History
2024-25
Augustana College traces its origin to the Swedish universities of Uppsala and Lund, founded in 1477 and 1668 respectively. Graduates of these universities founded Augustana in 1860 in Chicago’s near north side, providing leaders for the new churches being organized by Swedish immigrants and educating the youth of these new communities.
The school was the first of many educational and humanitarian institutions established by the former Augustana Lutheran Church. Augustana College and Theological Seminary, as it was first known, endured many hardships during its early years. The Civil War nearly depleted the roster of students and faculty. The college and seminary moved from Chicago to Paxton, Ill., in 1863, and finally to Rock Island in 1875. The seminary became a separate institution in 1948, and in 1967 returned to the Chicago area, while the college remained in Rock Island.
Augustana has grown from a small school serving Swedish immigrants into a nationally recognized college of the liberal arts and sciences. Students come from most states and many countries, and from a variety of social and cultural backgrounds.
The college has always maintained a close relationship with the church — first the Augustana Lutheran Church, and, after 1962, the Lutheran Church in America. In 1988, Augustana established ties to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a body of about 4 million American Lutherans formed in that year. The ELCA gives substantial support to the college and is represented on the Augustana College Board of Trustees.
The name Augustana derives from the origin of the Lutheran Church. The Latin name for the Augsburg Confession, the Reformation document drawn up in 1530, is Confessio Augustana.
Nine presidents have served Augustana since its founding in 1860. Current President Andrea Talentino began her tenure July 1, 2022.
See the college's sesquicentennial history for more information.
last updated 5.15.24