Norm and Barbara Lueck were longtime friends and supporters of California Lutheran University. Norm served as the Vice President for Development and Capital Programs at CLU 1982-1987, as well as in various volunteer roles. They both served the greater Conejo Valley...

Christian stewardship is most often taught by example. Perhaps that is because it is best seen and experienced to fully comprehend. Axel and Hazel Lundring, faithful Lutherans, did an excellent job of teaching stewardship to their three children and many...

If it’s true that “a family that prays together stays together,” then the Lundring family will be together for a long, long time. This endowment, with its specific focus on youth leadership, is just one example of the family’s joint endeavors. Axel Lundring,...

A memorial is usually established for someone who is no longer living. And while it might seem unusual for a scholarship to be a memorial for a church, in this case it is very appropriate. For the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, which had existed for 42 years in...

This scholarship was established by Cal Lutheran former faculty member and Assistant Dean of the Graduate School of Education Dr. Julie Sieger to memorialize Mrs. Mae Leland Crump, who is the sister of former GSOE Dean, Dr. Allan Leland, and mother of GSOE faculty...

Very few students were aware of the Manken Family Scholarship before scholarship awards for 2013-2014 were announced, but that soon changed. Following Dr. John R. Manken’s death in 2012, CLU received the largest scholarship bequest in its history. Since that time,...

Leadership seems to come naturally to some, while service is a path taken by others. A rare but beautiful combination is a leader who is truly service-oriented. Such a man was Marvin Jaynes, who lived his faith daily professionally and personally. By profession...

In 1987, Hermine Muller Mathews honored California Lutheran University with a double blessing by endowing not one but two new scholarships. She trusted that her wishes would be carried out because her nephew, Dr. Mark Mathews, was then the president of CLU. The...

Sometimes the real heroes are the ones who stake their faith in a cause just because they believe it’s the right thing to do. This is certainly true of Olga Marquardt, who in 1968 entrusted a young California Lutheran College with a gift of stock valued at $13,244....

Some students are simply born leaders. Tracy Downs ’88 was one such student. In 1987, as president of CLU’s Black Student Union (later the African American Student Union), he led the charge to establish a scholarship in the name of Martin Luther King, Jr. The club’s...

Someone once said that “good friends are hard to find, harder to leave and impossible to forget.” There is a group of CLU alumni from the early 1980s who would agree with that saying, and this endowed scholarship is the proof. This scholarship began with a wedding...

For someone who never married, “Miss Maxine” Mathews had a very large family. First of all, she had three brothers with families that she adored. Also, as a popular professor, she counted hundreds of college and university students as family. Maxine was born in...

Melville (Mel) and Barbara Price lived their entire 26 years of married life in Porterville, California. They devoted their professional lives to education—Mel as a teacher and principal for 33 years following military service and Barbara as a teacher of...

Frugality may be defined as the art of living one’s life economically, saving prudently and requiring few resources. That is a good description of the lifestyle of Mona Ockerman, a longtime resident of Long Beach. Mona, a childless widow, lived in an apartment and...

Back in the late 1950s, there was something especially appealing to Lutherans about the idea of a Lutheran college in Southern California. It sparked the interest and loyalty of families who were firmly grounded in the Lutheran faith, families like the Mykings. The...

In a 1998 letter to Ned Dean’s wife Kathy, CLU’s interim president Dr. Howie Wennes wrote, “I have many wonderful memories of this faithful leader of a man with such gusto for life.” Whatever the task at hand, Ned exhibited a great enthusiasm for living. This held...

The official description of this scholarship in the Honor Roll of Scholarships reads as follows: “Two sisters, Maria Nygreen and Anne Johnson, left this endowed scholarship as part of their legacy to CLU for students of good academic standing who need financial...

Although they were never on the CLU campus, Orman and Olive Freeman became part of the Cal Lutheran family through their offspring. At the time of their parents’ death the three adult Freeman children—one son and two daughters—decided to honor their exemplary lives...

Orvil and Gloria—from very different backgrounds but sharing their faith and a love of music—included this endowed scholarship in their estate for students engaged in the study of music.

What began as a dream of a Lutheran college in Southern California became reality through the effective leadership of Dr. Orville Dahl, CLC’s founding president. In the words of a later president, Dr. Luther Luedtke, Dr. Dahl “was a man of extraordinary faith,...

Oscar Ellberg was born in Sweden. In 1924, as a 20-year-old bachelor he moved to the Swedish-American community of Kingsburg, California. Somewhere along the way he met Ellen, and they were married in 1931. Ellen was a steadfast Lutheran who “converted” Oscar to the...

The right pathway for one’s professional life can sometimes be a circuitous route. At least that was Robert Kaitschuk’s experience. Because Bob was born into a family of Lutheran clergy, he thought the ministry was his destiny as well. With that goal in mind, he...

One of the most difficult assignments following the death of a loved one is serving as that person’s successor trustee. It may be somewhat easier when that responsibility falls to a daughter. Just ask Kathleen Benson, daughter of Oswald and Louise Peterson, when she...

The inspiration for this endowed scholarship created by Owen Lutz-Julsrud, D.D.S., came from his cousin, who set an example by leaving his entire estate to his alma mater for a scholarship. Dr. Lutz-Julsrud had few previous ties to CLU, but he was a dedicated member...

Mental illness is an insidious thief of joy from life. Only those with great faith can testify to the love of God after watching a child suffer from a disease as devastating as schizophrenia. David and Joan Rensch were such parents. Their daughter Pamela was an...

To honor his parents, Rev. Carl Nelson established this scholarship through a gift annuity for Cal Lutheran students planning for a life in ministry. His father attended University of Minnesota and Augustana Theological Seminary (Rock Island). He served three...

What a tremendous impact one person can make on a life. That’s what Lois Carritte learned when she befriended Pastor Kenneth Edwins. Lois met Pastor Edwins at the Christian Counseling Center in Los Angeles, where she was doing field work to fulfill requirements for a...

Faith and family were the ties that bound the Wegener family together, whether in Oregon, Arizona or China. When Patricia “Pattee” Wegener ’79 passed away in 2011 from lung cancer, the family realized just how vital those ties were. And so, a conversation between CLU...

How many different ways are there to fund a scholarship? The answer is many—and Edith Knief used a number of them in her lifetime to create the scholarship that bears her name. As lifelong Lutherans, Paul and Edith Knief were two of Cal Lutheran’s earliest...

Two things—a solid Lutheran background and a love of teaching—made Paul H. Schoenbeck a natural friend and supporter of California Lutheran University. Paul served his country during World War II, spending two years in the Marine Corps. During his service he was...