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Search Result: What it takes to fight a pandemic Confronting the Minnesota paradox Student-athletes’ off-and-on sports seasons Augsburg’s in-house epidemiologist WINTER 2020–21 | VOL. 83, NO. 1 INSIDE AUGSBURG NOW Search Augsburg.edu HOME PREVIOUS ISSUES ABOUT Go CONTACT US CURRENT ISSUE WHAT I...
Show more What it takes to fight a pandemic Confronting the Minnesota paradox Student-athletes’ off-and-on sports seasons Augsburg’s in-house epidemiologist WINTER 2020–21 | VOL. 83, NO. 1 INSIDE AUGSBURG NOW Search Augsburg.edu HOME PREVIOUS ISSUES ABOUT Go CONTACT US CURRENT ISSUE WHAT IT TAKES TO FIGHT A PANDEMIC: COMMUNITY COLLABORATION AND MUTUAL AID (PART 1) From parking lots and phone calls to hospitals and research labs, Auggies use a multifaceted approach to confront the global crisis of a lifetime by Kate H. Elliott Share this: February 22, 2021 Facebook  Featured Stories Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Email One November afternoon, Natalie Jacobson, coordinator of Augsburg’s Campus Kitchen, opened an email from someone she didn’t recognize. It was short and to the point: First-year Auggie Sam Kristensen ’24 explained that he had collected 17 bags of canned and nonperishable food items from those who dared to enter Sign up for Email Newsletter his Halloween yard maze through a fog-lit skeleton shack and animatronic troll swamp. The business major said he was glad his ghoulish creativity could feed dozens of Submit Your Alumni News Augsburg students and residents in surrounding Minneapolis neighborhoods. “The email made my week,” Jacobson said. “We’ve been CONNECT WITH US consumed with coordinated relief e orts; Sam’s email was a great reminder that everyone and anyone can Natalie Jacobson joins Nick Keener ’20, Campus Kitchen student leadership team member. (Courtesy photo) make a di erence.” Kristensen is one of hundreds in the Augsburg community who have come together in both planned and unplanned ways to support those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic, which to date has infected an estimated 28 million and killed more than 500,000 Americans. From sta and students sewing and donating face masks to medical personnel advancing policies and caring for patients, members of the Augsburg community are making a lasting impact on the front lines of disease prevention and support. These are a few of the many stories of Auggies combating the virus and its e ects with compassion, faith, and ingenuity. Serving up hope Jacobson manages donations like Kristensen’s o ering while working with a team of students and volunteers to facilitate integrated food access programs to address hunger on and near campus. According to the National Association of Student A airs Administrators in Higher Education, more than 38% of students at four-year institutions are food insecure, and 15% are homeless. Before the pandemic, Augsburg students accessed free food at the Campus Cupboard in the basement of Science Hall. Students could stop in ve days a week to select a bag of fresh and non-perishable items, no questions asked. The Campus Kitchen also made outreach e orts to support community gardens and meals, rescue unsold produce at farmers markets, and educate the public about food as wellness. Yamile Hernandez ’22 works in the Campus Cupboard. (Photo by Courtney Perry) When the pandemic hit, Campus Kitchen turned up the heat. The team moved its refrigerators, freezers, and shelves of food to a large conference room in Augsburg’s Sabo Center for Democracy and Citizenship. Campus Cupboard transitioned to an online order form, with student workers, like nance major Yamile Hernandez ’22, delivering orders on campus or making contactless deliveries to students living in the Twin Cities. The cupboard serves between 25 and 75 students each week. “It’s rewarding to know we’re helping others, especially in such hard times, and we’re using up food that would have gone to waste.”—Yamile Hernandez ’22 “Many people have found themselves without a job or having less work, which makes it di cult to keep up with expenses,” said Hernandez. “Having access to healthy, free food helps alleviate a bit of that stress.” Campus Kitchen intensi ed e orts to address health and wellness disparities in neighborhoods surrounding Augsburg. Because so many organizations and community centers were already in partnership with Augsburg, Jacobson said, they were quick to respond to increased needs during the pandemic. “We heard about an opportunity to apply for CARES Act grant funding on a Tuesday, and the application was due that Thursday. Campus Kitchen rallied together with the Health Commons, West Bank Community Development Corporation, and the People’s Center to pull an application together, and we received $22,000, which we spent in a week on nonperishable food items, personal and household cleaning products, as well as food storage equipment, including refrigerators and freezers. The Campus Kitchen volunteers [L to R]: Hank Hietala, Ellen Finn, and LaToya Taris-James (Courtesy photo) grant will enable us to provide students and neighbors with access to healthy foods on a regular basis and at an increased capacity.” In March, the Sabo Center launched the Neighborhood Food Initiative in partnership with M Health Fairview. The initiative brings together a variety of community partners to support collaborative approaches that increase access to healthy food in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. “Since the summer, we have distributed food weekly to the West Bank CDC and People’s Center,” Jacobson said. “Many households in Cedar-Riverside now see this service as a key piece of meeting their basic food needs.” Drives of support Augsburg parking lots have been preferred drop-o locations for food and supply drives. In June and again in late September, Augsburg Women Engaged supported weeklong drives to support the Campus Cupboard and ShareShop, which provides students with free or for-rent bedding, games, clothing, kitchenware, appliances, and other home goods. The group collected 400 pounds of food and household supplies, plus $5,405 for the Campus Kitchen. On June 1, Steve Peacock, community relations director at the Sabo Center, and a cadre of masked volunteers lined up in a parking lot near the edge of campus. The group collected donations from an estimated 550 cars that drove through during a two-hour drive to collect a number of items, mostly personal hygiene products and diapers, for the Brian Coyle Neighborhood Center nearby. “We were absolutely overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and donations,” Peacock said. “While we were out there, collecting items, we saw athletic teams lined up to collect supplies on the other side of the athletics complex. It’s a testament to the innovative, communityfocused, and generous spirit of Augsburg.” “Our mission to support students and be an anchor for the community seems relevant and central to our lives now more than ever.”—Steve Peacock Augsburg has also encouraged donations to the Student Emergency Fund, which was established last March to support students with nancial hardships and provide relief for basic needs, including food, rent, transportation, and medication. Auggies gather donations for the Twin Cities community outside Augsburg’s Kennedy Center. (Courtesy photo) In the wake of George Floyd’s death in May, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in the Longfellow neighborhood of Minneapolis has distributed food to hundreds of neighbors each week. This summer, Augsburg Pastor Justin Lind-Ayres showed up with more than 25 Auggie students, sta , and faculty, most of whom didn’t know each other, to serve food. “This was just one microcosm of the work Auggies have and continue to do across the Twin Cities,” Lind-Ayres said. “The student body inspires and teaches me what it means to be ‘informed citizens.’” ‘Auggies are resilient’ Lind-Ayres and the Campus Ministry team have worked to provide moments of hope and belonging throughout the year. They shared prayers on their blog once a day from March to May and now post prayers weekly as a way for Auggies to lift up concerns and hopes for people and situations. On Fridays, the team has hosted 8 minutes and 46 seconds in chapel and on Zoom for “Silence, Prayer, and Pastoral Presence” to remember George Floyd and others and to focus on the call for racial justice. The Muslim Student Association, under the direction of Fardosa Hassan ’12, has provided opportunities for safe, socially distanced Friday prayer. In addition to leading reduced-capacity in-person worship in Hoversten Chapel, recorded worship, and virtual discussions, Lind-Ayres and University Pastor Babette Chatman ’06 serve on the COVID-19 Response Team. This diverse group of sta members gathers up to ve times each week to review COVID19 cases on campus, engage in contact tracing, provide support for students in quarantine or isolation, and gure out ways to keep the community safe. “We spend a lot of time on the phone or texting with students o ering words of encouragement, answering questions, and troubleshooting issues together as we manage the realities of COVID-19 on campus,” said Lind-Ayres. Assistant Athletic Director Melissa Lee ’04 serves on the COVID-19 Task Force. (Photo by Courtney Perry) Melissa Lee ’04, assistant athletic director and softball head coach, serves on the COVID-19 Task Force. Lee is one of several sta members responding to the helpline set up for Auggies to access the latest information and resources. In the spring, she and others were answering helpline phone calls and emails in shifts seven days a week. As tra c has decreased, phone calls go directly to voicemail. Team members respond to messages and emails as soon as possible. To parents, students, faculty, and sta , Lee said, “Continue to be gritty. Continue to be safe. We can and will all get through this together. Auggies are resilient.” Augsburg stories on COVID-19: What it takes to ght a pandemic, part 2: Research and health care Augsburg’s in-house epidemiologist guides Auggies through the COVID-19 pandemic Top Image: Auggies gather and distribute food and donations through programs like Campus Kitchen and Campus Cupboard. (Photo by Courtney Perry) Share this: Tags: Facebook athletics mutual aid Twitter Class of 2004 Pinterest Class of 2022 LinkedIn Email Community Engagement COVID-19 Winter 2020–21  PREVIOUS POST What it takes to ght a pandemic: Research and health care (Part 2) YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE What it takes to ght a Confronting the Minnesota Stay the course: O -and-on pandemic: Research and paradox sports seasons prove health care (Part 2) - on February 22, 2021 Auggie student-athletes’ resilience - on February 22, 2021 - on February 22, 2021 Undergraduate Admissions Majors and Programs Adult Undergraduate Admissions Course Catalog Graduate Admissions Accreditation Campus Tour Consumer Disclosures About Augsburg Inside Augsburg The Augsburg University website uses cookies to make your browsing experience as useful as possible. In order to have the full site experience, keep cookies enabled on Campus Map our site with cookies enabled, you are agreeing A-ZtoDirectory your web browser. By browsing their use. Review Augsburg's privacy policy for more details. News and Media Ok Make a Gift Search Augsburg.edu HOME PREVIOUS ISSUES ABOUT Go CONTACT US CURRENT ISSUE WHAT IT TAKES TO FIGHT A PANDEMIC: RESEARCH AND HEALTH CARE (PART 2) From parking lots and phone calls to hospitals and research labs, Auggies use a multifaceted approach to confront the global crisis of a lifetime by Kate H. Elliott Share this: February 22, 2021 Facebook  Featured Stories Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Email Katie Clark ’10 MAN, ’14 DNP sees resilience every day as executive director of Augsburg’s Health Commons, which are drop-in health centers led by the nursing program with a model focused on caring for those in the community who are marginalized. Guests are not required to show identi cation, and medical professionals don’t wear scrubs or stethoscopes in order to increase relatability and public trust in health care workers. Sign up for Email Newsletter Her focus at the Augsburg Central Health Commons is with individuals who are experiencing homelessness or who are marginally housed in Minneapolis, and the Health Commons in the Submit Your Alumni News Cedar-Riverside neighborhood provides care for residents, many of whom are East African immigrants. As an assistant professor of nursing, Clark teaches primarily in the graduate nursing program Katie Clark ’10 MAN, ’14 DNP (Courtesy photo) through courses that emphasize social justice, health disparities, and civic engagement. CONNECT WITH US The Augsburg nursing program, Clark said, is unique because faculty and students are embedded in the community. Other schools often see that work as “extra service” and send students to nonpro ts, but Augsburg considers place-based work as central to the educational experience. Hospitality and healing “We help students serve and explore the world we live in, and we’re with them when they do it,” Clark said. “They get uncomfortable and lean into the biases they may have and really get involved in a community to understand the issues from the people who experience them.” “You can’t come up with answers if you don’t know the problems.”—Katie Clark ’10 MAN, ’14 DNP When COVID-19 hit, the Health Commons at Central Lutheran Church in downtown Minneapolis was one of the Augsburg’s Health Commons received donations from the community, including 27,200 bottles of water from UP Co ee Roasters and a grassroots fundraising campaign organized by Bethany Johnson ’19, ’23 DNP, whose family owns the business. Johnson (left) delivered water to the Health Commons with husband, David Chall (middle), and daughter, Olivia Chall, in April 2020. (Courtesy photo) only drop-in health centers that continued to stay open. At the height of the pandemic, Clark said staying open meant standing outside, passing out hygiene kits, and bringing meals and supplies to encampments of unhoused people. “Many of our students are adult learners seeking bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees. Some of them have dealt with furloughs or are at the bedsides of patients, holding up the [touchscreen] tablet for family members to say goodbye, and adapting to constant changes in health care environments. Then they have school in addition to their own stressors at home, like juggling kids or responding to family members who say, ‘COVID isn’t real.’ These students want to get involved and tackle the issues in their communities, and they are doing it! I get chills talking about it.” Ellen Kearney ’23 DNP is one of Clark’s students in the Doctor of Nursing Practice: Family Nurse Practitioner program and also a registered nurse at a Twin Cities intensive care unit. Kearney admitted that despite extensive safety measures, it was scary to be indoors at the Health Commons with patients early in the pandemic. But the work—her passion—is critical, she added. Katie Clark ’10 MAN, ’14 DNP (left) and President Paul Pribbenow at an Augsburg Bold event in the fall. (Courtesy photo) “Before COVID-19 we were able to serve between 50 and 100 people each Monday and Thursday,” said Kearney. “Now we can only see 12 people each day we are open. But because our hours have not changed, it has been nice to have a longer period alone with each guest if they chose to stay and talk. I’ve been able to learn about one guest’s upcoming trip to her home country in Africa and her worries about traveling, and I have been able to follow up with one older man while I do his foot care. It has been hard to not open the doors fully, especially now that the weather is colder and knowing there are so few public spaces open, though it is clear that we need to stay capped for everyone’s safety. While the scale of the Commons is small, the impact is large.” When Augsburg temporarily restricted students from working at the Commons, volunteers and Augsburg alumni, like Emily Pierskalla ’20 DNP, stepped in to keep doors open. The most challenging aspect of working as a registered nurse is ricocheting through stages of grief, which Pierskalla said is emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausting. She avoids news about COVID-19 and social media because it can trigger haunting memories. “I have ashbacks of the faces of patients I’ve seen die while their loved ones cry watching through an iPad or seeing my own co-workers struggling to breathe after getting sick,” said Pierskalla, who has worked for eight years at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. “It has taken a lot of therapy, self-care, and e ort to keep the burnout from causing me to become bitter and angry, or worse, apathetic to the world and society.” She has also worked as a nurse practitioner at CVS MinuteClinics, administering COVID-19 tests and helping people understand their test results and quarantine recommendations—e orts that have immediate practical e ects. “When I’m at the Commons or out in the camps, I actually feel like I’m helping to create the world I want to live in.”—Emily Pierskalla ’20 DNP Ray Yip ’72 has extensive global health experience, including work in Qinghai, a sparsely populated Chinese province. (Courtesy photo) Advocates for change Auggies are working across the globe to create policies and medical solutions to realize that better world. Dr. Ray Yip ’72 is a global health specialist serving as special advisor to the Gates Venture on China Partnership Development. For the past 22 years, he has assisted the Chinese government in improving its public health system, with a focus on disease control and response capacity. When COVID-19 began spreading in January, Yip was in Beijing. “I was impressed with how aggressive the outbreak was in Wuhan, and I predicted that China would be able to get it under control by April. To my pleasant surprise, China achieved that seemingly impossible task by mid-March.” In February, he returned to his home in upstate New York, from Ray Yip ’72 (Courtesy photo) which he has advised several organizations about COVID-19-related issues and provided a range of companies with updates about the progress of vaccine development worldwide. “This pandemic, which we knew would happen sooner or later, requires strong government leadership as well as commitment and partnership with the private sectors for the solutions.”—Ray Yip ’72 “More than 23 years with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told me the United States had the know-how and capacity to contain this epidemic. After all, I was sent to China to help them to build such capacity. My prediction was so o , I hate to admit it. We all su er dearly from the dire consequence of horrible mismanagement, which largely has to do with leadership failure. It was particularly painful to watch the CDC get sidelined, and public health measures became politicized.” The heroes of the pandemic, Yip said: health care workers. “Most people do not realize the risk and danger of those health care workers taking care of the COVID patients, especially in the early phase when protective gear was in short supply. A disproportionate number of them got infected and died. If I were my younger version, I would not hesitate to join them in on the front lines. I am grateful for their service and sacri ce.” Interview with Dr. Ray Yip '72 · Augsburg University Alumni Association was Live Follow Share Dr. Paul Mueller ’84, regional vice president for Mayo Clinic Health System’s Southwest Wisconsin region, oversees thousands of such workers attending to patients in two hospitals and eight clinics. He manages COVID-19 response through policy decisions and exploring new treatments while treating the disease in his own patient panel. “It is weighty from a psychological standpoint, as you try to be a leader in such an ever-changing, high-stakes environment, knowing the lives you impact,” said Mueller, who has served as an Augsburg regent and as the campaign chair of Great Returns: Augsburg’s Sesquicentennial Campaign. “But every day I walk the halls of our hospitals and clinics and see the resilience and ingenuity of our sta who have delivered on the promise of medicine. Nurses greet me with a smile behind personal protective equipment. They are busy Paul Mueller ’84 (Courtesy photo) but feel called and up to this work. With a can-do attitude, we are caring for patients in the darkest of times, administering novel treatments, and preparing to safely roll out vaccines. “We’re still in the thick of it. If you think of it like a marathon, we are at mile marker 19. But if we can maintain resilience and hope, we will nish the race and be better for it.”—Paul Mueller ’84 “This pandemic has shown us that we all breathe the same air, and it is the one thing that is unifying our entire planet. While the virus rages on killing people, we continue to see the brilliance of the human spirit—beacons of hope and optimism, compassion and resilience, integrity and ingenuity.” Caring for patients, fueling research Brittany Kimball ’13 is a third-year resident at the University of Minnesota in internal medicine and pediatrics. The pandemic has taken its toll on her and other residents, as expectations are in ux and workloads are stressful and exhausting. Virtual visits are di cult because of a lack of internet and personal connectivity, Kimball said. Loneliness has infected the hospitals. Last week, Kimball watched a nurse gently care for a patient isolated from visitors, playing his favorite music as he died. “The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly compounded patients’ conditions. Children are missing well visits and Brittany Kimball ’13: “Getting my rst COVID-19 vaccine at Masonic Children’s Hospital—which I encourage everyone to do as soon as it becomes available to them!” (Courtesy photo) immunizations. Cancer patients require COVID-19 tests prior to chemotherapy, sometimes missing a treatment because they have the virus. Many of my primary care patients with diabetes are wary of clinic visits, thus making it harder to [measure doses of] their medications,” said Kimball, who earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Augsburg. “Most troublesome, the pandemic has compounded inequities for already marginalized people. Some of my patients don’t have internet, while others don’t have access to a regular phone. For some patients, limited English pro ciency can make getting set up on a virtual platform more di cult. Brittany Kimball ’13 (left) and her co-resident work at the Minneapolis Veterans A airs Health Care System. (Courtesy photo) “Patients dealing with addiction and trying to maintain sobriety have told me that their usual coping mechanisms—like getting together with other people who are sober or participating in a faith community—have become inaccessible. For patients living in poverty, balancing virtual school and frontline jobs has been incredibly stressful and sometimes impossible. It’s often people living in poverty that are doing frontline work that makes them more likely to be exposed to the virus, like working in a restaurant, public transit, or in a store.” “We need to gure out how to make telemedicine more equitable.”—Brittany Kimball ’13 Her dream has long been to be a doctor, so despite the challenges, she pushes on—driven to pursue a fellowship in hematology-oncology. As a Hodgkin’s lymphoma survivor, Kimball is particularly interested in caring for adolescents and young adults with cancer and blood diseases. “As an 18-yearold in my rst semester at Augsburg, I was guring out dating while bald, chemo after classes, and trying to study when my brain felt foggy and my body felt sick,” she added. “Sometimes I needed a bit more guidance and support than a typical adult patient, but not in the same way that a much younger child might. Teens and young adults don’t t neatly in the pediatric or adult-centered models of care, and I hope I can make that better.” Hamdi Adam ’18 is similarly driven to make a di erence. As a doctoral student of epidemiology at the University of Minnesota, Adam followed his bachelor’s in biology from Augsburg with a master’s degree in public health at the University of Minnesota. Adam studies cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and neurocognitive disorders. He is focused on investigating the impact of COVID-19 on chronic conditions, which can lead to higher risk of mortality, especially among people with existing risk factors, like high blood pressure and diabetes. “At some point down the road, I’ll probably get the chance to utilize COVID-19 data to assess the relationship between COVID status and various chronic disease conditions in population-based research studies and hopefully add valuable and timely information to the Hamdi Adam ’18 (Courtesy photo) base of existing literature,” said Adam, who—as a rst-generation Oromo American—is interested in applying his research to address health disparities a ecting people of color. “It feels good to know that your studies and work are for the betterment of people. With research, sometimes you feel like your work is so detached from the true health problems you are attempting to address, but I like to think that epidemiologic research provides the basis for informing more direct actions, such as health policy development and e ective community-based interventions.” Another researcher, Will Matchett ’13, earned a doctorate in virology and gene therapy from the Mayo Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. He works as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Minnesota, where he will spend up to ve years acquiring training that will allow him to run his own lab. Between April and August, his research focused exclusively on developing a SARS-CoV-2 test to measure the speci c antibodies that block the virus from entering cells. Since September, his focus has shifted to testing a COVID-19 vaccine being developed at the University of Minnesota. Will Matchett ’13 used a plaque assay to quantify the amount of SARS-CoV-2 virus in a sample at the University of Minnesota biosafety lab in August 2020. (Courtesy photo) Increasing and diversifying COVID-19 testing Does all the medical terminology sound like a foreign language? That’s how Elaine Eschenbacher ’18 MAL described her rst few weeks as the higher education operations lead for Minnesota’s COVID-19 Testing Work Group. Since 2009, she has worked at Augsburg, the last six of those years as director for the Sabo Center for Democracy and Citizenship. But since June, the Sabo Center has put her “on loan” to Minnesota’s State Emergency Operations Center to work with a team of experts to launch Minnesota’s testing plan in collaboration with colleges and universities. Subgroups are assigned to areas such as long-term care, child care and schools, community testing, hotspots, case investigation and contact tracing, research, data, purchasing, and contracts. Elaine Eschenbacher ’18 MAL (Photo by Courtney Perry) “My work at Augsburg prepared me for this role in a variety of ways. The role is necessarily collaborative and involves recognizing that di erent people have di erent roles to play and respecting those di erent perspectives and sets of expertise.”—Elaine Eschenbacher ’18 MAL “Civic engagement work is like that, too. I’ve also been thinking a lot about the Master of Arts in Leadership program, which I completed in 2018. This work is like having a master class in leadership and public health every day.” In April, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced a “moonshot goal” of 20,000 tests per day in the state, at a time when only about 2,000 tests were being performed daily, Eschenbacher said. The testing work group increased capacity and made that moonshot goal by the end of June. “Since then, we’ve been continuing to increase and diversify COVID testing, and make sure that the people who most need it have access to it. During the week of Thanksgiving, our daily average for testing across the state was more than 57,000,” she added. “Testing is an important tool in controlling the spread of COVID-19, and making testing accessible regardless of income or location is an important equity issue.” Eschenbacher has spent her days planning and data-modeling as it relates to higher education, consulting with speci c institutions in the wake of outbreaks, guiding higher education testing, and organizing partnerships for case investigation and contact-tracing. She facilitates webinars and other information pieces about saliva testing, serves as state incident commander for community testing events, and helped coordinate mass testing of 18- to 35-year-olds prior to Thanksgiving. More recently, she has served as incident commander for a community vaccination site. “It feels like a cliché to say this, but it is an absolute honor to do this work. We talk a lot about vocation at Augsburg, and I guess I would say that vocation can sneak up on you. I never would have dreamed of doing the work I’ve done since June, but it feels like purpose.” These are only a handful of the Auggies who are living out their passionate purpose to bring an end to this crushing pandemic and, in the meantime, to soften the blow. Augsburg stories on COVID-19: What it takes to ght a pandemic, part 1: Community collaboration and mutual aid Augsburg’s in-house epidemiologist guides Auggies through the COVID-19 pandemic Top Image: Augsburg’s coronavirus guidelines, including face coverings and physical distancing in classrooms and public places, helped protect Auggies from COVID-19. Professor and Chemistry Department Chair Joan Kunz instructs in the Hagfors Center. (Photo by Courtney Perry) Share this: Tags: Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Email biology Class of 1972 Class of 1984 Class of 2010 Class of 2018 Class of 2020 Class of 2023 Community Engagement Doctor of Nursing Practice mutual aid research health care Class of 2013 Master of Arts in Leadership Class of 2014 COVID-19 Master of Arts in Nursing Winter 2020–21  PREVIOUS POST NEXT POST  Confronting the Minnesota paradox What it takes to ght a pandemic: Community collaboration and mutual aid (Part 1) YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE What it takes to ght a Confronting the Minnesota Stay the course: O -and-on pandemic: Community paradox sports seasons prove collaboration and mutual - on February 22, 2021 Auggie student-athletes’ aid (Part 1) resilience - on February 22, 2021 - on February 22, 2021 Undergraduate Admissions Majors and Programs Adult Undergraduate Admissions Course Catalog Graduate Admissions Accreditation Campus Tour Consumer Disclosures About Augsburg Inside Augsburg The Augsburg University website uses cookies to make your browsing experience as useful as possible. In order to have the full site experience, keep cookies enabled on Campus Map our site with cookies enabled, you are agreeing A-ZtoDirectory your web browser. By browsing their use. Review Augsburg's privacy policy for more details. News and Media Ok Make a Gift Search Augsburg.edu HOME PREVIOUS ISSUES ABOUT Go CONTACT US CURRENT ISSUE CONFRONTING THE MINNESOTA PARADOX Signi cant racial disparities exist in a state with a liberal reputation, but some are seeking ways to close the gaps by Gita Sitaramiah Share this: February 22, 2021 Facebook  Featured Stories Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Email Robert Harper ’16 remembers the rst time he was called the nword. His family had moved to Minnesota from the South Side of Chicago, seeking a better life. Since then, he’s achieved that better life, earning an undergraduate degree from Augsburg University and a master’s degree from the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public A airs. He is now a supplier diversity director for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. Sign up for Email Newsletter “I think I’ve had a unique experience escaping poverty on the South Side of Chicago and North Minneapolis, only to be confronted with the daily decisions made by white people that only re-create those Submit Your Alumni News circumstances of oppression,” Harper said. Robert Harper ’16 (Courtesy photo) While he’s now a working professional in a state that prides itself on being “Minnesota nice,” Harper never gets too comfortable, recalling that painful moment when he was walking to middle school and a passing driver shouted the racial epithet at him. More recently, on CONNECT WITH US a trip to northern Minnesota, Harper was told while visiting Gull Lake, ‘You don’t belong here,’ by a white man. “It’s moments like that when you’re trying to do better, ‘pull yourselves up by your bootstraps,’ that society reminds you that there’s a glass ceiling for some,” Harper said. “Some people constantly remind you that they decide how far you go, what rooms you enter, and in the case of George Floyd, whether or not you live.”—Robert Harper ’16 Exposing the paradox George Floyd’s murder three miles from Augsburg University put an international spotlight on not only the experiences of Black people at the hands of the criminal justice system but also the reality of the disturbing “Minnesota paradox.” That’s how University of Minnesota Professor Samuel Myers describes how Minnesota has such a high quality of life and a history of progressive politicians but is one of the worst places to live for Black people. “Measured by racial gaps in unemployment rates, wage and salary incomes, incarceration rates, arrest rates, home ownership rates, mortgage lending rates, test scores, reported child maltreatment rates, school disciplinary and suspension rates, and even drowning rates, African Americans are worse o in Minnesota than they are in virtually every other state in the nation,” Myers said. The numbers illustrate the bleak story: Samuel Myers (Courtesy photo) Only 25.3% of Black households in Minnesota own homes versus 76.9% of white households, according to census data, a stark divide given that home ownership is considered the leading contributor to household wealth. The median household income for Black households in the state is the lowest of any group at $41,570, about half of what Asian and white households earn. In the Twin Cities, African Americans represent 9% of the overall population, but are incarcerated at 11 times the rate of whites who represent 76% of the population, the NAACP reported last year. Only 21.7% of Black people hold bachelor’s degrees or higher versus nearly 40% overall. Meanwhile, between 2010 and 2018, the fastest growing racial group in Minnesota was the Black population, which grew by 36%, adding more than 96,500 people. Many are immigrants but face the same backdrop of a state that hasn’t historically acknowledged that discrimination plays a role in the Black story here, Myers said. “When it comes to race in the Twin Cities, in Minnesota, there was this instinctive belief that we already know what the problem is, that it’s not really a problem, and since it’s not a problem, we don’t need to nd answers,” Myers said. The COVID-19 pandemic compounded the inequities. The unemployment rate for Black Minnesotans in the aftermath of pandemic shutdowns rose to 15.3% last July, up 9 percentage points from a year earlier, versus 6.3% for white workers, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development reported. According to a Pew Research report published in December: “Among Black Americans, 71% know someone who has been hospitalized or died because of COVID-19.” Kevin Ehrman-Solberg ’15 (center right) and the Mapping Prejudice Project team found inequities in housing documents throughout Minneapolis’ history. (Courtesy photo, 2017) The path to today’s Minneapolis High pro le police killings of Black men in this region—including George Floyd, Philando Castile, and Jamar Clark—have heightened the protests and urgency for change. The viral video of Floyd’s murder with his neck under the knee of a Minneapolis police o cer seemed to dawn a new era in the ght for justice. Protesters took to the streets for weeks around the globe. Gra ti images of Floyd sprang up worldwide, even on a West Bank barrier in the Middle East. CEOs of Fortune 500 corporations in Minnesota wrote an open letter of outrage. Athletes of all races took the knee before matches to show their support for racial equity. In the city of Minneapolis, at the center of the controversy, there was swift action against the o cers, something unprecedented. “Despite decades of police incidents that resulted in the deaths of people of color, today’s actions by the mayor represent the rst time in modern history that Minneapolis police o cers were red within 24 hours for unjustly murdering a citizen,” said Michael Lansing, associate professor and chair of Augsburg’s history department, in a May 26 series of tweets about the Minneapolis Police Department. (Lansing’s comments on the history of uprisings and Minneapolis police were also carried by The Washington Post and Mother Jones.) Now, many are acknowledging the systems that are behind today’s Minneapolis. Even the South Minneapolis street where George Floyd was killed is in a historically Black working-class and middle-class neighborhood created by housing segregation, Lansing said in his tweet series. Indeed, Mapping Prejudice Project, a team of community members, Associate Professor Michael Lansing (Photo by Stephen Ge re) geographers, and historians based at the University of Minnesota, have unearthed thousands of racial covenants in Minneapolis that reserved land for the exclusive use of white people. Those restrictions served as powerful obstacles for people of color seeking safe and a ordable housing. Racial covenants, dovetailed with redlining and predatory lending practices, depressed homeownership rates for Black residents. They also limited access to community resources like schools and parks. While contemporary white residents of Minneapolis like to think their city never had formal segregation, those racial covenants did the work of Jim Crow in the Twin Cities, said Kevin EhrmanSolberg ’15, a co-founder of Mapping Prejudice. “The reputation of Minneapolis is that it’s a liberal bastion, yet there’s a racist reality that people live in.”—Kevin Ehrman-Solberg ’15 Professor William Green (Photo by Courtney Perry) Looking forward with a pragmatic lens While the period following George Floyd’s murder looked like a change moment, Augsburg University’s M. Anita Gay Hawthorne Professor of Critical Race and Ethnicity Studies William Green worries that the momentum started to diminish as the summer progressed. “The challenge that we face is to do the hard work to de ne what change means, and second, how to get at the root of the problems that lead to disparities in society.” Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce President Jonathan Weinhagen looks ahead to the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder and to the question of how much progress has been made in raising awareness about and working to eliminate the disparities experienced by people of color. “[Closing the racial divide] is not going to be resolved in a year. It’s going to take more time, but it’s going to have to be far more rapid than anything we’ve done to date.”—Jonathan Weinhagen The implications of these disparities are wide-reaching, with government o cials and the business community concerned that a growing population that isn’t able to fully participate in or bene t from the economy will threaten the vitality of the state as a whole. Jonathan Weinhagen (Courtesy photo) “To have a large and growing part of our economy be marginalized is a huge disadvantage to all of us because it takes a huge part of the population out,” said Susan Brower, Minnesota’s demographer. The NAACP’s 48-page Twin Cities Economic Inclusion Plan issued in 2019 calls for a comprehensive, multi-pronged policy agenda anchored by ve basic principles: economic sustainability, education, health, public safety and criminal justice, and voter rights and political representation. The role of education Many are looking to young people to be the lasting change. The nonpro t Generation Next in Minneapolis has emerged to support children from “cradle to career,” envisioning a future in which “every child has the academic, social, and emotional skills to thrive in a globally uent world.” Alan Page, retired Minnesota Supreme Court justice, and Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, proposed in 2020 amending Minnesota’s constitution to give every child a civil right to a quality public education. They de ne the current approach as a system that works well for children from well-to-do families but fails children from low-income families. “A quality education is without question the most powerful tool we have to break the cycle of poverty and create a society in which everyone can fully participate,” Kashkari and Page wrote in the Star Tribune. “It doesn’t just change one child’s life. It has the potential to improve the future for generations to come and lead to a more productive, vibrant society for all of us.” Meanwhile, Augsburg University is positioned to be a statewide leader in the turnaround, with years of intentional work on diversity, equity, and inclusion. “I certainly feel that higher education is the clearest path to a middle-class life or better,” Augsburg President Paul Pribbenow said. Augsburg University's Hagfors Center. (Photo by Courtney Perry) Augsburg’s e orts to address disparities and work toward equity After the murder of George Floyd only a few miles from campus, Augsburg University introduced in June the Justice for George Floyd Initiatives to focus on working to heal the community, creating leadership and structures that make tangible change, and ensuring accountability for the work of undoing racist systems. New e orts were introduced to combat systemic racism, including a critical race and ethnicity studies department; diversity, equity, and inclusion training; and a requirement that all faculty and sta complete antiracism training. Augsburg also canceled classes and suspended operations June 4 and 5 so students, faculty, and sta could have an opportunity to grieve. “We acknowledge the pain, fear, and trauma faced by the Augsburg community—especially our students, faculty, and sta of color—remain a lived reality every day,” Pribbenow said. “This work by Augsburg will be persistent, resolute, courageous, and integrated into everything the university does.” This ongoing work includes several components: Augsburg named William Green, professor of history, the inaugural holder of the M. Anita Gay Hawthorne professorship of critical race and ethnic studies. The university is employing new accountability for inclusive, antiracist leadership across the institution and reviewing Augsburg’s major academic and administrative policies and practices with a special focus on undoing bias and discrimination and enhancing student success. Augsburg created a scholarship in memory of George Floyd and established a fund that matched donations from students, faculty, and sta for organizations doing important work, especially for Black-owned businesses and nonpro t organizations. Augsburg appointed the rst Chief Diversity O cer, Joanne K. Reeck, in 2016 and became home in 2019 to The Forum on Workplace Inclusion, the nation’s largest workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion conference. These moves are an important continuation of Augsburg’s e orts to build and maintain an equitable and inclusive campus that became a strategic focus in 2006, resulting in Augsburg welcoming its most diverse incoming rst-year class ever in 2017. Students of color are now in the majority of traditional undergraduates, making Augsburg one of the most diverse private colleges in the Midwest. As Augsburg is learning in its own community, Minnesota’s multifaceted disparities require a multifaceted approach that summons individual and collective willpower to align impact with intent. Despite Harper’s success after graduating from Augsburg, he views the disparate outcomes as a call to action, even forming his own economic development consulting rm, R.D.T.H Consulting, focused on social impact in addition to his day job. “It doesn’t have to be this way.” Top Image: Minneapolis is a city with a liberal reputation, but racial disparities persist. (Photo by Courtney Perry) Share this: Tags: Facebook Class of 2015 Twitter Class of 2016 Pinterest LinkedIn Diversity and Inclusion Email economics Faculty Winter 2020–21  PREVIOUS POST NEXT POST  Stay the course: O -and-on sports seasons prove Auggie student-athletes’ resilience What it takes to ght a pandemic: Research and health care (Part 2) YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE What it takes to ght a What it takes to ght a Stay the course: O -and-on pandemic: Community pandemic: Research and sports seasons prove collaboration and mutual health care (Part 2) Auggie student-athletes’ aid (Part 1) - on February 22, 2021 resilience - on February 22, 2021 - on February 22, 2021 Undergraduate Admissions Majors and Programs Adult Undergraduate Admissions Course Catalog Graduate Admissions Accreditation Campus Tour Consumer Disclosures About Augsburg Inside Augsburg The Augsburg University website uses cookies to make your browsing experience as useful as possible. In order to have the full site experience, keep cookies enabled on Campus Map our site with cookies enabled, you are agreeing A-ZtoDirectory your web browser. By browsing their use. Review Augsburg's privacy policy for more details. News and Media Ok Make a Gift Search Augsburg.edu HOME PREVIOUS ISSUES ABOUT Go CONTACT US CURRENT ISSUE STAY THE COURSE: OFF-AND-ON SPORTS SEASONS PROVE AUGGIE STUDENTATHLETES’ RESILIENCE After a pause on competitions due to COVID-19, Auggies are ready to get back in the game by Kate Norlander Share this: February 22, 2021 Facebook  Athletics, Featured Stories Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Email The COVID-19 pandemic put a major pause on 2020’s athletic competitions. The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference postponed the fall sports season. In January the league announced plans for a modi ed winter season for basketball, hockey, indoor track and eld, and swimming and diving (though it’s not o cially part of the MIAC, wrestling will follow the same guidelines). Auggies can’t wait to get back in the game. Many student-athletes have been practicing their sports since elementary school. During the past year, the pandemic disrupted participation in activities that have been important to their lives. But Augsburg’s Athletics sta and student-athletes have met this challenge with a commitment to the health and safety of the community. This willingness to put safety rst means that student-athletes Sign up for Email Newsletter Submit Your Alumni News are now able to compete. In order for student-athletes to participate in sports this year, the NCAA created rules designed to promote safety. Augsburg Athletics also made sure that strong safety measures were in place, which CONNECT WITH US has helped students feel a bit more at ease during an anxious time. Devon Hannah ’21, a guard on the men’s basketball team, said, “We have the freedom to decide whether or not we feel comfortable with an activity. The Athletics Department is handling this well, keeping us safe physically and mentally, too.” Coaches play an important role in student-athletes’ lives, which means they are often among the rst people to learn when a student receives a positive COVID-19 test result. This means that they are not only helping students develop skills in their sport; they are also watching out for the safety of their team. Devon Hannah ’21 (Courtesy photo) Corrina Evans ’21, a middle blocker on the women’s volleyball team, said, “The coaches and trainers are sharing campus resources like the Center for Wellness and Counseling. They have check-in times when we can talk about anything, and they will call or text us: doing contact tracing, helping us understand how to quarantine correctly if we have to do that, and making sure we have everything we need.” Changes to practice and competition Corrina Evans ’21 (Courtesy photo) Even with precautionary measures in place, there are times when teams have to pause their practice, whether a teammate tested positive for COVID-19 or a rising number of cases in Minnesota required universities to temporarily close workout and sports facilities, which occurred in the fall and early winter. Read more about Auggies ghting the pandemic.  When they’re able to practice, Augsburg’s student-athletes gather in pods that have gradually increased in size as they were safely able to do so. While the smallest pods have allowed students to practice their sports safely and to control the spread of the virus, they’ve also presented a challenge. “It’s di cult to get to know each other and to gel as a team,” Hannah said. “Practices are very di erent,” said Evans. “You can’t see people’s faces because of the masks. But we’ve been able to move up into bigger pods, which gives us a more normal team chemistry and allows us to have a full team practice and do some scrimmaging. The challenges are more mental than physical.” In early January, the MIAC gave teams the go-ahead to compete again, although competitions are limited and spectators are not allowed. (Augsburg has o ered free livestream viewing for all home events and some road events.) Students in sports that present a higher risk for COVID-19 transmission must get tested three times each week in order to practice and compete—measures well worth it for eager players and coaches. “It’s exciting to be able to get back to playing and feel in the groove again,” said Colleen Enrico ’14, assistant athletic director, volleyball assistant coach, and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee advisor. Melissa Lee ’04 (left), assistant athletic director and softball head coach, leads softball practice in Augsburg’s dome in February 2021. (Photo by Courtney Perry) Prioritizing mental health Augsburg Athletics had already begun addressing the mental health of student-athletes before the pandemic. In the summer of 2019, all coaches and sta took an eight-hour course in mental health rst aid, which can provide support for student-athletes and coaches until they can speak with mental health professionals. Mark Wick, men’s hockey assistant coach, has recently taken on new, temporary duties at Augsburg as he sets up a mental health advocacy program for Augsburg Athletics. “We need to know how to deal with what is happening now, but in ve to 10 years, people still will be dealing with losing jobs or loved ones,” Wick said. “Hopefully it won’t be as bad as it is now, but how we use this time can help prepare us for growth.” Augsburg University @AugsburgU September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and @AugsburgU Assistant Hockey Coach @coachwick23 will hold a golf tournament to raise awareness, as this subject is very personal to him. “It’s OK to reach out and ask for help,” Wick told @WCCO. Augsburg Assistant Hockey Coach Mark Wick's Push For Suicide Awa… September is Suicide Awareness Month. And on Tuesday, Augsburg University assistant hockey coach Mark Wick will hold a golf … minnesota.cbslocal.com 7:30 PM · Sep 29, 2020 18 5 Copy link to Tweet Fostering the Auggie Experience Enrico reported that in past years, student-athletes met with the entire team sta on a weekly basis, but this year they are meeting with a di erent coach each week. This allows them to be more open and build better relationships with their coaches. As in past years, coaches touch base with students about their lives outside of their sport so that, for instance, if they are struggling with classes, the coach can suggest resources for help. This year coaches are also making a point of paying attention to upcoming events so that they can suggest activities that might help student-athletes better connect with their fellow students. It’s been a tough year for everyone, and that has been particularly true for rst-year students who were unable to participate in many traditional activities at the end of their senior year in high school and now have begun their college experience under di cult conditions. For that reason, Enrico said, coaches have made a point of connecting third- and fourth-year students with rst-year and other new students. Augsburg Athletics @AugsburgAuggies Check out some photos from a recent Augsburg women's basketball practice! ﬂickr.com/photos/1463682… #d3hoops #AuggiePride 7:43 PM · Jan 14, 2021 7 3 Copy link to Tweet Di erent teams have di erent approaches to these connections. In volleyball, coaches have suggested podcasts that each student can discuss with a di erent teammate each week. “We want them to get outside of volleyball, so the podcasts might be on topics such as banking or racial diversity,” Enrico said. Fostering these connections—between teammates, between each student-athlete and coach, and between student-athletes and the wider Augsburg community—is, perhaps, one of the most important things coaches can do for their student-athletes this year. All of them help these students feel a sense of community. In Enrico’s words, “the Auggie experience is community.” Top image: The COVID-19 pandemic has required temporary closures and reopenings of workout spaces, including Augsburg’s weight room, with students’ health in mind. (Photo by Courtney Perry) Share this: Tags: Facebook athletics Twitter college sports Pinterest COVID-19 LinkedIn mental health Email sports Winter 2020–21  PREVIOUS POST NEXT POST  Augsburg’s in-house epidemiologist guides Auggies through the COVID-19 pandemic Confronting the Minnesota paradox YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE What it takes to ght a What it takes to ght a Confronting the Minnesota pandemic: Community pandemic: Research and paradox collaboration and mutual health care (Part 2) - on February 22, 2021 aid (Part 1) - on February 22, 2021 - on February 22, 2021 Undergraduate Admissions Majors and Programs Adult Undergraduate Admissions Course Catalog Graduate Admissions Accreditation Campus Tour Consumer Disclosures About Augsburg Inside Augsburg The Augsburg University website uses cookies to make your browsing experience as useful as possible. In order to have the full site experience, keep cookies enabled on Campus Map our site with cookies enabled, you are agreeing A-ZtoDirectory your web browser. By browsing their use. Review Augsburg's privacy policy for more details. News and Media Ok Make a Gift Search Augsburg.edu HOME PREVIOUS ISSUES ABOUT Go CONTACT US CURRENT ISSUE AUGSBURG’S IN-HOUSE EPIDEMIOLOGIST GUIDES AUGGIES THROUGH THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC On the Spot Q&A with Associate Professor Alicia Quella by John Weirick February 22, 2021 Share this: Facebook  Around the Quad Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Email Remember those days of uncertainty in March 2020, when we had more questions than answers, and before most of us used terms like “coronavirus” and “social distancing”? The United States saw an increase in COVID-19 infections, and some states—including Minnesota—applied stay-at-home orders to mitigate the spread. Weeks before that in ection point, Augsburg University administrators, faculty, and sta convened a COVID-19 task force. Sign up for Email Newsletter Not all educational institutions have an epidemiologist on sta , but Augsburg is fortunate. One of the task force’s principal leaders is Alicia Submit Your Alumni News Quella, associate professor and director of Augsburg’s physician assistant program. As an educator with a PhD in epidemiology and experience in public health settings around the world, her expertise CONNECT WITH US has proved invaluable for the university’s grasp of the evolving global crisis and Augsburg’s response to maintain the health and safety of community members. Associate Professor Alicia Quella (Photo by Courtney Perry) Between elding student questions about the coronavirus, volunteering at COVID-19 testing sites, and ensuring the Augsburg community can trace contacts and reduce transmission on campus, Quella shared some perspectives on her work and where we go from here. Q: How have you been involved in Augsburg’s outbreak planning and COVID-19 response? A: I serve on the pandemic task force, a university-wide team of people that assembled after it was apparent that COVID-19 would signi cantly a ect institutions of higher education across the United States. We collaborate regularly with epidemiologists from the Minnesota Department of Health to implement public health guidelines for campuses. We started to meet daily to coordinate issues involving classrooms and labs, athletics, residence halls, dining services, facilities, and global education. We started a COVID-19 Response Team, which comprises sta and faculty across campus who implement health protocols and support students and personnel who have illness, have COVID-19, or have been exposed to it. R.John @raccajohn Neither rain nor SNOW can keep @AugsburgU's Dr. Alicia Quella from working the walk-up/drive-up COVID-19 testing location @PeoplesCenter Cedar Riverside Clinic 1:50 AM · Oct 21, 2020 3 See the latest COVID-19 information on Twitter Q: What were your rst thoughts when you heard about COVID19 and considered its implications for the Augsburg community? A: When news of a novel coronavirus was circulating in China, I was immediately concerned because I had studied the epidemiology of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV-1) during my doctoral work through the University of Iowa Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases. In 2003, SARS quickly spread to 29 countries, so I knew that this would be a major issue in the United States. Q: At this stage in the COVID-19 pandemic, what are the most important things for the public to understand and do? A: To reach herd immunity [when a signi cant portion of a community is immune to a disease and thereby makes spread unlikely] we all need to continue to ‘bubble’ and limit the number of close contacts, wear face masks, socially distance, and get vaccinated. I also encourage the students and my patients to be creative and nd ways to keep active and engaged— start a new hobby, do something outdoors, and reach out to relatives and friends who may be isolated right now. Q: What do you see in the post-COVID-19 world? A: Colleges and universities have seen a rapid di usion of innovation in how they are using technology to deliver curriculum, participate in athletics, and maintain operations. This energy and innovation will have to continue to promote widespread vaccine uptake. Vaccine hesitancy is an issue, especially in communities of color that have been disproportionately a ected by COVID-19 because of structural racism. Augsburg will need to make this a top priority moving forward. Q: What’s a memorable moment of the past year that made an impact on you? A: As an epidemiologist and a physician assistant, I’ve had the opportunity to continue to see patients and work with Augsburg students, sta , and faculty. I recently received the COVID-19 vaccine and have felt humbled and honored to now be able to continue to work more safely in the community. Top image: Associate Professor Alicia Quella’s experience as an epidemiologist has helped maintain the health and safety of the Augsburg community. (Photo by Courtney Perry) Read more Augsburg stories on COVID-19. Share this: Tags: Facebook Twitter Academic Departments Physician Assistant Studies Pinterest Community Engagement LinkedIn COVID-19 Email Faculty Winter 2020–21  PREVIOUS POST NEXT POST  Notes from President Pribbenow: Come and see! Stay the course: O -and-on sports seasons prove Auggie student-athletes’ resilience YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE Notes from President Augsburg Board of Regents Augsburg’s recent awards, Pribbenow: Come and see! welcomes new and rankings, and recognition - on February 22, 2021 reelected members - on February 22, 2021 - on February 22, 2021 Undergraduate Admissions Majors and Programs Adult Undergraduate Admissions Course Catalog Graduate Admissions Accreditation Campus Tour Consumer Disclosures About Augsburg Inside Augsburg The Augsburg University website uses cookies to make your browsing experience as useful as possible. In order to have the full site experience, keep cookies enabled on Campus Map our site with cookies enabled, you are agreeing A-ZtoDirectory your web browser. By browsing their use. Review Augsburg's privacy policy for more details. News and Media Ok Make a Gift Search Augsburg.edu HOME PREVIOUS ISSUES ABOUT CONTACT US CURRENT ISSUE NOTES FROM PRESIDENT PRIBBENOW: COME AND SEE! by Paul C. Pribbenow Share this: February 22, 2021 Facebook Go  Around the Quad, President's Letter Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Email In the Christian church, the liturgical season before Lent is called Epiphany, a time when we re ect on the good news that God has broken into human history and that we are called to share that good news with all of creation. There is a wonderful invitational character to Epiphany, in which we ask each other and our neighbors to “Come and see” all that God is doing in our midst. In that spirit, this issue of Augsburg Now invites all of us to come and see what the Augsburg community is doing in its 151st academic year, in the midst of a global pandemic, to live out our mission. In these pandemic times, Augsburg students, faculty, and sta have brought great imagination, resilience, and courage to our work together. I am so proud of what they have accomplished, and I invite you to come and see … Come and see the gift of the surprises we found in how we teach and learn, how we keep our community and neighborhood safe and President Paul Pribbenow (Photo by Courtney Perry) healthy, how we live out our most deeply held commitments and values, and how we are open to new and innovative ways of living and working. Paul Pribbenow @paulpribbenow I’m out and about, delivering yard signs to the @AugsburgU Class of 2024! Here’s Vanessa - a proud new Auggie. #augsburgbold #auggiepride Sign up for Email Newsletter Submit Your Alumni News CONNECT WITH US 4:13 PM · Jun 30, 2020 95 5 Copy link to Tweet Come and see how we answered the call to serve our neighbors even when we must navigate the challenges of a virus, economic disruption, and racial reckoning. Our focus on supporting local businesses, meeting the needs of those experiencing homelessness, ensuring that all of our students have the resources they need to be successful, and nding ways to feed the hungry—all these illustrate how our community embraces its commitments to our neighbors. Come and see the promise of abundance in a time and world too often characterized by scarcity. We believe deeply in what the late U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone proclaimed: “We all do better when we all do better.” Our abiding commitments to equity and inclusion—and our aspiration to be an anti-racist university—lead us to robust engagement with each other and with the wider community so that all will do better. Augsburg University is a distinctive community, de ning in its life and work a vision for higher education in the 21st century. I am deeply grateful for the support of alumni and friends, whose generosity and engagement help us live into our vision to educate Auggies as stewards of an inclusive democracy. Come and see. Faithfully yours, Paul C. Pribbenow, President Share this: Tags: Facebook Twitter Community Engagement Pinterest Diversity and Inclusion LinkedIn Faith Email President Paul C. Pribbenow Winter 2020–21  PREVIOUS POST NEXT POST  Augsburg Board of Regents welcomes new and reelected members Augsburg’s in-house epidemiologist guides Auggies through the COVID-19 pandemic YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE Augsburg’s in-house Augsburg Board of Regents Augsburg’s recent awards, epidemiologist guides welcomes new and rankings, and recognition Auggies through the reelected members - on February 22, 2021 COVID-19 pandemic - on February 22, 2021 - on February 22, 2021 Undergraduate Admissions Majors and Programs Adult Undergraduate Admissions Course Catalog Graduate Admissions Accreditation Campus Tour Consumer Disclosures About Augsburg Inside Augsburg The Augsburg University website uses cookies to make your browsing experience as useful as possible. In order to have the full site experience, keep cookies enabled on Campus Map our site with cookies enabled, you are agreeing A-ZtoDirectory your web browser. By browsing their use. Review Augsburg's privacy policy for more details. News and Media Ok Make a Gift Search Augsburg.edu HOME PREVIOUS ISSUES ABOUT Go CONTACT US CURRENT ISSUE AUGSBURG BOARD OF REGENTS WELCOMES NEW AND REELECTED MEMBERS by John Weirick February 22, 2021 Share this: Facebook  Around the Quad Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Email The Augsburg University Board of Regents meeting in October 2020 included celebration of the election of new and continuing regents. James Hereford and Veena Iyer were elected to their rst four-year terms. Nick Gangestad ’86, Marlene Whiterabbit Helgemo, Jill Nelson Thomas, and Noya Woodrich ’92, ’94 MSW were elected to second four-year terms. Pam Moksnes ’79 was elected to a third four-year term. Sign up for Email Newsletter Finally, Bishop Laurie Skow-Anderson and Bishop Ann Svennungsen were appointed to serve three-year terms as ex o cio members of the board. Submit Your Alumni News CONNECT WITH US Nick Gangestad ’86 James Hereford Veena Iyer Pam Moksnes ’79 Jill Nelson Thomas Laurie Skow-Anderson Ann Svennungsen Marlene Whiterabbit Helgemo Noya Woodrich ’92, ’94 MSW Share this: Tags: Facebook Twitter Alumni News And Updates Class of 1992 Pinterest LinkedIn Board of Regents Master of Social Work Class of 1979 Email Class of 1986 Winter 2020–21  PREVIOUS POST NEXT POST  Augsburg’s recent awards, rankings, and recognition Notes from President Pribbenow: Come and see! YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE Augsburg’s in-house Notes from President Augsburg’s recent awards, epidemiologist guides Pribbenow: Come and see! rankings, and recognition Auggies through the - on February 22, 2021 - on February 22, 2021 COVID-19 pandemic - on February 22, 2021 Undergraduate Admissions Majors and Programs Adult Undergraduate Admissions Course Catalog Graduate Admissions Accreditation Campus Tour Consumer Disclosures About Augsburg Inside Augsburg The Augsburg University website uses cookies to make your browsing experience as useful as possible. In order to have the full site experience, keep cookies enabled on Campus Map our site with cookies enabled, you are agreeing A-ZtoDirectory your web browser. By browsing their use. Review Augsburg's privacy policy for more details. News and Media Ok Make a Gift Search Augsburg.edu HOME PREVIOUS ISSUES ABOUT Go CONTACT US CURRENT ISSUE AUGSBURG’S RECENT AWARDS, RANKINGS, AND RECOGNITION by Briana Alamilla '17 Share this: February 22, 2021 Facebook  Around the Quad Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Email Each year, Augsburg University is recognized for its academic excellence, student-centered community, and commitment to educating students to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders. Augsburg’s recent awards and rankings include: 2020 Best Colleges by Money Most Transformative Colleges 2020–21 Military Friendly® School by Military Friendly® 2020 Best of the Best LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges and Universities, Midwest region by Campus Pride Top 30 in the Country Sign up for Email Newsletter Submit Your Alumni News 2020 Best Colleges For Financial Aid by LendEDU CONNECT WITH US 79th in the United States 2nd in Minnesota 2020 Best Value Colleges and Universities in Minnesota by BestValueSchools.com 2021 Best Universities, Midwest region by U.S. News & World Report 3rd in Most Innovative Schools 4th in Campus Ethnic Diversity 7th in Undergraduate Teaching 14th in Best Colleges for Veterans 15th in Best Value Accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs Augsburg University’s Department of Business Administration was recently accredited for the undergraduate and Master of Business Administration programs. View more of Augsburg’s awards and rankings. Top image: Augsburg’s Hagfors Center. (Photo by Courtney Perry) Share this: Tags: Facebook Twitter Augsburg In The News Pinterest LinkedIn Awards and Recognition Email Winter 2020–21  PREVIOUS POST NEXT POST  Playwrights’ Center partners with Augsburg to o er courses with leading playwrights Augsburg Board of Regents welcomes new and reelected members YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE Augsburg’s in-house Notes from President Augsburg Board of Regents epidemiologist guides Pribbenow: Come and see! welcomes new and Auggies through the - on February 22, 2021 reelected members COVID-19 pandemic - on February 22, 2021 - on February 22, 2021 Undergraduate Admissions Majors and Programs Adult Undergraduate Admissions Course Catalog Graduate Admissions Accreditation Campus Tour Consumer Disclosures About Augsburg Inside Augsburg The Augsburg University website uses cookies to make your browsing experience as useful as possible. In order to have the full site experience, keep cookies enabled on Campus Map our site with cookies enabled, you are agreeing A-ZtoDirectory your web browser. By browsing their use. Review Augsburg's privacy policy for more details. News and Media Ok Make a Gift Search Augsburg.edu HOME PREVIOUS ISSUES ABOUT Go CONTACT US CURRENT ISSUE PLAYWRIGHTS’ CENTER PARTNERS WITH AUGSBURG TO OFFER COURSES WITH LEADING PLAYWRIGHTS by John Weirick February 22, 2021 Share this: Facebook  Around the Quad Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Email The Playwrights’ Center and Augsburg University announced a new partnership to o er accredited courses taught by the nation’s leading playwrights. Through online courses, students connect with peers and faculty members from across the United States. The courses, o ered through Augsburg’s Center for Global Education and Experience, are guided by Augsburg’s Theater Department in conjunction with the Playwrights’ Center. “With these courses, students will learn with and from writers at the top of their eld, seeing what it takes to have pieces published and performed,” said Patrick Mulvihill, Augsburg’s assistant provost for global education and experience, in an interview with Broadway World. Sign up for Email Newsletter Top image: An Augsburg student tours the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis. (Photo by Stephen Ge re) Submit Your Alumni News Share this: Tags: Facebook Twitter Academic Departments Pinterest Experiential Education LinkedIn Email Fine And Performing Arts Theater CONNECT WITH US Winter 2020–21  PREVIOUS POST NEXT POST  Professor Emeritus Mark Engebretson receives 30th NSF grant, continues space weather study Augsburg’s recent awards, rankings, and recognition YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE Augsburg’s in-house Notes from President Augsburg Board of Regents epidemiologist guides Pribbenow: Come and see! welcomes new and Auggies through the - on February 22, 2021 reelected members COVID-19 pandemic - on February 22, 2021 - on February 22, 2021 Undergraduate Admissions Majors and Programs Adult Undergraduate Admissions Course Catalog Graduate Admissions Accreditation Campus Tour Consumer Disclosures About Augsburg Inside Augsburg The Augsburg University website uses cookies to make your browsing experience as useful as possible. In order to have the full site experience, keep cookies enabled on Campus Map our site with cookies enabled, you are agreeing A-ZtoDirectory your web browser. By browsing their use. Review Augsburg's privacy policy for more details. News and Media Ok Make a Gift Search Augsburg.edu HOME PREVIOUS ISSUES ABOUT CONTACT US PROFESSOR EMERITUS MARK ENGEBRETSON RECEIVES 30TH NSF GRANT, CONTINUES SPACE WEATHER STUDY by John Weirick February 22, 2021 Share this: Facebook Go CURRENT ISSUE  Around the Quad Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Email Mark Engebretson, Augsburg University professor emeritus of physics, received a ve-year grant totaling $805,744 from the National Science Foundation (Award Number 2013648). This grant supports the continued operation and data analysis of the Magnetometer Array for Cusp and Cleft Studies, which is used to study near-Earth space weather, such as solar winds that may disrupt communication and navigation systems. It represents the 30th research study on which Engebretson has served as the principal investigator through NSF funding. Engebretson has led several research projects—including some with Augsburg student-researchers—studying ionospheric and space physics in collaboration with European and NASA satellite programs. Nearly 100 Augsburg students have gained paid research experience working on these research projects. Professor Emeritus Mark Engebretson (Photo by Stephen Ge re) Engebretson has authored or coauthored more than 300 scholarly research articles on topics related to space weather. View more grants news. Share this: Tags: Facebook Faculty Grants Twitter Pinterest The Sciences LinkedIn Email Winter 2020–21 Sign up for Email Newsletter  PREVIOUS POST NEXT POST  Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx, Star Tribune, and Minnesota Urban Debate League cosponsor justice reform essay contest Playwrights’ Center partners with Augsburg to o er courses with leading playwrights Submit Your Alumni News CONNECT WITH US YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE Augsburg’s in-house Notes from President Augsburg Board of Regents epidemiologist guides Pribbenow: Come and see! welcomes new and Auggies through the - on February 22, 2021 reelected members COVID-19 pandemic - on February 22, 2021 - on February 22, 2021 Undergraduate Admissions Majors and Programs Adult Undergraduate Admissions Course Catalog Graduate Admissions Accreditation Campus Tour Consumer Disclosures About Augsburg Inside Augsburg The Augsburg University website uses cookies to make your browsing experience as useful as possible. In order to have the full site experience, keep cookies enabled on Campus Map our site with cookies enabled, you are agreeing A-ZtoDirectory your web browser. By browsing their use. Review Augsburg's privacy policy for more details. News and Media Ok Make a Gift Search Augsburg.edu HOME PREVIOUS ISSUES ABOUT Go CONTACT US CURRENT ISSUE MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES AND LYNX, STAR TRIBUNE, AND MINNESOTA URBAN DEBATE LEAGUE COSPONSOR JUSTICE REFORM ESSAY CONTEST by John Weirick February 22, 2021 Share this: Facebook  Around the Quad Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Email In Fall 2020, Augsburg University’s Minnesota Urban Debate League joined the Star Tribune news company and the Minnesota Lynx and Minnesota Timberwolves professional basketball teams in cosponsoring a youth essay contest focused on criminal justice reform. Minnesota students ages 10 to 18 were invited to submit a written essay, video, or audio recording that described local or national changes that could reduce racial injustice and inequities in the criminal justice system. MNUDL determined the top 10 entries, which were judged by a panel of coaches from the Timberwolves and Lynx and representatives from local organizations, including MN Rise and The Minneapolis Foundation. Editor’s note: Winning submissions were announced February 27 in the Star Tribune. Share this: Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Sign up for Email Newsletter Submit Your Alumni News Email CONNECT WITH US Tags: Augsburg In The News Minnesota Urban Debate League Winter 2020–21  PREVIOUS POST NEXT POST  Augsburg awarded $10,000 Minneapolis Foundation grant Professor Emeritus Mark Engebretson receives 30th NSF grant, continues space weather study YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE Augsburg’s in-house Notes from President Augsburg Board of Regents epidemiologist guides Pribbenow: Come and see! welcomes new and Auggies through the - on February 22, 2021 reelected members COVID-19 pandemic - on February 22, 2021 - on February 22, 2021 Undergraduate Admissions Majors and Programs Adult Undergraduate Admissions Course Catalog Graduate Admissions Accreditation Campus Tour Consumer Disclosures About Augsburg Inside Augsburg The Augsburg University website uses cookies to make your browsing experience as useful as possible. In order to have the full site experience, keep cookies enabled on Campus Map our site with cookies enabled, you are agreeing A-ZtoDirectory your web browser. By browsing their use. Review Augsburg's privacy policy for more details. News and Media Ok Make a Gift Search Augsburg.edu HOME PREVIOUS ISSUES ABOUT Go CONTACT US CURRENT ISSUE AUGSBURG AWARDED $10,000 MINNEAPOLIS FOUNDATION GRANT by John Weirick February 22, 2021 Share this: Facebook  Around the Quad Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Email In September 2020, the Minneapolis Foundation announced that it would award more than $500,000 in grants to 40 organizations in the Twin Cities. Following the increased public dialogue about public safety after the killing of George Floyd, the grants aim to reduce violence, address systemic inequities, and provide community support. The Minneapolis Foundation’s Fund for Safe Communities awarded $10,000 to Augsburg University to elevate the voices of middle- and high-school students through debate on the topic of criminal justice reform. Other grant recipients are organizations working to support art projects, mediation, mental health services, civil rights education, and community healing while addressing police violence and public safety. Top image: Demonstrators in Summer 2020 marched with a banner that was created as a part of Augsburg’s One Day in May art campaign. (Photo by Leon Wang) Share this: Tags: Facebook Twitter Community Engagement Pinterest LinkedIn Diversity and Inclusion Grants Submit Your Alumni News Email CONNECT WITH US Winter 2020–21  PREVIOUS POST Sign up for Email Newsletter NEXT POST  Faculty members William Green and Timothy Pippert assume new professorships Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx, Star Tribune, and Minnesota Urban Debate League cosponsor justice reform essay contest YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE Augsburg’s in-house Notes from President Augsburg Board of Regents epidemiologist guides Pribbenow: Come and see! welcomes new and Auggies through the - on February 22, 2021 reelected members COVID-19 pandemic - on February 22, 2021 - on February 22, 2021 Undergraduate Admissions Majors and Programs Adult Undergraduate Admissions Course Catalog Graduate Admissions Accreditation Campus Tour Consumer Disclosures About Augsburg Inside Augsburg The Augsburg University website uses cookies to make your browsing experience as useful as possible. In order to have the full site experience, keep cookies enabled on Campus Map our site with cookies enabled, you are agreeing A-ZtoDirectory your web browser. By browsing their use. Review Augsburg's privacy policy for more details. News and Media Ok Make a Gift Search Augsburg.edu HOME PREVIOUS ISSUES ABOUT Go CONTACT US CURRENT ISSUE AUGSBURG LAUNCHES THE CENTER FOR INNOVATION & ENTREPRENEURSHIP by Kate Norlander Share this: February 22, 2021 Facebook  Around the Quad Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Email This fall, Augsburg University launched the Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, which advances education and support for Augsburg students and alumni in the disciplines of innovation, entrepreneurship, and leadership. The center’s focus is on the practice and psychology of innovation and entrepreneurship. Cory Erickson, an instructor in Augsburg’s Master of Business Administration program, leads the center. The center provides practical educational material for Augsburg students and alumni through a variety of events and activities. These opportunities include: a speaker series Sign up for Email Newsletter cooperative projects between student teams and local companies support for students who are building organizations that impact social causes through innovation and entrepreneurship Submit Your Alumni News support for student entrepreneurs the creation of student teams drawn from the science and business departments to solve problems for new startups CONNECT WITH US student contests o ering awards and potential funding for new ventures research and scholarship through a think tank the promotion of internships for students in the for-pro t, nonpro t, and government sectors. Top image: Instructor Cory Erickson leads the Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship. (Photo by Courtney Perry) Share this: Tags: Facebook Twitter Academic Departments Pinterest LinkedIn Business Administration Email Experiential Education MBA Winter 2020–21  PREVIOUS POST NEXT POST  NSF grants Augsburg $3 million for STEM students Faculty members William Green and Timothy Pippert assume new professorships YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE Augsburg’s in-house Notes from President Augsburg Board of Regents epidemiologist guides Pribbenow: Come and see! welcomes new and Auggies through the - on February 22, 2021 reelected members COVID-19 pandemic - on February 22, 2021 - on February 22, 2021 Undergraduate Admissions Majors and Programs Adult Undergraduate Admissions Course Catalog Graduate Admissions Accreditation Campus Tour Consumer Disclosures About Augsburg Inside Augsburg The Augsburg University website uses cookies to make your browsing experience as useful as possible. In order to have the full site experience, keep cookies enabled on Campus Map our site with cookies enabled, you are agreeing A-ZtoDirectory your web browser. By browsing their use. Review Augsburg's privacy policy for more details. News and Media Ok Make a Gift Search Augsburg.edu HOME PREVIOUS ISSUES ABOUT Go CONTACT US CURRENT ISSUE FACULTY MEMBERS WILLIAM GREEN AND TIMOTHY PIPPERT ASSUME NEW PROFESSORSHIPS by John Weirick February 22, 2021 Share this: Facebook  Around the Quad Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Email Professor of History William Green was named the inaugural M. Anita Gay Hawthorne Professor of Critical Race and Ethnicity Studies, e ective September 1, 2020. The position was created on the recommendation of a working group of students, faculty, and sta who developed a vision for a new academic department in critical race and ethnicity studies at Augsburg University. Related: Professor William Green comments on “Confronting the Minnesota paradox” Sign up for Email Newsletter Submit Your Alumni News Professor of Sociology Timothy Pippert was named the inaugural holder of the Joel Torstenson Endowed Professorship, e ective September 1, CONNECT WITH US 2020. This professorship is made possible through the generosity of Mark Johnson ’75, who also supports the university’s Torstenson Scholars program. Top image: Professor Timothy Pippert teaches a sociology class in Hagfors Center. (Photos by Courtney Perry) Share this: Tags: Facebook Twitter Academic Departments Diversity and Inclusion Pinterest Class of 1975 Faculty LinkedIn Email Critical Race and Ethnicity Studies Hawthorne History Sociology Torstenson Winter 2020–21  PREVIOUS POST NEXT POST  Augsburg launches the Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship Augsburg awarded $10,000 Minneapolis Foundation grant YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE Augsburg’s in-house Notes from President Augsburg Board of Regents epidemiologist guides Pribbenow: Come and see! welcomes new and Auggies through the - on February 22, 2021 reelected members COVID-19 pandemic - on February 22, 2021 - on February 22, 2021 Undergraduate Admissions Majors and Programs Adult Undergraduate Admissions Course Catalog Graduate Admissions Accreditation Campus Tour Consumer Disclosures About Augsburg Inside Augsburg The Augsburg University website uses cookies to make your browsing experience as useful as possible. In order to have the full site experience, keep cookies enabled on Campus Map our site with cookies enabled, you are agreeing A-ZtoDirectory your web browser. By browsing their use. Review Augsburg's privacy policy for more details. News and Media Ok Make a Gift Search Augsburg.edu HOME PREVIOUS ISSUES ABOUT Go CONTACT US CURRENT ISSUE NSF GRANTS AUGSBURG $3 MILLION FOR STEM STUDENTS by Kate Norlander Share this: February 22, 2021 Facebook  Around the Quad Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Email Augsburg University will receive $3,075,000 of a $5 million grant award from the National Science Foundation to support the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (often referred to as STEM). The project will provide scholarships, internships, and research experiences for nearly 200 students over a ve-year period beginning in the 2020–21 academic year at Augsburg, Century College, Minneapolis College, and Normandale Community College. These institutions will work together to provide seamless pathways for students to transfer from two-year to four-year STEM programs. Scholarships of $7,500 to $10,000 will be awarded to students pursuing majors in biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, food science, mathematics, and physics. These students will be connected to internships and research experiences through partner organizations SciTech, UpTurnships, and MnDRIVE, as well as through Augsburg’s undergraduate research programs. This is the third phase of a program initiated by Augsburg and funded by the NSF. Grants in the prior phases Sign up for Email Newsletter Submit Your Alumni News funded scholarships for 111 STEM students, 100% of whom graduated and went on to pursue careers or continue their education in STEM elds. CONNECT WITH US The project will be led by Rebekah Dupont, Augsburg’s director of STEM programs and associate professor of mathematics, working in collaboration with principal investigators from the other participating institutions. Top image: Associate Professor Rebekah Dupont is director of STEM programs at Augsburg. (Courtesy photo) Share this: Tags: Facebook Twitter Experiential Education Grants Pinterest LinkedIn The Sciences Email Winter 2020–21  PREVIOUS POST NEXT POST  Augsburg hosts bold new speaker series Augsburg launches the Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE Augsburg’s in-house Notes from President Augsburg Board of Regents epidemiologist guides Pribbenow: Come and see! welcomes new and Auggies through the - on February 22, 2021 reelected members COVID-19 pandemic - on February 22, 2021 - on February 22, 2021 Undergraduate Admissions Majors and Programs Adult Undergraduate Admissions Course Catalog Graduate Admissions Accreditation Campus Tour Consumer Disclosures About Augsburg Inside Augsburg The Augsburg University website uses cookies to make your browsing experience as useful as possible. In order to have the full site experience, keep cookies enabled on Campus Map our site with cookies enabled, you are agreeing A-ZtoDirectory your web browser. By browsing their use. Review Augsburg's privacy policy for more details. News and Media Ok Make a Gift Search Augsburg.edu HOME PREVIOUS ISSUES ABOUT Go CONTACT US CURRENT ISSUE AUGSBURG HOSTS BOLD NEW SPEAKER SERIES by Stephen Jendraszak Share this: February 22, 2021 Facebook  Around the Quad Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Email Augsburg Bold is a series of initiatives designed to help Augsburg University students continue to thrive during the pandemic and to enjoy the distinctive experience o ered at Augsburg. As part of that work, during Fall 2020, the university quad was set up as a physically distanced outdoor seminar room, enabling up to 60 attendees to take part in a series of remarkable presentations. All presentations were also livestreamed via Zoom. R.John @raccajohn Thank you, @GovTimWalz and @GwenWalz for sharing your thoughts on servant leadership with @AugsburgU today. #AugsburgBold Sign up for Email Newsletter Submit Your Alumni News CONNECT WITH US 5:15 PM · Oct 5, 2020 7 Copy link to Tweet 3 Students had the opportunity to hear from several speakers: Katie Clark ’10 MAN, ’14 DNP spoke about her work building relationships with those in our community who are experiencing homelessness and helping to ensure that their basic needs for food, shelter, and health care are met. Olivia House ’20 discussed the summer of resistance by Black youth. Jodi Harpstead, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Services, spoke about what she’s learned through her work during the pandemic. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Gwen Walz discussed their experience in education and leadership. Watch recordings of selected speakers at augsburg.edu/bold. ‹ › Augsburg Bold speakers included Katie Clark ’10 MAN, ’14 DNP, and Gov. Tim Walz and Gwen Walz. Students, sta , and faculty attended the socially distanced events on Augsburg’s campus or watched the livestream online. (Photos by Rebecca Slater) Top image: Augsburg’s quad was decorated for the Augsburg Bold speaker series. (Photo by Courtney Perry) Share this: Tags: Facebook Class of 2020 Twitter Pinterest Doctor of Nursing Practice Master of Arts in Nursing On Campus LinkedIn Events Email Experiential Education Winter 2020–21  PREVIOUS POST NEXT POST  Forum on Workplace Inclusion to host rst virtual conference NSF grants Augsburg $3 million for STEM students YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE Augsburg’s in-house Notes from President Augsburg Board of Regents epidemiologist guides Pribbenow: Come and see! welcomes new and Auggies through the - on February 22, 2021 reelected members COVID-19 pandemic - on February 22, 2021 - on February 22, 2021 Undergraduate Admissions Majors and Programs Adult Undergraduate Admissions Course Catalog Graduate Admissions Accreditation Campus Tour Consumer Disclosures About Augsburg Inside Augsburg The Augsburg University website uses cookies to make your browsing experience as useful as possible. In order to have the full site experience, keep cookies enabled on Campus Map our site with cookies enabled, you are agreeing A-ZtoDirectory your web browser. By browsing their use. Review Augsburg's privacy policy for more details. News and Media Ok Make a Gift Search Augsburg.edu HOME PREVIOUS ISSUES ABOUT Go CONTACT US CURRENT ISSUE FORUM ON WORKPLACE INCLUSION TO HOST FIRST VIRTUAL CONFERENCE by Stephen Jendraszak Share this: February 22, 2021 Facebook  Around the Quad Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Email The Forum on Workplace Inclusion, based at Augsburg University, will host its 33rd annual conference as a virtual event March 8–12, 2021. Workplaces have struggled during the past year to navigate a digital, distanced work environment brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, social protests centered around racism and the unjust deaths of Black people at the hands of police have also brought greater attention to overwhelming disparities in economics, education, health care, housing, and public safety. This year, the forum asks: What will it take to start a workplace revolution that moves us from talk to Sign up for Email Newsletter action? Submit Your Alumni News Learn more and register to attend at forumworkplaceinclusion.org. Share this: Tags: Facebook Twitter Community Engagement Forum on Workplace Inclusion Pinterest Diversity and Inclusion LinkedIn Events CONNECT WITH US Email Experiential Education Winter 2020–21  PREVIOUS POST NEXT POST  Augsburg Homecoming (at a distance) Augsburg hosts bold new speaker series YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE Augsburg’s in-house Notes from President Augsburg Board of Regents epidemiologist guides Pribbenow: Come and see! welcomes new and Auggies through the - on February 22, 2021 reelected members COVID-19 pandemic - on February 22, 2021 - on February 22, 2021 Undergraduate Admissions Majors and Programs Adult Undergraduate Admissions Course Catalog Graduate Admissions Accreditation Campus Tour Consumer Disclosures About Augsburg Inside Augsburg The Augsburg University website uses cookies to make your browsing experience as useful as possible. In order to have the full site experience, keep cookies enabled on Campus Map our site with cookies enabled, you are agreeing A-ZtoDirectory your web browser. By browsing their use. Review Augsburg's privacy policy for more details. News and Media Ok Make a Gift Search Augsburg.edu HOME PREVIOUS ISSUES ABOUT Go CONTACT US CURRENT ISSUE AUGSBURG HOMECOMING (AT A DISTANCE) by Briana Alamilla '17 Share this: February 22, 2021 Facebook  Around the Quad Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Email Homecoming 2020 celebrations looked a little di erent than previous years. Though social gatherings were restricted, the Augsburg Student Activities Council found creative ways to celebrate with a series of events during the week of September 21—some virtual and some physically distanced: Cider and canvas: Spread out in the quad, students created paintings in the style of artist Bob Ross. Create your own PopSocket: Participants made their own Augsburg-branded phone grip accessories. Drag and lip sync battle: Students competed by submitting videos of themselves lip-syncing to a song. Movie night: The lm “Queen & Slim” was screened in the quad. Homecoming royalty coronation ceremony: Homecoming court members were announced and royalty were crowned. Top image: Students participate in an outdoor event sponsored by the Augsburg Student Activities Council. (Photo by Courtney Perry) Share this: Sign up for Email Newsletter Submit Your Alumni News Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Email CONNECT WITH US Tags: Events Homecoming On Campus Student Activities And Achievements Winter 2020–21  PREVIOUS POST NEXT POST  Cedar-Riverside supply drives support neighborhood Forum on Workplace Inclusion to host rst virtual conference YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE Augsburg’s in-house Notes from President Augsburg Board of Regents epidemiologist guides Pribbenow: Come and see! welcomes new and Auggies through the - on February 22, 2021 reelected members COVID-19 pandemic - on February 22, 2021 - on February 22, 2021 Undergraduate Admissions Majors and Programs Adult Undergraduate Admissions Course Catalog Graduate Admissions Accreditation Campus Tour Consumer Disclosures About Augsburg Inside Augsburg The Augsburg University website uses cookies to make your browsing experience as useful as possible. In order to have the full site experience, keep cookies enabled on Campus Map our site with cookies enabled, you are agreeing A-ZtoDirectory your web browser. By browsing their use. Review Augsburg's privacy policy for more details. News and Media Ok Make a Gift Search Augsburg.edu HOME PREVIOUS ISSUES ABOUT Go CONTACT US CURRENT ISSUE CEDAR-RIVERSIDE SUPPLY DRIVES SUPPORT NEIGHBORHOOD by Briana Alamilla '17 Share this: February 22, 2021 Facebook  Around the Quad Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Email The COVID-19 pandemic, combined with the damage some businesses experienced following the murder of George Floyd, put a strain on Augsburg’s Twin Cities community as many local stores temporarily closed and access to public transportation was reduced. In June and August, Augsburg University organized supply drives in partnership with the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. Drivers in more than 550 cars participated in the supply drives, and their donations were delivered to the Brian Coyle Center through several dozen trips. “This is our community; this is our neighborhood,” one volunteer said. “So when our neighbors are hurting, we step forward and do what we can to help.” Read more about Auggies’ e orts to support the community: “What it takes to ght a pandemic.” Sign up for Email Newsletter Augsburg University @AugsburgU Submit Your Alumni News Augsburg’s supply drive was a success! Thank you to all who donated and volunteered to help out our so loved Cedar-Riverside community. It is in times like these where we must all come together as the thoughtful stewards that we are. #AuggiePride CONNECT WITH US 9:51 PM · Jun 1, 2020 91 15 Copy link to Tweet Top image: Auggies collected donations for the Twin Cities community in Summer 2020. (Photo by Joe Mann) Share this: Tags: Facebook Twitter Community Engagement Pinterest Diversity and Inclusion LinkedIn Email Winter 2020–21  PREVIOUS POST NEXT POST  Augsburg names George Floyd Memorial Scholarship recipients Augsburg Homecoming (at a distance) YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE Augsburg’s in-house Notes from President Augsburg Board of Regents epidemiologist guides Pribbenow: Come and see! welcomes new and Auggies through the - on February 22, 2021 reelected members COVID-19 pandemic - on February 22, 2021 - on February 22, 2021 Undergraduate Admissions Majors and Programs Adult Undergraduate Admissions Course Catalog Graduate Admissions Accreditation Campus Tour Consumer Disclosures About Augsburg Inside Augsburg The Augsburg University website uses cookies to make your browsing experience as useful as possible. In order to have the full site experience, keep cookies enabled on Campus Map our site with cookies enabled, you are agreeing A-ZtoDirectory your web browser. By browsing their use. Review Augsburg's privacy policy for more details. News and Media Ok Make a Gift Search Augsburg.edu HOME PREVIOUS ISSUES ABOUT Go CONTACT US CURRENT ISSUE AUGSBURG NAMES GEORGE FLOYD MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS by Briana Alamilla '17 Share this: February 22, 2021 Facebook  Around the Quad Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Email Augsburg University created the George Floyd Memorial Scholarship, which is designed to support outstanding third- and fourth-year students who have a strong understanding of Black experiences and U.S. history while showing leadership in advancing racial justice e orts. Each selected student received a $5,000 scholarship. Augsburg named the ve inaugural scholarship recipients: Aisha Abdi ’21 is majoring in management information systems and marketing. Quran Al-Hameed ’21 is majoring in psychology. Mallory Ferguson ’21 is majoring in communication studies. Sign up for Email Newsletter Kaltun Hassan ’22 is majoring in computer science. Nadirah McGill ’21 is majoring in music business. Submit Your Alumni News CONNECT WITH US Aisha Abdi ’21, management information systems and marketing Quran Al-Hameed ’21, psychology Kaltun Hassan ’22, computer science Nadirah McGill ’21, music business (Courtesy photo) Mallory Ferguson ’21, communication studies Read more about Augsburg’s Equity and Inclusion Initiatives. Share this: Tags: Facebook Class of 2021 Twitter Class of 2022 Pinterest LinkedIn Diversity and Inclusion Email Scholarship Winter 2020–21  PREVIOUS POST NEXT POST  Prospective students and their families engage with virtual campus tour Cedar-Riverside supply drives support neighborhood YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE Augsburg’s in-house Notes from President Augsburg Board of Regents epidemiologist guides Pribbenow: Come and see! welcomes new and Auggies through the - on February 22, 2021 reelected members COVID-19 pandemic - on February 22, 2021 - on February 22, 2021 Undergraduate Admissions Majors and Programs Adult Undergraduate Admissions Course Catalog Graduate Admissions Accreditation Campus Tour Consumer Disclosures About Augsburg Inside Augsburg The Augsburg University website uses cookies to make your browsing experience as useful as possible. In order to have the full site experience, keep cookies enabled on Campus Map our site with cookies enabled, you are agreeing A-ZtoDirectory your web browser. By browsing their use. Review Augsburg's privacy policy for more details. News and Media Ok Make a Gift Search Augsburg.edu HOME PREVIOUS ISSUES ABOUT Go CONTACT US CURRENT ISSUE PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES ENGAGE WITH VIRTUAL CAMPUS TOUR Multimedia platform o ers a glimpse of Augsburg from afar by Laura Swanson Lindahl '15 MBA Share this: Facebook February 22, 2021 Twitter  Around the Quad Pinterest LinkedIn Email For the past year, Augsburg University’s virtual tour has showcased the Minneapolis campus’ facilities and resources as it has been challenging to conduct in-person visits due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a multimedia interactive map with photos and videos, the virtual tour simulates an on-the-ground campus experience. The virtual tour o ers a look at Augsburg’s residence halls and athletic facilities, details about academic buildings and green spaces, and a peek inside performance Sign up for Email Newsletter venues and practice rooms. The virtual tour launched in March 2020 to help out-of-state and international populations visualize the campus. From its launch in March, Submit Your Alumni News 2020, through February 1, Check out the virtual tour at augsburg.university-tour.com. 2021, the virtual tour has had 32,421 visitors. The top states visitors are from are CONNECT WITH US Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Texas, and California. Share this: Tags: Facebook On Campus Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Email Winter 2020–21  PREVIOUS POST NEXT POST  Augsburg TRIO/Student Support Services earns fth consecutive U.S. Department of Education grant Augsburg names George Floyd Memorial Scholarship recipients YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE Augsburg’s in-house Notes from President Augsburg Board of Regents epidemiologist guides Pribbenow: Come and see! welcomes new and Auggies through the - on February 22, 2021 reelected members COVID-19 pandemic - on February 22, 2021 - on February 22, 2021 Undergraduate Admissions Majors and Programs Adult Undergraduate Admissions Course Catalog Graduate Admissions Accreditation Campus Tour Consumer Disclosures About Augsburg Inside Augsburg The Augsburg University website uses cookies to make your browsing experience as useful as possible. In order to have the full site experience, keep cookies enabled on Campus Map our site with cookies enabled, you are agreeing A-ZtoDirectory your web browser. By browsing their use. Review Augsburg's privacy policy for more details. News and Media Ok Make a Gift Search Augsburg.edu HOME PREVIOUS ISSUES ABOUT Go CONTACT US CURRENT ISSUE AUGSBURG TRIO/STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES EARNS FIFTH CONSECUTIVE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION GRANT by Laura Swanson Lindahl '15 MBA Share this: Facebook February 22, 2021 Twitter  Around the Quad Pinterest LinkedIn Email The U.S. Department of Education announced that Augsburg University was awarded a federal Student Support Services ve-year grant of nearly $300,000 annually to help more students succeed in and graduate from college. This is the fth TRIO/SSS grant awarded to Augsburg, which has hosted the project since 2001. Each year, Augsburg TRIO/SSS serves about 160 undergraduate students. The TRIO/SSS program is designed for students who are the rst in their families to attend post-secondary education, students who are low income, or students with disabilities. The grant funds an array of services including academic skill development, academic advising, tutoring, nancial aid advice, and nancial literacy. “Augsburg TRIO/SSS has established a reputation for helping students navigate Sign up for Email Newsletter higher education to achieve their academic goals,” said Aly Olson, director of Augsburg TRIO/SSS. Submit Your Alumni News “Students know their TRIO advisor is looking out for their best interests and helps them through the tough decisions of college life. We are thrilled to be able to continue this important work at Augsburg.” —Aly Olson Aly Olson (Photo by Courtney Perry) CONNECT WITH US The federal government contributes about 70% of the funds needed to support Augsburg’s TRIO/SSS project. The university contributes the remaining program funds. Top image: Brooklyn Jones ’22, clinical psychology major and sociology minor, attends a Summer Bridge class in 2019. (Photo by Bob Stack ’71) Share this: Tags: Facebook Grants Twitter TRIO SSS Pinterest LinkedIn Email Winter 2020–21  PREVIOUS POST NEXT POST  Augsburg receives grants for equity in education and remote learning Prospective students and their families engage with virtual campus tour YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE Augsburg’s in-house Notes from President Augsburg Board of Regents epidemiologist guides Pribbenow: Come and see! welcomes new and Auggies through the - on February 22, 2021 reelected members COVID-19 pandemic - on February 22, 2021 - on February 22, 2021 Undergraduate Admissions Majors and Programs Adult Undergraduate Admissions Course Catalog Graduate Admissions Accreditation Campus Tour Consumer Disclosures About Augsburg Inside Augsburg The Augsburg University website uses cookies to make your browsing experience as useful as possible. In order to have the full site experience, keep cookies enabled on Campus Map our site with cookies enabled, you are agreeing A-ZtoDirectory your web browser. By browsing their use. Review Augsburg's privacy policy for more details. News and Media Ok Make a Gift Search Augsburg.edu HOME PREVIOUS ISSUES ABOUT Go CONTACT US CURRENT ISSUE AUGSBURG RECEIVES GRANTS FOR EQUITY IN EDUCATION AND REMOTE LEARNING by Laura Swanson Lindahl '15 MBA Share this: Facebook February 22, 2021 Twitter  Around the Quad Pinterest LinkedIn Email This fall, Augsburg University received $250,000 in grant funding from the State of Minnesota to address equity in education and remote learning needs among students of color, Indigenous students, and those who are disabled or low-income. The funds came through two awards under the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief grant. One award provided direct aid to teacher candidates who needed to pay unexpected costs posed by the pandemic during their student teaching semester and coursework. The second award was geared toward making hardware and software available to more students to support them in their switch to online learning. This support included additional laptops for checkout, noise-cancelling headphones, digital tablets for art and math courses, training resources for successful online learning, new digital video resources in the library, and captioning of instructional videos to increase accessibility. The GEER grant program was a redistribution of federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funds. Sign up for Email Newsletter Submit Your Alumni News View more grants news. Top image: A redistribution of federal CARES Act funds provided support for Augsburg students’ online CONNECT WITH US learning. (Photo by Courtney Perry) Share this: Tags: Facebook Grants Twitter Remote Learning Pinterest LinkedIn Email Winter 2020–21  PREVIOUS POST NEXT POST  In memoriam, Winter 2020–21 Augsburg TRIO/Student Support Services earns fth consecutive U.S. Department of Education grant YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE Augsburg’s in-house Notes from President Augsburg Board of Regents epidemiologist guides Pribbenow: Come and see! welcomes new and Auggies through the - on February 22, 2021 reelected members COVID-19 pandemic - on February 22, 2021 - on February 22, 2021 Undergraduate Admissions Majors and Programs Adult Undergraduate Admissions Course Catalog Graduate Admissions Accreditation Campus Tour Consumer Disclosures About Augsburg Inside Augsburg The Augsburg University website uses cookies to make your browsing experience as useful as possible. In order to have the full site experience, keep cookies enabled on Campus Map our site with cookies enabled, you are agreeing A-ZtoDirectory your web browser. By browsing their use. Review Augsburg's privacy policy for more details. News and Media Ok Make a Gift Search Augsburg.edu HOME PREVIOUS ISSUES ABOUT Go CONTACT US CURRENT ISSUE IN MEMORIAM, WINTER 2020–21 Remembering and honoring Auggies by Amanda Symes '09, '15 MFA Share this: February 22, 2021 Facebook Twitter  Auggies Connect, In Memoriam Pinterest LinkedIn Email Below we recognize the alumni and friends whose noti cations of death were received between March 1, 2020, and January 1, 2021. 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1970| 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2020 | Faculty 1940s Fern L. (Hanson) Gudmestad ’41, Minneapolis, age 101, on June 3. Wayne E. Peterson ’43, Palm City, Florida, age 99, on November 14. Sign up for Email Newsletter Thelma I. (Erickson) Mckenzie ’44, Hollandale, Wisconsin, age 96, on July 1. Helen V. (Odden) Pederson ’45, Spooner, Wisconsin, age 96, on May 5. Submit Your Alumni News Doris K. (Larson) Walen ’45, Alamo, North Dakota, age 97, on October 3. Martha E. Fosse Palmquist ’46, Lakeville, Minnesota, age 96, on November 22. CONNECT WITH US Lowell O. Larson ’47, Claremont, California, age 95, on May 10. Arnold J. Oie ’47, Glencoe, Minnesota, age 96, on August 1. Margery A. (Manger) Torgerson ’47, Circle Pines, Minnesota, age 94, on March 30. Esther P. (Bakken) Crosby ’48, Moorhead, Minnesota, age 95, on June 19. John E. Hanson ’48, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 93, on October 1. Jean A. (Tibke) Vane ’48, Visalia, California, age 93, on October 20. John F. Anderson ’49, Minneapolis, age 96, on December 22. June (Carlson) Gustafson ’49, Lincoln, Nebraska, age 92, on September 28. 1950s Louis L. Ennen ’50, Dublin, Ohio, age 94, on July 7. Lilian J. (Johnson) Ingersoll ’50, Lexington, South Carolina, age 96, on June 5. Phillip A. Quanbeck ’50, Maple Grove, Minnesota, age 93, on December 1. Mary L. (Johnson) Froiland ’50, Iron River, Wisconsin, age 91, on October 22. Orville E. Meland ’51, River Falls, Wisconsin, age 93, on October 27. Caroline J. (Borsheim) Melhus’ 51, Minneapolis, age 90, on May 31. Arvid D. Dixen ’52, Minneapolis, age 89, on May 20. Harold J. Hansen ’52, Normandy Park, Washington, age 90, on April 17. Luther J. Larson ’52, Sparta, Wisconsin, age 89, on July 6. Mildred A. Nelson ’52, Minneapolis, age 91, December 5. Alvin H. Nygard ’52, Fargo, North Dakota, age 96, on July 31. Yvonne M. (Bagley) Olson ’52, Burnsville, Minnesota, age 88, on March 16. Orville L. Olson ’52, Burnsville, Minnesota, age 89, on June 6. Ronald A. Berge ’53, West Fargo, North Dakota, age 88, on March 15. Robert O. Bruder ’53, Minneapolis, age 91, on August 9. Donald V. Dillon ’53, Minneapolis, age 89, on July 17. Kent B. Quanbeck ’53, McVille, North Dakota, age 90, on April 6. Gloria M. (Halverson) Boyum ’54, Kenyon, Minnesota, age 88, on December 19. George W. Fisher ’54, Lexington, South Carolina, age 88, on May 11. Wallace L. Hafstad ’54, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 88, on March 30. Janis R. (Larson) Hanson ’54, Canby, Minnesota, age 92, on October 2. Vivian (Waisanen) Ryden ’54, Northglenn, Colorado, age 87, on May 4. Richard M. Hagestuen ’55, Bismarck, North Dakota, age 87, on October 28. Robert M. Herman ’55, Minneapolis, age 86, on June 8. Vicent Peterson ’55, Hutchinson, Minnesota, age 87, on November 11. Richard H. Stensrud ’55, Mesa, Arizona, age 87, on August 25. LeRoy E. Nevin ’56, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, age 86, on June 7. R. Luther Olson ’56, Tucson, Arizona, age 84, on August 27. Bruce W. Rorvig ’56, Kalispell, Montana, age 85, on August 18. Duane J. Solem ’56, Edina, Minnesota, age 91, on May 2. Elizabeth A. (Mortensen) Swanson ’56, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 86, on November 6. Robert Jeska ’57, East Grand Forks, Minnesota, age 85, May 21. Erwin J. Moe ’57, Plymouth, Minnesota, age 88, on April 28. Robert C. Oslund ’57, Silver Bay, Minnesota, age 89, on December 4. Ronald B. Welde ’57, Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, age 86, on September 4. Ardis H. (Lee) Zunich ’57, Miles City, Montana, age 82, on July 18. Robert L. Bagley ’58, Cottage Grove, Minnesota, age 84, on November 23. Bonnie (Sandvig) Erickson ’58, Canton, South Dakota, age 83, on May 9. Alice M. (Lindell) Lindgren ’58, Bemidji, Minnesota, age 83, on September 11. Marlene (Hegg) Ridens ’58, Montevideo, Minnesota, age 85, August 19. Donald J. Hagestuen ’59, Aitkin, Minnesota, age 83, on October 29. Arlene B. (Selander) Hill ’59, Allegan, Michigan, age 82, on September 11. Rhoda M. (Monseth) Huglen ’59, Roseau, Minnesota, age 83, on August 19. Heinrich Kopka ’59, Staples, Minnesota, age 85, on November 28. Walter W. Lundeen ’59, Minneapolis, age 89, on December 20. Richard G. Sletten ’59, North Oaks, Minnesota, age 82, on August 13. Peggy K. (O’Neil) Swensen ’59, Fargo, North Dakota, age 82, on April 11. Sharon K. (Grodt) West ’59, Chisago City, Minnesota, age 83, on March 16. 1960s Gordon Grinely ’60, Eau Galle Township, Wisconsin, age 82, on June 25. Marcia S. (Refsal) Sanders ’60, Chandler, Arizona, age 81, on October 13. Kermit L. Valleen ’60, Cambridge, Minnesota, age 83, November 16. Paula J. Bjorkley Carlson ’62, Madras, Oregon, age 80, on December 5. Allan P. Tveite ’62, Lakeville, Minnesota, age 80, on November 18. E. Nelvin Botten ’63, Stanwood, Washington, age 91, on September 16. Bernard E. Debar ’63, Minneapolis, age 89, on May 11. Helen A. (Anderson) Gildseth ’63, Duluth, Minnesota, age 78, on March 17. Lois J. (Bailey) Parson ’63, Braham, Minnesota, age 80, August 19. Clarice A. Sta ’63, Minneapolis, age 84, on April 9. Patrick J. Sullivan ’63, Miltona, Minnesota, age 79, on June 26. Lannette Y. (Haire) Reshetar ’64, Andover, Minnesota, age 77, on April 8. Lesley K. (Schwarten) Schmid ’64, Blaine, Minnesota, age 78, on June 12. Joyce M. (Nelson) Schrader ’64, Friendswood, Texas, age 77, on June 28. Susan L. Kyllo ’65, Spring Park, Minnesota, age 78, on December 16. Sharon (Tofte) Taeger ’65, Camrose, Canada, age 77, on April 4. Sharon L. (Wagner) Johnson ’66, Atikokan, Canada, age 76, on November 29. Sandra (Johnson) Kotval ’66, Spring Valley, Wisconsin, age 76, on October 15. Irene (Seltvedt) Yost ’66, Dickinson, North Dakota, age 77, on July 21. David E. Sylvester ’67, Cloquet, Minnesota, age 81, on October 29. Ruthe M. (Tollefson) Enstad ’68, Prior Lake, Minnesota, age 75, on October 15. Marvin J. Haara ’68, Hutchinson, Minnesota, age 76, on August 26. Ellen M. (Larson) Johnston ’68, Mankato, Minnesota, age 73, on August 16. Merrill D. Ronning ’68, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 75, on August 18. John P. Weinard ’68, Bloomington, Minnesota, age 81, on December 12. Douglas S. Anderson ’69, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 72, on April 10. Mervin F. Larson ’69, Excelsior, Minnesota, age 73, on August 30. 1970s Gloria J. (Wohlers Livingston) Hutchinson ’70, Falcon Heights, Minnesota, age 71, on July 1. Kathy J. (Kropelin) Cracraft ’71, Minneapolis, age 70, on July 13. Michael J. Hostetler ’71, Andover, Minnesota, age 71, on August 7. Joann S. Bell ’72, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 70, on August 9. Vicki C. (Linder) Lind ’72, Rosemount, Minnesota, age 70, on November 4. Je rey P. Ross ’72, Sheburn, Minnesota, age 64, on April 26. Jean L. (Bridges) Wachs ’73, Minneapolis, age 68, on June 4. David W. Finson ’75, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 67, on June 17. Douglas A. Fish ’75, Hastings, Minnesota, age 68, on November 24. Lois B. Wattman ’76, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 66, on September 28. Gregory J. Bannon ’77, Albertville, Minnesota, age 66, on August 15. 1980s Sandra J. Holm-Cyr ’82, Rich eld, Minnesota, age 72, on April 15. Arlene D. Hiles ’86, Stillwater, Minnesota, age 87, on September 11. 1990s Richard A. Gillitzer ’91, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, age 53, on May 24. Judith A. Francis ’92, Mound, Minnesota, age 80, on October 12. John S. Austin ’93, Minneapolis, age 70, on December 1. Debra J. Clark-Corley ’93, Gary, Indiana, age 65, on April 6. Nancy C. Sallman ’93, Minneapolis, age 65, on September 14. Violet E. (Schmitz) Rocek ’94, Minneapolis, age 85, on December 6. Eileen J. (Bridgeman) Biernat ’98, New Brighton, Minnesota, age 74, on September 4. 2000s Dylan E. Cook ’00, Christchurch, New Zealand, age 44, on September 7. Kelly A. (Duncan) Norden ’00, Minneapolis, age 42, on October 3. Philip R. Johnson ’04, Nisswa, Minnesota, age 56, on April 11. Michael R. Kuhlmann ’04, Minneapolis, age 39, on August 11. Christopher R. Hunnicutt ’08, Green Bay, Wisconsin, age 35, on March 27. Barton M. Lund ’08, Stuart, Florida, age 56, on December 12. 2010s Quinten P. Bissonette ’12, Spring Valley, Minnesota, age 43, on May 5. Shane M. Potter ’15, Garrison, Minnesota, age 31, on December 13. J. Parker Foley ’16, Duxbury, Massachusetts, age 27, on October 21. Maricio M. Mata-Thelen ’17, Minneapolis, age 26, on October 31. Kevin J. Baxter ’19, Burnsville, Minnesota, age 29, on November 2. 2020s Abdirizak A. Abdullahi ’21, Minneapolis, age 21, on April 26. Faculty Augsburg University’s Center for Global Education and Experience Guatemala Site Director Fidel Xinico Tum, San Lucas Sacatepéquez, Guatemala, age 60, on September 12. Submit address changes and nominations for remembrances to alumniupdate@augsburg.edu. Share this: Tags: Facebook Twitter Alumni News And Updates Pinterest LinkedIn Email Winter 2020–21  PREVIOUS POST NEXT POST  Augsburg receives $50,000 grant for Travelers EDGE® Augsburg receives grants for equity in education and remote learning YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE Give to the Max Day recap and sustaining Augsburg’s future - on January 26, 2021 Undergraduate Admissions Majors and Programs Adult Undergraduate Admissions Course Catalog Graduate Admissions Accreditation Campus Tour Consumer Disclosures About Augsburg Inside Augsburg The Augsburg University website uses cookies to make your browsing experience as useful as possible. In order to have the full site experience, keep cookies enabled on Campus Map our site with cookies enabled, you are agreeing A-ZtoDirectory your web browser. By browsing their use. Review Augsburg's privacy policy for more details. News and Media Ok Make a Gift Search Augsburg.edu HOME PREVIOUS ISSUES ABOUT Go CONTACT US CURRENT ISSUE AUGSBURG RECEIVES $50,000 GRANT FOR TRAVELERS EDGE® by John Weirick February 18, 2021 Share this: Facebook  Around the Quad Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Email The Travelers Companies, Inc. gave a $50,000 grant to Augsburg University in September 2020 to support Travelers EDGE. The program—which stands for Empowering Dreams for Graduation and Employment—provides scholarships, internships, job shadowing, professional development opportunities, and career advice. More than 100 Augsburg students have participated in the program since 2007. “There is much more to be gained from Travelers EDGE than solely professional development,” said Ann A. Ulring, program manager at Augsburg’s Strommen Center for Meaningful Work. “By the time scholars graduate, they are con dent, career-focused, and empowered to share who they are and what they have to o er.” EDGE scholar Samantha Lopez ’22, who completed a summer internship at Travelers, said, “Travelers has opened so many doors for me. It was amazing to learn rsthand what goes on inside a corporation and nd out I can do the work. Travelers provided me with the support, skills, and con dence I need to pursue a business career.” 2020–21 Recipients Sign up for Email Newsletter Submit Your Alumni News CONNECT WITH US Aaron Davis ’24, Business Management Yer Her ’23, Marketing Pa Houa Lee ’23, Marketing Hamza Jamari ’22, Marketing Duaa Katabay ’23, Business Management Curtis Love ’23, Marketing Samantha Lopez ’22, Communication Studies PangDao Xiong ’24, Marketing View more grants news. Top image: Samantha Lopez ’22 is one of several Travelers EDGE scholars at Augsburg. (Photos by Courtney Perry) Share this: Tags: Facebook Class of 2022 Twitter Grants Pinterest Strommen Center LinkedIn Email Supporting Augsburg Winter 2020–21  PREVIOUS POST NEXT POST  Give to the Max Day recap and sustaining Augsburg’s future In memoriam, Winter 2020–21 YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE Augsburg’s in-house Notes from President Augsburg Board of Regents epidemiologist guides Pribbenow: Come and see! welcomes new and Auggies through the - on February 22, 2021 reelected members COVID-19 pandemic - on February 22, 2021 - on February 22, 2021 Undergraduate Admissions Majors and Programs Adult Undergraduate Admissions Course Catalog Graduate Admissions Accreditation Campus Tour Consumer Disclosures About Augsburg Inside Augsburg The Augsburg University website uses cookies to make your browsing experience as useful as possible. In order to have the full site experience, keep cookies enabled on Campus Map our site with cookies enabled, you are agreeing A-ZtoDirectory your web browser. By browsing their use. Review Augsburg's privacy policy for more details. News and Media Ok Make a Gift Search Augsburg.edu HOME PREVIOUS ISSUES ABOUT Go CONTACT US CURRENT ISSUE GIVE TO THE MAX DAY RECAP AND SUSTAINING AUGSBURG’S FUTURE Thank you for supporting Augsburg during Give to the Max Day! by Amanda Symes '09, '15 MFA Share this: January 26, 2021 Facebook Twitter  Auggies Connect Pinterest LinkedIn Email Sign up for Email Newsletter Submit Your Alumni News CONNECT WITH US This November, Augsburg had a record-breaking Give to the Max Day in terms of donor participation and dollars raised. Here are the highlights: • $531,704 was raised across 41 projects, setting a new record. • 1,898 total donors gave, the most we’ve ever seen. • Gifts came from 41 states. • 56% of our 41 projects (23 projects) were fully funded, and many others were very close to fully funded. • One couple gave to 17 projects. This day continues to energize our students, faculty, and sta every year, and we can’t wait to see what we can accomplish next year. Watch this video from our students who would like to say a quick thank you. Make a di erence all year round Each year, 20% of the annual gifts to the Augsburg Fund come during Give to the Max Day. But giving to the Augsburg Fund matters all year round: We use these dollars to make a di erence for Auggies right away through scholarships, instruction and academic support, student programs, and other areas of the largest funding needs at Augsburg. Gifts to the Augsburg Fund touch the life of every student, faculty member, and sta member. More than 1,000 donors contribute to the fund each year, and you can join them. Make a di erence today. Give to the Augsburg Fund. Giving creates a ripple e ect for the future of Augsburg When a water droplet hits the surface of a pond, it causes a ripple much larger than the original drop. This is how your gift a ects Augsburg. Glass water droplet sculptures, created by Rhode Island artists, represent the expanding e ect that donors provide for the Augsburg community. Learn more about these water droplets and how endowed scholarships propel Augsburg’s work into the future. Lisa Smith and Dave Smith Sharon Mortrud ’64 (Courtesy Dennis Meyer ’78 and Bev ’78 (Courtesy photo) photo) Meyer (Courtesy photo) Share this: Tags: Facebook Augsburg Support Twitter Pinterest Give To The Max Day LinkedIn Scholarship Email Winter 2020–21  PREVIOUS POST NEXT POST  How to Build a Women’s Wrestling Program from Scratch Augsburg receives $50,000 grant for Travelers EDGE® YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE In memoriam, Winter 2020– 21 - on February 22, 2021 Undergraduate Admissions Majors and Programs Adult Undergraduate Admissions Course Catalog Graduate Admissions Accreditation Campus Tour Consumer Disclosures About Augsburg Inside Augsburg The Augsburg University website uses cookies to make your browsing experience as useful as possible. In order to have the full site experience, keep cookies enabled on Campus Map our site with cookies enabled, you are agreeing A-ZtoDirectory your web browser. By browsing their use. Review Augsburg's privacy policy for more details. 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Title: Augsburg Now Spring-Summer 2020
Collection: Alumni Magazine Collection
Search Result: NOTES FROM PRESIDENT PRIBBENOW As we concludeour yearlongcelebration of Augsburg's150th anniversary, in the midst of thesehistorictimes, I havebeenreflectingon someof the mottosand slogansAugsburghasusedthroughoutits history.Fromour foundingscripturalmotto-"And the Word becamefleshand live...
