May 2020
" Let everything that has breath praise The LORD. Praise The LORD. ' ”
- Psalm 150:6
Dear fellow alumni,
 
Easter JOY and blessings to you and your family. We pray you are safe and well!

After a long semester, (which feels like the longest one ever!), May is finally here and we have countless reasons to rejoice – especially for our newest graduates from the Class of 2020 who now join us as fellow alumni. Congratulations!

Thank you for your sincere messages, emails, and calls asking how Concordia is doing, and for your prayers and gifts of support! It’s such a source of encouragement – please keep it coming! We love to hear from all of you.

You can visit our CUAA home page for the latest updates, and check out our virtual reality tour, too! The first stop is our historic Earhart Manor. Did you used to stop by the Manor to visit a prof, see the nurse, or hang out at the snack bar late at night? See the story below for more!

The final verse from Psalm 150 proclaims, “Let everything that has breath praise The LORD. Praise The LORD.” In these final weeks of the semester, we are praising The LORD in new and marvelous ways. In our zoom classrooms, online daily Chapel, student friend groups, and in our #HeartsTogether with you, we will praise Him!

God's blessings,
Linda (Schramke) Sproul ‘92
Director of Donor and Alumni Relations
Honor our retiring professors
We invite alumni to share memories and messages of encouragement, appreciation, and blessings to CUAA's retiring professors upon the completion of the Spring 2020 semester. It's easy. Just click here to honor Gary Sanborn, Marilyn Meell, and Mark Looker.
Are you a member
of our official CUAA Alumni Facebook page?
Like our alumni Facebook page to keep up-to-date of all that is new at your alma mater. Hear about your fellow alumni, upcoming events, and connect with past and new friends. Recently, some of our alumni gave some ideas about how to handle these strange times and what to do to keep busy in the pandemic. Here are a few:

Kimberly Lowe :  I am trying to keep a schedule- ZOOM workouts in the morning, long walks with my husband in the afternoon,Listening to sermons online and reading the Bible. Catching up with family and friends. I actually find that the days are going by quickly.

Krissa Carlson Rumsey :  Zooming with old Concordia friends! These are ties that bind!
Kathleen Rensel:  Some of the best things I'm doing are praying, listening to music and scrapbooking & making cards for my small business. We finally figured out how to have zoom bible class! We are reading in Exodus about plagues and Passover. It really helps me to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus!! 
Attention, Choir alumni! We want you for a virtual performance
Hey, all you alumni singers of all ages! We are creating a virtual choir recording of the Bach Chorale, “Now Rest Beneath Night’s Shadow” as a tribute to send to Doc Foelber, CUAA’s choir director from Day One until his retirement in 1990. Even if you weren’t in Doc’s choir, please join us in this project. Click on The Free Lutheran Chorale Book for the words – we will be singing verses 1, 8, and 9. Sing the words in your voice part for all three verses.

Have a device ready to play this recording while you sing along: Now Rest Beneath Night's Shadow. Use your phone’s camera to create a selfie video. Don’t turn the audio up too loud. In fact, if possible, use headphones so we don’t hear any background music. You will need to be able to follow along to this version of the song so it will work.

We don’t need professional singers. We want to hear YOU and will layer all of our voices together.
After you are done, email your recording to judyoverway@gmail.com no later than May 15. If the file is too large, send as a Google Doc link.
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By emailing your video, you are giving us permission to use the video and recording that will be broadcast later on the Internet, and giving us full global license to use your recording in whatever way we need or wish. Please note that we are not going to make a bloopers reel, this is going to be used for a heartfelt project that will mostly be viewed by fellow Concordia alumni, faculty, and staff.

Thank you for participating!
Calling all pastors!
President Ferry invites church leaders from the Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana Districts for his President to Pastor Zoom conversation on May 4 . This is an opportunity for clergy and other church leaders to meet in real time to receive encouragement and updates on the university, particularly the Ann Arbor campus. This session will allow you to dialog with the president and address any specific questions that you might have. Click here to register and get the Zoom link.
CUAA alumni celebrate
ï»żCall Day 2020
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Here am I!
Send me. Isaiah 6:8

