Established on 12.01.2018 by Karen Bjornson Shepard
Karen Bjornson Shepard '60 comes from a family that has produced four generations of Cobbers, including her granddaughter, Shannon Wyatt '16. Karen spent her entire career in education and is thankful for the solid start Concordia gave her. When she graduated in 1960, she moved to Denver, Colorado with friends. While teaching in Denver, Karen met Lee; they married and had two children. Lee was offered an engineering position in the oil industry in Aruba, Netherlands Antilles. From there, she and her family lived abroad in St. Croix, Virgin Islands, and then spent a number of years in Saudi Arabia. The schools were excellent and their children were given unique opportunities that they wouldn’t have had here in the U.S. In Karen’s words, “These international experiences have been so good for our family.”
Those experiences were significant to Karen in a specific way; they gave her the opportunity to be in relationships across religious, racial, and cultural differences. She saw how important it was to listen deeply and compassionately to people’s stories, recognizing that the key to finding common ground across difference was through dialogue. Her deep desire to see the Forum on Faith and Life’s initiatives thrive in the Concordia community, our nation, and our world is the reason she created this endowment.
The purpose of the Forum on Faith and Life Endowed Fund is to support the Forum on Faith and Life, which promotes: interfaith dialogue, student leadership development, signature speakers, and community peace-building initiatives in the spirit of the college interfaith statement, “Concordia College practices interfaith cooperation because of its Lutheran dedication to prepare thoughtful and informed global citizens who foster wholeness and hope, cultivate peace through understanding, and serve the world together.”