Show more NOTES FROM PRESIDENT PRIBBENOW As we concludeour yearlongcelebration of Augsburg's150th anniversary, in the midst of thesehistorictimes, I havebeenreflectingon someof the mottosand slogansAugsburghasusedthroughoutits history.Fromour foundingscripturalmotto-"And the Word becamefleshand livedamongus" (John1: 14)-to the familiar "Educationfor service,"to the morerecent"We believewe arecalledto serveour neighbor,"to the iconic phrasefirst usedas part of Augsburg's100th anniversary and nowfeaturedon our universityseal,"Throughtruth to freedom,"eachphrasepointsto abidingvaluesthat are at the heartof the educationAugsburgoffersto its students. I am particularlystruck by the claim madein that centennialmotto,and I wonderwhat it might mean to explorehow"Throughtruth to freedom"shapesour teachingand learningcommunityin the midst of these pandemictimes. In a recentpresentation,Professorof ReligionMary Lowe offereda provocativechallengewhensheaskedus what it might meanto educateour studentsfor freedom. Whata counterculturalnotion! Educatedfor freedomfrom ignorance,from oppression,from divisionand hatredand violence.Educatedfor freedomto makethe worldmorefair and just and healthy,to be goodneighbors,to take careof creation.Educatedfor freedomfor the sakeof the world,for the goodof others,for the promiseof wonderand creativity. At Augsburg,the possibilityof this educationfor freedom is groundedin claimsof truth. Aboveall, a theological claim of the truth of the gospelof JesusChrist-stated so powerfullyin that foundingscripturalmottofrom the first chapterof John'sgospel-a truth that makesall things possiblein our livesandwork in the world.At the same time, it's the truth wefind in our commitmentto a liberal arts education-to the belief in scientificknowledge,in socialanalysis,in artistic expression,in culturalwisdom. Andfinally, it's the truth we find in the livedexperiences of our studentsand the communitiesfrom whichthey come, truths that residein rituals andtraditionsand practicesthat invite us into worldsrich in knowledgeand wonder. "Throughtruth to freedom"strikesme as a compelling responseto this momentwhenwe find ourselvesliving at the intersectionof three pandemics.TheCOVID-19 pandemichasdisruptedall aspectsof howwe live and work,and it haspointedlyi11ustratedthe tensionbetween public healthand economicwell-being.Followingin the wakeof that pandemic,an economicpandemicthreatens our socialfabric with massiveunemployment and business closuresworldwide.And, mostrecently,the racial inequities exacerbated by the senselessmurderof GeorgeFloydby Minneapolispoliceofficers-along with countlessBlack, Indigenous,and otherpeopleof colorwho'veexperienced similar racismandviolence-havecreateda third pandemic that threatensto tear our countryapart.Surelythis unchartedintersectionof crisespresentsuniquechallenges for all of us as citizens,tryingto imaginehowwe will navigateto someas yet unknownfuture. The questionwe will ask at Augsburg-a questionat the heartof our academicmissionand our commitment to socialjustice-is, "Whereis the truth in the midst of thesepandemics?" Whatis the truth aboutkeepingeachotherhealthy in the face of a novelcoronavirus? Whatis the truth in an economythat, moreand more,deepensremarkable inequities?Whatis the truth in centuriesof systemic racismand oppression? Andthe truths we will find, always evolvingand emergingand transforming,will free us for the workwe are calledto do as "informedcitizens,thoughtful stewards,critical thinkers,and responsibleleaders"Augsburg'smission! Let us go forwardtogetherinto the next 150 yearsof Augsburg'slife recommittedto educationguidedby the beliefthat throughtruth there is indeedfreedom.I can only wonderwhatsucha counterculturalbeliefwill meanfor storiesyet to be told. Staystrong,safe,andwelI. Faithfullyyours, PAUL C.PRIBBENOW, PRESIDENT AUGSBURG NOW Spring-Summer 2020 VicePresident and Chief Operating Officer Rebecca John'13MBA Associate VicePresident and Chief Marketing Officer Stephen Jendraszak Director ofMarketing Laura Swanson Lindahl '15MBA Director ofPublic Relations andInternal Communications GitaSitaramiah Assistant Director of Marketing, Creative Denielle Stepka '11 Marketing Copywriter John Weirick Communication and Social Media Specialist Briana Alamilla '17 EDITOR'S NOTE Whenwe beganmakingthis magazinein early2020, the worldwas markedlydifferent than the onewe inhabit today.AugsburgNowstaff delayedthe magazine'stimeline due to the impactof the COVID-19 pandemicon the university'soperations. Mostof the storiesand eventsdescribedhereinoccurredbeforeit becamenecessary to shift to manyworkingfrom home,online gatherings,and other modifiedoperations to slowthe spreadof the virus. Becausewe wantedto sharetheseremarkablestoriesand Auggieaccomplishments as soonas possible,our team decidedto releasethis issuein digital-onlyformat, a first in the magazine'shistory. -John Weirick,editor Project Manager JuliKramer Communications and Social Media Consultant KateNorlander Advancement Communications Specialist KaiaChambers Senior Communications Specialist forPrincipal Gifts Amanda Symes '09,'15MFA WebManager JoeMann Contributing Writer KateH.Elliott Augsburg Nowis published by Augsburg University 2211Riverside Avenue Minneapolis, MN55454 Opinions expressed inAugsburg Now donotnecessarily reflect official university policy. ISSN 1058-1545 02 AROUND THE QUAD AWOMEN'S WRESTLING 10 HOWTOBUILD PROGRAM FROM SCRATCH 18 MISTAKEN IDENTITY 24 HONORING AUGGIES 25 AUGGIES CONNECT 28 CLASS NOTES 32 INMEMORIAM Onthecover: Augsburg commemorates aneventin itshistory andreflects onits significance fortoday. See page2 andpage8. Allphotos byCourtney Perry unless otherwise indicated Send address corrections to alumniupdate@augsburg.edu. Send comments to now@augsburg.edu. COMMENCEMENT 2020 On Friday, May 29, and Sunday, May 31, Augsburg University celebrated commencement virtually. Taking precautions to slow the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19, Augsburg was among numerous institutions nationally that hosted virtual celebrations to recognize graduating students. The streamed online event opened with speeches from Provost KarenKaivolaand President PaulPribbenow. Personalized slides for graduates included photos and messages that the students submitted. Friends and family posted comments to the video stream as they watched the event. Students took to social media to share their graduation posts using the hashtag #AuggieGrad. Once it's again safe to host large gatherings, Augsburg wi 11 plan an in-person ceremony for the Class of 2020 that will include many more familiar commencement traditions. ONE DAY INMAY This year's commencement celebration featured a central theme, chosen in April, that connected defining moments in Augsburg's history with its contemporary reality. Uplifting the university's longstanding commitments to equity and inclusion, the theme "68/20: One Day in May" called the university community to explore the actions and outcomes of events in 1968 to consider their relevance for 2020. Following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Augsburg canceled classes on May 15, 1968, and hosted a series of workshops and lectures. Augsburg faculty and local Black community members led conversations focused on racism, politics, power, education, and violence-significant tensions in American life in 1968. This year, Augsburg presented honorary degrees during the virtual commencement, recognizing two leaders of the historic One Day in May in 1968: the Hon. LaJune ThomasLange'75 and MahmoudEl-Kati. Augsburg owes a debt of gratitude to the leaders of One Day in May, an event that continues to inform and inspire the university community to engage in efforts for equity and justice. Their contributions to our society and to Augsburg resonated strongly in the virtual commencement ceremonies, which took place just days after George Floyd's murder by Minneapolis police. Blackartists,alongwith Indigenous andotherstudentsandcommunity members of color,ledanart campaign to upliftOneDayin Mayduring Augsburg 's sesquicentennial celebration. e Hearaudiorecordings fromtheeventin 1968,andseemoreOne I Dayin Mayart, includinga bannerthat appeared in TheNew Yorker, at augsburg.edu/now. rt at u s ur Fac ulty, vvorkS 1 prese nt g.StgJl SERIES SPEAKERS THE ART OFAUGSBURGCONVOCATION The Augsburg University Convocation Series is an annual As part of the university's yearlong celebration of its 150th speaker series that includes long-standing endowed and anniversary, KristinAnderson, professor of art history and special programs. Recent presenters included: archivist, curated an exhibition of works by Augsburg art faculty dating back to the origin of the department in the 1950s. The exhibit included works by early department members, such as HansBergand IvanDoseff,former longtime faculty members, including NormHolenand PhilThompson, and current faculty members Stephen Geffre,ChrisHoultberg, DanIbarra,roberttom, LyzWendland,and others. 1. DeAnna Cummings, chief executive officer of Juxtaposition Arts, who shared a presentation at the Horbal Lecture in November called "Putting Creativity to Work 2025: Stronger Communities Through Local Art and Design" 2. John S. Wright, professor emeritus of English and African American and African Studies at the University of Minnesota, who delivered "Where Do ,,1.··.f ,. .. > • " -~ We Go From Here: Chaos or Community" at the 32nd annual Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation in January 3. Kwame Anthony Appiah, professor of philosophy and law at New York University, who presented "Ethics, Identity, and Cosmopolitanism" at the Batalden Seminar in Applied Ethics in March Thefacultyartexhibitwasdisplayed intheChristensen Center ArtGallery. 4 AUGSBURG NOW AROUND THEQUAD Hearst Foundation awards Augsburg I Lto R:President PaulPribbenow, PeterHeegaard, andMikeChristensen $75,000 FOR LEAD FELLOWS PROGRAM URBAN INVESTORS FINDSNEWHOME ATAUGSBURG Last November,Augsburg University's Sabo Center for Democracyand Citizenship and the Strommen Center for Meaningful Work welcomed a new campus partner: Urban Investors. Formerly known as Urban Adventure, this program helps bankers understand the challenges and opportunities within cities through experiential learning opportunities. The program also facilitates partnerships between public, private, and LEAD Fellows, a program of Augsburg University's Sabo Center for Democracyand Citizenship, this winter received $75,000 from the Hearst Foundation, Inc. to support students as they pursue in-depth, long-term, community-based work at paid internships. The program name stands for Leaders for Equity, Action, and Democracy. nonprofit groups and promotes investment and community development Students spend that move families out of poverty, revitalize neighborhoods, improve two to four years engaged schools, and build economic opportunity. in public work projects that address social /i: THE AUGSBURG ~iPODCAST:SEASON3 issues such Augsburg 's LEAD Fellows program is affiliatedwiththe far-reaching Bonner Program that aimsto transform students, communities, andcampuses throughservice. as education, homelessness, racial justice, and poverty while also The first two seasonsof the participating in a peer learning cohort. The LEAD Fellows program is unique in Augsburg Podcastfeatured that it offers students a pathway to generate faculty and staff sharing stories income while also making a difference and growing as leaders. The program is cohort- of their work with students. The third season, launched in March, based with a strong support framework that takes a new approach and invites helps students to develop connections with students and a recent graduate peers and mentors, build their sense of MIDCO to discuss their experiences with internships and the ways belonging, and hone their leadership skills. The Hearst Foundation award will fund in which Augsburg has helped the pay students receive for their internships support their personal and educational goals. and will enhance cohort activities, including semiannual retreats and biweekly gatherings. Listentothenewseason at • I augsburg.edu/podcast or inyourpodcast app. Barclay Bates'18 SPRING SUMMfR ?020 5 AROUND THEQUAD HONORING RetiringFaculty Several faculty members are entering retirement following years of dedicated service to Augsburg University. Augsburg is grateful for their commitment to advancing the university's mission and supporting TheDoctor ofPsychology inClinical Psychology degree launches to meetgrowing demand This past November, the university introduced its second doctoral program: a Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology. Augsburg's first, the Doctor of Nursing Practice, began in 2010. Augsburg worked with former Minnesota School of Professional Psychology faculty and staff to provide continuity for students who were student learning within and beyond the classroom. JOHN CERRITO AssistantProfessor , Department of Business-joined Augsburgin 1983 MARGARET FINDERS Professor , Department of Education-joinedAugsburg previously enrol led in the program housed at Argosy University. After in 2014 the closure of Argosy in March 2019, Augsburg earned accreditation to become Minnesota's only MARK FUEHRER university offering an in-person PsyD program in A 9' clinical psychology. Augsburg is now accepting applications. augsbu rg.edu/psyd Professor , Department of Philosophy-joined Augsburgin 1971 Employment of Iicensed psychologists and related occupations is projected to grow 13. 7% from 2016 to 2026 in DAWN KADERABEK '18 DNP the United States. "We are pleased to offer this PsyD program as a way to meet the in 2015 growing demand for mental health services statewide," said Monica VIRGINIA MCCARTHY Devers,Augsburg University dean of professional studies. Associate Professor , Department of Nursing-joined Augsburgin 2011 Instructor , Department of Nursing-joinedAugsburg NANCY RODENBORG Augsburg winsCampus Compact ImpactAward Professor , Department of SocialWork-joined Augsburgin 2000 Campus Compact, a network of universities across the United States MICHAEL SCHOCK that are committed to public engagement in higher education, honored Associate Professor , Department of SocialWork- Augsburg University as an inaugural joinedAugsburgin 1993 recipient of the Richard Guarasci Award for Institutional Transformation. NANCY STEBLAY Augsburg was selected for its work Professor , Department of Psychology-joined Augsburg in developing partnerships with the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood on page18.) in 1988(Readaboutherresearch MARTHA STORTZ and advancing environmental BernhardM. Christensen Professor of Vocation and Religion-joinedAugsburgin 2010 sustainability, interfaith leadership, and equity and racial justice . 6 AUGSBURG NOW • Watchthevideousedto introduce Augsburg at theawardceremony at augsburg.edu/now. MARK TRANVIK Professor , Department of Religion-joinedAugsburg in 1995 At a specialchapelservice duringtheJanuary2020 AugsburgUniversity Board of Regentsmeeting,Bishop AnnSvennungsen of the Minneapolis AreaSynodof the Evangelical LutheranChurch in Americaofficiallyinstalled BabetteChatman '06, left, as andJustinLind-Ayres Augsburg's universitypastors. Augsburg community launches on-campus lending shop to reduce wasteandpromote reuse Augsburg's Environmental Stewardship Committee and Campus Cupboard food pantry collaborated in Fall 2019 to pilot a President PaulPribbenow shares Augsburg's storyat ~ the ~r~~~::~i•i:~:::~~: ~~~:i~~~® the O new resource: the Share Shop, which offers a wide variety of items for free, short- Augsburg story during a session called, "Hospitality is Not term checkout. The Share Shop currently Enough: An Institutional Journey From Diversity to Inclusion and Equity" at The Forum on Workplace Inclusion conference. features board games, small appliances, office supplies, sewing kits, sports equipment, tools, and much more. Augsburg, home of The Forum on Workplace Inclusion since last summer, is "proud to partner with the forum to help expand The Share Shop follows the same hours of operation as Augsburg's Campus diversity, equity, and inclusion skills, so our students can fully participate and succeed in the workforce," Pribbenow said. Cupboard and is located in the lowest level of Science Hal I, adjacent to the university's longstanding "free table," where Auggies place items they no longer need and wish to offer to new owners. For Fall 2020, the Campus Cupboard will relocate to the Sabo Center for Democracy and Citizenship in the lower level of Anderson Residence Hall to accommodate new operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Share Shop will remain in Science Hall, and the two student-run The 32nd annual, three-day conference attracted more than 1,500 people from around the world and across sectors. TheStarTribunerecentlypublishedan article featuringSteveHumerickhouse , executivedirectorof the forum, in which he explainedthe importanceof creating safe placesfor diffic uIt conversations . A VI Visit augsburg.edu/now to readthe article: "Howthe TwinCities becameoneof the largesthubsfor workplacediversityand inclusion." initiatives wi 11 continue to work together. • Visit augsburg.edu/green/shareshop and inside.augsburg.edu/foodshelf to learnmore. SPRINGSUMMrn 20?0 7 ONTHESPOT How One Day in May in 1968 forced Augsburg to reevaluate its posture and practices regarding racism and education HanaDinkuserved as director of Augsburg University's Pan-Afri kan Center from March 2019 to July 2020. Her most recent project at Augsburg, "One Day in May," was featured on WCCO-TV this spring, prior to Augsburg's virtual commencement (see page 2). Between her work leading programs and supporting students, she out Ii ned the importance of Augsburg's history and present moment. Q. Whywas OneDayin May sucha pivotalmoment • for the Augsburg community in 1968? the story and understood the significance of One Day in May, it took on a life of its own. Directors A. of International Student Services, LGBTQIA+ mission and values. In the wake of Dr. Martin and the administration to build and promote a Luther King Jr.'s assassination, higher education sesquicentennial campaign about One Day in May. One Day in May forced Augsburg to recognize • all the ways it had failed to live up to its Student Services, and Multicultural Student Services worked with faculty member LeonWang institutions across the country saw a wave of protests and a demand for structural change. One Day in May was Augsburg's response to the moment. The community speakers, Augsburg students, staff, and faculty who participated shed light on systemic white supremacy in the Augsburg community and the nation. This public acknowledgment created a What is onecomponent of OneDayin Maythat ; is especiallyrelevantfor ourcurrentsocialand politicalenvironment? Q A. All aspects are relevant, but if I had to identify • one particular component, it would be the level of transparency and accountability that helped demand to decolonize the curriculum at Augsburg. move Augsburg in the right direction. The Eurocentric core of the education system is Q. the clearest example of how our institutions are Howdidthe reintroduction of OneDayin May • ariseand becomethe themeof this year's commencement ceremony? A When I started my job at Augsburg, one of my ; mentors, community elder MahmoudEl-Kati, embedded in white supremacist ideology. This is why we gathered this year to begin the creation of a Critical Race and Ethnicity Studies department. Q. Whatdo youhopeis accomplished throughthe • reintroduction of OneDayin May? told me the real history of Black folks at Augsburg. Elder Mahmoud was one of the community speakers at One Day in May and spent years working closely with the Pan-Afrikan Center. Very few people on A My goal for this campaign was to help Black ; students understand and appreciate the battles fought by those who came before them. I want Black campus knew about One Day in May and the students and other marginalized students to know contributions of Black students, staff, and faculty. that we are a part of Augsburg history; we are not After learning that Augsburg's sesquicentennial guests at this institution. When the whole Augsburg book, "Hold Fast to What is Good," didn't mention community understands this, we will see the kind it, I worked with other Augsburg leaders to make of institutional changes that marginalized students, One Day in May the theme for the university's staff, and faculty have demanded for years. 2020 M LK Day celebration. As more people heard AROUND THEQUAD newest trip: RickStevespartners withAugsburg'sParticipateinCGEE's Centerfor GlobalEducation andExperience Hunger andHopeinGuatemala non-essential travelresumes, travelers Planaheadfortravelto Guatemala When will getan insideglimpseof Guatemala and When well-known travel author, activist, and media personality Rick Steves went to Central America to film segments for his new public television special, "Hunger and Hope: Lessons from Ethiopia and Guatemala," he called on Augsburg staff to provide expert guidance and introductions to community leaders and regional organizations committed to ending hunger and extreme poverty. That's because Augsburg's Center for Global Education and Experience has a vast network in Guatemala and has offered educational programming in the country since 1985. visit manyof the sameplacesdepictedon "RickStevesHungerandHope:Lessons from EthiopiaandGuatemala." Fromthe charmingcolonialcityof Antigua, to LakeAtitlanandits surrounding volcanoes, to the colorfultapestryof Mayanhistory,there is an abundance of thingsto do,see,andlearn. One of the key people Steves spoke with during the production of his television special was FidelXinico,director of Augsburg's CGEE Guatemala programming. Xinico set up Steves' trip logistics from Guatemala and served as a cultural guide and language translator. He is a trilingual Guatemalan citizen of the Kaqchikel Maya ethnic group. SusanPeacock,a CGEE program coordinator based out of Registration openfor: Tripl: April 11-18,2021 Trip2: June13-20,2021 Trip3: August8-15, 2021 Minneapolis, connected Steves and Xinico and helped shape the direction of the television show. Augsburg is now planning a travel program for the general public that will take participants to inspiring destinations in Guatemala. Augsburgsenior scholar published in A V 1 Visitgo.augsburg.edu/hope to learnmoreandregister. HarryBoyte,senior scholar of public work philosophy at Augsburg's Sabo Center for Democracy and Citizenship, co-wrote an article that was published in Time magazine. Boyte's piece offered an analysis of the 2020 United States presidential race and suggested that a compelling campaign TIME MAGAZINE would appeal to Americans as engaged citizens rather than disgruntled consumers: "Emphasize a citizenship A W Finda link to the article at augsburg.edu/now. message for government to be a partner, not a savior." SPRING-SUMMER 2020 9 A WOMEN'S WRESTLING PROGRAM FROM SCRATCH BYKATE H.ELLIOTT Augsburg Athletics continues trailblazing trendwithMinnesota's onlycollegiate women's wrestling team "I already feel bad for my future children," joked Bel Snyder'23. "They are going to have to hear the story of Minnesota's only collegiate women's wrestling team over and over again." Snyder is one of 10 women wrestlers who made history at Augsburg during the 2019-20 year-a academic quarter century after the university founded the NCAA's first women's hockey team in the Midwest, followed by Minnesota's first varsity women's lacrosse team in 2014 . That pioneering spirit drew Snyder to Augsburg, which received a Breaking Barriers Award in February at Minnesota's National Girls and Women in Sports Day event at the Minnesota History Center. "I have never felt such close bonds or such support," added Snyder, who's an elementary education transfer student. "I am going to bleed maroon and gray for the rest of my Iife." SPRING-SUMMER 2020 11 GREEN BUT GREAT It's a youngteamwith sevenfirst-yearand three transferstudentswho had neverwrestledfor an alIwomanteam until now.Therosterincludessomeof the nation'stop competitors,includingEmilyShilson '23, who'sconsideredthe top womanrecruit in the country by somewrestIing newsoutlets.The 19-year-oldfinance studentqualifiedto wrestlefor a spot in the 2020 TokyoOlympicGames(whichhavebeenrescheduledfor 2021 becauseof the COVID-19 pandemic). Howdid a buddingteamrecruitsuchchampions? MeetWomen'sWrestlingHeadCoachMaxMejia,a formerHarvardwrestlerwhobecamea women'sand skills coachfor Arizona'sSunkistKidsWrestlingClub, whichproduced55 Olympicmedalistsin both men'sand women'swrestling. "In wrestling,youcancontrolyourdestinymorethan othersports.It's not aboutheightor speed.Champions havementaltoughness,diIigencefor detaiI, anda hungerto win," he said. "My goalis to producethe best womenleadersin the world.Whentheygraduate,I want themto understandhowthesetraits convertto success in the realworld.And I wantthe employersto gobble them up becausethey recognizewhatcomesfrom that levelof leadership,dedication,andgrit," he said. Mejiafocuseson process,knowingresultswill follow. Heseeksto understandeachathletes'hopesand motivationsso he can helpthem playto their strengths for bothathleticsand careersuccess. Mejiaempowers eachwrestlerto set herowngoals:"I knowI havethe disciplineto do anythingI put my mind to, and I'll havea greatmindsetwhiledoingit," said kinesiology majorSavannah Vold'22. "He doesn'tseeus as weare but as we couldbe," saidVayle-rae Baker'23, whoranksat the top of her weightclass."Thenhe pushesus throughself-doubtor whateveris holdingus back.I take morerisks,and I'm seeingthe rewards." Thosestrengthsareshowing.Withan overallrecordof 4-2, AuggieWomen's Wrestlingrankedamongthe top 10 programs in the NCAAasthe teamheadedintothe inauguralCliff KeenNationalCollegiate Women's Wrestling Championships in earlyMarch.Augsburg finishedin ninth placeasa team,whileShiIsonclaimedthe nationaltitle to closeout herinauguralcollegiateseason. "My goalistoproduce t ebest women leaders inthewofd." 12 AUGSBURG NOW NCAA NAMES WOMEN'S WRESTLING AN'EMERGING' SPORT In January,NCAADivision11 and Division111 votedto addwomen's wrestlingto its list of Emerging Sports for Women;in June,DivisionI voted in agreement. Thenextmilestone for the wrestlingcommunitywill be to reachat least40 NCAA-affiliated varsitywomen'swrestIingteams, which is requiredto achieveofficial NCAA Championship status.At present , about 35 NCAAschoolssupportwomen's wrestlingteams. Augsburg AthleticDirectorJeff Swenson '79 is optimistic."Wehaveno doubtwomen 's wrestlingwill buildon our reputationas a 'wrestlingschool,' with our men'steamhavingsecuredits 13th nationaltitle in 2019. "In 1995, Augsburgmadehistory with the region'sfirst women'sice hockeyteam,and nowyou're uniqueif youdon't offerwomen'shockey.Then in 2014, Augsburg startedthe NCAA's first varsitywomen'slacrosseteamin Minnesota, and now,herewearewith women'swrestling,"hesaid."Augsburg continuesto be a pioneerfor women's athletics,andwe'reinvestedin the successof women'swrestling." Men'sWrestlingCo-Head CoachJim Moulsoff is thriIledthat Augsburgis creatingopportunities for womento wrestleat the collegiatelevel.Girls' wrestlingis the fastestgrowinghigh schoolsport,accordingto the U.S. WrestlingFoundation, yet Minnesota andWisconsin areamongthe 30 states that haven'tmadegirls' wrestlingan officialsport." "Forthe past18 years,I havehelped out at juniorfreestylesummertrainings, and it's beenamazingto seethe growth of women'swrestlingfromnogirls in attendance to hundredseachyear,"said Moulsoff,the 2015 and2019 National Wrestling Coaches Association Division111 NationalCoachof the Year. TEAM OF'FIRSTS' MENTORS YOUNG GIRLS Members of the women'swrestling teamalsoaredrivento sharetheir knowledge andpavethe wayfor the nextgenerationof womenwrestlers. Everyoneof the student-athletes has liveda first-the first girl on a high school'swrestlingteam,the first match a competitorforfeitedbecausehe "didn't wantto wrestlea girl," the first time shesawwomen'swrestlingat the Olympics(in 2004). Theyembracethe strengthgainedfromthosemoments, but it is ti mefor morewomento have opportunities to wrestle. Nineyearsago,MinnesotaUSA WrestIing beganhostingopengymsat AugsburgeverySunday,andfourgirls attendedthe first session.Earlierthis year,about60 girls showedup every week,evenwith weekendtournaments pullingsomeaway.Bakersaidsheand herteammates consistentlyvolunteered to coachand mentorthe girls,who rangedfrom6 to 18 yearsold. "I startedwrestlingwhenI was9, and I wasthe onlygirl on that team andthe onlygirl on my middleand highschoolteams,"Bakersaid. "I SPRING SUMVER 7020 13 look forward to coaching and connecting with the girls each week. My teammates and I want to show them they can do this, and show them there will be teams for them when they go to college." ChadShilson'93, women's wrestling director and coach for Minnesota USA Wrestling, said lifelong friendships seem to emerge at every practice, as girls experience wrestling with those who are similar in strength, weight, flexibility, size, and goals. "They get to be the iron that sharpens other iron," he said. The result: some of the top women wrestlers in the country, if not the world, have come out of the open gyms-"hungry for the sport and everything it has to offer," added Shi Ison, the father of top-ranked Augsburg wrestler, Emily Shi Ison. Coach Mejia hopes to collaborate with USA Wrestling and other organizations to offer even more camps and open gyms (when it's safe and appropriate for public health regarding the coronavirus) for the estimated 300 girls who are wrestling at some level in the state. When they graduate from high school, Mejia said, "I want them to have no doubt that Augsburg is the place to be." ~i ti,\ 'WEKEEP PLAYING. WEPERSIST' Word has gotten out. Alumni and friends of the university AR "'1S fjJ DEFENSE SOAP Augsburgplacedseventhin the NCAA women'sdivisionat the Multi-Division NationalDualMe are tweeting their praises and sharing news coverage of the historic team. Children's book author and public speaker, ShellyBoyum-Breen '97, said the university's investment in women's wrestling is also an investment in girls and women in general. "I was fortunate to be at Augsburg when women's hockey started, and I saw lives changing before my eyes. I know firsthand the impact that continues to make on those women's lives," said BoyumBreen, who taught physical education and coached women's basketball at Augsburg. "When we invest in women and our diverse communities, we invest in what's possible. We have to show it in action through media coverage. Kids need to hear these stories-boys and girls. "Look at the decision-makers, the percentages of coaches, the funding gaps, and the near media blackout of women's professional and collegiate sports. And yet, we keep playing. And people keep watching. Because of the support that exists, we persist," said Boyum-Breen, also established grants to pay sports "When weinvestin females who fees and equipment costs that functioned andourdiverse communities,as barriers to participation for some Minnesota girls. weinvestin what's possible." Augsburg women's hockey coaches 14 AUGSBURG NOW know better than most the kind of investment and persistent leadership required to create and sustain a vibrant women's athletics program. "To be a leader-it's scary," said founding Women's 2020 USMARINE CORPS/NWCA MUL Tl DIVISION IATIONAL DUAL MEET 7'ff PLlfC=. WOMENNCAA et in Louisville,Kentucky,in January. Hockey Head Coach Jill Pohtilla. "I've seen Augsburg, time and time again, make bold moves based on what makes sense and what is right," said Pohtilla, who was inducted into the Women's Hockey Association of Minnesota Hall of Fame in 2006. The women's wrestling program has made an immediate impact in the Athletics Department and has increased expectations for success, said Michelle McAteer,Augsburg's women's hockey head coach. "Coach Mejia was able to bring in a large and talented class for the inaugural season, and it's clear how skilled, determined, and committed these women are," she said. "They are representing Augsburg and our Athletics Department with great pride, and growing the profile of their sport at the same time. "They are making history, living history," McAteer added. "It's a special team doing very special things." ■ Seepage16 for a brief historyof women'sathleticsat Augsburg. ABRIEF HISTORY OF WOMEN'S ATHL 16 AUGSBURG NOW TICS ATAIJGSBIJRG SPRINGSUMMER 2020 17 REAL PEOPLE IN REAL CASES computers with a software program Eyewitness identification of criminal perpetrators is a staple form of evidence San Diego; and Tucson, Arizona. in courts of law. developed specifically for the field "Think of eyewitness memory like audio transcripts to examine the 855 I ineups in four cities: Austin, Texas; association between witness comments Charlotte-Mecklenburg, and lineup selection, finding that an North Carolina; cities provided lineup photos and eyewitness identification decisions, instant identification by an eyewitness was less likely to produce an error than when the witness was deliberative. NatalieJohnson '18, who's pursuing a residue, or other physical evidence," investigator reports, and audiotapes of master's degree in counseling psychology Steblay said. "You don't want to the verbal exchange between the I ineup at the University of St. Thomas in St. contaminate it." administrator and eyewitness during Paul, Minnesota, was one of the students each lineup procedure. A startling who listened to police audiotapes and the top national experts in eyewitness discovery emerged from a pattern of coded them based on whether the identification. cases when lineup administrators, who decision-making process was immediate social psychologist who has conducted were also the case detectives, knew who or deliberative. research on eyewitness memory, pol ice the suspects were and behaved in a procedures, and eyewitness evidence leading fashion with the eyewitnesses. Steblay, along with Wells, is among As an experimental for 30 years, she is often cal led upon by defense attorneys to testify when they believe a suspect is being wrongly accused based on faulty identification. Her abi I ity to speak with authority on the subject has been reinforced She and other students were startled to realize that the police push for a conviction could, in some cases, influence LEARNING E'ROM LINEUPS Augsburg student researchers by her research findings. Assisted by collected data and assessed 190 Augsburg student researchers, Steblay real lineups for fairness or bias. "It's and Wells led studies that, for the first powerfu I to bring students into research how criminal cases are pursued. "Doing the work on police lineups made me realize how flawed our system can be," she said. "It made me realize our criminal justice has a long way to go." SeanAdams'17, who is currently a legal assistant, said he was shocked by time, sought to understand and predict by saying, 'Here's the problem of how poorly some of the lineups were eyewitness identification errors using wrongfu I convictions, and let's figure out constructed. actual I ineups. how to solve them,"' Steblay said. Before these studies, scientific Psychology majors made up the The tests were designed to include fake witnesses, and these mock psychology's understanding of research team at Augsburg, adding witnesses in Augsburg's laboratory eyewitness identification accuracy was laboratory skills to what they learned in studies represented the worst possible based almost exclusively on controlled the classroom. Steblay and 27 student scenario: a witness with no memory of the offender. Mock witnesses shou Id laboratory researchers studies that conducted not be able to pick the pol ice suspect the first and from a lineup at a rate higher than second studies chance. "The worst lineup I saw had across multiple such a leading description that the simulate eyewitness experiences. Steblay and Wells were awarded a "It's powerful to bring students into research by saying, 'Here's the problem of wrongful convictions, and let's figure out how to solve them."' National Science 20 The Augsburg students coded 102 experiment. Data was collected from The field data collected in these trace evidence, such as blood, gunshot existed unti I th is study. semesters. [laboratory] witnesses picked the pol ice Verbal suspect 80% of the time," Adams said. exchanges "That shou Id have statistically less than 20% of the time." been Lineups Foundation grant to pursue a four-phase between pol ice lineup administrators and eyewitnesses should be constructed so that the study from 2014 to 2018. The research to crimes were audio-recorded. There suspect and the fillers (innocent people followed up on their prior work, in which police lineups were presented to real had never been an analysis of recorded added to the lineup) match the suspect verbal comments from actual witnesses description. eyewitnesses by detectives using laptop because such recordings had never AUGSBURG NOW RELEVANT RESEARCH Along with stunning insights into eyewitness identification, these studies brought to light more questions worth exploring. The research resulted in 12 conference poster presentations involving 23 students, and it fostered two student honors projects and spinoff projects that are ongoing. "It was time-consuming, important. but it was I think the student researchers had a sense of the importance," Steblay said. "It was really fun to work with them. Their work enabled me to complete the project." Augsburg student researchers saw the subject material's importance for effective law enforcement practices as well as its resonance with people beyond their research group. When AustinConery'17 began researching how to predict eyewitness identification errors, he discovered that his Augsburg University research project was a hot topic with friends and family. "Every party or every family event, someone would ask what was going on at school, and I could talk about the research for hours because it was so relevant," Conery said. Besides a view into a major criminal justice system issue, students said the research opportunity gave them practical experience. Conery said the research gave him the confidence to read, understand, and apply studies in his current job as a site director at a children's mental health provider, PrairieCare. "It was a great way to implement the things I was learning in class," he said. "It gave me the place to think critically in a control led environment." As Adams considers his future work, he's looking back to his time at Augsburg. "I've been thinking of what I enjoyed in college, and a lot of it was the work I did with Nancy," he said. TURNING RESEARCHrlNDINGS INTO PRACTICALPOLICIES Steblay'sinfluencemaynot makeher a householdname,but her researchfindings are beingput to practicaluse in a varietyof ways. Minnesotajudgesviewa webinarmoduleshecreated,"EyewitnessScience: Protectionand Evaluationof EyewitnessIdentificationEvidence,"as part of their judicial e-learning program.Steblayalso pubIisheda chapterin the 2019 book, "PsychologicalScienceand the Law." Thefindingsof the researchby Steblay,Wells,and Augsburgstudent researchers are leadingto majorreformsnationally.The best practices includecritical stipulations:that lineupsmust be double-blind,meaning the administratingofficerdoesn'tknowwhothe suspectis, and that the non-suspectfillers in the lineup must resemblethe suspectand match the descriptionof the offenderthat wasprovidedby the eyewitness. "Thereare hundredsof thousandsof policeofficerswho are using theseeyewitnessidentificationprotocolsthat we didn't use20 years ago,and they don't knowNancySteblay'sname,"said William Brooks, a policechief in Norwood,Massachusetts. Brookstravelsthe countrytraining policeon what he regardsas groundbreaking science-backed best practicesfor lineups."I don't think there'sbeenas wide of an impact in otherareasof investigation as in howwe dealwith eyewitnessmemory,"he said. In mid-May,MinnesotaGov.Tim Walzsignedbipartisanlegislation that requiresuniformscience-backed eyewitnessidentificationpractices for all law enforcement,which goesinto effect in early2021. Sti11, the eyewitnessidentificationbest practicesface resistance."Some of it is individualpolicejurisdictionsjust not wantingto be told howto do things," Steblaysaid in an interviewwith YahooNews."Sometimespolice or prosecutorssaythey don't want rulesto be so rigid, becausethen if we just violateoneof the rules,then that ruins our prosecutionor we can't catch the bad guysor whatever.Sothey feel like it's underminingtheir ability to do the goodjob that they shoulddo. "I don't seeit that way," Steblaysaid. "I just think theseare not difficult changes."Steblayviewsthe recommendedlineup reformsas a meansto strengthen eyewitnessevidenceand reducethe likelihoodof a mistakenidentification. The InnocenceProject,a nonprofitfoundedin 1992 to exoneratethe wrongly convictedthroughDNAtesting, hasworkedto passlawsthroughoutthe countrythat embracethe scientificallysupportedbest practicesadvancedby Steblayand Wells. "Whenwe beganour work,a handfulof stateshadembracedbest practices. Todaymorethan half of the statesin the countryhaveadoptedkeyeyewitness identificationreforms,"said RebeccaBrown,the nonprofit's policydirector. Steblayhopesmorepolice departmentswi11 enactthesereforms."Wehave at leastpart of the answerto howpolicecan reducemistakenidentificationand wrongfulconvictions."■ 22 AUGSBURG NOW States where c:ore eyewitness reforms have been implemented through legislation, c:ourt action, or substantial voluntary c:omplianc:e: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, NewJersey, NewMexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah,Vermont, West Virginia andWisconsin viaInnocence Project SPRING-SUMMER 2020 23 The Gage tam i ly is part of a legacy Skip and Barbara have supported many campus projects that has supported valuable throughout the years, including Anderson Plaza, the Gage Center student services that are crucial to for Student Success, the Gage Family Art Gallery, the James G. Augsburg University's identity and community. Lindell Library, and the Scandinavian Center, which cultivated knowledge and interest in Scandinavian culture on campus for Edwin"Skip"Gagepassed away Wednesday, February 26, 2020. Skip and his wife, Barbara CarlsonGage,have been integral to the Augsburg community Piper LaBelle Award for their consistent support of young people for many years. Al I four of their children attended Augsburg, In his professional life, Skip built what came to be known as 15 years. In 2016, the Gage family was honored with the Toby in recovery. including alumni GeoffGage'89 and Rick Gage'96. Barbara the Carlson Marketing Group. He served as chair and then chair served on the Board of Regents, including four years as emeritus of the lnnerCity Tennis Foundation and worked with chair of the board and as co-chair of Augsburg's Access to Barbara in many community efforts with the Banyan Community, Excellence campaign. Northside Achievement Zone, and Urban Ventures. Skip and Barbara initiated the Center for Learning and Skip's vision aligned with Augsburg's institutional calling and Accessible Student Services and contributed substantial time reinforced the university's commitments to global perspectives, and gifts to the StepUP ® Program. Skip believed the values living faith, active citizenship, and meaningful work. Skip and taught as part of the fabric of Augsburg's community have been Barbara's gifts and leadership over the years have sustained as important as the educational experience and the culture of Augsburg's commitment to serve its students and neighbors. family and service that is imparted to all of Augsburg's students. Through the Gage family's leadership, CLASS was established. "The Gage family has and continues to have a significant impact on the Augsburg community," said DonnaMclean, former In 1989, Skip and Barbara commissioned the first study that Augsburg director of leadership gifts. "Thanks to the generosity evaluated learning disability programs at the college level. They of the Gage family, the lives of so many students have been partnered with Augsburg faculty to build a learning disability meaningfully enhanced through CLASS and other campus endowment program, and Skip led the drive to raise $500,000 programs that provide impactful learning experiences." ■ in addition to $500,000 24 AUGSBURG NOW his family pledged. THE STAGE Sesquicentennial project shares story through song The Augsburg University Department of Music had a unique opportunity to produce Other sesquicentennial projects and perform "Tienda," a new chamber opera by Augsburg Assistant Professor of Music To commemorate Augsburg's 150th ReinaldoMoyaand opera lyricist Caitlin Vincent, which premiered February 21 and 22. anniversary, the university invited faculty This production, presented as a part of Augsburg's sesquicentennial celebration, was performed in Foss Center's Hoversten Chapel and included a cast of student singers, and staff to apply for funding to support unique projects that aligned with their the Augsburg Choir, and the Augsburg Orchestra. The opera tells the story of Luis interests and expertise while uplifting Garzon, a Mexican musician who immigrated to Minneapolis in 1886 and opened a Augsburg's mission, academic excellence, small Mexican grocery store, or tienda, in St. Paul, Minnesota, in the 1920s. Garz6n's and traditions. These projects showcased store served as a community hub for new arrivals from Mexico, many of whom had the university's history, its distinction in fled the Mexican Revolution and found work toiling on the sugar beet farms of rural the arts, and its high-quality scholarship. Minnesota. "Tienda" explored the immigrant experience: what must be left behind- Learn more about sesquicentennial and what cannot be forgotten-on . projects at augsburg.edu/150 the journey to a new home. STUDENT EMERGENCY FUND A Student Emergency Fund was established in March to support Augsburg students with financial relief as we al I grapple with the challenges of COVID-19. In these disruptive times, many students are experiencing the loss of income and jobs as segments of the economy shut down, struggles to provide for their families, obstacles in returning home to out-of-state residences, and uncertainty about their ability to finance their Augsburg education. With this fund, students are able to request emergency funding for basic needs, including food, rent, transportation, funding for academic materials-such Giveto the StudentEmergency Fundat augsburg.edu/giving . and wireless internet-to and medication. They may also request as books, supplies, laptop computer rentals, ensure their education is not impacted by a lack of attainable resources. SPRINGSUMMfR 2020 25 AUGGIES CONNECT AUGGIES IN NATION'S CAPITAL BEGIN SERIES OFALUMNI GATHERINGS Last October, a group of Augsburg alumni gathered in Arlington, Virginia, for a dinner and reception hosted by JeffPeterson'63. At the end of the gathering, JessicaSpanswick'10 suggested the group should spend more time together. AUGGIES whatprogram doyouwanttolift upforGiveto theMaxDay2020? Spanswick coordinated the group's next gathering for a social hour and trivia in Washington, D.C., the following month. That's how the informal OMV-area (the district, Maryland, and Virginia) Augsburg alumni group was born. With help from Augsburg's Institutional Advancement team, they were able to invite even more Auggies in the area to attend social hours, networking events, and dinners. In February, Augsburg staff met with Give to the Max Day 2019 was a huge success for programs across campus! $421,000 RAISED 1,656 DONORS the group to discuss how to increase alumni involvement across the country Auggie passion is the fuel that drives and support the university through Give strong donations on Give to the Max to the Max Day 2020. Day, and that's why it's Augsburg's Want to plan an alumni gathering in your biggest fundraising area when pandemic health precautions allow? Email alumni@augsburg.edu to receive help reaching out to fellow Auggies. day of the year. It's exciting and inspiring to hear your personal stories about Augsburg and Auggiesmeetin the Washington,D.C.,area. why you're passionate about supporting a particular project. What do you want to I ift up at Augsburg? Send in a 45- to 90-second video of yourself sharing what you were most passionate about at Augsburg, and you might be featured in the next Give to the Max Day campaign. 0 Sendin a video,volunteer,or hel~ lead a projectin Novemberby contacting ChrisBogen'09,campaigncoordinator,at bogen@augsburg.edu by September1, 2020. Lto R: ChrisBogen'09, RobynHiestand '98, KariArfstrom '89,Jonathan Chrastek '10,Jessica Spanswick '10,KatiePendo'10, KaiaChambers 26 AUGSBURG NOW AUGGIES CONNEC LIFELONGAUGGIE FRIENDSHIPS Connections that flourishedat Augsburgspanacrossyearsand miles [L to R]: DerekFrancis'08, BryanLudwig '08, Greg Hildebrandt '08,andSamaSandy'08 broughttheir families togetherfor an eveningof fun earlierthis year.Thegroup members tout themselvesas the "1107Family,"namedfor the numberof the roomtheysharedin Mortensen Residence Hall. TheFacebook postfromtheir meetupshowshowa friendship betweenfourAuggiesbecamea close-knitgroupof 17. A groupof Auggieswhocelebratelife milestones togethergatheredfor the 70th birthdayof SueGibbons Casey'71 [front,center].She'ssurrounded by[clockwise]Pam(Hermstad) Santerre(attendedAugsburg1968-69), Ginny(Dahlen)Baali'72, Kris(Parbst)Rohde'72, KathyQuick'72, Nancy '72. (Olson)Hrdlicka'72,and Linda(Engstrom) Akenson TheseAugsburgalumniand "5th FloorGirls"of UrnessTowerinitially reunitedafter their graduationat mini-reunionsand holidays.In recentyears,theytooktrips to destinationslike Boston;MyrtleBeach,SouthCarolina;andStillwater,Minnesota. Picturedare[front, L to R]:Stacy(Waterman) Newton'01, SaraThedinga '01, Merry-Ellen (Krcil)Bryers'01, andAnn(Peterson) Fisher'01. [Back,L to R]:Amy Carlson'01, LauraWaldon'01, Emily(Brinkman) Waldon'01,JaimeKingsley Loso'01,and EricaHuls'01. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • SPRING-SUMMER 2020 27 ALUMNI CLASS NOTES The MinnesotaIntercollegiate AthleticConferencefeatured EdorNelson'38 in the LegendaryLeaders seriesreleasedon its websiteand social media. Nelson, who passedawayin 2014, wasan instructorfor the healthand physical educationdepartmentfor 32 years, coached Augsburg'sbaseballteam from 1946 to 1979, and led the programto sevenMIACtitles. He alsowasAugsburgfootball'sheadcoach, and he helpedstartthe men'swrestlingprogram and relaunchmen's hockey. 1938 LelandFairbanks '53, MD, was selectedas the Commissioned OfficersAssociationRetireeof the Yearby the United StatesPublic HealthService. The award, which recognizesexcellence in serviceand volunteeractivities, was presentedduring a virtual meetingin June. Fairbanks'career has includedwork focused on family health, holisticcare, smoke-free communities, and training other health professiona Is. 1953 of Fame in 1988 and created an athletic lettering programfor female student-athletes in 1989. & Augsburg AthleticDirector JeffSwenson '79 ,;;, shares hisoptimism aboutAugsburg's new women's wrestling program. Seestoryonpage10. & ChadShilson '93comments onAugsburg's ,;;, women's wrestling program, inwhichhis Emily ShiIson'23,competes. Seestoryon daughter, page10. & ShellyBoyum-Breen '97connects thelaunch ,;;, ofAugsburg's women's wrestling withtheneed totell moresportsstories thatinclude females and diverse communities. Seestoryonpage10. CanisiusCollegein Buffalo, New York, hired MartinHlinka'99 as an assistantcoachfor its men's hockey program. After his work as an assistant coach with the SalzburgRed Bulls junior program, Hlinka servedas a lead on-ice skills instructorwith SynergyHockeyin St. Louis. The MinnesotaIntercollegiate Hlinka scored 125 points in 85 gamesfrom Athletic Conferencefeatured MarilynPearsonFlorian'76 in the Legendary 1995 to 1999 while on Augsburg'shockey team, and he also playedfootball, earning Leadersseries. PearsonFloriancoached All-Americanstatusas a kicker. Hlinka women's basketballand volleyballat playedprofessionalhockeyfor 15 years in Augsburgand also was the women'sathletic director. During her tenure, Augsburgadded the American HockeyLeague, United Hockey League, and Germany. four MIACwomen'ssports, including cross country, golf, ice hockey, and swimming and diving. She also initiated the induction NickRathmann '03 completed of women into Augsburg'sAthletic Hall his final term on the Augsburg 1999 1976 2003 Alumni Boardof Directors. He has been on the boardfor the past sevenyears, serving in executiveleadershiprolesfor four years, including a two-yearterm as board president. Rathmannnow continuesvolunteeringhis time by servingon the A-Club board. JasonEdwards '04 has been teaching sixth grade science and readingat DiscoveryMiddleSchoolin Fargo, North Dakota, for 11 years. He also coachesgirls crosscountryand track and field at FargoDaviesHigh School.The USA Trackand FieldAssociationchose him as the Coachof the Yearfor Girls CrossCountry, and he is the North Dakotarepresentative for the "40 under 40" coachingawardfrom Coachand Athletic Directormagazine. While at Augsburg, he competedin crosscountry and track and field, earningschool recordsin the indoor600 meterdash and indoor4x400 meter relayteam. 2004 Andr~a(Ladda)Brown'05 receivedan awardfor her accomplishmentswith the City of Minneapolis'PoliceConductOversight Commissionregardingthe body-worncamera policy, which led to the discoveryof ketamine abuse by paramedicsand policeofficers. Her work also led to the creationof the MPD dashboard, where race disparitiesstatistics and officer misconducthave been made public and searchable, and the co-responder model-mental health professionals accompanyingpolice officersrespondingto 2005 AUGGIE SNAPSHOTS 28 AUGSBURG NOW ALUMNI CLASS NOTES calls-which startedas a pilot programin Minneapolisand is now used in NewYork, Texas, and Utah. [Editor'snote:Theseevents occurred prior to the murder of GeorgeFloyd by Minneapolispolice.] Artist AlisonPrice'08 was featured in the Minnesota Women'sPressregardingher new series of art, "WitnessingWaves." Price, a child of two immigrantparents, talked about a stump alongthe MississippiRiverand howthe river'swatersaided migrationto the region.This pieceof nature influenced Price'scollection, which startedduring her time at Augsburg. "The seriesis imbuedwith symbolism. DNAstrandsweavealongthe riverbanksand through the rootsand ground, reminding us of our interconnectedness with all, reinforcingthe ideathat we are fundamentallytied to each other and the planet," Pricesaid. 2008 TannerWiseman '15 and friends from Lakeville, Minnesota, filmed the series"DestinationFear," which aired on the TravelChannellast fall. The showfollows the group'scross-countryroad trip where they stayedovernightin 10 haunted places. The group beganmakingvideostogetherfor YouTubein middle schooland high school, and this show indulgestheir passionfor exploringabandonedplaces. 2015 ~ Legalassistant SeanAdams '17researched ~ eyewitness identification procedures withan Augsburg facultymember. Seestoryonpage18. McCleave , who outlinedthe organization's effortsto highlightthe historyof Native boardingschoolsand the impact they had on Nativecommunities. ~ Austin Conery '17researched thereliability ~ ofeyewitness testimonies andnowuseshis experience to understand andapplystudiesin hisrole at a mentalhealthprovider. Seestoryonpage18. 2018 ChungEangLip'18 wrote about his career path in the public healthfield for ColumbiaUniversity's MailmanSchoolof Public Healthstudent voiceswebpage.He focused on the importanceof kindnessand storytellingon his journeyto becominga public health professiona I. DianaPierce'16 MALnarratedand produced a documentary, "CountryMusic: Made in Minnesota," which aired on PioneerPBS last September. The half-hourdocumentary toucheson storiesabout artistsfrom the Minnesotacommunitiesof Alexandriaand Dovray; as well as the WE Festin Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, and the FlameBar in Minneapolis.The programfeaturesinterviews with artistsfrom DetroitLakes, Minneapolis, and Pipestone, Minnesota, plus otherfigures who contributedto the developmentand popularityof country music in the state. ~ Natalie Johnson '18contributed to National ~ Science Foundation-funded research that evaluated thereliability of eyewitness identification. Seestoryonpage18. GRADUATE PROGRAMS Christine DiindiisiMcCleave '13 MALis the executivedirector of the NationalNative American BoardingSchool HealingCoalition, formed in 2012 , which seeksjustice and healingfor NativeAmericanchildren and their descendants. The organizationrecently receiveda $10 million grant from the KendedaFundthat will support a new 10year plan focused on education, advocacy, and healing.MPR NewsinterviewedDiindiisi ~ SUBMIT A ~ CLASS NOTE Tellusaboutthenewsinyourlifeyournewjob,move, marriage, and milestones. Visitaugsburg.edu/now to submityourannouncements. & W EricArlein'12 and Theresa(Bulger) Arlien'14 welcomeda daughter, Cora, last July. Jenessa (Payano) Stark'07 graduated from YaleUniversitywith her Masterof • Sciencein Nursingwith specialtiesas a certified nurse midwifeand women'shealth nurse practitioner. Tofulfill the health professionalshortagearea serviceobligation of her NationalHealthServiceCorps scholarship, she is movingto NavajoNation to work as a full-scope midwifeat a tribally run Indian HealthServicehospitalin Arizona.She will be accompaniedby her husbandand children, includinga son, Zaiel, whom the family welcomedin January. Kristin(Daniels) Overton '09 and husband, Jesse, welcomedthe birth of • twin boys, Mattisand Henry, lastSeptember. Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin '03 • delivereda convocationaddressat CarletonCollegein Northfield, Minnesota, last October. He is a founding memberof the NationalFairTradeFederation, startedthe fair-tradePeaceCoffeeCompany, and is presidentand CEOof Regenerative AgricultureAlliance, a Minnesota-based nonprofitorganizationthat worksto develop regenerativefood supply chains and to advocateagainstextractiveagriculture. Haslett-Marroquinis alsothe author of "In the Shadowof GreenMan," in which he tells storiesfrom his upbringingin Guatemala and shareshis visionfor regenerative farming practices. A SylviaBull'10 (pictured on the right) • was ordainedas an Evangelical LutheranChurch in America pastor in 2017 and has servedas associatepastor of Faith LutheranChurch in Bismarck, North Dakota, for three years. SPRING SUMMER 2020 29 ALUMNI CLASS NOTES Augsburg University Men's Wrestling hosted an alumni night in February, celebrating the national championship anniversariesof the teams from 1970, 1980, 1990, 1995, 2000, and 2010 before a wrestling match against Concordia College-Moorhead . Photo by Caleb Williams. ChrisStedman'08 wrote a new book that will be published in October. The book, "IRL: Finding Realness, Meaning, and Belongingin Our Digital Lives," explores being human in our increasingly digital world and is availablefor pre-order. AugsburgUniversityMen's Basketballhostedan alumni reunion in Januarythat included a pick-up game, lunch, watching the men'steam take on Concordia College-Moorhead, and a social hour. Auggiesfrom several generationsjoined in the festivities. Auggiealumni leadthe men's basketballprogramsat both Augsburgand Concordia. Assistant CoachCharlieScott'07, '15 MAL and the Auggiesdefeatedthe Cobbers, who were led by Head CoachGrantHemmingsen '07. Adrienne KucklerEldridge '02 joined the staff of Augsburg's ChristensenCenterfor Vocation. She coordinatesthe theologyand public leadershipundergraduate program, is the program director for the AugsburgYouth Theology Institute, and is the director of the Public Church Scholars program, an accelerateddegree pathway that allows students to complete a Bachelor of Arts degree in theologyand public leadership and a Master of Divinity in five years.The program is a partnership betweenAugsburg and LutheranSchool of Theology at Chicagofor students who are called to ministry and public leadershipas an ordained pastor. AUGGIE SNAPSHOTS JoeSeehusen '00 married Kathryn Tighe on a ranch in Grand Lake, Colorado, in September. The couple resides in the Denverarea, where they work in real estate. Seehusenencourages his Auggie friends to reach out the next time they're in Colorado. 30 AUGSBURG NOW ToriBahr'09, a medical doctor at the complex care clinic of Gillette Children's Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota, was presentedwith Augsburg University's2019 First DecadeAlumni Award in January. Bahr previouslyworked at the Universityof MinnesotaMedical Center's InternaI Medicine-Pediatrics Program, where she becamechief resident. Bahr's new position at Gillette Children's Hospital includes treating patientswith medically complex diseases, using advanced technology, and championing transition care. BrentStolle'03 and Bethany (Schneck)Stolle'05 welcomed their second son, Isaac, in February 2019. Isaacjoined his three-year-old brother, Weston. Bethany is the design research lead for Blackboard, an education technology company. Brent works for Nvidia as a software engineering manager. The family lives in Kirkland, Washington. DerrinLamker'97 was named Augsburg Universit Footballhead coach in December. Lamker played baseball, basketball, and football as an Auggie student-athlete. During his football career, he wa< the MinnesotaIntercollegiateAthletic Conference MVPand led the Auggiesto a MIACtitle in 1997, the same year he received KodakAll-American Honors. Lamkerwas named the Northwest Suburban ConferenceCoach of the Year in 2007, 2013, and 2014 during his tenure as head coach of OsseoHigh School, where he coached for 11 years and won a class 6A state championship. Beforetaking the head coach position at Augsburg, Lamkeralso servedas offensive coordinatorand head coach at Edina High School. Augsburg University Footballhosted an alumni gathering in Januaryto hear from Lamker and to meet the incoming coaching staff, which includes GregClough'86, defensivecoordinator, and JackOsberg'62, volunteer coach. Alumni who graduated between 1971 and 2019 attended y I The City Pagespublication featured the work of Jose LuisVillasenor'99 and the nonprofit organizationhe founded, Tamalesy Bicicletas, which existsto empower youth, develop healthy Latinx and immigrant communities, promote sustainable transportation, increase accessto healthyfoods, and improvethe environment. The organization'scommunity garden in south Minneapolis providesspace to teach urban farming and lay the groundwork for sustainablelocal food. / In September, City Pages featured DuaSaleh'18 for their work in poetry, rapping, and singing. Saleh released"N0r" in 2019, and "ROSETTA" in 2020, EPsproduced by Psymun, the St. Paul, Minnesota, producer whose connectionswith mainstreamhip-hop provide broader exposure for Twin Cities performers. As the recipient of the Cedar Commissions emerging musicians program, Saleh performed "Strings and Heart Beats," a project described as "an immersiveAfrodiasporic experience." AlissaNollan'09 marriedJames Nystromin St. Anthony, Minnesota, lastJuly.The wedding party includedJennifer Nollan'89, Whitney (Holman) Mead'10, and KatiePendo'10. MarkMuhich'89 was hired as managing attorneyto supervise public defender services in Minnesota'sCarlton and St. Louis counties. Muhich is a Hibbing, Minnesota, nativewho has been a part-time public defender at the St. LouisCounty Courthousein Virginia, Minnesota. Muhich previouslytaught politicaI science and criminal justice at Mesabi Range Collegeand taught in the law enforcement program at VermilionCommunity College. MikePolis'10 welcomed a second child, Sophia June, in January.His first child, LydiaMae, lovesbeing an older sibling. Polis is in his secondyear of real estateand is excitedfor anotheryear of selling and buying homes. KelseyCrockett'06 and wife, Stacey, welcomed a child, MasonAvery Crockett, into their family in January. Kelseycontinued his software management work when the family moved from Nashvilleto Dallasfor Staceyto begin a doctoral programat the Universityof Texas-Southwestern. In December, Michelle Basham '00 was elected as the new presidentand CEOof YWCAMinneapolis. Bashampreviouslywas the executivedirector at The Bridgefor Youth, servedas CEOof YWCADelaware, and held leadershippositionsat CommonBondCommunities, FamilyWise , and the MinnesotaDepartmentof Human Services.She also co-foundedthe Nonprofit EmergingLeadersAcademy. P.C. Hillstrom'07, director of educationaI equity at OsseoArea Schools, received two statewide honors this year: the Outstanding Administrator of the Year award from the Minnesota Indian Education Association and the Ron McKinley "All My Relations" award from the Minnesota Education Equity Partnership. Hillstrom has worked for Osseo Area Schools since 2015. BrothersDaveKerkvliet'95 and TimKerkvliet '01 were featured on the EducationMinnesotawebsite when they introducedfour band studentsof Sebeka, Minnesota-where Daveteaches-to the rock band 311 at a performanceat The Armory in Minneapolis. Davehastaught band for 24 yearsand is a lifelong musicianand fan of rock bands. He connected those passionsand organizedthis meetingbetween his studentsand lead singerand guitarist Nick Hexumand drummer ChadSextonprior to 31 l's performance. SPRING SUMMER 2020 31 ClarenceT. Hoversten '41 , HerbertW. Chilstrom '54, Green Valley, Arizona, age 88, on January 19. M. KennethGjerde'61 , MarilynJ. Gisselquist '73, Fairfield, Montana, age 83, on December 22. Minneapolis, age 90, on February 21. DonaldJ. Dill '54, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, age 86, on December 15. Ruth(Stenson)Kalpin'61, Falls, South Dakota, age 95, on January 27. Alexandria, Minnesota, age 80, on November 10. Zee AnneA. (Zimmerman) Reishus'73, Wood Lake, DorothyC. (Quanbeck) Johnson '48, BeverlyM. (Jorgensen) Olander'55, DonaldN. Myhres'61, Lee, North Branch, Minnesota, age 92, on February 18. Rochester, Minnesota, age 86, on November 18. Illinois, age 95, on November 13. HenryW. Roufs'49, San Diego, WandaE. (Warnes)Olson'56, RobertJ. llstrup'62, Minneapolis, age 82, on September 25. age 97, on October 10. Lewiston, Minnesota, age 84, on November 14. EllenA. (Paulson)Keiter'64, Minnesota, age 91, on January 29. GlennC. Thorpe'56, Mendota Charleston, Illinois, age 77, on December 10. RusselM. Smith'50, Heights, Minnesota, age 85, on February 8. JeanneS. (Wanner)Morreim'66, Lakeville, Minnesota, age 91, on November 21. RobertG.Jamieson '57, Edina, Cloquet, Minnesota, age 76, on January 26. Hendricks, Minnesota, age 101, on November 6. EileenM. Quanbeck '46, Sioux KermitF.Hoversten '50, Austin, PhyllisG. (Knudson) Seim'58, MarjorieK. (Danielson) Johnson '53, Stillwater, Minnesota, age 83, on January 24. St. Paul, Minnesota, age 88, on December 4. JosephP. Nystuen'59, Cold WilmerJ. Oudal'53, Eagle River, Spring, Minnesota, age 82, on November 10. Alaska, age 88, on February 2. MargaretA. (Lundahl)Ruesch'59, 32 AUGSBURG NOW WalterJ. Bradley'78, Davenport, KatharineE. Skibbe'79, Minneapolis, age 62, on October 7. IreneW. (Waslien)Stemmer'88, Wayzata, Minnesota, age 93, on November 8. JaniceK. (Thompson) Crockett'68, age 91, on December 29. Rochester, Minnesota, age 88, on December 17. DianeL.Loeffler'75, Minneapolis, age 66, on November 16. Iowa, age 63, on February 9. Minnesota, age 86, on January 16. Raymond P.Strot'51, Minneapolis, LeroyM. Petterson'53, Minnesota, age 68, on January 24. Worthington, Minnesota, age 83, on December 30. Shakopee, Minnesota, age 73, on January 15. BruceA. Vassar'93, Edina, age 57, on December 6. ThomasL. Docken'69, Stacy, LouJean J. (Gulbransen) Reid'94, Minnesota, age 73, on December 9. Austin, Minnesota, age 73, on January 20. VirginiaK. (Golberg)Baynes'70, Lee(Gilbert)Schotzko'04, Afton, Portland, Oregon, age 71, on September 14. Minnesota, age 49, on October 1. BenjaminM. Blair'14, Decorah, Iowa, age 31, on January 26. The "In memoriam" listings in this publication include notifications received before March 1. AuGSBURG UNIVERSITY ® DIGITAL-ONL ISSUE 2211 Riverside Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55454 Pieces ofhistory After the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police and protests calling for justice in Minneapolis and around the nation, MollyMontana'23 went to Lake Street to capture the work of local artists that emerged on walls and plywood boards covering the windows of numerous businesses. "I wanted to tell the story of the pain and rage that people of color have felt," she said about the images she captured for a photography class project. "I wanted to capture something meaningful, and these displays were just that. They are a piece of history." augsburg.edu/now
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Title: Augsburg Now Fall-Winter 2019:
Collection: Alumni Magazine Collection
Search Result: BEFORE TODAY BEYOND TOMORROW FALL–WINTER 2019 | VOL. 82, NO. 1 AUGSBURG NOW Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Rebecca John ’13 MBA rjohn@augsburg.edu Associate Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Stephen Jendraszak jendra@augsburg.edu NOTES FROM PRESIDENT PRIBBENOW On s...
