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A college on a mission: Leadership of Concordia College Seward, Nebraska, 1941-1991
Abstract
The purpose of this qualitative study is to understand the experiences of leaders engaged in developing the mission of Concordia College, Seward, Nebraska from 1941-1991. By use of visual ethnography and historical methods, data were gathered and analyzed from presidents and professors at Concordia College through taped interviews and documents from the college archives and from Concordia Historical Institute, St. Louis, Missouri. The role of leaders in developing the mission of Concordia College is described by key informants experiencing the college's development from World War II until the 1990s. Highlights of the study include interviewees' perceptions in periods of growth and periods of change; the influence of presidents, deans, and faculty on the college's mission; and the characteristics of persons identified as leaders. Data are gathered from 25 video taped interviews with five former presidents who served since 1941 and the current president, five professors averaging 40 years at the college, and 15 professors having been at the college for a minimum of 20 years. In addition to these key informants, additional data come from institutional documents, observation, and personal communications. Transcripts are coded in search of terms and categories from the perceptions of key informants which posed new questions that were explored in follow-up interviews. Some of the findings are the discovery of a tri-level mission, the emerging role of mission-leaders, identification of leaders other than deans or presidents in a collegial setting, the positive characteristics of mission-leaders, the college's stages of mission development, and aspects of visionary leadership. Qualities of leaders identified as having an impact on the mission are presented as the basis for further study and implications by present and future college leaders considering development or clarification of an institutional mission. The history of Concordia College is traced from 1941-1991 by identifying events and actions of leaders in an historical setting. The chronological events may be informative to graduates of Concordia College and historians of Lutheran higher education.
Subject Area
School administration|Higher education|Education history
Recommended Citation
Schmidt, Allan Herman, "A college on a mission: Leadership of Concordia College Seward, Nebraska, 1941-1991" (1992). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9314436.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9314436