Established on 01.16.1986 by Dr. Gustav and Eunice Dinga '73
Gus knew as early as high school that his calling was chemistry. He and his twin brother Emil were the first in their farming family (the youngest of 11 kids) to go to college, and he went on to earn both a Masters and Ph.D. in Chemistry. Gus started teaching chemistry at Concordia in 1953 and continued teaching there another quarter of a century!
Gus and his wife, Eunice '73, raised four children: Paul '72, Marc, and twins, Cheryl and Diane. They spent their summers traveling and camping all over the United States from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, NY, to Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD, to California Lutheran in Thousand Oaks, CA, as Gus did research and taught chemistry.
You may remember Gus always wore a bow tie to class. That was so it wouldn't get into acid or burn during experiments! He always memorized all of his student's names and hometowns before the new semester and would call on a student by calling off their hometown. He had traveled through or near many of their towns over the years which surprised a few students. Gus loved teaching because he truly loved his students.
In addition to traveling, Gus was an avid runner. He ran five marathons over the years. He also volunteered regularly at the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepard in Moorhead including as a Boy Scouts Scoutmaster, Sunday school teacher and a Helping Hands volunteer.
Gus retired from Concordia in 1991 after teaching college chemistry for 42 years! He and Eunice then established a scholarship fund at Concordia for future chemistry students, the Dr. Gustav and Eunice Dinga Chemistry Scholarship Fund, which is still active today. After Eunice retired from teaching special education the next year, they were off to see the world! In addition to trips across the country to see their grandkids, Gus and Eunice visited Australia, China, the Galapagos Islands, went on an African safari, and took a cruise around Norway and South America...just to name a few. They traveled to six continents in all. They also sold their Moorhead house, right across the street from campus, and moved to Edina, MN.
Gus and Eunice enjoyed 66 years of marriage together. Eunice passed away in 2014 and Gus in 2024.
The Dr. Gustav and Eunice Dinga Chemistry Endowed Scholarship is awarded to students in their junior year who are majoring in chemistry and have the highest overall GPA at the end of the sophomore year. Selection is also based on outstanding scholastic achievement in chemistry.