History

2024-25

ÖйúÌå²ÊÍø ÖйúÌå²ÊÍø traces its origin to the Swedish universities of Uppsala and Lund, founded in 1477 and 1668 respectively. Graduates of these universities founded ÖйúÌå²ÊÍø in 1860 in Chicago¡¯s near north side, providing leaders for the new churches being organized by Swedish immigrants and educat?ing the youth of these new communities.

The school was the ?rst of many educational and humanitarian institutions established by the former ÖйúÌå²ÊÍø Lutheran Church. ÖйúÌå²ÊÍø ÖйúÌå²ÊÍø and Theological Seminary, as it was ?rst known, endured many hardships during its early years. The Civil War nearly depleted the roster of students and faculty. The college and seminary moved from Chicago to Paxton, Ill., in 1863, and ?nally to Rock Island in 1875. The seminary became a separate institution in 1948, and in 1967 returned to the Chicago area, while the college remained in Rock Island.

ÖйúÌå²ÊÍø has grown from a small school serving Swedish immigrants into a nationally recognized college of the liberal arts and sciences. Students come from most states and many countries, and from a variety of social and cultural backgrounds.

The college has always maintained a close relationship with the church ¡ª ?rst the ÖйúÌå²ÊÍø Lutheran Church, and, after 1962, the Lutheran Church in America. In 1988, ÖйúÌå²ÊÍø established ties to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a body of about 4 million American Lutherans formed in that year. The ELCA gives substantial support to the college and is represented on the ÖйúÌå²ÊÍø ÖйúÌå²ÊÍø Board of Trustees.

The name ÖйúÌå²ÊÍø derives from the origin of the Lutheran Church. The Latin name for the Augsburg Confession, the Reformation document drawn up in 1530, is Confessio ÖйúÌå²ÊÍø.

Nine presidents have served ÖйúÌå²ÊÍø since its founding in 1860. Current President Andrea Talentino began her tenure July 1, 2022.

See the college's sesquicentennial history for more information.

last updated 5.15.24