Editor's note: This story first appeared in the spring 2021 issue of Hearts Together, a Concordia University Wisconsin and Ann Arbor Special Magazine Edition.
Concordia has always been in good hands. By the hand of God and through the many hands of leaders, staff, alumni, students, and community, the university has flourished in mission and in action since 1881. Eight university presidents (and one director and a temporary president) have served at the helm, and each of them contributed significantly to the solid foundation that is Concordia University Wisconsin and Ann Arbor.
Today Concordia University has over 8,000 students who are learning online and in person at campuses in Wisconsin and Michigan, and in Europe and Asia. There are six academic schools in Wisconsin and five in Ann Arbor. Students are preparing to serve in the Church and in schools, businesses, clinics, hospitals, and organizations across the country and around the world. They are earning their doctorates in business, education, pharmacy, and health care and earning their MBAs at record levels. Concordia’s MBA program has been the largest in Wisconsin since 2013.
As one of the longest-serving Concordia presidents, Ferry’s legacy is the breadth and depth of the mission field that he sowed so boldly for 24 years. Alumni are pastors, teachers, doctors, leaders, innovators, and caregivers who are serving God and serving each other. Their fulfillment is a promise that Ferry made when he accepted the role of president.
While we do not know whom the next university president will be, we know that God’s hand will design the plan. And the hands of the leaders, staff, students, alumni, and community who served alongside President Ferry will labor to see it through.
On July 1, 1997, the day before Ferry learned he would become president, he wrote in his journal, “My confidence rests in God’s will being done, and that He knows Concordia’s needs better than I do.”
Learn more about the presidential search process and view updates. Visit cuw.edu/PresidentialSearch or cuaa.edu/PresidentialSearch.
The spring/summer 2021 Hearts Together magazine hit mailboxes in early April. View a PDF version of the magazine here. If you are not on our mailing list, but are interested in receiving a free copy, email Jennifer.Hackmann@cuaa.edu.
—
If this story has inspired you, why not explore how you can help further Concordia's mission through giving.