Established on 01.17.2025 by Dr. Susan P. Ellingson '79, Dr. Kathy B. Enger, and Anne L. Craft
Growing up, Sue always knew she wanted to become a teacher and attend Concordia College. At a very early age, she donned Concordia apparel and wore it proudly. Her grandmother, Evangeline Sandven Pierson, attended Concordia College from 1916-1919; her mother, Wilma Kvenild Pierson, M.A., graduated from Concordia in 1952; her father, R. Warren Pierson, M.D., graduated in 1950. This long family history of dedication to the mission of Concordia College—to influence the affairs of the world by sending into society thoughtful and informed men and women dedicated to the Christian life—has spanned more than one hundred years. Sue’s three siblings also graduated from Concordia.
Dr. Susan Pierson Ellingson’s academic career began at Concordia in 1975 when she enrolled as a first-year student from Minot, North Dakota. She arrived with a vast array of experiences. Her mother and father had served as missionaries to Ethiopia for four years starting when Sue was only six years old. From that time on, Sue understood the sacrifices required to bring light—a light that is reflected in Sue’s good nature, humor, and ready smile.
After graduating from Concordia with a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary and Art Education in 1979, Sue taught elementary education in Williston and Minot, North Dakota, then enrolled in graduate school at the University of Minnesota, completing her Master of Arts in Art Education in 1984 and Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction in 1990.
In 1988, Sue returned to Concordia College, where she taught in the Department of Education until her retirement in the spring of 2024. During her tenure at Concordia, she chaired the Department of Education and taught countless courses in the elementary education program. Sue also served on numerous college committees, introduced her teaching methods through hundreds of presentations, and published her research. In addition to her love of education, which included the training of elementary teachers, her passion was art education. Sue was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Namibia in 1997, where she conducted research on children’s drawings from Namibia that she presented widely in the United States thereafter.
Sue’s goal in teaching her many students was to unleash their creativity, build their confidence in the knowledge of art, and develop skills necessary for creating and teaching art. Her classroom included creative dramatics where students played scenes from master paintings. Dr. Ellingson’s classroom became a studio, an active place for students to create and express their individual creativity.
Dr. Ellingson says of her 36 years at Concordia:
“In all my teaching, it was my privilege to work with motivated, intelligent students dedicated to touching lives through their roles as educators. I considered teaching to be my vocation, and I prayed for guidance to help my students develop their own vocations. I am grateful to have taught in a college setting that supports Christian faith development. Building relationships with my students was important to me and teaching a variety of classes (foundations of education, communication arts methods, art education, children’s literature, and science education); supervising students in their field experiences in the public and private K-12 classrooms; and serving as an advisor to elementary education majors allowed me to get to know several students very well. It was especially rewarding to see them develop their knowledge and skills from their earliest classes with me to their final student teaching semester. While supervising my student teachers, I gained many insights and ideas for my own teaching while observing what they synthesized in all their courses and experiences in the teacher education program at Concordia. I also learned from amazing colleagues in the Department of Education over the years. In my own time as a student and professor, I have sought to fulfill the mission of Concordia College, to influence the affairs of the world by sending into society thoughtful and informed people dedicated to the Christian life. My hope is that this scholarship will enable others to do so as well.”
Sue lives with her husband, Clay, in Moorhead, Minnesota. Clay is a Lutheran pastor.
The Dr. Susan Pierson Ellingson '79 Endowed Scholarship in Education is awarded by the Office of Financial Aid to one or more students of any class majoring within any of Concordia's education programs with preference given to students majoring in elementary or art education.
The friendship that inspired the Dr. Susan Pierson Ellingson '79 Endowed Scholarship in Education:
We invite you to join us in celebrating Dr. Ellingson’s long career in education at Concordia by donating to the endowed scholarship in her name. The endowed scholarship will go to students at Concordia majoring in elementary education and to students secondarily choosing art education as their major.
For nearly a decade, three of us came together to pray for Concordia: for the college, its mission, and its staff and students. Nearly every month, we met at Lee Chapel to pray. As we prayed, we sensed a strong commitment to Concordia and its success, through Dr. Ellingson’s service to her students and to Bill and Anne Craft’s mission to bring students to Concordia to learn, grow, and to serve. Concordia is a place that transforms lives. Over the time we prayed, we witnessed growth and success at Concordia that only the love of people and place can accomplish.
As Sue retired the Spring of 2024, we decided to determine if our prayers could continue through an endowed scholarship, bringing our mission to pray to concrete fruition. As a result, we’re introducing the opportunity for alumni, and students of Dr. Ellingson’s, in particular, to give back to Concordia. We recognize that who we become is a culmination of the work others have done for us in our lives. Dr. Ellingson has touched many lives and it is our hope that her legacy lives on through her students and through the students who will receive the scholarship in her name.
Susan Pierson Ellingson, Anne Craft, & Kathy Brock Enger