Show more BEFORE TODAY BEYOND TOMORROW FALL–WINTER 2019 | VOL. 82, NO. 1 AUGSBURG NOW Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Rebecca John ’13 MBA rjohn@augsburg.edu Associate Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Stephen Jendraszak jendra@augsburg.edu NOTES FROM PRESIDENT PRIBBENOW On seeing and being seen We see you! This summer, Assistant Professor Joaquin Muñoz from our education department greeted our incoming students with a powerful message. He said that every one of them deserved an adult who loved them unconditionally. He then looked out at our remarkable students and told them that he loved them. He said, “I see you,” and “I will do all I can to ensure that you are successful at Augsburg and beyond.” Joaquin was speaking to students of color and indigenous students in particular, but this is our promise to all our students: “We see you” is at the center of Augsburg’s commitment to meet students where they are and walk alongside them as they pursue their educational goals. What does it mean to say that “we see you”? It means that your life experience, your vocational journey, your path to Augsburg is important to us and will be taken seriously as we work together to ensure your success. It seems especially fitting as we launch our 150th anniversary—our sesquicentennial— that we renew our promise to meet our students where they are, to see them in all of their astonishing and diverse life experiences, and to accompany them as they pursue an Augsburg education. Our promise to see our students is evident in all of our celebrations of our 150th anniversary. For example, the remarkable “Each, Together” art project—part of an international initiative known as “Inside Out”—is featured in this issue of Augsburg Now (see page 16). More than 1,200 photographs are displayed on buildings across campus: images of current students, faculty, staff, and alumni alongside those of historic figures like Bernhard Christensen ’22, Augsburg’s fifth president, who looks at me each day as I pull into my campus parking spot! Every time I look at those photographs, I think about how they reflect our commitment to seeing each other, to recognizing that our various journeys to Augsburg and beyond are part of a remarkable narrative that has unfolded over the past 150 years. Since our founding in 1869 and through the decades that followed, our institution has grown and changed, yet our commitment to our foundational promise has remained the same. We see you, we love you, and together we will fulfill our abiding promise that Augsburg is “small to our students and big for the world.” Faithfully yours, PAUL C. PRIBBENOW, PRESIDENT Director of Marketing Laura Swanson Lindahl ’15 MBA swansonl@augsburg.edu Director of Public Relations and Internal Communications Gita Sitaramiah sitarami@augsburg.edu Assistant Director of Marketing Creative Denielle Stepka ’11 stepkad@augsburg.edu Senior Creative Associate, Design Elizabeth Kästner kaestner@augsburg.edu Marketing Copywriter John Weirick weirick@augsburg.edu Communication and Social Media Specialist Briana Alamilla ’17 alamilla@augsburg.edu Advancement Communications Specialist Kaia Chambers chamberk2@augsburg.edu Web Manager Joe Mann mannj@augsburg.edu Contributors Kate H. Elliott Jen Nagorski ’08 Lisa Renze-Rhodes Augsburg Now is published by Augsburg University 2211 Riverside Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55454 Opinions expressed in Augsburg Now do not necessarily reflect official university policy. ISSN 1058-1545 AUGSBURG NOW Fall–Winter 2019 During Augsburg’s annual community engagement and service event—now known as City Engagement Day—first-year students volunteer at Twin Cities-based organizations at the start of the academic year. On September 3, more than 650 students in Augsburg T-shirts worked alongside faculty and staff. Some sites included community gardens and a river cleanup with the National Park Service. The Class of 2023 is Augsburg’s largest ever. See the back cover. 02 Around the quad 16 Face value 08 Annual report to donors 22 10 A September to remember 26 Auggies connect 12 Building on an early lead 15 Honoring Auggies Balancing the books 28 Class notes 32 In memoriam On the cover: Portraits of community members—past and present—create a tapestry of faces that celebrate, recognize, and honor the individuals who have contributed to Augsburg University during the past 150 years. Read more on page 16. All photos by Courtney Perry unless otherwise indicated Send address corrections to alumniupdate@augsburg.edu. Send comments to now@augsburg.edu. PHOTO BY REBECCA SLATER AUGSBURG’S LARGEST CLASS KICKS OFF ACADEMIC YEAR WITH VOLUNTEERING PHOTOS BY SHAWN NIELSEN AROUND THE QUAD Augsburg launches TRANSIT PASS FOR UNDERGRADUATES Augsburg University now offers the Auggie Pass, a universal transit pass that gives undergraduate students unlimited rides on buses and light rail in a first-of-its-kind partnership between Metro Transit and a Twin Cities university. Augsburg’s student government approved increasing the green fee by $5 to $20 per semester to pay for the Auggie Pass in order to reduce students’ out-of-pocket costs while improving their chances of accepting jobs and internships that involve a commute. Day Student Government is officially responsible for overseeing the green fee that supports sustainability efforts. The Auggie Pass is valid throughout the school year and is paid for from both the student green fee and university operating funds. All traditional undergraduate students who pay the semester green fee are eligible for the pass at no additional cost. “As someone who uses the bus every day, it’s great not to have that financial burden,” said Skye Ryge ’20, who advocated for the pass. “It’s really economically advantageous to students who pay for school, like me, to not have to choose between textbooks and bus fare.” 2 AUGSBURG NOW President Paul Pribbenow named FUNDRAISER OF THE YEAR Augsburg University President Paul Pribbenow was named an Outstanding Fundraising Professional for his effective, creative, and inspiring leadership. The highest honor bestowed upon one of its members, the award was presented by the Association of Fundraising Professionals at the International Fundraising Conference in San Antonio this spring. “The impact of Paul Pribbenow on the organizations he has served is only exceeded by the impact he has had on the entire fundraising profession,” said AFP President and CEO Mike Geiger. “It is fair to say that fundraising—and how we look at ethics and philanthropy—would look differently without the contributions of Paul. His work will serve as one of the cornerstones of the profession for years to come.” QUIZ: OLDER OR YOUNGER THAN AUGSBURG? VARSITY WOMEN’S WRESTLING TEAM Augsburg announced earlier this year the addition of a varsity women’s wrestling team. This new team continues the pioneering tradition in women’s athletics at Augsburg, which now has the only varsity women’s wrestling team in Minnesota. In 1995, Augsburg became the first college in the Midwest to sponsor a varsity women’s ice hockey team. Then, in 2014, Augsburg became the first collegiate institution in Minnesota to sponsor a varsity women’s lacrosse team. The women’s wrestling team is competing this academic year under head coach Max Mejia, who most recently served as women’s and developmental coach at the Sunkist Kids Regional Training Center in Tempe, Arizona. Mejia, a 2015 graduate of Harvard University, has helped coach a World Team Trials champion and another finalist; two senior national team members; a U.S. Open champion, finalist, and placewinner; and four Arizona high school state champions. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 The first recorded baseball game occurs. Abolitionists Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman are born. Leaders sign Norway’s constitution. Abraham Lincoln serves as president of the United States. Victor Hugo publishes the novel “Les Misérables.” Pharmacist John Pemberton invents Coca-Cola. The first automobile with an internal combustion engine is invented. Answers: 1. Older; 1846. 2. Older; 1818 and 1822. 3. Older; 1814. 4. Older; 1861–65. 5. Older; 1862. 6. Younger; 1886. 7. Older; 1807. MINNESOTA’S ONLY In honor of Augsburg’s founding in 1869, the university is celebrating the past and the present with sesquicentennial events all year long. Think you know history? Test your knowledge: Identify whether each of the events below is older or younger than Augsburg. German scholars and artists join RIVER SEMESTER PHOTO BY STEPHEN GEFFRE Augsburg University’s third River Semester launched in August as part of a prestigious German initiative to explore the Mississippi River. “Mississippi. An Anthropocene River” is a German research project involving many communities and initiatives along the river with a focus on climate change. Joining Augsburg students are German travelers, including artists, authors, journalists, and scholars from the Max Planck Institute and the Goethe Institute. This year’s River Semester voyagers departed from Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota and, for 100 days, are paddling portions of the Mississippi River to reach New Orleans. The students will earn 16 to 19 credits. FALL–WINTER 2019 3 AROUND THE QUAD NEW AUGSBURG BOARD OF REGENTS MEMBERS At its annual September meeting, the Augsburg Corporation elected four new members to the Board of Regents and re-elected three members. Elected to their first term on the Augsburg Board of Regents: • Sylvia Bartley, senior global director, Medtronic Foundation • Ellen Ewald, co-owner and executive advisor at Tysvar LLC and mobileAxept in Minneapolis • John O’Brien, president and chief executive officer of Educause; former president of North Hennepin Community College in Minneapolis • John Schwartz ’67, retired hospital administrator at Advocate Trinity Hospital in Chicago and former general manager of SmithKline Beecham Clinical Laboratories, Schaumburg, Illinois Sylvia Bartley Upgraded training room boosts athletes’ efficiency Augsburg’s athletic training room has moved to a larger, substantially upgraded space in Si Melby Hall. In this new space, sports medicine support staff from on and off campus—including team physicians, chiropractors, physical therapists, and dietitians—can work collaboratively with athletic trainers to better serve Augsburg’s more than 500 student-athletes from 22 varsity sports. Philanthropic gifts paid for the upgrades, with student-athletes gaining the benefit of more efficient scheduling. “The ability to serve multiple teams at the same time in the larger space, with state-of-the-art equipment, will be the biggest advantage and benefit for the student-athlete,” said Missy Strauch, Augsburg’s head athletic trainer. Ellen Ewald Augsburg hosts inaugural HUMAN RIGHTS FORUM Elected to a third term: • Karen Durant ’81, retired vice president and controller of Tennant Company, Golden Valley, Minnesota • Matt Entenza, attorney in private practice in St. Paul, Minnesota, and former Minnesota state representative • Jeff Nodland ’77, retired president and chief executive officer of KIK Custom Products John O’Brien The Human Rights Forum at Augsburg University welcomed about 800 students, thought leaders, global changemakers, and activists this fall. In partnership with the Human Rights Foundation, which also produces the Oslo Freedom Forum, the two-day event at Augsburg brought together participants from a variety of institutions and locations around the world. The first day explored human rights issues in authoritarian regimes, and the second day focused on racial justice, indigenous rights, and environmental sustainability. John Schwartz ’67 See the full list of Board of Regents members at augsburg.edu/about/leadership. 4 AUGSBURG NOW 2019 Media Sponsor Learn more at augsburg.edu/humanrightsforum. OREN GATEWAY CENTER lobby renovation provides aesthetic convenience The Oren Gateway Center lobby and adjoining Nabo cafe were redesigned and renovated during the summer, creating more inviting campus meeting spaces. The Nabo security gate was relocated to allow access to the bookstore and seating area beyond the cafe’s hours of operation. Key pieces of kitchen equipment also were upgraded. This project was funded by A’viands, Augsburg’s food service provider, as part of its most recent dining contract with the university. Augsburg names inaugural Augsburg welcomes Sundquist Endowed Professor of Business Administration This fall, Augsburg named Business Department Chair Jeanne Boeh the Sundquist Endowed Professor of Business Administration. The Sundquist professorship supports business administration, Augsburg’s largest academic department with the most undergraduate students on campus. Boeh, a professor of economics, has been teaching at Augsburg since 1990 and often appears in media interviews and on business panels using her talent for bringing complex business concepts to life. “Jeanne Boeh will lead Augsburg’s efforts to attract top business faculty, thanks to this generous endowment,” said Augsburg University President Paul Pribbenow. “She is known as a faculty leader on campus and for her strong commitment to students as they prepare for careers in business.” This endowed professorship is named for alumnus Dean Sundquist ’81, an Augsburg Board of Regents member and chairman and CEO of Anoka, Minnesota-based Mate Precision Tooling. Sundquist and his wife, Amy, have made several major investments in Augsburg. The Forum on Workplace Inclusion has a new home at Augsburg University. Previously based at the University of St. Thomas, the forum is the nation’s largest workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion conference designed for national and global audiences. The forum has served as a convening hub for those seeking to grow professional leadership and effective skills in the field of diversity, equity, and inclusion by engaging people, advancing ideas, and igniting change. “The Forum on Workplace Inclusion is excited to begin a new chapter at Augsburg University,” said Steve Humerickhouse, executive director of The Forum. “We look forward to the amazing things we can create with our new Auggie family.” FALL–WINTER 2019 5 ARCHIVE PHOTO From disease to remedy: How nostalgia offers a psychological boost A special vacation with family members you miss. That unforgettable meal at your favorite restaurant with your favorite person. The album you used to listen to nonstop during the ups and downs of high school. You’re happy you have those pleasant memories, but you’re also sad they’re over. You are experiencing nostalgia. Throwback TV shows, retro fashion, and reboots of toys, trinkets, and stories from decades ago have people wondering if American culture is at its peak in terms of nostalgia—and how long it can last. Bridget Robinson-Riegler is a professor of psychology at Augsburg University. Taking a moment between writing a cognitive psychology textbook, research, and teaching and learning with her students, she explores what psychology can tell us about nostalgia’s appeal. Q: A: What is nostalgia? How does it relate to memory? Nostalgia is a sentimental longing for one’s past. The emotion is deeply social and bittersweet but predominantly positive. Nostalgic memories are recollections of atypical life events (e.g., vacations) that involve close relationships (e.g., family, friends) or events from childhood. We view these experiences with rose-colored glasses so negative aspects are often not remembered. We miss those experiences and yearn to relive them. Q: A: Where did the idea of nostalgia originate? The word “nostalgia” is a compound of two Greek words that essentially mean a sad mood originating from a desire to return to one’s native land. The word was coined in the 17th century by a medical student who was helping Swiss mercenaries working in France. He observed symptoms of sadness, loss of appetite, insomnia, cardiac 6 AUGSBURG NOW palpitation—things we would diagnose as post-traumatic stress disorder today. Much of the early interest in nostalgia focused on how to stop these thoughts because it was considered a disease and the resulting symptoms prevented individuals from performing at their military best. Q: A: How does nostalgia affect people psychologically? Nostalgic remembering is most likely to occur in times of loneliness, negative moods, or feelings of meaninglessness. It is basically a coping mechanism to deal with distress. Rather than being the problem (the disease, as it was conceptualized when the term was first coined), it is the way we cope (more like the remedy or cure). Even if we may feel bad and disconnected in our current life, we can “relive” a time when we felt good and were not lonely. Reconstructing memories and projecting ourselves into the future are interdependent cognitive processes that share a system in the brain. So, when we think about a time when we were socially connected and at our “personal best,” these feelings stretch out into our future, and we become hopeful and consequently feel better. Q: A: How is nostalgia active in society today? Given the state of the world— climate change, ups and downs in the economy, racist acts, problematic government leadership—it is not surprising that nostalgic thinking is common. This type of societal distress can lead to personal nostalgia and to collective nostalgia in which people long for a time when they viewed the world as a better place, even if it wasn’t. So there is a resurgence of old TV shows, vinyl records, throwback uniforms for athletic teams, retro clothes, and other products. We seek comfort with familiar products from childhood or from a time when the world was viewed as “better” or “easier.” Visit augsburg.edu/now to read more about nostalgia. COURTESY PHOTOS 2019–20 CONVOCATION SERIES Augsburg University’s annual convocation series provides dedicated time during the academic year to hear from outstanding leaders and visionaries. In October, this year’s series kicked off with the Bernhard Munib Younan M. Christensen Symposium featuring Munib Younan, retired bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land and former president of the Lutheran World Federation, and Hamdy El-Sawaf, founder and psychotherapist at the Family Counseling Center and imam of Masjid Al-Iman in Hamdy El-Sawaf Minneapolis. Through their presentations, each shared personal experiences and religious perspectives Join us January 20, 2020 on hope, reconciliation, and resiliency for the Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation. All convocation events are free and open to in the midst of suffering and struggles the public. Visit augsburg.edu/convo. that often are intensified by religious convictions and differences. SAVE THE DATE: PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT STUDIES PROGRAM moves to new Minneapolis location The physician assistant studies graduate program moved into a renovated, leased space in the Riverside Park Plaza building. The building’s location, at 701 25th Avenue South in Minneapolis, puts it among the medical facilities of the University of Minnesota Medical Center and the Masonic Children’s Hospital and just a short walk from the Augsburg University campus. The program’s move in August came after four years at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. The new space, which features an increased footprint for classroom and clinical lab instruction, supports potential future departmental growth and allows the program faculty, students, and staff to engage with Minneapolis campus activities. “The curriculum was redesigned to be more case-based and hands-on, and this new space will allow for a more creative and innovative learning environment,” said Alicia Quella, the physician assistant studies program director and department chair. AROUND THE QUAD AWARDS AND HONORS Best Regional Universities by U.S. News & World Report: U.S. News & World Report again named Augsburg one of the Best Regional Universities in the Midwest in 2019. This year, Augsburg is No. 13, which makes it the top Minnesota school on the list. Augsburg is also ranked ninth for undergraduate teaching, eighth in its support for veterans, top in the state and sixth overall for innovation, and fourth in promoting social mobility. Rankings are based on average first-year retention rates, graduation rates, class sizes, student-to-faculty ratios, and other information. Best in the Midwest by The Princeton Review: The Princeton Review again named Augsburg one of the Best in the Midwest for academic excellence this year. 25 LGBTQ Friendly Colleges: College Consensus, a new college review aggregator, recognized Augsburg in its survey of 25 LGBTQ Friendly Colleges of 2019. College Consensus works to bring attention to schools that other ranking publishers overlook. Top Schools for Indigenous Americans: In 2019, the American Indian Science and Engineering Society’s Winds of Change magazine selected Augsburg as one of the Top 200 Schools for Indigenous American and Alaska Native students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math. Top Military Friendly School: Augsburg was again named a Military Friendly® School, a list compiled through extensive research and a free, data-driven survey of more than 10,000 Veterans Administration-approved schools nationwide. FALL–WINTER 2019 7 2018–19 AUGSBURG UNIVERSITY ANNUAL REPORT TO DONORS You are a part of a large community of Augsburg donors. We are so grateful for the generosity of this community of people who support our mission. AUGSBURG BY THE NUMBERS ACADEMICS STUDENTS 16.2 average class size 13:1 student-to-faculty ratio 50+ undergraduate majors 10 graduate degrees 2,005 traditional undergraduate students 76% of traditional undergraduate first-year students live on campus Data from 2018–19 academic year 27% of Augsburg undergraduates are first-generation college students 47% of traditional undergraduates are students of color 38 U.S. states represented by the undergraduate student body 44 countries represented by the undergraduate student body 97% of traditional undergraduates receive some form of financial aid AUGSBURG DONORS ENSURE OPPORTUNITIES Parents: Hazen and Kathy Graves • Hazen: Retired partner at Faegre Baker Daniels law firm • Kathy: Principal for communications and planning firm Parenteau Graves • Priority: Support higher education institutions that serve students with physical disabilities When Hazen and Kathy Graves toured Augsburg with their son, Sam Graves ’16, they found that it offered the unique assistance Sam needed as a young man with cerebral palsy who uses a power wheelchair. “As we learned more about the support Augsburg offers to students with various kinds of challenges, we came to understand that Augsburg had been doing this for a long time,” said Hazen. Sam graduated with a degree in psychology. The idea of supporting Augsburg financially occurred to both Hazen and Kathy independently, and they decided to donate $50,000 to endow a scholarship. “Access to higher education is a big issue,” Hazen said, “and we’re just doing our little part.” Find more donor stories at augsburg.edu/giving. AVERAGE GIFT SIZE $2,565 NUMBER OF DONORS LAST YEAR 9,966 Alumni: Brian Anderson ’82 and Leeann Rock ’81 • Brian: PhD in physics at the University of Minnesota, taught at Augsburg, joined Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory • Leeann: MD from the University of Minnesota, pathologist at Frederick Memorial Hospital • Priority: Expand students’ academic opportunities and multidisciplinary efforts Husband and wife Brian Anderson ’82 and Leeann Rock ’81 are donating $50,000 to endow the Raymond E. and Margaret J. Anderson Scholarship in honor of Brian’s parents’ legacy, as well as in honor of Brian’s brother, Augsburg Physics Professor Emeritus Stuart Anderson ’78. Brian’s father, the late Raymond E. Anderson, joined Augsburg in 1949 as a speech and communications professor. Brian’s mother, the late Margaret J. Anderson, came to Augsburg in 1967 and became library director. Endowing a scholarship is “a formal way of maintaining our relationship with Augsburg while ensuring more opportunities for students in the future,” Brian said. • Retired clinical psychologist who studied at the State University of New York—Buffalo and Michigan State University • Priority: Equitable representation of women in education and leadership, including in faculty roles, administration, and political offices Linda Giacomo was the first in her family to attend college. She empathizes with immigrant struggles, recalling impoverished grandparents who left southern Italy to become naturalized U.S. citizens and parents who could not afford their children’s college tuition despite holding four jobs combined. “Education is transformative in a way that gives you so much power and choice. People should not be denied that opportunity because they have no money,” she said. Noting that women earn 26% less than men but carry two-thirds of the nation’s college debt, Giacomo designated a $30,000 outright gift to the Augsburg Women Engaged Scholarship as well as a generous estate gift. “To not be generous, to not share what you have with those in need, is heartbreaking,” she said. “In making these gifts to Augsburg, my heart is full.” ENDOWMENT MARKET VALUE $48.1 May 31, 2019—$49,644,712 $40.5 $38.3 $32.4 $31.5 $28.2 $49.6 $43.9 $39.4 $34.6 $33.3 $29.8 $24.5 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 REVENUE BY SOURCE EXPENSES BY SOURCE 39% Salaries and benefits 34% Financial aid 19% Operating expenses 3% Utilities and insurance 2% Debt services 2% Student compensation 1% Capital improvement Friend: Linda Giacomo WHERE GIFTS ARE FROM 72.57% Individuals 14.70% Corporations 12.73% Foundations 79% Tuition 8% Room and board 6% Gifts and private grants 3% Government grants 2% Endowment income 2% Other GALA AT A GLANCE • 1,000 Auggies attended the gala. • Thanks to our generous guests, we raised a total of $1.4 million in support of Augsburg’s mission. • Paul Mueller ’84 and Nancy (Mackey) Mueller ’85 issued a challenge and pledged to match every gift at the $1,000 level dollar for dollar up to $100,000. 1 A SEPTEMBER TO REMEMBER 2 SESQUICENTENNIAL GALA It wouldn’t be right to mark 150 years of Augsburg with a small affair—so we threw a huge, once-in-a-lifetime party. On Friday, September 27, Auggies of all kinds dressed up and headed to Renaissance Minneapolis Hotel—The Depot in downtown Minneapolis for the Sesquicentennial Gala, a night of dinner, dancing, revisiting the university’s history, and rallying support to propel Augsburg into the next 150 years. 10 AUGSBURG NOW 3 1) Gala attendees pose for a photo. 2) Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a guest speaker for the evening, takes a selfie with Augsburg Day Student Government leaders Arianna Antone-Ramirez ’20 and Lucia Davila ’20. 3) Provost Karen Kaivola and students dance to live music. PHOTO BY LAUREN FALK HOMECOMING 2019 Auggies continued the celebration Saturday, September 28, with a full day of Homecoming festivities, including Taste of Augsburg, a chapel service, the football game, and the Augsburg Music Department Collage Concert. The classes of 1969, 1979, and 2009 celebrated milestone reunions. Donte Collins ’18 embraces English Professor Doug Green. “Auggie, you are called into the world. Into your wonder. Your why. To wrestle with reason. To spot the problem. And propose new parts. To walk toward your fears. To find the heart. We are Called. We are Auggies.” —from “We Are Auggies,” a spoken-word piece written and performed by Donte Collins ’18 PHOTO BY BOB STACKE '71 Campaign Chair Paul Mueller ’84 joins President Paul Pribbenow on stage. “Augsburg is astonishing. Which is really to say that the people of Augsburg are astonishing—Brilliant. Committed. Resilient. You might try to hide it or downplay it, but it is undeniably, unequivocally, tangibly bursting forth from everything you do. It has been nearly 15 years since I first stepped on campus. And, today, the world is noticing Augsburg, what it is, and does, and stands for. Not just in the Twin Cities, but nationally and internationally.” —from President Paul Pribbenow’s gala remarks FALL–WINTER 2019 11 BUILDING ON AN EARLY LEAD BY KATE H. ELLIOTT Athletics secures NCAA grant to fund first-of-its-kind position supporting culture of inclusion Hop, step, and jump. Hop, step, and jump. Training for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, Chris Dixon could think of little else than the triple jump cadence. Hop, step, and jump. Hop, step, and jump. Then at practice, hop, step, and crack—followed by intense pain, doctors, and confirmation that his Olympic dreams shattered along with his ankle. Dixon spent the next few years figuring out who he was off the field—the place where athletic ability and subsequent praise had become closely linked to his sense of identity. It was a journey as difficult—if not more so—than his climb to peak performance. During that dark, confusing time, he promised himself: If I’m ever in a position to help others transition to life after sports, I will. Since July, Dixon has served as Augsburg University’s director of athletic diversity and inclusion and assistant coach for the men’s and women’s track and field teams. He is eager to return to the field as a coach, and he has a game plan to use the new role to promote a culture of inclusion. This job is personal, Dixon said. “I was one of only a few African American kids in elementary school. People would ask to touch my hair, and I felt different until fifth grade, when I performed in front of my peers and teachers at a district track meet,” he said. “For the first time, I felt accepted and embraced, and from then on, my identity was as an athlete. I loved it, don’t get me wrong, but it was difficult to adjust once I left the arena.” Dixon never had an African American teacher or coach other than a friend’s dad who, after selling insurance all day, volunteered for Dixon’s high school track and field team. “I had amazing coaches and teachers, but I never saw myself in those roles,” he said. These and other life experiences inform his outlook on this new role and emphasize the importance of his presence at Augsburg, where he also teaches Introduction to Kinesiology. “I am meeting student-athletes and talking with them about the challenges they face. I am working to be a presence on campus— to break down stereotypes for some and to be a role model for others,” he said. “Alongside student-athletes and our athletics administration, I want to create or enhance academic resources, life-skills development, and networking opportunities.” Personal connections and consistent, centralized support are critical to the success of underrepresented studentathletes, Dixon said. “Augsburg is already ahead of the game. The student body is diverse, and there are many resources across campus that support inclusion. I plan to work with and build on what’s already there.” A plan—starting with breakfast Student-athletes attend a networking event hosted by Chris Dixon. 12 AUGSBURG NOW As the sun rose on the second Thursday in October, Dixon greeted several tables of student-athletes seated in The Commons in Christensen Center. The young men of color connected with each other over breakfast before hearing advice from Jareck Horton, district sales manager at PDC IDenticard, and Augsburg Football Assistant Coach Keanon Cooper. Dixon plans to invite successful men of color from a range of professions to these monthly networking socials, and he will hold similar events with other groups. Alicia Schuelke ’20 MAE, graduate assistant coach for track and field, said she and other students are thrilled with Dixon’s enthusiasm and vision for the role. “In a world where, many times, the odds are stacked against us, leaders of color provide hope and strength,” said Schuelke, a student in the Master of Arts in Education program. “I came to Augsburg for the MAE program, but I was pleasantly surprised to find how diverse the campus is, and it is my absolute favorite part of my learning experience. “If we can move the needle toward a more diverse group of leaders that better represent our country’s demographics, then students of color will begin to understand that the sky’s the limit in terms of their own hopes, dreams, and aspirations.” athletics r u o d n a s nt-athlete e d u t enhance s r e o id e s t g a n e r lo c “A ment, p , I want to n lo e io t v a e r d t is ills admin es, life-sk c r u o s e r academic unities.” t r o p p o g rkin INCLUSION and netwo RSITY AND —CHRIS ECTOR DIXON, DIR E IC DIV OF ATHLET FALL–WINTER 2019 13 AUGGIES Position the result of NCAA diversity grant Dixon’s position is largely made possible through a two-year NCAA Ethnic Minorities and Women’s Internship Grant, which provides financial assistance to member institutions who create full-time, entry-level administrative positions for people who identify as an ethnic minority and/or a woman, according to federal guidelines. The grant also supports professional development and formalized mentoring. Augsburg was one of only 20 institutions and conference offices selected to receive the grant this cycle, and it is the third award for Augsburg in the past decade. The university first secured the Ethnic Minorities and Women’s Internship Grant during the 2012 to 2014 cycle to fund Jennifer Jacobs’ role as assistant director of NCAA compliance and assistant volleyball coach. In 2014, Augsburg received the NCAA’s Strategic Alliance Matching Grant, which funds fulltime, mid- to senior-level athletics administration positions during a fiveyear commitment. Jacobs’ role then evolved into assistant athletic director of external relations and diversity and inclusion, in addition to her role as assistant volleyball coach. She is now head volleyball coach at Augustana University. Augsburg’s Associate Athletic Director Kelly Anderson Diercks said the department is driven to advance diversity and inclusion. “Embracing and connecting students of all backgrounds and experiences is the right thing to do, but it is also smart,” she said. “More diverse teams are often stronger teams. They produce student-athletes who are better prepared to excel in play and in life.” Anderson Diercks is a product of the NCAA’s diversity grants, first as an intern for the Minnesota Intercollegiate 14 AUGSBURG NOW Athletic Conference and then as an assistant director. The experience, Anderson Diercks said, transformed how she operates as a leader in a maledominated profession. More than a decade has passed, but she remains in contact with the mentor assigned to her during the internship. “These are critical opportunities for women and minorities to enter into leadership positions with tremendous personal and professional resources designed to equip them with the tools and outlook to navigate difficult roles,” said Anderson Diercks, who formerly served as chair of the NCAA Ethnic Minority and Women’s Internship selection committee. “We are particularly excited about Coach Dixon’s position because, to our knowledge, it is the only role of its kind.” Augsburg is ‘ahead of the game’ Ali Spungen, associate director of Division III for the NCAA, said that about 130 positions have been awarded through diversity grants during the past five years—that’s more than $36 million in funds for positions and professional development. Augsburg, Spungen said, stands out as a leader in the division, which is well positioned to meet the needs of diverse populations. “Division III allows student-athletes to play the sports they love within departments also focused on their academics and social engagement,” said Spungen, also a past grant recipient. “These positions empower leaders like Coach Dixon to thrive, which inspires and encourages students. Augsburg clearly cares for its student-athletes and is willing to dedicate time and resources to ensure they are successful and well-rounded.” Dixon is ready and grateful to come full-circle—to be the coach and teacher he never had and to prepare others for the transitions he never saw coming. ARCHIVE PHOTOS IN MEMORIAM Merton Strommen ’42 and Gladys Strommen ’46 Merton Strommen ’42 and Gladys Strommen ’46 were a part of a family legacy at Augsburg that has spanned generations. The Strommens have widely shared their gifts and talents with the university, and their impact on the Augsburg community will be felt for many years to come. Mert Strommen died September 2. Youth ministry was the core of his life’s work—as campus pastor at Augsburg and founder of Search Institute, which has an international impact on youth work through research. Mert and his wife, Irene (Huglen) ’44, started the Youth and Family Institute at Augsburg and also created the David Strommen Endowed Fund for youth ministry. Mert also served on Augsburg’s Board of Regents, founded and directed the Augsburg Centennial Singers, and was awarded Fellow status by the American Psychological Association for his pioneering research in psychology and religion. Gladys Boxrud Strommen passed away May 26. Gladys and husband, Clair ’46, who passed away in 2001, have served and supported Augsburg in many significant ways over their lives and created a lasting legacy through their work and dedication. Gladys was a supportive partner to Clair in developing his career in business and leadership with Strommen & Associates and Lutheran Brotherhood, now known as Thrivent Financial. Gladys served on the Board of Regents, co-founded the Augsburg Associates, and hosted many alumni gatherings in her homes in Minnesota and Florida. Through a generous gift, the family established the Clair and Gladys Strommen Center for Meaningful Work in 2014 in recognition of their personal commitment to create meaning and purpose in work and life. “Clair and Gladys Strommen are forever woven into the fabric of Augsburg through their commitment to lives filled with purpose and meaning,” said Lee George, executive director of the Strommen Center. “Through the Strommen Center for Meaningful Work, Clair and Gladys’ legacy is realized in students who commit themselves to exploring their values, passions, and skills and understanding how they can be put to use in the world.” The Strommens also commissioned a sculpture in front of Christensen Center and have two endowed funds: a scholarship fund and a program fund for the Strommen Center. As President Paul Pribbenow said in his campus announcement of Gladys’ passing, “Her loss is a big one, but her legacy will continue to be felt by generations of Auggies to come.” FALL–WINTER 2019 15 Face Value BY LISA RENZE-RHODES Dakota and Ojibwe. Norwegian and Irish. Art installations celebrate individuals, expound on Augsburg’s history, and expand the boundaries of community. Somali and Ethiopian. On and around the land that today houses Augsburg University’s Minneapolis campus, they celebrated births and mourned deaths. They spoke languages of love and laughter, stress and sorrow. They built families, businesses, and dreams. They were here and many are gone, at once everywhere and nowhere because in the blistering pace and abundant distractions of the human ecosystem we all inhabit, it’s natural that we forget who came before us. But what if—even for a moment—we turned our attention to who we were and who we are right now? To who worships next to us, or walks by us in the grocery, or shares an apartment wall? “On This Spot” and “Each, Together” bring into focus the history of the campus and the surrounding neighborhood, and the people who are the Augsburg of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. What would we discover if we intentionally took notice of who we are and where we’ve come from? This idea is at the core of new art and historical exhibits that cover collectively four city blocks on 12 of Augsburg’s building facades and 37 window panes around campus. As part of Augsburg’s sesquicentennial celebration, artists and designers at the university wanted to give the community a chance to reflect on their history and their people. So the works, dubbed respectively “On This Spot” and “Each, Together,” bring into focus the history of the campus and the surrounding neighborhood, and the people who are the Augsburg of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. FALL–WINTER 2019 17 ‘Humans at the center’ Photographers capture portraits at Augsburg events to use in “Each, Together.” “Each, Together,” the larger of the two projects, is a Group Action of the international “Inside Out: The People’s Art Project” initiative that launched in 2011 after a French street artist, known only as JR, won that year’s TED Prize. First awarded in 2005, the TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design) Prize has become synonymous with visionary thinking meant to spark change throughout the world. Winners of the award—including educators, artists, chefs, journalists, and even former President Bill Clinton—have used the $1 million prize to fuel specific community projects, like healthy food initiatives and educational innovations. The winning projects all have one thing in common: They are designed to make people engage in their communities. In the case of artist JR’s project, his vision was to create works that “shine a light on the unsung and give everyone the dignity they deserve.” And he hoped that beyond his capacity as one artist, people around the world would join in the celebration of others. To date, more than 260,000 people in 129 countries have participated in different versions of the project featuring faces displayed on billboards, buildings, sidewalks, and in digital collections. Augsburg is one of the latest communities to answer the call. “We saw that invitation, that there was a related, common ethos to what we have here at Augsburg, and that the project was similar to public works we’ve done here,” said Christopher Houltberg, Augsburg associate professor of art and design. “It’s really about putting humans at the center.” SOCIAL MEDIA Spotlight My former college roommate had eagle eyes today and found me! Responses edited for length and clarity. —ERICA HULS ’01 Hey, look who I found! #AugsburgFamous —SETH RUETER Look ma I made it!!!!! @AugsburgU wahooo!!!! #sesquicentennial —APRIL JOHNSON ’18 18 AUGSBURG NOW So a team that included a curator, nine photographers, and three designers—Houltberg, Maggie Royce ’15, and Indra Ramassamy ’18—worked for several months between Fall 2018 and Summer 2019. The photographers attended between 15 and 20 campus events, all working to capture as many faces as possible to best tell the Augsburg story. “The way we went about it was really organic,” Houltberg said. “We started going to events around campus in Fall 2018 and then in the springtime, trying to get to as many different ones as possible. There’s a really big holiday event called Advent Vespers, and a lot of alumni come to that.” All told, the group took more than 900 photos and gathered about 300 additional images of historic Auggies. “It’s very democratic; everyone is given the same amount of space,” Houltberg said. “From our president, Paul Pribbenow, to people who work on our janitorial staff, to our students, to our former mayor, R.T. Rybak. “As we were defining the parameters [of the ‘Each, Together’ project] it was a fun surprise for us to see who self-identified as part of Augsburg.” Bigger dose of Augsburg R.T. Rybak, current president of the Minneapolis Foundation, was the mayor of Minneapolis from 2002 to 2014. He said it would be impossible to think of the growth and development of the city without considering the role Augsburg has played in that history. “I’ve conservatively said 1,000 times in public speeches that the neighborhood where Augsburg is, is our Ellis Island. One wave after the other washes in and the next wave builds on top, and it’s something that no one wave could have created in isolation,” Rybak said. That’s most certainly the story of the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood that surrounds Augsburg and the story of Minneapolis as a whole. “... I often think we just need a bigger dose of Augsburg. We need to realize that offering that ladder of opportunity to someone else makes all of us able to climb higher. We are better together.” —R.T. Rybak, former Minneapolis mayor “Augsburg is a shining example of the very best parts of Minneapolis’ history. The university represents opening doors to people with strange names like Johnson or Anderson or Rybak, and keeping those doors open for people with names that come from Africa, Asia, and places across the globe. “When I get down about what’s fracturing our deeply divided country and world today, I often think we just need a bigger dose of Augsburg. We need to realize that offering that ladder of opportunity to someone else makes all of us able to climb higher. We are better together.” Houltberg said the “together” ideal is at the heart of the exhibit. “As individuals we are showing up, and collectively we can do something greater than what we can do on our own,” he said. “I loved seeing the portraits blocked together, seeing people stop and take selfies. There are people who say, ‘I recognize who that is!’” Forward facing, historic reflections Kristin Anderson, a co-creator of these projects as well as a professor of art history and Augsburg archivist, said she’s only heard good things about the exhibit. “I have seen emails and tweets—sometimes emotional—with people responding to the wall as a whole, as well as to their individual images,” Anderson said. The community is responding to the historical revisit that “On This Spot” installations provide, too, she said. That exhibit features enormous panels that share Augsburg moments that photographers captured decades ago. The campus life of yesteryear includes images of young bobby soxer women from the 1940s in saddle shoes and flowing skirts in contrast with men wearing formal suits while tramping across a snowcovered campus. I’m so proud to be part of the @insideoutproject at @augsburguniversity in honor of the Sesquicentennial! —NIK LINDE ’15 FALL–WINTER 2019 19 “It has been a fun way to bring some old photographs to life and to show how the campus is layered on the site. Those ‘lost’ buildings displayed on the walls of the current buildings help to connect us to our past, reminding us of the imagination and commitment of our predecessors,” Anderson said. The two exhibits are being admired by community members who see the campus regularly and by those who keep up with Augsburg from a distance. Killa (Martinez Aleman) Marti ’08 came to Augsburg from her home in Honduras. Marti said she brought her own values with her when she enrolled, “but Augsburg put them to work. The Auggie community showed me that I wasn’t crazy to want a career with meaning.” “Those ‘lost’ buildings displayed on the walls of the current buildings help to connect us to our past, reminding us of the imagination and commitment of our predecessors.” —Kristin Anderson, university archivist For Marti, “Each, Together” perfectly sums up her experience at Augsburg. “My career is an intersection of what I love to do with the opportunity to serve,” said Marti, an attorney in Atlanta. “To think critically, to be socially and community-minded—all of the things I exercise in my life were supported and further developed at Augsburg.” Houltberg said it’s difficult not to consider the greater impact that art, especially a work like “Each, Together,” has. “Having a group of artists, designers, and photographers come together to make something this beautiful and to see it up and fully functioning is pretty great,” he said. “It has created a tangible thread between all of us, which transcends 150 years and all our history,” said Ramassamy, who worked with the team to design “Each, Together.” “We live in a visual world yet we can be unaware of each other,” she said. “This project is making us aware of one another, making us pay attention, making us curious about the person in the portrait above or to the left or right of us.” “I love watching people who are walking down the streets looking at the portraits,” Houltberg said. “There’s an element of surprise to it that’s really fantastic. Sometimes the tendency is to put people in big groups. But if you look at these portraits, look at the eyes, and look at the humans who are represented here, you see just how wide a spectrum of humans we are. Anytime we can show the humans and not the institution, we win.” “On This Spot” installations show how Augsburg’s landscape, architecture, and people have changed in the past 150 years. 20 AUGSBURG NOW BY THE NUMBERS Each, Together A crew works to install a portion of the 1,246 portraits that make up “Each, Together.” 302 HISTORICAL 143 STAFF 1,246 PORTRAITS 517 STUDENTS 103 ALUMNI 92 FACULTY 29 COMMUNITY MEMBERS installations 37 photographers 60 INCOMING FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS 3,475 1 2 building facade SQUARE FEET curator window panes 9 3 10 building facades 3 designers 12,710 SQUARE FEET 1 curator BY THE NUMBERS On This Spot designers Members of the university’s faculty and staff launched a number of special projects, including “Each, Together” and “On This Spot,” to commemorate Augsburg’s anniversary year. See other sesquicentennial projects at augsburg.edu/150. Catch a glimpse of the Augsburg of yesteryear, thanks to “On This Spot” displays on window panes around campus. FALL–WINTER 2019 21 Mary Taris ’04 is a graduate of Augsburg’s Adult Undergraduate program, which was ranked ninth in Best Colleges’ 50 Top Colleges for Older Students. g n i c n Bala s k o o b the LIOTT BY KATE H. EL Augsburg alumna starts a publishing company, creates the diverse book list she wished she had Y oung Mary Taris ’04 was so thankful to be a girl. The Minneapolis Public Housing Authority required children of different genders to have separate bedrooms, so while her brothers had to share a room, Taris had her own. Through reading, her bedroom walls grew into a mythical grove where she’d encounter a prince or sit for tea with Frog and Toad. “I escaped into books. Or maybe,” she said, “I disappeared in them.” Books gave her the life she longed for, but those beloved tales were someone else’s story. She was 20 before she read a book with black characters. Now 55, the retired teacher is driven to change that narrative. Last August, at the historic James J. Hill Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, Taris stood in front of family and friends to voice her dream, Strive Publishing, into existence. The startup—based out of her Twin Cities home—supports emerging authors of picture books and young adult novels that are culturally relevant, contemporary, and relatable to kids of all shades, abilities, and experiences. “Everyone has a story, and those stories build bridges to connect us all,” said Taris, a graduate of Augsburg University’s Adult Undergraduate program, a flexible degree program that pairs on-campus FALL–WINTER 2019 23 classes with online coursework in a dozen undergraduate majors. “Too often, authors conform to narrow industry standards driven by profit, but I refuse.” At Strive, Taris and her team work to create pathways for writers and artists from all backgrounds to write about their own experiences and a wider array of identities. Publishing stories that represent and connect Strive Publishing has released three titles by local African American authors, and several more books are in the works with upcoming launch dates. Taris’ efforts have been featured nationally and celebrated locally, with invitations to conduct workshops at schools, partner with established publishing companies, and co-sponsor the inaugural African American Voices in Children’s Literature Contest in partnership with Free Spirit Publishing. “Strive is more than a company; it’s a mindset,” she said. “I was a runaway teen mom who finished high school while striving to raise a son and work for a better life.” That determination led her to enroll in Augsburg’s elementary education program. Juggling work and family, it took Taris eight years to graduate, but she walked across the commencement stage and into the classroom where she taught a range of grades and subjects (mostly English) for 15 years. “I became the first person in my family to earn a college degree,” she said. “It had been my dream since childhood.” Augsburg left a mark on Taris, as classes exposed her to inequities in education and literature. Taris reframed those inequities as opportunities. Now, years later, Barbara West, director of student teacher placement at Augsburg, recalled Taris’ embrace of story-filled, relevant learning. While student-teaching, Taris invited a Japanese friend to talk with students who were reading a novel about a Japanese girl during World War II. On her lunch hour, Taris met with eighth-graders to advise on a student-produced newsletter. She sought to incorporate diverse voices and stories into the curriculum. “Augsburg taught me to consider the whole child and to understand the classroom as a life-giving space where you can listen and let people tell their stories,” she said. “As a teacher, I struggled to find diverse texts.” Taris also struggled when administrators brought speakers and books that reinforced cultural stereotypes and limited experiences rather than providing real cultural and ethnic diversity. “I wish they would have, instead, given kids diverse books or brought in local authors who looked like the students.” Celebrating voices that defy stereotypes Taris launched Strive in 2016 while teaching full time, but three years later, she took early retirement to dedicate herself fully to the publishing company. Taris remains an educator, though, as a mentor to young authors and as an advocate for change. She challenges communities, schools, and publishing houses to invite new titles that can find their way onto more readers’ nightstands. Ricardo Peters is among Strive’s “founding authors,” as Taris calls them, and he says he is indebted to “Miss Mary” for her guidance and encouragement. Peters’ book— the first in a fantasy series— sold out within months. The 35-year-old stands out, Taris said, because he is a black man who loves and lives the arts like few others. “Plenty of black men are deeply connected to their artistic side, but society doesn’t celebrate that expression,” Taris added. “Our sons are not all basketball and hip hop. Ricardo defies that stereotype, and his work will lead others to do the same.” Peters had been dreaming up stories since he filled stapledtogether notebook paper with “Transformers” stickers. Publishing a book remained his dream, but it wouldn’t have happened without Taris. “I had been working on this series for nine years and likely would have sat on it forever,” said Peters, who works as a reading instructor at Kumon Math and Reading Center of Maple Grove. “But Mary presented me with this opportunity, she believed in me, and I am eternally grateful.” Strive Publishing’s Book List “Under a Cloven Sky” and “A Wild Nature Embraced” by Ricardo Peters Books one and two in the young adult fantasy series, “The Scorched Heavens,” in which the fate of two nations rests on the city’s young princess and her protector. “Red’s Adventures: The Egg Pie” by Donna Gingery The hilarious first book in a picture book series for children, this story follows the precocious Red, who grows up in Alabama under the watchful eye of her grandmother. “Story to Story: A Strive Short “Isaiah’s Sunglasses” Story Series,” Volume 1 by Linda Miller This collaborative book A short, rhythmic story for project aims to celebrate and children about family, hope, empower emerging authors acceptance, and learning about different types of people. and illustrators. “Who Can I Be?” by Arielle Grant Created by Strive’s founding illustrator, this is a story of a girl who sees her potential through the example of women in her community. Representation in literature on the rise but has ‘a long way to go’ Mary Taris ’04 with two of her children, Jermaine Taris and LaToya Taris-James, who both work with Strive Publishing. Making stories more accessible runs in the family This sentiment is shared among the authors who work with Taris. Her children are equally inspired by her, so much so that they joined the Strive team. Her oldest son, Jermaine Taris, is a book illustrator. Her 16-year-old daughter, Grace Taris-Allen, serves as “quality control,” happily reading manuscripts; and her eldest daughter, LaToya Taris-James, assists with marketing and social media. “My mom makes things happen,” said Taris-James, a student leadership program coordinator for Augsburg’s Sabo Center for Democracy and Citizenship. “She is resourceful and passionate, with a unique way of connecting with and inspiring others. “When I was 12, she introduced me to ‘Things Fall Apart’ by Chinua Achebe. It was the first piece of African literature I had read on my own, and it shaped my view of black people across the African diaspora and helped connect me with my heritage.” Through Strive, her mother is making those connections on a broader scale, said Taris-James, who hasn’t fallen far from the tree. Along with a friend, Taris-James created a social impact initiative known as Rooftop (or RFTP) that uses storytelling to engage communities in dialogue around difficult, often polarizing, issues. Mother and daughter are both driven to make stories of all kinds more accessible and communal. “I felt called to create Strive, and to be honest, it’s been difficult to wear so many hats and break through,” Taris said. “Where I have come to see the greatest need is for a safe space for all people to tell their stories, whether they get published or not. I’m working with PopUp Think Tank to gather ideas for how Strive can make the greatest impact, and it’s feeling more like a social enterprise than trying to operate as a traditional publishing house. Whatever Strive looks like in a year— or five years—I know it will be moving the dial.” The Cooperative Children’s Book Center researched and compiled statistics about the number of children’s books and young adult literature published by and about people of color, American Indians, and those of First Nations. “Every year, we see amazing books by and about people of color and first/native nations. There just aren’t enough of them,” CCBC Director Kathleen Horning reflected in the ongoing study’s abstract. “The more books there are, especially books created by authors and illustrators of color, the more opportunities librarians, teachers, parents, and other adults have of finding outstanding books for young readers and listeners that reflect dimensions of their lives and give a broader understanding of who we are as a nation.” 1985 2,500 Children’s books published in the United States 0.72% Children’s books written or illustrated by black people 2018 3,312 Children’s books published in the United States 17.8% By or about Asian Pacific people 17.5% By or about black people 12.8% By or about Latinx people 1.6% By or about American Indians/First Nations FALL–WINTER 2019 25 AUGGIES CONNECT ARCHIVE PHOTO Create inclusive and engaging experiences for fellow Auggies The Alumni Board is the governing body of the Augsburg Alumni Association. The board exists to guide the Office of Alumni and Constituent Relations in serving the valued alumni, parents, and friends who make up the Auggie community. All alumni are welcome and encouraged to join the Alumni Board. See the job description and apply at augsburg.edu/alumni under “Leadership Boards,” or contact Katie (Koch) Code ’01 at codek@augsburg.edu. New video available: MARTIN SABO ’59 Video of an interview with late Congressman Martin Sabo, whose rise to politics was supported by Augsburg University students, will be available later this year at the Sabo Center for Democracy and Citizenship website, augsburg.edu/sabo, thanks to an Augsburg Sesquicentennial Project award that paid for an updated video description and closed captioning. One year after graduating from Augsburg, Sabo —then 22— was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives. During his tenure, he became the first member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party to serve as Speaker of the House, and he went on to the U.S. House of Representatives, retiring in 2007. Sabo died in 2016. COURTESY PHOTO COURTESY PHOTO Serve on Augsburg’s Alumni Board Augsburg’s first ALL-SCHOOL REUNION Mark your calendar for the All-School Reunion during Homecoming: September 26, 2020. More than 150 enthusiastic Sesquicentennial Stewards have committed to help plan Augsburg’s inaugural All-School Reunion. Volunteers are the heart of this sesquicentennial year of events, and this work is not only more fun but is strengthened by their participation and input. Volunteers assist with the All-School Reunion’s schedule, entertainment, venues, and marketing. Visit augsburg.edu/150. 26 AUGSBURG NOW YOU CHIMED IN: SESQUICENTENNIAL FAVORITE FACULTY IN FOCUS HERITAGE TRIPS Augsburg Now staff asked the university’s Facebook followers for their most memorable professors. Here are a few of their responses, edited for length and clarity. NORWAY ARTS AND CULTURE May 8–18, 2020 $4,800 “Mary Lowe—I had a lot of memorable professors, most of them dear to me, but she and I worked so closely together in my last years of my degree that I cannot think of Augsburg without thinking of her. She is a wonderful, insightful, funny mentor who held me accountable and helped me reach heights I wouldn’t have dreamed of initially.” —TIMOTHY PAUL BISHOP JR. ’18 GERMANY July 15–26, 2020 $5,300 “Merilee Klemp ’75—So many lessons learned from her, both music and life. It’s impossible to forget those in your life who have taught, pushed, encouraged, and mentored as well as she does. She’s an incredible human being with such a kind, wonderful soul. Thank you for everything!” —JENNIFER SCHMITT ’04 Hosted by Religion Department faculty Lori Brandt Hale and Hans Wiersma Oberammergau, Germany COURTESY PHOTOS “Oh, do I have to choose? Matthew Maruggi in the Religion Department—he completely changed how I looked at religion, opened my mind to new perspectives, and taught me the meaning of ‘vocation.’” —GINA MARIE GAINOUS ’15 CAMPUS TOUR Hosted by Theater Professor Darcey Engen ’88 and Luverne Seifert ’85 National Theater, Norway “Kristin Anderson—I wouldn’t be where I am in my career without her! She taught me how to think critically about the built environment, ask the hard questions, and think about all of my research from the standpoint of race, class, and gender. She’s one of the smartest women I’ve ever known.” —KACIE LUCCHINI BUTCHER ’13 Take a limited-edition In honor of Augsburg’s 150th anniversary, three trips hosted by expert faculty guides will celebrate the university’s heritage in Germany and Norway. NIDAROS PILGRIMAGE August 4–13, 2020 $3,300 Hosted by Vice President for Mission and Identity Sonja Hagander Nidaros Cathedral, Norway Learn more at augsburg.edu/alumni/travel or contact Katie (Koch) Code ’01 at codek@augsburg.edu. Two walking tours are available on campus this year: “Augsburg Nooks and Crannies” and “Augsburg Campus: Past and Present.” Led by Kristin Anderson, university archivist, each tour lasts one hour and is limited to 20 people. The tours move through indoor and outdoor spaces to learn about the evolution of the campus from 1872 to the present. The Nooks and Crannies tour includes a visit to the old chapel and gymnasium in Old Main, the Old Main attic, an Art Deco filling station, and other little-known spots of interest. Augsburg Campus: Past and Present Augsburg Nooks and Crannies • • • • • • Wednesday, April 8 Wednesday, April 22 Tuesday, May 5 Wednesday, April 15 Wednesday, April 29 Wednesday, May 6 Save your spot on a tour. RSVP required: eventrsvp@augsburg.edu or 612-330-1104. FALL–WINTER 2019 27 ALUMNI CLASS NOTES 1961 Jim Holden ’61 wrote a new book called “Heron Thieves, a Bat Out of Hell, and Other Flyfishing Stories, Essays, and Poems.” Holden has been a fly fisherman for more than 40 years, and the book highlights his experiences on trout streams. 1965 Dwight Olson ’65 presented President Paul Pribbenow a copy of his book “Northern Lights: The Beauty of the Forgotten Scandinavian Enamel Artisans” for Augsburg’s library in celebration of the university’s sesquicentennial. 1969 Cheri (Kraskin) Best ’69, Pam (Fredrickson) Gunderson ’69, Sue Kelly ’69, Linda (Stewart) Miller ’69, Margi Ness ’69, and Anna (Stivland) Olsen ’69 celebrated the 50th anniversary of their graduation from Augsburg with a trip to Boulder, Colorado, in May. 1973 David Colacci ’73 and partner Susan Ericksen, both classically trained theater professionals, were featured in a Star Tribune news story that detailed their success as audiobook narrators. The couple records their audiobook narrations in their St. Louis Park, Minnesota, home. They have each narrated more than 500 titles. 1978 This year, Augsburg’s Excellence In Coaching Award recognized Ken Novak Jr. ’78. Novak led high school boys basketball teams at Blaine and Hopkins to 17 state tournaments, the most of any boys basketball coach in Minnesota history. After winning three consecutive state titles and seven in a 10-year span (2002– 11), Novak was named ESPN RISE National Coach of the Year. He was inducted into the Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2013, and in 2019 he was inducted into the second class of the Minnesota High School Basketball Hall of Fame. 28 AUGSBURG NOW 1987 Andrew Altenburg ’87 joined KPMG in a senior associate role in May 2019. He previously worked as an events manager for The Bank of Tokyo for three years. As a freelance event planner, his clients included MNG, Louis Vuitton, Colgate-Palmolive, and The Carlyle Group. From 2005 to 2015, he produced and emceed 470 bingo events, which raised $250,000 for dozens of LGBTQIA+ organizations. He also is a wedding officiant and cartoonist, posting his work at jumpingforjoy.net. He lives with his partner, Matthew, and their parrot, Lulu, on Manhattan’s Upper West Side in New York City. Minasie Theophilos ’87 received the Distinguished Athletic Service Award in honor of his decades-long support of Augsburg’s student-athletes and coaches. A custodian in Augsburg’s athletic facilities, Theophilos has grown close to many people in Auggie athletics including the men’s hockey team. He came to Augsburg as a student in 1983 from Ethiopia and had not been able to return to his home for more than 30 years. In 2017, after the death of his mother, the men’s hockey team raised more than $7,500 to fund a trip for Theophilos to see his family, who now live in Norway. 1993 Tanya Schwartz ’93 was named the seventh police chief of Burnsville and is the first woman to hold the post. Schwartz has been with the police department for 23 years, beginning as a patrol sergeant and then serving as detective sergeant and captain. 1994 Lori Higgins ’94, ’12 MAL became president of Augsburg’s Alumni Board. She currently serves on several boards including the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission. She joined the Alumni Board in 2016 because of her deep connection to the university and support of its mission. 1999 The first NCAA Division III player to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft, Devean George ’99 was inducted into the Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame. George led the Auggies to two Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships and berths in the NCAA Division III national playoffs, earning conference MVP honors both times. He finished his college career with 2,258 career points and 868 career rebounds, both second in school history, and a 23.5 points-per-game average, the best in school history. George has played with three NBA teams and works to develop affordable housing in North Minneapolis. Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Scott Hvistendahl ’99 was Augsburg baseball’s starting centerfielder as well an AllAmerican wide receiver on the football team. He was the first player to break the NCAA career receiving yardage record held by NFL legend Jerry Rice, finishing his career with 285 receptions for 4,696 yards. He now stands 14th in NCAA all-divisions history in career receiving yardage. Hvistendahl was named Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year, twice earned CoSIDA Academic All-America honors, and won the Gagliardi Trophy for his performance in academics, athletics, and community service. Qiuxia (Xia) Welch ’99 and Kevin Welch, co-founders and owners of Boom Island Brewing, hosted Augsburg’s first “beer choir” in the spring. The couple started their company in 2011 focusing on Belgian-style beers, and they recently relocated the business to a new space in Minnetonka, Minnesota. 2002 Crescent Cove, a hospice home for children founded by Katie Lindenfelser ’02, was featured in a New York Times story. Lindenfelser, the executive director and an Augsburgtrained music therapist, opened the St. Louis Park, Minnesota, care facility in 2018. Crescent Cove offers respite and hospice care to children and is the only facility of its kind in the Midwest. 2003 Kristen Opalinski ’03 began a new professional chapter as the manager for Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. This role includes managing communications, providing staffing for EIR committees and events, extending hospitality to ecumenical and interreligious partners at the Lutheran Center in Chicago, and serving as the ELCA representative at various EIR meetings held both domestically and internationally. This is a new position designed to meet the needs of the everchanging ecumenical and inter-religious landscape and the expansion of the church’s ecumenical and inter-religious commitments. Opalinski also serves as a writer for Living Lutheran Magazine. 2004 Max Langaard ’04 was featured on “Good Morning America,” where he shared his journey as a teacher and also his time as a mentor and coach at a nonprofit called Playworks in Oakland, California. Playworks helps schools and youth organizations create a place on the playground for every child to feel included, be active, and build valuable social and emotional skills. Langaard also received NBA Finals tickets from the television show. Adam Langer ’12 and wife, Alyssa, welcomed their first child, Addison, in November 2018. Dual sport athlete Kristen Lideen ’04 was inducted into the Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame. As softball shortstop, Lideen was the lone Auggie to hit better than .400 in their career (.444). Her 38 career doubles remain a school record, while her 18 doubles and 89 total bases in 2003 are both single-season school records. In soccer, Lideen played as a sweeper for an Auggie defense that recorded a 1.04 goals-against-average in her four seasons. Lideen earned All-MIAC Honorable Mention honors three times as a soccer athlete and earned All-MIAC first-team honors four times as a softball player. 2008 Greg May ’08 was hired by the University of Minnesota’s hockey program as the new director of hockey operations. May spent the previous three years as the hockey head coach and associate athletic director at the Blake School in Minneapolis. While playing hockey during his time at Augsburg, he was a MIAC All-Conference honoree. AUGGIE SNAPSHOTS Christina Olstad ’00, ’05 MSW began her new role as dean of students at the University of Wisconsin—Madison in July. Olstad previously was the interim assistant vice president for student affairs, housing, and residence life at Towson University in Maryland. She has worked in higher education administration for nearly two decades, beginning with her time at Augsburg. 2009 Caitlin (Hozeny) Lienard ’09, ’16 MSW passed her Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker exam in April. The late Donny Wichmann ’89—a three-time Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion, a national tournament All-American, and a longtime assistant coach who was a part of 10 NCAA Division III national championship teams with the Auggies—was inducted into the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Hall of Fame in August. Augsburg Men’s Wrestling Co-Head Coach Tony Valek ’12, ’14 MAL and wife, Kassi (Goranowski) Valek, welcomed a son, Hudson Ricke, in June. Denielle (Johnson) Stepka ’11 and Timothy Stepka welcomed a daughter, Halle Jo Jean, on September 30. FALL–WINTER 2019 29 ALUMNI CLASS NOTES Bobby Rose ’16 married fiancée, Amber, in Cottage Grove, Minnesota, in May. Mara (Breczinski) Barrozo ’14 and Enrico Barrozo ’14 welcomed a daughter, Ryna, in June. Carlson Inc. announced the appointment of Richard “Rick” Gage ’96 as its non-executive chair of the board in August. Gage is the founder and former CEO of YourMLSSearch. com, a director of the World Childhood Foundation, and is on the board of the Carlson Family Foundation, where he has served for more than 20 years. Tyler Heaps ’13, manager of analytics and research for U.S. Soccer, was on the staff of the USA national women’s soccer team that celebrated a World Cup Championship victory in July. Heaps, who helped play a part in the team’s seven-game win series to clinch the title, said it was “one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences” of his life. Heaps’ work in data analysis and use of video coverage enhances skills on the field and helps athletes better prepare for their competition. Read more of this story at augsburg.edu/alumni/blog. AUGGIE SNAPSHOTS Hayley (Thomas) Ball ’12 and Emerson Ball ’14, ’19 MSW welcomed a daughter, Zara, on March 13. Jessica Barker ’97, Amy (Bowar) Mellinger ’97, Tara (Cesaretti) McLeod ’97, Christa Winkelman ’97, and Jane (Ruth) Zirbes ’97 gathered for their annual girls’ trip in Las Vegas. Since their days at Augsburg, they’ve planned yearly trips and remained close friends. 30 AUGSBURG NOW Two rural Osakis, Minnesota, churches—with roots dating back to the early days in the state’s history—are thriving with the help of their new intentional interim pastor John Douglas Hopper ’68. Hopper, who lives in Delano, Minnesota, and spends weekends at Salem and Sauk Valley Lutheran churches. He began a one-year pastorate on October 21, 2018. Stephanie Putzier ’16 MBA serves Minnesota Women of Today at the state level as the internal vice president, a position in which she oversees the organization’s internal programming. Putzier received the Programing Award of Excellence for her commitment and efforts. She has been an active member of the organization since 2002. Ross Murray ’00, ’09 MBA received the Living Loehe Award at Wartburg Seminary’s commencement in May. The award was given in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, the 10th anniversary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s steps toward inclusion for LGBTQIA+-identified people, and his calling as a deacon to engage in LGBTQIA+ advocacy in the church and the world. Murray is the senior director of education and training at GLAAD Media Institute and is the founding director of The Naming Project. Read more of this story at augsburg.edu/alumni/blog. K. Marshall Williams Sr. ’78 received the Herschel H. Hobbs Award for Distinguished Denominational Service from Oklahoma Baptist University. Williams, who has served as pastor of Nazarene Baptist Church in Philadelphia for more than 35 years, accepted the award on June 10 during the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting in Birmingham, Alabama. SUBMIT A CLASS NOTE Tell us about the news in your life—your new job, move, marriage, and milestones. Visit augsburg.edu/now to submit your announcements. Kristy Millering ’06 became the new director of finance at Winona Area Public Schools. Millering began this role after eight years in finance at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, most recently as a senior internal auditor. She also worked as an accountant for McNeilus Truck and Manufacturing and owned her own dance studio. Jason Oare ’05 and wife, Erin, welcomed a daughter, Remedy Faith, in April. Amber (Stransky) Caswell ’07 and husband, Tavid, welcomed a daughter, Olivia Sandra Donna, in June. Mary Christine Kane ’94 released her first book of poems, “between the stars where you are lost.” Kane also works in marketing and volunteers for the arts and animal rescue initiatives. Her poetry and nonfiction works have appeared in journals and anthologies including Bluestem; The Buffalo Anthology, Right Here, Right Now; Ponder Review; and Sleet. FALL–WINTER 2019 31 IN MEMORIAM Gladys I. (Boxrud) Strommen ’46, Edina, Minnesota, age 93, on May 27. Gladys H. I. (Vigen) Hallstrom ’56, Thief River Falls, Minnesota, age 87, on March 27. Omar N. Gjerness ’47, Fergus Falls, Minnesota, age 97, on July 19. Sylva M. (Dahl) Kubicek ’56, Lake Crystal, Minnesota, age 83, on March 18. Prudence V. (Hokanson) Nystuen ’47, Lakeville, Minnesota, age 93, on July 3. Mary J. (Christiansen) Meyer ’56, Miami, age 84, on April 7. Barbara (Ekse) Carlson ’48, Minneapolis, age 92, on April 1. Catherine A. (Mork) Kordahl ’48, Fertile, Minnesota, age 96, on June 28. Lorraine W. (Weltzin) Peterson ’49, Hastings, Minnesota, age 94, on May 28. Sheldon L. Torgerson ’49, Minneapolis, age 92, on May 26. Gordon N. Berntson ’50, Fargo, North Dakota, age 93, on April 25. Wayne H. Wickoren ’50, Fargo, North Dakota, age 92, on July 7. Elizabeth A. Becken ’51, Shoreview, Minnesota, age 90, on June 3. Harriet M. (Haller) Brown ’52, Hastings, Minnesota, age 89, on May 11. Evonne L. (Emerson) Johnson ’52, Faribault, Minnesota, age 88, on March 9. Duane L. Addison ’53, Minneapolis, age 88, on April 18. Robert L. Lindquist ’53, Worthington, Minnesota, age 87, on April 28. Arthur V. Rimmereid ’53, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 87, on June 24. Jeannine L. (Torstenson) Blanchard ’54, Fresno, California, age 86, on March 6. Oliver K. Vick ’54, Lancaster, Wisconsin, age 88, on March 22. 32 AUGSBURG NOW Marvin L. Dooley ’59, Eagle Grove, Iowa, age 95, on July 20. Edean A. Berglund ’73, Lacey, Washington, age 67, on April 11. Nancy J. (Thompson) Peterson ’75, Minneapolis, age 65, on May 27. Bonnie M. Goetzke ’76, Memphis, Tennessee, age 65, on April 19. Pamela S. Slette ’76, Albert Lea, Minnesota, age 65, on June 21. James A. Hanson ’59, Dodge Center, Minnesota, age 88, on July 6. Marcia G. (Thompson) Turcotte ’78, Chanhassen, Minnesota, age 97, on July 19. Donald E. Jorenby ’59, Woodbury, Minnesota, age 81, on March 19. Michael J. Riley ’84, Brainerd, Minnesota, age 58, on July 25. Bonnie J. (Martinson) Storley ’59, Minneapolis, age 81, on March 31. Donald D. Wichmann ’89, Minneapolis, age 53, on July 16. Arden S. Flaten ’60, Hastings, Minnesota, age 82, on May 4. Thad D. Firchau ’92, Mankato, Minnesota, age 48, on March 23. Marlin B. Aadland ’62, Delta, British Columbia, age 82, on May 30. Marna R. Brown ’93, Fergus Falls, Minnesota, age 49, on March 28. Jerome C. Barney ’62, Fergus Falls, Minnesota, age 81, on July 9. Theresa D. (Holt) Wimann ’94, Baraboo, Wisconsin, age 60, on May 7. LeRoy E. Lee ’63, Solon Springs, Wisconsin, age 79, on March 25. Gerald A. Carlson ’64, Pine, Arizona, age 78, on June 19. Lennore A. (Bylund) Bevis ’66, Minneapolis, age 75, on July 28. Verland E. Kruse ’66, Stillwater, Minnesota, age 83, on March 23. Richard E. Andersen ’68, Phoenix, age 73, on June 2. Russell K. Jones ’69, Mercer, Maine, age 71, on May 9. Raymond J. Wesley ’69, Maple Grove, Minnesota, age 77, on July 27. Daniel L. Knak ’72, Hastings, Minnesota, age 69, on July 19. Mary S. (Wozniak) Sergeant ’99, Kansas City, Kansas, age 61, on May 25. Mauris N. De Silva ’00, Jackson, New Jersey, age 46, on July 31. Robin A. Olsen ’01, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 48, on April 28. Amanda J. Kelley ’09, Ave Maria, Florida, age 38, on May 25. Patrick J. Inman ’11, Rochester, Minnesota, age 41, on July 9. Matthew C. Blackburn ’15, Plymouth, Minnesota, age 36, on August 19. The “In memoriam” listings in this publication include notifications received before September 1. ARCHIVE PHOTOS Augsburg community – 1931 L L A G N CALLI S E I G AUG . LL A N A E M E W —AND 1970 1975 2004 N O I N U E R L O ALL-SCHO 020 R 26, 2 SEPTEMBE LIS MINNEAPO s at Follow update u/150. augsburg.ed opportunity e m ti fe li a -in Join this once ith to celebrate w every class, program, e e r g e d y r e ev e, every decad ity. urg commun b s g u A e th everyone in TURN THE PAGE to see the Class of 2023. Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID PHOTO BY TOM ROSTER 2211 Riverside Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55454 Twin Cities, MN Permit No. 2031 Augsburg enrolls historic first-year class A record-setting 636 undergraduate first-year students started at Augsburg University this fall. The Class of 2023 marks the third year in a row in which a majority are students of color. All told, the university now has 2,159 students in the traditional undergraduate program, which is also a record for Augsburg.
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Title: Augsburg Now Fall-Winter 2018: Remarkable Achievements
Collection: Alumni Magazine Collection
Search Result: Literary scholar on skates Athletic facility spotlight Sesquicentennial co-chair Q&A Research and student success REMARKABLE ACHIEVEMENTS FALL–WINTER 2018 | VOL. 81, NO. 1 INSIDE AUGSBURG NOW Vice President of Marketing and Communication Rebecca John ’13 MBA rjohn@augsburg.edu Director...
Show more Literary scholar on skates Athletic facility spotlight Sesquicentennial co-chair Q&A Research and student success REMARKABLE ACHIEVEMENTS FALL–WINTER 2018 | VOL. 81, NO. 1 INSIDE AUGSBURG NOW Vice President of Marketing and Communication Rebecca John ’13 MBA rjohn@augsburg.edu Director of Marketing Stephen Jendraszak jendra@augsburg.edu NOTES FROM PRESIDENT PRIBBENOW On “Yes, and … ” I teach the Honors Senior Seminar each spring, which is always a highlight of my year, and one of the class sessions introduces students to the history and practice of improvisation. I invite members of our theater faculty and local improv performers to come to class to help us understand why improv is so important to places like Chicago (think Second City) and Minneapolis (think Dudley Riggs’ Brave New Workshop). Then the fun begins. The improv artists invite us to the front of the classroom where we are taught some basic improv skills. Embarrassment aside, these sessions are full of life lessons. My favorite exercise goes like this: one student makes a statement related to an assigned topic. Perhaps the topic is the weather, and the student proclaims, “Wow, is it hot.” The next student then answers, “Yes, and ... I’m sweating like a faucet.” The next student continues, “Yes, and ... my faucets often leak.” You get the point. No one is allowed to say “No” or even “Yes, but … ”—it’s always “Yes, and … .” That’s how improv works, and I believe that’s how Augsburg works when we are at our best. We live in a “No” and “Yes, but … ” world—a world of scarcity that keeps us from risking ourselves in relation to others. Improv teaches us the way of abundance, a way that finds we are better together. “Yes, and … ” builds upon the gifts of others to help us live healthier, more just and compassionate lives together. The anthropologist Mary Catherine Bateson offers this helpful word: “Improvisation and new learning are not private processes; they are shared with others at every age. We are called to join in a dance whose steps must be learned along the way, so it is important to attend and respond.” This issue of Augsburg Now is full of stories of “Yes, and … ”—including highlights of our planning for next year’s sesquicentennial celebration, Augsburg’s 150th anniversary. What a grand celebration it will be, as we recall the abundance of our founding in 1869, the decades of educating students for lives of meaning and purpose, and the promise of Augsburg’s mission in the years ahead. Yes, and ... it will be good! Faithfully yours, PAUL C. PRIBBENOW, PRESIDENT Director of Public Relations and Internal Communications Gita Sitaramiah sitarami@augsburg.edu Assistant Director of Marketing Management Laura Swanson Lindahl ’15 MBA swansonl@augsburg.edu Senior Creative Associate, Design Elizabeth Kästner kaestner@augsburg.edu Senior Creative Associate, Design Denielle Stepka ’11 stepkad@augsburg.edu Marketing Copywriter John Weirick weirick@augsburg.edu Communication and Social Media Specialist Briana Alamilla ’17 alamilla@augsburg.edu Advancement Communications Specialist Kaia Chambers chamberk2@augsburg.edu Web Manager Joe Mann mannj@augsburg.edu Contributing Writers Katie (Koch) Code ’01 Kate H. Elliott Kelly O’Hara Dyer Augsburg Now is published by Augsburg University 2211 Riverside Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55454 Opinions expressed in Augsburg Now do not necessarily reflect official university policy. ISSN 1058-1545 AUGSBURG NOW IN FOCUS: Fall–Winter 2018 Surprising sights worth a first (or second) glance 02 AROUND THE QUAD This fall, Philadelphia-based artist Margery Amdur created mixed media installations in Augsburg’s Christensen and Gage Family galleries. Amdur’s art emphasizes the creative process and incorporates unusual materials— including cosmetic sponges. The exhibition was presented as part of a collaboration among Augsburg, Bethel University, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and St. Catherine University in conjunction with the publication of the book “Creative Practices for Visual Artists.” 08 ANNUAL REPORT TO DONORS 10 NO PLAIN JANE 14 CARVING PATHS FOR THE FUTURE 16 THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE THE DOME 20 BANNER YEAR IN STUDENT SUCCESS 23 AUGGIES CONNECT 27 ALUMNI CLASS NOTES 32 IN MEMORIAM On the cover: Undergraduate researcher and biology major Angelica Diaz-Juarez ’20 waters plants in Augsburg’s Hagfors Center grow room. Learn about Auggies’ research experiences on page 20. COURTESY PHOTOS Inset cover photo by Deanna Dent, Arizona State University All photos by Courtney Perry unless otherwise indicated Here’s a new take on the “spring thaw.” Virtually all summer and fall, the Augsburg Ice Arena was iceless, which allowed construction crews to complete facility improvements, including installing a more environmentally friendly refrigerant system and upgrading the ice sheet floors from sand to concrete bases. Augsburg’s two-rink facility opened in 1974 and is used extensively—not only by the university’s men’s and women’s hockey teams, but also by community groups, youth sports leagues, figure skating clubs, and recreational skaters. Send address corrections to: alumniupdate@augsburg.edu Send comments to: now@augsburg.edu THAT’S GROOVY. Augsburg students celebrate the start of the school year Have you ever seen a dance floor filled with people swaying to the sound of … silence? That’s what a silent disco looks like. But the amusement was anything but muted for those who took part in an Auggie Bash hosted by the Augsburg Student Activities Council this past September. Participants wore wireless headphones tuned in to one of several audio channels playing a variety of music styles. This unusual approach to parties encourages dancers to move and groove their own way and to let their uniqueness shine as brightly as their neon headwear. THE AUGSBURG PODCAST Listen to the podcast online at augsburg.edu/podcast or download episodes from iTunes. 2 AUGSBURG NOW Hear Augsburg University faculty and staff share stories of their work with students in their own words. Launched this fall, the Augsburg Podcast is a new, 18-episode series offering a variety of perspectives on the university’s most important work: educating students for the future. StepUP makes NATIONAL HEADLINES NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt put Augsburg University’s StepUP® Program in the spotlight this May by showcasing its success in helping students in recovery complete their college education. NBC’s Catie Beck interviewed Neil King ’18 about the support he received from StepUP as a full-time student at Augsburg. Beck also interviewed StepUP Progam Director Tamarah Gehlen. “We always say that no one should have to choose between recovery and a college education,” Gehlen said. King, who began using drugs at age 14, discovered the StepUP Program four months into his recovery. “I really learned to believe in myself and my skills and capabilities,” said King, who’s now pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Minnesota. UNIVERSITY AWARDS Top 200 Schools for Indigenous Americans: The American Indian Science and Engineering Society Winds of Change magazine selected Augsburg as one of the 2018 Top 200 Schools for Indigenous American and Alaska Native students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math. THE PARADOX OF PEACE: The 30th Nobel Peace Prize Forum INAUGURAL PHOTO BY REBECCA ZENEFSKI SLATER The Nobel Peace Prize Forum in Minneapolis marked its 30th anniversary in September. The forum, hosted and presented by Augsburg University, celebrated the achievements of the 2016 Nobel Laureate, President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia, and the 2017 Laureate, The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, represented by Executive Director Beatrice Fihn. The program explored the intertwining complexities and paradoxes of water, conflict, and peace. “The paradox of peace lies in the paradox of the human condition— that we are capable of great love and great cruelty, that we are always a mix of some amount of ability and vulnerability. To achieve peace, we often have to fight for it,” said Joe Underhill, Augsburg associate professor of political science and director of the forum. Schwartz Professor of Choral Leadership and Conducting This fall, Augsburg named Kristina Boerger the inaugural John N. Schwartz Professor of Choral Leadership and Conducting. Boerger leads a visionary program honoring Augsburg’s legacy of engaging both music majors and non-music majors across campus. “Kristina Boerger has collaborated with leading composers and artists in creatively advancing the field of choral study and performance,” said Augsburg University President Paul Pribbenow. “Her work has garnered national recognition, and we’re excited to have her join Augsburg.” With a strong commitment to inclusion, access, and equity, Boerger brings to Augsburg a long and diverse professional practice of exploring music from varied cultures. She has worked in public school, collegiate, community, and professional settings. In addition to her achievements in commissioning and premiering new works, Boerger served as director of three choirs that earned critical acclaim from The New York Times. She holds degrees in music education and conducting from the University of Illinois. Best Regional Universities by U.S. News & World Report: U.S. News & World Report again named Augsburg one of the Best Universities in the Midwest, ranking the university No. 5 among the Minnesota schools on the list for undergraduate teaching, No. 10 on best value schools, and No. 14 for most innovative. Best in the Midwest by The Princeton Review: This year, The Princeton Review again named Augsburg one of the Best in the Midwest for academic excellence. Best Value in Minnesota: Best Value Schools ranked Augsburg No. 6 on a 2018 list of 20 Best Value Colleges or Universities in Minnesota. Rankings are based on graduation rate, net price, acceptance rate, and 20-year net return on investment. Top LGBTQ-friendly Colleges and Universities: Augsburg was named to Campus Pride’s list of the top 30 LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities in 2017 and 2018. Campus Pride is the leading national organization for creating safer, more LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities. Augsburg delegation honors Mandela centenary An Augsburg University delegation that included administrators and Board of Regents members traveled to Namibia and South Africa for Nelson Mandela’s centenary celebration. While there, Augsburg President Paul Pribbenow visited the university’s Namibia operations and met with students. Here, he’s pictured in Cape Town with guide Shireen Narkedien. COURTESY PHOTO AROUND THE QUAD Augsburg adopts test-optional admissions policy NEW AUGSBURG BOARD OF REGENTS MEMBERS Matthew Entenza, senior advisor on energy and the economy to Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, was elected chair of the Augsburg University Board of Regents at its October 6 meeting. In addition, the Augsburg Corporation, at its annual September meeting, elected three new members to the Board of Regents and re-elected six members. Elected to their first term on the Augsburg Board of Regents: • Mark Johnson ’75, retired city planner and former president of Sonju Motors in Two Harbors, Minnesota • Terry Lindstrom ’73, drug discovery consultant and former Eli Lilly distinguished research fellow in Indianapolis, Indiana • Nancy Mueller ’85, physics and chemistry teacher in Rochester, Minnesota Mark Johnson ’75 Elected to a second or third term: • Diane Jacobson, former director of the Book of Faith Initiative for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America • Terry Lindstrom ’73 for Hagfors Center for Science, Business, and Religion Toby Piper LaBelle ’96, senior vice president of Northland Securities, a Minneapolis securities brokerage firm Nancy Mueller ’85 • LaJune Thomas Lange ’75, former co-vice chair of the Minnesota Supreme Court Task Force on Racial Bias in the Courts and of the Minnesota Supreme Court Task Force on Gender Fairness in the Courts • Dean Sundquist ’81, chairman and chief executive officer of Mate Precision Tooling in Anoka, Minnesota • David Tiede, former president and professor of New Testament at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota See the full list of Board of Regents members at augsburg.edu/about/leadership. 4 AUGSBURG NOW AUGSBURG ACHIEVES LEED Gold Certification Dr. Steven Larson ’72, chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Riverside Medical Clinic in Riverside, California • This past spring, the Augsburg faculty approved a pilot test-optional admissions policy, making submission of ACT or SAT test scores optional for fall 2019 first-year and transfer undergraduate student applicants, except in specific circumstances. “The test-optional admission policy aligns with Augsburg’s mission of intentional diversity and is expected to increase the university’s pool of completed applicants each year,” said Nate Gorr, assistant vice president for innovation. For a number of student populations, standardized test scores may not reflect an accurate indication of academic ability—including, for example, people without access to test preparation courses and tutors, those who can’t afford to retake the test, people with learning and physical differences, and English language learners. This policy change also aligns with Augsburg’s holistic admissions process, which looks at quantitative metrics and beyond. The application-review process allows Augsburg to maintain the university’s academic standards and ensure Augsburg admits students with the capacity to succeed. Augsburg University’s new signature interdisciplinary building—the Norman and Evangeline Hagfors Center for Science, Business, and Religion—achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. In keeping with Augsburg’s commitment to environmental stewardship, the Hagfors Center was designed to incorporate elements that maximize resource efficiency and minimize environmental impact, both in its construction and throughout its operational lifetime. LEED is one of the most popular green building certification programs used worldwide. HAGFORS CENTER RIVER SEMESTER 2018 A group of 15 Augsburg University students, two professors, and two guides departed August 24 in 24-foot voyageur canoes to spend the semester studying, researching, and living on the Mississippi River. The students and their guides are traveling nearly 1,000 miles, making stops to camp at several locations. The River Semester, led by Associate Professor of Political Science Joe Underhill, is a unique 100-day, hands-on, interdisciplinary program. Students earn 16 credits studying biology, environmental science, health and physical education, and political science. This is Augsburg’s second time conducting the program; the first was in 2015. Experiential education is a trademark of students’ Augsburg experiences. “We do this because we think this is the best way to learn both about the Mississippi River and about what’s going on out in the world,” Underhill said. Students return to the Twin Cities on December 1. COURTESY PHOTOS 2018–19 CONVOCATION SERIES In October, Augsburg’s annual convocation series kicked off with the Bernhard M. Christensen Symposium featuring author and educator Rahuldeep Gill and his presentation, “Who Are ‘We?’ A Sikh Perspective on Vocation, Justice, and Death.” Through his lectures and workshops, Gill works to build pluralism and crosscultural relations to inspire connected communities on campus, in the workplace, and in the marketplace. In November, the Center for Wellness and Counseling Convocation welcomed Gloria Burgess, pioneering scholar, author, and international inspirational speaker. Her presentation was titled “Greatness Lives in All of Us!” SAVE THE DATE: Join us Monday, January 21, for the Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation. All convocation events are free, public, and held in the Foss Center. For more information, go to augsburg.edu/convo. FALL–WINTER 2018 5 A look at environmental privilege with social worker Christina Erickson Whether it’s popping up in social media news feeds or emerging in conversations held around the dinner table, the concept of “privilege” is rising in the public consciousness. “Privilege has become a serious area of inquiry in recent years,” said Augsburg Professor of Social Work Christina Erickson. “White privilege and male privilege have hit the spotlight, as have racial disparities in policing and the #MeToo movement highlighting harassment and sexual assault. Environmental privilege is a related phenomenon, and, while it seems to be an understudied area of privilege (and not the only one), it is still important, probably more than we realize.” Erickson teaches courses in environmental justice and social change, and she’s taking on the challenge of exploring environmental privilege in greater depth. She is the author of “Environmental Justice as Social Work Practice,” a textbook designed to bring an understanding of environmental privilege into social work curricula. Q: A: How do you describe environmental privilege? Environmental privilege is having access to a resource simply because of your social identity categories—race, age, gender, income, and geography. Studies have shown that if you have a higher income, you likely have more green space near your home, work, or school. Not to mention owning a cabin, attending summer camp, or even seeing people who look like you at our most beautiful natural spaces. If you use all the water you want for your daily self care and other activities without thinking about it, you have environmental privilege. Q: A: Is environmental justice similar to social justice and, if so, how? Environmental justice and social justice are intricately linked in ways that we have only begun to discover and name. For example, kids living in neighborhoods with poor air quality are missing school due to asthma more than 6 AUGSBURG NOW kids breathing clean air. If you can’t go to school, your chances for school success, which leads to adult success, are inhibited. Q: Can you describe environmental injustices and the disparities some groups face? A: In 1987, research found that waste facilities were most often near neighborhoods of people of color, many of them containing toxic waste. Even our own Minnesota nuclear power facility, located near Prairie Island Indian Community, is an example of how some people are forced to live closer to environmental burdens than others. Q: A: Why is it important to reflect on our own privilege, and how can we dismantle it? Dismantling privileges is one of the ways we create social change. When we think about creating shifts in society, we generally need to stop certain behaviors—such as racist hiring practices or sexual harassment—to integrate new behaviors to take the place of the old. Augsburg already has taken a stand on water—we encourage our entire campus community to refill water bottles from our own taps, which environmental studies students tested for safety. Q: How does your social work background align with your work in environmental justice? A: For most of my life I viewed myself as a social worker who was an environmentalist. It wasn’t until coming to Augsburg, collaborating on our interdisciplinary environmental studies major, working with my social work colleagues on privilege and oppression, and participating in our Environmental Stewardship Committee that I began to recognize myself, in an integrated way, as an environmental justice social worker. AROUND THE QUAD MINNESOTA URBAN DEBATE LEAGUE receives renewed support from three area foundations The Minnesota Urban Debate League, a program of Augsburg University, entered the 2018–19 school year with a full head of steam thanks to funding and partnership support from three Twin Cities grantmakers. • With a $25,000 grant from the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota, MNUDL will launch a program centered on building financial literacy skills. Young women will learn financial concepts using the format of academic debate, which breaks down abstract concepts and makes them more relevant. Funds from this grant also will offer a cohort of women and gender-nonconforming students the opportunity to attend The Advocacy Unit, an advocacy skills training summer camp that takes place on Augsburg’s campus. • MNUDL will reach even more students in St. Paul Public Schools using a $40,000 grant from the St. Paul Foundation. MNUDL will add four middle school programs over the next two years. Funds also will make it possible for MNUDL to expand culturally specific debate programs for Spanish-speaking and Somali students. • A $40,000 grant from the Otto Bremer Foundation will provide general operating support, helping MNUDL expand a variety of priorities, including increasing summer camp opportunities for middle and high school students. AUGGIE STYLE: Athletics apparel, then and now Forty years of serving American Indian students In October, Augsburg’s American Indian Student Services celebrated its 40th anniversary. The program has been a national model of success since 1978. Approximately 130 students representing more than 25 tribes are enrolled part time or full time in Augsburg’s undergraduate and graduate programs. Special invitees to the 40th anniversary reception included Bonnie Wallace, Augsburg regent emerita and the first director of the AISS program, as well as current Board of Regents members Eric Jolly, Marlene Whiterabbit Helgemo, and Noya Woodrich ’92, ’94 MSW. Today Augsburg University’s varsity athletes wear high-performance gear that aligns with their high-caliber capabilities. Many Auggie teams are sporting new uniform styles following Augsburg’s name change and a recent partnership with BIG Athletics to supply athletes with adidas apparel, uniforms, footwear, and accessories over the next five years. Here’s a glimpse at how current styles compare to those worn in years gone by. See other athletic uniforms at augsburg.edu/now. 1979 1930 1998 1975 ARCHIVE PHOTOS 2017–18 AUGSBURG UNIVERSITY ANNUAL REPORT TO DONORS Thank you. Your giving supports current and future Auggies as they gain skills and knowledge to thrive in their careers, pursue advanced scholarship, and achieve in leadership roles after graduation. Learn more about opportunities to support an Augsburg education at augsburg.edu/giving. ENDOWMENT MARKET VALUE May 31, 2018—$48,136,083 $40.5 $38.3 EXPENSES BY CATEGORY 38% 33% 19% 4% 3% 2% 1% Salaries and benefits Financial aid Operating expenses Debt services Utilities and insurance Student compensation Capital improvement $32.4 $28.2 $39.4 $29.8 $24.5 2007 2008 Fiscal year 2017–18 operating budget: $68,736,254 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 As of May 31, 2018, Augsburg University had annual realized and unrealized gains of 10.19 percent on the university endowment. The five-year average annual return on the endowment is 7.11 percent and the 10-year average annual return is 4.70 percent. Augsburg is committed to maintaining the value of the principal to provide support to the university in perpetuity. $123.6 PHYSICAL PLANT VALUE REVENUE BY SOURCE 76% 7% 7% 7% 3% Tuition Room and board Private gifts and grants Other sources Federal grants $48.1 $34.6 $33.3 $31.5 $43.9 $103.4 May 31, 2018—$123.6 million $73.9 $75.6 $73.8 $70.8 $68.7 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 $67.9 $65.5 $63.6 $65.5 $62.8 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 The quality and value of Augsburg’s physical plant is on the rise. The largest recent contributor is the Hagfors Center for Science, Business, and Religion, which was completed in November 2017. Augsburg University is stronger and more vibrant than ever. Investments in priorities like scholarships, experiential learning, research, and faculty mentorship change the trajectories of students’ lives. We are deeply grateful for your generosity and the generosity of alumni, parents, and friends who helped Augsburg raise $18,187,380 during fiscal year 2017–18. The philanthropy of more than 9,400 donors will help the university attract talented students and the dedicated faculty and staff who teach and guide them. THIS IS WHAT GRATEFUL AUGGIES LOOK LIKE THIS IS WHAT A PEACE SCHOLAR LOOKS LIKE Lex Dorfman ’18 Mabeth Saure Gyllstrom Scholarship, Helen (Mohn) Henderson Scholarship, Mary E. (Mimi) Johnson Scholarship, Hoversten Peace Scholarship Hometown: Minnetonka, Minnesota Studying: Religion, Spanish, and Leadership Lex Dorfman ’18 spent her summer in Norway studying alongside students from around the world. As one of two Peace Scholars selected at Augsburg this year and funded by the Hoversten Peace Scholarship and other donors, Dorfman’s time in Lillehammer and Oslo was part of a robust program designed to pair academic inquiry with real-world dialogue and to give students an introduction to the field of conflict studies. For Dorfman, the Peace Scholar program aligns with many of the topics she’s explored throughout her college experience. Also an Augsburg Interfaith Scholar, Dorfman called on her own multicultural background to found a Hillel organization on campus and to foster new opportunities to build connections between people from diverse backgrounds. “Augsburg has offered me a personal, hands-on education,” she said. “I have been able to create an organization on campus, interview Jewish leaders, and collaborate with a variety of students because of Augsburg’s engaging and small-but-powerful community.” THIS IS WHAT AN ALL-AMERICAN LOOKS LIKE Alex Wilson ’19 Arne and Jean Markland Scholarship Hometown: Oak Grove, Minnesota Studying: Biology Alex Wilson ’19 can put the title “All-American” next to his name in two different contexts. Competing in his first NCAA Division III National Championship tournament last March, the Auggie wrestler earned All-American honors with a fifth-place finish at 149 pounds. He also was among eight Augsburg wrestlers to earn the Division III Scholar All-America distinction from the National Wrestling Coaches Association based on student-athletes’ GPAs. Whether he’s facing an opponent on the mat or looking to ace an exam, Wilson has a drive to excel that will serve him well as he applies to competitive graduate programs and pursues his dream of becoming a physician assistant. For Wilson, Augsburg is a place where there’s harmony between athletic and academic achievements. “Augsburg has helped me develop as a student and as an athlete by giving me all of the resources I would ever need to be successful,” Wilson said. “Faculty support creates an atmosphere where it is possible to succeed in whatever you do.” THIS IS WHAT AN ENGAGED CITIZEN LOOKS LIKE Baoyia Kong ’19 Leola G. Anderson Scholarship, William and Anne Frame Scholarship, Adeline Marie (Rasmussen) Johnson Scholarship Hometown: St. Paul, Minnesota Studying: Social Work and Psychology Baoyia Kong ’19 has the guts to just dive in. When she studied at Augsburg’s Center for Global Education and Experience site in Cuernavaca, Mexico, the social work major interned at a grade school, helping administrators infuse inclusive practices into the school’s operations and culture—and honing her Spanish skills along the way. Whether studying in Minneapolis or Mexico, Kong sees Augsburg as “a community with so many opportunities.” Kong has enhanced her academic experience by seeking out opportunities beyond the classroom, completing an additional internship with Hennepin County, volunteering at a medical clinic in Augsburg’s Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, playing intramural volleyball, and joining the Augsburg Asian Student Association and Hmong Women Together campus organizations. Kong said her Augsburg experience has shaped her as a leader because the university encourages students to be engaged in topics that align with their passions and creates “spaces for all to grow and flourish in their education.” FALL–WINTER 2018 9 O N N I A L PJane EIRICK BY JOHN W and introduce her properly into the world,” said one of Jane Austen’s characters, “and ten to one but she has the means of settling well, without further expense to anybody.” For a line published in 1814’s “Mansfield Park,” it prophetically resonates in the life and work of Augsburg alumna Devoney Looser ’89. Looser earned a doctorate in English and women’s studies, holds extensive credentials as a professor who has served at leading universities, and has written and contributed to dozens of books, scores of academic journals, and even more book reviews. When national and international publications need an expert on 18th-century literature, British women writers, or Jane Austen, they want Looser—if they can catch her before roller derby practice. Looser grew up in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. College seemed like a distant dream, both because of the financial barrier and the fact that she came from a family with no college degree in sight. Her perspective changed when she applied to Augsburg and earned a President’s Scholarship for her academic merit. “That made all the difference in terms of my ability to go to college. Augsburg gave me an incredibly generous opportunity with that scholarship,” Looser said. PHOTOS BY DEANNA DENT, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY FALL–WINTER 2018 11 Looser wasn’t outwardly confident, but she caught the eye of Cathie Nicholl, an English professor who taught at Augsburg for nearly 30 years until her retirement in 1999. Though Looser was somewhat quiet, Nicholl said, “her written work was always wonderful. She’s really blossomed a lot since then.” Looser first became enthralled with Jane Austen’s writings through a literature class with Nicholl, who has maintained correspondence with Looser through several decades. “I had no idea at the time how significant, how important [that connection with Nicholl] would turn out to be to my life—to a path toward a future in [literary] work.” Douglas Green, a professor of English who’s taught at Augsburg since 1988, met Looser when he first arrived at the university. “She was exceptional. We had a real conversation about literature,” said Green, a poet and scholar who teaches Shakespeare, drama, and writing as well as gender, sexuality, and was very shy at 18, and to see the same faces who could tell me, ‘You can do this,’ made a big difference in my believing in myself.” For a suburbanite, moving to the heart of Minneapolis was an education in itself. “Being in an urban area, being able to live among other students was amazing,” Looser said. “Augsburg’s student body was very diverse. Being in class alongside students from all over the world was mind-blowing. It made me reimagine my role in women’s studies at institutions including the University of Missouri, Louisiana State University, University of Wisconsin—Whitewater, Indiana State University, and the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She is described as a thoughtful and wise mentor who empathizes with firstgeneration college students. Her ability to reflect on and relate to the challenges others face is something Looser shares with the central figure of her academic work: Jane Austen. Did Austen predict roller derby? women’s studies. Though literature was central in feeding Looser’s ravenous appetite for knowledge, people and experiences also offered lessons beyond the classroom. “There were lots of things at Augsburg that brought me out of my shell,” Looser said. “I 12 AUGSBURG NOW the world, and what my world could be, and how I was part of their world.” Engaging with a variety of people and ideas has served Looser well in her literary pursuits and academic experience alike. She has held positions teaching English and “Austen is one of the most psychologically perceptive observers in all of the history of the novel,” said Jenny Davidson, a novelist and professor of English at Columbia University who connected with Looser over their shared professional interest in 18th-century literature. Known for romantic plots steeped in English society, including “Pride and Prejudice” and “Sense and Sensibility,” Austen’s writings have been in print continuously for nearly 200 years and retain an unassailable foothold in contemporary art and culture. Who was Jane Austen, really— and how did she become what she represents now? That’s the focus of Looser’s latest book, “The Making of Jane Austen,” which earned high praise among literary peers. It was named a Publishers Weekly Best Summer Book for nonfiction, featured in CNN interviews, and reviewed in The Economist, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Looser’s remarkable scholarship has led to an abundance of prestigious opportunities, including a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities and a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship in support of one of her current projects: a book about unheralded British sister novelists Jane and Anna Maria Porter. Davidson offered a scholar’s perspective: “The project on the Porter sisters is a genuine project of reclamation, of rewriting an injustice of literary history: these were two extremely widely read and well-regarded novelists whom literary history has essentially dumped in the trash.” Because of Looser’s background, Davidson believes, the firstgeneration college graduate is attracted to the works of underdogs and can convey their stories empathetically and authoritatively. Perhaps her affinity for the underdog is part of what drew Looser to a lesser-known sport— roller derby. Nearly a decade ago, Looser and her friend Katie Carr, a special collections librarian at the University of Missouri where Looser was a professor of English, reconnected over a mutual sense that they needed a change. Angela Rehbein, one of Looser’s then-graduate students who is now a professor of English at West Liberty University, joined them to skate at a roller rink’s retro night, where members of a local roller derby team invited the three to derby practice. It sounded fun, so they accepted. Roller derby is a sport in which two teams of five players in roller skates line up on a track. The “jammer” on each team tries to maneuver past the “blockers” on the opposing team, and it all happens in a series of two-minute increments called “jams.” Players force opponents off the track or block them with their shoulders, chests, and hips. Because it’s full-contact, they wear helmets, mouthguards, knee pads, and elbow pads. It’s customary for derby players to create personas based on names that use a play on words. Carr dubbed Looser “Stone Cold Jane Austen,” a mashup of Looser’s literary expertise and professional wrestler Steve Austin’s stage name. Looser is now a faculty advisor to the roller derby team in addition to her work as a professor of English at Arizona State University. She still remembers the coaches who patiently taught her to play derby, which perhaps unexpectedly refreshed her perspective on higher education. “It’s humbling to start out as a complete newbie, and being laid flat and embarrassing myself,” she said. “It put me in headspace that made me realize how students must feel their first year of college, when you didn’t know what you were doing, and it was terrifying.” People who know Looser best—like Carr, Rehbein, and her former doctoral student Emily Friedman—point to Looser’s knack for transforming her interests into excellence. “There’s this world-renowned academic and also someone who plays roller derby and excels at it. She is an incredibly generous friend and an amazing wife and mother,” Carr said, referring to Looser’s sons and husband George Justice, a fellow Austen scholar and British literature professor at Arizona State University. “I learned a lot from Devoney’s incredible work ethic and her generosity toward her students and toward other scholars,” added Rehbein, who appreciates Looser’s influence both in and beyond the classroom. The same is true for Friedman, who has also worked on Austen scholarship and now serves as a professor of English at Auburn University. Friedman observed Looser’s simultaneous commitment to hard work and a rewarding life outside of it, and how “she keeps them dancing rather than in conflict and fighting.” Like Jane Austen and many icons before her, Looser will maneuver past any limitations in her path. “She’s the hardest worker I know,” said Friedman. “I’m just trying to skate in her tracks.” Looser’s next book topic: CARVING PATHS for THE FUTURE Theater professor Darcey Engen ’88 helps plan a forward-looking 150th anniversary celebration BY STEPHEN JENDRASZAK D arcey Engen, professor of theater arts, has been on both sides of an Augsburg education: student and professor. As a leader on campus, she brings both perspectives to bear. Thinking from a student perspective, she understands the intense obligations today’s students face and, with her colleagues, implemented a series of changes to make it possible for students from all backgrounds and enrolled in any major to participate in Augsburg’s theatrical productions despite family or work commitments. As a faculty member, Engen observed that faculty in the arts sometimes struggled to receive appropriate credit for their artistic and scholarly work, so she advocated for revisions to promotion and tenure guidelines to address the issue. Now, she’s been asked to call on those twin perspectives in a new leadership role: helping to guide the commemoration of Augsburg’s sesquicentennial during the 2019–20 academic year. In a recent interview, Engen shared her views on the university’s 150th anniversary, the important contributions faculty will make in commemorating the occasion, and what makes Augsburg unique in American higher education. 14 AUGSBURG NOW SE R AT I ON 1869-2019 SQ U IC ENTEN N CE IAL LE B “ One of the things I love about Augsburg is that we are more like the real world than other colleges and universities. The needs of the real world around us are present in everything we do.” You are a co-chair of the sesquicentennial committee. What do you hope this milestone will do for Augsburg? I hope that it gives us a moment in time to understand our past, mark where we are now, and look forward. It’s an opportunity for us to appreciate those who came before us, what we’re doing in the present, and those who will inevitably follow after us. What does this occasion mean to you as both an alumna and a faculty member? In our costume shop, there are boxes and boxes that say things like “summer hats.” Those labels were handwritten by my professor, Ailene Cole, the former chair of the theater department, before she retired in her 80s. When I’m in the costume shop and see her handwriting, I’m reminded of her and what she did for me and all her students. That inspires me to do the same for my students. As a former chair myself, now, I am part of a legacy, which gives me a lot of satisfaction. I’m aware that all of us, chairs and faculty, are so privileged to be able to create an atmosphere where our students can thrive as artists. I keep the past with me as I try to carve out paths for the future with my students. How are faculty members going to be involved in marking this significant moment in the life of the institution? I’m very grateful that we were able to make resources available for faculty to create scholarly projects that reflect sesquicentennial themes. The support opens the door for these scholarly projects, whether they be permanent works or ephemeral experiences, to be installed or occur during our yearlong celebration. They will honor and mark the 150th anniversary and also give faculty the opportunity to expand the good work they do, which is ultimately to support our students. I understand that the number of proposals for faculty sesquicentennial projects exceeded your expectations. What does that enthusiasm say to you? It was amazing to get all the proposals for such thoughtful projects. It goes to show you that we faculty members all have in us, no matter how busy our days can sometimes be, a great love for this institution. What kinds of projects are faculty members working on, and what are they trying to achieve? There’s so much incredible work being done, but I’ll offer a few examples to give you an idea of the scope of the effort. Sonja Thompson, assistant professor of music, is working on an original musical—with original music—about Augsburg, embracing both the rocky and exceptional moments in our history. Her team is interviewing as many people as possible and conducting story circles where students, staff, alumni, and friends can share their Augsburg experiences to inform the production. Erik Steinmetz, assistant professor of computer science, is building an app for exploring Augsburg’s campus now and at various points in history via augmented or virtual reality. The idea is that if you’re on campus, you can look around through your phone and see what a particular part of campus looked like at another time. And if you’re not here, you can virtually explore those same environments. We’re hoping to create online experiences that capture as much of the art and activity and scholarship happening on campus that year as possible. As Augsburg prepares to commemorate 150 years, what stands out for you? I’ve toured a lot of colleges; I’ve taught at two other universities. One of the things I love about Augsburg is that we are more like the real world than other colleges and universities. The needs of the real world around us are present in everything we do. Augsburg’s plans to celebrate the sesquicentennial are developing, and updates will be posted at augsburg.edu/150. FALL–WINTER 2018 15 Augsburg alumna Katia Iverson ’12 orients newcomers to the United States amid mounting uncertainty and narrowing policies 16 AUGSBURG NOW The Augsburg Air Structure—and the rest of the Minneapolis campus—looked practically otherworldly following a record-breaking April 2018 snowstorm. THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE DOME THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE BY KATE H. ELLIOTT DOZENS OF BUSES en route from 25 Minnesota school districts pause on 23rd Avenue to unload hundreds of students in grades three through six at the Augsburg University Air Structure (aka the Augsburg Dome). The air lock opens, and grinning youngsters wheel, walk, and run into the 360-by-216-by-63-foot inflatable bubble lined with activities to exercise their cognitive, emotional, and physical muscles. Augsburg has held this one-day Sports Extravaganza for nearly 20 Novembers. Do the math: that’s more than 4,000 children, teachers, and paraprofessionals who have visited campus, and two decades of Auggies who have applied their health, physical education, and exercise science coursework to the field. HPE instructor Carol Enke said the event wouldn’t have started without the dome. “Imagine funneling hundreds of kids with mental and/or physical disabilities into Si Melby Hall via untold batches of elevator trips,” she said. “Without the air structure, this dual community engagement and learning opportunity would have never taken off. “Every year, teachers tell us that students ask about the event from the first day of classes, and we see that excitement as kids meet others and participate in activities they might have assumed were inaccessible to them.” FALL–WINTER 2018 17 AN EXPANSIVE GATHERING PLACE Sports Extravaganza is one of several community events squeezed into the dome between softball and lacrosse games and practices for baseball, track and field, golf, soccer, and football. Physical education classes, intramural activities, alumni events, and more also vie for the space, which features four batting cages, a driving range net, and four soccer goals. About 35 campus and community groups schedule the space each year, according to Greg Holker, the men’s soccer head coach, who helps manage dome schedules as part of his dual role as athletic facilities assistant manager. Thousands of people use the dome for a total of about 3,000 hours during any given year. “Regular users include our sports teams, HPE classes, camps, the Minneapolis United Soccer Club, and other prominent academies and associations,” he added. “During Super Bowl LII this year, a large corporation hosted a Punt, Pass, and Kick Competition, and the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee filmed a commercial in the space.” Each November, more than 500 student-athletes join coaches, staff, and administrators to erect the weather-proof 18 structure. It’s a Herculean effort that illustrates the university’s cooperative, all-in attitude, according to Athletic Director Jeff Swenson ’79. Come May, after 12-hour weekdays and about 18-hour weekend days, the dome is put away in about three hours, again by a campus-wide team. Swenson said the dome has substantially increased Augsburg’s workout space. “Nobody appreciates the air structure more than our spring sports,” Swenson said. “Access to a climate-controlled regulation field in our backyard gets them in the game earlier in the season without interruptions due to weather.” The university also is able to offer physical education classes, including golf and soccer, in the spring. Eric Rolland ’97, men’s and women’s golf head coach, said without the dome, spring offerings would be limited to indoor activities like bowling. And while Rolland enjoys throwing a strike as much as the best of them, the former All-American golfer said he has enjoyed the ability to teach golf throughout the year. “It’s a lifelong sport that can enhance your career, given that so many business meetings occur on the golf course,” said Rolland, who has taught golf classes for the past five years. “Students make lasting friendships, too, as the dome transforms into a giant driving range where students visit as they perfect their swings.” AUGSBURG NOW The Augsburg University women’s lacrosse team competed in the dome in Spring 2018. THE DOME ‘SAVED OUR SEASON’ Talk of spring takes Softball Head Coach Melissa Lee ’04 back to April, when the Twin Cities experienced its snowiest and fourth-coldest April on record, according to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, which reported 26.1 inches of the white stuff and an average high of 47.4 degrees. “It was the winter that would never end,” said Lee, who is in her 15th season on Augsburg’s coaching staff. “Other teams in our conference have to rent out dome space or practice on hard gym floors incapable of mimicking competition, so when the weather is bad, those players may catch—or try to catch—their first deep pop fly of the season during a game. We made the playoffs last year, and I believe the dome contributed to that success.” Then-senior-outfielder Katie Parker ’18 was among the Augsburg softball players who spent the majority of the 2018 season under the dome. Playing inside requires adjustment, she said, with rules against catching deflected balls (to avoid injuries), turf vs. dirt, and many lights, rather than the sun’s sole beam. But the snowy season didn’t faze the native of Lakeville, Minnesota. “It’s our home turf, literally, so we practice in the space long before our first game,” said Parker, who graduated in May with a bachelor’s in elementary education with a focus on special education. “I loved the sense of community and cooperation as we worked side-by-side with student-athletes on other teams to take down and set up fence panels and goals, depending on the sport. Coach Lee also worked hard and stayed up late to make sure other area softball programs could access to the dome to finish out their seasons.” Will this year be a repeat of last season? The Farmers’ Almanac indicates ‘no,’ Coach Lee said, but the Minnesota native jokes the state’s weather is as unpredictable as a curve ball. What is not inconsistent, she added, is Auggies’ willingness to work together—snow or shine. Assistant Baseball Coach Zach Bakko ’18 echoed Lee’s appreciation for the dome’s ability to bring athletes across Augsburg’s 21 sports together with each other, the campus, and greater community. Bakko spent several seasons fielding balls under the dome lights as an Auggie outfielder. “Whether it be quarterback Quinn Frisell ’19 throwing out routes to his agile receivers, golfer Brett Buckingham ’21 working on his swing, or soccer forward Ashley St. Aubin ’20 figuring out another way to score a hat trick, I’ve been able to see athletes in other sports work to maximize their potential,” said Bakko. Plus, “The space allows our campus to give back to the community and make a positive difference in the lives of young athletes [through camps and clinics].” “Having worked for athletics, I’ve met the real heroes of the dome—athletics administrators, coaches, and all the maintenance staff—managing scheduling, cleaning, and every other task that arises,” he added. “That willingness to come together and do what’s needed, regardless of whether it’s in your job description, has expanded my understanding of the word ‘team.’” Find bonus content and fun facts about the dome at augsburg.edu/now. Augsburg community members work together to assemble the dome each fall. First installed in 1993, Augsburg’s original dome was one of the premier inflatable air structures in the Midwest. FALL–WINTER 2018 19 Undergraduate research gives students an edge BY GITA SITARAMIAH The summer before his third year at Augsburg, Fekireselassie Beyene ’16 was paid to research Earth’s magnetosphere. He worked in a lab on campus under the direction of a physics faculty member. And he discovered a passion for space physics. Beyene’s research, which was funded by Dean ’91 and Amy Sundquist his first summer and TRIO McNair Scholars for the second, helped him stand out in national scholarship competitions. The following year, he was awarded a Goldwater Scholarship, a prestigious national program that provides financial support to undergraduates who show the promise of becoming leading scientists, engineers, and mathematicians. Then, Beyene’s Augsburg advisors helped him successfully apply for the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program, providing him with more than $100,000 for graduate school. Now a Ph.D. student in space physics at UCLA, Beyene credits his Augsburg undergraduate research experience with getting him where he is today. “You don’t see the level of personal coaching at other schools like you do at Augsburg,” he said. “I really appreciate that about Augsburg.” Augsburg’s undergraduate research opportunities are paying off for students like Beyene, who compete alongside the nation’s top students to land high-profile fellowships, internships, and scholarships as well as selection to highly competitive graduate programs. In fact, Augsburg had a banner year in 2017–18, with a record number of students earning prestigious awards and fellowships. 20 AUGSBURG NOW Here are some highlights: • Augsburg had six Fulbright winners named this past year and has been listed five times in The Chronicle of Higher Education as a top producer of Fulbrights for master’s level institutions. The previous singleyear record for Augsburg was four. Since 2008, Augsburg’s Fulbright winners total 29. • An Augsburg student was one of just four Minnesota recipients of the Goldwater Scholarship last year. Out of 1,280 applicants nationwide, 211 were named. • Three Auggies were Critical Language Scholarship winners in the first year that Augsburg undergraduates pursued this fellowship. Only 10 percent of applicants nationwide receive this award. Two of the students were selected to study Swahili in Tanzania; the third, to study Mandarin in Taiwan. • Another two Auggies were Public Policy and International Affairs Program winners. Only 20 percent of applicants nationally are accepted into this program. One of the Augsburg winners studied at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. The other student spent seven weeks at University of California—Berkeley in a law-focused program. • For the first time ever, an Augsburg student won a Boren Award, which honors undergraduates studying language in areas underrepresented in study abroad programs. The Auggie, who studied Swahili at the University of Florida this past summer, is continuing to study the language and culture in Tanzania this semester. He will commit to one year of paid federal government service after graduation. Undergraduate research boosts the résumés of Auggies like Holly Kundel ’19, who looked for a rare dragonfly in Twin Cities area wetlands. Many of these accomplishments are the result of Augsburg’s decade-plus commitment to providing undergraduate research opportunities for students. Two programs are responsible for much of this success: the Office of Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity and the McNair Scholars program. URGO, now in its 14th year, offers an 11-week, on-campus, faculty-led undergraduate research experience with 50 students each summer. Students receive support throughout the research process from a faculty mentor, participate in weekly seminars, and engage in roundtable discussions with fellow student researchers to hone their communication skills. URGO also advises students about national fellowships, graduate school, medical school, and other health sciences. The McNair Scholars program is a federally funded program designed to prepare students from groups currently underrepresented in graduate school for doctoral studies to some of the most competitive institutions in the U.S. The program currently serves 26 students a year and includes 21 months of graduate school preparation workshops, travel to national research conferences, and hands-on scholarly research projects with faculty mentors. Through these programs, talented Augsburg students are earning prestigious national opportunities that they otherwise may not even have known about. “Many [of the students] who win awards and fellowships had never even heard the word ‘Fulbright’ before they were in this program,” said Dixie Shafer, URGO director. When students start their first summer research experience, Shafer said, they’re looking around wondering how they got selected. “You can tell they’re a little bit nervous,” she said. “By the end, when they’re giving oral presentations and submitting projects, they’re the experts in the room. Their level of confidence has grown.” Students agree that they gain key skills from research and writing in partnership with faculty members, presenting their work at conferences, and receiving hands-on guidance from advisors about how to translate those experiences into top fellowships, internships, scholarships, and graduate programs. And they often go on to other off-campus research experiences to expand their curricula vitae. Blair Stewig ’18, currently a Fulbright scholar in Poland, first did summertime research at Augsburg in a biophysics lab. She successfully applied for an Augsburg grant to do research while canoeing the Mississippi River during the 2015 River Semester experience, then did summer research with the Minnesota Lupus Foundation at the Mayo Clinic. The next summer, she conducted cancer research at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. FALL–WINTER 2018 21 three URGO advisors on her medical Currently, Stewig is conducting school applications. research on colorectal cancer at the “It was almost like they knew International Institute of Molecular more about my story than I did,” and Cell Biology in Poland and will Bagonza said. shadow physicians and volunteer at Shafer sees this type of faculty and the Maria Skłodowska Curie Memorial staff interaction with students as a Cancer Centre. key part of helping students evolve. “Without my research experience “Faculty and staff believe in students and the support of staff and faculty and then the students start believing at Augsburg, I don’t think I would in themselves,” she said. have had the confidence to apply for the larger competitive research experiences,” said Stewig, who plans to apply for combined M.D./Ph.D. programs in the future. Similarly, two months into her first year at Augsburg, biology major Vision Bagonza ’17 regularly started visiting the URGO office and mapping her trajectory to medical school. “They were with me every step of the way,” she said. In her first summer research project, Bagonza worked on genomics research with Associate Professor and Biology Department Chair Matthew Beckman. “That Fieldwork experience inspired Holly Kundel ’19 to apply for was instrumental to my doctoral programs in freshwater ecology. understanding of what was going on throughout the field,” Fourth-year biology major Holly she said. Kundel ’19 chose Augsburg after The following summer, she meeting faculty on a campus tour and researched biomedical ethics at Mayo Clinic, and she spent her third summer learning that she would be able to do research directly with them. researching malaria at Johns Hopkins. The summer after her first year, These experiences set the stage for her Kundel began her paid research on participation in the Mayo Innovation the rare Spatterdock Darner dragonfly Scholars program, where she learned in Twin Cities area wetlands. Kundel, about the complexities of the FDA who loves being outdoors during approval process when bringing Minnesota summers, was drawn to innovation to market. Finally, Bagonza the project after approaching Biology was awarded a full scholarship to the and Environmental Studies Assistant Cleveland Clinic Lerner School of Professor Emily Schilling and learning Medicine after working closely with 22 AUGSBURG NOW that the research entailed doing fieldwork. Since then, Kundel has received other grants to support her research with Schilling. “It’s nice to work with a faculty member who knows exactly what my strengths and weaknesses are,” Kundel said. This year, Kundel received a Goldwater Scholarship, providing tuition assistance for her fourth year at Augsburg, and the associated prestige is expected to set her apart in her applications for doctoral programs in freshwater ecology. “I wouldn’t be applying to the graduate programs I am this fall if I hadn’t done this research at Augsburg,” Kundel said. While many in the URGO Summer Research Program are science majors, other disciplines are represented as well. English literature major Abigail Tetzlaff ’18 studied patterns in language and rhetorical uses in poetry and prose. Currently a Fulbright Fellow in Berlin, she is an English teaching assistant and plans to pursue a Ph.D. in English literature to ultimately become a university professor. “Especially for undergraduates studying within the humanities, it isn’t very common to come out of college with a research experience already complete,” Tetzlaff said. For Beyene, if not for the direct support from faculty and his McNair Scholars and URGO advisors, he wouldn’t have considered himself graduate school material. “Being at UCLA now, I realize how fortunate I was to have programs like McNair and URGO,” he said. AUGGIES CONNECT FROM THE ALUMNI BOARD PRESIDENT + COURTESY PHOTO Dear alumni and friends, As always, the fall season at Augsburg was full of excitement. This past August, for only the second time, our community sent a group of Auggies to explore the Mississippi on a River Semester off-campus study experience. Over the course of the semester, these students will spend 100 days paddling down the river while learning about history, politics, and the environment, and having the adventure of a lifetime. Then, as the calendar turned to September, the community welcomed returning students to a new academic year and ushered in the first-year students who make up the class of 2022. At Homecoming in October, we honored an accomplished group of Distinguished Alumni. We found inspiration in hearing their stories and learning about their achievements, and we were reminded of the talent and dedication that Augsburg alumni exhibit across a vast spectrum of vocations and commitments. Augsburg alumni are, indeed, remarkable professionals and amazing people. This year, I’m especially excited to serve on the Augsburg Alumni Board as its members strive to increase the ways in which they give to the university. I have personally committed to giving 50 hours of my time to Augsburg. I plan to attend events, mentor a student, and help reconnect the Auggies in my social network with the university. If, like me, you’re interested in making a difference in the lives of others in our Augsburg community, you’ll find that there are many ways to connect with Augsburg in support of students. • Consider attending the Auggie Networking Event coming up in February. This is an opportunity for alumni to help students practice valuable interpersonal skills that will benefit them in their future job searches and careers. • Join us for the 2018–19 Auggie Take Out student mentoring program. • Reconnect with Augsburg by volunteering with the Alumni Office or the Alumni Board. We’re always looking for people to join our leadership boards. • Volunteer to usher at Advent Vespers or to serve in another capacity. In all of the ways that Augsburg has shown up for you, it is now the time to show up for Augsburg. You can find information about these and other volunteer opportunities at augsburg.edu/alumni. I hope you will consider sharing your time and talents with the university this year. * + + HOMECOMING 2018 Nearly 525 Auggies attended the Augsburg University Homecoming celebration held October 11–13. Alumni, students, and community members gathered for a festive weekend featuring more than two dozen events that united the university’s remarkable legacy with its contemporary identity. If you are interested in serving on an alumni reunion committee or volunteering to help plan Homecoming 2019, contact alumni@augsburg.edu. Go Auggies! NICK RATHMANN ’03, ALUMNI BOARD PRESIDENT + PHOTOS COURTESY OF REBECCA ZENEFSKI SLATER * PHOTO COURTESY OF BRIDGET DONOVAN FALL–WINTER 2018 23 A LIFETIME OF ACTIVISM: Augsburg students of the ’60s reflect on the past 50 years In 1964, folk singer Bob Dylan released his album and song “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” which served as a call for change to address the social injustices he saw in the world. For the group of young students entering what was then Augsburg College that same year, his words would prove prescient. College is a transformational time for students, but for members of the class of 1968, the impact was especially pronounced. The Augsburg graduating class of 1968 witnessed the United States live through some of the worst upheavals in the nation’s history. In late 1963, President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated. By 1968, assassinations also would claim civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and the late president’s brother, Robert F. Kennedy, as well as political activist and leader Malcolm X. At the same time, the country was becoming violently divided over social issues, including civil rights and the increasingly unpopular war in Vietnam, with ever-larger numbers of young people being drafted and sent to southeast Asia to fight. In response, Augsburg students began to march for peace and civil rights and to take part in programs like Augsburg’s Listening Witness, which brought them to live and work in impoverished and racially segregated neighborhoods in Chicago and elsewhere. It was fitting, then, that at this year’s Homecoming celebration, 1968 alumni celebrating their 50th reunion delivered an Auggie Talk titled “The Baby Boomer Effect: How Four Years Affected 50.” The five speakers—Michael Arndt ’68, Kim Gudmestad ’68, Ted Johnson ’68, Augsburg Board of Regents member LaJune Thomas Lange ’75, and Joey Sylvester ’68—said their time at Augsburg shaped the course of their lives. They described how education empowered them to pursue lifelong work in the areas of diversity, justice, public leadership, and social activism. “I think [those times] had a profound effect on many of us as individuals, and it certainly had a profound effect on Augsburg,” said Rev. Mark Hanson ’68, an alumnus who went on to serve as a pastor and the third presiding bishop of the Evangelical 24 AUGSBURG NOW Lutheran Church in America. “For me, Augsburg provided an immersive experience so that those changing realities, those cultural conflicts, and those strivings for racial justice and peace in southeast Asia weren’t just topics that one was reading about or subjects in a classroom. They became lived experiences.” Hanson, who is now the executive director of Augsburg’s Christensen Center for Vocation, said he’s seen the university change as a result of activism originating in those pivotal mid-’60s years. He points to increasing diversity in the current student body—the result of an intentional commitment to inclusion, equity, and intercultural competency. Like Hanson, Myrna Sheie ’68, co-chair of the 1968 reunion events, went on to work with the ELCA after graduation. She reflected that she had entered college without much experience with diverse cultures but saw both herself and Augsburg change during her college years. “When I started at Augsburg, I was both naïve and unaware of the diversity we lacked,” she said. “Over the next four years, my classmates and I were exposed to ideas, concepts, and lifestyles—both inside and outside the classroom—that challenged us intellectually, socially, and personally. I became less naïve as my eyes and heart became more open.” A laboratory for life When Arndt, one of the Homecoming Auggie Talk presenters, reflects on his college experience, his memories often connect the time he spent on campus with dramatic life events that followed it. Shortly after graduation, Arndt was drafted from his first teaching job and sent to Vietnam as a member of the Army’s First Cavalry division. He served in the jungle near the Cambodian border and saw heavy military action that killed seven of his friends. During that time, Arndt says he recited the Shakespeare he’d learned during college to calm himself. AUGGIES CONNECT CELEBRATING A SEASON OF HOPE ARCHIVE PHOTOS 39TH ANNUAL ADVENT VESPERS Today, Arndt is chair and professor of Theatre Arts and Dance at California Lutheran University and the artistic director of the Kingsmen Shakespeare Company. He calls on his experiences as a veteran and artistic professional to use theater to help treat fellow veterans suffering the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder. “There was a time after I got out of the army when I felt that the country was going to dissolve into civil war,” he said. “There was such a divide and … a real sense that we were going to end up in total chaos. In talking with my college students today, there’s a sense of that now. [But] I think one of the things we’re saying is that those of us who felt that strongly in 1968 tried to work to make a difference. And many of us did.” Hanson concurs. “All that was taking place in the Twin Cities, in the country, and in the world in those four years became, for so many of us, not just objects of study, but context in which we were being formed for our future lives and vocations. And that’s still to this day what is particularly unique about Augsburg— it takes its context as the laboratory for life, not as something from which we seek to flee.” Augsburg’s Class of 1968 is working to raise $68,000 in scholarship funds for future students. Learn more about this initiative and their Auggie Talk at augsburg.edu/now. For more than three decades, Augsburg University has ushered in the Advent and Christmas seasons with Advent Vespers, a magnificent experience of music and liturgy, focusing on the theme of preparation and culminating in the joyful celebration of the Incarnation. Advent Vespers is set in downtown Minneapolis in the sanctuary of Central Lutheran Church, and this year Advent Vespers services will occur November 29–December 1. To learn more or request reservations, visit augsburg.edu/music/vespers. VELKOMMEN JUL Velkommen Jul is one of Augsburg’s most beloved traditions. It’s an event that celebrates the university’s Norwegian heritage and ushers in the Advent season. Come join us Friday, November 30, at 10:30 a.m., in Hoversten Chapel for a special chapel service—with Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish carols, Scandinavian dancers, and the Gospel read in Norwegian. Wear your Scandinavian sweater, if you have one; it’s a tradition to take a group sweater photo! Following chapel, the festivities continue in Christensen Center. Shop in the boutique for unique gifts and homemade goodies, and make sure to visit the buffet featuring lefse, krumkake, and other treats. The buffet is complimentary, but donations are greatly appreciated. All proceeds from the event support Augsburg student scholarships. FALL–WINTER 2018 25 COURTESY PHOTOS AUGSBURG UNIVERSITY 1869-2019 SAVE THE YEAR Join us in honoring the traditions of Augsburg’s rich history and celebrating the remarkable progress we have made in educating students to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders. A yearlong series of events including a sesquicentennial gala will commemorate our deep roots and recognize our present opportunities and future endeavors as we become a new kind of urban university. Subscribe to the sesquicentennial events digital calendar to participate in these community celebrations. Visit augsburg.edu/150. NOVEMBER AUGGIES TRULY GIVE TO THE MAX Each year, Auggies around the world respond generously to support the breadth of programs and experiences offered by Augsburg University. In total, over the past five years, Augsburg has raised more than $1.5 million through Give to the Max Day efforts. And even if you missed the opportunity to participate this year, you can find information about our fundraising results and learn more about additional ways to support the university at augsburg.edu/giving. 26 AUGSBURG NOW AUGSBURG SESQUICENTENNIAL TRAVEL OPPORTUNITIES Plan ahead to participate in exciting alumni trips commemorating Augsburg’s sesquicentennial. Overseas trips are planned to locations in Norway and Germany that are central in Augsburg’s history. In May 2020, Darcey Engen ’88, Augsburg University professor of theater arts, and her husband, Luverne Seifert ’83, head of undergraduate theater performance at the University of Minnesota, will lead a tour exploring the rich and vibrant arts and culture of Norway. The tour will include plays, concerts, and historical landmarks as well as an opportunity to celebrate Syttende Mai in Norway. At the same time, a tour exploring Norway’s peace work, government, and environmental agencies will be co-led by Bettine Hoff Hermanson, Norway Hub managing director, and Joe Underhill, associate professor of political science and director of environmental studies. This trip also includes the opportunity to celebrate Syttende Mai in Norway. In July 2020, Rev. Sonja Hagander, Augsburg University pastor and director of ministries, will lead a hike to the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway—a pilgrimage made by travelers for more than 1,000 years. Along the way, the group will learn about history and culture, and experience firsthand some of the most beautiful nature in the world. Also in July 2020, Augsburg associate professors of religion Lori Brandt Hale and Hans Wiersma—who led the 2016 alumni tour for the anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation—will lead a tour to Bavaria, Germany, with stops in Nuremberg, Salzberg, and additional nearby locations. The tour also includes tickets to the world-famous Oberammergau Passion Play, which first opened in 1634 and has been performed every 10 years since. Contact Katie (Koch) Code ’01, director of alumni and constituent relations, at codek@augsburg.edu or 612-330-1178 if you are interested in learning more about Augsburg’s travel opportunities. ALUMNI CLASS NOTES 1942 The French government posthumously awarded Chester Hendrickson ’42 the Jubilee of Liberty Medal for his service and work in Normandy during World War II. 1958 Grace (Kemmer) Sulerud ’58 received a Spirit of Augsburg Award at Homecoming for her faithful service to Augsburg across her time as a student, librarian, faculty member, and alumna. After graduating from Augsburg in 1958 with a degree in English, she became a junior high English teacher and an elementary librarian in U.S. Air Force Department of Defense Schools in Germany, Japan, and Libya. Sulerud earned master’s degrees in library science and English, served as the treasurer of the Augsburg Associates, and continues to stay involved at university events. She personifies Augsburg’s calling to humbly serve in a variety of ways. 1968 David J. Melby ’68, Ph.D., received a Distinguished Alumni Award at Homecoming and was recognized as a psychologist, executive leader, and advocate who embodies faithful service in true Auggie form. With a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Augsburg and master’s and doctoral degrees in counseling psychology, he has worked as a CEO and has served on the boards of organizations relating to behavioral health care, health practices, and housing. As a thoughtful steward and responsible leader, his work has created healthier, more fulfilling lives for many. 1971 The St. Michael-Albertville (Minnesota) Coaches Association Hall of Fame Committee selected Darrell Skogan ’71 as a Hall of Fame inductee. This fall marks Skogan’s 51st season as statistician for the school district. He also has umpired, run clocks, and coached girls’ basketball and softball throughout his tenure with the district. 1972 John Sherman ’72 was honored with two awards for his work as a sports journalist. Sherman received the Outstanding Media Award from the Minnesota State High School League and the Spinnaker Award from Minnetonka School District. While at Augsburg, Sherman was the editor for the school newspaper and played baseball and soccer. Since graduating 46 years ago, he has served on the Sun Newspaper staff in Edina, Minnesota. Terry Lindstrom ’73 and Mark Johnson ’75 joined the Augsburg University Board of Regents. See page 4. Augsburg Athletic Director Jeff Swenson ’79 explains how the university’s dome gives Auggies a competitive advantage. See page 16. 1982 Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Jeff Andrews ’82 was a key defender on Auggie men’s hockey teams that won NAIA national titles in both 1980–81 and 1981–82, while winning MIAC titles and reaching the NAIA tournament all four years of his career. Andrews accumulated 29 goals and 60 assists for 89 points in his college career, and he earned All-MIAC honors in 1981–82 and All-MIAC Honorable Mention honors in 1980–81. Former basketball star Brad Nelson ’82 was inducted into the Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame. An All-MIAC guard in 1981–82, Nelson was a three-year member of the Auggie men’s basketball team, averaging 12.0 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game in his career. He averaged 20.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game on Augsburg’s MIAC runner-up team in 1981–82, and averaged 7.8 points on the Auggies’ MIAC title (later forfeited for use of an ineligible player) and NAIA national tournament team in 1980–81. 1984 Mayo Clinic Health System— Franciscan Healthcare named Dr. Paul Mueller ’84 the vice president of its Southwest Wisconsin Region. As a regional leader, Mueller will manage operations out of La Crosse, Wisconsin. He completed his undergraduate degree at Augsburg and has spent the past nine years chairing Mayo Clinic’s Division of General Internal Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota. Nancy Mueller ’85 joined the Augsburg University Board of Regents. See page 4. Darcey Engen ’88 employs perspectives both as a student and as a faculty member to plan Augsburg’s sesquicentennial celebrations. See page 14. 1989 The U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced that Carolyn (Ross) Isaak ’89 was inducted into the NCAA Division III Track and Field Athlete Hall of Fame in May. Isaak set several records as an Augsburg athlete, including the 400-meter hurdles record that stood until 2014. Isaak, a five-time national champion and nine-time All-American, is Augsburg’s first athlete ever to be inducted into this Hall of Fame. Literary scholar Devoney Looser ’89 was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2018 and will complete a biography of forgotten sister novelists. See page 10. Brynn Watson ’89 received a Distinguished Alumni Award at Homecoming. She is an award-winning leader in the aerospace industry for her technical experience, executive leadership, and tireless advocacy of STEM education for youth. She earned a mathematics degree from Augsburg and a master’s degree in applied mathematics before she gained several director- and vice-president-level positions in technology and engineering companies. She now serves as vice president for the Future Enterprise Program for Lockheed Martin. Watson’s spirit and accomplishments mirror the tenacity of Auggies around the world who ascend to prestigious positions among today’s leading companies. 1995 Wrestling star Randy Eastman ’95 was inducted into the Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame. Eastman was a three-time NCAA Division III All-American in the 167-pound weight class, finishing second nationally in the 1994–95 campaign, third in 1993–94, and fifth in 1992–93. A transfer from Mankato State, he was a member of Augsburg teams that won the national titles in both 1992–93 and 1994–95, while FALL–WINTER 2018 27 ALUMNI CLASS NOTES finishing fourth in 1993–94. Eastman won two MIAC titles and was a conference runner-up in his Auggie career. Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Tom Layte ’95 was a dominant wrestler for the Auggies in the mid-’90s. Layte competed at Augsburg in the 1994–95 season after transferring from Western New England College, and he made the most of his Auggie campaign, going 44-4, winning the NCAA Division III national title at 150 pounds, and earning Outstanding Wrestler honors at the national championships as the Auggies won the team national crown. He later served as an Augsburg assistant coach and was head coach at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Augsburg volleyball star Carolyn Tuohy ’95 was a dominant player in the mid-’90s, playing three seasons as a middle hitter, earning All-MIAC honors in 1994, and receiving All-MIAC Honorable Mention honors in 1992. Tuohy, who was inducted into the Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame, was a team co-captain in 1994 and finished her career with 878 kills in 2,566 attack attempts. She was voted the team’s MVP in 1992. 1997 Derrin Lamker ’97 was inducted into the Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame in recognition of his successes on the football, basketball, and baseball teams. A quarterback in football, Lamker led the Auggies to the 1997 MIAC title and a spot in the NCAA Division III national quarterfinals. He earned All-MIAC honors in 1996 and 1997. He was the conference MVP in 1997, in addition to earning All-America honors and finalist honors for the Gagliardi Trophy (Division III Player of the Year). Joe Lavin ’97 had an outstanding pitching career on the Augsburg baseball team. An ace during the mid-’90s, Lavin earned All-MIAC and All-Midwest Region second-team honors in 1995, while earning conference Player of the Week honors multiple times. He had a 1.42 ERA in conference play with five complete games, a shutout, and 41 strikeouts against only 16 walks and 32 hits in 1995, while winning three games on the mound in 1994 and four in 1996. Eric Rolland ’97, the Augsburg men’s and women’s golf head coach, teaches students a lifelong sport each spring in the campus dome. See page 16. 2000 Jasha Johnston ’00 and Carrie (McCabe) Johnston ’02 opened their third restaurant, Mortimer’s, in the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis. The new venue features live music, an updated menu, and a family-friendly atmosphere. In addition to their new venture, the Johnstons own Nightingale Restaurant and Tilt Pinball Bar. 2002 Three-sport athlete Brenda (Selander) Mitshulis ’02 was inducted into the Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame. Mitshulis was an All-MIAC honoree in 2000 and All-MIAC Honorable Mention honoree in 1999 in soccer, where she finished her career with 15 goals and four assists for 34 career points. She led the Auggies in scoring in three seasons. In hockey, she was a member of the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 MIAC title squads and the 2000 national runner-up team. She also played two seasons of softball. 2003 Dual sport athlete Rachel Ekholm ’03 was inducted into the Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame. One of the best softball players in school history, Ekholm earned All-MIAC honors three times, while earning NFCA All-Region honors twice. As a pitcher, she won 39 career games AUGGIE SNAPSHOTS ’70 ’76 28 AUGSBURG NOW ’84 ’90 ’12 with a 2.45 ERA and 347 strikeouts. She hit .389 and holds school records for home runs, triples, RBI, and slugging percentage. She also played in 60 career games in basketball, averaging 9.1 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. Softball Head Coach Melissa Lee ’04 said the Augsburg air structure helped save the team’s 2018 season. See page 16. 2006 This year, Augsburg’s Excellence in Coaching Award recognized Jim Gunderson ’06. Gunderson is in his fourth season as football head coach at the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield, Minnesota, after serving for 14 years as an assistant coach. He has also served as track and field head coach since 2012. In football, his team won the Minnesota Class AAAA state title in 2017, with Gunderson being named the Minnesota Football State Class AAAA Coach of the Year. 2008 graduating from Augsburg with a degree in communication studies, he has devoted his career to public leadership and making a difference in his community. He ran for mayor of Baltimore in 2016, becoming the youngest person ever to run for the office. He also sits on the boards of several Baltimore community initiatives and is the co-founder of a nonprofit fostering revitalization. Brian Krohn ’08, Ph.D., received a First Decade Award at Homecoming. After earning a degree in chemistry, researching biofuel, and becoming Augsburg’s first Rhodes Scholar, Krohn founded companies Mighty Axe Hops and Magic Wizard Staff. He earned a doctorate from the University of Minnesota as an Environmental Protection Agency Fellow and master’s degrees from the University of Oxford in environmental change and science. He was an Innovation Fellow at the U of M’s Medical Devices Center and is CEO of Soundly, an app-based therapy to reduce snoring—an initiative funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. Joshua Harris ’08 received a First Decade Award at Homecoming. His life and work in the past 10 years embodies Augsburg’s pursuit of social justice, equity, and inclusion. Since Nikki Rajala ’70 published “Treacherous Waters,” her second novel in the “Chronicles of an Unlikely Voyageur” series. A career ESL teacher, Rajala retired from the St. Cloud School District in 2004 and lives in Rockville, Minnesota. ’70 Jeff Mueller ’76 was honored by Norway’s King Harald V, who bestowed the rank of Knight First Class in the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit. Mueller, director of administration and finance at Norway House, Minneapolis, is a past president of the Norwegian American Chamber of Commerce and currently serves on its board of directors. He also has been active in the Syttende ’76 Killa Marti ’08, J.D., received a First Decade Award at Homecoming because she embodies Augsburg’s values through her thoughtful stewardship, critical thinking, and rigorous pursuit of justice and equity. After graduating from Augsburg with a major in international relations and a minor in economics, Marti earned a law degree so that she could serve immigrant communities. She has worked with the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota and several law firms, has founded her own law practice in the Atlanta area, and has worked tirelessly for her law clients in districts and cases where the decks were stacked against them. Former Augsburg cheerleader Cassandra Roschen ’08 returned to Fairmont High School to coach the cheerleading squad. Roschen, a former Fairmont cheerleader, taught current students sideline cheers and routines. She also extended her service to include team building and community outreach with the squad. Chris Stedman ’08 received a First Decade Award at Homecoming for his robust intellectual engagement as an informed citizen and critical thinker. A religion major with minors in English and social welfare, he earned a master’s degree in religion from Meadville Lombard Theological School at the University of Chicago. He was the founding executive director of the Humanist Center of Minnesota, founded the Yale Humanist Community, and was a humanist chaplain at Harvard. Stedman is the author of “Faitheist: How an Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious” (Beacon Press, 2012). Mai Committee, the Norwegian Independence Day celebration, the annual troop exchange program with the Minnesota National Guard and the Norwegian Home Guard, and Torske Klubben. Mueller (right) is pictured with Norwegian Ambassador to the U.S. Kåre R. Aas, who presented the order of merit medal at Norway House. The HGA firm hired Mary Claire Olson Potter ’84 as a health care business developer and senior associate. ’84 ’90 In June, former Augsburg football player David Stevens ’90 hosted a Disability Dream and Do Camp alongside the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, an American minor league baseball team based in Upstate New York. CBS affiliate WBNG covered Stevens’ story and time with the Rumble Ponies. Stevens, who led six other athletic camps this summer, was the only double amputee to play three seasons of football for the Auggies. He later played for the St. Paul Saints and tried out for the Minnesota Twins and Dallas Cowboys. Janelle (Christensen) Nelson ’12 welcomed a daughter, Kennedy Elaine, in April. Nelson majored in art history. Her grandfather also attended Augsburg. ’12 FALL–WINTER 2018 29 ALUMNI CLASS NOTES 2011 Laura (Schmidt) DuSchane ’11 and Seth Lienard ’11, ’16 MBA opened a new business venture called Fretless Marketing that provides social media and event marketing services for small businesses. Their company website is fretlessmarketing.com. Ted Nielsen ’11 started a new job at Edward Jones as a financial advisor. Nielsen assists individuals and families with long-term investing. Nielsen previously worked with Thrivent and graduated from Augsburg with a bachelor’s degree in English. 2012 Kimberly Simmonds ’12 was promoted to a program assistant with the City of Minneapolis. Simmonds majored in history at Augsburg before receiving her master’s in public administration in 2014. 2013 Alexandra Buffalohead ’13 started a new role as manager of art and cultural engagement with the Native American Community Development Institute. Buffalohead earned a bachelor’s degree in studio arts at Augsburg. She has since served as a graphic designer for the American Indian Cancer Foundation and as a communications officer for the Indian Land Tenure Foundation. Tyler Heaps ’13 is a manager of analytics and research at the United States Soccer Federation. SportTechie, an online resource devoted to covering topics at the intersection of sports and technology, interviewed Heaps regarding his work within the federation tracking players and opponents using innovative technologies. Heaps is working to standardize analysis and support across all soccer levels and teams to ensure the federation can effectively track players within the system. The Chicago Tribune wrote about Dustin Ritchea ’13, who returned to live and work in his hometown of Chesterton, Indiana. Ritchea serves as a promotions director for Indiana Dunes Tourism and also works as an actor, producer, songwriter, and writer. 2015 Nikki (Ludwig) Darst ’15 started a new job with Black Line Group as a research and development tax manager. She graduated from Augsburg with a degree in accounting management. Fekireselassie Beyene ’16 participated in undergraduate research that contributed to success after graduation. See page 20. 2017 Jack Swift ’17 recently started a new role with In The Groove Music as a publishing assistant. As an Augsburg student, Swift majored in business administration with an emphasis on music business. Vision Bagonza ’17 conducted research through the Office of Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity. See page 20. 2018 The NBC Nightly News featured Neil King ’18 in a story about his success at Augsburg in the StepUP® Program. After graduating from Augsburg and StepUP, King started a master’s degree in integrated behavioral health at the University of Minnesota. The Twin Cities Arts Reader interviewed Brid Henry ’16 regarding her work in the Minneapolis theater scene. Henry has performed in the Minnesota Fringe Festival and has directed and co-produced the first year of the Minneapolis branch of the Future Is Female Festival. Henry chose to study theater at Augsburg because the university’s program was ranked among the top opportunities outside of New York. 30 AUGSBURG NOW Blair Stewig ’18 and Abigail Tetzlaff ’18 delved into student research with the Office of Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity. See page 20. GRADUATE PROGRAMS Matthew Halley ’97 MSW serves as executive director for Cookie Cart, a nonprofit youth program that equips young people with employment and life skills. Halley was interviewed by the St. Paul Pioneer Press for an article highlighting the program’s continuing success since its founding in 1988. Halley is focused on expanding the program by adding more youth workers. This spring, Education Minnesota named Kelly (Sheehan) Holstine ’12 MAE the 2018 Teacher of the Year. An English teacher at Tokata Learning Center, an alternative high school in Shakopee, Holstine created a new English curriculum and developed policies that the school has implemented. Lavender Magazine featured Holstine’s accolades and focus on diversity in education. As Teacher of the Year, Holstine is an ambassador for 86,000 teachers in Minnesota. Chung Eang Lip ’18 started a new role as a graduate school teaching assistant at Columbia University in New York City. Lip is working on a Master of Public Health degree with a concentration in infectious disease epidemiology. AUGGIE SNAPSHOTS ’16 St. Olaf College hired Gregory Mitchell ’18 as a wide receivers coach for the 2018 season. Mitchell was a receiver on the Augsburg football team. He previously coached receivers at Centennial High School and Southwest High School. Augsburg alumnus Scott Cooper ’13 returned to the university this August as a full-time staff member serving as an alumni engagement manager. Cooper started his undergraduate degree at Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minnesota, before transferring to Augsburg in 2011 where he completed a bachelor’s degree in communication. Cooper was a member of the Augsburg Choir and the 2012 and 2013 Auggie football teams. Prior to ’13 SUBMIT A CLASS NOTE joining Augsburg’s Alumni and Constituent Relations staff, Cooper served in Minneapolis Public Schools’ high school special education programs. In his free time, Cooper has enjoyed public speaking engagements in which he has discussed his experiences as an Auggie football player. ’12 Rick Wolke ’12 and Ashley (Carney) Wolke ’13 welcomed Aurora Jo Wolke on AUGGIES HONORED Orville “Joe” Hognander Jr. received a Spirit of Augsburg Award at Homecoming for his thoughtful stewardship and responsible leadership. Although he was not a student at Augsburg, he is a noteworthy Auggie through and through. His grandfather was an Augsburg graduate more than 100 years ago, his parents were highly involved in the music program, and his ties to alumni and faculty run deep. A retired naval officer and private investor now living in Edina, Minnesota, Hognander’s longstanding involvement with Augsburg speaks to a family history of commitment and engagement, particularly in the continued support of Augsburg’s Department of Music. ’16 ’13 Professor Emeritus John Holum, Ph.D., received a Spirit of Augsburg Award at Homecoming. A beloved retired professor whose legacy spans more than 30 years, Holum is a prolific writer who has published dozens of scientific textbooks and peer-reviewed papers. He came to Augsburg with a doctorate in organic chemistry and taught chemistry until his retirement in 1993. Holum, who lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, has demonstrated a lifelong passion for academic excellence and support for students on their educational journeys. ’12 ’09 Tell us about the news in your life—your new job, move, marriage, and milestones. Visit augsburg.edu/now to submit your announcements. ’15 January 8. Rick and Ashley both majored in business administration/economics. Caitlin (Hozeny) Lienard ’09, ’17 MSW and Seth Lienard ’11, ’16 MBA were married on September 23, 2017, in Stillwater, Minnesota. There were several Auggies in attendance. Pictured are [front, L to R]: Seth Lienard, Caitlin (Hozeny) Lienard, Morgan (Bray) Thompson ’09, Amanda (Chmiel) Spence ’09 ’09 [back, L to R]: Wade Wojick ’11, Ryan Wilsey ’12, Erika Osterbur ’11, Aren Olsen ’11, Luke Lienard ’16, Aaron Rosell, Stefan Swanson, Sheridan Lienard, Lindsey Graff ’11, and Ben Krouse-Gagne ’11. Laura (Swanson) Lindahl ’15 MBA and her husband, David, welcomed a son, Lawson Robert, on April 26. ’15 ’10 Jonathan Chrastek ’10 and Katie Pendo ’10 were married on July 7 in Leesburg, Virginia. Several Augsburg alumni joined the couple as they celebrated their wedding, which was officiated by Sylvia Bull ’10 and Emily Wiles ’10. Augsburg alumni Alissa Nolan ’09, Nick Blixt ’10, and Cait Kortum ’10 were in the wedding party, and Kate Edelen ’11 was in attendance. ’10 FALL–WINTER 2018 31 IN MEMORIAM Lydia C. (Mitlyng) Pokrass ’35, Ashburn, Virginia, age 104, on May 29. Eunice C. (Knudson) Iverson ’42, Richmond, Minnesota, age 97, on September 9. Joyce M. (Reitan) Knutsen ’43, Fridley, Minnesota, age 93, on May 30. Richard J. Koplitz ’45, Minneapolis, age 95, on June 15. Lenore “Beth” B. (Buesing) Opgrand ’45, Wilmington, North Carolina, age 95, on May 25. Adele L. (Anderson) Cupit ’46, Walnut Creek, California, age 94, on May 26. Jack E. Jacobsen ’46, Minneapolis, age 95, on January 11. Duane J. Christensen ’53, Bemidji, Minnesota, age 87, on May 7. Clara A. (Hookom) Cobb ’54, Willmar, Minnesota, age 85, on May 26. Daniel “Dan” E. Peterson ’66, Clear Lake, Minnesota, age 75, on March 4. Niles R. Schulz ’66, Minneapolis, age 74, on July 10. James E. Leschensky ’67, Minneapolis, age 73, on March 25. John “Johnny” M. Burke ’94, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 54, on March 20. E. William “Bill” Anderson ’56, Plymouth, Minnesota, age 84, on May 16. Judith A. (Anderson) Woods ’67, Brainerd, Minnesota, age 73, on March 7. Rebecca E. Rehfeld ’95, Minnetonka, Minnesota, age 62, on February 19. Lloyd C. Grinde ’56, Minneapolis, age 92, on July 1. Dolores “Dee” M. (Larson) Fagerlie ’72, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 90, on August 23. Phyllis A. Lee ’96, Frederick, Maryland, age 76, on January 18. Russell C. Lee ’56, Albuquerque, New Mexico, age 86, on August 17. Roger K. Ose II ’56, Minnetonka, Minnesota, age 84, on May 9. Sidney D. Berg ’57, Minneapolis, age 88, on May 29. Kathleen E. Tinseth ’74, Minneapolis, age 66, on September 4. John R. Burgeson ’75, Andover, Minnesota, age 66, on May 19. Leroy H. Conyers ’57, Marshall, Minnesota, age 88, on June 13. Margaret “Marie” (Salmonson) Marx ’78, Scandia, Minnesota, age 89, on September 7. Arthur E. Marben ’47, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 95, on July 14. Charles H. Erbstoesser ’58, Little Falls, Minnesota, age 88, on July 18. Estelle M. (Uleberg) Swanson ’47, Madelia, Minnesota, age 92, on August 2. Stephanie J. (Torgerson) Sipprell ’81, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, age 59, on May 5. Harlan J. Jacobson ’59, Ashby, Minnesota, age 81, on July 20. Milan J. Sedio ’48, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 94, on May 18. Joyce K. (Johnson) Rudi ’62, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 85, on August 29. Mary J. Andersen ’84, Afton, Minnesota, age 61, on March 10. Richard J. Thorvig ’49, Minneapolis, age 93, on August 4. Lynn B. Lundin ’50, Pelican Rapids, Minnesota, age 90, on May 29. Verna M. (Haverly) Brue ’51, Fergus Falls, Minnesota, age 90, on July 16. Gloria A. (Metcalf) Kubnick ’63, Rice Lake, Wisconsin, age 77, on July 12. Susan D. (Graff) Mills ’96, Fargo, North Dakota, age 65, on July 3. Scott W. Schuck ’97, Minneapolis, age 63, on August 31. John M. Welch ’07, Sudbury, Massachusetts, age 34, on June 30. Marlene M. Taylor ’09, Plymouth, Minnesota, age 31, on May 16. Jennifer L. Lovering ’10, Bemidji, Minnesota, age 29, on April 26. Cheryl L. Miller ’10, Altoona, Wisconsin, age 52, on August 9. Jon “Ryan” R. Benson ’12, Chanhassen, Minnesota, age 40, on June 1. Karlton “Karl” I. Bakke ’64, Roseville, Minnesota, age 77, on July 18. Jon M. Leverentz ’92, Hopkins, Minnesota, age 67, on August 16. Jacalyn “Jackie” S. (Ruschmann) Pederson ’14, Danbury, Wisconsin, age 65, on August 28. Bruce E. Braaten ’64, Prior Lake, Minnesota, age 76, on May 27. Alisa J. (Norvold) Leonard ’93, Northfield, Minnesota, age 48, on July 8. David “Alex” A. Jenny ’16, Kansas City, Missouri, age 29, on May 27. Charlotte K. (Jensen) Duty ’65, St. Joseph, Missouri, age 75, on March 24. A. Richard Petersen ’51, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, age 89, on August 21. Cengiz Gokcen ’66, St. Pete Beach, Florida, age 74, on August 5. AUGSBURG NOW Linda J. (Skay) Weinberg ’87, Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, age 69, on March 13. Alice E. (Barden) Mapes ’96, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 56, on August 24. Eileen M. (Henkemeyer) Saldana ’91, Minneapolis, age 82, on January 6. Erika R. (Staub) Niemi ’51, Tucson, Arizona, age 91, on April 16. 32 David R. Berken ’94, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 50, on May 19. Duncan D. Flann ’55, Overland Park, Kansas, age 85, on April 9. Helen “Merle” M. (Houser) Campbell ’47, Newberg, Oregon, age 94, on June 27. Donald L. Sween ’49, Lakeville, Minnesota, age 93, on April 25. Scott D. Syring ’93, Minneapolis, age 48, on August 24. Shirley A. Sopkiewicz ’93, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 60, on February 27. John E. Sorlien ’93, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 55, on July 19. Cole R. McAdam ’17, Faribault, Minnesota, age 23, on April 7. The “In memoriam” listings in this publication include notifications received before September 15. VISIT CAMPUS ALUMNI Whether you’re on campus often or haven’t been back in years, there’s always something new to see. Schedule a personal tour by contacting the alumni office at 612-330-1329 or alumni@augsburg.edu. PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS Augsburg could be right for you. Traditional undergraduate students who are children or spouses of Augsburg graduates or the siblings of current Augsburg students are eligible for a minimum scholarship of $16,000 per year. Schedule a campus visit at augsburg.edu/visit. Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Augsburg’s press box, completed in 2008, was made possible by gifts from Oliver Dahl ’45, John ’36 and Christine Haalan, E. Milton “Milt” Kleven ’46, Glen Person ’47, President Paul C. Pribbenow, Dick “Pork Chop” Thompson ’61, and Gunner and Mary Wick. Augsburg press box name commemorates Campus Pastor Emeritus Dave Wold Augsburg University dedicated the press box at Edor Nelson Field in honor of the late Rev. Dave Wold during the Auggie football team’s home opener this fall. Augsburg’s campus pastor from 1983 to 2013, Wold died April 21 at age 72. In addition to his service to the Augsburg community as a faith leader, Wold was a constant presence in the Augsburg athletics community, serving as public address announcer for football, men’s basketball, and wrestling home competitions, along with events in many other sports. The breadth of Wold’s pastoral care supported generations of Auggies, and he is beloved by alumni and Augsburg community members around the world. PHOTOS BY KEVIN HEALY 2211 Riverside Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55454 Twin Cities, MN Permit No. 2031
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Title: Augsburg Now Spring-Summer 2019:
Collection: Alumni Magazine Collection
Search Result: Auggie friendships Learning across abilities Sesquicentennial preview The new age of artisans SPRING–SUMMER 2019 | VOL. 81, NO. 2 INSIDE AUGSBURG NOW AUGSBURG NOW Vice President of Marketing and Communication Rebecca John ’13 MBA rjohn@augsburg.edu Spring–Summer 2019 Director of Mark...
Show more Auggie friendships Learning across abilities Sesquicentennial preview The new age of artisans SPRING–SUMMER 2019 | VOL. 81, NO. 2 INSIDE AUGSBURG NOW AUGSBURG NOW Vice President of Marketing and Communication Rebecca John ’13 MBA rjohn@augsburg.edu Spring–Summer 2019 Director of Marketing Stephen Jendraszak jendra@augsburg.edu NOTES FROM PRESIDENT PRIBBENOW Augsburg at 150 It is indeed remarkable for any of us today to stand in the shadows of an institution that has existed for 150 years. Institutions such as Augsburg University—no matter their meaningful legacy and inspiring mission—are viewed with some skepticism by a citizenry more and more committed to going it alone. I am privileged to lead Augsburg on the occasion of its 150th anniversary and dedicated to ensuring that our academic mission and democratic engagement remain firm for the next 150 years. In that way, the history of Augsburg is in service of going forward together. There are four themes that I believe are at the heart of this university’s identity. The themes are abundance, generosity, engagement, and service. Throughout Augsburg’s 150 years, there is ample evidence that the interplay of those themes has helped to shape what Burton Clark has called “the saga” of Augsburg. A saga is more than a story or a parable. It is an unfolding narrative anchored in mission, values, rituals, and objects. This issue of Augsburg Now offers us a glimpse of the ways in which our saga continues to unfold in rich and meaningful ways. From the yearlong celebration of our sesquicentennial, to urgent interfaith and human rights initiatives, to new academic programs, to the remarkable accomplishments of the many alumni, faculty, and students featured in these pages—we are reminded again and again of how Augsburg is both faithful to its historic values and relevant to the needs of the world today. Augsburg alumni David Cherwien ’79 and Gracia Grindal ’65 painted with music and words this saga of faith, educational aspirations, and public service in a hymn commissioned for my inauguration in 2006. The final stanza of the hymn proclaims: Send, oh God your Holy Spirit, Give us wisdom, love, and faith. Faith enough to move a mountain, Love that died to conquer death. Wisdom crowned with healing leaves, Truth made flesh to set us free. Let your glory bear rich fruit, Growing from your sturdy roots. Alleluia, Alleluia! And so we join with the company of saints and witnesses who have lived in the shadows of our beloved Augsburg to renew our vow to hold fast to all that is good. Faithfully yours, Director of Public Relations and Internal Communications Gita Sitaramiah sitarami@augsburg.edu Assistant Director of Marketing Management Laura Swanson Lindahl ’15 MBA swansonl@augsburg.edu Senior Creative Associate, Design Elizabeth Kästner kaestner@augsburg.edu Senior Creative Associate, Design Denielle Stepka ’11 stepkad@augsburg.edu Marketing Copywriter John Weirick weirick@augsburg.edu Communication and Social Media Specialist Briana Alamilla ’17 alamilla@augsburg.edu Advancement Communications Specialist Kaia Chambers chamberk2@augsburg.edu Web Manager Joe Mann mannj@augsburg.edu Contributing Writers Katie (Koch) Code ’01 Kate H. Elliott Augsburg Now is published by Augsburg University 2211 Riverside Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55454 Opinions expressed in Augsburg Now do not necessarily reflect official university policy. PAUL C. PRIBBENOW, PRESIDENT ISSN 1058-1545 AUGSBURG HOSTS ANNUAL INTERFAITH GATHERING This February, 130 young people from across Minnesota came together at Augsburg University for the fifth annual Interfaith Youth Day of Service presented in partnership with Interfaith Action of Greater St. Paul. Augsburg students, staff, and faculty offered programming assistance for the youth-designed initiative tailored to those in grades 6–12 and aligned with the United Nations’ observance of World Interfaith Harmony Week. The event featured a keynote address, breakout workshops, musical performances, and service projects before attendees concluded their day on campus with an Augsburg tour. 02 Around the quad 24 Auggie friendships 08 All in the family 27 Auggies connect 12 Learning across abilities 28 Class notes 15 A year of celebration to honor 150 32 In memoriam 19 The new age of artisans On the cover: Augsburg’s Hagfors Center supplies an illuminating contrast to the backdrop of downtown Minneapolis. All photos by Courtney Perry unless otherwise indicated Send address corrections to: alumniupdate@augsburg.edu Send comments to: now@augsburg.edu AROUND THE QUAD AROUND THE QUAD AUGGIE RESEARCH WOWS AT THE ROTUNDA Augsburg TRIO McNair Scholars Breanne Sande-Martin ’18 and Andy Thao ’20 presented their research during the 16th annual Private College Scholars at the Capitol event this January. As a member of the Minnesota Private College Council, Augsburg was invited to send Auggies to the event, which recognizes the scholarship of students and the efforts of their faculty advisors. Psychology student Sande-Martin presented her research on “The Impact of Smartphone Notifications on Proofreading Accuracy.” Biology student Thao shared his “Exploration of Local Field Potentials and Spiking Activity in a Genetic Model of Schizophrenia.” FOSTERING FUZZY FEELINGS A new venue, a grand scale Augsburg University will host this year’s commencement ceremony May 10 at U.S. Bank Stadium in downtown Minneapolis. This is the first time Augsburg will use the multi-purpose facility that’s home to the Minnesota Vikings as the site for commencement events. In making this change, Augsburg is responding to consistent concerns raised by graduating students regarding the limited number of tickets available for their guests to attend on-campus ceremonies which were held most recently in Si Melby Hall’s gymnasium. Augsburg will use a portion of U.S. Bank Stadium, and the change in venue and dramatic increase in total available seats will enable all graduates, their families, their friends, and members of the Augsburg community to celebrate together. HONORING Two faculty members are retiring this spring following years of dedicated service to Augsburg University. Augsburg is grateful for their commitment to advancing the university’s mission and supporting student learning within and beyond the classroom. ROBERTA KAGIN Professor, Department of Music—joined Augsburg in 1974 DAVID CONRAD HUMAN RIGHTS FORUM at Augsburg THE AUGSBURG PODCAST: SEASON 2 After a popular first season of the Augsburg Podcast, season 2 kicked off with President Paul Pribbenow, Campus Pastor Rev. Sonja Hagander, and Professor of English Doug Green [pictured], among others. The podcasts offer wide-ranging perspectives on the university’s critical work of educating students for the future. Listen to the new season at augsburg.edu/podcast or in your podcast app. AUGSBURG NOW Announcing the Retiring Faculty Associate Professor, Department of Business Administration—joined Augsburg in 2000 2 PHOTO BY STEPHEN GEFFRE COURTESY PHOTO COMMENCEMENT 2019 At the Ed Saugestad Rink, pucks glide across the ice and stuffed animals fly through the air. In January, Augsburg students on the women’s hockey team and in the Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies program collaborated to host a teddy bear toss in which fans pitched plush toys onto the ice during the first intermission in the Auggies’ home contest against Gustavus Adolphus College. The teddy bear toss concept originated in Canada in the early 1990s and has grown in popularity through support from hockey teams at the collegiate and professional levels. The 48 toys collected January 19 were donated to Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis, where each year up to a dozen Augsburg physician assistant students complete clinical placements as part of their studies. Fans also created greeting cards with encouraging messages for hospital patients. Building on a 30-year history with the Nobel Peace Prize Forum and as part of the university’s sesquicentennial celebration, Augsburg is launching a new event this fall: the Human Rights Forum at Augsburg. The event will bring students, thought leaders, global changemakers, and local activists together to explore innovative ways to take action in our ongoing pursuit of racial justice, indigenous rights, and environmental sustainability domestically and globally. The Human Rights Forum will be held October 28-29 on Augsburg’s Minneapolis campus and is open to the public. Tickets will go on sale this summer. SPRING–SUMMER 2019 3 AROUND THE QUAD MEDIA COVERAGE WORTH MENTIONING THE GOLDEN NIGHT GLEAMS; STUDENTS GROOVE The Augsburg Student Activities Council treated Auggies to a formal, Roaring ’20s-inspired event that added zest to campus following a stretch of bitter cold winter weather. A NEIGHBORLY GESTURE Augsburg University students distributed jackets, blankets, children’s toys, and meals to families in need at a homeless encampment near Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis in November. “It’s basically in [Augsburg’s] backyard, and helping the community is a really big thing for me,” student Tyler Johnson ’22 told Fox 9 reporter Christina Palladino. This day of service was the brainchild of Augsburg student Inam Al-Hammouri ’20, and other students quickly joined. “Cooking a hot lunch and serving it to hungry families out in the cold is not something most college kids would do on a Saturday, but these youth at Augsburg University are not just your average students,” the Fox 9 reporter said. “The students believe it is their responsibility to take action and empower their generation to build bridges to those less fortunate.” A NOTEWORTHY LINEUP Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder journalist Charles Hallman wrote about this year’s Augsburg University women’s basketball team when its starting lineup included five African-American students—a moment believed to be a first in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play. Augsburg University students Arianna Jones ’20, Camille McCoy ’20, Tamara McLenore ’20, Camryn Speese ’20, and Kaezha Wubben ’20 made history at the November 19 game against the University of Wisconsin— Superior, the story said. Go to augsburg.edu/news to learn more about the university’s media buzz. 4 AUGSBURG NOW COURTESY PHOTO COURTESY PHOTO The three-story mural “Emergence” adorns the Hagfors Center’s west stairwell. NEW PROGRAM LAUNCHES: The Augsburg University Convocation Series is an annual speaker series that includes long-standing endowed and special programs. Recent presenters included: • Terrance Kwame-Ross, associate professor in the Department of Education at Augsburg, who delivered “Our Conversation with Dr. King: Class in Session” at the 31st annual Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation in January. • Jin Y. Park, professor of philosophy and religion and founding director of the Asian Studies Program at American University, who shared a presentation at the Batalden Seminar in Applied Ethics in March called “Ethical Imagination: Buddhist-Postmodern Approaches.” • Pamela Ronald, distinguished professor in the Plant Pathology Department and the Genome Center at University of California—Davis, presented “Serving Up Science: Plant Genetics and the Future of Food” for the General Leif J. Sverdrup Visiting Scientist Lecture in April. Augsburg University is accepting applications for a new Master of Arts in Education program that offers a non-licensure track for teachers and educators looking to enhance their skills within and beyond the classroom. This program includes 30–31 credit hours and can be completed in less than two years. Students have the opportunity to choose from two concentrations: Culture and Community, which focuses on the tools educators need to navigate complex systems and co-construct curriculum with their students, and Community Engaged Learning, which looks at the problems students, schools, and communities face when seeking meaningful change. FOR CONVOCATION SERIES AN ARTFUL COLLABORATION The artwork in Augsburg’s Norman and Evangeline Hagfors Center for Science, Business, and Religion always captivates eyes. Recently, the collection also attracted the ears of Minnesota Public Radio listeners. That’s because MPR highlighted the successful partnership between Augsburg and Forecast Public Art, which helped guide the university’s effort to commission original art for the campus’ newest academic building. Now in its 40th year, Forecast Public Art is regarded as one of the nation’s leading nonprofits committed to communityengaged design and placemaking. Augsburg benefitted from the organization’s expertise as the university worked to acquire art to reflect the diverse communities that make up the Augsburg student body and to knit together the various academic disciplines housed in the Hagfors Center. Today, the facility has more than 25 art pieces on its walls and six works of art built into its structure. AUGSBURG WELCOMES LEADING SCHOLARS MASTER OF ARTS IN EDUCATION Go to augsburg.edu/gpe to learn more about the Master of Arts in Education. SPRING–SUMMER 2019 5 AROUND THE QUAD WOMEN’S ATHLETICS ARCHIVE NEARS THE FINISH LINE The James G. Lindell Library’s digitization lab team has been working with an impressive collection of projector slides and photographs that document women’s athletics at Augsburg from the time Title IX took effect in 1972 to the present. With more than 7,000 images, this archive will become one of the largest online collections of women’s athletic history in the country when processing is complete in Fall 2020. The collection was started by Joyce Pfaff ’65, retired Auggie coach, instructor, and director of women’s athletics who launched several women’s teams and The Augsburg women’s basketball team posing for a served the university for 43 years. photo in the locker room, 1978. Gwen Walz is still surprised to be addressed as first lady. “I sometimes walk right past people or don’t turn around when someone says it because I just don’t hear it like I hear ‘Gwen,’” said Walz, whose husband, Tim, became Minnesota’s governor in January. While Walz may not be used to being called first lady, she’s jumping into the role. She’s the first Minnesota first lady to have an office at the state Capitol and plans to focus on education and corrections as policy issues. Walz also recently joined Augsburg University as an independent contractor serving in two roles: as special assistant to the president for strategic partnerships and as a fellow in the Sabo Center for Democracy and Citizenship. Here is a glimpse into her connection to Augsburg and new life. President Paul Pribbenow has described you as a friend of Augsburg. How have you worked with Augsburg in the past? Q: A: A: President Pribbenow and I met in Rochester when Tim (then U.S. representative for Minnesota’s 1st congressional district) asked us to facilitate a series of community-wide conversations on education. Through this partnership, I knew that I shared Augsburg’s deep commitment to equity. Q: You are the first Minnesota first lady to have an office at the state Capitol. Why was that presence important to you? A: Tim and I work closely together. We do our work differently at times, though, so having our own spaces is important. I also work with the staff very closely, so it is more convenient for them if I have an office near them. I am still learning how to best use this space to do meaningful work and build meaningful relationships. 6 AUGSBURG NOW Your mother, Linnea Wacker ’60, is an Auggie. What did she say when you told her about coming to work at Augsburg? She told me that I had better bring my “A” game. My mom told me that Augsburg is a very important place, and I must make sure I am prepared to bring focus and energy to the task. The mission of Augsburg University is very important to her, and she wants to make sure I help advance it! My mother was a teacher and first-generation college graduate. She and my father, a long-time educator, are committed to providing opportunities in education for everyone. Q: You started your career as an elementary school teacher. How does your passion for teaching and learning suit your roles at Augsburg and the Capitol? A: On the campaign trail, Tim and I both used the phrase that teaching was not just how we paid our bills; it’s how we live our lives. I have never been able to separate things in my life; I have a pretty holistic approach to who I am and what I bring to something. I have a lot to learn from Augsburg and the people here. All of that informs how I am thinking about how I might best serve all of the people of Minnesota. Search or browse at archives.augsburg.edu. Insta Augsburg: A few square snapshots showing significant #AuggiePride. Q: What’s your favorite thing to do in your free time now that you’ve moved to the Twin Cities? A: Each Sunday evening, I invite my three sisters and their families to have dinner. Everyone who can come does, and it is lovely to have a moment to pause as one week ends and another begins—we all sit a little longer at the table. We even have dessert on Sunday evenings! @riverside_innovation_hub COURTESY PHOTOS Q: Use Augsburg’s digital archive to find every Echo issue dating to the 1890s, as well as photographs, yearbooks, oral histories, videos, speeches, and more. Head under heels Auggie image shines in anthology “Illuminated,” a photo by Ava Fojtik ’21, will appear in plain china (plainchina.org), a national anthology of undergraduate creative writing and art based at Virginia Commonwealth University. Fojtik’s artwork was first published in the 2018 issue of Murphy Square, Augsburg’s literary and visual arts journal. Fojtik pursues portrait photography as a hobby while studying religion, theater, and English literature at Augsburg. She said she’s particularly fond of “Illuminated” because the image is expressive without showing an individual’s face. The image is part of a larger collection titled “Pity Party” that focuses on the themes of absurdity and things being upside down. Recognize those limbs and laces? They belong to Adam Ruff ’18. The Augsburg greenhouse @orchidhunter She’s beauty, she’s grace, she stinks up the entire place. It’s the voodoo queen herself, Amorphophallus konjac, serving sinister lewks and foul odors to attract pollinators. #plantdiversity @augsburgauggies SPRING–SUMMER 2019 7 All in the Family I t could have been worse. Their parents could have made them hold hands (or even smile). But after each game during last year’s Auggie football season, the parents of the team’s four sets of siblings lined the eight players up for a Kodak moment. “We loved the tradition, but there was a bit of that ‘Come on, mom’ feeling, especially when they made us take a photo before our last game,” said wide receiver Nick Heenie ’19, whose not-so-little brother, Frank Heenie ’23, protects the Auggie line. “We were all so in the zone that we look mean, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. It was such a special year and an honor to play with brothers.” Rounding up the octet was easy, especially after home games, when those same parents—led by the Heenie family—prepared meals for 80 players and their families. Head Football Coach Frank Haege said the team traditionally shares food and fellowship after one home game each year, but the siblings’ parents united the Auggie football family in an unforgettable way during the 2018 season. “It was such a joy to coach four sets of siblings last year, particularly 8 AUGSBURG NOW BY KATE H. ELLIOTT since I have twin boys, and I played football with my brother,” said Haege, whose 9-year-old son, AJ, spends so much time with the team that he maintains an Auggie locker. “Our team always feels like family, but we were especially close last fall. It reinforced that Augsburg is where students learn to be part of something bigger than themselves.” Coaching four sets of siblings at one time was unprecedented for Augsburg Athletics, but siblings are not uncommon. Haege estimates he has coached eight sets of siblings during his 15-year tenure. In addition to football, siblings have competed on several teams recently: The Wilson twins dominated the wrestling mat, the Everett sisters commanded the lacrosse field, and the O’Conner brothers scored big on the ice. Relatives on the roster The list of sibling alumni who have played together at Augsburg could fill a football roster, not to mention the generations of families with Auggie pride running through their veins. An example: Athletic Director Jeff Swenson ’79 wrestled and coached for 25 years at Augsburg. His sister, Marie (Swenson) Hechsel ’90, played volleyball. Her son, Matt Hechsel ’15, wrestled, and her daughter, Stephanie Hechsel ’19, played volleyball. Augsburg women’s ice hockey’s Megan Johnson ’19 also is playing out a family legacy. Her grandfather, Bob “Badger” Johnson, attended Augsburg for a year before transferring to the University of Wisconsin—Madison, where he secured seven NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Championships. Her father, Mark Johnson, was a member of the fabled “Miracle on Ice” 1980 U.S. Olympic team and coach of the 2010 U.S. Olympic women’s silvermedal hockey squad. Megan’s brother, Chris Johnson ’10, ’14 MAL, slapped the puck around for Augsburg and later served as men’s ice hockey assistant coach for seven seasons. It was during that time Megan picked Augsburg over the University of Wisconsin, where her grandfather, father, and two other siblings played. Although the colors of their jerseys differed, every member of the Johnson family has donned No. 10. Women’s Ice Hockey Head Coach Michelle McAteer said that although Megan no longer has a sibling at Augsburg, members of the team Mustafa Adam ’18, left, and his brother Shihab Adam ’22 “Augsburg—even beyond the field—is a tight-knit community, where everyone looks out for one another. Teachers care about your education and are always willing to provide you with extra academic support. At Augsburg, they truly care about you as an individual, and they will do whatever they can to ensure that you succeed inside and outside of the classroom.” — Linebacker Mustafa Adam ’18, a three-time cancer survivor who studied business and economics and plans to go to medical school SPRING –SUMMER 2019 9 are like family. Third- and fourthyear student-athletes have begun to mentor newcomers, calling each other big and little sisters, respectively. on the football roster was “a dream come true.” But he doesn’t have one brother on the team. “I have 80,” said Mustafa, a two-time team captain and nominee for Mayo It was such a joy to coach four sets of siblings last year.” “These mentor relationships are lasting, and it’s an intentional effort players established to support each other on and off the ice,” McAteer said. “As a two-time team captain, Megan has been integral in helping us foster that sense of togetherness.” Family legacies are part of the game To Haege and others, the influx of legacy families and sibling teammates is no coincidence. Augsburg draws families, he said, because the campus feels like a family and students know they will gain a solid education and passionate sense of vocation. Older siblings often make recruiting easy, Haege said, by “talking up the program naturally,” as they share their good experiences with siblings. Mustafa Adam ’18 said having his younger brother, Shihab Adam ’22, 10 AUGSBURG NOW Clinic’s 2018 Comeback Player of the Year Award, which honors college football players who have returned to the field of play after overcoming major life challenges. Mustafa sat out his first year at Augsburg when the cancer he beat in high school returned just prior to signing on at Augsburg. He played the entire 2016 and 2017 seasons, but the disease returned at the conclusion of his second season, in which he finished second in tackles (93) in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. He underwent chemotherapy and had to have his right ear amputated to prevent the cancer from spreading. In Fall 2018, he returned to the field and played in all 10 games. “I know it pained Shihab and all my teammates to see me go through this disease, but having a little brother only further motivated me to keep my head up and stand strong throughout this whole process,” said the linebacker from Wisconsin. “Envisioning the football field was truly the driving force behind my will to fight. I was willing to persevere through anything to accomplish my dream to play college ball, and my willingness to fight inspired many of my teammates to look inside themselves to find their ‘why.’ Going through this—together—has created lifelong bonds and friendships.” Siblings and teammates keep each other on track Nick Heenie ’19 said growing close to dozens of teammates from different states, cultures, and life experiences has broadened players’ worldview. The football team’s inclusive culture, Nick said, has inspired him to explore and appreciate Augsburg’s setting in one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the Twin Cities. The Heenies room with brothers linebacker Xavier Hanson ’23 and defensive lineman Christopher Hanson ’19. “So our moms always know where to get ahold of us,” Frank added. Wrestling twins Aaron Wilson ’21 and Alex Wilson ’20 also share a residence, not to mention a major—biology. The two are rarely apart. “I started wrestling in kindergarten. Alex started a year later, and we both dreamed about wrestling at Augsburg as kids,” said Aaron, whose proudest moment was being ranked nationally alongside his brother. “We knew it would make us the best versions of ourselves on and off the mat. Augsburg’s small class sizes have allowed me to make meaningful relationships with my professors and pursue research of my own.” Lacrosse player Delaney Everett ’18 is equally ambitious, with plans to own an accounting firm. Having sister, Demey Everett ’20, by her side has pushed the midfielder to achieve in competition and in the classroom. Head Lacrosse Coach Kathryn Knippenberg has had a front row seat to the dynamic duo’s inspiring support. “The two are in sync on the field, and their intuitive play challenges the rest of the team to follow suit,” said Knippenberg, who is in her sixth season at Augsburg. “Their majors are different—biology and accounting—but Augsburg’s impressive academic programs were able to support both their interests. Not many schools in the area offer lacrosse along with such diverse academic options.” ‘Here’s to quadruplets in 2021’ The Kordah brothers are a few years beyond graduation, and these stories of campus life and sibling bonds call up fond memories for the former Augsburg soccer players. Lekpea Kordah ’15 is raising two kids while working as a high school administrator and as a certified tax professional. Barinedum Kordah ’17 works in health care administration in the Twin Cities. Adulthood keeps them from kicking the ball around together, but they do find time to talk about the “good old days as Auggies,” while they watch professional soccer, Barinedum said. Campus, he added, became home to them after their nine-member family migrated from Nigeria. “I learned some of my greatest lessons at Augsburg. On the field, my brother taught me to never give up and to work with intensity,” said Barinedum, a defender who majored in exercise science and minored in psychology. “Coach [Greg] Holker taught us to consider details, which was tough because I wanted to just get out there and play. That study of each opponent and the game itself helped us outsmart our opponents and waste less energy than if we were always trying to beat them athletically.” Haege knows the Kordah brothers, as most coaches and players do. That’s how it works at Augsburg, he said. Players— siblings or not—don’t only support their team, they are among the loudest fans at all Auggie contests. Whether that sense of support stems from family connections or not, Haege doesn’t make that call. He does, however, predict the trend will continue. “Here’s to looking at quadruplets in 2021,” he joked. “The two are in sync ...” —Head Lacrosse Coach Kathryn Knippenberg Demey Everett ’20, left, and her sister Delaney Everett ’18 LEARNING ACROSS ABILITIES The Center for Learning and Accessible Student Services champions students with a broad range of disabilities on the path to academic success. BY KATE H. ELLIOTT Maura Gunter ’19 S ince second grade, Maura Gunter ’19 relied on accommodations for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and a word processing disorder. So when she started college, Gunter knew the drill. But on her way to class that fall semester, Gunter’s vision blurred and a metallic taste coated her mouth. She lay in the snow for four hours before paramedics arrived. When she woke, doctors greeted the then 19-year-old with another diagnosis: epilepsy. As her peers at Colorado State University prepped for finals, Gunter was pricked and scanned for two weeks. Catch up, you can do this. Seizure. Someone stuffs a wallet in her mouth. Doctors: “Episodes might pass or might not. Try this medicine—no, this one.” Catch up, you can do this. Seizure. Hospital stay, stares, and bruises. “You need to find a way to complete assignments, Maura.” Can I do this? Brain throbbing. More pills. Less sleep. No. “When I started having seizures, I didn’t know [my illness] was considered a disability. Support services at my college at the time were fine but not personal. I didn’t have an advisor to help me navigate my college education with this invisible illness,” Gunter said. “So, nearly every time I had a seizure, I had to medically withdraw.” “I felt like such a failure—lost and alone” Without campus advocates and close teacher relationships, Gunter turned to doctor-prescribed opioids for support and became addicted. She found Augsburg University’s StepUP® Program—a residential recovery support community—and decided to transfer in 2015. Disability Specialist Anne Lynch 12 AUGSBURG NOW was there to greet her, then walk the Georgia native through her rights and responsibilities, documentation forms, exam scheduling, and more. When Gunter made the dean’s list, Lynch was the first person she called. “Anne has been my rock,” said Gunter, who plans to graduate in May with a degree in social work. “When people cautioned me against seeking departmental honors because they were worried ‘it’d be too much for me,’ Anne pushed me. She lets me determine and define my own limits. People don’t realize that it’s as equally stressful and offensive to be coddled as it is to not be believed and supported. Anne took the time to know me, to listen, and to empower me with information and guidance.” Sober since August 2014, Gunter thrived with newfound campus advocates and with caring professors at Augsburg’s tight-knit, affirming campus. Driving that advocacy and service is the university’s Center for Learning and Accessible Student Services, known as CLASS, where Lynch has worked for 20 years. The center’s influence is woven throughout every aspect of Augsburg: CLASS informs administrative policies, advises on housing accommodations, monitors updates to the physical campus, and ensures students’ dietary requirements are met. They offer professional development across campus, introduce assistive technologies, and meet one-on-one with professors about universal course design. Disability specialists connect with parents, meet regularly with students, and coordinate a range of accommodations—from exam and tutor scheduling to notetakers and sign language interpreters. The office serves those who need temporary accommodations, including injured student-athletes, and engages in community outreach and education. CLASS maintains a robust website with links to programs, software, and apps for anyone to access. When Lynch started in the late ’90s, she worked with about 30 students. Now, that number is 100. “It’s been amazing to see Augsburg embrace diversity and grow the reach and reputation of this critical office,” Lynch said. “CLASS empowers the students we serve, but our work also informs and inspires faculty, other students, and the communities in which we live and work. It’s a gift to see employers, faculty, parents, and even the students themselves shed misconceptions about disabilities after working with our office.” Lynch calls herself a partner. She spends her days partnering intentionally with each student—to listen, to solve problems alongside them, and to empower them to better understand themselves and their abilities. “‘Disability’ is not a bad word; it is tied to rights and protections,” she said. “I love when students get to a place where they can say, ‘Yes, I have a disability, but I am not a disability.’ Let’s move beyond the word and come up with solutions for making sure all students have the same opportunities afforded to others.” education and contribute their wisdom to solving the problems of the world.” A 2018 report from the American Collegiate Health Association indicated that in the past year, three out of five college students experienced “overwhelming anxiety,” and two out of five students were “too depressed to function.” With increased stressors and public services cutbacks, Carlson said, Augsburg has rallied to strengthen safety nets. “We strongly believe in helping students put together teams of support so they can navigate college successfully. For students with a mental health or other disability, CLASS is part of that team,” Carlson said. “Augsburg is blessed with faculty who ‘get’ mental health issues and want to support their students and advisees. Together, we help students feel connected on campus, and that sense of connection can increase students’ likelihood of success.” CLASS Director Kathy McGillivray said this focus on “together” is what distinguishes Augsburg and draws students to study and grow alongside the support of CLASS’s comprehensive services. “Our focus is on each individual student,” McGillivray said. “But we are part of a larger mission to connect Augsburg students to academic support, resources, and services that will help them create and achieve their educational goals. Prospective students see that seamless student support, all housed within the Gage Center for Student Success.” Within the Gage Center, CLASS includes the Groves Accommodations Lab, which provides assistive technology and testing accommodations for students with disabilities, and the Groves Technology Center, which is a fully equipped computer lab that is available to all students. Resources for students with disabilities are offered within a suite of services for all. “‘Disability’ is not a bad word” Augsburg’s team approach weaves a strong safety net Although her focus is on students, Lynch said the office invests a tremendous amount of time and energy in partnering with the campus community to ensure Augsburg meets its commitment to provide equal access to higher education and campus facilities. Among CLASS’s greatest collaborations is with Augsburg’s Center for Wellness and Counseling. CWC Assistant Director Beth Carlson said that with the strong connection between mental health and academic success, CWC staff have found their work with CLASS invaluable in helping students thrive. CLASS is distinct, Carlson said, in its deep connections with students and collaborative, creative approaches to overcoming complex situations. “Many students who are academically capable might not be able to graduate from Augsburg if they didn’t have the support of CLASS. In the past, a student with a significant mental health disability may not have been encouraged to go to college; now, our campus is much richer and more diverse because we’re embracing all of our students, supporting them as they gain a liberal arts Matthew Glaven ’21 has built a team at Augsburg. The history major serves on the board of Augsburg’s chapter of Women for Political Change, manages the baseball team, and has traveled overseas with fellow Auggies. CLASS is a major player on “Team Glaven,” given that the Minnesota native is deaf/hard of hearing and has cerebral palsy, which makes it difficult for him to write and speak. “One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned at Augsburg is that you need to have a team, no matter who you are, to get through life. As your life goes through different stages, your team of personal and professional supporters evolves with you,” said Glaven, who uses ASL interpreters, a microphone for his hearing aids, notetakers, and testing accommodations. “CLASS also taught me that advocacy is key to getting what you need to make your life better. If you don’t advocate for yourself, you won’t be as successful.” That embrace of advocacy will serve him well as he plans to enter public office. The Queen fan and BBC-listening cat lover is driven to improve public health care, protect minorities, and continue to fight climate change, among other initiatives. SPRING–SUMMER 2019 13 The paw-fect solution Matthew Glaven ’21 Faculty advocates embrace universal design Glaven gained that passion for policy from instructors who were eager to make lectures and content accessible—educators like Rich Flint, assistant professor of mathematics, who teaches core math courses required of all students. In Spring 2009, Flint taught a pre-algebra course of 24 students, 10 of whom had documented disabilities. “If I hadn’t known the CLASS staff before that semester, I got to know them all very well that spring,” Flint said. “We now give all of our students a Math Anxiety Bill of Rights, which includes statements like, ‘I have the right to need extra help,’ and ‘I have the right to not understand.’ Many of us [math professors] include statements about relaxation on our exams. In fact, yesterday I proctored a Calculus 2 exam for a colleague that stated: ‘Relax. You have done problems like this before.’ Without our work with CLASS, I don’t know if we would be so attuned to using straightforward strategies that benefit all test takers.” Professor of Mathematics Suzanne Dorée said the department’s embrace of universal design is a habit that emerged from experience. Dorée has taught Auggies for 30 years. When she started, parents sometimes needed to attend classes to assist their children. Now, because of the resources and accommodations Augsburg has to offer, students are able to enjoy more independence, Dorée said. “I love a good problem, and there’s an element of creativity required in adjusting my teaching style to reach all my students. Over time you realize that the new practices you adopt are good for all students. For instance, I had a student who was blind so I began narrating everything I was doing on the board. It slowed me down but I noticed that all my students were processing the information better,” she said. “The difference between a 50-minute test and a 70-minute test’s ability to assess student learning is not significant, so I always write a 50-minute test for my 70-minute classes. English learners, students who didn’t get much sleep the night before, and students with test anxiety all appreciate the extra time to check their work.” That problem-solving can take many forms. During Gunter’s freshman year, it barked and was named Gus. Gus was Gunter’s service dog. He was trained to sense when Gunter might have a seizure and assist her if and when she fell. His vest detailed her diagnosis, which was helpful since doctors previously missed her medical ID bracelet three times, Gunter said, while “Gus was tough to miss.” “Was,” because Gunter hasn’t needed a service dog since identifying the proper blend of medicine, sleep, and support. The 24-year-old has been seizure-free for the past year, and Gus has enjoyed the time off to play with Gunter’s three other four-legged pals: Nelson, Susan, and Shana. Each of her pups, other than Gus, is a rescue with “some special needs,” Gunter adds, proudly. Health and stability, Gunter said, means she can set her sights on the horizon— toward research and graduate school. Lars Christiansen, associate professor of sociology, is collaborating with Gunter on research about street equity, city planning, and movement. This semester, Gunter is focused on roadside memorial ghost bikes, which are white-painted bikes placed near streets not safe or accessible to cyclists. She received travel funds to present her findings at the Midwest Sociological Society’s annual meeting in Chicago. “Augsburg gave me the tools and space to figure out my passion, understand my responsibilities, and advocate for my rights. A world that felt small years ago now seems open and exciting.” A year of celebration to honor Augsburg’s leading approach to disability services didn’t just happen. Paired with staff expertise and an inclusive campus culture, it took the vision and support of proud parents, alumni, and industry partners. Auggie mom and Regent Emerita Barbara Gage, who served on Augsburg’s Board of Regents for 12 years, led the charge to uplift Augsburg as a national leader in holistic student support services. In the 1980s, Barbara and her husband, Skip Gage, along with the Carlson Family Foundation, donated and raised funds to support the program that ultimately became CLASS. In 2011, the Gage Family Foundation and the Carlson Family Foundation contributed $900,000 to create the Gage Center for Student Success. This centralized, supportive learning space in the James G. Lindell Library provides resources for all students—regardless of learning style, preference, or need. It houses the Office of Advising and Academic Excellence, TRIO/Student Support Services, and CLASS. A preview of Augsburg’s sesquicentennial plans: September 27, 2019, to September 26, 2020 ARCHIVE PHOTOS Sesquicentennial events calendar From 1869 to today Augsburg’s sesquicentennial celebration will feature diverse opportunities that uplift the university’s founding principles, honor its history, and look toward its future. Augsburg will: • Showcase academic excellence • Present historical elements • Tell its institutional story through art and design • Host high-impact experiences • Bring together thousands of alumni and friends from all generations Augsburg’s community-wide events will include a gala, reunions, convocations, art shows, concerts, book readings, theater performances, and lectures. Follow the sesquicentennial calendar today for easy access to event details, possible weather-related changes, and parking information. Here’s a glimpse at some of the signature events so you can start planning for this historic year. H O M E C O M I N G 2 0 19 September 23–28, 2019 New events along with traditional favorites make Homecoming one of the most festive times on campus all year. The majority of this year’s events will occur Saturday, September 28, and special reunions will honor the classes of 2009, 1979, and 1969. S E S Q U I C E N T E N N I A L G A LA September 27, 2019 Kick off Augsburg’s sesquicentennial at this once-in-a-lifetime event in downtown Minneapolis. This gala will acknowledge Augsburg’s history of pursuing the call to serve the community, and it will rally energetic support for the next 150 years of Augsburg University. I N A U G U R A L A LL- S C H O O L R E U N I O N September 25–26, 2020 This all-inclusive gathering is for Auggies from every class, every degree program, and every decade—Augsburg athletes, musicians, artists, scientists, student leaders, and everyone in between. Learn how to coordinate a reunion for a specific area of interest or identity by emailing Katie (Koch) Code ’01 at codek@augsburg.edu. Sesquicentennial book Augsburg is publishing an institutional history book as part of its sesquicentennial celebration. “Hold Fast to What is Good,” by History Professor Phillip Adamo, uses 10 objects from the university archives to tell stories from Augsburg’s first 150 years. Signed, limited edition, hardcover copies of this book are available for preorder until May 1, 2019. SESQUICENTENNIAL Register for Homecoming, purchase Sesquicentennial Gala tickets, learn more about the All-School Reunion, and order your commemorative book at augsburg.edu/150. COURTESY PHOTOS International travel opportunities BY JOHN WEIRICK Augsburg will host four alumni trips to locations in Germany and Norway that are central in the university’s history. Find details for each trip at augsburg.edu/alumni under “Travel.” NORWAY ARTS AND CULTURE Tentative dates May 8–18, 2020 The tour will include theater productions, concerts, and historical landmarks, and it will focus on the rich and vibrant arts and culture of Norway. Explore Norway alongside Augsburg Theater Program alumni, co-leaders Darcey Engen ’88, Augsburg University professor of theater, and her husband, Luverne Seifert ’83, Minneapolis actor and instructor at the University of Minnesota. NORWAY NOW: EXPLORING PEACEMAKING, THE ENVIRONMENT, AND CLIMATE CHANGE GERMANY AND AUSTRIA FEATURING THE OBERAMMERGAU PASSION PLAY Tentative dates July 15–26, 2020 This tour will focus on Bavaria, with stops in Nuremberg, Salzberg, and additional nearby locations. The hottest ticket in Europe every 10 years is to attend the centuries-old Oberammergau Passion Play. This trip includes prime seats for this once-in-a-decade experience. As members of the university’s Department of Religion, associate professors Lori Brandt Hale and Hans Wiersma have teamed up to share their expertise and offer a uniquely Augsburg experience. NIDAROS PILGRIMAGE IN NORWAY Tentative dates May 9–19, 2020 Tentative dates in July 2020 This tour will explore Norway’s peace work, government, and environmental agencies. This tour is co-led by Bettine Hoff Hermanson, managing director of the Human Rights Forum at Augsburg as well as the Norway Hub, and Joe Underhill, associate professor of political science, director of environmental studies, and director of the Human Rights Forum. Hike to the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway—a pilgrimage made by travelers for more than 1,000 years. Augsburg University Pastor and Director of Ministries Rev. Sonja Hagander will lead the trek in which adventurous Auggies will learn about history and culture, and they will experience firsthand some of the most beautiful natural sights in the world. This trip is intended for experienced mountain hikers. For more information, contact Katie (Koch) Code ’01, director of Alumni and Constituent Relations, at codek@augsburg.edu or 612-330-1178. Matt Swenson ’91 displays artisan creations on the Minnesota Art Truck. During an economic downturn, a resurgence of skill-savvy craftspeople revived centuriesold traditions of making highquality goods in small quantities, harnessing the power of modern technology and local communities. Americans plunged into the Great Recession. A wave of new and seasoned workers alike struggled to navigate the economic uncertainty of fewer jobs and growing debt in an ever-changing global landscape. But while the economy grew stagnant, the creative efforts of workers did not. An artisanal phenomenon gained momentum, which affects not only what people buy and the jobs they seek, but also shifts consumer expectations around the country. This is no new trend; it’s actually an old one. SPRING–SUMMER 2019 19 FINNEGANS taproom in downtown Minneapolis LAGER IPA BELGIAN STOUT GROWLER PILSNER CASCADE PORTER PALE ALE BLOND AMBER PILSNER WEISSBIE MAIBOCK HEFEWEIZ DOPPELBO SAISON WITBIER BERLINER WEISSE GROWLER CASCADE PHOTOS COURTESY OF FINNEGANS The modern artisan movement— craftspeople who focus on distinct, skillfully made goods produced in small quantities, often by hand—has deep roots in the past, before the relatively recent industrialization that revolutionized the global market by providing more affordable products to more people. “The United States has had mass production of plentiful and relatively cheap goods for at least a century,” said Nancy Fischer, associate professor and chair of sociology at Augsburg University. “An appreciation for more traditional forms of making things—of craftsmanship—was a reaction to and coexisted with mass production.” Fischer, who has researched vintage fashion and is writing a book on vintage clothing consumers, said artisans in the pre-industrial 1800s could make a living running shops that sold everyday items like furniture, candles, or shoes. However, artisan endeavors today form a niche market, often as side jobs for extra cash and personal fulfilment more than a stable income or employment benefits. The focus is not just on a product; the artisanal approach also 20 AUGSBURG NOW focuses on the origin of the item, what it’s made of, and how it’s made. You’ve seen the items: artisanal breads and cheeses, small-batch ice cream, hand-crafted chocolate and hot sauce. Many major metropolitan areas— and a number of smaller communities as well—boast independent coffee roasters, artisanal pizzerias, and craft butchers of locally raised livestock. Custom jeans and hand-tailored leatherworks are neighbors to yoga instructors, artisanal pickle producers, and specialty popcorn shops in tiny storefronts. Even international corporations and fast food franchises attempt to pique consumer interest using the terms “artisanal” and “handcrafted,” much like they appropriated “gourmet” and “specialty.” Artisans appear in three oftenintertwined variations: 1. maker artisans who produce tangible products, 2. personal service artisans who offer curated experiences, and 3. knowledge artisans who bring together people and ideas to enhance social capital. “Artisans can look a lot different than what most would expect,” said Brian Krohn ’08, co-founder of Mighty Axe Hops, which supplies Minnesotagrown hops to craft brewers around the state. After studying chemistry at Augsburg and finishing graduate school, he became a serial entrepreneur, launching a company that uses 3D printing to make flame-emitting wizard staffs and founding Soundly, a smartphone app designed to reduce snoring. “A woodworker would normally be considered an artisan, but I think an experienced engineer who uses CAD [computer-aided design] and a CNC [computer numerical control] to mill wood or aluminum can also be an artisan.” To seek a simple explanation for the artisan economy’s proliferation would be to ignore the multifaceted appeal of such products and services, as well as the diverse array of people who sell and buy them. Consumer boredom, dissatisfaction with mass-produced options, and the feeling of overall instability could play a psychological role in the appeal of artisan alternatives. “When you think about the current state of economic inequality, recessions, an affordable housing shortage, multiple wars, everchanging technology, outsourcing of jobs, and terrorism, we live in a pretty uncertain world,” said Bridget Robinson-Riegler, cognitive psychologist and professor of psychology at Augsburg. “We value nostalgic products because they make us feel more secure. The new wave of such products is possibly indicative of a society in turmoil and people in angst searching for comfort.” The search for comfort doesn’t stifle the curious desire for variety, though. “If it’s beer, consumers are looking for something that is different, not formulaic,” Fischer said. “With woodworking items, ceramics, or clothing, they are looking for something that will last, as well as something that is unique.” Jacquie Berglund ’87 found a unique angle in a competitive market: craft beer with a cause. After graduating from Augsburg and studying in Paris, she returned to Minneapolis and co-founded FINNEGANS Brew Co., whose profits are donated to alleviate hunger in the markets that serve FINNEGANS beer. “When I started my beer company, there were a handful of breweries. There are now more than 150 in Minnesota. FINNEGANS needs to make high-quality beer, differentiate our brand as a FINNEGANS co-founder Jacquie Berglund ’87 social business with more than $1.3 million in impact, and connect with our consumers and supporters.” The craft beer boom is representative of the growing artisan movement in many industries. Almost half of the 150 breweries in Minnesota have opened in the past eight years, including Boom Island Brewing in Minneapolis, another brewery with an Auggie connection. Qiuxia Welch ’99 studied music at Augsburg and became a professional French horn performer and teacher. Today, she is Boom Island’s marketing manager and runs the business with her husband, Kevin, its founder and head brewer. “Most of Boom Island’s beers are brewed using traditional Belgian techniques,” Welch said. “This requires expensive ingredients, no preservatives, years of experience, and time. It’s difficult for the large breweries to do this.” Craft beer sales have grown to nearly 13 percent market share, according to the Brewers Association, which offers “certified independent craft” labels for breweries not owned by the handful of multinational corporations that have maintained dominant market share following the repeal of Prohibition. Because consumers pay more for craft beer, these corporations seek higher profits through consolidation, buying craft breweries with national reputations, and creating “craft” sub-brands to mass produce. “Mass production is not able to work with the small, local suppliers of ingredients like artisans can,” said Berglund, whose FINNEGANS pale ale features Krohn’s Minnesota-grown Mighty Axe Hops. “We have made more than 100 different beers in our taproom in the past 11 months with five barrelaged brews—mass production is not this nimble.” Though craft beer brewing and buying demographics skew toward Gen X and Millennial white males, some signs point to a more diverse artisan future. “More women, and particularly women of color, are playing important roles,” Welch said. “They are opening breweries, making great beers, and changing how we market and drink craft beer.” SPRING–SUMMER 2019 21 When you visit a Twin Cities craft brewery or farmers market, you also might see another kind of artisan: artist and curator Matt Swenson ’91, founder of the Minnesota Art Truck. Swenson displays local artists’ work in the truck to connect with people who don’t realize they can purchase original art at prices comparable to big-box stores while sustaining the local art community. “I don’t see art as just for the middle class or upper middle class or the wealthy. Art really is for everybody, and the more I get to interact with people, the more they see that themselves,” he said. Before he started this “food truck for the soul,” Swenson studied communication and English at Augsburg and worked in sales and marketing management for 13 years. Today, he feels lucky and grateful that his wife supported his departure from corporate America in search of creatively fulfilling work: “We had to adjust how we live, but she knows Minnesota Art Truck and founder Matt Swenson ’91 22 AUGSBURG NOW that it’s something I’m passionate about, and I think it can be sustainable.” Billy Mzenga ’13 is another Auggie who left the corporate world, turning his attention to graduate school and a new entrepreneurial initiative. The venture started when his wife, Megan, fine-tuned recipes of homemade almond butter, cashew butter, and peanut butter. In 2017, the couple launched these products into a small business: NutMeg’s Nut Butters. The Mzengas now live in Chicago and continue to develop new recipes. They distribute NutMeg’s products online and at farmers markets and Chicago-area grocery stores. Like FINNEGANS, NutMeg’s is a social enterprise. NutMeg’s donates half of its earnings to humanitarian nonprofits in Kenya. Staying nimble and avoiding stockholder pressures are key factors for artisan entrepreneurs like the Mzengas. “We are accountable to our customers to make sure we are providing a good product, and to the charities we partner with, making sure we provide them with financial resources,” Billy said. Billy believes his Augsburg University education equipped him to see how his purpose intersects with causes bigger than himself. “My experience there opened my eyes to the issues facing the world, Minnesota, and those who were on the front lines as problem-solvers,” he said. Berglund, whose social impact model with FINNEGANS inspired the Mzengas, can relate. “I got a strong sense of ‘We are here to serve others’ by going to Augsburg,” she said. “It shaped my world perspective and the way I designed and run my business.” Augsburg’s communal support was also obvious to Boom Island’s Welch when she arrived in the United States to study music. “I came from a very warm place in China,” she said. “I didn’t come to Minnesota prepared for the winter. Professor Roberta Kagin from the Department of Music sent out a campus email asking for donations of winter clothing. I don’t think I bought any clothes for two years after that.” Welch wants the same qualities of Augsburg in her business today. “This is a very caring community with an appreciation for a well-balanced life. I like to think Boom Island Brewing is the same,” she said. FOAT co-founders Zoë Foat Naselaris ’96, left, and Kaja Foat ’96 Boom Island Brewing’s Qiuxia Welch ’99 What prevents the artisan niche from drawing more consumers away from massproduced items? “The choice is between a $40 hand-crafted wood cutting board or a $7 one from Target,” Fischer said. “That kind of price differential for most Americans’ financial situation—which is more heavily weighted for folks with fewer resources—eliminates the choice, even if they would prefer the $40 cutting board.” The higher price doesn’t necessarily mean artisan products are luxury items. In fact, artisan entrepreneurs often justify the higher cost of crafted goods in pragmatic terms. With some massproduced products, Krohn is concerned that consumers will end up spending more money in the long run on subpar items that wear out rather than a quality item that lasts—“You get what you pay for,” as the adage goes. Augsburg alumni craft a variety of artisan goods and services. From a sociological perspective, the benefits of less expensive production and more affordable mass-produced goods come with the risk of exploitation of workers and the environment in the supply chain and manufacturing processes. “Organizations and activists have encouraged us for decades to question the unsustainable model of buying more cheap goods shipped from overseas where the pay, working conditions, and factory harms to the environment are jaw-droppingly horrible,” Fischer said. The relationship between quality, cost, and ethics is especially tangible in fashion. Zoë Foat Naselaris ’96 and twin sister Kaja Foat ’96 created FOAT, an environmentally conscious women’s fashion brand with a personal touch. Based in their Charleston, South Carolina, and northeast Minneapolis studios, they design, cut, and sew garments by hand rather than outsource the work. “We are not interested in massproducing our patterns and clothing overseas because it is important to us to produce our items ethically, locally, and with a lot of care,” Naselaris said. “When garments are mass-produced, they are designed with one body type in mind. Handmade garments are tweaked and tucked, pushed and pulled into a COURTESY PHOTOS shape that is both comfortable and complementary to the customer’s body.” Like FOAT, many artisans extend their care for customers and details to the overall industry and consumer expectations that NutMeg’s co-founders Billy Mzenga ’13, left, and Megan Mzenga influence business practices. “Most Americans are not accustomed to paying attention Artisans offer alternate products as to, or even caring about, how their well as an alternate story, a different products are made,” Naselaris said. way to engage with the American “There has to be a change of mindset.” tradition of consumerism. They invite FOAT encourages people to buy fewer others to see that more isn’t always well-made garments that last longer better, that making something beautiful rather than many poorly made products and enduring takes time. Many that tend to fall apart more quickly. consumers are rethinking their economic Billy believes many consumers are relationships in society: how they engage ready for change: “People are speaking with what they eat, what they buy, the with their dollars and moving their issues they care about, and ultimately, business to more locally owned, how they engage each other. locally made products.” “The craft-brew taproom has become a vital part of the community like you find in Old World Europe,” said Welch, who co-leads Belgium brewery tours to Will some consumers continue to stay tethered to a historic beer tradition. lack the financial resources to choose “Our typical customer wants to connect more artisanal options? Will others with the people who make and serve grow weary of paying more for local, their beer. They want to know where sustainable, quality products? Might their food and drinks come from, how this artisan movement form a robust they are made, and who made them. economy of the future? It doesn’t show This is how we lived for centuries. Now signs of slowing, perhaps because of artisans are back.” the connection between crafters and those enjoying the craft. SPRING–SUMMER 2019 23 Professor of Psychology Assistant Professor of Psychology They became colleagues at Augsburg roughly a decade ago. BY COURTNEY PERRY AND LAURA SWANSON LINDAHL ’15 MBA Community is an undeniable fixture of the Augsburg experience, and nothing makes a campus feel small like the familiar faces of those who’ve become friends. Countless Auggies have forged lifelong connections—whether in an instant during their first days on campus or over time through shared classes, interests, residence halls, occupations, and stories. Here’s a taste of the many rich friendships that have grown at Augsburg and carried on across time and geography. Robinson-Riegler: “We’re both cognitive psychologists, so we have a mutual interest, which was probably the initial thing that brought us together. Then once we got to know each other, we just realized how similar we are.” Professor Bridget Robinson-Riegler, left, often stops into the office of Assistant Professor Ben Denkinger to talk about everything from their shared field of study to baseball. Major: Communication Arts/Literature and Secondary Education Denkinger: “We’re excited about the same things in psychology, and maybe riled up about the same things in politics and culture.” Meeting in the James G. Lindell Library, Joaquin Delgado-Ortiz, left, and Ann Sheely discuss a project she’s working on for her residence hall. Majors: Film and Communication Studies They helped each other on move-in day and became intramural soccer teammates. Harris: “Anthony is one of the greatest students I know in the area of academics . . . my grandad always used to say, ‘If you want to get good at something, then surround yourself with people who are already outstanding in that area.’ So I see him in that. He inspires me.” Villagrana: “Likewise, from day one, Mallory has always been positive—the energy he gives is positivity. Always smiling, always talkative. He’s never gloomy, you know? He brings this energy to the room. I’m just glad I met Mallory this year because I was pretty quiet and kept to myself last year. He’s a transfer student, and he’s older than me. He introduced me to a lot of people, and I made a lot of friends. His character has inspired me to be more open and more social in this environment at Augsburg.” 24 AUGSBURG NOW Major: Psychology Anthony Villagrana, left, and Mallory Harris head off to class. Majors: Life Sciences and Secondary Education After being assigned to the same lab group, they formed a friendship and ended up laughing their way through their final presentation for their course. Sheely: “One thing I’ve noticed about people at Augsburg is that everybody is really open and accepting and willing to just be there to help you. They’ll actually return your smiles, generally. So that’s been really helpful for me—not being afraid to reach out to people even if I don’t know them really well yet, and then friendships can grow.” Camryn Masse, left, and Jen Meinhardt study together, as they do at least twice a week, in Christensen Center. Major: English (Creative Writing) “That’s a cool pen.” One seemingly simple statement made in a 12:30 p.m. religion class on the first day of the semester sparked a friendship. Meinhardt: “We both transferred here from a different school— from the same school, in fact— but we didn’t know each other there. It’s been fun because we have the same perspective of someplace different—of going from a small community college to this school. The city is kind of different for us, and we didn’t know anybody else. For me, our friendship just gave me something more concrete and grounded at this school, which helped me transition better. And it’s given me somebody to study with. She’s inspired me to hit the gym; she’s inspired me to work instead of goof off. She kind of just keeps everything rolling.” Enrollment Communications and Event Specialist AUGGIES CONNECT FROM THE ALUMNI BOARD PRESIDENT Dear alumni and friends, COURTESY PHOTO Major: Elementary Education The Augsburg University Alumni Board supports the university’s mission by finding meaningful ways for our members to contribute their time, talent, and treasure. Members meet regularly to create and enhance events where Auggies can network, collaborate, and serve together. This fall, we partnered with the Clair and Gladys Strommen Center for Meaningful Work to co-host a mock interview event for current students. We then brought Auggies together again this February at our annual networking event. This year’s networking workshop offered students the chance to practice their networking skills in a friendly environment, and attendees heard from an impressive panel of alumni who discussed how networking helped further their careers. This spring, the Alumni Board has been busy working on events like an Augsburg Beer Choir, A-Club Spring Happy Hour, and our first All-School Reunion Stewards Meeting, which is coming up May 20. Of course, the big event we’re gearing up for is Augsburg’s sesquicentennial celebration. After we kick things off at the Sesquicentennial Gala and Homecoming 2019, the Alumni Board will focus on the ways it can support Augsburg at a number of additional low- or no-cost events and new, family-friendly opportunities. Augsburg’s sesquicentennial will truly be a year to remember, and you can learn more on pages 15–18. There are plenty of ways for alumni to give back to Augsburg as a volunteer this year. Consider becoming a Sesquicentennial Steward, joining the Alumni Board, or serving on one of our other leadership boards. It’s been a pleasure to serve as board president for the past two years. I’ve enjoyed working with current Alumni Board Vice President Lori Higgins ’94, ’12 MAL, and I’m confident she will be a terrific Alumni Board president going forward. Assistant Director of Admissions PICK THE PATTERN Denielle Stepka ’11, a senior creative associate at Augsburg, has created patterns for elegant neckties, scarves, and—of course—bow ties inspired by art from around campus, Augsburg’s “A” mark, and university seal. Help decide which designs should be put into production. Take a look at the options and “like” your favorites on the Augsburg Alumni Association Facebook page: facebook.com/augsburgalumni. HAGFORS CENTER TRANSFORMS AUGGIE EXPERIENCE It's been three years since Augsburg University broke ground on the Hagfors Center for Science, Business, and Religion, and 16 months since the facility opened for classes. These fast facts from the building’s inaugural year illustrate its remarkable impact and the new opportunities it affords Augsburg students, faculty, staff, and community members. FAST FACTS Go Auggies! Office space for They first worked together at another college but both found a home at Augsburg. NICK RATHMANN ’03, ALUMNI BOARD PRESIDENT of Augsburg’s full-time faculty Sotos: “Someone saw us playing racquetball here together one day and asked us if we were married. I said, ‘Well, we’re not married, but I did marry him!’ because my wife and I officiated his and his wife’s wedding. It’s always good to have a familiarity with how people work best and what their strengths are, so it’s nice working alongside a friend.” 40% PARTICIPATE IN THE SESQUICENTENNIAL MUSICAL Colleagues who once competed for the same job, Maggie Sotos, left, and Josh Owens, right, are now friends on staff in Augsburg’s Admissions Department and opponents on the racquetball court during their lunch hour. Among the many faculty-led projects in development to celebrate Augsburg’s 150th anniversary is a new work of musical theater about the university community, past and present, to be performed in Spring 2020. Members of the community are invited to take part in every step of the process, from creating material to performing in the production. Learn more at engage.augsburg.edu/sesquicentennialmusical. 29 THE HAGFORS CENTER HAS: 139,000 square feet of collaborative learning areas with 32 open study spaces laboratories, four 30-seat classrooms, and the largest classroom on campus, which seats up to 100 people If you are interested in learning more about projects in the Hagfors Center or taking a tour, contact Heather Riddle at riddle@augsburg.edu. SPRING–SUMMER 2019 27 ALUMNI CLASS NOTES 1960 Lowell “Zeke” Ziemann ’60 wrote a new book titled “A Kaleidoscope of Baseball.” The publication shares quotes, poetry, stories, odd facts, and historical information related to baseball as a national pastime. Ziemann previously authored several books in the Old West genre. He studied mathematics at Augsburg. Jacquie Berglund ’87 discussed her craft beer company’s social impact and collaborations with local ingredients suppliers. See story on page 19. 1977 Zoë Foat Naselaris ’96 and twin sister Kaja Foat ’96 create fashionable, ethically sourced, one-of-a-kind women’s garments by hand. See story on page 19. The Augsburg men’s soccer program celebrated its 50th anniversary this fall with a lunch and reception attended by more than 100 Auggies. The celebration brought together Auggie soccer players from many decades and was led by a host of Augsburg alumni including Darcy Debing ’77, Gary Dahle ’79, Mike Kennedy ’79, Don Potter ’79, Vinnie Brooks ’07, Alex Hildebrandt ’10, and Van Hong ’11. Athletic Director Jeff Swenson ’79 has deep family ties at Augsburg. His sister, Marie (Swenson) Hechsel ’90, played volleyball. Her son, Matt Hechsel ’15, wrestled; and her daughter, Stephanie Hechsel ’19, played volleyball. See story on page 8. 1982 Augsburg alumni Deb Krueger Knight ’82, Mike Cunningham ’10, Janice Gladden ’12, and Cyrus Batheja ’08, ’11 MBA offered networking and career advice as panelists at the 2019 Augsburg Alumni and Student Networking Event. Attendees gathered to practice networking skills, discuss career paths, and get to know other Auggies. Matt Swenson ’91 took inspiration from the food truck phenomenon and created a mobile opportunity to buy local art. See story on page 19. 1999 Tammy Sinkfield-Morey ’99, ’13 MAN, ’17 DNP received the 2018 March of Dimes Distinguished Nurse of the Year award. She is the first African-American recipient of this top honor, which recognizes experienced nurses’ community service and professional and personal development. Qiuxia Welch ’99 builds community around Belgian beer made with traditional techniques in Minneapolis. See story on page 19. 1998 Scott Erickson ’98 opened an independent insurance agency, State Insurance, in Otsego, Minnesota. The business serves all of Minnesota. 2003 Linnea Benton ’03 moved to Okinawa, Japan, with her husband who serves in the U.S. Navy. Her oldest child started kindergarten, and Benton, who graduated from Augsburg with a degree in English, volunteers in the school library to stay active in her field. 2004 Darin Rowle ’04, ’15 MSW accepted a manager role for the Department of Human Services HIV Program. Most recently, Rowle served JustUsHealth (formerly known as the Minnesota AIDS Project) as a director of prevention and coordinated care/integrated services. Rowle has more than 20 years of experience working with HIV-related concerns and helping people navigate complex social service and medical systems. of development at Fordham University School of Law. She and her family reside in Brooklyn, New York. They’re Auggie hockey stars, and they’re siblings. Meet Chris Johnson ’10, ’14 MAL and Megan Johnson ’19 in the story beginning on page 8. 2008 2013 Ben Katz ’08 produced a podcast mini-series for the New Yorker and New York Public Radio that tells the story of his wife investigating a family secret. Serial entrepreneur Brian Krohn ’08 demonstrates the breadth of diverse artisan endeavors in today’s economy. See story on page 19. 2005 MK Gibbs ’05 opened the Mary Katherine School, which is an early education center serving children and parents through infant, toddler, and preschool programs in Bloomington, Minnesota. 2009 Lisa Peterson ’09 is taking on additional leadership roles with the Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce as she transitions from serving as its director of tourism to her new position as chamber president. Peterson studied marketing and business administration at Augsburg. 2006 Ramsey County named Kari Collins ’06 director of community and economic development. Collins worked as a community development manager with the city of Roseville, Minnesota, since 2016. She previously served as an assistant to the city manager of Roseville and as zoning administrator and board secretary for the city of Milwaukee. Evelyn Tsen ’09 and her husband, Alec, welcomed a baby boy, Abraham Fenlason, on January 18. 2010 The Litchfield Independent Review reported that Brandon Begnaud ’10 organized a Christmas cantata, “The Glory of Christmas,” at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Hutchinson, Minnesota, where he serves as director of worship and music. A graduate of Augsburg’s music program, Begnaud recruited for, led, and participated in the pre-Christmas cantata that included a choir of 53 singers and 29 instrumentalists. 2007 Grant Hemmingsen ’07 and his wife, Kari, welcomed a baby girl, Quinn Joann, on January 26. Hemmingsen is the men’s basketball head coach at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. Molly (Shortall) Kaszuba ’07 and her husband, Brian, welcomed a baby boy, Jack, this winter. Kaszuba is an associate director Augsburg biopsychology major Alix Young ’13 taught psychology for two years in China’s Guangdong province following graduation and opened the Brain and Psychophysiology Lab at United International College. Now living in Houston, Young is a coordinator of clinical studies at MD Anderson Cancer Center. 2016 Former Auggie women’s basketball player Abbey Luger ’16 teaches and coaches at Transfiguration School in Oakdale, Minnesota. 2017 Kaylee E. Gueltzow ’17 is teaching English in Germany through the Fulbright Program. She lives in Greifswald and is traveling throughout Europe. 2018 Ricki Larson ’18 is a fourth-grade teacher in her first year serving her home district. Billy Mzenga ’13 and his wife, Megan, turned their hand-crafted nut butters into a small business that supports nonprofits in Kenya. See story on page 19. Brothers Mustafa Adam ’18 and Shihab Adam ’22 were among four sets of siblings on the 2018–19 Augsburg football roster. See story on page 8. 2015 GRADUATE PROGRAMS Awale “Wally” Osman ’15 and Felecia Zahner ’15 served as keynote presenters at Augsburg University’s TRIO/SSS 50th Anniversary Celebration in November. More than 130 of the program’s students, supporters, and graduates attended the event, which included a reception and dinner. Osman is also a new member of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Community Leadership Network. He also serves as a community innovation program associate at the Bush Foundation and has received accolades from the Center for National Leaders, NAACP, TRIO, and the National Newman Civic Fellowship. Lekpea Kordah ’15 and Barinedum Kordah ’17 found that their brotherly bonds strengthened their Augsburg experience. See story on page 8. Carola Thorson ’07 MAL became the vice president of enrollment management at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, in September. Thorson served in several roles in Augsburg’s Admissions Department from 2003 to 2013, and she most recently was the executive director of admission and scholarships at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. Physician assistant Sarah Pattison ’12 MSPAS joined the internal medicine department at Carris Health Clinic in Willmar, Minnesota, where she also assists in urgent care. She previously worked at High Point Family Practice in North Carolina. AUGGIE SNAPSHOTS Annika (Spargo) Eriksson ’09 and Carl Eriksson were married November 17 in Stillwater, Minnesota. ’09 Taneasha Muonio ’18 joined People’s Center Clinics and Services as a substance abuse program manager in May 2018. Just a few weeks before being hired, Muonio completed a case management internship at the People’s Center and earned her bachelor’s degree at Augsburg with a double major in biology and psychology. In her full-time role, ’18 ’09 ’18 28 AUGSBURG NOW ’01 ’05 ’13 ’87 Muonio serves 150 patients dealing with substance abuse concerns and works with doctors to integrate patients’ medical and behavioral health care. On November 11, Jill ’01 Mintz-Hoydl ’01 married Andrew Hoydl. Augsburg alumna Jeni (Eckman) Linnenberg ’01 [pictured, left] was in the wedding party. The Mintz-Hoydl family resides in Denver. ’05 Erika Hiland ’05 welcomed a baby girl in November. Shannon (Connaughton) Grindal ’13 and Erik Grindal ’13 welcomed a new baby who someday could be fourth-generation Auggie. ’13 Richard Bahr ’87 released a book about homelessness in Twin Cities. “Those People: The True Character of the Homeless” includes anecdotes about people with whom Bahr has worked and seeks to counter stereotypes and dispel myths about people experiencing homelessness. ’87 SPRING–SUMMER 2019 29 ALUMNI CLASS NOTES Tina (Anderson) Boe ’04 bought a home in Forest Lake, Minnesota, and works for Aveda as a distribution supervisor. Her daughters are 6 and 8 years old. In September, longtime friends [L to R] Mary (Boraas) Janotta ’73, Jill Steele ’72, Mary Lynn (Monson) Ogelsbee ’72, Lennice “Sparky” (Nordaune) Keefe ’72, and Julie (Hagberg) Swaggert ’73 traveled to upstate New York. The Augsburg alumnae once lived together in Chi House and have been traveling yearly since their graduation. A highlight of their most recent trip was visiting Niagara Falls. Augsburg Assistant Volleyball Coach Colleen (Ourada) Enrico ’14 and her husband, Zach Enrico ’12, welcomed a son, George, on May 23, 2018. In December, Susie (Emmert) Schatz ’09 MSW was named vice president and chief advocacy officer for St. Paul-based Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota. Schatz now oversees state and national advocacy initiatives for the organization. Schatz joined LSS nine years ago as an advocacy manager, and she has received numerous accolades for her work, including the LSS CEO Leadership Award. Since 2011, Schatz has served as an adjunct instructor at Augsburg. This fall, Tina Nguyen ’08 and her fiancé helped connect more than 250 people at Minneapolis’ Franklin-Hiawatha homeless encampment with supplies and blankets. Nguyen also served on the Augsburg University Alumni Board. Allyson (Ruedy) Dooley ’13 and Eric Dooley ’13 welcomed twin boys in February named Jason Timothy and Lucas Anthony. Arianna Genis ’13 was the campaign manager for Jeremiah Ellison for Minneapolis City Council. Currently, she’s merging both her creative and political skills at Wellstone Action as a deputy communications director. Genis also creates a podcast, “Latina Theory,” to unite the voices of Latinx people in Minnesota. Kevin Butcher ’13 and Kacie Lucchini ’13 were married on August 18 at Surly Brewing’s Beer Hall in Minneapolis. Connor Krenik ’13 married the couple, who celebrated alongside family, friends, and fellow Auggies. The newlyweds live in south Minneapolis as they both pursue graduate school at the University of Minnesota. This fall, Reginaldo HaslettMarroquin ’03 received a lifetime Ashoka Fellowship for social entrepreneurship. A graduate of Augsburg’s business administration and management program, Haslett-Marroquin is the principal architect of a poultry-centered regenerative agriculture model. As part of his new role with the Ashoka organization, Haslett-Marroquin contributed to a commentary on nonlinear farming that was published in Forbes in October. AUGGIE SNAPSHOTS Leah (Jacobson) Soland ’12 and Cody Soland were married this November in Owatonna, Minnesota. Leah graduated from Augsburg with a bachelor’s degree in social work. 30 AUGSBURG NOW Alom (Martinez-Aleman) Walters ’13 and her husband, Seth, welcomed a baby boy, Søren James, in October. Former head coaches [L to R] John Grygelko and Jeff Swenson ’79 were among more than 200 attendees at the Augsburg wrestling program’s 70th anniversary celebration held this February. The reunion took place the same evening as Augsburg’s meet against rival Wartburg College—a competition known as the Battle of the Burgs. Anna (Ferguson) Rendell ’05 released a new book titled “Pumpkin Spice for Your Soul: 25 Devotions for Autumn.” This is her third book featuring devotionals for women and moms. Greg Schnagl ’91 published the book “Not My First Classroom: A Guide to Supporting Experienced Teachers in New Roles.” Schnagl earned a bachelor’s degree in business management at Augsburg and also holds master’s and doctoral degrees in education. He is the founder and owner of TeacherCentricity, which supports experienced educators. Schnagl is married to Molly (Fochtman) Schnagl ’92. Lauren Webber ’14 welcomed a baby boy in November. “MN Original,” an Emmy Awardwinning program produced by Twin Cities PBS, featured Alison Price ’08 and her painting series “Witnessing Waves” in an episode that aired in November. The artwork was created during her undergraduate years at Augsburg and was inspired by the trees of the Mississippi River gorge. SUBMIT A CLASS NOTE Tell us about the news in your life—your new job, move, marriage, and milestones. Visit augsburg.edu/now to submit your announcements. Augsburg alumni [L to R] Dave Ogren ’91 MAL and Eric Galler ’91 MAL visited Devils Tower, Wyoming, this October and participated in the KannonFall Charity Fun Rally. Devoney Looser ’89 visited Augsburg University in February to discuss her new book, “The Making of Jane Austen.” Looser, who was featured in the Fall 2018 issue of Augsburg Now, returned to campus for two days to meet with faculty and students. She is a professor at Arizona State University. SPRING–SUMMER 2019 31 Celebrate 150 years of Augsburg and launch another 150 years of Auggie legacies. IN MEMORIAM Gertrude E. (Larson) Franzen ’43, Hastings, Nebraska, age 97, on February 1. Marlys A. (Backlund) Morland ’54, Newberg, Oregon, age 88, on November 19. Thomas A. Steenberg ’58, Missoula, Montana, age 83, on October 20. Milton L. Anderson ’44, Willmar, Minnesota, age 96, on October 29. Grace M. (Larson) Anderson ’55, University Place, Washington, age 85, on September 22. Paul H. Almquist ’59, Edina, Minnesota, age 81, on November 7. Arnulf Maeland ’55, Royal Palm Beach, Florida, age 85, on February 7. Harry C. Collin ’60, Gold Canyon, Arizona, age 86, on December 21. Lorna M. (Wilberg) Sanders ’47, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, age 93, on November 20. Jeroy C. Carlson ’48, Edina, Minnesota, age 95, on November 20. James C. Record ’55, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 85, on May 20. Lorraine “Lee” M. (Gimmestad) Clyne ’48, Coldwater, Michigan, age 92, on November 19. Jeanette I. (Olson) Locke ’57, Lakeland, Minnesota, age 83, on February 10. Llewellyn “Llew” (Rustad) Smith ’48, Twentynine Palms, California, age 90, in August. John H. Olson ’57, Richfield, Minnesota, age 88, on October 31. Jean (Christenson) Sverdrup ’49, Edina, Minnesota, age 91, on September 12. Einar D. Unseth ’51, Lester Prairie, Minnesota, age 93, on January 2. Harvey M. Peterson ’52, Minneapolis, age 91, on December 10. Joan E. (Carlberg) Nordenstrom ’53, Cambridge, Minnesota, age 87, on September 8. Lowell H. Kleven ’54, Golden Valley, Minnesota, age 86, on October 11. 32 AUGSBURG NOW Gudwren “Goodie” L. (Ellingson) Belkholm ’58, Ogilvie, Minnesota, age 86, on January 20. Kenneth J. Belkholm ’58, Ogilvie, Minnesota, age 90, on January 28. Roger R. Brandt ’58, Sonoma, California, age 82, on January 8. Mabeth L. (Saure) Gyllstrom ’58, Minneapolis, age 82, on September 22. Betty J. (Johnson) Hass ’58, Rio Rancho, New Mexico, age 82, on November 4. Carl L. Hellzen ’58, Litchfield, Minnesota, age 83, on January 24. Gerald “Jerry” E. Hendricks ’60, Watertown, Minnesota, age 81, on December 10. Edward J. Olson ’60, Mauston, Wisconsin, age 86, on January 3. David G. Torgerson ’60, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 84, on April 9. Russell D. Osterberg ’63, Alexandria, Minnesota, age 82, on October 1. Jeffrey H. Barbour ’70, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 71, on January 27. Mary K. Ratzlaff ’74, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 66, on September 26. Elin K. Ohlsson ’77, Edina, Minnesota, age 63, on June 19. Francine B. Chakolis ’78, Minneapolis, age 73, on January 15. Carol L. (Watson) Saunders ’79, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 72, on November 1. Bonnie R. (Lindgren) Reeb ’81, Willmar, Minnesota, age 60, on October 3. Jeffrey C. Yue ’81, Wayzata, Minnesota, age 59, on January 10. Henry F. Groth ’64, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, age 77, on August 31. Bob S. Dayton ’90, Maplewood, Minnesota, age 52, on November 26. Diane K. (Rife) Notch ’64, Northfield, Minnesota, age 77, on November 28. Julie A. Tanner Fischer ’92, Minneapolis, age 48, on January 19. Dwight J. O’Bert ’66, Minneapolis, age 74, on February 4. George “Bruce” B. Sorrells ’07, Minneapolis, age 60, January 11. Lois A. (Barnaal) Ryan ’67, Lilburn, Georgia, age 73, on January 7. Frances E. Cleveland ’10, Minneapolis, age 48, on November 18. Linda D. (Letnes) Lewis ’69, Hastings, Minnesota, age 71, on January 3. + The “In memoriam” listings in this publication include notifications received before March 1. Attract future leaders and eliminate barriers so more students can thrive at Augsburg and explore their vocations. Give any amount to the Sesquicentennial Scholarship to support students in financial need. augsburg.edu/giving Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID PHOTO BY DON STONER 2211 Riverside Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55454 Twin Cities, MN Permit No. 2031 Auggies win 13th national wrestling title In March, the Augsburg University wrestling team claimed its 13th NCAA Division III national championship, winning all four of its individual national title bouts. Seven Auggies earned All-American honors in the finals of the national tournament. Visit augsburg.edu/now to learn more about the university’s national tournament win.
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Title: Augsburg Now Winter-Spring 2005
Collection: Alumni Magazine Collection
Search Result: A P U B L I C AT I O N Winter/Spring 2005 F O R A U G S B U R G C O L L E G E A L U M N I & F R I E N D S Vol. 67, No. 2-3 EEditor’s DITOR’Snote NOTE Learning by seeing and doing I usually write this piece at the very last moment, after all the page layout is complete and after ...
Show more A P U B L I C AT I O N Winter/Spring 2005 F O R A U G S B U R G C O L L E G E A L U M N I & F R I E N D S Vol. 67, No. 2-3 EEditor’s DITOR’Snote NOTE Learning by seeing and doing I usually write this piece at the very last moment, after all the page layout is complete and after we’ve proofed everything. At this point, the magazine is finally in order, and, freed of the editorial minutiae, I can more easily take in the content as a reader. I always seem to discover unexpected themes and threads among the stories. Sometimes they’re serendipitous, and sometimes it’s as if the stories fall together to create something greater than the sum of their individual parts. When I “read” through this issue, I was struck by how much of the content deals with learning outside the classroom. Moreover, the one story that is about classroom learning lauds the new ways that technology links us with classrooms, students, and teachers around the world. Experiential learning, the learning that takes students outside of books, and mostly outside of classrooms, is powerful. It’s an Augsburg hallmark, enhanced by the vast resources of the neighborhoods, city, and world around us. I felt the power of experience when student Anna Warnes talked about how the tsunami didn’t kill faceless people on the other side of the world, but people she knew and had learned from in Thailand. I also felt it in hearing from our nursing students who learned about Lakota culture and the inequalities of health care from the nurses and residents they met on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Names also became real faces and people for the school children participating in the Peace Prize Festival who had “adopted” Nobel Peace Prize laureates and spent months developing creative projects around their lives. And, after hearing Dr. Sima Samar speak at the Peace Prize Forum, it will be difficult to read about Afghanistan without thinking about the persecution and hardships she has endured in her life. The timing of the article in this issue about Professor Garry Hesser—honored as Minnesota Professor of the Year—was serendipity, but couldn’t have fit better with themes about experience in an Augsburg education. His vision, wisdom, and leadership at Augsburg and across the nation have enabled students to learn more fully through internships, service-learning, cooperative education, and by getting out of the classroom and into the community. So, read on and experience an education exemplified, I believe, by the phrase on many of the publications from our Center for Global Education—“See the world through their eyes, and your world will never be the same.” Augsburg Now is published quarterly by Augsburg College, 2211 Riverside Ave., Minneapolis, Minnesota 55454. Editor Betsey Norgard Assistant Editor Lynn Mena Graphic Designer Kathy Rumpza Class Notes Coordinator Sara Kamholz ’04 Photographer Stephen Geffre President William V. Frame Director of Alumni and Parent Relations Amy Sutton Director of Public Relations and Communication Dan Jorgensen Opinions expressed in Augsburg Now do not necessarily reflect official College policy. ISSN 1058–1545 Postmaster: Send address corrections to: Advancement Services Augsburg College, CB 142 2211 Riverside Ave. Minneapolis, MN 55454 healyk@augsburg.edu E-mail: now@augsburg.edu Telephone: 612-330-1181 Fax: 612-330-1780 Betsey Norgard Editor Augsburg College, as affirmed in its mission, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national or ethnic origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, or disability in its education policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletic and/or school administered programs, except in those instances where religion is a bona fide occupational qualification. Augsburg College is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to its employees and its students. www.augsburg.edu 10 A PUBLICATION FOR AUGSBURG COLLEGE ALUMNI & FRIENDS Winter/Spring 2005 Vol. 67, No. 2-3 FEATURES 22 22 Through the eyes of teachers, the eyes of students by Kathy Swanson, Anna Warnes ’05, Jeff Moores ’05, Sue Kneen ’04, and Rachel Schuette ’03 28 Learning with your heart by Judy Petree 8 10 13 2005 Nobel Peace Prize Forum Garry Hesser: Minnesota Professor of the Year Vision, news from Access to Excellence: The Campaign for Augsburg College DEPARTMENTS 2 Around the Quad 6 Sports 17 Faculty/Staff Notes 34 Alumni News 37 Class Notes 43 In Memoriam 44 Auggie Thoughts inside back cover 28 Calendar 50 percent recycled paper (10 percent post-consumer waste) On the cover: The 2005 Nobel Peace Prize Forum brought together nearly 1,000 people to hear, consider, and discuss issues of women’s rights, honoring 2003 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi. Photo by Stephen Geffre. AROUND QUAD Around THE the Quad NEWS NOTES Campus Kitchen receives honors The Campus Kitchen at Augsburg received one of nine Harry Chapin Self-Reliance awards given by World Hunger Year (WHY) to “outstanding grassroots organizations in the U.S. that have moved beyond charity to creating change in their communities.” WHY is devoted to finding grassroots solutions to hunger and poverty. Campus Kitchen at Augsburg is a partnership with The Campus Kitchens Project and local community agencies to use food donations from campus dining operations, student organizations, and Second Harvest Heartland in preparation of meals delivered to community service agencies. Since Augsburg’s program began in October 2003, over 10,000 meals have been served and 300 volunteers involved in Augsburg’s program. Thrivent grant will help strengthen planned giving program Thrivent Financial for Lutherans has awarded Augsburg $99,935 over two years to support the College’s plan to strengthen its planned giving program. The grant will expand Augsburg’s congregational outreach to inform, motivate, and engage Lutherans through seminars, individual visits, direct mail, and Web site content in the charitable giving options available to them. Rochester Program relocates After five years at the Rochester Central Lutheran School, Augsburg’s Rochester campus program moved closer to downtown with its new location at Bethel Lutheran Church. In January, the College officially celebrated the move and dedicated the new location. Speakers included Rochester mayor Ardelle Brede; Rev. Gary Benson ’70, Augsburg regent and minister of Zumbro Lutheran Church in Rochester; Rev. Norman Wahl ’75, executive pastor of Bethel Lutheran; and Pat Engstrom, a current graduate nursing student in Rochester who spoke on behalf of the Rochester students. Augsburg’s Gospel Praise, a student music ensemble that performs across the nation, also took part in the celebration. Robert Stacke ’71, the group’s director and chair of the Music Department, used the occasion to note that Augsburg would continued on page 3 2 A college with a conscience A ugsburg College is one of the nation’s best colleges fostering social responsibility and public service, according to The Princeton Review and Campus Compact. It is one of 81 institutions in the nation featured by The Princeton Review in its book, Colleges with a Conscience: 81 Great Schools with Outstanding Community Involvement, to be released in June. “A college with a conscience,” said Robert Franek, vice president for admission services at The Princeton Review, “has both an administration committed to social responsibility and a student body actively engaged in serving society. Education at these schools isn’t only about private gain: it’s about the public good.” The Princeton Review, an organization that prepares online test-prep courses, books, and other education services, partnered with Campus Compact, a national organization committed to the civic purposes of higher education, to choose the schools and develop the book. Colleges were also nominated by organizations with expertise in campus community service and engagement. Criteria included the college’s admission practices and scholarships rewarding community service, support for service-learning programs, student activism, student voice in school governance, and level of social engagement of its student body. From over 900 nominations, the list was shortened as editors collected data about the nominees’ programs and policies, and surveyed their students, faculty, and staff. Parker Palmer is the 2005 Commencement speaker P arker J. Palmer will present the Commencement remarks, “Living the Questions,” at the 2005 Commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 7. Palmer, a respected writer, lecturer, teacher, and activist, focuses on issues in education, community, leadership, spirituality, and social change. His work speaks deeply to people in many walks of life. He serves as senior associate of the American Association of Higher Education, and senior adviser to the Fetzer Institute. He is the founder of the Center for Teacher Formation, which oversees the “Courage to Teach” program for K-12 educators across the country and a parallel program for people in other professions. Palmer’s work has been recognized with eight honorary doctorates, two Distinguished Achievement Awards from the National Educational Press Association, an Award of Excellence from the Associated Church Press, and major grants from the Danforth Foundation, the Lilly Endowment, and the Fetzer Institute. He has published a dozen poems, more than 100 essays, and seven best-selling and award-winning books, including A Hidden Wholeness, Let Your Life Speak, and The Courage to Teach. In 1998, The Leadership Project, a national survey of 10,000 administrators and faculty, named Palmer one of the 30 “most influential senior leaders” in higher education and one of the 10 key “agendasetters” of the past decade. Winter/Spring 2005 New regents elected to board Frank Cerra, M.D. Anthony (Tony) L. Genia, Jr. ’85, M.D. T hree new members and one re-elected member were welcomed to the Augsburg College Board of Regents at their meeting in January. Re-elected to a second term is former Minneapolis city councilmember Jackie Cherryhomes ’76, a government relations consultant and current chair of Augsburg’s Government and Community Relations Committee. Frank Cerra, M.D. Dr. Frank Cerra is senior vice president for health sciences at the University of Minnesota, one of the most comprehensive academic health centers in the U.S. He graduated from the State University of New York at Binghamton and received his medical degree from Northwestern University School of Medicine. In 1991, he came to the University of Minnesota as director of surgical critical care, and in 1995 was appointed dean of the Medical School. He is co-developer of the bioartificial liver, a device similar to a kidney dialysis machine. Anthony (Tony) L. Genia, Jr. ’85, M.D. Dr. Tony Genia graduated from Augsburg in 1985 with a major in biology. While a student, he served as president of the Intertribal Student Union. He earned a medical degree from the University of Minnesota Medical School, and Winter/Spring 2005 Beverly (Halling) Oren ’55 completed a residency in emergency medicine at the University of New Mexico Hospital in 1993. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Emergency Medicine and a fellow of the American College of Emergency Medicine. His principal practice is at Fairview-University Medical Center in Minneapolis. Beverly (Halling) Oren ’55 Bev Oren graduated from Augsburg in 1955 with a major in history and a minor in English. She taught school for several years and then served as vice president of human resources during the 1980s and 1990s at Dart Transit Company, a nationwide trucking and logistics company of which her husband, Donald Oren ’53, is president. She remains a principal and adviser in the company. She currently serves on the boards of Minnehaha Academy and Dart Transit Company, as well as having formerly served on the boards of the Boys and Girls Club, YWCA, and the Covenant Pines Bible Camp. The new board members were elected to four-year terms by the Augsburg Corporation at its meeting in October. The Augsburg Corporation is comprised of representatives elected by the assemblies of the Minneapolis, St. Paul, Southeastern Minnesota, and Northwest Wisconsin Synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. NEWS NOTES begin offering music courses in Rochester next year. The Rochester Program began in fall 1998 with 65 nurses, mostly employees of Mayo Clinic, studying toward a bachelor’s degree completion. Now, at nearly four times that size, 230 students are currently enrolled in bachelor degree programs in business, management information systems (MIS), education, and nursing (BSN completion), as well as in the Master of Arts degree in nursing. Augsburg Academy needs high school students The Augsburg Academy for Health Careers is recruiting 9th-, 10th-, and 11th-grade students interested in math and science for its first class beginning this fall when doors open in St. Paul. The academy is a new charter school, sponsored by Augsburg, Fairview Health Services, and Faith in the City, a collaborative of seven Lutheran-based Twin Cities institutions. Centered on health as a vocation and a way of life, the free school receives grant funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Focusing on math and science within a regular curriculum, students will gain immediate skills, graduating with certification in CPR and first aid, and either as a nurse assistant or first responder. Mentoring and job-shadowing will begin in grades 9 and 10. For information, contact Linda Packard, Fairview Community Health Outreach, at 612-672-6322. Augsburg gains European partners Augsburg has established academic partnerships with universities in Poland, Slovenia, and Finland. Business professor Magda PalecznyZapp is co-coordinator of two partnerships—one with the Krakow University of Economics in Krakow, Poland, and the other with University of Ljubljana in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Opportunities will include faculty exchanges, research collaboration, curriculum development and teaching, and study abroad for students. Augsburg’s International Partners program has established a partnership with Arcada College in Helsinki, Finland, for students in business, economics, and MIS. All course credits taken there will apply to Augsburg majors. 3 Around the Quad A ugsburg’s Speech Team placed among the top teams in the state with a second place sweepstakes award in their division at the Minnesota College Forensic Association’s annual tournament in February. Since Minnesota teams routinely place in the top 20 nationally, the state tournament serves up some tough competition. “Our students have won awards at almost every tournament they attended this year,” said coach and communication studies professor Bob Groven, “and routinely beat some of the best competitors in the country. After placing second at nationals last year in our division, it’s nice to continue building our success.” According to assistant coach Brad Christ, Augsburg’s Speech Team has already this year amassed 22 finalist trophies, with several tournaments still left in the season. Senior Ryan Sobolik took top honors with a second place in Impromptu Speaking and fifth place in Communication Analysis. His success comes after three years of hard work. “It took me a while to get the hang of impromptu,” said Sobolik. “It’s tough because you don’t know the topic beforehand, and you only have two minutes to prepare your speech.” Erik Helgeson placed sixth in After Dinner Speaking, which requires presenting a funny speech about a serious topic. His The Augsburg speech team’s success grows with a second-place finish in the state tournament. (L to R) Francis Rojas ’05, Brian speech highlights the Mumford ’08, Ryan Sobolik ’05, and Erik Helgeson ’05 ways that “free speech zones” have been should be allowed to voice their opinion, abused to limit a protestor’s free speech even if those in power don’t always want rights. After working extensively in to hear the message. It’s important that radio, he feels a special connection to we preserve everyone’s right to protest.” this topic. “I really believe that everyone Augsburg presents Native American voices in film series F or the second year, the Augsburg Native American Film Series (ANAFS) has collaborated with local and regional film organizations to offer regional venues for Native American filmmakers. This year, ANAFS has partnered with a new film organization, Independent Indigenous Film Minneapolis (IIFM); continued to work with the Fargo International Film Festival; and is planning programs for fall 2005 with the University of Minnesota’s American Indian Student Association and IIFM. The series of films being shown on campus and in community locations aims to engage viewers in dialogue about indigenous film and forge collaborative relationships with the local Native American community. 4 The spring schedule of screenings has included a five-film documentary series at Augsburg with special hosts and panel discussions, and continued with a threeday series at the Center for Independent Artists that showcased local new media artists and the best of the Native American Voices selection from the Fifth Annual Fargo International Film Festival with a special panel of filmmakers. The fall schedule, still in the planning stage, would show a number of feature films at the University of Minnesota. The series is also linked to the American Indian Studies program’s Indigenous Filmmakers course, offering students an interactive environment in which to discuss issues of America’s history, contemporary culture, and social justice raised by Native filmmakers with community members. For a schedule of the remaining screenings or for more information, go to <www.augsburg.edu/ais/filmseries> or contact M. Elise Marubbio at 612-330-1523 or <marubbio@augsburg.edu>. Winter/Spring 2005 Staff photo Speech team wins sweepstakes award Auggies win national title while records fall Stephen Geffre by Don Stoner T ying national records with 10 AllAmericans, six wrestlers in national championship finals, and four wrestlers repeating as individual national champions, the Augsburg College wrestling team claimed its ninth NCAA Division III national championship in the last 15 seasons with a dominating performance in the national tournament, March 4-5, at St. Olaf College in Northfield. Augsburg put together the secondhighest point total for any championship team in Division III history, and the most ever for an Augsburg team at the national championship tournament. Augsburg claimed 10 All-Americans, a first in program history and the second such occurrence in Division III history. Augsburg head coach Jeff Swenson has guided 143 All-Americans in his 23 years of coaching (1980-84, 1986-present). Junior Marcus LeVesseur became just the eighth wrestler in Division III history, and the first in Augsburg history, to win three consecutive national titles, as he claimed the 157-pound crown. His 124-match collegiate unbeaten streak is now the second-longest winning Augsburg’s wrestling team claimed the NCAA Division III national championship on March 5 at St. Olaf College—its ninth wrestling national title in the last 15 seasons. streak in college wrestling history behind the 159 of Cael Sanderson at Iowa State (1998-2002). LeVesseur has yet to lose a collegiate wrestling match. Augsburg’s four repeat national champions all finished their seasons unbeaten, bringing the Auggies’ all-time national championship total to 39 in school history— and a record 35 in Division III competition. “Not only did they repeat, but they were undefeated champions—it’s almost unheard of at any level for a guy to do something like that—and to have a team that had four guys repeat and go undefeated in that year, it’s just mindboggling,” Swenson said. “This will be in the storybooks long after I’m done coaching.” Augsburg finished 14-1 on the season in dual meets, earning Swenson his 300th career coaching victory along the way. He is now 302-40 (.883 winning percentage) in his career. Don Stoner is sports information coordinator. A ugsburg has joined the Lutheran World Relief’s Wave of Giving campaign to rebuild resources in South Asia devastated by the December tsunami. Augsburg’s goal is to raise $35,000; while it will contribute to LWR’s overall rebuilding plan in the area, the focus will be on the rebuilding of a cyclone shelter/school in India. Student organizations have jumped on to “ride the wave” with creative fundraising events. For Valentine’s Day, the LINK, a student service organization, collected money for their singing telegrams and a raffle. Winter/Spring 2005 On March 13, Pi Day, the student math club, Unbounded, charged students money for the opportunity to “pi” their favorite professor—by tossing a whipped cream mini-pie at them. Students also took turns reading the digits of pi, reaching a grand total of 24,401. Augsburg’s Center for Global Education (CGE) and LWR have shared their common strong commitments to experiential education as a learning tool with trips over the past two years to Courtesy photo Ride the ‘Wave of Giving’ for tsunami relief Nicaragua to educate about the LWR coffee project and fair trade. Contact David Fenrick, Center for Global Education, for further information or to donate, at <fenrick@augsburg.edu> or 612-330-1669. 5 Sports Gridiron guru by Erin Peterson hen Jack Osberg ’62 walked off the football field for the final time as head coach of the Augsburg team following the Auggies’ game against St. Olaf at the Metrodome on Nov. 12, he departed as the winningest football coach in the school’s history. But for him, that legacy isn’t nearly as important as the one he’s had on a generation of players. Take Craig Peroutka ’99. Long before Peroutka ever donned an Augsburg uniform, he knew that Jack Osberg would be his college coach. As a senior at Faribault High School, the offensive lineman hadn’t attracted notice from any Division I or Division II schools, but he had caught the eye of Osberg. “Jack was the only one who took the time to visit me at my house after a high school football game,” he says. “He really took time to get to know me.” Peroutka would go on to be a part of the 1997 Augsburg squad that finished 10-2 and earned a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) crown for the first time since 1928, while advancing to the NCAA Division III national quarterfinals. Now a financial analyst, Peroutka says Osberg wasn’t just a football coach for him; he was a life coach. “He focused on values,” Peroutka says. “He didn’t want us to succeed just on the field, he wanted us to succeed in the classroom and in everything we did.” This is the kind of praise on which Osberg thrives. During his 14-year tenure as head coach at Augsburg, he’s garnered his share of accolades, from winning the MIAC championship to surpassing his former coach and mentor, Edor Nelson ’38, as the winningest football coach in Auggie history. But he’s much quicker to recount the weddings of former players he’s attended recently, and the friendships he’s formed with many of his players. He’s happy to talk about the successes of his players 6 not just on the gridiron, but in the business world. “I want my players to understand that there’s a bigger world than football, but that there are many things we can learn on the football field that will help us, whether it’s our careers, our relationships, our spirituality, or anything else,” says Osberg. It’s the wisdom of a coach who’s played the game for his entire life, and coached for nearly three-quarters of it. An Auggie himself, the offensive and defensive lineman played under the legendary Edor Nelson ’38, and he knew by the middle of his freshman year that he would coach. He spent 30 years teaching biology and coaching at Minneapolis Roosevelt, Bloomington Kennedy, and Wayzata high schools, where he says he quickly learned that good coaches aren’t necessarily the best athletes, they’re the best teachers. “You need to know how to motivate and work with young people,” he says. “I’ve always said that if I’m teaching a class of 30 students and I get 28 positive evaluations, I’ll wonder what I could Head football coach Jack Osberg ‘62 retires with the most wins in Augsburg coaching history. Charles Walbridge W Charles Walbridge Augsburg coach Jack Osberg shares his philosophy on football and life Coach Osberg celebrates with Auggie players in 2003 after a win over Hamline. Winter/Spring 2005 Archive photo begin to turn the have done for those program around, even if other two. Coaching they would not be the is the same way. I ones to finish first in want to be able to the MIAC. relate to all of the These days, says players.” Osberg, it’s tougher to While he’s had succeed than it used to plenty of role models be. Many players, even on and off the field, at the Division III level, his goal was never to are pressured to emulate the style of specialize in a single any of them. “As a Jack Osberg began his football sport, and with everyoung coach, I went career as an Auggie offensive and defensive lineman. improving technology, to a clinic and I heard play is far more [former Vikings sophisticated than it was when he was a coach] Bud Grant speak,” he says. “I player. came back with all these great Bud Grant “We have video tapes now that we ideas, but I wasn’t Bud Grant.” can just copy and give out,” he says. As he looked to many people for “We used to have just one 16-millimeter ideas, he ended up building his own film, and we couldn’t copy that. It was coaching philosophy and style. For better difficult to run, and it broke all the or worse, the young men who played for time.” him would look up to him, and he Even as players feel that they must stresses that he tries to be a role model do more work in the weight room and for them. He is demanding but respectful spend more time in the offseason of his players; he focuses on the preparing for the following fall, Osberg fundamentals of the game while tells them to find balance. College is a acknowledging that his players and his crucible, but it is only through the coaches have much to teach him. balance of sports and academics, work, “If you think you have all the answers and friendships that they will be to everything, you’re not going to make prepared to enter the world and the rest it,” he says. of their lives. As a Division III coach, Osberg hasn’t In retirement, he says he is looking had access to the kind of talent available forward to spending more time with his to large programs, but he’s a proponent wife, Nina, and six children and of making everyone—even those who grandchildren. He may also spend more will never be stars—feel valued. time on the golf course. But retirement “Jack made me think I could will be bittersweet because of the joy accomplish anything,” says Mike that his tenure at Augsburg has brought. Weidner ’83, a defensive end who played “I was here 40 years ago, and in that while Osberg was a defensive coordinator time buildings have changed, technology under Al Kloppen. “I was 6-feet-1 and has changed, and administrations have 177 pounds, and he convinced me I changed,” he says. “But the thing that’s could do the job. I don’t think we had stayed constant is the [encouragement] one guy who was over 200 pounds, but for individuals to be who they are. That he always got the most out of is something that persists.” everybody.” Osberg will remain on the Augsburg Indeed, he says one of the squads he staff, assisting in the school’s Alumni and was most proud of during his tenure at Parent Relations and Development areas, Augsburg was the group of players he to develop connections with athletic started with during his first year as a alumni and parents. head coach, in 1991. Augsburg had compiled an abysmal 7-61-2 record in Erin Peterson is a freelance writer based in the previous seven seasons, and he Minneapolis. marveled at the 1991 group’s ability to Winter/Spring 2005 Frank Haege to replace Osberg by Don Stoner F ormer Augsburg assistant coach Frank Haege has been named to replace retiring coach Jack Osberg. He will be the 14th head coach in the 74-season history of the school’s football program. Haege brings a 64-24 record as a professional football head coach to his new post at Augsburg. Most recently, Haege spent three seasons as head coach of the Arena Football League’s Las Vegas Gladiators, posting a 25-23 record (including playoffs). “I’m very excited about this position,” said Haege, 36. “Working at Augsburg, and at the small-college level, has always been a long-term goal for me. I’ve really enjoyed the 10 years that I coached in Arena Football, and I’ve had a lot of success at that level. But there is a lot more stability at the small-college level, and that is important to me and my family.” Haege served on the Augsburg staff under Jack Osberg as offensive coordinator from 1996-98. “Ever since I started coaching with Jack in 1996, I fell in love with Augsburg,” Haege said. “It is a great atmosphere in which to coach and teach. People work hard, have fun, and always look out for the student-athletes.” Don Stoner is sports information coordinator. 7 The 17th Nobel Peace Prize Forum and Peace Prize Festival Left: Dr. Sima Samar, chair of the Afghanistan Human Rights Commission, spoke about her struggle as an Afghan woman to become a medical doctor, establish the first hospital for women in Afghanistan, and continue her pioneering work on behalf of women in her country. Right: Augsburg student Sam Kanenwisher ’06 (left) presents a gift of the waters brought to this year’s forum to a representative of Luther College, which will host the Peace Prize Forum in 2006. Left: Students from CitySongs children’s choir performed at the forum prior to the Friday evening plenary session. Above: Augsburg was host in February to nearly 1,000 college, university, and community participants in the 17th annual Nobel Peace Prize Forum honoring Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi of Iran. Above: National Public Radio producer Davar Ardalan spoke in a plenary session about rediscovering her native country of Iran and learning about the legacy her family left in the national struggle for reform. 8 Above: Augsburg student Katie Bickel ’05 participated on a student seminar panel examining human rights issues in China, Iran, and East Africa. Winter/Spring 2005 Above: Frances Moore Lappé, author of Diet for a Small Planet, spoke about the politics of food and consideration of food as the central issue through which to understand world politics. Above: Augsburg sociology professor Garry Hesser, with students Krista Dahlke and Riley Conway, presented to a standing-room seminar audience their research on demographics, resources, and revitalization in lowincome neighborhoods. Above: Students from the Prairie School of Dance in Eden Prairie performed a modern dance, “The Wall.” Above: Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and U.N. high commissioner for human rights, talked about her global experience as an advocate for human rights and the use of law to bring about social change. Above: A participant from one of the five sponsoring colleges brought water to the Peace Prize Forum cauldron. Winter/Spring 2005 Above: Ole Mjøs, chair of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee in Oslo, Norway, gestured in his greetings from Norway and spoke about the significance of the forum, sponsored by the five Norwegian Lutheran colleges. 9 Stephen Geffre G A R RY H E S S E R M I N N E S O TA P R O F E S S O R O F T H E Y E A R Augsburg News Service and Betsey Norgard 10 interdisciplinary metro-urban studies program. He was instrumental in the creation of Augsburg’s Center for Service, Work, and Learning—a center marking the marriage of the classroom and the city that has not only emerged as a hallmark of an Augsburg education, but also has served as a service-learning model across the nation. For 28 years Hesser has been a national leader in assisting students in taking fuller advantage of Augsburg’s urban location through wide-ranging internships, community servicelearning, and cooperative education. Education Award (National Society for Experiential Education) • 1998, Thomas Ehrlich Award for national leadership and scholarship in advancing the field of service-learning (Campus Compact) Stephen Geffre A ugsburg sociology and urban studies professor Garry Hesser was named 2004 Minnesota Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). The day of the announcement, November 18, was proclaimed as “Dr. Garry Hesser Day” in Minnesota by Gov. Tim Pawlenty. A special chapel service and luncheon marked the day on the Augsburg campus. In reflecting on his time at Augsburg, Hesser said, “This has been an extraordinary place to be all these 28 years. The gift of community is about the greatest gift to be given to anybody in one’s life.” Hesser joined Augsburg’s Sociology Department in 1977. Since that time he has served as chair of the Natural and Social Sciences Division and chair of the His awards include: • 2004, Distinguished Contributions to Teaching and Learning (Augsburg) • 2002, Distinguished Sociologist of Minnesota (Sociologists of Minnesota) • 2001, Pioneer in Experiential Professor of the Year Garry Hesser is introduced at a special chapel service by Frankie Shackelford, associate dean for teaching and learning enhancement. Winter/Spring 2005 Stephen Geffre Hesser represents the very best teacher any of us ever have had. He’s that teacher we think about with gratitude decades later. —Doug Grow Star Tribune columnist Hesser is Augsburg’s first recipient of the professor-of-the-year honor, which is given annually by the Carnegie Foundation and CASE, two Washington, D.C.-based organizations. It is the only national award that recognizes excellence in undergraduate teaching and mentoring. More than 500 nominations were submitted. The nominees were evaluated on criteria including the impact on and involvement with undergraduate students, scholarly approach to teaching and learning, contributions to undergraduate education within the institution and community, and support from colleagues and students “In my view, Garry Hesser represents the best Augsburg College has to offer in respect to innovative teaching, engaged scholarship, and service to the institution and the community,” noted President William Frame. Augsburg provost and dean Christopher Kimball wrote, “His unique preparation as a theologian and sociologist has proven fertile soil in which to cultivate a teaching life. He does so with energy and care and thereby provides a compelling example of Christian vocation for his colleagues Winter/Spring 2005 and students.” Minneapolis Star Tribune columnist Doug Grow led his column about Hesser’s honor by fantasizing about a time when media would get as excited about people who matter as they do about celebrities and sports stars. He wrote, “Hesser represents the very best teacher any of us ever have had. He’s that teacher we think about with gratitude decades later.” Hesser is past president of the National Society for Experiential Education (NSEE) and the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs (HECUA). As a consultant, he has led workshops on service-learning and experiential education on over 50 campuses and at professional meetings. Hesser holds degrees from Phillips University in Oklahoma, Union Theological Seminary in New York, and the University of Notre Dame. He makes his home in the Seward neighborhood where he and his wife, Nancy Homans, have raised their five children, two of whom are Augsburg graduates. He is the author or editor of numerous publications and articles in the areas of experiential education, service-learning, and neighborhood revitalization. Courtesy photo At a luncheon in his honor, Garry Hesser acknowledged and greeted his friend and mentor Professor Emeritus Joel Torstenson ’38, founder of Augsburg’s Sociology Department, as Fran Torstenson looked on. In 2000, Prof. Garry Hesser and then-PanAfrikan Center director Joe Young taught an Interim course on civil rights history that included a 10-day bus tour to spots where historic civil rights events occurred—Selma and Birmingham, Ala.; Little Rock, Ark.; Memphis, Tenn.; and Atlanta, Ga. For most students, it was their first trip in the south, and left a strong impact as they immersed themselves in the history. Here, the group posed on the steps of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. 11 Robert Frost poignantly reminds us of roads not taken, as well as those that are taken. In 1984, I was engaged in a faculty development internship related to affordable housing policy and programs. I was preparing for a sabbatical leave to write a book with an economics colleague focusing on neighborhood revitalization using data that my students and I had collected from a sample of 500 Minneapolis residents. Then the dean called and invited me to accept an appointment as founding director of the newly funded Cooperative Education program, stressing the importance of faculty leadership in this new undertaking. My colleague wrote the book that we had planned together, but the alternate “road taken” enabled me to become one of the early faculty members who led in the “rediscovery” and validation of experiential education and servicelearning. Because there were so few faculty members whose colleges supported their involvement in servicelearning, I stood out and became president of the National Society for Experiential Education (NSEE), which collaborated with Susan Stroud and Tim Stanton as they worked with the university presidents who founded Campus Compact. These were heady times for all of us in experiential education. I found myself at Wingspread on a task force which was deliberating on whether to call it “service-learning” and played a leadership role in NSEE when we convened Wingspread gatherings that produced the “Principles of Good Practice in Service-Learning,” designed a research agenda under the leadership of Dwight Giles, and commissioned the now classic NSEE three-volume Combining Service and Learning, edited by Jane Kendall. All this also opened the door to my becoming a FIPSE-NSEE consultant (which has evolved into the Campus Compact-AAHE Consulting Corps). This 20-year interchange and dialogue has enhanced our programs at Augsburg and 12 by Garry Hesser Stephen Geffre T H E R O A D TA K E N An unexpected career path and serendipity led Professor Garry Hesser to the forefront of leadership, as experiential education, and especially service-learning, was embraced and developed in higher education. the over 50 campuses where I have been privileged to conduct faculty and staff development workshops on experiential education and service-learning. Serendipity played a key role in recentering my teaching and scholarship in the very values that had led me into the academy in the first place, namely a desire to combine knowledge with civic engagement that could lead to thriving and integrated communities open to all. These opportunities have been gifts in a 20-year “faculty development process” and dialogue with colleagues from across the globe, enabling me to be a bridge between Augsburg, HECUA, and others on the cutting edge of experiential education. My teaching has certainly benefited from an expanded utilization of community-based pedagogy. And it would appear that Augsburg has also benefited from this disciplinary and interdisciplinary exchange. This summer two of my students will collaborate with me as we expand upon and synthesize the community-based research of other students over the past five years as we deepen our understanding of five Minneapolis neighborhoods and compare their community-building endeavors with five neighborhoods involved in Annie E. Casey’s “Rebuilding Communities Initiative.” I do not know the roads that I might have traveled by pursuing more traditional forms of scholarship. But the decision to focus my teaching and sociological journey on experiential education and community-based servicelearning has provided countless opportunities in higher education and the discipline of sociology. … My colleagues and students, both within the academy and the community, young and old, have shared their gifts and accepted mine. We have challenged and changed one another as a community of learners and engaged scholars. How could any professor ask for more opportunities than I have had or more reasons to celebrate the joy of being a teacher, a student, a sociologist, an urbanist, and a citizen? ■ Excerpted from the personal statement by Garry Hesser that accompanied his nomination as Professor of the Year. Winter/Spring 2005 ‘Many Houses’ author found Augsburg home With many men serving in the Armed Forces during World War II, most Augsburg students were women. It was here that writer Marie (Gjenvick) Knaphus ’45 found a home. “The entire school was like a family,” said Knaphus. “Augsburg means a lot to me. I received a good education and made many lifelong friends.” In addition to studying, Knaphus kept involved with oratory and debate, singing in the Mendelssohn Chorus, and participating in the International Relations Club and the Writers’ Club. At the same time, she was engaged in community and faith-based activities through Girl Scouts and the church. Making Iowa her home for many years, Knaphus last visited the campus in 1996 for the 50th anniversary of campus ministry among students attending state-supported colleges and universities. Shortly after leaving Augsburg, Knaphus served as counselor to Lutheran students attending the Iowa State Teachers College in Cedar Falls, Iowa. It was there that she met and married her husband, George, and together they became the ministry’s first counselors. During her visit, Knaphus was amazed at the growth of Augsburg’s Weekend College (WEC) and feels a connection with WEC students because, she, too, lived off campus. However, she took a streetcar to attend Augsburg. Winter/Spring 2005 A great-grandmother at 81, Knaphus continues to use her education and serve others. Currently she is working on her third book, this one about her father, a Norwegian immigrant. ■ Marie (Gjenvick) Knaphus ’45, then and now. “I am impressed with what’s happening to Augsburg today,” she said. “Students should work hard and take advantage of every opportunity to grow and develop their abilities. I feel Augsburg did this for me.” Knaphus also thinks “it’s important for alumni to help support the College. It takes so much money to run a college, and people who have benefited from it need to help.” She recently made a significant gift of stock to the Bernhard M. Christensen Endowed Fund “out of gratitude for a good education. It [Augsburg] offered me the incentive to go out and offer myself in service to others. I believe there is a place for the small college that has a mission like Augsburg.” Knaphus was fortunate to have Bernhard Christensen as a professor and keeps in contact with his widow, (Lilly) Gracia. “I have fond memories of Dr. Christensen’s religion class that pulled everything together for me. Attending Augsburg helped me crystallize my faith,” she said. Marie Knaphus’ story may be similar to yours. She held stock for many years and wanted to give to Augsburg instead of taking the capital gain from the sale of stock. Her gift helps build Augsburg’s endowment, and Knaphus benefits as well. Augsburg is focusing its endowment growth in three ways: • NEW FACULTY CHAIRS AND PROFESSORSHIPS Endowed chairs and professorships allow the College to attract and retain the most qualified and talented faculty. • NEW ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIPS By expanding the current level of endowed scholarships the College is able to attract talented students from all backgrounds. • PROGRAM SUPPORT AND FACULTY DEVELOPMENT A strong endowment is essential to sustaining distinctive programs, supporting innovative faculty-student research projects, and enhancing professional development programs for all faculty and staff. You may designate endowment gifts to areas of your specific interest.Your appreciated securities of stock, bonds, or mutual funds may be exempt from capital gains taxes when you transfer them to the College, and you may receive a tax deduction equal to the market value of the securities at the time they are transferred. Contact the Development Office at 612-338-0002 to discuss how your gift can best help others. 13 Goal reached through the 3M Foundation challenge grant The challenge went out this past fall to Augburg alumni and friends who are 3M employees to give back to their alma mater through the 3M Foundation Challenge Grant. “I think the 3M Foundation structured the grant appropriately,” said Ron Nelson ’68. “I am pleased to see we achieved the match.” Augsburg College and 3M partnered to Ron Nelson ’68 successfully raise $100,000 from 69 3M employees in support of the new Science Center. The special challenge match opportunity offered by the 3M Foundation ran for eight weeks. Under the 3:1 challenge, the foundation matched the $100,000 in contributions from employees, retirees, and friends with a $300,000 gift. Additionally, the foundation contributed a $200,000 grant to the new Science Center. “There is a long-standing relationship between Augsburg and 3M,” said Nelson. “This challenge grant gave many 3M employees and retirees an opportunity to reconnect with the College and play an important part in the capital campaign.” Sandra Wollschlager ’94 was compelled to contribute because “my education made a challenging 3M career possible. Many 3M employees completed degrees in a nontraditional fashion when taking Augsburg coursework. We obtained an 14 Augsburg degree while working full time and raising a family. “My daughter was one-year-old when I took my first Augsburg class. I commuted Sandra Wollschlager ’94 a long distance. Because Augsburg chemistry professors came to the 3M campus, it enabled me to juggle my work schedule so I could take classes. If it wasn’t for 3M and Augsburg making it easier for me, I wouldn’t have gone to college.” Nelson came from the small Minnesota town of Dawson, and life at Augsburg was his first introduction to the city. “It became my window,” said Nelson. “All is available within the city, and students should plug in culturally, through sports, and experience activities relative to societal diversity.” Students should “participate in the hands-on experiences made available in the classroom and the laboratories, and take advantage of the research work,” he said. “These are extremely important building blocks for the future.” “The connection with Augsburg to the scientific community is imperative,” said Wollschlager. “Students need to see and understand the big connections. 3M is a global company so it is involved in global issues. So what can we do to lessen global warming, for example? Students need to learn air and water transport modeling so they can see how the world is connected. “Our generation needs to make improvements in the environment (sustainable chemistry, technological advances) and we need to figure out how to educate the public about our improvements and, in general, the value of a science education/background.” “The contributions made in sciences are important to everyone,” continued Nelson. “We want the science programs to continue to be competitive and turn out leaders like Dr. Peter Agre ’70, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.” ■ MAKE A DIFFERENCE Many people made a difference through the 3M Foundation Grant Challenge—please consider how you can make a difference, too. Does your company offer a matching gift program? If so, please let us know. Remember, all gifts are tax deductible. Contact Sherry Jennings-King at 612-338-4823 or jenningk@augsburg.edu to discuss giving options. Vision is published by Augsburg College, 2211 Riverside Ave., Minneapolis, Minnesota 55454. Editor and Writer Lynn James Graphic Designer Kathy Rumpza www.augsburg.edu/campaign Winter/Spring 2005 A FINE FIRST LADY Leola (Lee) Anderson served as the first lady of Augsburg College during her husband’s presidency from 1963 to 1980. President Emeritus Oscar Anderson focused on three main areas during his term in office: to meld Augsburg into its new family of colleges in the American Lutheran Church (it had been the college of the Lutheran Free Church); to experiment with programs that involved the city as a learning laboratory; and to strengthen the College academically, which resulted in an invitation to join the Associated Colleges of the Twin Cities (ACTC). As the president’s wife, Lee was active in the Augsburg College Women’s Club, now called the Augsburg College Associates, and hosted College functions. She raised four children during her husband’s tenure, served on the first task force of the American Lutheran College, and was involved in the church. She is remembered as a warm, friendly person who cared deeply about social issues, was a strong advocate for women, and was close to her children. Family was very important to her, and, at age 86, she experienced the joy of seeing her first great-grandchild. TIME OF REMEMBRANCE Donna (Anderson) Hoekstra ’68 spoke at the memorial service about her mother, Lee Anderson. Excerpts are reprinted here with permission. “She was a lovely lady with a unique, one-of-a-kind personality and a name to Winter/Spring 2005 Archive photo In Memoriam Leola G. Anderson, April 17, 1916–December 4, 2004 Leola (Lee) Anderson match. Mom was generous with her myriad talents. She could sing beautifully, strum a guitar (though upside down and backwards), sew professionally, entertain with class, sashay with flair on the dance floor, draw and paint, and write with depth and feeling. Mom was generous with her treasures, too. She gave, with no strings attached, to her family, but she also gave to the far ends of God’s world to suffering people in places like Rwanda. Mom embodied for me Christian discipleship. She tried to live the godly life—her life bore the fruits of the Spirit: patience, kindness, goodness, compassion, and self-control. She exemplified how I wanted to live my life. Mom gave of herself in service to others. She was all too often selfless to a fault. In her early years she served as choir director, youth leader, Sunday school teacher, newsletter editor, and worked in various jobs to support the family during difficult times in Chicago. In her years as wife of a traveling Luther League director (that would be my dad), Mom formed the Traveler’s Aid group to provide mutual support for other staff wives. In her role as pastor’s wife, she served gracefully. I can remember food-laden tables at open houses and family gatherings at holiday times, Bible studies she led, sharing fresh insights, overflowing Christmas baskets for the poor, and quiet living room conversations with hurting parishioners. continued on page 16 LEOLA G. ANDERSON SCHOLARSHIP Appreciating the legacy a scholarship offers, in 2002 President Emeritus Oscar Anderson established the Leola G. Anderson Scholarship in Mathematics to honor his wife. “My wife had a love of math, but was a very modest person,” said Anderson.“I wanted to do something to honor her, so with agreement from my family, the Leola G. Anderson Scholarship in Mathematics was established.” It is designated that one or more students who have demonstrated academic achievement and financial need be awarded the scholarship. Special consideration is given to assisting women in mathematics. If you are interested in contributing to this scholarship, contact Jennifer Kahlow at 612-338-6540 or <kahlow@augsburg.edu>. 