Concordia College Alabama

Concordia College Alabama

Former names	Alabama Luther College Alabama Lutheran Academy and College
Type	Private, HBCU
Established	1922
Affiliation	Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
President	Rev. Dr. Tilahun M. Mendedo
Students	651 (2015)
Location	Selma , Alabama , United States
Campus	57 acres (23 ha)
Colors	Green and Yellow
Nickname	Hornets
Website	www.ccal.edu
Bakke Hall and the Dormitory Location of Bakke Hall and the Dormitory in Alabama Location Selma, Alabama Coordinates Built 1925 Governing body Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage Official name: Bakke Hall and the Dormitory Designated June 19, 1997

Concordia College Alabama is a college of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, located in Selma, Alabama, in the United States. It is the only historically black college among the ten colleges and universities in the Concordia University System.

History

In 1919 African-American Lutheran congregations in Alabama petitioned the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America for funds to open a high school and college to train church workers. The school opened in 1922 in a rented cottage, and the Synodical Conference soon purchased 13 acres (5.3 ha) in northeast Selma, Alabama as the site of the Alabama Luther College. A recitation hall (now named Bakke Hall) and a dormitory were erected at a cost of $36,000 and opened in 1925.

The college was forced to close during the Great Depression and the remaining high school was renamed the Alabama Lutheran Academy. Eventually the college was reopened, resulting in the name Alabama Lutheran Academy and College. In 1981 the name was changed to Concordia College Alabama, and in 1994 it gained accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools as a bachelor's degree-granting institution.

Campus

Concordia College's Bakke Hall and the Dormitory, completed in 1928, were both added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage on June 19, 1997.

In 2010 Concordia increased the size of its campus from 22 acres (8.9 ha) to 57 acres (23 ha) by acquiring the grounds and buildings of the adjacent United Methodist Children’s Home.

Organization and administration

The college president is Rev. Dr. Tilahun M. Mendedo.

Academic profile

The college had 651 students during the Fall 2015 term.

Student life

Athletics

The Concordia College sports teams, collectively known as the Hornets, compete in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA). Men's sports include basketball, soccer, and baseball, while women's sports include softball, track, soccer, golf and volleyball.

The college fielded a football team from 2005 until it was cancelled at the end of the 2015 season due to costs.

ROTC

Concordia College Army ROTC, a satellite program of Marion Military Institute, features more than 25 cadets.

See also

• List of historically black colleges of the United States