History
2023-24 updated 5.18.23
365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ traces its origin to the Swedish universities of Uppsala and Lund, founded in 1477 and 1668 respectively. Graduates of these universities founded 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ 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 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ Lutheran Church. 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ 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.
365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ 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 — ?rst the 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ Lutheran Church, and, after 1962, the Lutheran Church in America. In 1988, 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ 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 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ Board of Trustees.
The name 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ derives from the origin of the Lutheran Church. The Latin name for the Augsburg Confession, the Reformation document drawn up in 1530, is Confessio 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@.
Nine presidents have served 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ since its founding in 1860. Current President Andrea Talentino began her tenure July 1, 2022.
See the college's sesquicentennial history for more information.