15 F In Memoriam, continued Mom was an open person. She opened her mind—especially during the 17 years at Augsburg. I found speeches she had given in front of learned college groups. And I remember a particular Mother/Daughter Banquet. Her talk was brilliant. How I admired her and was so proud to be her daughter. She opened her home—to the freshmen for Welcome to College Week, to friends we brought home, and to faculty for college functions. She opened her heart to students she tutored and to the needs of patients at Fairview Hospital. Books were her love from when she was young to just three months before she died. They informed her thoughts and shaped her opinions. I had a mom who was on the cutting edge, though often herself teetering precariously. With heartfelt empathy from her own personal loss, she championed the poor, the oppressed, and the disenfranchised. She fought for peace and justice through written word and voice forming the MS (Miscellaneous) group of gals to hone shared thoughts and strategies for change. She took on Enhancements made to Thrivent’s GivingPlus Program Thrivent Financial for Lutherans offers a charitable/match gift program to alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of the College. Changes to the program for 2005 include: • • • • • no minimum gift required, increased member giving range, multiple gifts option by members to same organization, equal membership status for gifts, and additional Lutheran organizations eligible. Contact Stephanie Malone, director of The Augsburg Fund, at 612-338-4825 or <malone@augsburg.edu> for details on how your participation benefits Augsburg. the “isms” of race, gender, and culture. My mom was a flaming liberal and an authentic feminist. She could talk your arm off sharing her causes. After her death, we discovered volumes of prose and poetry on all kinds of subjects. She will live on in her written words. Mom gave her love unconditionally. She saw God as unconditional lover and tried to model that love. She was generous, open, and loving even during her darkest times. Mom modeled for me how to give, how to really see the other person, how to serve, and how to love.” ■ SUPPORT STUDENTS Hurry! Your annual fund donation to The Augsburg Fund for this fiscal year must be received by May 31. Your tax-deductible gift will accomplish many things: help students by supplementing their tuition, provide enriching campus experiences, enhance technology and curriculum, and prepare future leaders for service in the world. Contact Stephanie R. Malone, director,The Augsburg Fund and Maroon & Silver Society, at 612-338-4825 or <malone@augsburg.edu>. Campaign Progress $37.5M of $55M goal as of 3-10-2005 16 Winter/Spring 2005 FACULTY /STAFFNotes NOTES Faculty/Staff Connecting with classmates around the world by Judy Petree new program at Augsburg connects students and faculties around the world via Web cam and e-mail, offering one way for students to gain global perspectives without leaving campus. Augsburg social work professor Rosemary Link, along with Robert Bill from Information Technology, received a State Department grant to develop the “Exploring World Cultures” project as a module in a social work class. Augsburg is the only Minnesota institution among the 10 funded grants. The goals of the project are to increase understanding of world cultures and systems of human service; to increase students’ abilities to explain their own culture and respect others; to identify the variety of cultures worldwide and to recognize their interdependence; and to develop crosscultural communication skills, including conflict management. Link said they began with schools where Augsburg already had connections. At the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia, where student summer exchanges have become a tradition, Professors Gabi Cacinovic Vogrincic and Lea Sugman Bohinc were “delighted to participate in this venture.” A second project site is the National University of Singapore. The third partner, Tata Institute in Mumbai, India, has been delayed by technical and structural difficulties. To prepare for the project, Link and Bill visited the three overseas schools and researched their political, economic, historical, and social characteristics, plus technology resources. They received training at East Carolina University, where this technology concept initiated, to develop curriculum using video technology and to review steps to establish crosscultural relationships. They also prepared for the reality of different approaches to technology, firewall status, bandwidth issues, and availability of an academic technology team. Winter/Spring 2005 Stephen Geffre A Students in an Augsburg social work class “study” with classmates in Slovenia, pictured on the screen. Back row (L to R) Professor Rosemary Link, Kelly Sve, Cody Swanson, Stacy Anderson, Amanda Dowdy, Emily Lunemann, Dan Quance, Carolyn Herman, IT coordinator Robert Bill. Front row (L to R) Erin Olsen, Walter Gies, Shannon Rynders, Amanda Bockmann and Joelle Bickel. “One of the unique elements of the project is the opportunity to share innovations in teaching and local challenges with colleagues across the globe,” Link said, “and to understand different perspectives on issues which affect us all, such as health, migration, international adoptions, and conflict management.” The Augsburg students participating in the project are taking Social Work 257, Exploring Human Services in Global Context. They were matched with students in either Slovenia or Singapore and are exploring each other’s culture, social well-being, and current issues such as homelessness, SARS, and migration. Two logistical challenges, Link said, have been the different semester schedules and the time differences. The joys, however, far outweigh the challenges, and students even come in on Sunday evenings to ‘meet’ their Singapore classmates. “I didn’t know much about the rest of the world before this class,” fall semester class student Samantha Privratsky said. Another student, Brooke Vasseur, commented that this is “way cool to be making friends on the other side of the globe.” “Our colleague in Singapore, Dr. Ngoh Tiong Tan, is an expert in cultural conflict and mediation,” says Link. “His class was well underway when we joined in. His students gave excellent presentations and our students joined enthusiastically, although initially they were somewhat alarmed at the view of American culture from Asia.” She added that this was mitigated as students emailed each other and explored concepts of individualism and collectivism, as well as distinct characteristics of culture alongside common human needs. According to Link, the project director, and Bill, project technology director, “the project has been quite a roller coaster, but also enthralling, and students have said they will never forget it.” Judy Petree is media relations manager in the Office of Public Relations and Communication. 17 Faculty/Staff Notes Toward spiritually-sensitive social work A calling to social work came to Leola (Dyrud) Furman at age 12 during a career session at a summer Luther League convention. She followed family members to Augsburg College and graduated with a major in sociology and minors in social work and religion. She then pursued graduate degrees in social work and human development. She taught social work for 25 years at the University of North Dakota. During that time it was a personal and spiritual crisis—the death of her husband from cancer—that called her to the forefront of a new movement in her field. While in the role of a client needing support during her husband’s illness, she realized that not only could spiritual support help people cope in a crisis, it could help them grow personally and spiritually. She understood the importance of spirituality and religion as necessary aspects of human identity. Her research connected her to Edward Canda, at the University of Kansas, who had recently founded the Society for Spirituality in Social Work. Together, they co-authored a textbook, Spiritual Diversity in Social Work Practice, The Heart of Helping that was hailed as “a ‘state of the art’ expression of a newly re-emerging theme, spirituality.” This refers to the fact that social work’s roots came from the work of 19th-century religious charity organizations. Their book defines the values and issues inherent in spiritually-sensitive social work practice and offers practical guidelines and strategies. In 1997 Furman and Canda developed a national survey of social workers, asking their views on the appropriateness of religion and spirituality in social work practice—the first of its kind. The survey defined spirituality as search for meaning and purpose in either religious or nonreligious forms, and religion as “an organized set of beliefs and practices shared by a community related to spirituality.” The survey results showed that not only did social workers affirm a role for 18 the discussion of these topics (82%), but that many of them had already been doing it in various ways (75%). An important finding, however, was that 73% of respondents expressed a lack of any spiritual training. That began to change as social work schools developed curricula and new courses. Today, most textbooks integrate spirituality within discussion of treating the client as a whole person. Spiritually-sensitive social work practice is becoming especially relevant in diverse communities where an important way to reach ethnic minorities is through their faith and spirituality. Three years later, Furman repeated her survey in the U.K., with similar results. Then, building on connections she made while a visiting professor in Norway, Furman collaborated with Mari-Anne Zahl, a professor in social work at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (formerly University of Trondheim) who has a graduate degree from the University of Minnesota. Zahl translated the survey instrument into Norwegian, and surveyed Norwegian social workers. The results, while similar to the U.S. and U.K., demonstrated cultural differences in religious institutions. The Norwegian Lutheran Church, until recently, did not have the same kind of social network and function as American church congregations, and social workers were not accustomed to considering religious referrals. Also, church attendance is less frequent there. Zahl sees the survey results as valuable. Social workers can understand better how discussion of religion can be appropriate and they gain insight into working with increasing numbers of immigrants arriving in Norway. “Since social work deals with everyday social functioning,” Zahl said, “[a client’s religion] is part of what social workers deal have to deal with. Are they open to, are they sensitive to, do they listen to, and are they comfortable enough to deal with that aspect of life?” by Betsey Norgard Adjunct social work professor Leola (Dyrud) Furman ’61 (left) and Norwegian social work professor Mari-Anne Zahl are collaborating to study social workers’ perspectives towards inclusion of religion and spirituality in social work practice, as thoroughly presented in the book Furman co-authored. This means that social workers need to have understanding of their clients’ culture, religion, and the place that religion plays in their culture. She said that while fewer than half of the survey respondents had any training in dealing with religious and spiritual issues, 70-80% of them said they desire it. With her husband, Hans Eriksson, who returned this year as visiting professor in Augsburg’s social work department, Zahl is in Minneapolis on sabbatical, continuing her collaboration with Furman. Zahl is compiling the Norwegian information and, along with Furman, is writing comparative studies of the three countries surveyed. Together, they are presenting at national social work meetings, and jointly teaching some of Furman’s classes. Leola (Dyrud) Furman ’61 is an adjunct professor at Augsburg and the University of Minnesota. She is a Distinguished Alumna of Augsburg College and associate professor emerita of the University of North Dakota. Mari-Anne Zahl is an associate professor in the Department of Social Work and Health Sciences at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim. Winter/Spring 2005 Presentations Laura Boisen and Maryann Syers, social work, have published articles and presented nationally on their integrative case analysis model, including at the annual program meeting of the Council on Social Work Education in February. Blake Boursaw, Tracy Bibelnieks, Nick Coult, Matthew Haines, and Su Dorée, mathematics, presented at the annual meeting of the Mathematical Association of America-American Mathematical Society (MAA-AMS) annual meeting in January. Mathematics/ computer science major Dan Wolf ’05 presented a poster about his NSF-funded research last summer. Lars Christiansen and Diane Pike, sociology, led a teaching workshop, “Teaching Organizational Theory,” at the American Sociological Association in August. At that meeting, Pike became chair of the Undergraduate Teaching Section and the Ethics Committee. Jacqueline deVries, history, presented “New Women, New Religion: Feminism and the Victorian Crisis of Faith” at the American Historical Association meeting in January. David Fenrick, Center for Global Education, was an editorial team member in an issue group, “Effective Theological Education for World Mission,” at the Forum 2004 on World Evangelization in Pattaya, Thailand. He also presented “Transforming ShortTerm Mission through Service-Learning” at the Annual World Mission Conference of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in St. Paul in March 2004. In November he co-presented a workshop, “Reciprocity Leads to Culture Learning,” at a workshop of NAFSA: Association of International Educators. Annette Gerten and Lois Bosch, social work, presented a workshop on using creativity to enhance learning relevance for policy students at the annual meeting of the Minnesota Conference on Social Work Education in September. Winter/Spring 2005 Orv Gingerich, international programs and Center for Global Education, participated on a panel, “Why Do They Hate Us So Much? Encouraging Student Geopolitical Awareness in a Post-9/11 World,” at the Council on International Educational Exchange in November. He also participated in a panel, “Interdisciplinary Learning, Internationalization, and Study Abroad,” at the Study Abroad Curriculum Integration Conference at the University of Minnesota last April. Doug Green, English, read a poem “A Topography of Love,” now published online, at the Northfield Arts Guild Writers’ Night in November. He also presented a paper, “Estranging Bedfellows: Early Modern Cinema Today,” for the seminar on Shakespeare, Gender, and Sexual Orientation at the Shakespeare Association of America’s annual meeting. Garry Hesser, sociology, presented a paper co-authored with Augsburg students Riley Conway ’05 and Krista Dahlke ’06, “Rebuilding Communities: Comparing a National Model (Casey) and Minneapolis Neighborhood Revitalization Program,” at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association in August. Norm Holen, art, emeritus, was present for the dedication of the F. Scott Fitzgerald alcove in the St. Paul Central Library, where his terra cotta bust of Fitzgerald was unveiled. Holen’s works have been included in two recent books, The Sculpture Reference Illustrated, by Arthur Williams (2005) and 500 Figures in Clay: Ceramic Artists Celebrate the Human Form (Lark Books, Sterling Publishing, 2004). Gretchen Irvine, education, was a panel member on “Service-Learning: Connecting Schools to the Community,” at the Minnesota Alliance of Black School Educators (MABSE) Education Summit in October. She also presented, “Learning Outcomes One Year Later” at the Hawaii International Conference on Education in January. Mary Jacobson and Vicki Olson, education, and Robert Bill, information technology, presented at the National Reading Conference on the study they have carried out focusing on teacher preparation in the state of Minnesota as it relates to reading. Mark Lester, Center for Global EducationNicaragua, spoke at Seattle University in the Salon Series, on “U.S. Consumption and the Needs of Developing Nations: A View from Nicaragua.” He also presented there on the U.S.Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), and spoke to theology, business, and social work classes. David Matz, psychology, was a co-presenter of “The Social and Evolutionary Psychology of Hair Color Preferences on the Northern and Southern Prairie,” at the January meeting of the Society of Personality and Social Psychology. Curt Paulsen, social work, with Cathy Paulsen, graduate programs, presented “From Spirituality to Empathy: Application to Dialectics in Marital Relationships,” at the National Council on Family Relations in November. He also presented “From Chaos to Order by Way of a Seven-Step Process from Freedom to Love” at the Lilly Conference West on College and University Teaching. Tim Pippert, sociology, presented “I Ain’t Seen Them in Awhile: Created Familites of Homeless Men” at the American Sociological Association annual meeting in August. Nancy Rodenborg and Lois Bosch, social work, presented a paper on using dialogue groups in teaching Master of Social Work students at the annual program meeting of the Council on Social Work Education in February. 19 Faculty/Staff Notes Presentations (continued) Patrice Salmeri, StepUP, and Ann Garvey, student affairs, presented about Augsburg’s StepUP program to the American Association of University Women (AAUW), Minneapolis branch, in September. Nancy Steblay, psychology, presented “Reforming Eyewitness Identification: Convicting the Guilty, Protecting the Innocent,” at a conference at the Cardozo Law School in New York. She also presented on lineup identification issues with real officers and real cases at the American PsychologyLaw Society conference in California, and on blind sequential lineup identifications in the field at a Hennepin County conference of law enforcement officers. Kathryn Swanson, English, served as a panelist for Theatre Unbound’s production of “Girls Got Pluck” and presented a paper titled “Ten Thousand Cups of Tea: American-born Chinese Women Sleuths” at the Popular Culture Conference in San Diego in March. reflection in a curvilinear magnetic field and formation of Alfvenic resonators on open field lines,” in the Journal of Geophysical Research, in 2005. In the same journal, Engebretson is lead author, along with co-authors Jennifer Posch ’94 and Brian Anderson ’82, at Johns Hopkins University; and acknowledged student contributors Geoff Shelburne ’05, Heather Greene ’05, Jon-Erik Hokanson ’05, and Ryan Nevin ’04, for “Ground and satellite observations of Pc 1-2 waves on open field lines poleward of the dayside cusp.” Engebretson is also a co-author of a study, “Density enhancement in plasmasphere-ionosphere plasma during the 2003 Halloween Superstorm: Observations along the 330th magnetic meridian in North America,” which recently appeared in Geophysical Research Letters. syllabi in international social work being published by the Council on Social Work Education. James Vela-McConnell, sociology, participated in a department chairs workshop at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association. Publications Beth Alexander, physician assistant studies, was lead author of “Methods of Pain Assessment in Residents of Long-term Care Facilities: A Pilot Study” which appeared in the March/April issue of the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. Tony Bibus and Rosemary Link, social work, published a chapter, “The Impact of U.S. Welfare Reform on Children’s Well Being: Minnesota Focus,” in Promoting the Well Being of Children, Families, and Communities, edited by Harriet Ward and Jane Scott and published in 2005. Jacqueline deVries, history, published an essay, “Rediscovering Christianity after the Postmodern Turn,” in the winter issue of Feminist Studies and two essays, “Women’s Religious Organisations” and “Women’s Charity Organisations,” in A Change in Attitude: Women, War, and Society, 19141918, edited by Susan Grayzel. Mark Engebretson, physics, and David Murr ’92, at Dartmouth College, are coauthors of an article with lead author Slava Pilipenko, Institute of the Physics of the Earth in Russia, and frequent visiting scientist at Augsburg for “Alfven wave 20 Bill Green, history, published an article, “Brown, Adequacy, and Young Men Getting Real about One Big State,” in the December/January issue of Minnesota Law and Politics, about the desegregation of Minnesota schools and the legal doctrine of “adequacy.” Rosemary Link, social work, is co-author with Lynn Healy of a collection of model David Matz, psychology, co-authored “Cognitive Dissonance in Groups: The Consequences of Disagreement,” in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 88. He also co-authored “Social Norms and Identity Relevance: A Motivational Approach to Normative Behavior,” in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, vol. 30. Bruce Reichenbach, philosophy, published “Miracle Cure or Moral Quagmire?” about the ethics of stem cell research in the October issue of Covenant Companion. He also published “Dances of Death: SelfSacrifice and Atonement,” in Mel Gibson’s Passion and Philosophy, edited by Jorge J.E. Gracia and published by Open Court in 2004. He also authored “The Cosmological Argument,” for the online Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy in 2004. Nancy Rodenborg, social work, published an article, “Service to African American Children in Poverty: Institutional Discrimination in Child Welfare?” in the fall issue of Journal of Poverty: Innovations on Social, Political, & Economic Inequalities. Glenda Rooney, social work, is co-editor of the seventh edition of Direct Social Work Practice, published this year by Brooks/Cole. Winter/Spring 2005 An April 1999 article in Law and Human Behavior, by Nancy Steblay, psychology; Solomon M. Fulero; and students Jasmina Besirevic ’97 and Belia Jimenez-Lorente ’97— “The Effects of Pretrial Publicity on Juror Verdicts: A Meta-Analytic Review”—was one of the magazine’s top 10 downloaded articles in 2004. Francine Chakolis, social work, president of the Minnesota Alliance of Black Educators, coordinated a three-day summit on the Augsburg campus in October, “Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow,” addressing disparities in educational achievement. Kathryn Swanson, English, has been a team member for several accreditation site visits under the auspices of the Higher Learning Commission (North Central Association) and has served on readers’ panels and as part of the accreditation process. She is also an elected ARC (Accreditation Review Council) member. Honors/Awards Retiring football coach Jack Osberg ’62 was honored by Minnesota collegiate football coaches as the 2005 Man of the Year for his valuable contribution to football. Tony Bibus, social work, was elected chair of the Minnesota Board of Social Work, a board appointed by the governor that regulates social work practice in the state. Five Augsburg staff members won top honors at the annual awards banquet for the Minnesota Chapter of International Special Event Services (ISES) in March. Jodi Collen, event services, won the top prize for Best Event Logistics for her planning work on Homecoming 2004. She, Heidi Breen, alumni/parent affairs, and Marc Skjervem, student activities, won first place for Best Corporate or Non-Profit Event Planning—also for the weeklong Homecoming 2004. Kathy Rumpza and Sara Kamholz, public relations and communication, won top prize for Best Use of Graphic Design for the range of publications and promotional materials used for the 25th anniversary of Advent Vespers. Winter/Spring 2005 ‘Thirsty for God’ R eligion professor Brad Holt’s recent book seeks to help readers understand the thirst they experience in their relationship with God, but may not realize or understand. Thirsty for God is an updated and expanded edition of Holt’s work by the same name from 1993 that now broadens the survey of persons and institutions included under Christian “spirituality.” It expands the body of non-Western Christian materials and includes maps identifying locations of people and movements described. “This is a needed text for students and for the lay person,” says Holt, “to help them understand the global perspectives of Christian spirituality. It is not just about Europe and the U.S.” Holt makes the distinction between “spirituality” and “religion” within the context of 20thcentury scholar Baron von Hügel’s tripartite nature of religion as intellectual, institutional, and mystical. Holt equates spirituality with this mystical dimension, and thus a necessary component for well-rounded Christians. The book is accessible and free of the jargon that writer Kathleen Norris, by Betsey Norgard who is included in the book, refers to as “scary words” in the theological lexicon. Holt intends for this book to be as much about “formation”—what he calls “discovery of new being, new relationships, and new practices”—as it is about “information.” Each chapter contains spiritual practice exercises. Organized chronologically, the survey of Christian spirituality begins with early Christian times and carries forth into the 21st century to include such disparate Western contemporaries as Jean Vanier, Jim Wallis, Cesar Chavez, and Robert Schuller. From the Third World, Holt discusses, for example, the Virgin of Guadelupe, liberation spirituality, Pentecostalism, and African indigenous churches. Holt will travel to Italy for six weeks this summer, as one of 15 scholars in various disciplines selected by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), to study one of the subjects in his book, St. Francis of Assisi. The scholars will examine source texts and visual representations of the saint within his 13th-century world to better understand his meaning for today, beyond the popular images. Stephen Geffre Noteworthy Professor Brad Holt’s recent book expands the survey of Christian spirituality. 21 4 THROUGH THE EYES OF TEACHERS, THE EYES OF STUDENTS English professor Kathy Swanson and her husband, Jack, both former Peace Corps volunteers, led a group of nine Augsburg students to their Thai village home of 35 years ago for an internship in teaching English. The students lived Thai culture through the eyes of teachers Kathy and Jack; through the Thai teachers, some of whom are former students of the Swansons; and through the schoolchildren. Excerpts from the Augsburg students’ final papers describe their experience. 4 SEEING THE ‘REAL’ THAILAND I’ve never even seen the ocean!” …“I can’t wait to see Bangkok.”… “Do you think it’s safe?”… “Does the flight really take 26 hours?”… “I already miss my mom!” These were some of the comments we heard as nine Augsburg students, my husband, and I waited to board the first leg of the flight that would take us back to the place we had called home 35 years ago. Jack and I served as Peace Corps volunteers, teaching English in a small rural village, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand, during the height of the war in Viet Nam. Now we were returning, for the second time, but with the responsibility of nine students, some of whom had not traveled beyond the Midwest. “We want to see everything through your eyes,” Jack had told the students. We all expected adventure, some chaos, and wonderful experiences. We knew these three weeks would open our students’ eyes and hearts; we didn’t know how significantly it would change their lives. Our family had returned to Thailand several years before the Augsburg trip and had found that Bangkok had become a huge, modern city, but that our village had remained essentially unchanged. Yes, there were now a 7-Eleven store that offered ice cream and pizza, an ATM machine, and Internet cafes, but the essence of Thailand was there. Prachuab had remained a sleepy, beautiful, fishing village. Walking through the market in the center of the village, we found piles of fish and shrimp 22 by Kathy Swanson from the morning’s catch, baskets of chilies ready for curries, mounds of chicken feet, stands with mangoes and sticky rice, and hills of pineapple, durian, and mangosteen fruit. Most importantly, we found that time had not erased memories we had for our former students and they for us. Returning to the schools where we had taught English, we found that several of our former students were now teachers. They welcomed us with gifts, hugs, and tears and we began thinking about sharing this magnificent place with Augsburg. “You can bring students to teach us,” we were told—and the seed was planted! After my course in Teaching English in Thailand was approved as an English elective, Jack and I began making plans for the trip. We knew that the heart of the experience was to be living and teaching in our village. We also wanted students to see parts of Thailand that tourists likely would miss. Arranging to be present in the village school when classes began after the rainy season, we planned to begin the adventure in Bangkok, then travel to Chiangmai, and then south to Prachuab Kirikhan. Most important to us was that our Augsburg students experience the real Thailand as we had so many years before. And so, after crossing many time zones, watching many inflight movies, and trying to sleep in cramped airline seats, 11 Auggies arrived in Bangkok, Thailand. Even though it was Winter/Spring 2005 2 midnight, traffic was heavy and the heat was oppressive. Too excited to sleep, we checked into the hotel and all set off down Sukhimvit Road. Smells of unrecognizable things, sights of unfamiliar occurrences, and sounds very non-Minnesotan overwhelmed us until we had to give in to sleep. We spent the next several days seeing Bangkok’s magnificent temples and palaces, sampling foods students had never imagined existed, holding giant snakes at the Pasteur Institute, winding through old Chinatown, riding in both tuk-tuks and the new skyway train, and trying to survive humid, 100+ degree temperatures. Ready for a respite, we flew north to Chiangmai. Here we were met by representatives from Payap University who made sure Midwest students understood proper and polite Thai behavior. “Don’t cross your legs so that your toe is pointing at anyone;”… “Never touch anyone on the head;”… “Wear skirts and long pants in the temples;” … “Acknowledge one’s social status by the appropriate wai (bow).” In Chiangmai, we learned about Thai history and culture, spent time at the night markets (after practicing bargaining in Thai!), visited a mountaintop temple, rode elephants through the jungle, trekked on a visit to hill tribes, and rode bamboo rafts down a jungle river. Despite these exciting events, I believe all the students would agree that the highlight of the trip occurred during a stop on our way to the airport as we were leaving Chiangmai. The grandma of one of our students, Rachel Schuette, and her church friends had sent handmade quilts with each of us. We had carried these 15 quilts until we stopped at an orphanage to deliver them to the children. Seeing excitement and joy on the faces of these children as they sang for us and finding tears on our own faces as we left them is a memory none of us will forget. After Chiangmai, we took a long, hot, Thai travelers’ trip by train south to Prachuab. Located on the Gulf of Siam, with the mountains of Myanmar to the west, Prachuab is unspoiled paradise. Here students marched to the secondary school, notebooks and lesson plans in hand, to join Thai students on that first day of the term. We were introduced and welcomed at the opening assembly and then began teaching. Moving from class to class, level to level, each class period, Winter/Spring 2005 Left: Kathy Swanson (back row, sixth from left) poses with students she and Jack taught in their Peace Corps days in Prachuab Kirikhan. Many are now teachers in the school where the Augsburg students practice-taught. Right: Nine students traveled to Thailand to practice-teach English with Professor Kathy Swanson and her husband, Jack, in the village where they had served as Peace Corps volunteers 35 years ago. (back row L to R) Jack Swanson, Carl Butler, Jeff Moores, (third row L to R) Kathy Swanson, Stephanie Nichols, Rachel Schuette, (second row L to R) Sue Kneen, Sabrina Jurey, Bekah Chell, (front row L to R) Annie Reierson, Anna Warnes. Augsburg students learned quickly how to gesture and communicate with just a few Thai words. Jack and I moved around with them, helping occasionally, but mostly sharing in this wonderful experience. After a few days, students felt at home. Every morning as we participated in the school’s opening ceremony, Thai students waved and welcomed us. One of our students received a Thai name, many received gifts, and all realized we were receiving much more than we were able to give. Teachers hosted a party for us toward the end of our time in Prachuab and we reciprocated the next evening. Some of our former students from our Peace Corps days joined us and led rounds of the Peter, Paul, and Mary songs we had taught them 35 years ago. There were no dry eyes in the room after we all joined Ratchana, one of my former students and now a teacher in the secondary school where Augsburg students had spent their time, in “To Sir, with Love,” the song she chose to honor us as teachers. Carrying gifts and e-mail addresses from their Thai students and unconsciously humming “500 Miles,” Augsburg students left Prachuab for Bangkok and Minneapolis. “Saying farewells amid smiles, hugs, and many tears, we promised to return someday soon—and I’m sure we will. For, as one student said, “There’s so much about the world I didn’t know. I thought this trip would change me; I just had no idea how much!” Kathy Swanson is professor of English and chair of the English Department. She directs the English as a Second Language program. 23 j TOUCHING MY HEART by Anna Warnes ’05 Above: For Anna Warnes, traveling in Thailand was an experience for all five senses; but most important were the friendships she made that touched her heart. Thailand is an experience, not just of the mind or for the eyes, but a complete immersion into the culture. Unless you stay at a pristine, exclusive hotel in Hua Hin, it is hard not to touch all five of your senses in Thailand. For me, Thailand was an adventure of smell, sound, taste, sight, and touch, and most importantly, an experience of the heart. The sounds of Thailand are like nothing else. After spending 26 hours on a plane listening to movies, people snoring, and babies crying, the drone of traffic is a welcomed sound in Thailand. Bangkok always had the sound of buzzing tuk-tuks in traffic and trains overhead, but it also had more profound sounds. The sound of complete silence in the wat (temple) with the many pagodas and the loud, but quite musical, sound of blind musicians singing into microphones as they wandered the streets come to mind. Chiangmai had the sound of rushing water over rocks as we slipped by in our open raft and the constant sound of bartering hill tribe women with their silver jewelry and colorful hats. Chiangmai also had the sounds of Doi Suthep with its deep bells booming over the hill and children playing amongst the tourists and monks. Prachuab had the sound of rain, whether misting or pouring, washing the market streets. Prachuab also had the 24 sound of monks blessing people in the early morning hours, speaking and singing prayers over women bowed before them. Amusingly, the national anthem was played at school every morning by the marching band and on the loud speakers, and it also played in my head for the remaining 23 hours of the day until my roommate would throw a pillow at me! My favorite sound of Thailand was the sound of singing. Several times the former students, Kathy, and Jack sang “500 Miles” by Peter, Paul, and Mary. It certainly wasn’t the beauty of the singing that struck me, but the fact that the students remembered all the words and sang them so faithfully. It was obvious that the students had been significantly moved by their teachers. As the students sang, you could see the love and appreciation exuding from them; so much so that it made my eyes water every time they would sing. When I heard the students sing, I could only hope that I too would have such an influence on a group of people. … Forming relationships with my students was an aspect of teaching that really touched my heart. I was able to get especially close to two of my students, Maew and Por. These students were extremely helpful to me in the classroom and they both wanted to learn English so badly. On the Friday evening of the teachers’ dinner, Maew and Por were able to eat dinner with me. I loved talking to them about anything from music to Por’s schooling abroad to my family and America. Maew and Por have e-mailed me several times since our group returned to the United States. They like to ask me questions about my jobs or different musical acts in the U.S. I think it is great that I was able to connect with these students in such a way that they feel comfortable e-mailing me and talking to me about their lives as well as mine. … Thailand is not a place that can be seen on a National Geographic episode and be fully comprehended. I had to smell the markets, hear the temple bells, taste the pineapple, see the countryside, touch the silk, and feel my gia (heart) warmed by the people in order to know Thailand. The exciting part of my experience in Thailand is knowing that there is so much more waiting for me to encounter when I go back. Anna Warnes completed her studies in December 2004 with a major in English. She plans to attend law school. Winter/Spring 2005 BECOMING A TEACHER 1 In his first teaching experience, Jeff Moores ’05 just barely got his feet wet in the classroom and left Thailand wishing he had more teaching opportunities, as well as anticipating his next return trip. “Tomorrow,” I wrote in my journal on Sunday, May 16, “I become a teacher.” Unofficially, of course, and I’m technically still very much a student; but, I’ll be stepping into a role, a job, that rivals that of prostitution for the title of the world’s oldest occupation. I’m feeling what every teacher—from Kathy in her initial teaching years, to Aristotle—must feel when faced with the daunting task of instilling knowledge upon youthful minds: nervousness, anxiety, fears of inadequacy. But mostly, I’m excited. Excited for something new, something frightening, an experience that might open my mind along with those of Thai students. … My most challenging teaching experience in Prachuab happened at the end of Thursday. … At 3 p.m. I returned to the English office to track down a teacher-less class to take over or an occupied class to observe. I was quickly told that Stephanie was teaching level 6/9. I hadn’t taught or observed a high grade level yet, so I thought it would be worthwhile to attend. … Outside the classroom, the slightly older students relaxed on the benches, some slumped over with the end of the day, others energetically giggled with friends. One thing was certain: Stephanie had not yet arrived. I looked at the students in a way that hopefully said, “I’m the teacher; time to start. Get in. Sit down.” Friendly, of course, but I wasn’t about to let the older students walk all over me. Meanwhile my head was reeling: Stephanie’s not here; my lesson plans are for younger students; are they expecting Stephanie? What if they already know everything I’m teaching them? A deep breath later, I calmly flipped through my Winter/Spring 2005 by Jeff Moores ’05 notebook as they settled down. Dictation. That was it, an exercise I had not yet utilized. I slowly read four sentences about a man going to a market and then returning home to eat dinner and watch TV. Their attentive gazes and lack of utterly confused looks encouraged me, but it was difficult to discern whether they were genuinely interested or if they were simply patronizing the new foreign teacher. A few of the boys, including one who sat in the middle of the front row, were energetic and active, sometimes scratching their heads and employing grimaces of misunderstanding or raised eyebrows of clarity. Stephanie showed up about halfway through the class, hopefully adding to any authority I had over the classroom. In the end we walked away not knowing what to conclude. I had felt a lack of influence with level 3/9, and now I felt a lack of respect from level 6/9. On top of it, inadequacy stemmed from having viewed [regular teachers] Charles and David wielding their experienced skills. The mere 10 pages of this essay cannot begin to explore the intense realizations I began uncovering about my future as a mentor, a teacher, a parent—an adult. Luckily, as I suspected it would, my thirst for Thailand continues. A week in Prachuab was not enough time teaching English. I wanted two, three weeks to practice my skills. I wanted to tutor university students and come into contact with all age levels. After my first trip, I predicted that I would definitely return to Thailand someday. I found myself in Bangkok’s busy streets sooner than I thought. Jeff Moores is in the Honors Program and is a senior majoring in English with a concentration in writing. He is news editor of the Echo. This was his second trip to Thailand. c 25 ef MY GOD AND YOUR BUDDHA— THE SAME, ONLY DIFFERENT by Sue Kneen ’04 As a religion major and a prospective seminary student, I was most anxious to see and experience Buddhism first hand. … As I really thought about it, there is much that our faiths have in common: God or Buddha, do good works, eternity or Nirvana, God is omnipresent or eternal nothingness, prayer, denying self, look to pastors/monks, churches and temples, worship, help the poor and taking care of your neighbor. There really isn’t anything so unusual—only different. I thought [our Bangkok tour guide] Panya’s comment summed it all up well as he said with great feeling, “My Buddha and your God, they are the same. When we are sad, we talk to Buddha. Sometimes we talk to a monk, and he makes us do better with what he says, but sometimes we don’t want to tell anyone, so we talk to Buddha. And we feel better; we feel lighter and THE REAL happier.” Now that sounds just like me and my God. I’d like to quote what I wrote in my journal as I stood on top of “Monkey Mountain,” listening to the hauntingly beautiful Buddhist music and the chanting of the monks, and the pungent aroma of their incense lifted to my ears and nose, and the cool breeze smoothed against my face: “It was a beautiful view from on top of the hill over the ocean, Prachuab Kirikhan, and a big sprawling temple to the west. What was especially significant to me was seeing the building where the monks had their evening meditation and hearing them chant and hearing their music. I will never forget that feeling. I imagined and hear them praising their God as I do mine (for lack of better words). It was a feeling and very real sense of oneness while very different. It was surreal and profound. I am thankful for this experience.” FACES IN THE Prachuab Kirikhan is located on the east coast of Thailand, on the Gulf of Thailand. It escaped the massive destruction of the tsunami that devastated areas farther south on the west coast. Of course, when the tsunami hit, everyone from the trip feared for his or her old and new friends. Anna Warnes was the first to hear news from Prachuab. “The day before the tsunami struck I received an e-mail from one of my Thai students. Maew, a sweet 12-yearold, wrote me one of her typical e-mails: ‘Hello Miss Anna, how are you? How are your studies? I am fine. My family went on holiday. It was fun,’ etc. “The next day I heard about the tsunami on the news. I immediately thought of Maew. I wrote her an e-mail: 'Maew, 26 Sue Kneen ’04 gained a rich introduction to Buddhism as she prepared for her own seminary studies. It seems I am very fortunate indeed to have been introduced to a culture such as this through the lens of respect and deep affection. … I will never be the same, and my daughters and those with whom I have the privilege to share about my trip will be able to see some of Thailand and foreign travel for themselves. Sue Kneen graduated from Weekend College in 2004 with majors in English and religion and is now studying at Luther Seminary. TSUNAMI are you safe? Were you hit by the wave?' I received a response within a day. Maew was in fact safe, although her father had been working near Phuket, and he was injured but alive. “By expanding the world classroom and making connections with people in Thailand, the tsunami affected real people, people I knew. The tsunami did not kill thousands of faceless people on the other side of the world; the tsunami killed people I may have met and learned from.” Winter/Spring 2005 C ONE STUDENT I MAY HAVE TOUCHED by Rachel E. Schuette ’03 SEEING THAILAND THROUGH KATHY AND JACK’S EYES “Kathy and Jack also had endless tidbits about Thai culture to share with us throughout the three weeks. Whether we received lessons about teaching English, how to eat at a Thai restaurant, or when to take our shoes off at a Buddhist temple, Kathy and Jack’s previous knowledge of Thailand was a critical part of the wonderful experience we shared.” —Jeff Moores “The entire trip was affected because Jack and Kathy led Rachel Schuette ’03 compiled a lesson plan book, in collaboration with Professor Swanson, with materials from the Augsburg students’ lessons “to show appreciation for the gracious welcome they received from everyone in Prachuab Kirikhan.” It has been three weeks since we returned home and I am still on “Thai time,” meaning I feel much more laid back and not really pushed to do anything in a hurry. … I learned so much from this experience; it is difficult to pinpoint the important issues. Being a teacher is not always about teaching test-ready material. It was not until about the third day of teaching in Prachuab that I realized this. I wasn’t there to teach them how to conjugate verbs perfectly, or to show them how to use articles all the time. I was there to learn from them and to hopefully share my culture with them. There was no test on Friday or review of information; the visit was much more than that. It was an experience that I will keep with me for the rest of my life. It will serve as a reminder every time I walk into a new classroom or job. It made me appreciate what I have here in America, but still understand that just because some people do not have these luxuries, they may be just as happy as I. It was apparent through the interactions among Professor Swanson, her husband, and the former Thai students that a lifetime connection can be made. Truly, for me, it was finding that one student whom I feel I may have touched, but who really touched me, that makes me say, “YES! That is why I went to Thailand.” ■ Rachel Schuette graduated in 2003 with a double major in English and secondary education/communication arts licensure. All photos were taken by participants on the trip. Winter/Spring 2005 the way, I suspect. On just a superficial level, the heat, the smells of the streets, some of the foods, and the different standard of living we enjoy could have easily been turned into disgust by travelers not accustomed to such extremes and who were not constantly challenged to look deeper for beauty and meaning and perhaps a different way of living life.” —Sue Kneen I 27 28 Winter/Spring 2005 Learning with your heart by Judy Petree photos by Stephen Geffre A Long distances and remote locations make healthcare delivery difficult on the reservation. Winter/Spring 2005 visit to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation helps nursing students bridge cultural differences to experience health care from the perspectives of a community long underserved by mainstream healthcare systems. Last November, three Augsburg nursing students—Sharon Gentile, Susan Loushin, and Cathy Miller—spent several days on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in southwestern South Dakota. Led by Cheryl Leuning, professor and chair of the Nursing Deptartment, and Susan Nash, nursing professor in Augsburg’s Rochester program, the experience is one of several nursing practicums offered in the Master of Arts in Nursing program. Augsburg’s graduate nursing program prepares nurses for transformational leadership and transcultural practice across care settings, especially as they address health inequities. At Pine Ridge, they became immersed in a community with different cultural values and traditions that has long remained outside the mainstream of the health care system. The Pine Ridge Reservation encompasses about two million acres and is home to approximately 40,000 Lakota people. Pine Ridge is also home to two of the poorest counties in the nation. According to the “Village Earth” online newsletter and “Pine Ridge Reservation” (pineridgerez.net), the unemployment rate is 86 percent, versus a 5.5 percent national average; and 63 percent of the people live below the federal poverty level. Alcoholism affects 8 out of 10 families, and half of the people over the age of 40 have diabetes. The infant mortality rate is the highest in this continent, and the school dropout rate is more than 70 percent. The Indian Health Service is understaffed and ill-equipped to 29 Pastor Larry Peterson, director of the Pine Ridge Retreat Center introduces the students to Lakota culture before they begin their home visits. (L to R): Cheryl Leuning, Nursing Department chair; Susan Loushin; Sharon Gentile; Cathy Miller; Sue Nash, Rochester program nursing professor; and retreat center director Larry Peterson. fully address the health needs of the community. Consequently, health inequities continue to increase. The students spent two days shadowing the Indian Health Service (IHS) nurses from the reservation who served as cultural guides. However, before the students became immersed in the program, they gained a brief insight into the Lakota culture and history through visits to Prairie’s Edge Native American Cultural Art Center in Rapid City, and short stops at Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial. At Pine Ridge the students stayed in 30 the Pine Ridge Retreat Center, run by Pastor Larry Peterson. Peterson sat down with the group the first night to give them a brief lesson on the Lakota people, some dos and don’ts, and what they should expect when going on home visits. “Knowing the culture of the Lakota people is really important when interacting with them,” Peterson said. Another history lesson came from Leonard Littlefinger, Lakota cultural teacher at the Loneman School in Oglala. Littlefinger has been the IHS hospital administrator at Pine Ridge for a number of years, and is also the great, great grandson of Lakota Chief Big Foot, who was slain in the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890. Littlefinger shared with the students the key values integral to the culture of his people, their past and future. “The Lakota people are the fastest growing people, yet have the greatest health issues,” he said. “It’s not just about a healthy body, but about a healthy spirit and soul as well.” Karen Red Star, health educator with the Indian Health Service, also shared her experiences as a healthcare provider on the reservation. She advised the Winter/Spring 2005 For Leonard Littlefinger, Lakota cultural teacher and great, great grandson of Chief Big Foot, a healthy spirit and soul are as important to his people as a healthy body. Augsburg student Sharon Gentile (background) shadowed Indian Health Service nurse Sally Mercier (left) in home visits on the reservation. students to be “culturally sensitive,” as there is a high turnover of healthcare providers on the reservation and the clients see different people all the time. “This makes it more difficult to establish any sense of trust and familiarity.” Equipped now with some background information, the students were ready to pair up with the public health nurses at the Indian Health Service and begin their home visits. For the next two days, the students set out with registered public health nurses Rod Sahr, Sally Mercier, Kendra Lone Elk, Mary Moussear, and Andrea Pond, visiting homes in town and out in the countryside. The nurses clued the students in on what to expect in the coming days. Sahr said that much of his time is spent simply tracking down clients, as families on the reservation move frequently. And, as frustrating as that can be, he said, you learn when to keep searching for them and when to move on. “There are hundreds of people we have to see, but just don’t have the time,” Sahr said. “Actually, there is probably someone we’re supposed to see in every single house.” Not only is relocation a factor, but Winter/Spring 2005 also many of the homes in the country are miles apart. Some people live on long, rut-filled, one-lane dirt roads, miles off of the main highway. Obviously this causes problems in the wintertime, Sahr commented. One of his clients is an elderly woman struggling with diabetes. She and her husband are also raising their two grandsons, not uncommon on the reservation, said Sahr. Family connections are a strong part of Lakota culture and tradition. One of the keys, he told the students, is to listen and treat the clients with respect. He demonstrated this by just visiting with the client at first, asking her about their grandsons and family, and only after this initial conversation moving on to the health issues. Lone Elk, another public health nurse, also modeled how relationships were built during each home visit. “You need to build up a rapport with the people. You need to get them to trust you, or they will agree with whatever you say just to get rid of you.” Many of the visits throughout the two days included varied services—vaccinations, monitoring of blood sugar levels and blood pressure, new mother and baby checkups, and post-surgical visits. Throughout, however, was what one student described as the “wonderful way the nurses have of working with the clients.” “There’s more to health care than just the medical side of it,” nursing student Sharon Gentile said. “I feel there is a need to find a better way, a better approach to health care.” Cathy Miller, a public health nurse in the Rochester, Minn., area, shadowed Lone Elk one of the days, and told Lone Elk that much of what she does is not that different from what she was seeing on the reservation. “The first time you visit you see so much, you just want to jump in and fix everything,” Miller said, “but you have to take it slow and gain their trust first.” Miller came to Augsburg because she was looking for a program that would enhance her own work as a public health nurse. “Some of the art of nursing has gone by the wayside,” Miller said. “It’s not enough to know what the diagnosis is, but what the barriers are that may be preventing treatment. Many times it’s just a cultural misunderstanding.” 31 Miller added that she sees transcultural nursing as giving nurses the tools to practice both the “art of nursing and the science of nursing,” and a way to bridge barriers through understanding culture and cultural differences. “It has opened my eyes to see that there are other ways to look at problems. Ten years ago I never would have done that.” At the end of the day, all of the students remarked on the value of the experience. “The nurses all showed empathy, respect, persistence, and true interest in their clients,” Miller said. “The healthcare provider needs to truly listen, be present, and value what the Lakota person shares as being important to them. Only then can they (the provider) move on to an effective partnership.” Listening in an intentional way, Leuning said, is a skill that needs focused practice. It is an integral part of Augsburg’s nursing program, built into classes from the very beginning of the students’ educational journey. “I think the uniqueness of these practicums is that we can more easily identify preconceived ideas that block true listening and hearing of the other person’s voice,” Leuning said. “Experiences like this uncover our own biases and values. Once we experience that ‘aha’ kind of moment, it provides a prototype for applying skills to our own daily life and interactions.” Nash added that this practicum opens the world to the students. “Having this opportunity to closely experience other cultures first hand will give the graduate nursing students an incredible opportunity that expands their world view.” These aren’t sightseeing trips, Nash continued, but rather opportunities to walk side by side with other people and to view the horizon from the other person’s perspective. “That kind of experience is truly life changing and transforming,” she said. “It is more than head learning. It is heart learning.” ■ Small medicine bags hang on the chainlink fence surrounding the mass grave at the site of the Wounded Knee Massacre on the Pine Ridge reservation. Judy Petree is media relations manager. 32 Winter/Spring 2005 Learning nursing care across cultures H ealth is influenced by culture, belief, and values, and it often suffers when the culture is not understood. Today, the influx of immigrants to the United States, particularly to Minnesota, is severely challenging social service programs. A disproportionate burden of disease and suffering experienced by minority and foreign-born populations in the United States is but one indication that the healthcare system is ineffective. Given the current shortage of nurses, it is not surprising that there is an increasing demand for professional nursing leadership to provide culturally-congruent health care to people of diverse cultures with emphasis on holistic care, cultural diversity, and community-focused practice. Augsburg’s graduate nursing program prepares nurses for advanced transformational leadership and transcultural practice across care settings. Through nursing practicums, Augsburg students form relationships with persons representing diverse cultures both locally and globally in order for the students to understand the health inequities that people experience. Learning how to do this while preserving the cultural dignity of others goes Winter/Spring 2005 beyond basic nursing skills. The aim of the program is not for every student to become an “expert” in every culture, but rather that every student will learn skills that are necessary to become a culturally competent nurse, such as basic knowledge of cultural differences and the awareness of differences in delivery of patient care; recognition of the nurse’s own bias and influence of personal culture views and practices; and an awareness and respect for cultural communication issues, etiquette, and problem solving. The practicums are a vital part of Augsburg’s nursing program, says Cheryl Leuning, nursing professor and department chair. The focus is on reaching populations underserved by traditional healthcare systems. “If a student can see the world through another’s eyes, it changes how they see their own world. It is the unique balance of in-class and incommunity opportunities that attracts students to the nursing programs.” Augsburg offers nursing practicums for both graduate and undergraduate students in several cultural contexts: Namibia, Mexico, Guatemala, the inner cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul and Rochester, and at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. ■ 33 AAlumni LUMNINews NEWS From the Alumni Board president’s desk… A ugsburg College alumni are a pretty amazing bunch. Consider Carol (Johnson) Casperson ’60 (profiled in this issue on p. 38), who is working to create affordable housing nationwide with Habitat for Humanity. I’m thinking also of 2004 Distinguished Alumnus Dr. Brian Anderson ’82, who is working on pioneering physics research, as well as Alumni Board past president Dr. Paul Mueller ’84 from the Mayo Clinic and First Decade awardee Susan (Horning) Arntz ’94, city manager for the City of Waconia. These folks and many others have passed through Augsburg on the front end of their life journey, and all have significant, everyday impact on the lives of other people. They all have very different vocations, but share one similarity—they all received an undergraduate degree at Augsburg College. Which other group of amazing people is forming new ideas, creating new journeys, and setting new standards? Why, that group is attending Augsburg right now! They are participating in one of many world-class Augsburg programs that deliver transforming education: • The Center for Global Education connects students with learning opportunities around the world, while the Center for Service, Work, and Learning finds opportunities for experiential education locally. • Augsburg offers great athletics including a nine-time national championship wrestling team along with superb women’s hockey. • The nationally recognized StepUP program offers a supportive educational environment for students in recovery. • Augsburg is one of 12 colleges nationally chosen for excellence in its first-year program. • The Weekend College program offers the most comprehensive and quality adult learning program in the region. • New graduate programs like the Master of Business Administration are providing expanded and growing learning opportunities for adult learners. There is a renewing group of leaders attending Augsburg right now. They are future alumni who will go out into the world and impact our lives and communities. I am so proud to be part of this transforming educational community, and all that we do! Bill Vanderwall ’93 WEC President, Alumni Board Alumnae present gift to the Women’s Resource Center I n December, five Augsburg alumnae presented a special gift to the Anne Pederson Women’s Resource Center in honor of former Augsburg professor Dr. Gerald Thorsen and in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of their graduation from the College. The five women, who refer to themselves as the “619 Club” (so named for the house they resided in as students on 22nd Avenue—the site now occupied by Foss Center), are Class of 1964 alumnae Betty (Hanson) Rossing, Karen Kohout, Ellen (Paulson) Keiter, Sandra (Simpson) Phaup, and Deanne (Star) Greco. The women met during their freshman year in the advanced freshman English/Western literature course taught 34 by Thorsen. “Dr. Thorsen, never one to slight the intellectual talents of women, encouraged us to stretch our critical abilities and tackle literary analysis,” says Greco. “Two of us became English majors, in part inspired by our experience in his class. “Thank you, Dr. Thorsen, for the part you played in forming our lives and careers,” continues Greco. “We are pleased to honor you, a ‘feminist’ before it was fashionable, by making a gift to the Women’s Resource Center in your name.” Five alumnae presented a special gift to the Anne Pederson Women’s Resource Center in honor of former Augsburg professor Gerald Thorsen and in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of their graduation from the College. Pictured, L to R, are Deanne (Star) Greco, Sandra (Simpson) Phaup, Ellen (Paulson) Keiter, Karen Kohout, and Betty (Hanson) Rossing. Winter/Spring 2005 Third annual Connections event honors Jane Freeman J ane Freeman, former first lady of Minnesota, was presented the “Leading Leaders” award at the third annual Connections—A Women’s Leadership Event in January. The award, which recognizes those who have inspired others to high levels of achievement through vocational, community, and civic leadership, honors Freeman, who has led by example as the first lady of Minnesota from 1954–60, and as president of Girl Scouts of the USA from 1978–84, building the organization and shaping the futures of many young women through her vision and dedicated service. Frances Hesselbein, current chair of Jane Freeman (front row, right), former first lady of Minnesota, was presented the “Leading Leaders” the Board of Governors of the Leader to award at the third annual Connections—A Women’s Leadership Event in January. She is pictured here along with fellow event presenters: (front row, L to R) Ami Nafzger ’94, Frances Hesselbein, and Jane Leader Institute and former CEO of the Freeman; (back row, L to R) Jennifer Martin, Gloria Lewis, Jean Taylor ’85, Kathryn Tunheim, and Phebe Girl Scouts, made a special trip to take Hanson ’50. part in this year’s event to help present the award to her friend and former Girl Scouts colleague. Hesselbein defined leadership as “a state of being” and not something that you “do,” and offered her friend, Jane Freeman, as the perfect example of grace and leadership. Co-sponsored by Augsburg and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, this year’s gathering joined more than 100 women from Numerous Augsburg students participated in the event’s throughout the community these two students gained valuable insights from for a morning of inspiration, activities; Koryne Horbal during a roundtable networking discussion. encouragement, networking, and empowerment. Board of Regents, who inspired the group Several Augsburg alumnae provided with her own discovery of how she is able Frances Hesselbein (left), former CEO of Girl an excellent program with Augsburg to share her unique gifts and talents with Scouts of the USA, presented the “Leading Leaders” award to her friend and former Girl regents Gloria Lewis and Jennifer Martin others more effectively after learning how Scouts colleague, Jane Freeman (right). providing the welcome and the closing. to also receive gifts from others. Ami Author Phebe Hanson ’50 set the tone Nafzger ’94 shared her journey as a Link (G.O.A.L) to provide services and with a poem from her new book Why Korean adoptee of finding her place in support for other adoptees on their path Still Dance—75 Years: 75 Poems. the world. She spent several years in of self-discovery. Featured speakers included Jean Korea after graduating from Augsburg Mark your calendars for the fourth Taylor ’85, president of Taylor exploring her heritage, and ultimately Connections event next January 28. annual Corporation and chair of the Augsburg founded the Global Overseas Adoptees Winter/Spring 2005 35 Alumni News Alumni events calendar Please join us for these upcoming alumni and parent events (see also the college-wide calendar on the inside back cover for additional events): April June 28 Senior Reception hosted by the Alumni Board, East Commons, Christensen Center, 4:30–6 p.m. 14 Auggie Hour at Three Fish, 3070 Excelsior Blvd., Minneapolis (near Lake Calhoun and Whole Foods), 612-920-2800, 5:30 p.m. Meet the new Auggie coaches! May 6 Special reception for business graduates (all Augsburg faculty, alumni, and 2005 business graduates are invited), Christensen Center, 4–6 p.m. 10 Auggie Hour on-campus reception for all current and former Alumni Board members, 5:30 p.m. 24 Class Agent Year-in-Review, Minneapolis Room, Christensen Center, 5:30 p.m. 23 Alumni Board meeting at Canterbury Park, 5:30 p.m. July 12 Auggie Hour at Trattoria Da Vinci, 400 Sibley St., St. Paul, 651-222-4050, 5:30 p.m. August 9 Auggie Hour at Dock Café, 425 Nelson St. E, Stillwater, 651-430-3770, 5:30 p.m. 18 Canterbury Park Alumni Event (Watch for details this summer!) ALUMNI TOUR TO CHINA Join alumni and friends of the College on a discovery tour of China hosted by Brad Holt, professor of religion. Plans are in progress for a May 2006 two-week tour featuring the history, culture, and scenic beauty of China. Discover treasures of this ancient land and witness China’s rapid growth in the 21st century. The tour begins in Beijing with visits to the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Ming Tombs, and the Summer Palace. Marvel at the thousands of terra cotta warriors uncovered in Xian in 1974 and dated to 221 BC. Experience China’s historic and majestic Yangtze River on a four-night cruise. Few places on earth match the splendor of the Yangtze River’s Three Gorges, which will be flooded by the dam project at the end of this decade. The international city of Shanghai concludes this travel experience. More details available later this spring; call or e-mail the alumni office at 612-330-1178 or <alumni@augsburg.edu> to get on a special mailing list for further information. 36 Parent Council is invited… Parent Council members are invited to attend the annual New Student Orientation, June 17–18. Contact Alumni/Parent Relations at <alumni@augsburg.edu> for more information. Auggie Day at Como Park Bring your family to Como Park in St. Paul on June 4, 11a . m. –1p. m. , for this fun annual event. Bring a picnic lunch (BBQ grills are available) and Augsburg will provide beverages and goodies, giveaways, and fun for the kids. For more information, contact Alumni/Parent Relations at <alumni@augsburg.edu>. Annual golf tournaments Alumni are invited to participate in Augsburg’s Annual Men’s Hockey Golf Tournament on June 10 at Manitou Ridge Golf Course in White Bear Lake, Minn; cost is $90 per person (contact Mike Schwartz ’83 at 612-330-1163 for more information). Alumni are also invited to the 42nd Annual Clair Strommen A-Club Golf Tournament on June 27 at Pebble Creek Golf Course in Becker, Minn. (contact Ron Main ’56 at 612-338-4824 for more information). Homecoming 2005 Attention Auggies from the classes of 1955, 1965, 1980, and First Decade, 1995–2005: This is your reunion year! Plan now to join your classmates this September 26–October 1 for the annual Homecoming festivities and your reunion reception! Watch your mail and upcoming editions of the Augsburg Now for complete details; please let us know your current e-mail address at <alumni@augsburg.edu>. You can also stay up-to-date by visiting the alumni Web site at <www.augsburg.edu/alumni>. Winter/Spring 2005 CLASS NOTES Class Notes Rev. Jim Glasoe recently published The Immigrant’s Treasure (Publish America), a factbased, fictional biography of his late grandfather, Michael Glasoe, an ambitious young Norwegian who emigrated to America in 1886, settling first in Minnesota and eventually homesteading in North Dakota. Jim and his wife, Nicole, are retired and live on a lake in the north woods of Minnesota, where he does his writing. From 1972–97, he served as executive director of several non-profit corporations that provide residential and developmental program services for children and adults with developmental disabilities. He also served as a Lutheran parish pastor for 10 years. 1964 Deanne (Star) Greco, Bloomington, Minn., was elected president of the Ordway Circle of Stars. 1966 Alan Stensrud, Plymouth, Minn., recently retired as president of the Animal Humane Society, a position he had held since 1975. He was also awarded the Glen Summerlin Service Award, presented by the Society of Animal Welfare Administrators at a conference in San Diego, Calif. He looks forward to spending more time with his wife, Shirley, his son and two daughters, and his four grandchildren. 1969 Mark Lund, professor of economics and director of international education at Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, was appointed as the college’s Dahl Professor of Economics for Winter/Spring 2005 the 2004–05 academic year. As the Dahl Professor of Economics, Mark devotes part of his professional time to teaching activities that encourage students to develop sound analytical and critical thinking skills, become active participants in community and civic activities, and understand the importance of incorporating personal responsibility and accountability into their work and lives. Mark has served on Luther’s faculty since 1978. 1971 David Siedlar, previously of Concord, Mass., emigrated to Netanya, Israel, a port on the Mediterranean between Haifa and Tel Aviv, by virtue of the Law of Return, an Israelian policy that grants automatic citizenship to any Jew of the diaspora. David is retired from the U.S. Navy. Lieutenant Colonel Jerry Steinke, began service at Camp Victory in Baghdad, Iraq, about two weeks before she left Kuwait. Prior to Kuwait, she owned a dental practice in Maplewood, Minn.; Kristin and her husband reside in North Oaks, Minn. 1975 Brad Forsythe, Cincinnati, Ohio, published his debut book, Bulletproof Your Business— Cutting Risk for Small Business Owners and Managers. The book has been featured in several media outlets and reviews from across the country, and serves as a “plainEnglish guide that shows companies how to simply and cost-effectively conduct risk management on a do-it-yourself basis.” Brad is founder and president of Best Practice Advisors. Patricia (Reuter) Georg, Hopkins, Minn., was selected as the Minnesota State Teacher of the Year in 2003 by the United States Air Force Association/ Aerospace Education Foundation; she was honored in November 2003 at the Rawlings Chapter Fall Awards Banquet. Patricia teaches at Franklin Elementary School in Anoka. AUGGIES ON TV Courtesy photo 1957 1972 Kristin Rajala, an Army major, returned home in April 2004 from Camp Udairi in Kuwait, where she served as a dentist for three months to incoming U.S. troops and nationals. She also donated a keyboard and served as organist at the camp’s chapel, where she also conducted the service when the chaplain was unavailable. In addition, Kristin created three banners for the soldiers who attend camp Udairi chapel, as well as for both her family home church and for her husband’s home church (she is pictured here with her husband and one of her banners). Her husband, Augsburg alumna Linnea Mohn, Class of 2003, recently completed work on the first season of the Channel 45 (KSTC-TV) show, Nate on Drums. Hosted by local musician Nate Perbix, the half-hour program stars Mohn along with fellow actors David Harris and Motion Price, and showcases comedy segments coupled with local music and original animation. During its premiere season, the show won the 2004 Minnesota Music Academy Award for Best Audio-Visual Production. Pictured from the show, clockwise from left, are David Harris, Nate Perbix, Motion Price, and Linnea Mohn ’03. 37 Class Notes ALUMNI PROFILE Carol (Johnson) Casperson ’60: Building hope one home at a time by Bobbie Chong A physical education and biology major, Carol (Johnson) Casperson fondly recalls hanging out at “the grill” and wild ping-pong tournaments at Augsburg. Originally from St. Paul, she chose Augsburg because some of her cousins were current students. After graduating in 1960, she taught at Shakopee Public Schools and served as its only P.E. teacher. She went on to teach at a school in the New Hope district that she describes as having been the epitome of “brand-new.” Casperson later married, had two children, and moved to California where her (now former) husband attended medical school and completed his internship and residency. During this time, Casperson says “Vietnam happened,” and her family received military orders to relocate to 29 Palms Marine Base or “MCB.” In the 1960s, 29 Palms was literally in the middle of nowhere, and Casperson describes the desert location of what was to be her family’s new home as “465 square miles of kitty litter.” Flash-forward to the present day and 29 Palms isn’t the “middle of nowhere” anymore. Reflecting on her former city of residence and the dramatic change it’s undergone, Casperson says, “Now when you fly into Orange County Airport you can’t believe the new houses. There are massive developments, roofs touching, [many cost] $500,000.” As executive director of D.C. Habitat for Humanity, Casperson is familiar with the national housing crisis and the realities and hardships of the real estate market. She made the leap from California to Washington, D.C., after she helped a former neighbor campaign for Congress. He won and asked if she’d be interested in working at the home office. She needed to send a copy of her résumé but didn’t have one because at the time, “as a teacher in Minnesota, when I graduated, they came looking for you.” She quickly threw one together and was hired on the spot. A few years later she got bored and asked if she could come out to D.C. and work on the select committee her boss served. While newly transplanted in the D.C. area, an Iowan friend of Casperson’s stayed with her for three years. This friend was registered in the volunteer clearinghouse and asked if anyone in the area inquired about Habitat for Humanity because, at the time, there wasn’t an affiliate in that area. “I didn’t know anything about it [Habitat] at the time.” Recalling the beginning of the D.C. Habitat, “Three people came to town to start one,” Casperson said. She was invited to go with her friend into a questionable part of the D.C. area for one of the very first meetings. “I drove down there and went to the meeting with her and I thought, ‘What a great idea. I wonder if this really works?’” So the two friends both began volunteering. Casperson was still working full time then. “We had such a terrible time in the beginning,” laments Casperson, “First of all, we’d never done anything like this so who’s going to believe you, that you can actually do this? I mean, it sounds good, [but] people have pulled so many schemes on people in D.C. that no one trusts anybody.” Despite obstacles, the group persisted and “we got the first two houses done, then we started on the next two. Then our ‘blueprintist’ got this brilliant idea to apply to be the site of the Jimmy Carter Work Project (1992).” Casperson then became director for what she says “should’ve been a one-year assignment, but I’m still here.” In 1988 when she first began volunteering with Habitat, there were about 200 chapters across the United States. Today, there are over 1,700 worldwide. Casperson pointed out that a common misconception about Habitat for Humanity is that it’s only about construction. “We have 12 committees, including the Family Selection Committee, which tends to [include] people such as loan officers or mortgage bankers—people who know about the mortgage business because that’s really what you’re doing. Based on Habitat’s criteria, you’re picking people for a mortgage because there aren’t too many banks that want to carry a no-profit, no interest mortgage.” Another opportunity for volunteerism is the Family Partnership Committee. This committee helps provide moral support to families because many are first-time homeowners and the process can be scary and can literally throw a person into a panic. Much of D.C. Habitat’s fundraising comes from direct mail, donations, and their once-a-year, one-hour breakfast that generated $150,000 last year. And though it is rare, occasionally a developer or landowner will donate plots of land. The D.C. Habitat has built two homes on Capitol Hill that turned out to be model green homes. Currently, the group is working on a 53-house project on 4.3 acres of land. When asked what job advice she would impart on current Auggies or recent alumni, Casperson said, “I would say the same thing I said to my daughter when she was in school forever. She said, ‘Mom, I don’t know what I want to do when I graduate.’ You know, what you want to do is not necessarily what your major subject was. But it’s whatever makes you happy. And that’s what you have to follow. If things aren’t making you happy in your job, you need to pick out the things that you do like and then follow that path.” For more information about the D.C. Habitat for Humanity, go to <www.dchabitat.org/>. Bobbie Chong is an administrative assistant in the Office of Public Relations and Communication. 38 Winter/Spring 2005 1978 P. Dawn (Heil) Taylor, Des Moines, Iowa, was honored as one of 10 “Women of Influence” in August for her volunteer work and activism. She has been an advocate for Iowa’s Latino communities, serving on the Iowa Commission of Latino Affairs and as vice president of the Hispanic Educational Resource Center, which operates a bilingual preschool and provides outreach assistance to families. She currently serves on the boards of the Greater Des Moines Community Foundation and the Red Cross of Central Iowa Foundation, and is an Augsburg regent. In addition, she is an adviser to the Center for New Communities and the Iowa Project, an immigrant rights organization geared toward Latinos. She has served as an advocate for Latinos who were in the process of being deported, and has assisted them in finding resources and guidance. 1979 Barb Ahl, Evansville, Minn., received the Evansville Public School Teacher of the Year Award for 2004–05. Barb is a music teacher for Evansville Public Schools. Kathy (Gray) Dohner, Fairbanks, Alaska, is a sign language interpreter. AUGGIE AUTHORS Courtesy photo LaJune Thomas Lange, Minneapolis, was featured in The Minnesota Women’s Press’ annual “changemakers” issue, which salutes 25 individuals and organizations whose actions in the public arena over the past two decades have promoted greater self-determination, equality, and justice for women and girls. LaJune is a judge on the Hennepin County 4th Judicial District Court; she has held this seat since 1986. 1980 Robert Stanley Peter Gardner, Rochester, Minn., composed original music for the Saint Paul City Ballet’s production of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. A blend of ballet and theatre, the production was presented in December at both the O’Shaughnessy in St. Paul and the Paramount Theatre in St. Cloud. 1981 Walt Johnson, Minneapolis, completed a two-year fellowship at the Patent and Trademark Depository Library (PTDL) Program in Arlington, Va. During that time, he researched patent and trademark questions from PTDLs throughout the country and spent many days on the road conducting public and PTDL-staff training sessions. He returned to his former position as a reference librarian at the downtown Minneapolis Public Library. 1982 Rev. Rebecca Sogge received a doctor of ministry degree in single parent ministry from Luther Seminary last May. Before entering Luther, Rebecca served for five years as co-pastor of Christ, Marble, and Singsaas Lutheran churches in Hendricks, Minn. She then spent another five years as pastor of Trinity and West Lake Johanna Lutheran churches and Union Presbyterian Church in Brooten, Minn. She is currently an associate pastor at Zion Lutheran Church in Buffalo, Minn. Three alumnae authors were featured as special guests at a recent Auggie Hour celebrating Augsburg authors. Pictured, L to R, are: Erika Hammerschmidt ’04 (Born on the Wrong Planet, Tyborne Hill Publishers LLC); Doris Rubenstein ’93 MAL (The Good Corporate Citizen: A Practical Guide, John Wiley & Sons); and Phebe Hanson ’50 (Why Still Dance: 75 Years: 75 Poems, Nodin Press). 1983 Gordon Sandquist, Ballwin, Mo., began a new call at Trinity Lutheran Church in Chesterfield, Mo. in September. He and his wife, Sonja, recently adopted two girls, ages 6 and 7. 1985 Ron Munkittrick, Westfield, N.J., was appointed chief financial officer of Ramp Corporation in October; he had been working with Ramp since June as a consultant on operational and financial initiatives. Ron has 20 years of experience in corporate financial management with companies such as Fingerhut Corporation, Hanover Direct, Genesis Direct, Site59.com, and Decima Ventures. Most recently he was CFO of CapeSuccess LLC, a staffing and information technology consulting company. Ron has an M.B.A. from the University of St. Thomas. 1986 Michael A. Johnson accepted the position of director of Winter/Spring 2005 dramatics at Trinity High School in Trinity, N.C. His wife, Ann Marie (Glover) ’84, has contributed to the field of early childhood education as a Head Start administrator and teacher for more than 20 years. 1987 Rev. Tammy J. Rider, Claremont, Minn., was a finalist in a national sermon contest sponsored by the FaithTrust Institute (formerly known as the Center for the Prevention of Sexual and Domestic Violence) with her sermon, “Sleeping Women.” As such, her sermon was published in The Journal of Religion and Abuse (Haworth Pastoral Press, Vol. 6, No. 1, 2004). 1988 Carl R. Holm (formerly Holmes), Albertville, Minn., was recently promoted to northern regional sales manager at F.A. Davis Co. Publishers. His wife, Chrisanne D. (Rebertus) ’89, began her fifth year of homeschooling their three children: Emilyanne, Mark, and 39 Class Notes James. They can be contacted at <arenzano1@earthlink.net>. 1990 Vicki (Janssen) McDougall, North Branch, Minn., is the new dean of students at Forest Lake Senior High School. 1991 Rev. Judith A. (Benson) Bangsund received a master of divinity degree from Luther Seminary last May. She is a missionary at the Division of Global Mission for the ELCA in Chicago, and following graduation, Judith returned to Makumira-Tumaini University in Usa River, Tanzania (where she served as an intern as part of her degree requirements), to serve in an ordained role in missions. written exams. Sharol specializes in coaching nurses and “peak performers” from all walks of life through her company, Life Illumination Keynotes, Seminars, & Coaching; Sharol can be reached via her Web site at <www.lifeillumination.com>. law degree at William Mitchell College of Law. Cindy (Kostusak) Waldron, Fairfax, Va., graduated from George Washington University, Washington D.C., in 2004 with an M.B.A. specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. She works for Freddie Mac in the Financial Research Department. Julie (Holmquist) Sellers, Duluth, Minn., is a media planner for Out There Advertising, a Duluth advertising firm. She was previously a media director for von Goertz & VanHove (also in Duluth), and a senior media planner and account executive at Haworth Marketing and Media Co. in Minneapolis. She was also a media analyst at the Minneapolis-based Campbell Mithun Esty agency. 1993 1994 Michael H. Haukaas, Brooklyn Center, Minn., is a clerk at the law firm of Schwegman, Lundberg, Woessner & Kluth for a second year. He is pursuing a Bill Gabler, Prior Lake, Minn., married Corinne Lindborg, a 1998 Gustavus Adolphus alumna, last May. In addition, Bill was inducted into the 2003 Prior Lake High School Hall of Fame for his achievements in athletics in both high school and college—he was a standout three-sport athlete (football, wrestling, and baseball). He is the youngest male to be inducted. Dan Sweeney, Minneapolis, recently opened his own business, Keep In Touch Massage, in Uptown Minneapolis. The company offers a wide range of massagespecific services and natural skin care products. Dan can be reached via his Web site at <www.keepintouchmassage.net>. 1995 Deb (Bellin) Smith, Neenah, Wis., is a recruiter for TEKsystems, an IT services THE AUGSBURG CENTENNIAL SINGERS Courtesy photo 1992 David Murr, Orford, N.H., was presented the F.L. Scarf Award in December during the 2004 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco for his thesis, “Magnetosphereionosphere coupling on mesoand macro-scales.” The award is given annually to a recent Ph.D. recipient for outstanding dissertation research that contributes directly to solarplanetary sciences (David earned his Ph.D. at Boston University in 2003). David also received the National Science Foundation Geospace Environment Modeling (GEM) postdoctoral researcher award in 2003. He currently works with William Lotko at Dartmouth College. Sharol Tyra, Hanover, Minn., recently completed the Coaches Training Institute’s Certified Professional Co-Active Coaching Certification Program and passed both the oral and 40 The Augsburg Centennial Singers recently completed a tour of Arizona, sharing their passion and enjoyment of singing with congregations from Green Valley to Scottsdale. They are pictured here in Sun City West, where they performed at Lord of Life Lutheran Church. The Centennial Singers will perform in the Twin Cities: THURSDAY, MAY 12, 7 P.M. Calvary Church of Roseville, Lexington and County Road B Free will offering Winter/Spring 2005 recruiting firm in Appleton, Wis. She has been married for four years to her husband, Scott, and she enjoys spending time with her son Noah, 3, and her stepdaughter Andrea, 9. Rev. Kari L. Burke-Romarheim is pursuing a master of divinity at Luther Seminary. She previously worked for three years as a youth and family minister in Bergen, Norway. 1997 Arlo Miller, Brookline, Mass., successfully defended his thesis, “The Regulation of Melanoma Antigens by the Microphthalmia Transcription Factor,” and received a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular pharmacology from Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. 1999 Rev. Deborah Hutterer recently relocated to Pontiac, Ill., where she is serving as pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church. She received her Master of Divinity degree from Luther Seminary last May; she also received the A.E. Hanson homiletic award in preaching, which recognizes the importance of preaching as seminary graduates move into the next chapter of their ministries. The award was established by the family of the late Rev. Arthur E. Hanson (1894–1966), former president of the ELCA’s Northern Minnesota District. Megan Renze, Miami, recently graduated cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law. She passed the bar examination in Florida and is now working as associate general counsel for Banco Santander International in Miami. 2000 Rev. Melissa G. (Moyle) Pohlman, St. Paul, received a master of divinity degree from Luther Seminary last May. 2001 Jessica Norman married Eric Hafemeyer in February 2004. Eric is a carpenter and Jessica recently ALUMNI PROFILE Courtesy photo Alumnus wins state technology award by Beverly Deming Mark Deming, a 1993 graduate of Augsburg, was honored in November as the inaugural recipient of the statewide Minnesota TEKNE Award for Innovation in Teaching. Deming is the media specialist at Orchard Lake Elementary School in Lakeville, Minn. Each year the Minnesota High Tech Association, Minnesota Technology, Inc., Medical Alley, and Minnesota Project Innovation recognize start-up and giant corporations in Minnesota for their achievements in technology. This year a new category was added to recognize and honor educators for their contributions and innovations in teaching. Its purpose is to recognize an educator who demonstrates leadership in creating learning opportunities for students using innovative technology in Minnesota’s classrooms. The TEKNE Award has been described as the “Academy Award” of the technology industry in Minnesota. Deming was one of three finalists from an overwhelming number of nominees for the new category of Innovation in Teaching. Deming has been a media specialist for nine years, the last four being at Orchard Lake Elementary. He was nominated for his work in bringing the oldest elementary school in Lakeville up to the same level of technology as Lakeville’s new schools. When faced with a space problem, Deming designed a mobile computer lab to take to the classroom. He has taken time to help fellow educators make adjustments in their classrooms using the technology available to them. Physical education teachers are using Palm hand-helds instead of paper-laden clipboards to keep their records at hand. One fifthgrade teacher who was avoiding technology entirely credits Deming with bringing him around to using the latest in technology. WCCO News anchor Don Shelby (right) presented Mark Deming ’93 (left) with the TEKNE Award for Innovation in Teaching at the Minnesota TEKNE Award ceremony at the Minneapolis Convention Center in November. Deming also received a monetary award and multimedia projection system for Orchard Lake Elementary School, where he is the media specialist. Deming was also recognized for turning the school’s morning announcements into a student-run multimedia show. Students now eagerly apply each spring for a position the following year on The Morning Crew. A group of 10 fifth- and sixth-grade students meet Deming an hour before school starts most days to prepare the school’s daily announcements, which include reviews of popular books and videos, music and graphics for the opening and closing credits, lunch menus, and a Friday bloopers show. This by-kids-for-kids morning news show is considered a daily “must see.” When asked by the awards committee why he gives his personal time to promoting technology, Deming stated that “It’s not just a job, this is a lot of fun—I really enjoy it.” Deming and his wife, Jean, reside in Farmington, Minn., with their 5-year-old son, Randall, and 1-year-old daughter, Jaela. A former basketball player with the Auggies, Deming is also a ninth-grade basketball coach for the Farmington School District. Beverly Deming, a student in Augsburg’s Rochester program, is also Mark Deming’s mother. Winter/Spring 2005 41 Class Notes received her J.D. degree from William Mitchell College of Law. The couple resides in Northfield, Minn. Stacy Waterman, Pinehurst, N.C., graduated from West Virginia University with a master’s degree in counseling. She is in her second year as a middle school counselor in Pinehurst. Stacy can be reached at <stacywaterman@hotmail. com>. 2003 Kristopher Freeman, Minneapolis, was hired as an account executive at City Pages, a Twin Cities weekly newspaper, after completing an internship in its promotions department. Christina Markwood-Rod, Wayzata, Minn., created an exhibit in the St. Cloud State University’s Archives and Special Collections that uncovers the intriguing tale of world traveler and late SCSU adjunct professor William Lindgren. The William Marcellous Lindgren Interpretive Exhibit, located in the Kalm Family University Archives and Special Collections on Miller Center third floor, opened in October 2004 and will remain open through the 2004–05 academic year. Christina is a graduate student in SCSU’s public history program, and spent a year processing Lindgren’s collection. Orion Wisness married Erin Dablow in August in Butte, Mont. The couple resides in Hackensack, Minn. Heather Wessling married Andrew Maki in October. Heather is a Northwest Airlines biller for Carlson Marketing Group, a subsidiary of Carlson Companies, Inc. 2004 Christina M. Boe married Michael T. Anderson II in October. The couple resides in Roseville, Minn. Rev. Linda (Brandvold) McPeak is pursuing a master of divinity at Luther Seminary in St. Paul. She previously worked in a variety of positions in Minnesota: as a youth and family minister at Cross of Peace Lutheran Church in Shakopee, as church secretary at Discovery United Methodist Church in Chaska, as a benefits specialist/administrator at Andersen Consulting in Minneapolis, and as a benefits administrator for OTC/Power Team SPX Corporation in Owatonna. Courtesy photo GARRY HESSER HONORED IN WASHINGTON, D.C. Augsburg professor Garry Hesser gathered with Augsburg alumni and friends in December in Washington, D.C., for a special celebration honoring his selection as 2004 Minnesota Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (see p. 10 for more information). Pictured, L to R, are: Sylvia and Martin Sabo ’59, Garry Hesser, William V. and Anne Frame, Mark ’53 and Jean Raabe. 42 Glendine M. Soiseth (’04 MSW) received an M.A. in pastoral care from Luther Seminary last May. She plans to pursue work at either a Christian counseling agency or a social service agency that will provide the necessary supervisory requirements to allow her to become licensed for independent counseling practice. Births/Adoptions Norm ’57 and Gayle (Engedad) Matson ’57, Chicago, Ill., are the proud grandparents of grandson Lars Engedad Matson, born in July to Hans Engedad and Holly Matson. Jeannie (Shaughnessy) ’88 and Joseph Hodges, Alexandria, Minn.—a daughter, Celia Marie, in May. She joins older sister Campbell. Jeannie is the owner/president of Pathwise Partners. Nnamdi Okoronkwo ’89 and his wife in Minneapolis— a son, Spencer Ajah, in March 2004. Nnamdi is associate corporate council to Best Buy Company and practices in the area of retail litigation. Kelly (Moore) ’92 and David Lozinski ’91, Bloomington, Minn.—a daughter, Elizabeth “Libby” Grace, in January 2004. Brent Anderson ’93 and his wife, Marilyn, Burnsville, Minn.—a daughter, Maizie Margaret, in January 2004. Michelle (Eaker) ’94 and Frank Steever, Cranston, R.I.—a daughter, Genevieve, in July. Susan Irene Forsmark ’95 and her husband, Bill, Minnetonka, Minn.—a daughter, Abigail Rose, in January 2004. She joins older brothers Reilly, 7, and Cole, 3, and big sister Libby, 3. Melanie (Main) Johnson ’95, Fayetteville, Ark.—a son, Calvin Jeramiya Johnson III, in September. Melanie is the office manager for Sonstegard Foods of Arkansas and can be contacted at <melanie@sonstegard.com>. Connie (Arndt) ’96 and Andy Clausen, Blaine, Minn.—a son, Aaron Andrew, in April 2004. He joins older brother Adam, 2. Connie is a business analyst with the ELCA Board of Pensions in Minneapolis. Aaron was baptized by his grandfather, the Rev. Charles Arndt ’63, pastor of First Lutheran Church in Cushing, Wis. Tracy (Holloway) ’97 and Thane Drier ’99, Eau Claire, Wis.—a son, Tristan Thane, in September. Tracy is a CPA for Chippewa Valley Technical College and Thane is a pharmacist for the Marshfield Clinic Regional Cancer Center. Matt Topp ’03 and his wife, Trisha, South St. Paul—a daughter, Emma Marie, in January 2004. Also welcoming Emma are proud grandparents Gary and Carol (Watson) Topp ’76; Carole can be contacted at <carolet4@excite.com>. Winter/Spring 2005 In Memoriam Gertrude Hognander ’36, longtime activist, dies ertrude (Lund) Hognander ’36, a longtime activist for world peace and higher education, died January 13 in her Edina home after suffering a stroke. She was 89. “She had this way about her that allowed her to gain the confidence of those around her, without ever aspiring to lead them,” her son, O.C. “Joe” Hognander, Jr., told Sun Current newspapers. “That’s why I believe she was so successful at a time when women were not always embraced in leadership roles.” Born in Marinette, Wis., Gertrude was raised in a church background that included music and educational instruction. In the late 1930s, she honed her musical talents (which included the gift of perfect pitch, an inheritance from her father, Augsburg alumnus Rev. L.R. Lund) at Augsburg and later at Rockford College in Illinois, where she received a bachelor’s degree in music. She directed several church choirs in Michigan and then in Minnesota, often adding her talents as pianist and organist. During the late 1940s and early 1950s she was the accompanist to citywide ecumenical events at the Minneapolis Armory. Outside of church, Gertrude also actively applied her leadership skills to community and state organizations, serving as president of the St. Louis Park Woman’s Club, the Minneapolis branch of the American Association of University Women, and the United Nations Association of Minnesota. She was also one of three members of the St. Louis Park Charter Commission, and served on many boards including the Minnesota International Center, Hennepin County American Cancer Society, Minnesota Board of Correctional Services, Abbott Hospital Auxiliary, and Hennepin County Mental Health Association. Augsburg recognized Gertrude’s commitment to church and community with the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1973. She was also honored with the Minnesota Distinguished Service Award and the WCCO “Good Neighbor” Award. Gertrude and her family generously established the Anna Manger, Augsburg’s first female instructor, dies Anna (Gjesdahl) Manger, who died in January just days shy of her 104th birthday, was hired by Augsburg as its first female instructor, teaching higher algebra and geometry. Even after marrying and leaving the College in 1925, Manger continued to be involved with Augsburg, volunteering her time in the Augsburg Associates and other groups to help raise money. Both of her daughters, Elizabeth Anderson ’53 and Margery Torgerson ’47, are Augsburg alumnae who enjoyed becoming part of the community where their mother had taught. Lutheran missionary Malvin Rossing ’30 dies The Rev. Malvin Rossing ’30 died of natural causes in January in Viroqua, Wis.; he was 96. Rossing spent three decades as a Lutheran missionary in Madagascar, starting in 1937, when he, his wife Anna, and toddler daughter Gertrude boarded a freighter in France and headed to the island in the Indian Ocean. He believed that education would eliminate poverty, and his main job was as director of a teacher-training school. He retired from missionary service in 1967 and served as a minister in Viroqua and in Houston, Minn., and retired from pastoral service in the mid-1980s. His wife, Anna, preceded him in death in 2003. He is survived by four children: Elizabeth, Gertrude, Martha, and Melvin ’66; nine grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. Wesley Sideen, Class of 1958 ‘class agent,’ dies Wesley Sideen, dedicated class agent for Augsburg’s Class of 1958, died in January; he was 69. A lifelong St. Paul resident, Sideen was a retired English and social studies teacher—he spent all but one of his 38 years in teaching at Hazel Park Middle School. Following retirement, he worked at Byerly’s grocery store. He was an active member of East Park Lions Club and current Lion’s district governor. He is survived by his wife, Carol Ann; four children: David, Diane, Daniel, and Denise ’94; and four grandchildren. G Winter/Spring 2005 Orville C. and Gertrude O. Hognander Family Fund at Augsburg in the 1990s to recognize exceptional music performance and achievement. The scholarship is based on merit, specifically to provide encouragement to outstanding music students. Gertrude was preceded in death by her husband, Orville Hognander, Sr., in 1997. She is survived by her son, Joe. Matthew Woodford, PA student, dies in car accident Matthew Woodford, a student in Augsburg’s Physician Assistant Program, and his unborn son, Logan, died in December 2004 as the result of a car accident in Baldwin, Wis. His wife, Lora, and daughter, Madalyn, were also injured in the accident. Woodford, 27, worked at Methodist Hospital as a phlebotomist, and entered the Augsburg PA Program in 2002. The PA Program is pleased to announce the creation of the Matthew Woodford Memorial Scholarship in honor and in memory of Woodford, to be awarded annually to a third-year Augsburg PA student. 43 AUGGIE THOUGHTS Auggie Thoughts Ted and Fern Hanwick, 1909-2005 ‘A perfect ending’ to a shared life I n what was described by their pastor as “a script that only God could write,” Professor Emeritus and a pioneer of Augsburg’s physics department Theodore “Ted” Hanwick and his wife of 64 years, Fern, died within 19 hours of each other on March 2 and 3, each at age 95. The story of their life together was recounted at their memorial service and also in a Star Tribune front-page column by Nick Coleman, titled “Lifetime of Love Endures to a Couple’s Dying Day.” Hanwick was chair of the physics department at Rutgers University when he was recruited in 1956 by thenpresident Bernhard Christensen to start a physics major at Augsburg. Hanwick has said that he heard the voice of God tell him that the small liberal arts college in the Midwest was the place where he should be, despite the prestige and salary he would leave behind. “He firmly, honestly believed that God called him here,” said Rev. Howard “Skip” Reeves, a close family friend and pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church, where the Hanwicks had been active members. by Betsey Norgard Hanwick developed a major in physics and launched a number of new courses, including astronomy. His daughter, Linda (Hanwick) Putnam ’64, tells of his love for astronomy and how he made telescopes at home, grinding the lenses himself. When an Augsburg graduate offered to provide a telescope for an astronomy course at Augsburg, Putnam says that her father—who was “always looking for a good deal”—needed housing for the telescope and found a place in Minnesota that sold silo domes. The “silo” was donated to Augsburg and became an unlikely addition to a city campus. Hanwick retired in 1978, but has remained connected to the Augsburg community. Ted and Fern were last on campus at Homecoming 2003 for a science alumni gathering. Both of their children are Augsburg alumni—Linda (Hanwick) Putnam ’64 and Theodore Hanwick, Jr. ’66. Physics professors Ken Erickson ’62 and Stu Anderson ’78, were both Physics professor emeritus Ted Hanwick and his wife, Fern, last visited campus for a science alumni gathering in 2003. 44 Hanwick’s students in the department— Erickson studied during Hanwick’s early years at Augsburg, while Anderson was one of his last students. In 1976, the Physics Department established a scholarship in Hanwick’s name to honor his 20th anniversary at Augsburg. “He had such a passion for this place,” says Reeves. “When you mention Augsburg, even in his later years, his face would brighten up, and he’d smile. … He wore Augsburg—he was Augsburg to a lot of people.” Reeves describes Ted Hanwick as “a blend of intelligence and humility.” Fern Hanwick, Reeves says, was “pure grace.” For a number of years, until she was 90, she directed Calvary Lutheran’s program for women prisoners in the Hennepin County workhouse. Their life together was a storybook romance. They met in New York City, were attracted from the first moment, and became engaged in three weeks. Since then, they’ve been inseparable. The circumstance of their death just 19 hours apart—Ted died in his sleep on March 2 and Fern died peacefully while visiting with friends the next afternoon— was described by Coleman in his column as “a love story with a perfect ending.” Granddaughter Christine Hanwick, in speaking at the memorial service, said that she thought her grandfather must have wanted to go on ahead and “check things out to make sure it was OK.” Winter/Spring 2005 CCalendar ALENDAR Music Exhibits For music information, call 612-330-1265 For gallery information, call 612-330-1524 April 27 Chamber Music Recital & High Tea 4 p.m.—Sateren Auditorium April 30 Augsburg Jazz Ensemble Concert 7 p.m.—Hoversten Chapel May 1 Augsburg Concert Band Concert April 8–May 8 3 p.m.—Hoversten Chapel Juried All-Student Art Exhibition May 8–18 Augsburg Concert Band Norway Tour • Baccalaureate Service 10 a.m.—Hoversten Chapel • Commencement Brunch 11 a.m.—Christensen Center • Commencement Ceremony Featured speaker: Parker Palmer, bestselling author, lecturer, teacher, and activist 1:30 p.m.—Melby Hall Seating begins at 12:30 p.m.; tickets required • Commencement Reception 3 p.m.—Murphy Park Gage Family Art Gallery, Lindell Library April 8–May 20 Senior Art Exhibition Theatre Christensen Center Art Gallery For ticket information, call 612-330-1257 Seminars, Lectures, and Films February 23–May 19 Augsburg Native American Film Series 2005 April 15–24 Our Country’s Good By Timberlake Wertenbaker Directed by Darcey Engen April 15, 16, 21, 22, and 23 at 7 p.m.; April 17 and 24 at 2 p.m. Tjornhom-Nelson Theater April 29 Senior Acting Recitals 7 p.m.—Tjornhom-Nelson Theater May 4 Stage Direction Class Recital 6:30 p.m.—Tjornhom-Nelson Theater In collaboration with Independent Indigenous Film Minneapolis; various dates and times. For schedule information, call 612-330-1523, e-mail <marubbio@augsburg.edu>, or visit <www.augsburg.edu/ais/filmseries> Other Events May 6–7 Commencement Weekend May 6 • Honors Convocation 4:30 p.m.—Hoversten Chapel • Commencement Dinner 6 p.m.—Christensen Center • Commencement Concert 7:30 p.m.—Hoversten Chapel May 7 • Eucharist Service 8:30 a.m.—Hoversten Chapel May 16 Second Annual Healthcare Conference: “Building Minnesota’s Healthcare Workforce Through Diversity” A collaborative conference sponsored by Augsburg, Minnesota Hospital Association, Fairview Health Services, and United Health Foundation 8 a.m.–5 p.m.—Melby Hall For information, call 612-330-1171, e-mail <croyle@augsburg.edu>, or visit <www.augsburg.edu/healthcare> June 16 Graduate Programs Discovery Evening Gathering for prospective graduate programs students; includes dinner buffet and break-out sessions 5:30–8:30 p.m.—Christensen Center For information, call 612-330-1150 or e-mail <parkp@augsburg.edu> June 27 42nd Annual Clair Strommen A-Club Golf Tournament See p. 36 for more information See the alumni calendar on p. 36 for additional events Send us your news and photos! Please tell us about the news in your life, your new job, move, marriage, and births. Don’t forget to send photos! For news of a death, printed notice is required, e.g. an obituary, funeral notice, or program from a memorial service. Send your news items, photos, or change of address by mail to: Augsburg Now Class Notes, Augsburg College, CB 146, 2211 Riverside Ave., Minneapolis, MN, 55454, or e-mail to <alumni@augsburg.edu>. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Maiden name Class year or last year attended Full name __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Street address __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ City State Zip Is this a new address? ■ Yes ■ No ________________________________________________________________________________ ■ Okay to publish your e-mail address? 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Title: Augsburg Now Fall 2004
Collection: Alumni Magazine Collection
Search Result: A P U B L I C AT I O N Fall 2004 F O R A U G S B U R G C O L L E G E A L U M N I & F R I E N D S Vol. 67, No. 1 EEditor’s DITOR’Snote NOTE What is an Augsburg education? Joan Griffin, Augsburg’s director of general education, writes that an Augsburg education is an education for a...
