Concordia College (Moorhead, Minnesota)
On November 22, 1963, Secret Service agent Clint Hill threw himself onto the back of a moving presidential limousine in Dallas, shielding Jacqueline Kennedy with his body moments after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Hill is a graduate of Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota -- a small Lutheran liberal arts school that opened on October 31, 1891, with three faculty members and twelve students. That a tiny academy founded by a dozen Norwegian pastors and laymen in the Red River Valley could produce a figure at the center of one of America's most defining moments is not an anomaly. It is a pattern. Concordia has sent an extraordinary number of its graduates into positions of national and international consequence, from senators and governors to opera singers, NFL players, and a World War II pilot who became an ace in a single day.
Norwegian Roots in the River Valley
Concordia began on the property of the former Episcopalian Bishop Whipple School, which had closed in 1887. Ingebrikt Grose, an English professor recruited from St. Olaf College, presided over the new academy, which offered coeducational instruction in English literature, natural sciences, mathematics, piano, and organ. Growth came quickly. In 1892, Norwegian pastor Rasmus Bogstad raised funds for the first male dormitory, Academy Hall. When Grose resigned in 1893, business professor Hans Aaker replaced him -- then left in 1902 after being elected mayor of Moorhead, finding the two roles incompatible. Bogstad became president next and established the liberal arts tradition that defines the college to this day. Under his leadership, Old Main was constructed, a building now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Norwegian immigrant community of the Red River Valley had built something that would outlast them by generations.
A Choir That Travels the World
Music has been part of Concordia since day one -- piano and organ lessons were offered from the school's 1891 opening. But it was the founding of The Concordia Choir in 1919 that launched a musical tradition of national significance. The 78-member mixed choir began touring in 1923 under Herman Monson and rose to national prominence under Paul J. Christiansen, who directed for 49 years. When composer Rene Clausen succeeded Christiansen in 1986, the choir had already performed at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Under Clausen, the ensemble released numerous recordings and performed alongside the King's Singers. Today the college maintains twenty music ensembles -- three choirs, four bands, two orchestras, three jazz ensembles, two percussion ensembles, and two handbell choirs. The annual Christmas concert draws over 20,000 audience members and is broadcast nationally on public television, featuring over 450 student performers. It is the musical heart of a campus where song is woven into daily life.
The Fastest Ace in a Day
Concordia's alumni roster reads like a catalog of improbable careers launched from a prairie campus. Scrappy Blumer, a U.S. Army Air Forces pilot in World War II, earned five aerial victories in a single action on August 25, 1944, making him the 'Fastest Ace in a Day.' Coya Knutson served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives for Minnesota's 9th congressional district. Kevin Cramer became a U.S. Senator for North Dakota. Ole H. Olson served as Governor of North Dakota. Gabriel Hauge advised President Eisenhower on economic affairs. Sidney Rand went from the college to become U.S. Ambassador to Norway and later president of St. Olaf College. In journalism, Roxana Saberi, a CBS News correspondent and former Miss North Dakota, spent 101 days imprisoned in Iran's Evin Prison under espionage accusations. Chris Coste played catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies and won the 2008 World Series. Rich Sommer portrayed Harry Crane on the television series Mad Men for eight seasons.
Cobbers on the Gridiron
Concordia's athletic nickname -- the Cobbers, short for Corncobbers -- suits the unpretentious character of a school rooted in farming country. Athletics started with a baseball club in 1903 and a basketball team in 1907. Football arrived in 1916, and Concordia joined the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 1920. The program found its identity when Jake Christiansen, brother of choir conductor Paul J. Christiansen, became physical education director in 1941. Over a 28-year career, he coached the football team to five conference championships and designed the athletic facility that now bears his name. His former student Jim Christopherson took over coaching in 1969 and led the team to nine conference titles and two national championships. Both men were inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame -- a remarkable distinction for coaches at a Division III liberal arts college in the Red River Valley. Today over 800 students compete in twenty varsity sports.
From the Air
Located at 46.8653°N, 96.7700°W at approximately 915 feet MSL in Moorhead, Minnesota, on the eastern bank of the Red River of the North directly across from Fargo, North Dakota. The campus sits in the southern portion of the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area. Hector International Airport (KFAR) is approximately 5 nm northwest. Moorhead Municipal Airport (K15D) is about 2 nm northeast. The campus is identifiable by its cluster of institutional buildings around Jake Christiansen Stadium and the distinctive Old Main building. The Red River, running north-south, is the primary navigation landmark separating Moorhead from Fargo. Best viewed at 2,000-3,500 feet AGL where the campus layout and relationship to downtown Moorhead are visible.