“The first iteration of the entries focused on women,” says college archivist and Cordopedia co-creator Lisa Sjoberg. “We will be continually adding to the information.”
The idea to create this digital encyclopedia came from MNopedia, which is about people, places and things related to Minnesota. The site is administered by the Minnesota Historical Society and had long been admired by Sjoberg and history professor and Cordopedia co-creator Dr. Joy Lintelman.
Lintelman says the project came to be after President William Craft asked her to develop a way to honor the history of Concordia women for the 125th anniversary of the college. She and Sjoberg collaborated on the concept and enlisted the help of students who have researched and written the approximately 30 entries that make up the start of Cordopedia.
“Lisa and I knew we couldn’t do it all,” Lintelman says. “So through my women’s history course each student was assigned two entries for the project.”
The entries are about topics that have affected women throughout Concordia’s history, as well as biographical information about Concordia women who have played a significant role in the life of the college.
A few of the biographies include Dr. Mae Anderson, the first woman to head the Concordia mathematics department and one of the first women to receive a doctorate in mathematics in the country, and Viola Eid, a student who became blind through a childhood illness and overcame obstacles to graduate the top of her Concordia graduating class in the early 1930s.
“It’s exciting to learn about people like Norma Gooden Ostby, who started the theatre program, or Clara Duea, who started the Concordia Christmas concert,” Lintelman says.
The digital encyclopedia was made possible through people with Concordia ties who believed in making sure Concordia stories were accessible. Underwriters for the project include Gerald ’63 and Brenda Eid; Gordon ’66 and Marilyn ’67 Eid; Carol ’72 and Douglas ’01 Fliss; and President William and Anne Craft.
In addition to maintaining accessibility, Lintelman says there is another important outcome from this project.
“It is a good way for the college to show our students’ research,” she says.
Cordopedia officially launched at the Women’s History Event on March 29.
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