Show more A P U B L I C AT I O N Fall 2004 F O R A U G S B U R G C O L L E G E A L U M N I & F R I E N D S Vol. 67, No. 1 EEditor’s DITOR’Snote NOTE What is an Augsburg education? Joan Griffin, Augsburg’s director of general education, writes that an Augsburg education is an education for action. It is an education to prepare students to become effective, informed, and ethical citizens. It asks students to explore answers to the big questions within the context of values and beliefs that matter. At Augsburg students are challenged to discover the very best in themselves. The new Augsburg Core Curriculum, highlighted in this issue, truly gives distinction to an Augsburg education. The result of several years of thoughtful and deliberate collaboration, the new core curriculum offers a blueprint for a learning community that connects each and every element of the College’s mission with its vision. It respects and reflects the College’s heritage, including its vital role in the community, working in partnership to prepare students for responsible citizenship. Augsburg has long believed, before many other colleges around the country, that students learn best when combining their classroom learning with experience outside the classroom. In the Augsburg Core, every student is required to complete an Augsburg experience— through internships (and student teaching, practica, cooperative education, etc.), faculty-student research, service-learning, study abroad, or other off-campus immersion activities. Augsburg’s leadership role in this area has been affirmed repeatedly—most recently and importantly by the honor bestowed upon sociology professor Garry Hesser as Minnesota’s Professor of the Year, from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Hesser has also received national awards for his pioneering work in developing experiential education and continuing national presence in promoting it. Augsburg’s Center for Global Education and service-learning program have also received national and regional awards for their excellence in programs. The new Augsburg Core has good reason to make all Augsburg alumni proud of their Augsburg education. Enjoy reading about it, as well as about some important events in our campus life—Homecoming 2004, Advent Vespers 25th anniversary, and the upcoming Nobel Peace Prize Forum and Festival in February. Augsburg Now is published quarterly by Augsburg College, 2211 Riverside Ave., Minneapolis, Minnesota 55454. Editor Betsey Norgard Assistant Editor Lynn Mena Graphic Designer Kathy Rumpza Class Notes Coordinator Sara Kamholz ’04 Photographer Stephen Geffre President William V. Frame Director of Alumni and Parent Relations Amy Sutton Director of Public Relations and Communication Dan Jorgensen Opinions expressed in Augsburg Now do not necessarily reflect official College policy. ISSN 1058–1545 Postmaster: Send address corrections to: Advancement Services Augsburg College, CB 142 2211 Riverside Ave. Minneapolis, MN 55454 healyk@augsburg.edu E-mail: now@augsburg.edu Telephone: 612-330-1181 Fax: 612-330-1780 Betsey Norgard Editor Greetings of the season Augsburg College, as affirmed in its mission, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national or ethnic origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, or disability in its education policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletic and/or school administered programs, except in those instances where religion is a bona fide occupational qualification. Augsburg College is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to its employees and its students. www.augsburg.edu A PUBLICATION FOR AUGSBURG COLLEGE ALUMNI & FRIENDS Fall 2004 Vol. 67, No. 1 Features FEATURES 15 The Augsburg Core Curriculum: Educating for work, educating for life This special issue introduces readers to the new Augsburg Core Curriculum—the broad general education that forms the foundation for an Augsburg education. Signature elements of the Augsburg Core draw on the College’s heritage, values, and mission. 11 Vision The newsletter for Access to Excellence: The Campaign for Augsburg College 4 Advent Vespers celebrates 25th anniversary year DEPARTMENTS Departments 2 Around the Quad 6 Sports 8 Homecoming 2004 Awards 27 Alumni News 30 Homecoming 2004 Photos On the cover: 34 Class Notes 40 In Memoriam inside back cover Calendar 50 percent recycled paper (10 percent post—consumer waste) Over 300 first-year students begin their educational journey through the Augsburg Arch, the visual representation of their Augsburg education, at the Opening Celebration, where they are welcomed into the Augsburg community. Photo by Stephen Geffre. AROUND QUAD Around THE the Quad Notes in brief Namibia center celebrates 10 years Convo series explores social justice themes PA students excel on exam The May graduates in the Physician Assistant Program received among the highest scores in the country on the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants board examination. The Class of 2004 received a mean score of 613, ranking in the 99th percentile, as compared to the national mean score of 510. Augsburg’s program is Minnesota’s only PA training program; in 2002 it became a graduate program and received full accreditation. The Class of 2004 is the first to graduate at the master’s level. Augsburg moves up in college rankings Once again, U.S.News & World Report has included Augsburg in the top tier of its annual ranking of best universities, tied for 20th place—a move up from 24th place last year. The College is ranked among 142 institutions in the category “Best Midwestern Universities-Master’s” and is compared with other area colleges and universities that offer both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Also, The Princeton Review has once again included Augsburg among the 170 colleges named “Best in the Midwest,” based on student responses as well as on recognition by the media, other institutional leaders, and educational organizations. Augsburg was recognized for its dedication toward diversity. THE 17TH ANNUAL NOBEL PEACE PRIZE FORUM February 11–12, 2005 www.peaceprizeforum.org 2 Center for Global Education Namibia director Pandu Hailonga welcomed guests of the center’s 10th anniversary celebration, with associate dean Orv Gingerich and President William Frame looking on. “Justice for All,” the theme of the 2004-05 Augsburg Convocation series, challenges consideration of how issues of justice bring into focus one’s gifts, interests, desires, and passions; and connects them with diverse careers, occupations, and ministries that benefit others and selffulfillment. The remaining presentations are: New MBA program in full swing Forty-four students filled two cohorts to launch the new Master of Business Administration program this fall, and additional cohorts will begin in winter and possibly spring. About 30 percent of the first class is made up of Augsburg alumni. The 20-month MBA program includes several cross courses with the Master of Arts in Leadership program and a strong emphasis on application of classroom learning to the business environment. Garry Hesser is prof of the year in Minnesota Nov. 18 was designated “Dr. Garry Hesser Day” in the state of Minnesota in honor of the announcement that Hesser had been named Professor of the Year in Minnesota by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Hesser was lauded in the citation for his pioneering efforts in developing experiential education, a hallmark of an Augsburg education. See the next issue of Augsburg Now for the full story. • JAN. 17—Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation, with speaker Victoria Jackson Gray Adams, a spiritual, social, political, and civil rights activist. • FEB. 11—In conjunction with the 2005 Peace Prize Forum, former United Nations high commissioner for human rights and former president of Ireland Mary Robinson will speak about security in an unsecure world. • FEB. 16—Jane Jeong Trenka ‘95, award-winning author, will speak on transracial adoption and memory/writing as a site of resistance. • MARCH 4—Craig Kielburger, children’s rights activist and founder of Free the Children, in the 2005 Batalden Seminar in Applied Ethics. • APRIL 11—2005 Sverdrup Visiting Scientist lecture, to be announced. For further information, call 612-330-1180 or visit <www.augsburg.edu/convo>. Fall 2004 Access to Excellence: The Campaign for Augsburg College Fourth annual Scholastic Connections celebration Goal: $55 million $33 million Read more campaign news in Vision, the campaign newsletter, on p. 11. Welcome, Class of 2008! WELCOME TO 343 NEW FRESHMEN … • 10 states represented, with 81% from Minnesota Five new scholarship recipients and six returning scholars were honored along with their mentors at the fourth annual Scholastic Connections dinner and program in October. This program pairs student leaders of color with alumni mentors of color. The emcee for the evening was Vineeta Sawkar, news anchor at 5 Eyewitness News. The welcome was presented by actor and vocalist T. Mychael Rambo. Front row (L to R): Xia Xiong ‘05, Eloisa Echávez ‘94, ‘98 MEL, Melat Woldegebriel ‘05, Vineeta Sawkar, and Renzo Amaya Torres ‘05. Back row (L to R): Franklin Tawah ‘83, Alex Gonzalez ‘90, Nhia Lee ‘02, Saroja Thapa ‘06, Robert Amaya ‘05, Chris Adams ‘07, Maria R. Johnson ‘94, Adela Arguello ‘05, Jim Genia ‘87, Diane Love-Scott ‘98, Leah Carlson ‘01, and Audra Johnson ‘06. Forging exchanges with a Polish university Courtesy photo News: • 3M is partnering with Augsburg to raise $600,000 in support of the Science Center that will come through a combination of gift and challenge match. • 89% live in residence halls on campus • 37% are Lutheran • 11.3% are students of color • 2,600 hours of service-learning in the community given by first-year students as part of the Augsburg Seminar ACROSS ALL PROGRAMS … • 3,375 students (1,826 day, 1,090 weekend, 459 graduate) • Average age is 21 in day, 34 weekend, 33 graduate • Students from 40 states and 33 countries • Students of color—10.2% Fall 2004 Amidst their European and African travels last summer, President and Mrs. Frame, along with business professor Magda Paleczny-Zapp, visited the Cracow University of Economics in Poland, an institution of 20,000 students, to discuss exchanges of faculty and students in business and the social sciences. The university is also interested in starting a program similar to Augsburg’s CLASS program to support students with learning disabilities. (L to R): President William Frame; Anne Frame; Chancellor Ryszard Borowiecki; Professor Magda Paleczny-Zapp; Professor Janusz Teczke, vice chancellor for scientific research and cooperation; and Agnieszka Nawrocka, head, Office of International Relations. 3 Around the Quad ADVENT VESPERS celebrates 25th anniversary year ‘With Peaceful Wings’ offers theme of peace and comfort Augsburg College’s Advent Vespers program celebrates its 25th anniversary around the theme “With Peaceful Wings.” The four services, this year held Friday and Saturday, Dec. 3 and 4 at 5 and 8 p.m. at Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, usually draw over 8,000 people. Advent Vespers combines more than 300 participants from choirs, instrumental ensembles, readers, and a full liturgical party. Through the majestic celebration of music and word, the message of Christ’s coming to the world is conveyed. Augsburg’s annual advent program began in 1979 around the vision of Larry Fleming, then-director of choral activities, to offer a service of meditation and prayer as a gift to the community during the advent season. The tradition continues today under the direction of Peter Hendrickson ’76, director of choral activities, and the Rev. David Wold, College pastor and director of ministries, with active support from Augsburg College students, faculty, and staff. “With Peaceful Wings” focuses on the message of assurance that in the wings of the Savior Jesus Christ rest and comfort 4 Fall 2004 SPECIAL BROADCAST Add this special 25th anniversary Advent Vespers broadcast to your holiday plans. can be found through all good and ill. The wings of the Savior provide the strength and shelter to live in the unconditional grace of God, and the strength and comfort to know the peace of God that passes all understanding, the peace of God that keeps hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. The service provides an opportunity to reflect first on the coming of Jesus, initially announced by John the Baptist; second, on living in the promise that Christ will come again; and third, in knowing that Christ comes through people constantly and regularly, even now. To mark this special 25th anniversary, Augsburg College collaborated with Twin Cities Public Television (TPT) to produce a onehour program to be broadcast during Christmas week. The majesty of Central Lutheran Church and the intimacy of the service are captured by a multiple-camera production crew that followed the drama of the processions and recorded the splendor of the sounds from the choirs scattered through the sanctuary. The program is also offered statewide to the stations of the Minnesota Public Television Association, and nationwide, via satellite, to public broadcast services. Commemorative DVD, VHS, and CD recordings of this production will be available following the event. For more information about Advent Vespers, call 612-330-1444 or go to <www.augsburg.edu/vespers>. ■ Fall 2004 The service will be aired in Minnesota on Twin Cities Public Television: December 22, 8 p.m. on TPT2 December 23, 2 a.m. on TPT2 December 25, 10 a.m. on TPT2 and 7 p.m. on TPT17 Check local listings for broadcast times on public television stations. The 25th anniversary Advent Vespers broadcast is made possible through a major gift from the 11 Hoversten families who have supported Augsburg worship, music, and education programs for generations, and with additional support from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. TWIN CITIES PUBLIC TELEVISION 5 Sports Women’s hockey celebrates 10 years ugsburg College has played a major role in the growth of women’s hockey, one of the fastest growing sports in recent years. As the first college or university in the Midwest to sponsor the sport on the varsity level in 1995, Augsburg was a leader in sparking major interest and impacting the lives of thousands of young girls and women. This year Augsburg celebrates its 10th season of varsity women’s hockey—an achievement that speaks volumes to the College’s commitment to the sport’s growth. Over the past decade, 97 young women have donned an Augsburg uniform, for a team that has gone 131-86-13 entering this season under Jill Pohtilla, the only head coach in the program’s history. “What I’m most proud of is that, year-in and year-out, the types of individuals who play here have great character and great motivation,” Pohtilla said. “They work hard, and they care a lot about the legacy they are going to leave behind.” When Augsburg announced in February 1995 that it was going to field a varsity women’s hockey program for the 1995-96 season, there were only 15 varsity teams nationally—all on the East Coast (members of the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference) and none in the Midwest. Girls’ hockey was just starting at the high school level in Minnesota—the first state to sponsor a girls’ hockey high school state championship tournament —even before it became an Olympic sport. Both location and funding made Augsburg’s situation unique. In its announcement, Augsburg was believed to be the first collegiate team to fund its women’s hockey program on a level equal with the men’s program, in terms of equipment, uniforms, ice time, training, games, publicity, and awards. A Highlights from Augsburg’s first decade include: • 1995-96—Augsburg went 16-5 in its first season against club and women’s adult teams in the Midwest, including three games on the East Coast against varsity teams. • 1997-98—Augsburg faced the University of Minnesota in the Gophers’ first varsity contest. The crowd of 6,854 in Mariucci Arena remains the largest-ever crowd for a U.S. collegiate women’s hockey game. by Don Stoner • Winter 2003—Members of the team traveled to Italy and Austria to play and win three games against local club teams. A 10th anniversary dinner and program was held in November. For more information about women’s hockey, go to <www.augsburg.edu/athletics>. Don Stoner is sports information coordinator in the Office of Public Relations and Communication. • 1998-99—Augsburg won a share of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) title, which was the first Division III conference to sponsor the sport at championship level. • 1999-2000—Augsburg won the MIAC play-off to go to the Division III national championship, where they lost the national title series to Middlebury (Vt.). • 2003-04—The playoff semifinal game against the University of St. Thomas, a 6-5 loss, was the longest women’s hockey game in conference history, a two-overtime, 96-minute, 9-second marathon. A plaza in front of Augsburg’s Ice Arena was dedicated as “JC’s Place,” in honor of James “JC” Carey, athletic facilities director for 30 years. New seating and memorial plaques honor Carey, who died of heart failure in 2003 at the age of 54. The 1999-2000 women’s hockey team posed, following the Division III national championship, where they lost to small-college power Middlebury (Vt.). 6 Fall 2004 17 AUGSBURG COLLEGE HOSTS T H A N N UA L N O B E L P E AC E P R I Z E F O RU M Around the theme “Striving for Peace: Uniting for Justice,” Augsburg College will host the 17th annual Peace Prize Forum, Feb. 11-12, 2005. This forum honors the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian lawyer and human rights activist who was recognized for her efforts for democracy and human rights. In cooperation with the Norwegian Nobel Institute, five Midwestern colleges of the ELCA—Augsburg College, Augustana College (Sioux Falls, S. Dak.), Concordia College (Moorhead, Minn.), Luther College (Decorah, Iowa), and St. Olaf College—host the annual Nobel Peace Prize Forum, the Norwegian Nobel Institute’s only such program or academic affiliation outside Norway. The colleges, all founded by Norwegian immigrants, sponsor the forum to give recognition to Norway’s international peace efforts and to offer opportunities for Nobel Peace Prize Fall 2004 by Betsey Norgard laureates, diplomats, scholars, students, and the general public to engage in dialogue on the dynamics of peacemaking and the underlying causes of conflict and war. The first Nobel Peace Prize Forum took place in 1989 at St. Olaf College, and rotates each year among the five ELCA colleges. Augsburg last hosted the forum in 1999, and honored Peace Prize laureates Jody Williams and the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. Over the years, more than 21,000 participants have become involved in the forum, which has received an even broader audience through national and regional media coverage. The Peace Prize Forum program also includes a series of seminars and discussions of issues around the theme. Plenary speakers scheduled for the 2005 forum include: • Mary Robinson, the first woman president of Ireland and more recently United Nations high commissioner for human rights; • Davar Ardalan, a producer for National Public Radio based in Washington, D.C., who has lived in Iran under both the shah’s reign and that of the ayatollah’s; • Sima Samar, pioneer for almost 20 years in the cause for women’s rights in war-stricken Afghanistan; and • Frances Moore Lappé, author and global citizen who started a revolution in the way Americans eat. Her most recent book is You Have the Power: Choosing Courage in a Culture of Fear. For more information about the 17th annual Nobel Peace Prize Forum, go to <www.augsburg.edu/ppf> or call 612-330-1383. Children celebrate peace at the Nobel Peace Prize Festival More than 700 students from 27 Peace Site schools and youth groups across the Twin Cities will gather at the 10th annual Nobel Peace Prize Festival at Augsburg on Feb. 10. This year’s festival will honor Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. The festival was first organized in 1998 as an expansion of the Nobel Peace Prize Forum and in response to the growing interest to involve children and youth of all ages. The event is designed to connect students in grades K-12 with Nobel laureates. Students study a laureate or peace theme, create a related interactive exhibit or performance of their subject, and bring it to the one-day festival. Along with the Peace Prize Forum, the festival has the endorsement of the Norwegian Nobel Institute. The 2004 festival honored Nobel laureate Jimmy Carter, who visited the J.J. Hill Montessori School in St. Paul, Minn., along with the former first lady. ■ 7 HOMECOMING 2004 TWO HONORED AS 2004 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI T wo alumni join 164 others as Distinguished Alumni of Augsburg College. Recipients are recognized for significant achievement in their vocations and outstanding contributions to church and community, through years of preparation, experience, dedication, exemplary character, and service. Brian J. Anderson ’82 Dr. Brian J. Anderson graduated from Augsburg in 1982 with a B.A. in physics, mathematics, and religion. From 1983-1987, he served as a research associate at the University of Minnesota, where in 1987 he earned a Ph.D. in physics. In 1986 he returned to Augsburg as a visiting lecturer in physics, and in 1987 as an assistant professor of physics. During his two years on the Augsburg faculty, he was instrumental in securing a grant from the National Science Foundation for the establishment of a vacuum technology laboratory for advanced physics students. In 1988, Anderson relocated to the East Coast to serve as a postdoctoral associate at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, where he is currently a senior physicist. He also supervises the magnetic fields section of the APL’s Space Physics Group, and is a member of the science team for NASA’s Messenger mission to Mercury, among others. Anderson is internationally recognized in space physics for his innovative and wide-ranging contributions to the understanding of the dynamic particle and magnetic field environment of near earth space. In addition to his duties at Johns Hopkins, Anderson also serves as president of Division III (Magnetospheric Phenomena) of the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy, the international scientific association that brings together space scientists worldwide for biennial scientific congresses. He recently completed service as an editor for Geophysical Research Letters, the premier international journal of earth and space sciences. He was also a member of a panel convened by the National Academy of Sciences to provide guidance over the next 10 years to all U.S. government agencies in the areas of solar and space physics. Anderson is an active member of Evangelical Lutheran Church in Frederick, Md., where he serves on the church council and on various committees. He also serves as an assisting minister in worship and is a regular participant in other congregational events. His wife, Dr. Leeann Rock, is a 1981 graduate of Augsburg. 8 by Lynn Mena Fern L. (Hanson) Gudmestad ’41 As a child growing up in Seattle, Wash., Fern L. (Hanson) Gudmestad learned about Augsburg from her uncle, the Rev. Frederick Iversen, an early 1900s graduate of Augsburg College and Seminary. Although she enrolled at the University of Washington—where she ultimately received a B.A. in art in 1941—she convinced her parents to send her to Augsburg for her sophomore year. Gudmestad’s time as a student on the Augsburg campus produced numerous lifelong bonds—particularly to one alumnus, the Rev. Lawrence Gudmestad ’39 (1983 Augsburg Distinguished Alumnus), whom she married. Three of their four children also attended the College—one graduating in 1965 and the other in 1968—as well as a daughter-in-law and a grandson, making theirs a four-generation Augsburg family. Gudmestad has remained a loyal and active alumna of the College, having served as an adviser to the College of the Third Age, as a longtime member of the Augsburg Associates, and on the committee assisting with the recent Lutheran Free Church celebration held on campus in June. In addition, she has been a regular contributor to The Augsburg Fund and a member of the president’s Maroon & Silver Society. She generously funded a pipe in Hoversten Chapel’s new organ for each of her children, and after her husband’s death in 1986 she directed memorial gifts to Augsburg. As a young woman in the 1940s and ’50s, Gudmestad answered the call to serve along with her husband during his years as a parish pastor in both Washington and North Dakota. As his partner, she managed a myriad of responsibilities, and in the 1970s and ’80s she held successive and increasingly comprehensive leadership positions in the American Lutheran Church Women (ALCW) organizations, beginning as president of her local ALCW, later as president of the ALC’s Southeast Minnesota District ALCW Board, and ultimately as president of the national ALCW. Recognized as a wise and quietly powerful woman, Gudmestad’s special combination of faith and skills in leadership continues to bring many invitations to speak at events and participate on committees and boards. Fall 2004 HOMECOMING 2004 FIRST DECADE AND SPIRIT OF AUGSBURG AWARD RECIPIENTS NAMED FOR 2004 by Lynn Mena A ugsburg is pleased to announce the 2004 recipients of the First Decade and Spirit of Augsburg awards. The First Decade Award is presented to Augsburg graduates of the past 10 years who have made significant progress in their professional achievements and contributions to the community, and in so doing exemplify the mission of the College: to prepare future leaders in service to the world. Graduates from the day, weekend, and graduate programs are eligible. The Spirit of Augsburg Award honors alumni and friends of the College who have given exceptional service that contributes substantially to the well being of Augsburg by furthering its purposes and programs. FIRST DECADE AWARD SPIRIT OF AUGSBURG AWARD Susan Arntz ’94 Arthur V. Rimmereid ’53 Susan (Horning) Arntz graduated from Augsburg in 1994 with a B.A. in political science and a minor in metrourban studies. In 1999, she earned a master’s degree in public administration from Hamline University. Despite her young age, Arntz possesses a vast amount of knowledge and leadership skills related to public affairs and government, and has utilized these for an exemplary career in public service. Following her graduation in 1994, she served as an intern to Commissioner Peter McLaughlin of Hennepin County, Minn. During that same time period, she served as assistant administrator and economic development coordinator of the City of Chaska (Minn.), and from 1998–2001 as the assistant city manager of New Brighton, Minn. Over the last several years, she has served as the city administrator of Waconia, Minn. She has skillfully managed increasingly larger city projects, and has directed major projects in the rapidly growing community of Waconia. Clearly, Arntz is driven to excel in her chosen field of city management; she approaches the responsibilities and call of public service with tremendous enthusiasm and dedication. She has worked tirelessly to construct an innovative and successful partnership between the city and the development community and other agencies. Since 2001, Arntz has served as a member of Augsburg’s Alumni Board of Directors, contributing a valued voice of vision, reason, and influence. In addition to sharing her time with the College, Arntz is also a member of Augsburg’s Century Club. A woman of deep faith and Christian values, Arntz is an active member of her church and community. She and her husband, Jonathan ’95, have two children. The Rev. Arthur V. Rimmereid graduated from Augsburg College and Seminary in 1953 and 1956, respectively. His first call was to a parish in north central North Dakota—Bisbee Lutheran Church— where he served as pastor from 1956–1962. He then served as pastor of Advent Lutheran Church in Coon Rapids, Minn., where he was asked to develop a new mission congregation. From 1967–1983, he served first as assistant pastor and then as senior pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Brainerd, Minn. Rimmereid’s 27 years of distinguished parish ministry—in a rural community, in a mission congregation, and in a larger established congregation—served as excellent preparation for his next call to serve as assistant to the bishop of the Northern Minnesota District, ALC, from 1983–1987. He served in that capacity until the merger and was called to a like position in the new Northwestern Minnesota Synod of the ELCA, serving again as assistant to the bishop from 1988–1991. In 1991, he was elected bishop and served until his retirement in 1995. A strong supporter of his alma mater, Rimmereid often and proudly encourages others to attend the College and also to provide financial donations to support its programs and its mission. In addition, he is a regular participant and speaker at College events—particularly in chapel, where he shares his spirit of dedication, his love of people, and his message of faith. Rimmereid has distinguished himself as an active member of Kiwanis International for a number of years. He and his wife, Charlotte (Kleven) ’52, reside in Maplewood, Minn., where in addition to church activities, they are active volunteers in the community. A person of compassion and integrity, Rimmereid’s achievements and service exemplify the ideals and mission of Augsburg. Fall 2004 9 HOMECOMING 2004 THE NYDAHL FAMILY honored with the Distinguished Service Award by Lynn Mena T Courtesy photo he Distinguished Service Award recogizes “formative families” who have made a substantial and continuing contribution to Augsburg and to its mission in the world through their vocations, their philanthropy, and their citizenship. This year’s recipient is the family of Johannes and Tabitha Nydahl, honoring their Norwegian and Lutheran heritage and their generations-long connection to the College. Over the years, many descendents of Johannes and Tabitha have attended Augsburg, including their three sons, Theodore, Malvin, and Harold. The Nydahl family members, through their careers and avocations, have long illustrated Augsburg’s mission of “education for service,” and it is a great honor to recognize them with this special award. Johannes Ludvigson Nydahl was born Feb. 20, 1863, at Sondfjord, Norway, to Ludvig Olson Nydahl and Nille Johannesen Holsen. As the oldest son, Johannes stood to inherit the family farm. However, he relinquished this right in order to realize his dream of exploring the world. He considered going to South Africa or the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii), but chose instead the United States, emigrating in 1882. When Johannes arrived in the United States, he first worked as a lumberjack in northern Minnesota and then as a stonemason in Minneapolis—the First Baptist Church was one of his masonry projects. By these jobs he earned enough money to attend Augsburg. Johannes’ wife, Tabitha, was born to immigrants on a southern Minnesota farm. She was the daughter of Torger T. Rygh, who arrived in America in 1845 along with several siblings and their parents. Johannes Nydahl Johannes graduated from both the College and the Augsburg Seminary, attending from 1883–1891. Although he was never ordained, he was deeply involved with the Lutheran community, and served as a vicar in Watertown, S.Dak., in 1891. He then served the College as a professor of history and Norwegian from 1891–1920, before beginning in 1920 as Augsburg’s head librarian, a post he held until his death in 1928. During his years at Augsburg he also served as an instructor at Deaconess Hospital in Minneapolis from 1909–14. Among his many community and church activities were serving as Sunday school superintendent at Trinity Church, as president of the Minnesota Total Abstinence Society, secretary of the Folkebladet Publishing Company, treasurer and then president of the Board of the Deaconess Home, and secretary of the Lutheran Free Church, being listed as one of the 10 prominent men in the church’s development. An outstanding musician, too, Johannes was a member of the Augsburg Quartette, which toured throughout the 10 Johannes and Tabitha Nydahl pose with their six children. Pictured from L to R are: Ragna, Tabitha, Malvin, Agnes, Harold, Theodore, Johannes, and Valborg. upper Midwest and Michigan through the late 1880s and early 1890s. In 1895, the Quartette toured Norway, the first concert tour by Norwegians in America back to the fatherland. The Nydahls also were members of the Saga Hill community, a colony established in the 1880s by Augsburg professors, ministers, bankers, and professional men, most of them being members of Trinity Tabitha Nydahl Church who were deeply interested in the College and its success. They purchased 40 acres from a farmer in the Lake Minnetonka area where they built summer cabins. Johannes and Tabitha—who lived on the Augsburg campus for more than 30 years in what was to become known as West Hall when it became a girls’ dormitory—raised a family of six children. Ted became a history professor at the University of MinnesotaMankato, and later head of their Humanities Department; Mally became an orthopedic surgeon in Minneapolis after a standout athletic career in football, basketball, and baseball at the University of Minnesota. Harold became a pastor and counselor, and Ragna, Agnes, and Valborg all married Lutheran pastors and Augsburg graduates—Melvin Olson, Clarence Carlsen, and Torgney Kleven, respectively. All six children were great musicians, the three sisters singing in a much sought-after trio, and the three brothers being both singers and choir directors. This award celebrates the contributions and legacy of Johannes and Tabitha and the extended Nydahl family. Fall 2004 BY PAUL S. MUELLER, M.D. ’84 Scientific inquiry will reveal truth and lead to more questions “Where truth is, there is God.” —Miguel de Cervantes I give thanks and praise for my years at Augsburg. I am grateful for the knowledge I learned, the skills I acquired, and the experiences I had. But I am especially grateful for the professors, fellow students, and other individuals at Augsburg who encouraged me to think about science and the physical universe in the context of the Christian faith. Faculty members like John Holum, Earl Alton, Ralph Sulerud and others patiently spent countless hours with students like me, helping us not only to understand the universe, but also the relationship between the universe and God. Kermit Paulson and Mark Engebretson, persons of faith, encouraged my wife Nancy (Mackey) ’85 to pursue a degree in physics, an advanced degree in engineering, and ultimately careers in engineering and science teaching. To me, these teachers made physics understandable and God’s universe more spectacular. The desire for truth at Augsburg continues today. I am awed by the innovative education and research programs conducted by the science faculty. Seeking scientific truth at Augsburg is not simply memorizing and reciting facts. Instead, it is learning Fall 2004 methods of scientific inquiry that reveal truth and lead to more questions. The cycle of hypothesis, inquiry, discovery, and generating new questions and hypotheses about the universe leads to new knowledge and understanding. Whereas ignorance leads to fear and conflict, knowledge and understanding lead to comfort, joy, and peace. In other words, the truth makes us free. A tour of the current science building reveals how innovative and vital the science faculty is. This education is made complete by the Augsburg experience, a liberal arts education that places scientific truth in the context of other truths such as spiritual, humanistic, and philosophical truths. This milieu encourages the Augsburg science major not to seek just a job, but a true vocation, which Frederick Buechner describes as “the place where your deep gladness meets the world’s deep need.” A major focus of the current campaign, Access to Excellence: The Campaign for Augsburg College, is a new Science Center. It is widely acknowledged that the current Science Hall is inadequate to fulfill and sustain the vision for science education and research at Augsburg College. Despite the limitations of the current facility, the sciences at Augsburg have grown. In addition, the number of science majors, education opportunities, and research programs has grown. Indeed, the College and the science faculty have been very creative in using and modifying the current facility, which is now more than 50 years old, to meet new challenges as they arise. For example, the site of an active living coral reef on the second floor of Science Hall in the Biology Department is truly amazing. Yet, this example of creativity reflects the enthusiasm the Augsburg science faculty has for teaching and research irrespective of the facility. This enthusiasm has undoubtedly played a crucial role in the growth and success of the science departments. Nevertheless, the time has come for a new Science Center at Augsburg College. This center will provide an environment conducive to teaching and mentoring science students and conducting research (SCIENCE continues on page 12) Vision is published by Augsburg College, 2211 Riverside Ave., Minneapolis, Minnesota 55454. Editor Lynn James Graphic Designer Kathy Rumpza Photographer Stephen Geffre Contributing Writers Lynn James Paul Mueller, M.D. ’84 www.augsburg.edu/campaign 11 3M Foundation partners with Augsburg in gift and matching grant challenge The 3M Foundation has announced a partnership with Augsburg College to raise $600,000 in support of its new Science Center. For every dollar donated by a 3M employee or retiree, the 3M Foundation will contribute three dollars. Under this 3:1 challenge, the foundation will match up to $100,000 in contributions from employees or retirees with a $300,000 gift. Additionally, the foundation itself is contributing $200,000 to the Science Center. The grant challenges the College to raise up to $100,000 in gifts and pledges from 3M employees and retirees between Oct. 15 and Dec. 10, 2004, according to Alex Cirillo, Jr., vice president for the 3M Foundation. “This is a tremendous gift that provides Augsburg the opportunity to raise $600,000 in new funding for our campaign’s top priority—the new Science Center,” noted Sue Klaseus, Augsburg’s vice president for institutional advancement. “We are excited about the 3M Foundation leadership commitment.” Gifts toward the 3M Foundation challenge grant can come from any of its employees or retirees, Klaseus said, but the College’s primary effort will be geared toward the hundreds of Augsburg alumni and parents who work for the company. SCIENCE continued from page 11 at 21st-century standards. It will, in part, preserve and grow opportunities to explore science at Augsburg. Finally, the Science Center will be a major focal point of the Augsburg campus, where faith and reason are reconciled, where truth is loved and sought, and God is found. What can you do? • Keep Augsburg leadership, faculty, staff and students in your prayers. • Be an ambassador of Augsburg. Share with others, especially family, friends, and potential students, the good things that are happening at Augsburg, especially in the science departments. Encourage them to partake in the Augsburg experience, a place where the search for truth is encouraged and 12 nurtured, where science meets and honors God, and where seeking and finding the truth makes one free. • Get involved. Visit the campus and see what is happening at Augsburg. Attend alumni events. • Give generously to Augsburg. Consider joining the Maroon & Silver Society. Prayerfully consider committing to Access to Excellence: The Campaign for Augsburg College. Include Augsburg in your estate plan (e.g., will, insurance policy, annuity). ■ Paul S. Mueller ’84, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.P., is a consultant at the Mayo Clinic Rochester and a member of the Science Advisory Board. He is a former president of the Augsburg College Alumni Association Board of Directors. 3M hosted a campaign “event” at its headquarters in November to help raise awareness for both the campaign and this special matching gift opportunity. Joining Klaseus at the event was Augsburg President William V. Frame, Provost Christopher Kimball, Professor Nancy Steblay, science faculty, students, and alumni. For additional details on this challenge, contact Sherry Jennings-King at 612-338-4823 or <jenningk@ augsburg.edu>. ■ SAVE THE DATE JANUARY 7, 2005 Friday Forum—noon-1 p.m. Featured speaker Senator Dave Durenberger Brown bag luncheon, Christensen Center Call 612-338-4821 for details JANUARY 29, 2005 Women’s Connections,Thrivent Financial 625 4th Ave., Minneapolis FEBRUARY 4, 2005 Friday Forum—noon-1 p.m. Brown bag luncheon, Christensen Center Call 612-338-4821 for details FEBRUARY 10, 11, and 12, 2005 17th Annual Nobel Peace Prize Festival and Forum, Augsburg College campus MARCH 4, 2005 Friday Forum—noon-1 p.m. Featured speaker Senator Mark Dayton Brown bag luncheon, Christensen Center Call 612-338-4821 for details MAY 16, 2005 Second Annual Healthcare Conference Details to follow www.augsburg.edu/healthcare Fall 2004 Director of development named After a national search, Stephen Preus assumed his role as director of development in October. “Preus brings a strong background of corporate and community experiences to the role,” said Sue Klaseus, vice president for institutional advancement. “Stephen articulated well his passion about Augsburg’s mission and vision. We feel confident that his expertise and external perspective will continue to enhance the success of Augsburg’s current capital campaign and our long-term advancement program,” she continued. Preus succeeds John Knight, who left Augsburg in May to pursue opportunities with his church, and interim director Richard J.Weiland, of Northfield. Prior to joining Augsburg, Preus owned CM IT Solutions in Edina, Minn., and was a longtime employee and officer of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and its predecessor company Lutheran Brotherhood. Preus is active in numerous community organizations and lives in Burnsville with wife, Martha, and their two children. ■ CAMPAIGN CORNER • An anonymous endowment gift of $2 million was given this fall. • Thrivent Financial Services is offering alumni, friends of the College, faculty, and staff the opportunity to join Thrivent’s GivingPlus charitable/matching gift program. For details, contact Stephanie Malone, director of The Annual Fund, at 612-338-4825. • Broadcasting of Advent Vespers nationwide this year was made possible by generous lead gifts from the extended Hoversten family,Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, and a number of other friends and alumni of Augsburg College. (Read about the broadcast on p. 5.) If you’d like to consider a gift to the Advent Vespers broadcast, funding is still needed. Contact Sherry Jennings King at 612-338-4823 by December 31 for this year’s pledge form. WE’VE MOVED Institutional Advancement moved from Smiley’s Point recently when Fairview Health Services exercised its option on Augsburg’s lease to house the Fairview Foundation. Vice President Sue Klaseus, administrative assistant Kathryn Croyle, and the Institutional Advancement and Alumni and Parent Relations departments are located in Science Hall 152. Development, Government and Community Relations, and Advancement Services are in downtown Minneapolis in the Crown Roller Mill Building next to the former Whitney Hotel, just off Washington Avenue near the new Guthrie Theater site. All email addresses are the same, but to contact individuals in the Crown Roller Mill building, please call the phone numbers listed. Fall 2004 KAY AHLSTROM 612-338-4818 STEPHANIE MALONE 612-338-4825 MELISSA BAWEK 612-338-4819 DONNA MCLEAN 612-338-4826 TRACY BECKMAN 612-338-6536 KIM OLMSTED 612-338-4827 DAVE BENSON 612-338-6539 STEPHEN PREUS 612-338-4828 JEROY CARLSON 612-338-4820 PHIL QUANBECK, SR. 612-338-6539 CHRISTIN CRABTREE-MCWETHY 612-338-4821 PATRICK SHEEHY 612-338-6533 KEVIN HEALY 612-338-6537 BARBARA HUTSON 612-338-4822 STEPHANIE STUART 612-338-6534 GEORGE SVERDRUP 612-338-6539 SHERILYN YOUNG 612-338-6535 SHERRY JENNINGS-KING 612-338-4823 JENNIFER KAHLOW 612-338-6540 SUE KLASEUS 612-338-6538 FAX 612-338-6542 MAIN OFFICE NUMBER 612-338-0002 RON MAIN 612-338-4824 13 Superb results through Class Challenge Strides to increase annual giving continue as “alumni participation for the past five years has increased to 20 percent,” said Stephanie Malone, Augsburg Fund director. For fiscal year ending May 2004, $825,000 was raised to support the lives and education of Augsburg students. New this year was the Class Challenge. “We issued a Class Challenge in hopes of involving more individuals in supporting their alma mater.” The criteria used included individuals who could be located within each class year and who held a day student status. Using the aforementioned criteria, the Class of 1937 had 100 percent participation. The Class of 1946 was the top giver, with an average gift size of more than $13,000 and a class participation rate of almost 81 percent. The class of 1985 also significantly increased their participation from past years. “We really appreciate the efforts of each of the Class Challenge participants,” said Malone. “The Augsburg Fund touches every aspect of the College at every moment of a student’s educational experience. It offers financial aid through scholarships and programs that transform students’ lives.” There are many stories of individuals giving to the Class Challenge who have never given to the College or who haven’t given on a consistent annual basis. Richard Koplitz ’48 has given to the College’s athletic programs in the past, but liked what he saw with the College expansion and wanted to support The Augsburg Fund. “Our annual fund support also was made possible by leadership donors, many of whom are Maroon & Silver Society members. Their gifts of $1,000 or more accounted for 75 percent of the annual fund goal this past year,” reported Sue Klaseus, vice president of Institutional Advancement and Community Relations. Augsburg’s goal is to nearly triple annual fund giving by 2006 to reach a 30 percent alumni participation rate. “This is a vibrant, evolving college,” said Malone. “Alumni giving to enhance the institution makes an Augsburg degree more meaningful. There are so many ways to support Augsburg, and contributing to the annual fund to support scholarships is one meaningful way.” ■ Contact Malone at 612-338-4825 or by e-mail at <malone@augsburg.edu>. Dorothy and Richard Koplitz ’48 CLASS CHALLENGE RESULTS (as of May 31, 2004) Class of Class Part. Class of Class Part. ’30 33.33% ’69 21.50% ’33 16.67% ’70 24.82% ’34 28.57% ’71 21.28% ’35 22.22% ’72 19.93% ’36 40.00% ’73 16.33% ’37 100.00% ’74 20.28% ’38 83.87% ’75 10.50% ’39 41.94% ’76 29.80% ’40 43.90% ’77 16.49% ’41 22.81% ’78 20.14% ’42 32.73% ’79 27.71% ’43 38.60% ’80 14.33% ’44 20.69% ’81 24.73% ’45 97.78% ’82 12.61% ’46 80.95% ’83 15.76% ’47 60.00% ’84 24.91% ’48 55.68% ’85 31.67% ’49 44.80% ’86 6.93% ’50 51.58% ’87 11.62% ’51 50.68% ’88 17.97% ’52 51.91% ’89 11.73% ’53 63.03% ’90 11.07% ’54 30.97% ’91 8.45% ’55 21.51% ’92 7.43% ’56 55.65% ’93 9.94% ’57 40.00% ’94 13.47% ’58 53.97% ’95 7.47% ’59 42.96% ’96 4.94% ’60 25.63% ’97 10.54% ’61 32.45% ’98 11.95% ’62 23.21% ’99 11.80% ’63 41.71% ’00 2.70% ’64 35.96% ’01 2.70% ’65 33.93% ’02 4.69% ’66 37.67% ’03 1.21% ’67 22.12% 27.27% ’04 0.29% ’68 14 TOTAL 20.57% Fall 2004 THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM Fall 2004 THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM core curriculum T H E A U CORE G S B UCURRICULUM RG THE AUGSBURG THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM is designed to E D U C AT I N G F OCURRICULUM R WORK, THE AUGSBURG CORE THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM prepare students to become effective, informed, and SM E D U C AT I N G F O R L I F E ethical citizens through their engagement in a THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM curriculum that: provides a liberal arts foundation and CURRICULUM promotes the THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE ▼ acquisition of intellectual and professional skills; THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM calls for common inquiry into questions of Christian ▼ faith and the search for meaning; and, THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM ▼ cultivates the transformative discovery of, and appreciation for, the student’s place ofCURRICULUM leadership THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE and service in a diverse world—vocatio and caritas. THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUM THE AUGSBURG core curriculum E D U C AT I N G F O R W O R K , E D U C AT I N G F O R L I F E BY BETSEY NORGARD ▼ DESIGN BY KATHY RUMPZA When students look at colleges, one of the first areas they ask about is the list of majors or academic disciplines offered. Seldom are they as interested in other required courses, usually called the general education or core curriculum. What they don’t realize, however, is that this part of their college study is recognized within the higher education community to be as important as their major or area of specialization in preparing them for an increasingly technical, complex, and diverse workplace. Following extensive study, a national panel of the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) issued a report in 2002 that makes the case for a “liberal” education, meaning one that will “help college students become intentional learners who can adapt to new environments, integrate knowledge from different sources, and continue learning throughout their lives.” A liberal education prepares students with skills beyond the theory and depth of a specialization that they will need to meet the challenges of a global society— critical thinking and communicating, the knowledge of how to learn, and the preparation for responsible citizenship. One hallmark of a liberal education is the integration of classroom learning with practical application through internships, community service, and other forms of experiential learning. A liberal and practical education educates students for responsible citizenship as well as for 16 ▼ work and careers. The good news for Augsburg is that educating for citizenship has always been part of an Augsburg education. Joan Griffin, Augsburg professor of English and director of general education, wrote in a recent discussion paper, “Education for citizenship may be trendy now, but as many of us discovered … it’s been in the bones of this College at least since September 1874 when the faculty approved a science division that would provide ‘a practical general education’ to prepare Norwegian immigrants to flourish as citizens of their new world.” In the area of experiential education, and especially in servicelearning where community service is integrated into classroom learning, Augsburg has been a national leader for many years. In 2003, U.S.News & World Report, in its “Programs to Look for,” included Augsburg among 20 schools nationwide as a “stellar example” of a service-learning program. PHOTOS BY STEPHEN GEFFRE previous general education course requirements spread over eight liberal arts “perspectives,” and—most importantly—that aligns it more closely with Augsburg’s vision document, Augsburg 2004: Extending the Vision. LAUNCHING THE AUGSBURG CORE In fall 2003, Augsburg launched the Augsburg Core Curriculum, or Augsburg Core, a new general education curriculum that incorporates the best practices from national research, that streamlines the At Opening Celebration, new first-year students process into Hoversten Chapel through the ballooned arch and through a line of welcoming faculty and staff. Fall 2004 For more than two years, several committees involving over 25 faculty and students worked to define the underlying principles of general education at Augsburg. Then, over several months a design team collaborated to construct the new curriculum. The full faculty discussed the proposal in open hearings and finally voted its approval. The Augsburg Core Curriculum Design Team CORE PRINCIPLES A number of key principles make up the heart of the Augsburg Core. Augsburg believes that students learn best in community. Thus, “learning communities” are at the center of the Augsburg Core. Students begin their college careers in the Augsburg Seminar learning communities, and they complete their careers in their major keystone communities. Both connect students with faculty and with fellow students. In the first year almost all courses are taught by full-time faculty, not adjuncts, to encourage these connections. The community of learners is strengthened by having all students share educational experiences at several places during their studies where common questions are considered and continually revisited. This is accomplished through common readings, through required courses, and through required experiences to which students apply their classroom learning. At the heart of the Augsburg Core are Joan Griffin, chair . . . . . . . .English Lori Brandt Hale . . . . . . . .Religion Dal Liddle . . . . . . . . . . . . . .English Merilee Klemp . . . . . . . . . . .Music Diane Pike . . . . . . . . . . .Sociology Ambrose Wolf . . . . . . . . . .Physics The result of this work over these several years is a carefully crafted, cohesive education that blends broad, general learning with depth in one or more specific areas and prepares students with tools to succeed. The Augsburg Core combines hallmarks of the College’s Lutheran (and, specifically, Lutheran Free Church) heritage, its long-standing commitment to educating students for service in the world, its commitment to provide access to a diverse learning community, and its location in the center of an urban area. Woven throughout are the themes of Christian faith, exploration of vocation, the city, diversity, and global awareness. It is an education distinctive to Augsburg College, and it offers a life-changing journey for students, truly a transforming education. Fall 2004 In their Augsburg Seminar, first-year students begin learning about the city in which they will study, live, and work by exploring its resources and opportunities and engaging in community service projects. Sociology professor Diane Pike (right) leads an AugSem group as they explore downtown Minneapolis streets. 17 the two signature courses called Search for Meaning that are required of all Augsburg students. In these courses, the themes most important to Augsburg’s mission and vision—vocation, identity, and Christian faith—are introduced and revisited as students begin to reflect in more substantive ways about these issues. The Core Curriculum is designed to be developmental. From the first year onward, the curriculum introduces shared themes through common experiences, engages students in the city, builds skills in the major, broadens perspectives through the liberal arts, requires application of learned theory, and, finally, pulls everything together in a keystone course before graduation. Augsburg students continually have Becoming an orientation leader is one way in which students can grow as leaders on campus. Here, during summer orientation, Laura Prasek ’05 helps a new student figure out his academic schedule for the first semester. 18 opportunities to develop leadership skills for service in society: through knowledge gained from the breadth of their liberal arts courses, through the embedding of skills development in their major courses, and through the many forms of experiential education in the Twin Cities or elsewhere where they can apply their classroom learning to practical situations. An Augsburg education places emphasis on the whole student, both in academic classroom study and activities outside of the classroom. Working in tandem with the academic curriculum is the co-curriculum, i.e., the rich variety of college life that includes support services such as advising, tutoring services, and accommodations for physical and learning disabilities, as well as student government, sports, residence life, campus ministry, and many other social organizations. All of this helps students build the confidence and skills they need to become leaders. Two significant aspects of an Augsburg education—the commitment to a diverse learning community and the importance of global awareness—are intentionally infused throughout both the core curriculum and the major, rather than being targeted in specific courses. Students will encounter these themes inherent in Augsburg’s identity throughout their studies. In several cases the themes are imprinted in a common experience. For example, the Effective Writing course, required of first-year students, includes a common text chosen for its culturally, racially, and ethnically diverse content. Throughout the core curriculum, students will encounter opportunities to experience and discuss the nature of human differences. The Augsburg Core is designed for all undergraduate students and is required of all, including those in the traditional day program, in Weekend College, and the Rochester program, albeit with some adjustments and slightly altered format for weekend and transfer students. While weekend and Rochester students do not participate in the firstyear program, they must fulfill all other requirements of the curriculum. For the most part, adult working students value the Augsburg Core for its emphasis on liberal arts, and they understand its application to their work or life situation. They often use their own workplace as the setting for a project to fulfill the Augsburg Experience. Many students also take advantage of shortterm study seminars to experience another country or culture. Augsburg’s Honors Program is rooted in the Augsburg Core and offers an enriched and interdisciplinary environment in which students explore the many dimensions of ideas and uses of knowledge. Its courses lead students through a specially-designed core curriculum for academically-qualified students. IMPLEMENTING THE AUGSBURG CORE In 2003, Augsburg’s Center for Teaching and Learning received a three-year grant from the Bush Foundation to help faculty implement the new Augsburg Core. During the past year, faculty have met in learning collaboratives to address best teaching and learning practices. The grant has also funded workshops, materials, and research collaborations. For faculty, the new core curriculum has resulted in a significant shift. Formerly, faculty members generally designed, taught, and evaluated their own courses within departments. The new curriculum calls upon faculty to Fall 2004 collaborate across departments and disciplines, since all courses now serve the broader goals of an Augsburg education, including embedded skills, service-learning, and other kinds of learning beyond the specific subject matter. “It’s work that will have as much payoff for faculty, if we do it well,” comments Diane Pike, professor of sociology and director of the Center for Teaching and Learning. “Faculty gain a much better understanding of how the curriculum meets its goals; it gives us an intentionality and explicitness that we didn’t have before.” The Augsburg Core’s distinction has not gone unnoticed. While higher education is clearly moving towards the “liberal education” called for in AAC&U’s national report, Augsburg shows clear leadership with its emphasis and commitment to service-learning and the development of learning communities. The College is actively participating in this national discussion and is being recognized for the distinctiveness and coherence of the new core curriculum. Representing the Augsburg Core graphically as an arch becomes an effective tool to explain the comprehensiveness of the curriculum as well as to help students navigate through the courses to graduation. Creating the Augsburg Core has been a self-examination of the most fundamental values of Augsburg’s heritage, mission, and vision. An Augsburg education is now more closely aligned with the vision of “transforming education” the College understands itself called to offer, helping students to find their place in the world and reach their potential. Provost Christopher Kimball sums it up on Augsburg’s Web site, “We are one college with one mission, offering one unique experience.” Fall 2004 The Augsburg Arch The Augsburg Arch visually demonstrates the structure, relationships, and coherence of the Augsburg Core Curriculum. It shows how the liberal arts, academic majors, and general education intersect, and how the liberal arts are foundational, both in content and skills. The keystone brings it all together and supports the whole as an integrated education. The Augsburg Core has three major components: ▼ The Signature Curriculum ▼ The Liberal Arts Foundation ▼ Skills Requirement The Signature Curriculum sets Augsburg apart from others. It includes both specific courses and elements of courses that engage students with the core values inherent in Augsburg’s mission and heritage. 1. THE SIGNATURE CURRICULUM Augsburg Seminar (first-year program) helps first-year weekday students make the transition to college in “learning communities” based on their major or other academic interests. In these courses students learn what it means to become a citizen of an academic community. Many of these courses also include an Engaging Minneapolis component, which introduces them to life in the Twin Cities—by exploring the local arts scene, studying environmental issues on the Mississippi, bicycling the downtown riverfront, tutoring neighborhood immigrant children, sampling the local ethnic cuisine, and much more. Search for Meaning 1 and 2—These two religion courses present Christian theology as well as non-Christian faiths and guide students in exploring and reflecting on Augsburg’s concept of vocation—discovering and using one’s own talents and passion in service in the world. Augsburg Experience—All students will complete a required experience that links their academic study to involvement in the broader community, either locally or globally. This experience can be study abroad, an internship, research with a professor, community service-learning, or an offcampus immersion experience. Senior Keystone—The required senior keystone course revisits conversations on vocation, now within the context of the major, and builds on the cumulative combining of theoretical classroom knowledge with experiential applications of it. It also reflects the developmental nature of the Augsburg Core—beginning with Augsburg Seminar, Search for Meaning, and Engaging Minneapolis; then adding growth in major skills and practical application in the Augsburg Experience; and, finally, a uniting of everything in the keystone. 2. THE LIBERAL ARTS FOUNDATION In order to learn and appreciate different ways of knowing and modes of inquiry, students take two courses from different departments in each of the four academic domains. Students may take “connections” courses that are team-taught and examine the liberal arts around themes and across disciplines. 3. SKILLS REQUIREMENTS Courses throughout the four years provide skills beyond the specialization that responsible citizens and successful employees need in the global workplace—in critical thinking, speaking, writing, and quantitative reasoning. Entrance assessments prepare students to take the courses that fulfill graduation requirements in these areas. Core skill requirements include writing, modern language, and lifetime fitness. 19 core curriculum Augsburg Seminar THE FIRST-YEAR PROGRAM BECOMING AN AUGGIE For most first-year students, college is a big change. It may be the first time they have left home or have lived in a city. Many will find that high school did not prepare them for the demanding work load of a college schedule or the cognitive challenges and skills that they will need to flourish in their new academic environment. Augsburg recognizes that first-year students need support as they make the transition to college and successful academic careers. Because of the attention that it pays to the experience of first-year students, Augsburg was named as one of 12 Founding Institutions in the Council of Independent Colleges’ Foundations of Excellence™ in the First College Year Project. Augsburg’s first-year program, Augsburg Seminar, introduces first-year weekday students to the Augsburg learning community. It helps them become intentional learners as they develop the skills and strategies that will lead to success in college. It introduces them to the signature themes of an Augsburg education: vocation, caritas, and community. It introduces them to what it means to be an educated person: an effective, informed, and ethical citizen. From their first day on campus, everything is geared to helping students get off to the right start. Augsburg Seminar courses join students, professors, peer leaders (AugMentors), and campus staff together in “learning communities” based on a student’s major or other academic interests. In these communities, students may work on joint projects, getting to know the Twin Cities cultural scene, meeting and tutoring newly-arrived immigrants in the neighborhood, and writing reflections on these experiences. On the day before classes actually begin, AugSem sections spend the afternoon in community service projects, mostly in the neighborhoods around campus. This year, Kristin Snartland is one of the AugSem students who rode the new lightrail from near campus to downtown, finding out how easy it is to get around. 20 first-year students worked a total of more than 1,000 hours on their AugSem community service projects. In the process they become acquainted with each other, explore the resources of the College community, get connected with the city—and have fun. Many students find college-long (and life-long) friends in their Augsburg Seminar. They get to know their professors—and their professors get to know them, both in class and outside the classroom in AugSem activities. Biology professor Bill Capman’s AugSem section is paired with the Introductory Organismal Biology course, which also includes a service-learning field project. This fall, his students visited a local nature preserve, Dodge Nature Center, to learn about and work to remove invasive plant species from their grounds. As part of their AugSem curriculum, Capman’s group spends time on broader topics—developing good study skills in the sciences, exploring biology and medical-related careers, and, for biology The AugSem/Biology 103 class spent time at the Dodge Nature Center, studying invasive plant species and helping to remove them from the preserve. Professor Bill Capman points out differences between the buckthorn to be removed and ash trees to Brittany Grudem (left) and Jennifer Moe (right). Fall 2004 A Somali community leader, Abdirizak Bihi, introduces an AugSem group to a Somali shop in the Cedar-Riverside area. The class was getting acquainted with Somali culture to prepare them for their later visits in the neighborhood to give people information about voting and registration. majors, getting to know upperclass biology majors and becoming involved in department activities. In Professor John Shockley’s Augsburg Seminar section with its paired Political Patterns and Processes course, students took advantage of the events around the presidential election to study the challenges and opportunities people face in trying the make the world safer and more peaceful. On the AugSem city service projects day this group visited shops and businesses around campus owned by Somali immigrants to learn about their culture. During the semester they met with people in the neighborhood about voting and voter registration. Getting off to the right start Over the past decade, Augsburg has intentionally developed a first-year program that helps incoming students ease the transition to both college life and to the city in which they’ll live, work, and find many kinds of opportunities. Because of this commitment and a readiness to evaluate and improve its program, Search for Meaning All freshman students are required to take the first of two Search for Meaning courses, Christian Vocation and the Search for Meaning. This course explores the broad questions of existence—who we are, why we’re here, etc.—and examines the Christian notion of vocation as a lens through which one’s own life can be considered, informed by faith within the context of these larger questions. Some of the Search for Meaning Fall 2004 sections are paired with Augsburg Seminars, and some have community service-learning components. Religion professor Russell Kleckley’s Search for Meaning section is paired with music professor Merilee Klemp’s Introduction to Music and the Fine Arts, and together they co-teach the Augsburg Seminar. These two courses will jointly study larger questions of meaning in the context of the Judeo-Christian musical tradition—from medieval chanting to today’s rap music. The second Search for Meaning course invites students to think about the role that religion, the Bible, and their own beliefs play in the vocational choices they make in their lives. Students who are not Christian will consider their own religious and spiritual beliefs and how they affect their vocation and place in the world. Augsburg was named one of 12 “Founding Institutions” to participate in a national project to develop a model first-year program that can be used by small, private colleges to help their students reach graduation. The project, Foundations of Excellence™ in the First College Year, is co-sponsored by the Policy Center of the First Year of College and the Council on Independent Colleges. Funding for the two-year project is provided by Lumina Foundation for Education and The Atlantic Philanthropies. 21 core curriculum Engaging Minneapolis “MEETING” THE CITY The first-year orientation booklet tells incoming day students, “When you come to Augsburg, you arrive at the heart of a vibrant city.” While most students have probably visited the Twin Cities before, it was most likely while visiting family or as a tourist, which gave them little knowledge about studying, living, and working in this area. Engaging Minneapolis highlights the importance of Augsburg’s urban location and introduces new students to the resources, issues, opportunities, and diversity of the city. This is the urban context that enables Augsburg to fulfill its mission to prepare students as responsible citizens and leaders in service to the world. Engaging Minneapolis is not the name of a single course, but rather an added course component that makes intentional and substantial use of city resources. Courses with Engaging Minneapolis components are not about the city, but engage the city as a learning laboratory in which students study their particular liberal arts or general education subject matter. Activities in Engaging Minneapolis courses can vary widely— attending concerts and other cultural events, exploring the ethnic restaurants in the neighborhood, tutoring immigrant children or adults preparing for citizenship tests, helping care for community gardens, or discovering the many bike and walking paths along the Mississippi River near campus. Some of the Engaging Minneapolis courses also include courseembedded service-learning—an Augsburg signature. In these classes service experiences and reflective learning are integrated Bicycling Minneapolis is a lifetime fitness course that fulfills Engaging Minneapolis by exploring the history and culture of the city along its bikepaths and trails. 22 As part of her Search for Meaning course, Ashley Boyd helps Somali high school students with their homework and has opportunity to learn about their religion and culture. into the students’ coursework, and the community experience becomes a “text” for the course. Both the students and the community partners learn from each other. Very few colleges include service-learning in first year courses. Mary Laurel True, director of community servicelearning, says that community service is “part of who we are,” and that it’s important for new students right away to get a taste of what it means to be engaged in the community. Several of the AugSem paired classes work with new immigrants in the neighborhoods surrounding the College. In Professor Janelle Bussert’s Religion 100 class, students spend 15 hours at Trinity Lutheran Church in the CedarRiverside neighborhood helping Somali high school students with their homework in Safe Place, an afterschool program. The students study Islam in their religion class, and then find opportunities to talk further and ask questions of the Somali high school students about their religious traditions. Bussert says that some wonderful conversations have arisen while they work together. English professor Bob Cowgill’s Effective Writing students spend 15 hours during the semester working with adult immigrants, mostly from East Africa, at the Franklin Learning Center in the Phillips neighborhood near campus. The students review English lessons or help with flash cards as the adult learners study for citizenship tests. Cowgill’s English course investigates how one knows and accounts for identity through language. He says that his students benefit from meeting and working with the immigrants, and have remarked about how hard the immigrants work to learn English and become Americans. Fall 2004 core curriculum A LESSON IN COMPUTERS AND CULTURE Business/MIS professor Lee Clarke student wrote. “He handed me teaches a first-year course, MIS 175 a piece of paper that said, Principles of Computing for Business. ‘Thanks for helping me.’ It It’s an introductory course for was typed in real big, bold management information systems (MIS) letters. He then looked at me students to learn Microsoft Office and said, ‘Look, I learned how programs and how they are used in to use Word.’ ” business to reach goals and solve A disabled student business problems. thought he would not be able The course is designed to include an to help, but later wrote, Engaging Minneapolis component. That “Little did I know that I was part of the course, which Clarke calls about to prove myself wrong, the experience “text,” involves a very wrong.” The computer partnership with the Cedar-Riverside instructor told him that since Plaza Residents Resource Center. There, he was not able to actually do Augsburg students work 15 hours per Freshman business student Jerrad Honstad helps a Somali woman the computing for the at Riverside Plaza learn computer skills. semester as assistants in the computer residents, it was more class or open lab. The residents are beneficial for them, since mostly Somali refugees; many have they had to listen to the student’s One student wrote, “This experience limited English skills and some have never explanation and do the work themselves. helped me to meet [new immigrants], and touched a computer. For the young business students in I can look at the world and America in a Clarke requires three assignments that his class who have always had computers whole new light. … I feel that you can connect the subject matter with the in their lives, Clarke knows they are now learn more in the short 15 hours I worked service experience. In one, students reflect more aware of the disparities of wealth there than you can in some classes you go on the digital divide with its issues of and technology in the world. The to daily for a whole semester.” technology “haves” and “have-nots” and experience of working with new Another student talked about an talk about how the Resource Center helps immigrants, many of them close to the unforgettable moment after helping an the residents overcome these barriers. The students’ grandparents’ ages, also gave older man learn to use Microsoft Word. last assignment asks the students to reflect them a greater appreciation of culture “Then one day he came in quite as usual personally—what they learned at the and citizenship. but with a huge smile on his face,” the center and how it relates to their course. Keystone PUTTING IT TOGETHER If Engaging Minneapolis is the bookend on the front end of an Augsburg Fall 2004 education, the keystone experience is the final bookend. During the years in between, students delve into a major, build professional as well as life skills, apply their classroom learning, explore faith, and experience the city. The keystone course usually occurs in the senior year, close to graduation. The keystone in the Augsburg Core, as in architecture, provides the shape and support to the structural elements of the arch. It connects the broad liberal arts foundation with the professional skills and the in-depth study in the major. It helps students begin the transition to their after-college life. Learning goals include a revisiting of the critical conversations about vocation that were begun in the first Search for Meaning course. Attention is paid to reflection on vocation, leadership, and service in a diverse world. The value of the keystone, says MIS professor Nora Braun, who piloted an MIS keystone course, is that it’s time focused on thinking about all the pieces in an Augsburg education and what the student has done with them. “It’s a reflection and a pulling together of the total experience in and out of the classroom.” Braun asks her students to write an “education autobiography” that reflects on the identified outcomes of their Augsburg education. 23 core curriculum Augsburg Experience CONNECTIONS TO COMMUNITY Augsburg recognizes that today’s citizens need new kinds of competencies— abstract and complex problem-solving, systems thinking, and collaboration, among others. These are skills that cannot be learned in normal classroom activity alone, but are enhanced with direct experience in the workplace and community. In the Augsburg Core all students are required to complete an approved Augsburg Experience, one of the signature elements in the core curriculum that adds value to an Augsburg education. The Augsburg Experience can be completed in one of five ways: ▼ internships, cooperative education, practica, fieldwork, and clinicals ▼ faculty-student research ▼ community service-learning courses and experiences ▼ study abroad ▼ off-campus immersion experiences The Augsburg Experience, in short, links the theoretical with the practical, and links on-campus experience to the wider community. Every approved “experience” must engage the student in the community away from campus. To help them tailor an experience to their studies and interests, students work with faculty; the staff and resources of the Center for Service, Work, and Learning; and the Office of International Programs (OIP). Internships and cooperative education have traditionally been the most common choices for work-based 24 experiential education. Several professional studies majors already require student teaching, practica or fieldwork, and internships. Some Weekend College students who are working full time find they are able to develop an Augsburg Experience in their own jobs by compiling a formal plan, approved by the Center for Service, Work, and Learning, identifying a minimum of three learning outcomes that make deliberate connections between their education and work. Augsburg offers outstanding opportunities, especially in the sciences, for student-faculty research. Students work with their professors on original research that is usually more common at the graduate level. Through this, students learn to apply knowledge from their major and engage in the research process and in the discoveries, both successes and failures, that contribute to the body of knowledge in their discipline and benefit the wider community. Augsburg’s Physics Department collaborates on a number of ongoing research projects with major universities and government agencies, giving its students original research opportunities from their freshman year forward. The department enjoys an international reputation for research excellence, and its students have won several awards for outstanding presentations. Students can also meet the Augsburg Experience through courses with servicelearning components. A portion of course time is spent in service at the site, reflection, discussion, and related activities. Or, students can work at approved sites and carry out reflection activities with Augsburg faculty or staff members. Augsburg has built partnerships with more than 30 community organizations and is a recognized national leader and awardwinner. Students have a variety of choices for study abroad through the Center for Global Education’s study centers in Sociology and metro-urban studies students visited U.S. Rep. Martin Olav Sabo ’59 on their study trip to Washington, D.C., last spring to talk with people in public service about their vocations and working “on the hill.” (R to L): Lois Olson, Center for Service, Work, and Learning; Jennifer Nacey; Jessica Howard; Lori Cain; Amanda Froiland; Ray McCoy; Ted Arrindell; Maria Belen Power; Adela Arguello; Krista Dahlke; Kendra Kahlow; Kate Loyd; and Garry Hesser, professor of sociology and metro-urban studies. Fall 2004 Central America, Mexico, and southern Africa. Also, the International Partners program offers opportunities in European countries where Augsburg has formal university partnerships and internship opportunities. Other programs are available with approval from OIP. The fifth possibility for an Augsburg Experience is through off-campus immersion. These are typically weeklong experiences away from campus where students are engaged in learning that helps them understand, apply, and appreciate their Augsburg education in a diverse, global society. One example of off-campus immersion includes the visits made by Weekend College nursing students to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. There they meet with public health nurses, shadow them in their daily work, and learn about Lakota culture. An English major looks at rap music by Keme Hawkins It was the summer before my senior year and I knew I wanted to apply to graduate school. It was important for me to get some research experience and quick. The University of Minnesota’s McNair Summer Research Program accepted me, and I worked with the Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community under the mentorship of Dr. Oliver Williams from the College of Human Ecology, School of Social Work. It seemed a strange home for an English major, but my McNair adviser assured me that it would be a valuable experience. The Institute holds annual conferences that focus on specific aspects of domestic violence and this year’s conference theme was “Domestic Violence and the Hip-Hop Generation.” In keeping with the theme I tailored my research to complement the research already in progress and formulated a study that looked at whether or not people are influenced by the suggested gender identities in rap music and how that affected their dating and marital relationships. The scholar’s group reported weekly to the seminar, where we would be debriefed on each aspect of the research process: developing an introduction, explaining the significance of the study, forming a hypothesis, doing a literature review, forming methodology, compiling results, creating a discussion, and making recommendations for further study. The dispensing of our stipend was contingent upon completing each research step by a certain time, while also doing work to help prepare us for graduate school, like writing a personal statement, putting together a curriculum vitae, and making Fall 2004 a list of graduate schools to apply to. My research concluded with the Domestic Violence and the Hip-Hop Generation conference at York College in Queens, N.Y. Because my professor thought so highly of my work and was impressed with my knowledge of hiphop music and culture, I was invited to take part in a plenary session where I discussed the impact of sexist rap lyrics with the rap group Holla Point and practitioners who work to combat domestic violence. As an English major, entering the world of social science was not as unnatural or discomforting as I would have imagined. While the social sciences study human behavior, literature is a study of the human condition through non-fiction accounts and human imagination. Having the opportunity to do interdisciplinary work has not only given me another perspective on how to think more broadly within my own field, but it has also allowed me to get better focus on the kind of graduate program for my interest. African-American literature can offer me the best of those worlds—having a definite house or genre or body of literary work to study based in a social science is the ideal place for me. Keme Hawkins is a Weekend College senior English major and a McNair Scholar. Weekend College senior English major Keme Hawkins used her knowledge of hip-hop music and culture in research on domestic violence that she carried out last summer with a professor in the Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Family at the University of Minnesota. 25 Meet Joan Griffin PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH D I R E C T O R O F G E N E R A L E D U C AT I O N Joan Griffin has lived and breathed the mission and values of Augsburg College. She is the co-author of the College’s vision document, Augsburg 2004: Extending the Vision, that was approved in 1999, and has also co-authored its update and revision, presented to the Board of Regents for approval in January 2005. Augsburg Now posed the following question to her: What are the most important core values from the College’s mission and vision that are now imprinted in the new Augsburg Core Curriculum? One, of course, is vocation … the idea that each student brings a unique set of talents and abilities and potential. We need to cultivate all of these abilities, not just the academic ones, but all the talents that students bring with them. Certainly, also important is citizenship, or “the city.” We tried to expand the notion of city, so that it’s not just an urban studies requirement, but it really has to do with providing an education for citizenship. The College has always done that; it’s part of why the College is a college rather than a seminary—early leaders were concerned with how to prepare Norwegian immigrants to become citizens. Right away we want students to know they they’ve come to a terrific place and that they can learn here, both inside and outside the classroom. We introduce this theme in Engaging Minneapolis and repeat it in the Augsburg Experience, where once again we ask them to go beyond the classroom and actually put into practice what they’ve learned in the classroom. For the first time we have overall goals in our curriculum—we want students to become effective, informed, and ethical citizens. The emphasis on ethics comes from our Lutheran heritage, but we want it to pervade the entire curriculum. Effective citizens need the skills of knowing how to write, to read, to think critically. Those skills should be addressed intentionally throughout the curriculum, but general education can be particularly accountable. We know too that effective citizens will need to function in a diverse society. Although we explicitly introduce the theme of diversity through the Many Voices Project in the first year, the new Augsburg Core calls for an infusion model of diversity whereby we’ll ask the entire curriculum—especially majors— to think about the skills and knowledge that their students will need to be responsible citizens of an increasingly global society. The Signature Curriculum does really hit these distinctive parts of an Augsburg education. The two Search for Meaning courses address vocation through the lens of our Lutheran heritage. The city, of course, we address within our metropolitan setting through the Engaging Minneapolis requirement. There is also the notion of caritas, the demand for God’s love to be enacted in the world. An Augsburg education is an education for action. We see this throughout the curriculum—in Augsburg Seminar, in Engaging Minneapolis, and in the Augsburg Experience. Contact information Office of Undergraduate Admissions Weekend College Admissions 612-330-1001 or 1-800-788-5678 admissions@augsburg.edu www.augsburg.edu/day 612-330-1101 wecinfo@augsburg.edu www.augsburg.edu/weekend 2 2 1 1 26 R i v e r s i d e A v e n u e , M i n n e a p o l i s , M N 5 5 4 5 4 For information about Augsburg’s Core Curriculum: Barbara Edwards Farley Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs 612-330-1024 farley@augsburg.edu w w w. a u g s b u r g . e d u Fall 2004 AAlumni LUMNINews NEWS From the Alumni Board president’s desk… ello Augsburg alumni! As the first Weekend College graduate to serve as Alumni Board president, I’ve been spending some time considering both the similarities and the differences among our alumni and their experiences. Augsburg has done an incredible job of creating educational programs that fit the contrasting needs of students. In years past, the College was smaller and offered fewer programs. Today, our students may choose from the weekend, Rochester, graduate, or traditional day programs. They may live on campus or they may commute from home. It’s only natural, then, that graduates of 20 or more years ago are likely to have very different memories from those who graduated more recently. In turn, this H also means that the “Augsburg experience” will mean different things for our alumni—their memories are unique and the connection each feels toward Augsburg varies. For example, many adult learners do not feel the same long-term association and affection for the College as do those students who live on campus. However, we all share in the traditions and events that have been treasured to this day, like Advent Vespers and Homecoming. One important goal of the Alumni Board is to help create meaningful relationships between all Augsburg students and alumni. We want everyone to share a deep “Augsburg experience” and a continuing connection with the College—which we believe will help to spread Augsburg’s educational and vocational values throughout the community. All alumni have one thing in common: the great benefit of an Augsburg degree, which does not differentiate between student types. Five alumni appointed to Alumni Board he Augsburg Alumni Board of Directors appointed five new members and elected Bill Vanderwall ’93 WEC as president and Karina Karlén ’83 as president-elect. To view the complete list of board members, visit the Alumni/Parent Relations Web site at <www.augsburg.edu/alumni>. The new members are as follows: T Buffie Blesi ‘90, ‘97 MAL Blesi graduated from Augsburg with a B.A. in business administration and a Master of Arts in Leadership. She is senior vice president and director of operations for TCF Investments. Andy Fried ‘93 WEC Fried graduated from Augsburg Weekend College with a B.A. in management information systems. He is operations Fall 2004 and systems support manager for WindLogics, Inc. Calvin Hanson ‘98 Hanson graduated from Augsburg with a B.A. in history. He is a senior admissions counselor at Augsburg. Joyce Miller ‘02 BS Nursing, Rochester Miller graduated with a Master of Arts in Nursing from Augsburg’s nursing program in Rochester, Minn. She is a registered nurse at the Mayo Clinic and an adjunct instructor at Augsburg. Elizabeth “Liz” Pushing ‘93 Pushing graduated from Augsburg with a B.A. in business administration. She is director of financial services at Providence Place. Of special note in this issue of the Augsburg Now is the article on page 28 about the newly formed Weekend College Alumni Network (WECAN). This group is already developing some great strategies on how we can better connect with current Weekend College students in order to establish a strong alumni relationship later. We value your input on how to accomplish this, so please call the director of Alumni/Parent Relations, Amy Sutton, at 612-330-1525, or e-mail <suttona@augsburg.edu>. You may also e-mail me at <bvanderwall@lssmn.org> with your ideas. I look forward to serving as your new Alumni Board president! Bill Vanderwall ’93 WEC President, Alumni Board Alumni Board elects first WEC alumnus as president ugsburg’s Alumni Board of Directors is pleased to announce the election of Bill Vanderwall ’93 to serve as the 2004–2005 board president. Vanderwall is the board’s first Weekend College alumnus to serve as its president. “I am honored to bring in some new ideas to further connect Augsburg to nontraditional students,” says Vanderwall. “Personally, my degree from Augsburg has had great impact in helping me discern my vocational direction and in setting a course of action on how to get there—ultimately enabling me to work and live in a way that is consistent with my values.” Vanderwall was recently promoted to vice president of family services at Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota. He previously served as LSS’s senior director of housing services. A 27 Alumni News Augsburg student and alumni win legislative and judicial seats by Lynn Mena n November 2, an Augsburg graduate student and three alumni won seats in various legislative and judicial races, while two alumni—Sandy (Voss) Wollschlager ’94 and Kathryn Ness ’02 (both DFL)—were narrowly defeated by Republican incumbents for seats in the Minnesota House of Representatives. O Larry Hosch, MSW student Hosch (DFL) won a seat in the MN House, District 14B. He has served as mayor of St. Joseph for four years, and at 27 is the second youngest mayor in Minnesota history. He is also coowner of Lamar Homes & Remodeling, LLC, and is enrolled in Augsburg’s Master of Social Work program. LaJune Thomas Lange ‘75 The honorable LaJune Thomas Lange retained her seat as a judge on the Hennepin County 4th Judicial District Court. She has held this seat since 1986, previously serving as a judge on the Hennepin County Municipal Court (1985–1986) and as an assistant public defender for Hennepin County (1978–1985). She is also an adjunct professor at William Mitchell College of Law, where she teaches international human rights and civil rights. She is an Augsburg Distinguished Alumna (2002) and a former member of the Board of Regents. Diane Loeffler ‘75 Loeffler (DFL) won a seat in the MN House, District 59A. A lifelong resident of Northeast Minneapolis, her career has been spent in public service. She has worked as a budget and policy analyst on education issues for state and local government. She currently works for Hennepin County in healthcare policy analysis on issues of services to seniors and persons with disabilities, health promotion and protection, and how to ensure more persons have access to affordable and effective health coverage. Martin Olav Sabo ‘59 Sabo (DFL) was elected to a 14th term in the U.S. House of Representatives, MN District 5. He has held this seat since 1979, previously serving as a representative of the MN House before his election to Congress. In 2003, he became the ranking member of the newly created Homeland Security Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee. Sabo also serves on the Defense Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee, where he is known on Capitol Hill as one of the leading voices on arms policy. An Augsburg Distinguished Alumnus (1976), he served for 12 years on the Board of Regents, and also received the College’s first honorary degree—the Doctor of Humane Letters (Honoris Causa)— in 2000. Weekend College Alumni Network (WECAN) established by Amy Sutton lumni of Augsburg Weekend College have established a group to represent and advocate for WEC students and graduates. Although initially launched a few years ago, the Weekend College Alumni Network (WECAN) has been reinvigorated in recent months. “The Weekend College program is such a vital part of Augsburg, and we want to bring attention to that,” said Andy Fried, a 1993 graduate who also serves on the Alumni Board of Directors. “We believe that a group of alumni who have actually experienced the unique challenges of WEC students can be strong advocates for positive changes that will enhance the Augsburg experience for current WEC students.” A 28 WECAN members also hope to bring visibility to the value that WEC alumni and students bring to the College, as well as to develop programs and communications that provide support and encouragement to current WEC students. “Our opportunities to attend Augsburg have had a tremendous impact on our lives and we want to give something back,” says Fried. If you are interested in joining WECAN or have suggestions for the group, please e-mail Members of the newly established Weekend College Alumni Network (WECAN) gathered recently to strategize ways to represent and advocate for WEC students and alumni. Pictured here are (L to R, front row) Heather Birch ‘96 and Anne-Marie de Jong ‘01, and (L to R, back row) Andy Fried ‘93, Jeff Gilbertson ‘04, Bill Vanderwall ‘93, and Meri Pygman ‘93 (not pictured are Pete Hespen ‘92 and Terry Marquardt ‘98). Fall 2004 Alumni events calendar Please join us for these upcoming alumni and parent events (see also the college-wide calendar on the inside back cover for additional events): January April 11 Auggie Hour celebrating Augsburg authors, Shelly’s Woodroast (I-394 & Louisiana in Golden Valley), 5:30 p.m. 12 Auggie Hour on campus for graduates of the Honors Program (meet current students in the program and learn about the changes to the curriculum), 5:30 p.m. 18 Parent Association gathering, Augsburg House, 6-8 p.m. February 8 Auggie Hour luncheon on campus for alumnae business owners (please e-mail <alumni@augsburg.edu> with your information if you are selfemployed or own a business and wish to network with other women business owners), noon 15 Alumni Board meeting, Minneapolis Room, Christensen Center, 5:30 p.m. March 8 Auggie Hour wine tasting hosted by Jennifer Tome ’99 of Grape Beginnings, Beaujo’s Wine Bar, 50th & France in Edina, 5:30 p.m. 14 Auggie Hour senior reception on campus (all alumni are invited to join us in welcoming the 2005 graduates to the Alumni Association), 5:30 p.m. May 6 Special reception for business graduates (all Augsburg faculty, alumni, and 2005 business graduates are invited), Marshall Room, Christensen Center, 4-6 p.m. 10 Auggie Hour on campus for all current and former Alumni Board members, 5:30 p.m. Holidazzle Parade Event Always wanted to see the Holidazzle parade without the hassle? Augsburg alumni and their families are invited to gather at Augsburg at 5:15 p.m. on Dec. 19. A bus will depart at 5:45 p.m. to take you to the parade and then return you to Augsburg where holiday goodies and hot chocolate will be waiting to warm you up. There is no cost but limited transportation is available, so please call the RSVP hotline at 612-3301598 or e-mail <rsvp@augsburg.edu>. Business alumni events All business alumni are invited to attend the Second Executive Management Lecture: “Key Success Factors in Starting a Business,” presented by Richard Brimacomb (partner, Sherpa Partners, and previous vice president of finance, Cartia Inc.) on Feb. 26, noon-1 p.m., Christensen Center. Alumni may also attend the Spring Business Forum: “General Systems Theory Unites Diverse Disciplines,” on April 21, 4-6 p.m., Christensen Center. Presented by Augsburg’s Department of Business Administration. The Lion King THIRD ANNUAL CONNECTIONS EVENT The third annual Connections—A Women’s Leadership Event, co-sponsored by Augsburg and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, will be held January 29 from 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. “What makes this women’s event unique compared to others is that we invite students to participate in this leadership development opportunity so they may network and be encouraged by the experiences and stories of the amazing women who attend,” said Sue Klaseus, vice president of Augsburg’s Institutional Advancement. Presenters this year include author and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Frances Hesselbein, and alumnae Jean Taylor ’85 and Ami Nafzger ’94. For more information and to register online, please visit <www.augsburg.edu/alumni>. The Augsburg Alumni Association invites you to attend The Lion King performance at the Orpheum Theatre on April 22. A limited number of tickets are available to alumni at a special discounted price of $50, a value of over $80 that includes a reception, roundtrip transportation to the Orpheum from Augsburg, and a balconyseating ticket. For more information or to secure your ticket, please visit <www.augsburg.edu/supporting/>. Alumni Tour to Norway Interested in an eight-day tour to Norway in May 2005? The Augsburg Concert Band is touring Norway in May and the alumni office would like to know who would be interested in participating on the companion tour. Please e-mail <alumni@augsburg.edu> for more information. Fall 2004 29 [ Spark Your Spirit ] Left: Students gathered with Augsburg alumni, faculty, and staff for the third annual Homecoming reception celebrating the College’s four ethnic programs: the American Indian, Pan-Asian, Pan-Afrikan, and Hispanic/Latino student service areas. Right: As part of the Homecoming festivities, students constructed elaborate hats—such as the hat pictured [at right]—to express their Auggie pride. Above: The Auggie cheerleaders kept spirits high at the Homecoming football game despite Augsburg’s 13-point loss to Gustavus Adolphus College. The Auggie Eagle entertained fans at the Homecoming football game. 30 Left: Recipients of the 2004 Distinguished Alumni, First Decade, and Spirit of Augsburg awards were honored along with the Golden Anniversary Class of 1954 at the Homecoming chapel service on Oct. 8. Pictured [at left] are (L to R): Dr. Brian Anderson ‘82, Distinguished Alumni Award; Charlotte (Kleven) Rimmereid ‘52, wife of the Rev. Arthur Rimmereid ‘53, Spirit of Augsburg Award; Fern (Hanson) Gudmestad ‘41, Distinguished Alumni Award; and Susan (Horning) Arntz ‘94, First Decade Award. A future Auggie had her face painted by an artist before the football game. Fall 2004 Above: Norman Nielsen ‘44 (left) was presented with a commemorative archival photo of the Augsburg campus in recognition of his pioneering efforts in development for Augsburg during a special Class of 1944 reunion breakfast. Pictured with Nielsen is “Mr. Augsburg” Jeroy Carlson ‘48 (right), a senior development officer. Above: The Auggies huddled before the game, which despite a near-record running day by junior quarterback Marcus LeVesseur, they lost to the Gusties, 34–21. LeVesseur rushed for 207 yards on 32 carries, just 10 yards shy of the College’s single-game rushing record 217 yards by Marty Alger ‘94 in a 1993 game. Above: Members from the Class of 1994 gathered before the football game to celebrate their 10-year reunion. Above: Auggie wrestlers gathered for a reunion and party in Murphy Park; they continued the celebration at Grandma’s after the football game. Above: Bobby Brown (left) and Hannah Dietrich (right) were crowned as the 2004 Homecoming King and Queen. Above: Jack Osberg ‘62 addressed the team during what would be his final Auggie Homecoming halftime as Augsburg football head coach; Osberg retired from his coaching position at the end of the 2004 season, capping a 14-year career that has produced the most victories in school history. He will remain on the Augsburg staff, assisting in the school’s Alumni and Parent Relations and Development areas, to develop connections with athletic alumni and parents. H o m e c o m i n g Fall 2004 2 0 0 4 31 [ Spark Your Spirit ] GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY CLASS OF 1954 (L to R) ROW 1 (front): Theodore W. Anderson, Donald J. Dill, Marlys (Ringdahl) Gunderson. ROW 2: Joyce (Weber) Krueger, Ruth (Pousi) Ollila, Donald A. Norum, Winifred (Nystuen) Nyhus, Janice (Anderson) Rykken, Gary R. Rust. ROW 3: Ardelle Skovholt Quanbeck, Mary Lee Peterson Leak, Shirlee Blake Olmstead, Roger E. Carlson. ROW 4: Helen Jensen Myhre, Orpha Hushagen Iseminger, Marilyn Soiseth Boraas, Yvonne Oudal Rhodes, Jane Collins Cornelius, Marlys Harkman Schmidt, Edward O. Nyhus. ROW 5: Ardis Dorr Nystuen, Arlene Larson Nelson, Wallace L. Hafstad, Joyce Fossum Pflaum, Florence Helland Borman, Jerome S. Elness, James L. Shiell, Wallace L. Hanson, Marlys Backlund Morland, Russ Lance. ROW 6: Clinton J. Peterson, Arlene (Reinertson) Rolf, Leland E. Evenson, Carl Jensen. ROW 7: Louis O. Becker, Louis P. Rolf, Mark L. Johnson, George W. Fisher, Valborg (Kyllo) Ellingson, Barbara Tjornhom Nelson, James A. Sorenson. ROW 8: Robert E. Twiton, Herbert W. Chilstrom, Virgil R. Gehring CLASS OF 1964 (L to R) ROW 1 (front): Anita (Martinson) Mock, Karen (Henry) Steenson, Jean (Pfeifer) Olson, Carla (Quanbeck) Walgren, Dorothy (Borsgard) Berkland. ROW 2: Deanne (Star) Greco, Verlie (Block) Jorenby, Rondi (Rindahl) Suppiah. ROW 3: Joyce (Leifgren) Young, Stella (Kyllo) Rosenquist, Sandra (Simpson) Phaup, Ann (Tjaden) Jensen, Mary (Fenrick) Olson. ROW 4: James W. Parks, Ellen (Paulson) Keiter, Karen L. Kohout, Arlan Oftedahl, Raul A. Jackson. ROW 5: Charles W. Schulz, Betty (Hanson) Rossing, Andrew Berg, Charlotte (Gerdeen) Oswood. ROW 6: Robert A. Nordin, Carolyn (Aadland) Allmon, Mary (Munson) Peterson, Linda (Hamilton) Senta, Ted W. Olson. ROW 7: Philip M. Dyrud, Sharon (Lindell) Mortrud, Avis (Hoel) Dyrud, Karl I. Bakke, Michael W. Walgren. 32 Fall 2004 CLASS OF 1979 (L to R) Row 1 (front): Julia (Davis) Styrlund, Gary C. Dahle, Sally (Hough) Daniels, Sandra (Spitzack) Elhardt, Laurie (Hoversten) Busch. Row 2: Carol (Dubovick) Hard, Paul A. Daniels, Holly (Groten) Krekula, Katharine E. Skibbe, Pamela (Hanson) Moksnes, Mark A. Moksnes, Lynn Schmidtke, Brian J. Carlsen. Row 3: Jay K. Phinney, Philip Styrland, Eric Anderson. RECIPIENTS OF THE 2004 DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD: THE FAMILY OF JOHANNES AND TABITHA NYDAHL The extended family of Johannes and Tabitha Nydahl gathered at Homecoming Dinner on October 9 to accept the Distinguished Service Award and to celebrate their generations-long connection to Augsburg—beginning with Johannes Nydahl in the 1800s (read more on page 10). H o m e c o m i n g Fall 2004 2 0 0 4 33 CLASS NOTES Class Notes 1965 Mary Jean (Danger) Holmquist, Braham, Minn., is a retired music teacher, and can be contacted at <jeanie@ecenet.com>. Rev. Dr. Dennis Morreim is a pastor in Cloquet, Minn., and has worked with Alcoholics Anonymous throughout his 35year ministry. He has served as a consultant and speaker at treatment centers and is the author of three books, two of which were translated into Spanish. Over the past four years, he has twice led work groups to Santa Barbara, Honduras, to help build homes and schools and to bring medical help to those in poverty. His wife, Jeanne (Wanner) ’66, taught in public schools for several years, directed youth music and education programs in church, and currently serves on the volunteer network for Compassion International. The Morreims have two grown children, Edward ’93, an educator with the Mahtomedi public schools, and Sarah, a psychotherapist with Hoistad and Associates in St. Paul. Duane Westfield lectured onboard the Marco Polo cruise ship this past summer. 1956 Arlen Stensland was featured in an article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, “A Keystroke of Genius.” Arlen and his wife, Lois, were missionaries to Madagascar for 22 years and now organize a program that sends manual typewriters to Malagasy Lutheran Church in Madagascar. 1958 Wes Sideen, St. Paul, was elected district 5M6 governor of the Lions Club, and is currently planning an April benefit concert for the Lions Club International Foundation on the Augsburg campus featuring the Centennial Singers. 1959 Rev. Eugene S. Peterson retired from the active clergy roster. He is doing international interim ministry. He lives with his wife, Paula, in Jackson, Minn. 1960 Lois (Richter) Agrimson is director of social services at Rose of Sharon Manor nursing home in Roseville, Minn. She lives with her husband, Russell, in Eagan, Minn. 1962 Deloris (Olson) Norling, Willmar, Minn., is enjoying her retirement from teaching with her husband, Palmer, and their 18 grandchildren. 34 Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport. Barb Youngquist, Willmar, Minn., and Nancy Sandro ’74, Hendricks, Minn., co-wrote a book for handbell choirs entitled Bell Prayers (Lakeside Press). The book is a nine-month devotional that includes inspirational quotes and a collection of 35 corresponding pieces for bell choirs to play at weekly rehearsals. The book also includes original watercolor prints by Barb that divide the book into the seasons of the church year. 1971 1966 Sandra (Welin) Grunewald, Ventura, Calif., was named a senior accounting lecturer at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, Calif., beginning this fall semester. She is a licensed CPA and a partner at a Thousand Oaks-area CPA firm and has served as an adjunct instructor at CLU in both the day and evening undergraduate programs. Carmen (Neseth) Berg, Fergus Falls, Minn., recently retired. 1972 Sylvia (Steinbeck) Torstenson, Hayfield, Minn., recently retired from teaching for the Hayfield School District. The town held a weeklong celebration and parade in honor of her contributions to the school district. Diane Thompson, Wayzata, Minn., received her master's degree in special education in 1994 from the University of Minnesota. She is currently on leave from teaching to pursue research, and can be reached at <djunet2000@yahoo.com>. 1967 Marlys Ruona Thomsen, Apple Valley, Minn., co-chairs the Sons of Norway First District 2000 Convention Committee and is the head of the library committee at her church. She enjoys traveling the United States with her husband, who is retired. 1969 Jackie (Kniefel) Lind ’94 MAL, Lilydale, Minn., is the volunteer coordinator for the Travelers Assistance Program at the 1973 Lyth Hartz recently celebrated 25 years of employment at Midwest Special Services, Inc., an agency that provides employment and training to adults with disabilities, where he is currently president. He lives with his wife, Mary, in St. Paul. Rev. Gary M. Wollersheim, St. Charles, Ill., was elected to a second six-year term as bishop of the Northern Illinois Synod of the ELCA at the synod assembly in June. During his first term as bishop, he served in numerous denominational capacities, including as chair of the ELCA Evangelical Task Force. That effort resulted in the adoption of an evangelism strategy for the ELCA at the 2003 Churchwide Assembly in Milwaukee. 1975 Olando Smith is a weekend international flight attendant with Northwest Airlines. She is also a cheerleading and track and field coach at St. Cyril elementary and middle school in E. Lansdowne, Pa. Her 11-yearold daughter, Narita, holds the 2004 record for the one-mile run from the Penn Relays novice division. Olando lives with her daughter and husband, Dan Sweeney, in E. Lansdowne, Pa. ALUMNA RECEIVES NORWEGIAN MEDAL Courtesy photo 1955 Leona (Eng) Rokke ’52 (left) was presented one of Norway’s highest distinctions, the St. Olavs Medallion. The medal was presented to her in July at a banquet of the Seven Lag Stevne in Willmar, Minn. Norwegian Consul Anita Helland (right), presented the award, and commented that Rokke’s extensive and gracious work over the years have helped to keep and strengthen the strong bonds between Norway and the upper Midwest. Fall 2004 1977 Staff photo Staff photo Laurie (Barrett) Burns, Stillwater, Minn., is pursuing a career in import/export operations after 25 years as a travel agent. She can be contacted at <robertr.burns@netzero.net>. OPEN HOUSE HONORS CLASS AGENTS Rev. Jon Schneider, Minneapolis, is senior staff hospice chaplain at North Memorial Medical Hospital, and can be reached at <jschap123@msn.com>. Rev. Eric Burtness recently published a book, Leading on Purpose: Intentionality and Teaming in Congregational Life, available through Augsburg Fortress Publishers. Eric is senior pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Beaverton, Ore. 1980 Dawn (Zocher) Nelson, Minneapolis, is a radiology supervisor at Abbott Northwestern Hospital and is enrolled in Augsburg’s Master of Arts in Leadership program. She can be reached at <autumnmoon morn@mcleodusa.net>. 1982 Katie (Erdahl) Gussman earned tenure as the orchestra director for Marlboro and Marlboro Memorial middle schools. She is also a freelance violinist, has been a member of Monmouth Symphony Orchestra for 20 years and the Orchestra of St. Peter by the Sea for 17 years (she has made six recordings with the latter). Katie’s husband, Roy, is the music director and conductor for both the Monmouth Symphony and the New Jersey State Youth Symphony. The couple traveled to Eastern Europe with AllAmerican Youth in Concert and Fall 2004 President William V. and Mrs. Anne Frame hosted an open house at the Augsburg House on October 26 in appreciation of Augsburg’s class agents. Pictured above (left) are 1974 class agents Marlene Chan Hui (left) and Laurie Thorpe (right). Also pictured above (right) is President Frame (left), who visited with class agent Sam Walseth ’02 (center) and his wife, Stephanie Lien ’02 (right). performed in Budapest, Prague, and Berlin this past summer. The couple resides in Neptune, N.J, with their three cats: Claude, Lucy, and Beans. 1983 Sharon (Copeland) Booth, Blaine, Minn., is a music therapist at Hospice of the Twin Cities. 1984 Lisa Rykken Kastler is middle school ministry director at Faith Lutheran Church. She lives with her husband, Brent, in Champlin, Minn. She can be contacted at <middleschool@ faithlutherancr.org>. 1985 Barbara (Haack) Ross teaches Suzuki violin from her home studio and is the K-3 choir director at St. John’s Lutheran Church. She and her husband, Tim, live in Lakeville, Minn., with their three children: Jordyn, 13; T.J., 11; and Jamie, 8. 1986 Scott Finsrud, Clifton Park, N.Y., received a master's degree in history/political science from the College of St. Rose in Albany, N.Y., in June. 1987 Joel Engel, Chaska, Minn., is corporate sales manager for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx basketball teams. Patrick Hilger is a commercial support manager at Tetra Rex, Inc. He lives with his wife, Suzi, in Circle Pines, Minn. 1988 Jeff Carlson, Linwood, Minn., teaches music at Highland High School in St. Paul. 1989 Jean Hunter, Minneapolis, teaches second grade for Minneapolis Public Schools. 1990 Jenny Peterson, Mound, Minn., is featured in the Courage Center’s 2004 holiday card and gift catalog. After a skiing accident in 1983, Jenny became a quadriplegic, and she credits the Courage Center with helping her to learn skills that enabled her to succeed in her new life. She now owns her own jewelry design business and some of her jewelry is sold through the catalog. She is also a motivational speaker and consultant and serves as executive director of Helping Paws of Minnesota. 1991 Kristen Hirsch, St. Paul, is a senior field communications specialist at Thrivent Financial for Lutherans in downtown Minneapolis. She also recently joined the Morris Park Players Board of Directors and serves on the Augsburg Alumni Board of Directors as the Events Committee chairperson and is the class agent for 1991. She can be contacted at <kmhirsch@aol.com>. Tommi-Riva Numbala is the personal assistant to the CEO and acting company secretary of NamWater (Namibia Water Corporation Ltd). Tommi, an internationally acclaimed 35 Class Notes 1992 Rev. Sven Erlandson recently celebrated the publication of his second book, Rescuing God from Christianity: A Closet Christian, Non-Christian, and Christmas Christian’s Guide to Radically Rethinking God Stuff (heliographica). Sven has spent the last several years in California as a preacher and writer dedicated to meeting the spiritual needs of people who find themselves outside of organized religion. Walt Filson retired from police work in 2002 and is now a teacher in the Anoka-Hennepin ISD #11, teaching the only high school law enforcement program in the state. He lives with his wife, Anna, in Brooklyn Center, Minn. Robert Manning, Apple Valley, Minn., completed his third tour of duty in support of Iraqi Freedom, earning three air medals and four aerial achievement medals with more than 300 combat hours. He was promoted to the rank of major (O-4) after completing inresidence squadron office school at Maxwell Air Force Base. 36 Stacie (Edlund) Reynolds is pursing a Master of Social Work at the University of Minnesota. She lives with her husband, John, in Buffalo, Minn. A-CLUB 5K RACE Stephen Geffre Lynelle Osgood is co-owner and treasurer of Terra Productions, Inc., an artist agency representing artists for commercial advertising, such as makeup artists, stylists, etc. She lives with her husband, Lawrence, and children in Minneapolis, and can be reached at <lyn@terraproductions.net>. 1993 1994 Amy Gehring, West St. Paul, is a professor at Anoka Ramsey Community College and recently moved back to Minnesota after attending graduate school in New York. Bruce Nelson, Roseville, Minn., is a solutions lead at Affinity Plus Credit Union. He is building a home in Farmington, Minn., with his wife, Cristine, and their son, Daniel, 2. 1996 Michael P. Schmidt, Minneapolis, recently signed with G.S. Associates Artists Management and will debut at Carnegie Hall and Berlin Stadtsoper in 2005. Most recently, he was featured as Don Alfonso with Lyric Opera of Cleveland, Danilo with Western Plains Opera, Marcello with Kenwood Chamber Opera, and as Dr. Falke with Pine Mountain Festival. Some of Michael’s other roles include: Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro), Dr. Bartolo (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), and Horace Tabor (The Ballad of Baby Doe). Also an active concert artist, Michael has performed as soloist in such works as Mozart’s Coronation Mass, Haydn’s Creation and the Durufle Requiem. Upcoming performances include a solo recital featuring works of German composers, Leporello in Don Giovanni, and concert appearances in the upper Midwest. He is an adjunct faculty member at Macalester College and is set to complete his D.M.A. at the University of Minnesota in 2005. More than 100 runners took part in the inaugural A-Club 5K run on Sept. 19. The fundraising run, organized by A-Club Executive Committee member Tracy Tomforde ’92, took participants around the Augsburg campus and along the Mississippi River Road on a scenic fall afternoon. Winners from the event: Tim Nelson, first male finisher; Eileen Uzarek, first female finisher; Scott Peplinski, first male alum finisher; Laura Simones, first female alum finisher; and Doug Pfaff, JC Award winner (for finishing closest to 25:00, in honor of the late James Carey). ALUMNUS RECEIVES DOCTORATE Courtesy photo musician, was recently featured in the company’s newsletter in a story detailing his musical career. He can be reached at <NumbalaT@namwater.com.na>. Lars Dyrud ’97 (right) received his doctorate in space physics at Boston University in May and has stayed to pursue a postdoctorate. Mocha Holmgren Dyrud ‘97 (left) is completing her doctorate in clinical psychology at Suffolk University. The couple has a son, Finn, born in September. Fall 2004 1997 Jacki Brickman, Coon Rapids, Minn., recently directed a performance of Romeo and Juliet for fourth graders at Elizabeth Hall Community School in North Minneapolis. Jacki teaches fourth grade at the school and also teaches education courses as an adjunct faculty member at Augsburg Weekend College. Sarah (Gilbert) Holtan teaches at Concordia University in Wisconsin and recently entered the doctoral program in journalism education at Marquette University. She was married in June and resides with her husband in Milwaukee, Wis. Lena Stackhouse-Rogers was named one of three recipients of the charter school teacher of the year award in Minnesota by the Minnesota Association of Charter Schools. Lena is a kindergarten teacher at the Partnership Academy charter school in Richfield, Minn. 1998 student at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, pursuing a Master of City and Regional Planning. Gretchen Meents ’02 MSW, So. St. Paul, recently raised more than $6,000 for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training when she ran the Honolulu Marathon in honor of her brother who is battling leukemia. She is a senior social worker for Hennepin County. Benjamin Hoogland, Stillwater, Minn., is pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin-Stout in marriage and family therapy. He works for Faith Inkubators as their Faith Stepping Stones director and can be contacted at <hoogland98@hotmail.com>. Paul Pierson, Alma Center, Wis., is associate registrar at Walden University in Minneapolis. 2001 1999 Deb Cortes received a TOP Award for outstanding teaching in the Anoka-Hennepin School District for 2004. 2000 Rebecca Lynn Brown, Carrboro, N.C., is a graduate Kari Burke-Romarheim recently started the M.Div. program at Luther Seminary. She spent three years in Bergen, Norway, working in youth and family ministry. She lives with her husband, Vidar, in Menomonie, Wis. 2002 Adrienne (Kuchler) Eldridge, Staff photo ALUMNI TOUR TO EUROPE Minneapolis, works for Vibe Urban Youth Ministries in St. Paul. Jackie Heyda, Savage, Minn., is a first-grade teacher at New Prague Primary School. Darryl Sellers completed his master’s degree in broadcast journalism at the American School of Journalism in Los Angeles. He recently accepted a position as weekend sports anchor at the ABC-affiliate in Austin, Minn. Emily Shelton, Minneapolis, teaches at Cedar-Riverside School in Minneapolis. Brooke Stoeckel, Minneapolis, is sales manager of meetings and conventions at the Minneapolis Metro North Conventions and Visitors Bureau. 2003 Melissa Bawek, Minneapolis, is assistant director of The Augsburg Fund at Augsburg. She can be contacted at <bawek@augsburg. edu>. Staci Owens, Minneapolis, works for Hennepin County and is pursuing a master’s degree in elementary education. She can be reached at <staciowens3411@ msn.com>. Liz Sterbentz, Lindstrom, Minn., owns Break on 8 Coffee Shop, where she serves Peace Coffee and Fair Trade fruits to help cooperative farms-both are product lines she became interested in after participating in Augsburg’s Center for Global Education’s WEC class on liberation theology in Cuernavaca, Mexico. 2004 In October, participants from the Augsburg Alumni Association-sponsored tour to Germany and Eastern Europe gathered in Wittenberg, Germany, for a photograph. The tour, which ran from October 15-27, visited Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary, and featured the places of Martin Luther’s life and ministry as well as a special worship service at the American Church of Berlin, where Augsburg alumnus Rev. Ben Coltvet ’66 is currently pastor. Augsburg professor Dr. Mark Tranvik and his wife, Ann, hosted the tour. Pictured are (Front row, L to R): Darryl Carter ’65, Ann Tranvik, Cecilie Teerink, David Berg ’66; (Row 2, L to R): Pris Fieldhammer ’65, Sue Kneen ’05, Vi Aaseng, Lynn Stertz, Sally Tonsager, Elaine Harder; (Back row, L to R): Ruel Carpenter, Darrell Strand, Larry Turner ’69, Chris Kneen, Karen Bolstad, Sue Turner, Clarice Johnson, Marek Tysek, Peter Ern, Sue Klaseus, Mark Tranvik, Paul Fieldhammer ’65, Tom Stertz, Rolf Aaseng. Fall 2004 Kristi Hartway works at Abbott Northwestern and is also an adjunct faculty member in the nursing program at Minnesota State University-Mankato for the 2004-05 school year. She lives with her husband, Mark, in Wekston, Minn. She can be contacted at <Kristi.Hartway@ allina.com>. 37 Class Notes ALUMNI PROFILE Carrie McCarville ’01: Building on a foundation of success Stephen Geffre by Rebecca Welle ‘05 Carrie McCarville’s decision to attend Augsburg was due in large part to the strength of its women’s hockey program and to its head coach, Jill Pohtilla. Indeed, Augsburg was a natural fit for McCarville, who as a high school student at Benilde-St. Margaret’s played on its girls’ hockey team—one of the first in Minnesota. At Augsburg, she played center position on the women’s hockey team, participating on the team that took runner-up honors in the first-ever NCAA Women’s Division III National Championship series in 2000. “Although we didn’t win, it was a blast going to Boston and representing Augsburg,” said McCarville. After graduating in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in both studio art and art history, McCarville began searching for her next challenge, which presented itself a short time later when she and her parents opened a liquor store in September 2002. Carrie McCarville ’01 gives strong credit to Augsburg for instilling the self-discipline needed to successfully manage her business, coach and play hockey, and volunteer in her community. “We opened it because the store a block away was torn down due to road construction and was never replaced,” said McCarville. After a space in a nearby strip mall opened up they purchased it and immediately began the two-month remodeling process on what was previously an audio-visual store. McCarville stated that she received a great deal of help putting the store together from fellow Augsburg friends. “We also managed to contact all the right people, and before we knew it there were reps from all the liquor and wine distributors setting up our store,” said McCarville, who found it enjoyable to watch how the store came together from start to finish. Although the first two years of operation were difficult due to nearby road construction, McCarville stuck with her business and today is pleased with how well her store is doing. “Now we are enjoying seeing how everything we do affects our business,” said McCarville. Aside from running her business, McCarville is also very active with the Hopkins Raspberry Festival during the summer months. She donates her time by outfitting the royalty, “making sure they look their best wherever they go,” and volunteers as a chaperone to the young women throughout the year. McCarville herself was the 1997-1998 Hopkins Raspberry Festival Princess and enjoyed her experiences throughout her reign. “It was a great learning experience and I will forever be grateful to the Raspberry Festival for giving me that [opportunity],” said McCarville, which explains why the backroom of her store serves as headquarters for the festival. “I made sure everyone got what they needed,” said McCarville, all in the comfort of her own business. McCarville is also still involved in hockey. She has coached the Hopkins JV girls’ hockey team for the last three seasons and will coach the Wayzata girls’ hockey team this season. She is also a member of the Owl’s team, which is a women’s A-Club team comprised of Augsburg alumni. McCarville plays one to two times a week, mainly at Augsburg, and can be found playing any position—except goalie. As a student at Augsburg, McCarville learned skills that enabled her to juggle her studies as a double major with both her hockey and work schedules. Today, she gives strong credit to the College for instilling the self-discipline needed to successfully manage her business, coach and play hockey, and stay organized with the Hopkins Raspberry Festival—all while remaining appreciative for everything that she has accomplished. 38 Fall 2004 AUGSBURG CENTENNIAL SINGERS 2005 ARIZONA APPEARANCES JANUARY 27—Centennial Singers concert, Desert Hills Lutheran Church, Green Valley, Ariz., 7:30 p.m.* FEBRUARY 2—Centennial Singers concert, Lord of Life Lutheran Church, Sun City West, Ariz., 5 p.m.* JANUARY 28—Centennial Singers concert, United Methodist Church, Catalina, Ariz., 7 p.m.* FEBRUARY 3—Centennial Singers concert, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Phoenix, Ariz., 7 p.m.* JANUARY 29—Centennial Singers worship service, American Lutheran Church, Sun City, Ariz., 4 p.m.* FEBRUARY 4—Centennial Singers worship service, Victory Lutheran Church, Mesa, Ariz., 4 p.m.* JANUARY 30—Centennial Singers worship services, American Lutheran Church, Sun City, Ariz., 8:30 and 10:30 a.m.* FEBRUARY 5—Centennial Singers worship services, Pinnacle Presbyterian Church, Scottsdale, Ariz., 9:30 and 11 a.m.* *Coffee receptions sponsored by Augsburg will be held prior to these concerts or between services Courtesy photo AUGSBURG GIVING Pamela Moksnes ’78 (left) and Joy Peterson (right) of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans presented a check to Sue Klaseus, vice president for Institutional Advancement (center), in support of Connections, the women’s leadership event co-sponsored by Augsburg and Thrivent. Rachel Kreger, Richfield, Minn., teachers seventh- and eighth-grade English at Minnesota International Middle School, a charter school for Somali immigrants. Weddings Carl Priest ’78 married Kathryn Kraker in June. Carl is a certified project management professional and in January celebrated his 25th anniversary with IBM, where he has been a project manager for the past 10 years. He also plays string bass with a variety of groups in the Twin Cities area. The couple resides in Minneapolis. Fall 2004 Melanie Main ’95 married Calvin Johnson in April. She is an office manager for Sonstegard Foods. The couple resides in Fayetteville, Ark., and can be contacted at <melanie@ sonstegard.com>. Amorita Larson ’96 married Jeff Linner in October 2003. She is a docket clerk for the U.S. District Court-District of Minnesota. The couple resides in Lino Lakes, Minn., with their daughter, Alexis, 5. Amy can be contacted at <amorita_larson@ yahoo.com>. Alisa C. Berg ’01 married Jeremy Anderson in December 2003. Alisa is a music therapist for the Robbinsdale School District and Jeremy teaches in Intermediate District 287. Erica Bryan ’01 married Jason Wegner ’01 in May 2003. Erica is the volunteer coordinator for Kinship of Greater Minneapolis and can be contacted at <ericajayne@hotmail.com>. Jason is enrolled at Luther Seminary. Births/Adoptions Kiel Christianson ’88 and his wife, Jennifer, Champaign, Ill.—a son, Erik Douglas, in October 2003. He joins older sister Sophia. Kiel is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Illinois; he previously served on the psychology faculty at the University of MassachusettsAmherst. Kiel is also a senior writer and equipment editor for <TravelGolf.com>. Mark Keating ’91 and his wife, Amy, Edina, Minn.— a son, Carson Mark, in February. He joins older brother Owen. Mark works for BladeLogic. Melissa Kaltenbach ’92 and her husband, John, Madison, Wis.—a daughter, Vivianne Helene, in May. Laura (Ferry) ’92 and the Rev. Matthew Lee, Prentice, Wis.— a daughter, Elizabeth Hannah, in December 2003. She joins older sister Catherine, 2 (3 in January). Laura can be reached at <blndcaml@pctcnet.net>. Kirk Litynski ’95 and his wife, Kara, Savage, Minn.— a son, Kahler Michael Edward, in October 2003. Kurt works for Motorola in the commercial government communications sector for radio communications and covers Iowa and the southern half of Minnesota. Rodney Dewberry, Minneapolis— adopted two sons in November 2003. Rodney is president of the Circle of Men Institute and is pursuing a teaching career at the School of Social Work at the University of Minnesota. He can be contacted at <dewbery47@msn.com>. Jennifer (Runke) ’01 and Ryan Cobian ’01, Blaine, Minn.—a son, Caleb Ryan, in March. Jennifer is a kindergarten teacher for ISD #282. Cole Trimble ’01 and his wife, Gina, Independence, Iowa— a daughter, Alison Sue, in September 2003. Cole is a school social worker for the Keystone Area Education Agency and can be reached at <trimble@indytel.com>. Lori Strand Fenske ’02, Ham Lake, Minn.— a daughter, Allison Marie, in August 2003. She joins sisters Haley, 6, and Nicole, 3. Also welcoming Allison are proud grandparents Delmour ’53 and Luella Fenske. Kelly (Saur) ’92 and Dustin Sims, Minneapolis—a daughter. Kelly works at United Defense. 39 In Memoriam Rev. Martin D. Larsen ’45, Fargo, N.Dak., died in June; he was 81. After his ordination in 1951, he served parishes in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. He recently served as visitation pastor at First Lutheran in Fargo from 19881996. He is survived by his wife, Marguerite (Greguson) ’45; six children; and eight grandchildren. Rev. Olin “Ole” Nordsletten ’49 died in February after a long illness. He was pastor of Prince of Peace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenmore, Wash., for 32 years. He retired in 1987. Before serving Prince of Peace, he was pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Fort Atkinson, Wis. He is remembered for his determination and sometimes unorthodox approach in serving others. A sign outside his church read: “Pray, but swing the hammer.” He was known to live that motto throughout his life— for him prayer was important and action was critical in making a difference in other’s lives. In 40 addition to serving at Prince of Peace, he helped county officials establish the Paramount House low-income apartments for the elderly and disabled. He also wrote and produced Christmas plays, performed by young people both at the church and on local television. He is survived by his wife, Arlett; four daughters; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Harold Schwartz ’49, Minneapolis, died in October; he was 81. He served in the Army Air Force during WWII from 1942-1945, and again during the Korean War from 1950-1951. He later worked for the U.S. Postal Service, retiring in 1982 after 26 years of service. Throughout his later years his faith in Christ and his Jewish roots became increasingly important to him. He was a member of Ebenezer Lutheran Brethren Church and an enthusiastic supporter of Lutheran Brethren World Missions and Jewish Christian organizations. He will be remembered for his special ministry of encouragement to others. During his life he sent out thousands of cards and letters letting people know that he was praying for them and that he appreciated them and their work. He is survived by his wife, Carol; a daughter, Linda (Dean Bengtson); and two grandsons, Joshua and Christopher. Rev. Erling Carlsen ’50, Eau Claire, Wis., died in August from acute leukemia; he was 77. He served in the U.S. Navy, stationed at the Great Lakes Naval Base from 1945-1946. He served parishes in North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Illinois. He is survived by his wife, Beverly; five sons; and nine grandchildren. Veola Y. (Soberg) Ellingboe ’50, Lakeville, Minn., died in June; she was 74. She served as a member of the Augsburg Associates. She is survived by her sons, Rev. Craig (Mary), Randy (Lynn), and Bradley (Karen); nine grandchildren; and one great-grandson. Rev. John Miskowiec Jr. ’58, Mounds View, Minn., died in June at Mercy Medical Center during a surgical procedure; he was 68. He served Lutheran congregations in Kansas and Minnesota for over 36 years, including 29 years at Abiding Savior Lutheran Church in Mounds View; he retired in 1998. He is survived by his wife of 42 years, Linnea; two sons, John III and Allen (Lisa); and four grandchildren. Rev. Lewis John Sundquist II ’62, Sturgeon Lake, Minn., died in September; he was 72. After serving in the U.S. Navy, he became a radio broadcaster in Minnesota, Texas, Michigan, and Ohio. In 1965, he became an ordained ELCA minister and served parishes until his retirement in 1993. Recently, he had become pastor emeritus of North Emanuel Lutheran Church in St. Paul, his childhood church. He is survived by his sons, Lewis John III ’88 (Gretchen) and Martin Laurence ’93 (Melinda). Iris Burlock ’94 MSW, Farmington, Minn., died in September; she was 51. Iris made a difference in the lives of many children while working as a social worker for Hennepin County Children and Family Services. She is remembered for her spunk, warmth, and compassion, and was loved by many friends, co-workers, and clients. She is preceded in death by her parents Amelia and Phillip Burlock; she is survived by her sister, Ellyn (Lou) Romano; a niece, Nicole; lifelong friends Barbara Higens and Bill W.; family members Vickie Berg and her sons Joe (Mandy) and Derrick; and a granddaughter, Emma. Dr. Paul LeRoy Holmer, St. Anthony Village, Minn., died in June; he was 87. He was the Noah Porter Professor of Philosophical Theology at Yale Divinity School. He also taught at Augsburg, Gustavus Adolphus College, and for 14 years at the University of Minnesota. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Phyllis; a daughter, Leanna Wren; two sons, Jonathan (Cathy) and Paul (Suzanne); and a granddaughter, Nayla. AUGSBURG MILESTONES Archive photo Rev. Lynn Hanson Luthard ’36, Paynesville, Minn., died in September; he was 90. After graduating from Augsburg Seminary in 1939 (also the alma mater of his father, the Rev. Louis T. Hanson ’11), he legally changed his name from Luthard E. Hanson, and was later ordained as a pastor in Fortuna, N.Dak. Prior to his retirement in 1979, he served parishes for over 65 years, including those in Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Iowa. He served as an interim and supply pastor for nine years after his retirement. He was preceded by his wife of 62 years, Thelma, who died just four months before Lynn, and by his daughter, Grace Moore Meske, who died at age 48. He is survived by two daughters, Lois (Charles) Anderson ’65 and Twila (John) Edmunds ’71; six grandchildren; and one greatgrandson. November 8 marked the 70th anniversary of the first annual Augsburg Alumni Association banquet. Fall 2004 CCalendar ALENDAR Music For more information on any of these events (unless otherwise noted), call 612-330-1265 December 22-25 Special Advent Vespers Telecast Special one-hour broadcast of the 25th anniversary Advent Vespers celebration on Twin Cities Public Television Dec. 22 at 8 p.m. (TPT2); Dec. 23 at 2 a.m. (TPT2); Dec. 25 at 10 a.m. (TPT2) and 7 p.m. (TPT17) Gage Family Art Gallery, Lindell Library Opening reception: Jan. 21, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Gallery talk: Jan. 27, noon February 11 “Wearable Resistance,” by Mary Laurel True Christensen Center Gallery Opening reception: Jan. 21, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Mary Robinson, former United Nations high commissioner for human rights 10 a.m.—Hoversten Chapel, Foss Center For information, call 612-330-1006 February 25-April 3 February 11-12 “Meditating on Seasons and Light,” paintings by Joonja Lee Mornes 17th Annual Nobel Peace Prize Forum Gage Family Art Gallery, Lindell Library Opening reception: Feb. 25, 5-7 p.m. January 12-17 Sculpture by Karen Searle Gospel Praise Tour Christensen Center Gallery Opening reception: Feb. 25, 5-7 p.m. Performances in southeastern Minnesota and northern Iowa February 4 2005 Music Listening Contest Annual music listening contest featuring teams of 100 Minnesota-area high school students 1-5 p.m.—Hoversten Chapel, Foss Center For information, call 612-330-1180 February 15 Michael Jacobs Concert Native American recording artist 7 p.m.—Hoversten Chapel, Foss Center For information, call 612-330-1144 Theatre Feb. 4-13 Romeo and Juliet By William Shakespeare Directed by Martha Johnson Feb. 4, 5, 9, 10, and 12 at 7 p.m. and Feb. 6 and 13 at 2 p.m. Tjornhom-Nelson Theater, Foss Center For tickets, call 612-330-1257 Exhibits January 14-February 18 “Voice To Vision: Holocaust Survivors Share Their Experiences Through Art” A collaborative project directed by David Feinberg Seminars, Lectures, and Films January 17 Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation: “Building Peace in our Community” Victoria Jackson Gray Adams: spiritual, social, political, and civil rights activist 1 p.m.—Hoversten Chapel, Foss Center For information, call 612-330-1006 Nobel Peace Prize Forum Convocation: “Finding Security in an Unsecure World” This year Augsburg hosts the annual two-day forum, which will honor 2003 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi For information, call 612-330-1383 February 16 “Outsiders Within” Jane Jeong Trenka ’95, awardwinning author 10:20 a.m.—Hoversten Chapel, Foss Center For information, call 612-330-1006 Other Events January 24 Fine Arts Night January 29 High school students are invited to visit campus and meet the admissions and fine arts departments 5-8:30 p.m.—Christensen Center and Foss Center For information, call 612-330-1585 Connections: A Women’s Leadership Event February 5 8 a.m.-1 p.m.—Thrivent Financial Corporate Offices, Minneapolis For information: www.augsburg.edu/alumni/connections February 10 10th Annual Nobel Peace Prize Festival This one-day festival is designed to connect students in grades K-12 with Nobel laureates; this year’s festival honors 2003 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi For information, call 612-330-1383 Pan-Afrikan Student Union Fashion Show 7 p.m.—East Commons, Christensen Center For information, call 612-330-1022 February 17 Graduate Programs Discovery Evening Prospective graduate students are invited to enjoy a meal, sample a course, and meet with graduate program faculty and staff 5:30-8:30 p.m.—Christensen Center For information, call 612-330-1150 See the alumni calendar on p. 29 for additional events Send us your news and photos! Please tell us about the news in your life, your new job, move, marriage, and births. Don’t forget to send photos! For news of a death, printed notice is required, e.g. an obituary, funeral notice, or program from a memorial service. 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Title: Augsburg Now Spring-Summer 2004
Collection: Alumni Magazine Collection
Search Result: A P U B L I C AT I O N Spring/Summer 2004 F O R A U G S B U R G C O L L E G E A L U M N I & F R I E N D S Vol. 66, No. 3-4 LLetters ETTERS Editor’s note I n 1924, at a time of many changes brought by the expansion of Augsburg’s academic program and the introduction of women stud...