Congratulations to the CUAA alumni who learned of their calls and placements! Click here to read more!
Athletic Training program earns accreditation
BIG NEWS out of  #CUAA 's School of Arts and Sciences, just in time for graduating Concordia’s first Master of Science in Athletic Training   cohort in May! Our innovative Athletic Training program has earned accreditation status from the Commission of Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE). Click here to read more.
Memories of the Manor
The Earhart Manor has served as a family home, faculty offices, health clinic, student union, site for weddings, reunions, and more! What made it special for YOU? Do you have a fun memory or ghost story? We’d love to hear it! Plans are underway to make sure there are enough funds to preserve the Manor as a continued historical site. The legends of the Manor must go on! Contact Linda Sproul to share a memory and to let us know if you’d like to help on the planning committee.
School of Ed Alumni!
Join us for virtual happy hour
May 15
Attention School of Education alumni! Please join us on Friday, May 15, at 4 pm ET for a time of encouragement and togetherness to be shared via Zoom. Email Vanessa Lane for the meeting link, and don’t forget to bring your favorite happy hour beverage!
OT program to begin in 2022:
We need your help
CUAA is pleased to introduce that, pending accreditation, the occupational therapy program will begin in summer 2022. The program will be an entry-level doctorate and accept up to 28 students. We will have a guaranteed acceptance track for incoming freshman who maintain a 3.0 grade point average, allowing them to begin the combined bachelor-to-doctorate program in their junior year. We will also accept post-bachelor students.

You can partner with CUAA’s occupational therapy program in the following ways.
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Advisory board: If you are an OT practitioner, have been a recipient of OT services, or have any other connection to OT, we welcome you to join our advisory board. The board will meet annually and provide feedback on program development.

Clinical partners: We will be seeking health and community-based partners for student learning. Sites that currently
employ OT practitioners are needed, as well as health and human service professionals/settings where OT would be beneficial. We are especially looking for physicians interested in working with faculty to integrate OT into primary care, and organizations representing underserved and at-risk populations.

You can get to know Dr. Juliane Chreston, OTD OTRL, CUAA’s founding program director, and a little more about occupational therapy tips for health during the COVID19 quarantine, by viewing this recent Take 20 event. (Access Password: d1?8?4e4)
If you would like to learn more, contact Dr. Chreston via email or 734.995.7596.
Specialized training matter
ï»żof life or death
CUAA Haab School of Business faculty members Dan Chlebos and Frank Rubino are fired up about firearm safety! Our Justice and Public Policy (JPP) Program trains students who are preparing for all sorts of careers, including law enforcement. Students participate in simulation handgun training through a contract agreement with Sky Arms, an off-site training facility that uses virtual reality to mimic real-life criminal scenarios where students can safely practice proper response and tactics. These enhanced sessions mimic the Michigan Commission Law Enforcement standards for firearms qualifications. 

CUAA is THE ONLY university in the state of Michigan that offers this specialized training as part of our curriculum. Because of this, our students will be prepared and ï»ż
ready for Police Academy certification. Most importantly, they will know how to handle their firearm safely, protecting other’s lives, and their own. Contract costs are $3,000 per year. We apply for grants, but rely on donor support at all levels. Your investment today trains future law enforcement and keeps our families and communities safe!

Please visit cuaa.edu/give and type in “JPP Sky Arms Program.” Stay tuned for exciting news from JPP – solving more mysteries from the Cold Case Files !
Finding your Locus in spite
ï»ż of tough times
Haab School of Business Dean Suzy Siegle recently did an interview with Sean Sparkman of the Safe and Sound Retirement Podcast about staying focused and positive during the COVID-19 epidemic. Take a listen here . Check out these other resources from the dean on maintaining a calm and locus mindset during these times.
3 faculty members win end-of-year recognition awards
Join us in congratulating the following faculty for receiving special honors for their work and service at Concordia University.
CEAPsakes Corner
(Career Engagement Activation Programming)
The office of Career Engagement & Industry Relations has taken their services virtually. During this period of transition we are happy to continue meeting with students and alumni via Zoom to transform resumes, cover letters, and conduct mock-interviews. We also continue to host events and have enjoyed presentations from our director of Occupational Therapy for our April Take 20. It has been a blessing to have the means for virtual meetings and programs! Watch Take 20 here and use password d1?8?4e4.
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Thoughts from
ï»żCampus Pastor Randy Duncan
Each morning during the school year, our campus pastor, Randy Duncan, sends out an email full of inspirational thoughts, concepts to ponder, scripture, and prayer requests. We thought we would share some of his thoughts with you each month for us to contemplate.

Final thought: God has gone before you. He stands beside you. He guards behind you. Be confident. You are not alone.
Save the date
Due to the uncertainty brought to us by the coronavirus, please stay tuned to our event listing on the CUAA website for updates regarding upcoming events.