Month: October 2024

This fall, Luther College celebrates year-over-year growth in its first-year class enrollment as well as a rise in key national rankings.

“We are pleased to announce that fall enrollment shows a 6.6 percent increase in the first-year class compared to last year,” President Jenifer K. Ward said. “As is the case with the trends in higher education nationwide, Luther has experienced enrollment declines for over a decade, all made more challenging by a global pandemic. Given this past year’s challenges of smaller numbers of 18-to-22-year olds in the Midwest and the unfortunate delays with FAFSA, we have reason to celebrate this positive outcome.”

Coinciding with the increase in first-year students, Luther College appears in a wide range of fall national rankings, including traditional lists like U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges and the Princeton Review’s Best Colleges, as well as newer reports like the Wall Street Journal’s Best Colleges in the U.S.

“We are certainly pleased to see positive change in rankings across a wide range of national indicators,” Ward said. “Our standing as a nationally-ranked campus, and as a clear second among our Iowa peers, is attracting the attention of prospective students and families and also encouraging our proud Luther alumni.”

Luther first-year students and men’s soccer team members Henry Murray of Minneapolis, Minn.; Jeff Sieck of Grinnell, Iowa; Ethan Le Moine of Minneapolis, Minn.; and Theo Cornell of Minneapolis, Minn. enjoy an icebreaker activity during Welcome Week, Sept. 1, 2024.

The smaller first-year classes of the past few years at Luther led to slightly lower overall enrollment this fall compared to last fall, but the addition of the 402 new students served as a milestone.

“Even as our overall enrollment plays ‘catch up,’ today is a day for celebration,” Ward said in a message to the campus community. “I want to give special thanks to our team in Admissions and Financial Aid, as well as to the faculty and staff who rolled out the Luther blue carpet for countless individual and group campus visits, Zoom calls, sidewalk conversations, and all manner of creative and hospitable ways to demonstrate to potential students and their families that Luther College welcomed them and had much to offer.”

High marks in national and specialty rankings

Luther rose in the national liberal arts college ranking by U.S. News & World Report this year to 108, eight spots higher than last year. Luther also placed in the top 500 ranking of all American colleges and universities by the Wall Street Journal, and was named one of the top colleges in the Midwest region by the Princeton Review.

Among private liberal arts colleges in Iowa, Luther was second only to Grinnell College in the rankings by U.S News and by the Wall Street Journal. 

Along with these broad-based rankings, Luther continued its high marks in specialty areas.

Luther’s outstanding record on sustainability earned the college another top 10 ranking in the 2024 Sustainable Campus Index, issued by the Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). Along with a gold-level rating, Luther was seventh among baccalaureate institutions in the AASHE top performers.

Luther remains the “hidden gem college” for the state of Iowa by College Raptor, a distinction the college has held since 2019. Luther’s home town of Decorah was listed as a must-see or best small town for Iowa by AFAR and Thrillist.

“I’m incredibly proud of Luther College for being recognized by all of these organizations for our academic quality, commitment to accessibility, and dedication to fostering individual potential,” said Matt Beatty, acting vice president of enrollment management. “This recognition affirms our mission to provide an excellent educational experience that empowers students to thrive in an inclusive and supportive community. For high school students who would benefit from a more intimate campus experience with outstanding programs, Luther deserves to be on their list of college options.” 

Luther College, the first college in the United States founded by Norwegian immigrants, announces the publication of a new anthology that reflects on the college’s roots. The public is invited to two events in October celebrating the book’s release, where free copies of the book will be available. 

Sagas of Luther College: Norwegian and Lutheran Identities Past, Present, and Future is a collection of 21st-century personal stories, published by the Richard L. and Judith A. Torgerson Center for Nordic Studies at Luther College. “The book’s contributors write about how a Luther education shapes you, helps you navigate the challenges of the world, and invites you to serve others and the Earth,” said its editors, Maren Anderson Johnson and Rachel Faldet. “The pieces explore, challenge, and broaden the understanding of Luther College and its Norwegian and Lutheran identities past, present, and future.” 

Maren Anderson Johnson is associate professor of Nordic studies, and Rachel Faldet is assistant professor emerita of English and Luther graduate of 1978. 

The anthology is funded by a Reframing the Institutional Saga grant from the Council of Independent Colleges’ Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (CIC-NetVUE). The grant funding totaled close to $40,000. The leadership team for the grant project included Johnson; Jeanie Lovell, senior director of foundation and government relations; and Brad Chamberlain, provost and professor of chemistry. 

In the anthology’s foreword, Chamberlain explained that Luther has “engaged in an institution-wide campaign to discern and express its institutional identity” since 2018. 

“Luther has a number of published histories, though no recent book focused explicitly on the implications of the college’s Norwegian-Lutheran identity and heritage, and none used tales of identity, ethics, and values — the elements of saga that guide communities — as an organizing framework,” said Chamberlain. “In a time of disruption in U.S. education, … shared stories are increasingly important for an institution as it binds its myriad stakeholders, fully embraces its mission, and makes difficult decisions.” 

The anthology has thirteen personal essays and one intergenerational interview. The authors represent diverse relationships to Luther College — among them alumni, current and emeritus professors, and Lutheran pastors. Each piece showcases its own voice, stands alone as its own story, but contributes to an overarching theme of roots and identity.  

There will be two official launch events for the book. 

• 4:30–6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11, at Vesterheim Commons, downtown Decorah, featuring a program at 4:45 p.m. 
• 1:30-2:15 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, in Main 112 on the Luther campus during Homecoming.

The public is invited to the events. Free copies of the book will be available. The book is available for purchase by contacting Maren Johnson at maren@luther.edu.