of them for a purpose,” she said. “The understanding of the Creator as provider of purpose inspires students to strive to learn and live out that purpose through their studies and activities. Alongside learning one's purpose is the strengthening of faith in Jesus through daily habits of reading and studying the Bible and catechism, singing Christian songs and hymns, and praying to God. I witnessed this faith formation in my students when I was teaching in Lutheran schools. I see this faith formation here at Concordia among our students, both undergraduate and graduate. It is a great blessing to me that I am called to be part of the commitment of Lutheran schools to lead and guide all involved in our daily Christian walk together.” 

Concordia University, Nebraska's education program prepares teachers to lead, teach and serve from a foundation of faith that asserts the value of every individual. Education majors sharpen their God-given gifts as they learn to minister to future students, families, churches and communities.