April 24, 2009

CHICAGO – The Waldorf Lutheran College Association unanimously approved a series of resolutions April 23 that move Waldorf College, Forest City, Iowa, closer to a possible sale to Columbia Southern University (CSU). CSU is a for-profit institution and one of the nation's first online universities.

The move was prompted by a financial crisis at Waldorf. A new for-profit status for Waldorf would require changes in the relationship between the institution and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). It would no longer be affiliated with the ELCA. The Waldorf Lutheran College Association, the college's historical governing body, is comprised of 190 Lutheran congregations.

The association's consent gives the Waldorf College Board of Regents and Dr. Richard Hanson, president, the authority to go ahead with negotiations with CSU. The board could resume that work at its May 2 meeting.

Waldorf and CSU signed a letter of intent in February to establish a formal relationship between the two institutions.

Current planning would keep Waldorf College as a separate entity from CSU, according to a Waldorf news release. CSU, headquartered in Orange Beach, Ala., does not plan to relocate Waldorf nor modify its identity as a residential, liberal arts college, but would offer new programs and majors, the release said.

The Rev. Stanley N. Olson, executive director, ELCA Vocation and Education, serves as an advisor to the Waldorf College board. He said Hanson and other Waldorf officials have stayed in close communication with the ELCA and the Rev. Michael A. Last, bishop, ELCA Western Iowa Synod, Storm Lake, while exploring the possibility of acquisition by CSU.

"The ELCA has indicated to Waldorf its desire to stay in conversation about the future of this longstanding relationship," Olson said. "Of course, we are on unfamiliar ground, but that will bring new opportunities."

"Though the relationship would certainly not be the same as in past decades, this church remains committed to key values in higher education and to helping college and university students explore their vocations as people of faith. There is a good future for the Waldorf-ELCA partnership," he said.

Waldorf is one of 28 colleges and universities related to the ELCA. In addition to that relationship, "this church supports or relates to campus ministries at several hundred public and private colleges and universities across the country. With Waldorf leaders, we are looking at a variety of options and staying open," Olson said.

The Rev. James M. Magelssen, Trinity Lutheran Church, Mason City, Iowa, is president of the Waldorf Lutheran College Association. In an e-mail announcement to Waldorf College faculty and staff, Magelssen said he was "pleased and relieved" that the association's vote was unanimous. Members who attended were "positive and hopeful," while feeling some loss about the likelihood the school won't have an official ELCA affiliation, he said in an interview.

If plans proceed as intended, Waldorf's new status as a for-profit institution will be official sometime this fall, Magelssen said.

In his e-mail, Magelssen referred to remarks by Last, who began the association meeting with devotions. "I've come to believe that it's in Waldorf College's DNA to have this special gift to reach in and mold the lives of students who come here," Last said. "Waldorf College has a way of taking students who achieve academic excellence and moving them forward. It also moves forward those who underachieve and helps them become self-actualized."

Waldorf College was founded in 1903 by the Rev. C.S. Salveson, pastor of what is now Immanuel Lutheran Church, Forest City, a congregation of the ELCA.

The home page for Waldorf College is at http://www.waldorf.edu/, on the Web.

ELCA News Service
Joy Newcom is director of brand discovery and launch for Waldorf College.