The Rev. Dr. Martin Schramm went to sleep in the Lord on February 20 after being diagnosed with terminal cancer last fall. 

As one of the “founding five” faculty members, Martin Schramm helped build Concordia University Irvine’s academic foundation, student body and popular communications program. Schramm was the last of the original five to retire, teaching his final classes in the spring of 2016. 

“Marty was a wonderful, caring colleague and a much-loved mentor and encourager to junior faculty, many of whom he helped recruit to Concordia over the years,” says former CUI president Kurt Krueger. “I consider Martin Schramm a good friend and colleague, whose unshakeable faith in his Lord and Savior provided an example for all who serve, teach and learn at Concordia University Irvine.”

Schramm was known for his quiet, determined persistence and consistent encouragement. Born to an LCMS pastor and his wife, Schramm and his family moved from the Midwest to answer a call to Alhambra, California, in 1949. Schramm later enrolled at Concordia Teachers College in Seward, Nebraska, prior to receiving  a call to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to teach English at Concordia College High School, which was attached to the college. He started a speech and debate team which won thirteen state championships in four years, and coached the cross country and track teams, bringing home a league championship.

While on a trip to California in 1970, Schramm and family visited the site of the proposed Christ College Irvine. In 1973 he met Charles Manske and was soon offered a position as a founding faculty member. He also served as the fledgling college’s first director of admissions, recruiting 36 students the first year. In year two, CCI had eighty students and kept growing.

Schramm did it as he did everything: with single-minded determination. Another of CUIs founding professors, Dr. Shang Ik Moon, says Schramm was “very methodical, very much attending to details, persuasive in his manners and efforts — a trustworthy, no-nonsense person but quietly, in an unassuming kind of way.”

Through his years at Concordia, Schramm also served as Director of Financial Aid,  Director of Public Relations, chair for the academic policies committee, and was eventually tasked with establishing a communications major. He served as chair of the Humanities and Fine Arts Division for many years. During that time, he completed theological training at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis Missouri and was ordained into the pastoral ministry of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (1983). He earned a  PhD in Communication from the  University of Southern California in 1993.

“Dr. Schramm and I worked together from fall 2007 until he retired in spring of 2016,” said Konrad Hack, Professor of Communication Studies and Director of Forensics. “During that time, he was always a servant. He definitely worked harder than he needed, but was all about serving students.”

“I think about the time that he and Mrs. Schramm came to our apartment for dinner, and we let them know that we were expecting our first child,” Hack reminisced. “I think about the night that I spent with him in November so that Mrs. Schramm could have a night of sleep -- it was the last time that I saw him.”

The staff of The Courier joins the Concordia family in honoring Rev. Dr. Martin Schramm’s legacy and extending sincere condolences to his family, former colleagues and many friends. 

Tags: leadership, community

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