Treasures from the Archive: Arndt Science Hall

Professor Arndt, 1911

Edward L. Arndt was Concordia Saint Paul’s first science professor. He was installed in March 1897, and taught at CSP for 13 years. Professor Arndt was a man of strong convictions and an inability to compromise—especially when it came to academic excellence. Judging from some of the student life pictures we posted previously, he and the students may have been on different wavelengths! Arndt was at odds with the rest of the faculty regarding academic standards and was asked to leave CSP in 1910. He went on to establish The China Mission Society and spent the rest of his life as a missionary to China. In the archive, we have a set of Arndt’s autobiographical materials. If you are interested in finding out more about Professor Arndt, contact us to see the materials!

President William Poehler and Walter Sohn lead the groundbreaking ceremony for Arndt Science Hall, August 18, 1964

The Arndt Science Hall celebrates its 50^th anniversary this month. In September 1965, Arndt Science Hall was dedicated to Professor Arndt as the first professor of science at Concordia College. The groundbreaking ceremony was held in August 1964, during the Minnesota South District Synod Convention. All attendees were asked to bring a shovel or a spade, line up along the marked outline of the building, and dig an outline of broken ground around the perimeter of the proposed building.

Construction of Arndt Science Building, 1964-65

The building was designed for staged renovation. The first floor of classrooms and labs and the second floor housing Concordia’s museum, curated by Professor Oswald Overn, were completed for the 1965-66 academic year. The building was designed to support a third floor if further expansion was required. In 1988-89, the building was renovated to complete the second floor. The Arndt Science Hall has continued to adapt as CSP’s programs grow. The building has been modernized to include new labs, audio-visual facilities, and a cadaver lab!