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Fjelstad Hall was built on Concordia’s campus in the late 1930s as a new women’s dormitory.  One of the most attractive buildings on the college grounds, it provided female students comfortable accommodations and supervision while they were away from home.  Though periodically remodeled and updated, the dormitory was used consistently for female campus housing until 2014.

In 1921, a group of faculty women and wives at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota joined together to form a club devoted to both social activities and to raising money for students in financial need. In the almost seventy years that followed, the Concordia Women’s League formed successful student loan and scholarship funds, contributed to several worthwhile campus projects, and developed a long-lasting legacy.

Barbara Glasrud (née Crawford), taught art history at Concordia College for over three decades.  During her time at the college, she shared her enthusiasm for art and culture with many students and was instrumental in building the art program at Concordia.

Dorothy Johnson was hired by Concordia College in 1953 as Fjelstad dormitory resident head and assistant to the dean of women. Soon after her arrival she founded the college’s Reading Service to improve students’ reading skills.  She also developed an annual Conference on Reading at Concordia and became president of the Minnesota Reading Association in 1966.

Margaret Nordlie came to Concordia first as a student and then returned to teach classes in library science and work in the library under head librarian Anna Jordahl. In collaboration with Jordahl, Nordlie facilitated the growth of library collections as well as the beginnings of the Concordia College Archives.

Vivian Wensel was a faculty member of the Concordia physical education program for thirty-five years. She taught over twenty different classes and coached the women’s badminton and golf teams.  Through  her work on campus and in May travel seminars abroad, she provided a positive role model for young female athletes at Concordia.

Literary societies were once a common feature at Concordia.  Alpha Kappa Chi (AKX) was the first all-female literary society at the college.  Even as its focus shifted from literary pursuits to social events to charitable activities, AKX provided a way for Concordia women to engage with their campus and their community for over eighty years.  Phi Kappa Chi (PKX) was another major women’s society at Concordia College from 1946 to 1969.  Although PKX was relatively short-lived, it provides an interesting look at some of the factors that influenced the rise and fall of women’s (and men’s) societies at Concordia.

Born in Norfolk, Virginia, Earl Lewis came of age during the hard struggle for school integration in the South, and nationwide, that followed the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decisions (1954-1955). When Lewis studied at Concordia College between 1974 and 1978, the Civil Rights, Black Power, and Black Student Movements had already instigated momentous racial reform in the country’s colleges and universities. He participated in the Black Student Strike in the spring of 1976, a memorable marker in Concordia’s history as black student enrollments reached high tide before receding. Lewis’s academic achievements as an undergraduate anticipated a storied career as a scholar, administrator, innovator and entrepreneur, and leader in higher education. Serious and steady, yet affable and down-to-earth, Lewis embodies Concordia’s commitment to influence the world through studied preparation and dedicated service. Recipient of countless honors and awards, Lewis joined the college’s Board of Regents in 2008 and became chair in 2018.