Show more A P U B L I C AT I O N Spring/Summer 2004 F O R A U G S B U R G C O L L E G E A L U M N I & F R I E N D S Vol. 66, No. 3-4 LLetters ETTERS Editor’s note I n 1924, at a time of many changes brought by the expansion of Augsburg’s academic program and the introduction of women students, Augsburgian editor Caleb Quanbeck wrote, “Now that we are increasing in numbers and have developed more comprehensive curricula will we be willing to assume the responsibilities which come with the greater Augsburg?” (See Auggie Thoughts, p. 44.) Over the years there is little doubt that the response has always been a resounding “yes.” As readers 80 years from now look back to this day and what is being written about the launching of the largest fundraising campaign in Augsburg’s history, I surmise they will note the same sense of watershed in the College’s life. Augsburg’s tradition of excellence and vision for educating in the sciences necessitates a new center and upgrade to the existing half-centuryold facilities. Our men’s and women’s athletic programs have no further capacity to stretch their space. We seek the addition of facilities on campus to help us nourish and grow the partnerships we’ve built in our neighborhood and community. And, to continue to make an Augsburg education available to many students, the endowment must grow. Through Augsburg Now, news and stories about the campaign, Access to Excellence: The Campaign for Augsburg College, will be featured in a newsletter called Vision. In this issue, a special edition of Vision presents an overview of the campaign as well as stories about the generosity of donors who have already made significant contributions and about students who benefit from it. This year also marks a change in leadership on Augsburg’s Board of Regents. The six-year tenure of board chair Kathy Tunheim provided vision and direction for Augsburg to leap into national limelight as an innovator in education. For the first time in 40 years a graduate of Augsburg, Jean Taylor ’85, takes over the reins of leadership. Their perspectives on the College, its mission, and their roles are included in this issue. Other features offer different glimpses of service reflected in Augsburg’s motto, Education for Service. Jean Housh, wife of regent emeritus Allen Housh, brought to us a story she wrote about “Major” Bowen, a remarkable high school student and current Augsburg student, who has faced the greatest of challenges in recovery from a devastating brain injury. With the compassion and commitment of Augsburg staff and faculty working with his family, he was able to begin a college career. Stephanie Quick, an Augsburg graduate and seminary student, is also featured. Her efforts to collect donated prom dresses—that most likely would never be worn again—from parishioners at her home church in the Twin Cities and through her sister here at Augsburg, brightened the lives of Native Alaskan teenage girls who could not afford to buy a dress for their special evening. Editor Quanbeck wrote in 1924 that he hoped The Augsburgian would be “an instrument in helping people to realize that our school is doing a great work, an important work.” Augsburg continues this great work, and we take pride in sharing it with you in Augsburg Now. Betsey Norgard Editor Augsburg Now is published quarterly by Augsburg College, 2211 Riverside Ave., Minneapolis, Minnesota 55454. Editor Betsey Norgard A PUBLICATION FOR AUGSBURG COLLEGE ALUMNI & FRIENDS Spring/Summer 2004 Vol. 66, No. 3-4 Features Assistant Editor Lynn Mena Graphic Designer Kathy Rumpza Class Notes Coordinator Sara Kamholz ’04 Photographer Stephen Geffre President William V. Frame 6 18 Opinions expressed in Augsburg Now do not necessarily reflect official College policy. ISSN 1058-1545 Postmaster: Send correspondence, name changes, and address corrections to: Augsburg Now, Office of Public Relations and Communication, 2211 Riverside Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55454. E-mail: now@augsburg.edu Telephone: 612-330-1181 Fax: 612-330-1780 Augsburg College, as affirmed in its mission, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national or ethnic origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, or disability in its education policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletic and/or school administered programs, except in those instances where religion is a bona fide occupational qualification. Augsburg College is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to its employees and its students. www.augsburg.edu by Dan Jorgensen and Lynn Mena Major Bowen: a story of courage and determination by Betsey Norgard Director of Alumni and Parent Relations Amy Sutton Director of Public Relations and Communication Dan Jorgensen A change in leadership A Major inspiration by Jean Spielman Housh 24 A Quick connection to prom dresses 16 Fourth Annual International Photo Contest 21 From Flatanger to Augsburg: A century apart by Betsey Norgard 23 Seeing abilities instead of disabilities by Judy Petree 27 Commencement 2004 by Judy Petree insert Vision 1–20 The newsletter for Access to Excellence: The Campaign for Augsburg College Departments 2 Around the Quad 10 Sports 12 Faculty/Staff Notes 34 Alumni News 36 Class Notes 43 In Memoriam On the cover: 44 Auggie Thoughts inside back cover Homecoming Preview 50 percent recycled paper (10 percent post-consumer waste) Incoming first-year students in the Summer Bridge program (see p. 3) lined up in front of the wall measuring progress for the new $55 million campaign. In part, this campaign ensures the availability of an Augsburg education to a wide variety of students. (Photo by Stephen Geffre) AROUND QUAD Around THE the Quad Augsburg launches $55 million capital campaign Augsburg News Service New Science Center needed to continue excellence in the sciences O n April 18 Augsburg kicked off a $55 million capital campaign—the most ambitious fund-raising effort in its 135year history—to seek funding for two new buildings, a major addition to a third, and support for the endowment to help fund scholarship opportunities for its students. Access to Excellence: The Campaign for Augsburg College seeks $37 million for the three building projects, $13 million for growth to the endowment, and $5 million in growth to the annual operating fund. Nearly $30 million already has been raised. Individual gifts of at least $1 million have come from James and Kathy Haglund of Golden Valley, Minn.; Kinney L. Johnson ’65, of Boulder, Colo., Jean Taylor ’85 and Roger Griffith ’84 and the Glen A. Taylor Foundation; and Alan Rice of St. Paul. The centerpiece in the campaign will be a new Science Center and renovation of the College’s existing Science Hall, built in 1949. The project will both strengthen Augsburg’s tradition of excellence in the sciences and help expand science learning for both its own students and the community. The 58,000 square-foot Science Center will include teaching and research laboratories and three multi-use halls that will be used for classes, guest speakers, and community events. Renovation of the existing Science Hall, which will connect via skyway to the new building, will bring all of the science and mathematics programs together into one dynamic and interactive facility. “This new facility will be extremely important to Augsburg’s commitment to the health sciences,” noted President 2 William Frame. The center will provide space to help K-12 students explore careers in health science and solidly support Minnesota’s biomedical technology sector through the high quality education of talented science and math majors steeped in Augsburg’s liberal arts tradition. And, thanks to a planning grant from the State of Minnesota, architectural planning for the facility incorporates multiple “green” features in an environmentally responsible structure. The second major campaign project is the construction of a Gateway Building on Riverside Avenue. The building will serve as headquarters for both the College’s Alumni Center and its award-winning Center for Service, Work, and Learning. It also will house StepUP, Augsburg’s program for students in recovery, providing both residential and counseling space for the program. And, it will have space for retail opportunities to serve both the campus and the surrounding CedarRiverside community, including the University of Minnesota—in a model of public and private economic development for the neighborhood. A third building project is a major addition to Melby Hall, the College’s main athletic facility. The project will address pressing space shortages for Augsburg’s academic, intercollegiate, and recreational programs; it will provide classroom, workout, and competitive space, including a new Greco-Roman wrestling center, funded in part through a $1 million gift from Alan Rice of St. Paul. Funding for the endowment will focus on four key areas: several new faculty chairs and professorships, new endowed scholarships to provide access to students from a wide range of backgrounds, program support, and staff development. Augsburg’s first endowed chair, initiated through the campaign, will be named in memory of Bernhard M. Christensen, president of the College from 1938-62. Growth in The Augsburg Fund, the unrestricted annual giving fund, will be used by the College to meet its most pressing day-to-day needs. The five-year campaign, which began its “quiet phase” in fiscal year 2001 will run through 2006, the same year the College hopes to break ground on the new Science Center and Gateway Building. Giving toward the campaign has been broad-based with nearly 70 gifts of more than $100,000 already pledged. The campaign was kicked off— literally—on the Edor Nelson Athletic Field by College officials and hundreds of alumni, staff, and friends at a community festival on April 18. The festivities included a basketball youth clinic led by University of Arizona head coach Lute Olson ’56, a hockey clinic led by Minnesota Wild Wes Walz, music and theatre performances, children’s book readings, and science demonstrations. The evening prior to the festival, donors were entertained at a gala dinner. Augsburg’s last major campaign, the 21st Century Fund, raised $64 million from 1989 to 1997, with the $15 million James G. Lindell Family Library as its centerpiece. Read about Access to Excellence: The Campaign for Augsburg College in Vision, the campaign newsletter, beginning after p. 22. Campaign goal—$55 million Capital projects . . . .$37 million • Science Center and renovation • Gateway Building • Melby Hall expansion Endowment . . . . . . .$13 million Annual Fund . . . . . . .$5 million Spring/Summer 2004 Around the Quad Dennis Barker—coach to world-class runners Congratulations, faculty! Promotion to professor by Betsey Norgard A ugsburg’s head track and crosscountry coach Dennis Barker spent two weeks in California this summer, but hardly on vacation. His trip took him to Sacramento for the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in track and field where 10 of the runners he coaches hoped to earn a place in the Athens games. As a head coach for Team USA Minnesota, Barker has garnered national attention for the caliber of elite athletes who come to Minnesota to train with him—among them Carrie Tollefson, a native of Dawson, Minn., who became an NCAA-champion at Villanova, and is close to being an Olympian. In an article published in the Minneapolis Star Tribune prior to the trials and distributed nationally by the Associated Press, Barker is noted for his holistic approach to training, focusing Team USA Minnesota head coach Dennis Barker checks the time for one of his elite runners during training. 4 on bringing together all of a runner’s “physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual resources.” Barker coaches Team USA Minnesota at the University of Minnesota track facility and crafts the training to fit each runner’s strengths and needs. His runners trust him implicitly, and the notice being taken of him in the running world attests to this. In Sacramento, Tollefson failed to qualify in her best event, 5,000 meters, but won the qualifying trials in the 1,500 meters. She has one more “trial,” however, since Olympic rules require a minimum qualifying time, which she will have to meet by early August in order to compete in Athens. Another of Barker’s runners, Katie McGregor, came in fourth in the 10,000 meters, but may reach the top three team if one of them chooses not to compete in that event. During the spring, Team USA’s training sometimes overlapped with Augsburg’s track team practices. “It’s really not much different from coaching our athletes at Augsburg,” says Barker. “All the basic things apply. I think this has really helped the Augsburg runners, because they see what these levels of athletes do, how they apply their training, and how they believe in themselves and what they can accomplish.” For the Augsburg athletes, the elite runners were an inspiration. “We often shared training time together and were able to see how hard work and dedication pay off at whatever running level you are,” said Becky Welle ’05, a member of Augsburg’s cross country and track and field teams. “Each runner is unique with different goals and expectations, and Dennis does an amazing job in challenging all of his athletes to be their best, whether they compete at Division III level or for the Olympics.” Joseph Erickson Education Beverly Stratton Religion Promotion to associate professor Nicholas Coult Mathematics Susan Nash Nursing Tenure and promotion to team associate professor Jeanine Gregoire Education and Physics Robert Groven Communication Studies Ashok Kapoor Business Administration Joseph Underhill-Cady Political Science Tenure granted Cheryl Leuning Nursing Spring/Summer 2004 Ron Palosaari retires from long tenure R onald Palosaari, professor of English, began 39 years of distinguished service to the College in 1965, when he joined the English faculty as an instructor. He obtained bachelor’s degrees in both English and divinity from Bethel College and Bethel Seminary, respectively. After three years as a pastor he returned to graduate school, completing a master’s degree in English and a doctorate in American studies with an emphasis on American literature at the University of Minnesota. Prior to coming to Augsburg, he was a college instructor in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Over the years, Palosaari successfully merged his professional fields of English and theology with an interest in society and social change. His sabbatical research in 1994 was also the topic of a lecture he presented at the Augsburg Associates’ 1994 spring seminar: “Jesus and Women.” It was Palosaari’s opinion that Jesus was a revolutionary: “He was very different from the typical Middle Eastern male of his time, an area which continues to be one of the most gender-bound regions of the world,” said Palosaari. Palosaari has remained an active member of several professional organizations and has served as a consultant for area businesses—always making use of his community contacts to enhance his teaching. He has read papers and conducted workshops at state, regional, and national conventions. In addition, Palosaari has shared his love of travel with the Augsburg community, hosting Alumni Association tours such as the “Spectacular Scandinavia” tour in 1995 in honor of the College’s 125th anniversary. He has also traveled to London on four occasions to teach drama. Palosaari has long been a favorite professor among students. He has received the Outstanding Faculty Award multiple times, an award given by graduating seniors to honor classroom teaching. “Ron Palosaari’s extensive knowledge brought to life not only literary works but the periods in which they were written, offering students a more complete sense of an author’s challenges, triumphs, and place in history,” said Kathy Fagen, an Augsburg Weekend College admissions assistant/counselor and current student. Farewell to Ginger Currey A fter working for 15 years in the Department of Business Administration as office manager and administrative assistant, Virginia “Ginger” Currey retired from Augsburg in January. Currey was the first full-time office manager in the department, the largest academic department at the College, that graduates over 200 students per year. She worked under three department chairs— Spring/Summer 2004 by Lynn Mena “Lectures were delivered with a passion that reflected his love for the academic discipline to which he devoted his life. For students fortunate enough to have taken one of his classes, this passion for literature was nothing short of contagious.” English professor Douglas Green fondly recalls Palosaari’s “Ask Ron” column in the Echo. “Ron’s column in the Echo was certainly essential to his enormous contribution to the life of the College over the years,” said Green. “In this column, he satirized just about every aspect of College life and of Augsburg’s various crises, as well as his own character, during his long tenure as an English professor.” Palosaari’s future plans include to “grow much older” and to “continue playing tennis without a backhand, bridge without a clue, and Scrabble despite being the weakest speller in the English department.” “I loved teaching students who were brighter and harder working than I ever was—and I always had some of those,” said Palosaari. “I got a special pleasure when students admitted they were starting to really like poetry, usually against their better judgment.” by Betsey Norgard Amin Kader, Milo Schield, and John Cerrito. On January 29, at her retirement reception, she was presented with a plaque that summarizes the appreciation of her colleagues. “As business department office manager, Ginger established administration procedures that each academic year set the standards for serving the needs of over 40 faculty members and hundreds of business administration students,” the plaque reads. “Over her many years of services to Augsburg College, Ginger earned the admiration of students, staff, and faculty. For 15 years, Ginger was the mainstay of the Business Administration Department. She was a dedicated colleague and a good friend.” The plaque doesn’t list the myriad other duties that Currey took on to assist the faculty, e.g., proctoring tests at the last minute, meeting visiting professors at the airport, and taking the extra steps to help students get the classes they need. Currey was also honored by the College as an Outstanding Employee in 2000, nominated by her department. Her commitment to community service included collecting pop can tabs from across the campus to benefit the Ronald McDonald House. 5 A CHANGE IN LEADERSHIP AT ITS SPRING MEETING ON MAY 1, THE AUGSBURG COLLEGE BOARD OF REGENTS ELECTED JEAN TAYLOR ’85 AS THE NEW CHAIR, TO SERVE A TWO-YEAR TERM. SHE SUCCEEDS KATHRYN H. TUNHEIM, WHO IS RETIRING FROM A 12-YEAR BOARD TENURE, THE LAST SIX OF WHICH SHE SERVED AS CHAIR. TAYLOR IS A CO-CHAIR OF THE CAPITAL CAMPAIGN CABINET THAT OVERSEES THE CURRENT $55 MILLION CAMPAIGN. SHE HAS ALSO SERVED AS CHAIR OF THE BOARD’S MARKETING COMMITTEE AND A MEMBER ON THE REGENTS’ COMMITTEE. OTHER OFFICERS ELECTED TO TWO-YEAR TERMS ARE H. THEODORE GRINDAL ’76, VICE CHAIR; JOAN VOLZ ’68, TREASURER; AND TRACY ELFTMANN ’81, SECRETARY. IN THESE STORIES, THE OUTGOING AND INCOMING BOARD CHAIRS SHARE PERSPECTIVES ON BOARD LEADERSHIP, GOALS FOR AUGSBURG, AND THE AGENDA FOR THE COMING TERM. A LEGACY OF INSPIRED GOVERNANCE athy Tunheim likes to say that serving as the chair of a board of a college like Augsburg is a lot more like being a shepherd than a boss. And that, she adds, has been the key to helping shape a shared governance model that Augsburg has embraced, and that she believes other colleges and universities across the nation will strive to emulate in the decade ahead. Tunheim has just completed six years as chair of the Augsburg Board of Regents during a period that has seen the College erupt from what President William Frame once termed “militant modesty,” onto the regional and national scene as an innovative, forward-moving institution. And, despite Tunheim’s own modesty in describing her leadership of the board, Frame said it has been Tunheim’s vision and leadership that can be ascribed to much of the impetus of the College’s movement. K Kathryn H. Tunheim by Dan Jorgensen “Kathy Tunheim is, in the language of one of her admirers, ‘prismatically excellent’,” he said. “That is certainly apt as a description of her work as counselor to me, especially in respect to the Augsburg 2004 vision.” Tunheim said the feeling is mutual. “Those of us serving on the Board of Regents have learned that one of the most important things a college governing board can do is to take very seriously the role we play in the selection and performance of the president. I’m proud of the work of the president and pleased by the board’s partnership with the administration. But another less visible challenge has been transforming the work of the board itself. An institution’s lifeblood is its faculty and students—management, great staff, and volunteer leadership, in general, are critical. But so, too, is effective governance. BUILDING A SHARED GOVERNANCE “During these years of my chairmanship, I feel that our board, the faculty, and the administration have come to terms with our commitment to a healthy shared governance model. It gives the board a better sense of ‘who’s in charge here?’— because now we know that at a college everybody is! Bill Frame has been masterful in helping all of us—board, administration, and faculty—understand this shared governance model. It’s what makes colleges really work; it’s unlike the governance work that occurs in business, so it’s been a great learning experience for all of us as regents.” Just prior to becoming chair, Tunheim served on the search committee that brought not only Bill but also Anne Frame to the College. “We got a wonderful, dynamic duo in the Frames,” she said. “Anne’s professionalism and understanding of the needs and functions of the school make her not only a great partner for Bill, but a great asset for this institution.” continued on page 8 6 Spring/Summer 2004 AN ALUMNA’S CALL TO LEADERSHIP Jean Taylor ’85 s the newly elected chair of the Augsburg Board of Regents, Jean Taylor, president of Taylor Corporation, brings to the seat not only a broad base of knowledge and enthusiasm, but also the valuable perspective that comes with being an Augsburg alumna—an association that distinguishes her from the past several chairs, and which clearly fills her with equal measures of pride, purpose, and calling. “I approach this opportunity not as something that I sought, for indeed I did not,” says Taylor, who received a B.A. in business administration in 1985. “Rather, I truly believe that I was called to do this. It will for me be a tremendous challenge in many, many ways. At the same time, I am convinced that it will be one of the most rewarding and enriching things I will ever do. “I believe that in the coming two years I will discover much more about my own gifts, as well as how to strengthen their use,” continues Taylor. “I am humbled to have this opportunity to return the favor to Augsburg through A Spring/Summer 2004 by Lynn Mena my leadership—this place has changed my life in so many positive ways and I will always be indebted to this college. The history of Augsburg is rich, storied, and full of successes, and I will focus my energy on making the next two years the best ever in this college’s history.” Taylor, who has served on the board since 1994, is also co-chair of Augsburg’s Capital Campaign Cabinet, which oversees the College’s newly announced $55 million campaign—Access to Excellence: The Campaign for Augsburg College. During her board tenure, she has chaired the Marketing Committee, and served on both the Regents’ and Executive committees. She also holds an M.B.A. in management support systems from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, earned in 1988. In addition to her board leadership at Augsburg, she is active in a number of other community and nonprofit organizations—all while raising a one- and a three-year-old with her husband, Roger Griffith ’84, who serves as chief financial officer of the Minnesota Timberwolves and chief operating officer of the Minnesota Lynx professional basketball teams. “This is a wonderful ‘fit,’ not only from my point of view, but from our— the College’s—point of view,” says President William V. Frame. “Having Jean Taylor as the next chair feels right, seems right, and is right. “Jean has grown remarkably in management acumen during her 10 years as an Augsburg regent,” continues Frame. “This growth was recognized by her peers as a solid supplement to her notable collegiality and personal commitment to her alma mater. I am very glad of the prospect of serving with her over the next two years to accomplish the work to which we have agreed—to clarify and extend the College vision and to strengthen the integrity of the Augsburg brand.” SERVING THE COLLEGE Taylor organizes her goals as board chair under the framework of two distinct paths—those that serve the College, and those that serve the regents. “Looking at it from this perspective, I see three critical things that the College needs from me as board chair to accomplish over the next two years,” says Taylor. “One is to continue to extend Augsburg 2004 [the College’s vision document], not only in a way that supports the work that professors Mark Engebretson and Joan Griffin are doing in terms of refining that vision and taking it farther into the future. But also in terms of taking Augsburg 2004 deeper within the Augsburg community, so that as a whole we can all enjoy greater ownership and understanding of that strategy, and so that we’re able to share this strategy more broadly with our larger community. “When I talk about community, I believe Augsburg’s community has many layers,” continues Taylor. “There’s certainly the immediate and very important campus and Cedar-Riverside community that surrounds us, but there’s also the Minneapolis community, the Twin Cities community, and the Minnesota and Upper Midwest community. And I think as one considers Augsburg’s vision, we really also think about ourselves as part of the world community.” Taylor’s second goal is to steer the capital campaign toward a successful continued on page 9 7 A LEGACY OF INSPIRED GOVERNANCE (CONTINUED…) During Tunheim’s three terms as chair, the institution successfully added many new programs and partnerships, established a branch campus in Rochester, embarked on its first major capital campaign, reached new highs in enrollment at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and more fully engaged its alumni—something she has worked toward from the moment she took a seat on the board. “It should not be lost on our alumni, by the way, that up until Jean Taylor’s recent election as board chair, the past six chairs have all been non-alumni,” Tunheim said. RAISING E X P E C TAT I O N S O F AUGSBURG “When I first joined the board, I think the College was ranked lowest among the ELCA colleges in terms of alumni philanthropy. So my goal was to find a way to help change attitudes and set a collective expectation of ourselves as stewards of the school. I wanted alumni to think in terms of giving back: serving on the board, being partners in all that we needed and wanted to do. “I remember having breakfast in 1998 with the woman who was then chair of the College’s alumni association. I could clearly see she was frustrated, so I asked her, ‘What is it that you want from the College?’ Her answer was clear and immediate: ‘We want a degree from Augsburg to be more valuable in the future than it was when we got it.’ Together, I think we’ve been committed to ensuring that we create that future— and we all agree how important the College’s alumni are to making it happen.” Tunheim noted that when people look across the nation and point out the strongest higher education institutions, they are always the ones that have engaged, passionately loyal alumni. 8 “Augsburg has a lot of passionate and loyal alums,” she said, “but in the past we didn’t always find a way to engage them. But now, especially with Jean’s election, there are some great role models in terms of what alumni can and should do for their school. AT T R A C T E D B Y MISSION AND VISION “Having said that, I also want to point out that non-alums like me have seen something in Augsburg that attracted us to the mission and vision. That’s a tribute to Augsburg and its past leadership. My message about Augsburg to the marketplace is this: Augsburg College will be more important in the future landscape of higher education than it has ever been, because its strengths will serve the future needs of the community so well. But institutionally, we’re not ready to meet all the needs that will come to us—financially, or in terms of buildings and infrastructure. Our responsibility is to make sure that the College IS ready to serve as it is called to serve.” Tunheim, who is a graduate of the University of Minnesota and CEO of Tunheim Partners, a leading Twin Cities public relations firm, first came to Augsburg in the late 1980s to talk about how the College might improve its relationship with the city of Minneapolis. At the time, the city seemed to be courting institutions like St. Thomas, while Augsburg, already well-established and involved in the city, was being ignored. “I was struck by the many fine programs the College had and how little was known about them. As a professional in public relations, I was intrigued by what might be done to share that story. That’s what first attracted me to the board.” When President Charles Anderson decided to step down due to an illness, she was asked to lead the search committee for the new president, but declined initially, citing business obligations. But neither Anderson nor Barbara Gage, who was then board chair, would take ‘no’ for an answer. “Barbara told me that this is what I needed to do, that when you’re asked to do something for which you’re a good fit, you need to respond to the call.” Other highlights of her three terms, she said, were developing a better understanding and working relationship with members of Augsburg’s Corporation—the four Lutheran synods that “own” the institution; establishing the Regents’ Committee, a group that has been key to evaluating who is on the board, what their expectations are, and how new board members are recruited; and working with the president on setting a clear vision of what the College is and where it wants to go. “I was honored to be asked to serve on this board, and then to serve as chair, but I’m also extremely excited about where this College is now heading,” she said. “While other schools are working to discern their uniqueness or their future, Augsburg is already there. The light coming from Augsburg is inspiring already—I have no doubts about its strength and constancy.” ■ Spring/Summer 2004 AN ALUMNA’S CALL TO LEADERSHIP( CONTINUED…) conclusion, and third, to start the search for the next Augsburg president. “It is so critical to find the right leadership for the College,” says Taylor. “Augsburg has been absolutely blessed with incredible leadership in terms of its presidents, and I think Bill Frame has done a remarkable job during his tenure. So, we really need to establish a process to make sure that we find a new president who is truly called to be the next president of Augsburg and continue the legacy that has been created.” “And this goal is about helping board members to really understand their role and to understand more about the College, and putting each regent in appropriate leadership positions, so that not only two years from now, but five years from now we’ll have a group of regents able to utilize their talents to their highest capability.” SERVING THE BOARD Professionally, Taylor has an outstanding track record in leadership development. At Taylor Corporation, where she served first as vice president of development before becoming president in 2001, she has led several successful initiatives to revitalize and restate the organization’s core purpose and core values, formalize leadership development, alter its approach and philosophy to the role and use of information technology, and encourage and promote women in leadership roles. In 1998, CityBusiness magazine cited Taylor’s commitment to networking opportunities for women in business When Taylor looks at how her election as board chair can specifically serve the regents, she cites two main goals, beginning with a pledge to continue the work of outgoing chair Kathy Tunheim. “Kathy has done incredible things with this board,” says Taylor. “One aspect that she has undertaken that I would like to continue is to refine the governance roles at the College. I see three components to that leadership—the regents play a key role, as do both the administration and the faculty. I think there’s still critical work to do in terms of refining how these three leadership components work together—where do each of us take the lead responsibility, and where do we stand alongside the others in order to ensure that the College achieves its vision? “The second piece relative to the regents that I’ll focus on over the next couple of years is determining how we can most effectively utilize the talents of our regents,” continues Taylor. “We have an incredibly active and engaged group of regents; every time I’m in a full board meeting, I look around the room and I am just amazed and blessed that I’m sitting in this room with these incredible people whom I learn from all the time, and who put all this time and devotion into the College. Spring/Summer 2004 O U T S TA N D I N G BUSINESS LEADERSHIP when it selected her as one of its “40 under 40,” a prestigious group of 40 business professionals who have achieved distinction and risen quickly in their fields—and who are all under the age of 40. Prior to joining her father, Glen Taylor, at Taylor Corporation in 1994, Taylor was senior vice president of E.W. Blanch Co., a global reinsurance intermediary. As Taylor embarks on her two-year term as chair of the Board of Regents, it also represent her final years of a 12-year tenure as a board member. “Over the last 10 years I’ve learned so much about the history and the foundation of the College and where it came from,” says Taylor. “It’s incredibly satisfying for me to see the linkage between what the founders of Augsburg envisioned and all that Augsburg has accomplished over the ensuing 135 years—and then to witness how we’re currently extending that vision. “I am so impressed by the history of the College, and at the same time I am so excited about its future, because I think that Augsburg is positioning itself to have an even greater impact on its community. I’m incredibly proud to be an alumna of the College, and my pride continues to grow because I know that this college is just going to get better and better—our diamond is really going to shine.” ■ 9 Sports Wrestlers, track, and women’s hockey lead a solid year for Auggie athletics by Don Stoner A Division III second-place finish by the wrestling team, which tied both NCAA and school records with four individual champions and nine AllAmericans, respectively, and standout seasons for the track and field and women’s hockey teams paced a solid year for Auggie athletics. Senior Joe Moon earned the Outstanding Wrestler honors after scoring a 13-6 upset of top-ranked and four-time All-American Eduard Aliakseynka of Montclair State (N.J.) in the 174-pound national finals. Sophomore Marcus LeVesseur extended his school-record winning streak to 84 straight matches, finishing 40-0 and winning his second straight national title at 157. Juniors Mark Matzek, at 133, and Matt Shankey, at 125, each claimed a first national crown. The Auggies also finished third in the NWCA Scholar All-America Team program with a 3.39 team grade point average, the seventh straight top 10 ranking. Augsburg leads the nation with 81 NWCA Scholar All-Americans since 1983. Augsburg’s women’s hockey team, under coach Jill Pohtilla, finished 15-10-2 overall, 10-6-2 in MIAC play, earning a spot in the playoffs for the second season in a row. The Auggies closed with an eightgame unbeaten streak, going 9-2-2 in their final 13 games before ending with a 6-5, double-overtime loss to St. Thomas in the MIAC semifinals, a game played in a conference-record 96:09. Senior Annie Annunziato led the team with 36 points and was named to the Division III JOFA All-American West Region team, joining juniors Lauren Chezick and Melynda Kleewein on the AllMIAC first team. Freshman Stacy Anderson earned honorable-mention and All-Rookie recognition. And track and field, led by sprinters Mathew Shannon, Tonnisha Bell, and Alana Carter; hammer-thrower Jon Dahlin; and distance runners Ellen Waldow, Hannah Dietrich, and Angie Bergeson had 10 two All-American honors, eight MIAC titles, and 24 school records. At the MIAC indoors, Shannon, a senior, and Bell, a sophomore, earned Most Outstanding Performance honors. Shannon also earned MIAC Most Outstanding Indoor Track Athlete and USA Track and Field Minnesota Athlete of the Month honors, winning the men’s 400meter dash in a record :48.78. He also won the 55-meter dash and set or tied school records in the 55 and 200. Bell, Waldow, Dietrich, and Bergeson combined on the All-American distance medley relay team, finishing seventh nationally, and Bell set school and MIAC records in the 200 (:25.52 ), shattering the meet record by nearly a half-second. Senior Jon Dahlin won the hammer throw title and set a school record at 54.01 meters (177-feet, 2-inches). Waldow won the 800 in a school-record 2:16.36, breaking a mark set earlier by Bergeson. Waldow and Bergeson joined teammates Amy Mackner and Dietrich in winning the 3200-relay. In other 2003-04 sports highlights: • Augsburg finished with a 5-5 record (4-4 in the MIAC) in football, and 13-year head coach Jack Osberg became the alltime win leader with 60. Osberg’s teams have had seven .500-or-above seasons, second only to Edor Nelson’s eight .500or-above seasons. Auggie runner since 2001 to earn AllMIAC honors, with a 5,000-meter time of 19:24. • Under co-coaches Troy Nygaard and Laura Levi, Augsburg produced its finest women’s golf season in history. The Auggies tied their previous best-finish at the Minnesota Women’s Collegiate Golf Association championships—10th against all of the state’s Division II and Division III programs. Freshman Marisa Navarro blistered school records with a 85.63, 18-hole stroke average, and a 12th place finish in the MWCGA meet. • The men golfers—with just one senior—finished with a 314 spring stroke average, under 16th-year head coach Brian Ammann. The team was fifth in the MIAC, led by freshman Erik Helgerson, who earned all-MIAC with a 36-hole total of 154. • In women’s basketball, center Selina Theisen led both scoring and rebounding at 17.1 and 10, respectively, and was the only freshman selected to the 16-player All-MIAC first team. Theisen also was selected to the conference’s All-Rookie team, was named to the D3hoops.com All-West Region third team, and was named to the Freshman All-American team by Women’s DIII News. • Head coach Mike Navarre’s women’s soccer team finished 11-5-2 overall (5-42 in the MIAC), tied for the second-best record in school history. Sophomores Millie Suk and Nora Austin were named to the All-MIAC team. Senior Laura Hoffman closed her career as one of the school’s best goalkeepers, recording a 114-2 record, seven shutouts and a 0.95 goals-against-average. • Under first-year coach Keith Bateman, the young Augsburg baseball squad finished 16-22 (7-13 in the MIAC), nearly doubling its overall victory total from each of the previous two seasons. Sophomore pitcher Jeremy Nelson (allMIAC) had a 5-4 record and 2.91 earned-run average, throwing six complete games, striking out 33, and allowing only 15 walks and a .269 opponent batting average. • Augsburg’s cross country teams logged 29 personal-best times (19 women and 10 men). Ellen Waldow became the first Don Stoner is sports information coordinator in the Office of Public Relations and Communication. Spring/Summer 2004 Five senior athletes are honored F ive senior student-athletes received Augsburg athletic awards for the 2003-04 school year. Three Auggies were named Honor Athletes, the highest honor the College gives its senior student-athletes—Melissa Lee, Brandon Fox, and Mathew Shannon. Earning Augsburg Senior Athlete of the Year honors were Kristen Lideen and Joe Moon. Lee was also given the Julie Ellingson Leadership in Women’s Athletics award, an honor given periodically to female athletes who have displayed qualities of outstanding leadership and service to Auggie athletics. The award is named for Julie Ellingson ’98, a softball catcher who was a devoted worker in many aspects of Augsburg’s athletic department. 2003-04 HONOR ATHLETES Brandon Fox A three-year starter and four-year letterwinner in football, Fox earned All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference second-team honors in both his junior and senior seasons. His senior year, he led the Auggies in tackles with 103. In 2003, he had the second-most tackles in the MIAC and led both the conference and team in tackles for loss. He added 2.5 sacks, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries his senior year. He was named the team’s Outstanding Player on Defense, Most Valuable Player, and earned the Edor Nelson Auggie Award in 2003. A business management major with a 3.63 GPA, Fox earned Academic All-MIAC honors twice and was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District second team in 2003. Melissa Lee Lee was a four-year starter in softball and also played basketball for two seasons at Augsburg. In softball, Lee will Spring/Summer 2004 go down as one of the “ironwomen” of Auggie softball history. Augsburg’s third-baseman played in every inning and started every game of her four-year career—141 games, 141 starts, and 964 innings. She closed her career with a .296 batting average and a.962 fielding percentage. A health and physical education major with a 3.507 GPA, Lee has earned Academic All-MIAC and National Fastpitch Coaches Association Scholar Athlete honors three times. She is a Student-Athlete Mentor, copresident of the Augsburg College Education Students (ACES) program, and has been active as a student worker in many aspects of Augsburg’s athletics program. Mathew Shannon A 17-time All-MIAC performer, Shannon became the first Augsburg men’s track and field athlete to earn All-American honors in both indoor and outdoor events in the same year in 2003 at the NCAA Division III national championships. This season, Shannon placed fifth in the indoor 400 at the national meet, and qualified for the outdoor national meet in the 400. A three-time MIAC titlist, Shannon earned both the Outstanding Indoor Championships Performance and Indoor Track Athlete of the Year honors from MIAC coaches this season. He also was named USA Track and Field Minnesota Co-Athlete of the Month in April. A business and communication major with a 3.155 GPA, Shannon has earned Dean’s List honors. Shannon is also a recipient of a Scholastic Connections scholarship, which pairs students of color with alumni mentors in the community. by Don Stoner 2003-04 SENIOR ATHLETES Kristen Lideen Lideen emerged as a two-sport star at Augsburg. In soccer, Lideen earned AllMIAC honorablemention honors three years in a row as one of the top sweepers in the conference. In softball, Lideen became one of Augsburg’s best shortstops, holding career school records in three different categories—batting average (.444), hits (175) and doubles (38)—while sitting in the top 10 in school history in seven other career listings. Lideen is one of four players in school history to ever go through a single season without a strikeout. She earned All-Region and All-MIAC first-team honors each of her first three seasons in an Auggie uniform, and earned All-MIAC honors her senior year. In 2003, she earned NFCA AllAmerican honors. Lideen is a philosophy major at Augsburg. Joe Moon Moon won his first national title in wrestling this season with a dramatic upset performance at the Division III national championships, earning the meet’s Outstanding Wrestler honors in the process. Moon finished 392 his senior season and 105-14 in his three-season career at Augsburg. A twotime All-American in wrestling, Moon finished fifth nationally last season at 174 and earned the team’s Outstanding Freshman honors his first season at Augsburg. A marketing major, Moon was also a member of two academic national wrestling teams at Augsburg. Don Stoner is sports information coordinator in the Office of Public Relations and Communication. 11 Faculty/staff notes Creating learning communities at Augsburg F rankie Shackelford, associate Learning Community that dean for teaching and learning took a group of 12 students enhancement, is a national and the two professors to resource leader in promoting the museums in the Twin Cities, concept of “learning Chicago, and Baraboo, Wis. communities,” and a key player The subject matter was not the in Augsburg’s development of content of the museums, but curricular learning communities. rather how the museum In 2000, Shackelford was designed and arranged the named one of 58 fellows of the content and how that reflects National Learning Communities the society that created it. Project (NLCP), funded by the Their study was based around Pew Charitable Trusts and a text on this subject and administered by the Washington discussion with its author. Center for Improving the Quality Associate dean Frankie Shackelford brings best practices from national Shackelford’s continuing learning community resources to Augsburg’s first-year program. of Undergraduate Education at commitment as a fellow of the The Evergreen State College. NLCP is to make site visits to Since then, she has twice served institutions who are community links classes together for a as a core resource person at NLCP’s experimenting with learning communities. common group of students often across summer institutes and presented at Thus far she has held workshops and academic disciplines and usually around a professional meetings. evaluated programs at Wofford College and theme. Besides the faculty and students in Last October, as part of a Midwestern Cottey College. At Augsburg she is active these classes, a learning community often network of learning community leaders, in the faculty-staff task force on includes academic advisers, residence life Augsburg hosted one of 10 day-long “Foundations of Excellence™,” whose staff, student peer leaders, and staff from Open Houses, where Shackelford and work will lead to a strengthening of campus support programs. other Augsburg faculty and staff learning communities in the first-year While serving as co-director of presented Augsburg’s first-year learning curriculum. Augsburg was selected as one professional development, Shackelford was community program, helping others to of 12 colleges in the Council of instrumental in the design and understand the concepts. Independent Colleges (CIC) to participate development of the eight-week Augsburg As associate dean, Shackelford oversees in this national study of ways to improve Seminar for all incoming first-year seven programs that promote student the first college year. More information on students, which was rolled out in fall 1998. academic development and faculty/staff this project is available at This orientation seminar for new day professional development. <www.brevard.edu/fyfoundations>. students is linked to one or two other The concept of learning community courses and includes student leaders as coinvites practices that bring together people teachers to help answer students’ questions NOTEWORTHY and programs on campus to help students about college life. The goal is to help find more meaning in the curriculum, she students transition to college life, connect Tony Bibus, social work, was resays. The approach is an intentional them to the larger campus community, and appointed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty to a restructuring of students’ time, credit, and help them become self-reflective learners. four-year term on the Minnesota Board of learning experiences to build community Augsburg’s new Core Curriculum, Social Work, which is responsible for and to foster greater connections among licensing and disciplining social workers. launched last year, was inspired by the students, students and their teachers, and learning community model. “Learning Trena Bolden, Pan-Afrikan Center, and among disciplines. The learning communities provide the impulse to make Kenneth Turner, Student Support community movement has broad reach meaning across a student’s four years of Services, attended the 28th Pan-African across many kinds of educational learning,” says Shackelford. Leadership Conference at Minnesota State institutions with over 500 colleges and Co-curricular learning communities University in Mankato in February, along universities now registered at the (outside of academic classes) have also with students Hanna Habtemariam, “Learning Commons” Web site developed at Augsburg. Last year, under Hamza Yusuf, Anthony Schaden, (http://learningcommons. the leadership of professors Phil Adamo Robert Jones III, Dega Ali, and Audra evergreen.edu). and Lars Chrisiansen, the History and Johnson. In the curricular sense, a learning Sociology Clubs formed a Museum 12 Spring/Summer 2004 The art of making events shine by Betsey Norgard J odi Collen admits she belonging that Augsburg alumni, can’t go anywhere parents, and donors feel as they without noticing displays, return to campus—including the ways materials are used, current students. “I want current and how decorations are students to feel connected, and to arranged—in short, she walk away feeling that they were can’t turn off her job. part of the event,” Collen says. Collen is events She seeks to work more coordinator at Augsburg, closely with faculty and staff working in the Office of from the get-go, offering ideas to Events and Classroom creatively plan the event from Services. It’s her job—and the beginning, to gain greater her passion—to help make consistency across all campus every Augsburg event look events. professional, run efficiently, Collen considers herself Jodi Collen mixes a combination of inspiration, creativity, and purpose in and communicate the right lucky to know that events planning major events at Augsburg. messages. planning is truly a calling and Since coming to part of her vocation. She can While she entered the program for career Augsburg two and a half years ago, she trace that awareness to a keynote speech development, she has found that her feels lucky to say that she loves what she by David Merrill, a leader in her field own personal development has been does—and she knows she can do it well. (who has since become a friend and more rewarding than prospects of career Last year, Minnesota Meetings & mentor), at the first special events advancement. Her goal is someday to Events magazine named her the 2003 conference she was invited to attend. continue on for a Ph.D. and teach in the “Up-and-Coming Special Events “The minute he started speaking, I industry. Planner”; and the year before that, she knew this is what I’m supposed to do,” At Augsburg, she is responsible for was named one of the top five women to she says. Merrill connected her to the planning and managing summer watch in the Minnesota events business. right people and resources, and her conferences, weddings and receptions, She is currently president-elect of the career took off. and working with faculty and staff to Minneapolis-St. Paul Chapter of the During the summer, in addition to plan major campus events. International Special Events Society. managing summer events, Collen is Collen looks forward to working What put her over the top in working with the alumni office to plan more closely with Augsburg faculty and becoming noticed and in giving her Augsburg’s 2004 Homecoming, “Spark staff to plan the College’s major events. confidence was the opportunity to plan a Your Spirit,” to take place Oct. 2-9. Her goal is to increase the sense of major event last summer for her events industry colleagues. With only months to go before the annual conference of the International Special Events Society to be held in Minneapolis, Collen stepped in to plan one of the major evening events—a beach party. With the help of four dumptruck-loads of donated sand and lots of ingenuity, conference-goers partied with hula hoops and parasoled drinks on a sandy beach, with palm trees and beach cabanas—all downtown in Peavey Plaza. Collen recently completed a Master of Tourism and Administration degree at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., specializing in conference and events management. Spring/Summer 2004 13 Faculty/staff notes Postcards from Italy During February and March in the Christensen Center Gallery, art professor John McCaffrey exhibited 34 oil paintings of the sultry Italian landscape in the show “Postcards from Italy.” The paintings are evocative recollections of a visit McCaffrey made to the country several years ago. Though small in size, the works are bold interpretations of some of Italy’s most remarkable scenery and monuments. Captured in the brushwork are narrow streets and sun-baked cobblestones of old towns, the glory of Roman ruins, and the verdant beauty of the rolling Tuscan hills. Even in these small sizes, McCaffrey’s use of light to sculpt form, establish space, and construct volume is revealed upon close observation. John McCaffrey, art, measures to hang one of the 34 small oil paintings in his “Postcards from Italy” exhibit. “Vernazza” (2004) is one of the “postcards” that brought the Italian landscapes to life in the Christensen Center Gallery during the winter. Honors/awards Congratulations to the 2004 faculty and staff who received Distinguished Contributions to Teaching and Learning Awards. Mark Engebretson, professor of physics, for teaching; Ann Klamer, director of residence life, for direct service to students; and Garry Hesser, professor of sociology and metro-urban studies, for advising/mentoring. Carol Barnett, music professor and composition instructor, was awarded the 2003 Nancy Van de Vate International Composition Prize for Opera from the Vienna Masterworks for her work, Snow, based on a short story by Konstantin Paustovsky. Janna Caywood ’04, social work, was inducted into Alpha Kappa Delta, international sociology honor society. 14 Su Dorée, mathematics, received the Mathematical Association of America North Central Section’s Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics, presented in April. It is presented for extraordinarily successful teaching, influence beyond their own institutions, and fostering of curiosity and excitement about mathematics to students. Garry Hesser, sociology and metrourban studies, was honored by the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs (HECUA) for his 25 years of service. Ann Klamer, residence life, received the 2003 Linda Schrempp Alberg Outstanding Contribution to Minnesota Higher Education Award, presented by the Minnesota College Personnel Association in May. Alberg was director of student life and associate dean of students at Augsburg until her death in 1996. Cheryl Leuning, nursing, received an Alumni Achievement Award in 2003 from Augustana College, Sioux Falls, S.Dak. In the award nomination, she was described by her students and colleagues as “a superb teacher, an inspirational leader, and mentor.” Sports information coordinator Don Stoner, public relations and communication, was named CoWrestling SID/Publicist of the Year by the National Wrestling Media Association, an organization representing journalists who cover amateur and college wrestling. Jeff Swenson ’79, assistant dean for athletics and head wrestling coach, was inducted in March into the Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Association/David Bartelma Wrestling Hall of Fame. Spring/Summer 2004 Presentations/publications David Apolloni, philosophy, presented “Puzzles Concerning False Judgment in Plato’s Theatetus” at the 10th Annual Minnesota Conference on Ancient Philosophy in May. Tony Bibus and Rosemary Link, social work, and Michael O’Neal, sociology, presented a paper, “Analysis of Welfare Reform Using a Global Perpsective and Locally Mapped Conditions” at the 50th annual meeting of the Council on Social Work Education in March. Nora Braun, business administration/ MIS, published “Critical Thinking in the Business Curriculum,” in the March/April issue of The Journal of Business Education. Grace Dyrud and Bridget RobinsonRiegler, psychology, along with psychology senior Matthew Plitzkow, presented a poster session, “Lucky Next Time: The Effects of Luck Inducement and Delay on Predictions of Future Wins and Luck Ratings,” at the Midwestern Psychology Convention in April. They also presented at the American Psychological Society in May. Orv Gingerich and Kathy McBride, Center for Global Education, co-presented a session, “Experiential Education: Theory and Practice in Latin America,” at the 15th annual international conference of the Association of Academic Programs in Latin America and the Caribbean (AAPLAC) in February. Shakespeare Bulletin published Douglas Green’s review of Joe Dowling’s production of Othello at the Guthrie Lab in the spring issue (22.1); his review of Ethan McSweeney’s Romeo and Juliet appeared in the summer issue (22.2). In April, at the annual Shakespeare Association of America meeting, Green participated in a dramatic reading of Antony and Cleopatra. (His drunken Lepidus was well received.) Spring/Summer 2004 Gretchen Irvine, education, participated on a panel on international travel experience at the National Society for Experiential Education conference in November. She also presented “Value Added to Global Study/Travel through the Use of Technology,” at the Hawaii International Conference on Education in January. Kenneth Kaminsky, mathematics, published Financial Literacy: Introduction to the Mathematics of Interest, Annuities, and Insurance, with a manual to accompany it, by University Press of America, Inc. in 2003. Jason Kemp, residence life, published “Ally Rally: Problem Solving with GLBTQ Allies on Campus,” in the spring 2004 UMR-ACUHO (Upper Midwest Region, Association of College and University Housing Officers) News. Ann Lutterman-Aguilar, Center for Global Education-Mexico, published “Educating about a Diversity and Global Issues Experientially: A Review of Simulations Games for Use in Community-Based Learning Programs,” in the fall 2003 issue of Transformations: The Journal of Inclusive Scholarship and Pedagogy. Dave Matz, psychology, co-authored “Social Norms and Identity Relevance: A Motivational Approach to Normative Behavior,” in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. He also co-authored an article in Current Psychology, 21. Regina McGoff, Center for Global Education, presented, “Study Abroad for Students in a Weekend College Program,” at the Student Abroad Curriculum Integration Conference in April. Susan O’Connor, education, co-authored a chapter about her five-month faculty exchange in Trondheim, Norway, in Sosialt arbeid: Refleksjon og handling (Social Work: Action and Reflection). Ron Petrich, education, has a selection in Teaching with Fire: Poetry That Sustains the Courage to Teach, published by Jossey Bass. Petrich finished the first two-year Courage to Teach retreat series for K-16 educators and began a second series in May. Bruce Reichenbach, philosophy, contributed “Explanation and the Cosmological Argument,” to Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Religion, edited by Michael Peterson and Raymond Vanarragon, and published by Blackwells in England. Bridget Robinson-Riegler and Greg Robinson-Riegler published two texts: Cognitive Psychology: Applying the Science of the Mind (along with an instructor’s manual) and Readings in Cognitive Psychology: Applications, Connections, and Individual Differences,” both published in 2004 by Allyn & Bacon. Nancy Steblay, psychology, co-authored “Eyewitness Accuracy Rates in Police Showups and Lineup Presentations: A Meta-Analytic Comparison,” in Law and Human Behavior, 27. Andrew Tix co-authored “The Relational Context of Social Support: Relationship Satisfaction Moderates the Relations between Enacted Support and Distress,” in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29. He also co-authored an article in the Journal of Counseling Psychology, 51. Sean Truman, psychology, with students Francis Rojas, Danielle Banaszak, and Janessa Baier, presented “Maternal Substance Abuse and Ratings of Parent Behavior: Do Drugs Matter?” at the Midwestern Psychology Convention. Truman also co-authored “What Are They Thinking? The Mediating Role of Parental Cognitions in the Parenting Processes of Drug-Dependent Mothers and Fathers,” in the NIDA Research Monograph Series in 2003. 15 AUGSBURG’S FOURTH INTERNATIONAL ver 100 entries were submitted in O the fourth annual photo contest for international and off-campus studies. Winners were selected in three categories: scenic landscapes, local people in a cross-cultural setting, and Augsburg students in a host setting. All winning photos were displayed in Christensen Center. Entries were judged on the following criteria: cross-cultural content, artistic and technical quality, and reproducibility. To see all the winners, visit <www.augsburg.edu/international/ photocontest04>. A 1st Place A B B 16 Scenic landscapes. First place. “Prague from the Castle Wall,” Erik Helgeson ’05. Czech Republic Augsburg students in host setting. First place. “Dancing with Locals (Mike Boyle),” Erik Helgeson ’05. Cuba C Local people in a cross-cultural setting. First place. “Lunchtime,” Deb Olson, MA Nursing. Namibia Spring/Summer 2004 OFF-CAMPUS STUDIES PHOTO CONTEST C D D Augsburg students in host setting. Second place. “Namibian Dunes,” Jenna Bracken ’05. Namibia E Scenic landscapes. Second place. “On the Other Side of the Fence: Auschwitz,” Ariann Russ ’05. Poland F Augsburg students in host setting. Third place. “Candomblé,” Ana Gabriela Power ‘05. Brazil. E F Spring/Summer 2004 17 MAJOR BOWEN: a story of courage and determination by Betsey Norgard As Jean Housh (left) coped with surgery to remove a brain tumor, her strength and inspiration came from “Major” Bowen (right), whose brain tumor left him near death and in a coma. She helped direct his path to Augsburg. eople are brought together in unpredictable ways. The friendship between Augsburg freshman Edward “Major” Bowen and Jean Housh, wife of Augsburg regent emeritus Allen Housh, began one day in physical therapy at the Sister Kenny® Rehabilitation Institute, where both were recovering from brain surgery. Because of the friendship that developed from that day in the hospital, the Houshes are largely responsible for Major Bowen enrolling at Augsburg. Three years ago last January, Bowen was an All-State junior goalie on The Blake School’s hockey team. The night he and the team shut out Stillwater High School, he felt sick with what he thought was the flu. By the next evening he was fighting for his life as a tumor blocked the flow of cerebrospinal fluid through his brain. Emergency surgery to relieve the pressure, followed by another surgery a week later to remove the cyst, left him in a coma for six weeks. P 18 “The nurses told us his brain was injured like in a 60-mph crash through a windshield,” recalls Bill Bowen, Major’s father. Miraculously, on Major’s grandmother’s birthday, he began to awaken. Weighing only 95 lbs., he was unable to walk, talk, or eat. Thus began a long rehabilitation at the Sister Kenny Institute, at a clinic in Florida, at Courage Center, and at other out-patient facilities. At Sister Kenny, as he worked to take a few steps, then a few steps more, Jean Housh was also recovering from elective surgery to remove the same kind of cyst before it became the emergency that Major faced. She was undergoing therapy to regain balance, strength, and memory. Excerpts from her story about getting to know Major are on p. 20. By the fall, Bowen was able to return home, but was plagued by short-term memory loss, facial droop, and some balance difficulty. His father tells of how Rod Anderson, a former Blake teacher and hockey coach “unretired” and devoted his time to tutoring Major in the Bowens’ home. During winter semester, Bowen returned to Blake, with Anderson continuing to tutor him at the school. Bowen also began practicing Tae Kwan Do as part of his therapy, and has achieved a second degree purple belt. He is now in training to test for his red belt. Major Bowen graduated with his Blake class in June 2002, but his real achievement came earlier, during Blake’s final hockey game of the year. After weeks of incredible determination and hard work to get back on the ice, he skated out to tend the goal for the last 53 seconds as his team beat Minnehaha Academy. For this, City Pages in their 2002 Best of the Twin Cities, named him the Best High School Athlete. The following year the Bowens began exploring options for college. Sara Kyle, associate director of college counseling at Blake, suggested Augsburg. “[Augsburg] Spring/Summer 2004 for the class. is one of the best (if not the best) Bowen’s determination also impacted colleges in the nation for bright students Maurer. “One of the biggest lessons I with learning and/or physical learned from Major,” Maurer said, “is to challenges,” said Kyle. “I thought it never give up. … I think Major’s refusal would be a natural place for Major to to stop until he had accomplished his continue his education.” She connected best can be inspirational to us all. The the Bowens with Sally Daniels, whole experience was a great honor and Augsburg’s director of undergraduate will remain one of my fondest memories admissions. from my time at Augsburg.” Jean and Allen Housh were also During the second semester, Bowen instrumental in the decision to consider was scheduled for several surgeries and Augsburg. “While Augsburg was in the would miss a considerable number of back of my mind,” Bill Bowen says, “90 school days. He arranged with Gustafson percent of it was the encouragement of to do a directed study in history, centered Allen and Jean.” around the question of genocide and Daniels and the Houshes introduced focusing on Nazi Germany and the Pol Major and his parents to President Pot regime in Cambodia. William Frame and to Augsburg’s Center A highlight of the semester was a field for Learning and Adaptive Student trip to Washington, D.C., to the Services (CLASS), a premier program in Holocaust Museum. While in providing comprehensive support to Washington, the Bowens met with students with disabilities. Minnesota Senator Mark Dayton, a friend Major enrolled in the fall as a partof the family, who had been Major’ s time student with two classes—Spanish baseball coach and who had also been a and history. Bill Bowen credits both hockey goalie at Blake. professors—Kate Reinhardt in Spanish The year proved incredibly difficult, and Don Gustafson in history—with but rewarding, for Major. Bill Bowen being “absolutely wonderful” to Major. recounts that virtually every Gustafson wondered at first how he person at Augsburg “gave would manage to teach someone with 102 percent”—nothing was short-term memory problems in the just average concerning detail-laden discipline of history. “It Major’s experience. He will worked,” he said, “partly because Maj return to classes in the fall came with some excellent high school part-time and then evaluate background; partly because his father what the right course will spent hours and hours going over the be for the future. material with Maj, and Maj on his part The friendship between was not about to give up; and partly Jean Housh and Major because one of our very remarkable remains strong; Bill Bowen students, Eric Maurer, agreed to tutor. talks of how they spend “It was in our weekly meetings (and time reading together—a Eric often was part of them) on a one-topractice that began during one basis that I got a much better therapy to improve their understanding of Major, of his difficulties, and of his incredibly dogged determination.” Gustafson says that Bowen Major Bowen and Jean Housh ended up “at the top of the class in remain good friends and continue terms of effort and hours,” and to read together, a practice that earned a “very creditable 3.0” grade started in rehabilitation. Spring/Summer 2004 enunciation. While her story speaks to the strength she gains from Major, Bill Bowen says that Major thinks Jean is “one of his angels.” It’s clear that Bowen could not have succeeded at Augsburg without the CLASS program and without faculty and staff who became entirely engaged in helping him learn, as they also learned from him. Even outside of class, in one small but significant gesture, President Frame relinquished his reserved parking space to the Bowens so that Major’s shortterm memory loss could not prevent him from always knowing exactly where their car was parked. “Augsburg has been a wonderful experience for me,” says Major. “Each professor has been different, but also the same in being caring, kind, and understanding. They have each also been demanding, requiring me to work hard, complete my assignments on time, to push myself, and to learn the subject matter. Professor Don Gustafson worked with me extensively to become more self-reliant, to trust myself, to think, and to respond. I can never thank him enough.” ■ 19 A M A J O R I N S P I R AT I O N I owe my life to a young m a n n a m e d M a j o r. H e is a guy I’d only heard about in the neurosurgeon’s office. I was being examined and scheduled for brain surgery. But I had the luxury of setting a surgery date, calling family to Minneapolis to help out and bracing myself beforehand. Major, however, did not. According to my neurosurgeon, the 17-year-old hockey player was nearly brain dead the January night he was brought to Children’s Hospital. Imagine playing goalie for your hockey team and near death one day later. I couldn’t. … Eager to read all I could about my condition or anyone else who’d experienced it, I combed back issues of the Minneapolis Star Tribune sports section at the library until I found it. There it was in bold type across five columns of the January 9, 2001, sport page. ‘Blake Goalie Faces Surgery for Brain Tumor.’ Edward “Major” Bowen was his name and his story would change my life. … I wish I could say my surgery was easy. Although I did not feel a thing, my family and friends suffered greatly. It is only through God’s grace and mercy that I am here. … One cold March day [at Sister Kenny Institute], I saw the name Major Bowen handwritten on a label of a headrest on a wheelchair. Could it be the same Major Bowen? I wondered aloud to [my husband] Allen. If he’s here, I have to meet him. After all, he is the reason I went ahead with my surgery. I asked Matt, my OT therapist, if that was Major Bowen, the hockey player. Yes, it was, but due to confidentiality concerns, I couldn’t just walk up and start talking. Matt had to arrange it for us after getting Major’s parents’ approval. The next day, I was introduced to Major, and his parents, Bill and Pat. … The common denominator between Major and me was the same colloid cysts in our brains. A rare and benign tumor, colloid cysts reside in the third left ventricle and restrict the flow of cerebral spinal fluid. In my case, it caused considerable swelling and chronic headaches. by Jean Spielman Housh Major, however, experienced no warning signs or headaches. … After six weeks in Children’s Hospital, Major was released to the Sister Kenny Institute for therapy and rehabilitation. That’s where our paths finally crossed. I was a bit tentative about meeting him. I was concerned his parents might measure me against their son’s progress. Boy was I wrong. I have never been so warmly received. Behind Major’s wheelchair in the computer lab at Sister Kenny Institute, Major’s dad, Bill, shook my hand and thanked me for initiating our meeting. “It’s nice to know someone who had the same surgery as Major and who’s come out so well,” he told me. I tried to tell him that his son was my inspiration. Tears rolled down my face and I couldn’t get the words out. “I cry a lot,” I told him. He smiled, knowing exactly what I meant. Around the corner came Major’s mom, Pat. Awkwardly I began my story again. Lost in my tears were all the words I’d hoped to say. Words like ‘thank you for your son. Thank you for being such loving parents. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to meet my life’s inspiration.’ … During a follow-up visit last year, Dr. Nagib’s nurse practitioner, Therese O’Fallon, told me, “One day, maybe not soon, but one day, you’ll look back on this surgery experience as a gift. Some good will have come from it.” Brain surgery—a gift? Yeah, right. I brushed it off. But today, more than two years later, I’m beginning to see what she means. God has given me a gift of true inspiration in Major. Through him and my surgery, I’ve learned patience, determination, and what family really means. Today, the balance of good days and bad days clearly tips toward the positive. I’ve recovered most, if not all, of my short- and long-term memory. Although, I still lose my car in the Target parking lot and often have trouble remembering how many strokes I had on the golf course. Major and I read Lance Armstrong’s book It’s Not about the Bike last summer. We read it aloud to one another to improve our enunciation. Armstrong’s story of victory over cancer and winning the Tour de France is an inspiring and powerful one. But one no less inspiring than Major’s story of faith, courage, and strength. Jean Spielman Housh is a writer and wife of Augsburg regent emeritus Allen Housh. 20 Spring/Summer 2004 F R O M F L ATA N G E R TO A U G S B U R G : A C E N T U R Y A PA R T by Betsey Norgard THE SMALL coastal town of Flatanger, Norway, has sent two students to Augsburg College, almost exactly 100 years apart. While Ingwald Rosok may not have received a diploma in the spring of 1895 when he left Augsburg, Monica Dahle marched proudly across the stage in spring 2004. Dahle is a senior at Molde University College in central Norway and came to Augsburg as part of International Partners. This program, based on reciprocal agreements between Augsburg and European institutions that offer the equivalent of bachelor’s degrees, allows students from both Europe Norwegian student Monica Dahle stands in front of Old Main, built just three years after Ingwald Rosok, another student from her hometown, attended and Augsburg to take part Augsburg. of their study program at Ingwald Rosok, who attended partner schools. This preparatory class at moved to Arizona and lived there the rest Augsburg in 1894-95, left his enables them to Augsburg Seminary for of his life. small village of Flatanger 100 experience studying years before current student nearly five months until his Although Rosok’s mother was from Monica Dahle. abroad without money ran out. the Sverdrup family, there is no apparent interrupting or delaying In his memoir, Retrospect, Rosok tells close connection to Georg and George their studies. of wanting to go to school and learning Sverdrup, Augsburg’s second and fourth Because of International Partners and about Augsburg from a Norwegian grocer presidents, respectively. the scholarship that participants receive, in Minneapolis. He describes Augsburg’s When Dahle arrived at Augsburg last Dahle chose to come to Minneapolis and location as “in the block between Seventh winter, she recognized Old Main from Augsburg. When she began researching and Eighth Streets, and between 21st and photos she had seen in a history book. information about Augsburg, to her 22nd Avenues South.” He lists the faculty She was one of 34 Norwegian students in surprise and excitement she discovered a that year as six professors. book about Ingwald Rosok, also from Rosok did not want to be a minister Flatanger. He had come to the U.S. in Photo of Ingwald Rosok from Retrospect: An and chose to study engineering at the 1891, worked at a number of jobs in the Autobiography, by I. A. Rosok, edited by O. M. University of Minnesota instead of Norlie, copyright 1957 and printed by Lund Press, Upper Midwest, and attended the second returning to Augsburg. He eventually Minneapolis. Spring/Summer 2004 21 A C E N T U R Y A PA R T International Partners during the academic year, and took social work courses. For her internship, she learned about an agency in downtown Minneapolis offering a needle exchange program, and applied to work there. Her tasks included meeting with drug addicts, homeless people, and prostitutes—work and issues she had never encountered. “I learned so much,” Dahle said, “about nonjudgemental attitudes, about how to treat clients, and about the U.S.” She had not expected the level of culture shock she experienced. Her biggest challenge was language. Dahle said the people who came there often used street slang, but that she simply asked them what it meant. She loves to work with people, and dreams of finding similar ways to work with drug addicts in Norway. During spring semester, two events stood out for Dahle as highlights. In February, when Augsburg hosted the Peace Prize Festival for schoolchildren, she was one of two Norwegian students who greeted and escorted special guests Gro Harlem Brundtland, former prime minister of Norway and director general emerita of the World Health Organization; and Knut Vollebæk, Norwegian ambassador to the U.S. 22 The second highlight was participation in Augsburg’s commencement ceremony. In Norway, college graduates are hosted at a dinner, but without the pomp and circumstance of an American ceremony. Because of the reciprocal agreements between colleges, International Partners students are granted special permission to participate in Augsburg’s graduation. EXCERPTS FROM Monica Dahle (right) and Beate Fjellanger (second from right) greeted Gro Brundtland, former Norwegian prime minister, and Knut Vollebæk, Norwegian ambassador to the U.S., at the Peace Prize Festival in February. “It was amazing, with all the people there,” Dahle remarked. “It’s a really big deal, and I’ve seen it on TV.” Her cap and gown went back to Norway with her as mementos. Dahle has her four-hour final exam to finish at Molde University College. Then she hopes to work for a year or so before possibly returning to the U.S. and Augsburg for a master’s program. ■ RETROSPECT: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY By Ingwald Andreas Rosok Edited by O.M. Norlie; copyright 1957 by I.A. Rosok. Minneapolis: Lund Press, Inc. 16 ATTENDING AUGSBURG We called on the Norwegian grocer. He advised me to go to Augsburg Seminary, which, at that time, was not only a theological seminary but also a college and an academy. It was a Norwegian Lutheran church school and was located in the block between Seventh and Eighth Streets, and between Twenty-first and Twenty-second Avenues South. I went there, and they took me and accepted my check without any question. … As already stated, Augsburg Seminary had three departments: The Preparatory (Academy) Department which took two years to finish; the College Department which took four years, and the Theological Department which took three years, a total of nine years. When this was completed one was ready to be ordained as a full-fledged Lutheran minister and to be assigned to some congregation as its pastor. The professors that year were: George Sverdrup, president; Sven Oftedal, vice president; John H. Blegen; Edward Hovde; J.L. Nydahl and T.S. Reimestad. When I told them what previous schooling I had had, I was assigned to the second preparatory class. It was a very good school and I enjoyed it very much. It certainly was much better for me than working in the woods in Wisconsin. I studied very hard, never missing any classes and spending all my waking hours in my room doing my homework. I started school at Augsburg Seminary December 7, 1894 and attended until April 13, 1895 when my money was all gone. Spring/Summer 2004 SEEING ABILITIES instead of disabilities Seeing the abilities of people rather than their disabilities has given Cilje Nybord Mosand a dream and a plan, which she has taken back to her native Norway this summer. Mosand, a social work student in the International Partners program at Augsburg, interned during the spring at a non-profit organization called Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts, based in Minneapolis. Interact, a multidisciplinary arts center for adult artists with disabilities, features a large art studio and public gallery, rehearsal and performance space, a fulltime faculty of professional artists, a performing arts training program, and a theater company. Mosand was so impressed with Interact that she hopes to start a similar organization in the Scandinavian countries. “We have nothing like this in Norway,” Mosand said. “This has been such a wonderful experience. You don’t see the disabilities of these people, rather the abilities they possess.” During her internship, Mosand assisted the professional artists who work with the disabled artists in all aspects of the theater, from writing the script and by Judy Petree music, to acting. She even took part in the theater performance, playing the part— aptly enough—of a young woman named “Celia,” who is Norwegian. “We really liked having Cilje here,” said Eriq Nelson, performing arts instructor at Interact. “She gave our ‘artists’ individual support and always had time for listening to them. Many times the staff doesn’t have this kind of time.” Nelson added that when Mosand first came, they envisioned her as support staff, doing odd jobs such as filling out paperwork. But, she became so involved with the artists the original plans quickly flew out the door. “We have a large Norwegian population at the center and some have even been to Norway on tour, so they were excited about Cilje being from Norway. She liked being with the artists and they liked being with her.” Nelson said it was also fun to watch Mosand grow during her internship. “We even got her to be a part of the show. It was fun to see Cilje embrace that side of it. She was always willing to do whatever was needed to be done. She’s missed.” Actually, this is not Augsburg’s first encounter with Interact. A few years ago, education professor Susan O’Connor Top photo: At Interact, Cilje Mosand supported and worked with artists with disabilities, and joined them to perform in their production. Spring/Summer 2004 introduced Karl-Johan Johansen, an instructor from Sør Trøndelag University College in Trondheim, Norway, and Per Frederiksen, with PROFF, an organization serving people with disabilities, to Interact while they were visiting Minneapolis. As a result of that visit, Johansen and Frederiksen secured funding in Norway for a group from Interact to travel to Norway and Denmark to give performances. The artists that went on this tour were the same ones who formed a bond with Mosand. “What fascinated me about Interact is it’s so diverse,” Mosand said. “The mix of people from a rainbow of ethnic, age, and disability groups gives one the impression of being in an inclusive Garden of Eden.” The artists help the community understand that gifts are given to all people, Mosand said, and that vision is not lost nor even impaired by a disabling condition. “There are no superiors, inferiors; no staff versus clients. There is only the collegial mix of diverse people who are all focused on the same goals—the creation of beauty, the making of art.” ■ Judy Petree is media relations manager in the Office of Public Relations and Communication. 23 A QUICK CONNECTION PROM DRESSES TO by Judy Petree Stephanie Quick’s passion for working with children and youth, especially those who struggle with lives of poverty and abuse, has taken her to a place far from her Midwestern roots in Mendota Heights, Minn.—to Nome, Alaska, a place so beautiful it’s hard to imagine life could be anything but ideal. Quick, a 2001 Augsburg graduate with a major in youth and family ministry, is currently working on a four-year Master of Divinity degree at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago. She is in year three of seminary, which consists of an internship. Beauty surrounded by poverty The road to Alaska and her internship at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Nome came after she was accepted into a special ELCA program called Horizon. This program offers 22 unique internship sites across the world, including cross-cultural ministry, mission start congregations, and others at rural, urban, and international sites. Quick said that many of these sites, including her current one, cannot afford a second pastor, and provide excellent learning opportunities. Quick said Nome is a beautiful place, surrounded by ocean and tundra. She has seen wildlife from bears to reindeer to seals, eaten a variety of Eskimo foods including Eskimo ice cream (berries mixed with reindeer fat), muktuk (whale blubber), black meat (seal), reindeer, caribou, dried fish, greens, and herring eggs. But, she added, the stark reality is that all of this beauty surrounds a town plagued by alcohol abuse and poverty. “While this town of 3,000 people is in a unique setting, it is also very sad. You can find only two small grocery stores, yet the street is littered with bars and liquor stores. Alcohol abuse is a terrible factor in the community.” In fact, Quick said, it has gotten so bad that alcoholism in Nome and surrounding villages has nearly Above: Stephanie Quick, Class of 2001, is destroyed the Native American (Eskimo) traditional lifestyle. “Sadly, as a pastor, you hear using her seminary internship to work with many stories of family violence, sexual abuse, young people in an impoverished Nome, and substance abuse. There is so much tragedy here it is almost unbelievable.” Alaska church. She brought joy to the high Quick is called to many areas while serving school girls there, as 60 prom dresses she as an intern pastor. Some of her duties include preaching, leading worship, teaching, pastoral collected from family and friends back counseling, home visitations, serving as home were donated for Nome’s big dance. chaplain at the local jail, eating lunch with elders at the senior citizen’s center, and holding 24 Spring/Summer 2004 worship service at the nursing home. However, there is one area where her passion is strong. Quick is concentrating her efforts on working with youth in Nome, even starting a youth group at the congregation, which now draws more than 25 youth. “I have formed some pretty strong connections with some of the high school girls,” Quick said. “These girls have confided a lot of things to me. Recently they told me they couldn’t go to the prom because they couldn’t afford a dress.” While the town is plentiful with bars and liquor stores, Quick said there is not a clothing store to be found. The only way for these girls to get a dress would be to spend $343 on a plane ticket to Anchorage or make a dress. “None of these girls can afford a prom dress let alone fly to Anchorage to buy it. And many of the girls are being raised by their grandparents who just don’t have the time to make a dress.” Quick came up with an idea and she quickly enlisted the help of her sister, Rachel, who is a junior at Augsburg; her parents; and her hometown congregation, St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church in West St. Paul. “I thought, well, I still have my prom dresses, so I called up my mom and asked her to send them here. Unfortunately, she had just given them away to the Goodwill, but my sister, Rachel, still had hers.” Rachel was more than happy to not only ship her prom dress to Alaska, but to send out a campuswide e-mail asking others for their dresses and other prom accessories, such as shoes and purses. When Quick’s pastor at St. Stephen’s found out what she was doing, he made an announcement in church. Her plea was so successful, she received 60 dresses, the majority coming from Augsburg and St. Stephen’s Church in West St. Paul. After the shipment arrived in Nome, Stephanie Quick opened up a “Prom Shop” in the church basement. The ladies’ sewing circle at Our Savior’s Church volunteered to make alterations on the dresses. Quick said the girls were Spring/Summer 2004 “thrilled” with the dresses. “I’m really proud of my sister,” Rachel said. “She is such a kind person and she’s really grown attached to these girls in Nome. She was able to give them something we take for granted—a pretty dress and a really special night.” Quick said she wanted to do this for the girls “simply because I care about them, and feel that their opportunities shouldn’t be limited just because of their finances.” Reaching out Quick followed her passion and calling one step further when she volunteered to travel to a remote village in the wilderness, without running water or plumbing. She spent 10 days in a place called Shishmaref, a tiny island Eskimo village located 20 miles south of the Arctic Circle. The village is entirely Lutheran and is the northernmost ELCA congregation. Most people there still speak their native language of Inupiaq. Quick said the pastor there had resigned in the fall, and it has been difficult to even get an interim pastor, much less a permanent pastor. It is a very rustic place with honeybuckets for toilets and Ladies in Our Savior’s Lutheran Church snow or rainwater for volunteered their time to alter the drinking water. The only donated dresses for the girls. place to shower is at the “washeteria,” which costs money, she added, so obviously people don’t shower much. The roads are all dirt and the houses are primitive. Children, she said, run around very dirty, many visibly with lice. The town is filled with flies, and garbage and raw sewage leak from bins. “It looked straight out of a ‘Save the Children’ commercial,” Quick said. “It was a moving experience just driving down the street.” The only modes of transportation, she added, are fourwheelers; snowmobiles, which the Alaskans call snow machines; and dog sled teams. “I had some amazing visits with the people there,” Quick said, “including a group of elders who showed me some of their sewing. It was a neat experience sitting on the floor watching the Eskimo women sew things like slippers, mukluks, and Eskimo yo-yos out of seal 25 A QUICK CONNECTION TO PROM DRESSES skin and reindeer fur.” Quick’s love and passion for children took center stage there as well, in this remote village. She said the children were excited to see her and she organized many youth activities for them, including baking for elders and confirmation classes. Some days there were more than 50 children that showed up in the basement of the parsonage, which is used for a youth center. “We had a Sunday School turnout of 75 children which is great considering there are only 600 people in the village.” The church services were similar to the ones she helps out with in Nome, part of it being in their native language and part in English. “I have to brag a little that I’m doing quite well on the Inupiaq. The elders tease me that I am becoming an Eskimo!” Quick said because of the lack of a pastor or interim pastor, she was given special permission by the bishop and seminary to administer the sacraments. She presided over Holy Communion and performed her first baptism. The baptism, she added, was especially moving. “I had asked a woman in the congregation to present the candle and recite a special verse. She has cerebral palsy and told me she has trouble reading, so when she came up, she had the verse memorized. It was moving and a true moment of grace.” Augsburg’s transforming education Quick credits the encouragement she received from faculty and staff in the religion department while she was a student at Augsburg for steering her toward the path she is now following. In particular she remembers a lecture she heard about being called to serve God. “I still remember that lecture, and that confirmed my call from God. I began to look for a place to serve the church and I felt not only an internal call to the ministry, but an external call to serve God.” Quick said she wasn’t sure at that point what direction in ministry she wanted to pursue, but she loved the Youth and Family Ministry program and being involved in Campus Ministry, so that excited her about ministry with families. Quick will return to Chicago in the fall to finish her education. Where she will go from there is still a question, but she has many goals, one being a pastor in an inner city church working with families, children and youth; another opening an orphanage or working at an existing one, perhaps in Thailand; or even teaching religion, “especially if it was at Above: A stitch here and there to the Augsburg!” donated dresses made the high school “The education I received at Augsburg helped shape my life in a very positive way. Augsburg girls feel like queens of the prom. helped me realize that all things are possible through God.” ■ Judy Petree is media relations manager in the Office of Public Relations and Communication. 26 Spring/Summer 2004 Students celebrate after receiving their honors cords from academic dean Christopher Kimball at the Honors Convocation on Friday, April 30. The Augsburg Chamber Orchestra performs at the Commencement concert on Friday, April 30, which featured solos by each of the four 2004 Concerto Aria winners: Miya Kunin ’04, violin; Maja Lisa FritzHuspen ’04, soprano; Nicholas White ’05, bass; and Keely Holcomb ’04, soprano. DR. SHIRLEY ANN JACKSON DELIVERS COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS A graduate pays homage to her home state by taping a cutout of Texas to her mortarboard. Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson, president of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, spoke at the 2004 Augsburg College Commencement ceremony Saturday, May 1. It is said that Jackson has a “career distinguished by many historic firsts.” Jackson, a theoretical physicist, holds a Ph.D. in theoretical elementary particle physics from M.I.T. and an S.B. in physics from M.I.T. She is the first AfricanAmerican woman to receive a doctorate from M.I.T., and is one of the first two African-American women to receive a doctorate in physics in the United States. Jackson is also the first African-American to become a commissioner of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and is now the first woman to lead a national research university. Jackson has held senior positions in government, as chairperson of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC); in industry and research, as a theoretical physicist at the former AT&T Bell Laboratories; and in academe as a professor at Rutgers University. While at the NRC, Jackson represented the United States as a delegate to the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria. Among the number of professional organizations Jackson belongs to, she is president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. She is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Physical Society. Visit <www.rpi.edu/web/President/profile.html> for more information about Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson. Barbara Lehmann, assistant professor of social work, hugs a student during the procession from Foss Center to Melby Hall. 28 Spring/Summer 2004 COMMENCEMENT 2004 COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS URGES EXCELLENCE, LEADERSHIP, AND COMMUNITY Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson, president of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, delivers the keynote Commencement address. Lois Bosch, associate professor of social work, places a master’s hood on a Master of Social Work student. Barbara Forshier, Weekend College Class of 2004 representative, addresses the crowd at the Commencement ceremony. Spring/Summer 2004 Following are excerpts from Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson’s Commencement address; read the complete address at <www.rpi.edu/web/President/speeches/augsburg.html> … A simple message from my own father has always motivated me. … He always would say to us: “Aim for the stars, so that you will reach the treetops, and at any rate, you will get off the ground.” In other words, if you do not aim high, you will not go far. He also believed that it was important to help somebody else along the way. I have taken my father’s advice throughout my career, and woven it into a common thread with three basic strands. They are excellence, leadership, and community. It was Aristotle who said, “Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” After all, if you are going to spend precious time doing something, why not do it well? And, when you do things well, it becomes your habit. Secondly, leadership is a fundamental responsibility we all own. … Leadership encompasses a clarity of vision, an understanding of the broader context, as well as the articulation to share that vision with others. It takes perseverance, and requires very hard work, but an effective leader sets an example by working hard, by being ethical, and by inspiring others to do the same. … The final strand is community. What I mean by community also might be termed inclusiveness. In the global community in which we live, inclusiveness is key, because it is the estrangement of individuals, or of groups, or of peoples, or of nations that is responsible for the divisiveness that haunts us—that makes the world a more dangerous place. … Optimism also is part of my father’s legacy. As a result, I am determinedly optimistic about the future. Optimism and hope are contagious. … Indeed, it is a force for change, and it can move people to take positive action. … So, give generously. Aim high. Lead with your gifts. Stay positive. Look forward. Do not be discouraged. Lead with optimism. Challenge yourselves. Find joy in everyday life. If you do all of these, I am confident that you can lead us to a future of peace, a future of greater safety, security, and health for all—a future in which hope prospers, and love and service guide us. Now is your time. Be that future, and you can change the world. Three graduates smile for the camera during the ceremony in Melby Hall. 29 Gregory McKusky, who received a B.A. in physics, joins family and faculty in Murphy Park after the Commencement ceremony. A graduate poses for a picture following the ceremony. THE AUGSBURG COLLEGE 623 Candidates for graduation 347 Day program candidates 152 Weekend College candidates 83 Graduate program candidates (12 Master of Arts in Leadership, 30 Master of Social Work, 14 Master of Arts in Nursing, 24 Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies, 3 Master of Arts in Education) 33 Rochester program candidates 8 10 Jennifer Hagen, who graduated with a B.S. in chemistry, relaxes with friends. CLASS OF 2004 19-64 United Hospital candidates Countries represented (China, Colombia, Republic of Korea, Laos, Liberia, Mexico, Mongolia, Norway, Spain, Taiwan) Age range of graduates in the Class of 2004 MASTER OF ARTS IN NURSING—CLASS OF 2004 A grad poses with her family after receiving a bouquet of roses. 30 The Master of Arts in Nursing program celebrated its third class of graduates. Here, graduates and faculty posed for a picture following the ceremony. Spring/Summer 2004 COMMENCEMENT 2004 The 135TH YEAR of Augsburg College THE CLASS OF 2004’S OLDEST AND YOUNGEST EDUCATION HAS NO AGE LIMIT ABBEY PAYEUR, AGE 19, OF CHAMPLIN, MINN., AND MARYANN KINNEY, AGE 64, OF ROCHESTER, MINN., ARE THE YOUNGEST AND OLDEST OF AUGSBURG’S GRADUATING CLASS OF 2004. PAYEUR ALREADY HAD A TWO-YEAR COLLEGE DEGREE WHEN SHE FINISHED HIGH SCHOOL BACHELOR’S AND DEGREE COMPLETED IN A ELEMENTARY EDUCATION AT AUGSBURG IN TWO YEARS. SHE PLANS TO TEACH AND RETURN LATER FOR GRADUATE SCHOOL. KINNEY HAS BEEN A STAFF NURSE AT SAINT MARYS HOSPITAL IN ROCHESTER FOR MORE THAN 25 YEARS AND DECIDED TO SEEK A MASTER’S DEGREE IN NURSING. SHE HAS NO PLANS TO RETIRE SOON, BUT WANTS TO SERVE PEOPLE WITH LOW INCOME AND HOMELESS POPULATIONS. Spring/Summer 2004 By some accounts, at age 64, Maryann Kinney should be making plans for her retirement. Would she like to travel? Spend more time with friends? Instead, she walked down the aisle of Augsburg’s gymnasium in Melby Hall, adorned in cap and gown. Kinney graduated with a Master of Arts in nursing degree and isn’t considering leaving the workforce anytime soon. “I probably should think about my retirement, but I’m just going to keep on going,” she says. This hospice volunteer for the past 18 years has always spent much of her time serving others. A nurse since 1978, she has worked in Appalachia and with orphaned children in Romania. “Nursing is a profession where care is always our key element,” says Kinney. After three attempts at attaining a master’s degree, the fourth time proved to be a charm. She began at Augsburg in the fall of 2001. Kinney was finally able to reach her goal, with the help of a supportive supervisor at Saint Marys Hospital in Rochester, where she currently works, and close attention from Augsburg faculty whom she says, “build on your strengths and work with your weaknesses.” To Kinney, it was well worth the effort. “To keep up with all of the changes that are going on in nursing, you really need an advanced degree,” she says. “Unfortunately, many nurses who get the degree get out of nursing. They go on to get more administrative roles. Augsburg’s program prepares you to stay in nursing. I think most of the students that finish here stay in patient care.” Kinney has a deep appreciation for Augsburg’s commitment to the community and their awareness of the by Jessica Brown broader issues, outside of what just affects the campus. After graduation she would like to do work with povertystricken or homeless populations, areas where she gained experience through her work at Augsburg’s Central Nursing Center, located in Central Lutheran Church in downtown Minneapolis. Kinney was also afforded the rare opportunity to do her clinical practice in London, England, at St. Christopher’s hospice under the tutelage of founder Dame Cicely Saunders. Saunders, at age 85, still works at the hospice every day. She was a true inspiration to Kinney and reinforced a desire to work with those less fortunate. Kinney is no less of an inspiration in her own right, “I carry a bag of dirt in my pocket. I have for a long time. I like to keep it with me to remind me to always stay ‘grounded’,” she says. Often when others around her seem to be feeling overwhelmed she will share her secret—“I take it out of my pocket and everyone knows that they have to get grounded.” At the very least it offers those around her a moment to pause and smile. Kinney is grateful to Augsburg for helping her achieve her goal, “I think Augsburg is awesome. Not only are the school, the classes, and the professors great, but I was also really impressed with the students. I can’t believe how nice they are,” she says. “The greatest gift one can give to another is a chance. That is what Augsburg did for me. It is almost impossible as a staff nurse to have one’s educational needs met. Augsburg went that mile.” Jessica Brown is a communication specialist in the Office of Public Relations and Communication. 31 COMMENCEMENT ON THE FAST TRACK TO A CAREER IN TEACHING At a time when many 19-year-olds are still early in their adventures in higher learning, Abbey Payeur is completing that adventure and embarking on a new one. Payeur, of Champlin, Minn., got on the fast track and never jumped off. She enrolled in the Minnesota Post Secondary Enrollments Option program (PSEO) at the age of 15. The PSEO program allows high school juniors and seniors to take courses for credit at public and private postsecondary institutions while still in high school. Payeur decided to take full advantage of the opportunity before her and enrolled full time at North Hennepin Community College (NHCC). Because of her young age, she had to be driven to her first year of college courses by her mother. Thus, her final two years of high school were spent away from the Champlin Park schools where she’d began. “Mostly I wanted more independence, more choices in the classes I was free to take, more of a challenge,” says Payeur. When she participated in graduation ceremonies at Champlin Park High School in spring 2002, she already had an Associate of Arts degree under her belt from NHCC. Payeur always had a passion for 32 by Jessica Brown learning, and a decision about her learning after high school was an easy one. She went to a guidance counselor and asked about the better schools for elementary education. “I love school and I think I can reach the kids like me [that love school] and also the kids that don’t like it as much,” she says. “I just want to let them know how much your life can change if you choose to do well in school.” Augsburg College was at the top of the recommended list, and after an initial interview with Professor Vicki Olson, it seemed like a good fit. Payeur decided the small class sizes and the personal relationships you make with the professors was what she wanted. Payeur enrolled at Augsburg in the fall of 2002 at the age of 17. Being the youngest in class periodically posed certain challenges. “Sometimes people in class didn’t give much credit to what I would say because I was ‘just a baby,’ ” says Payeur. Very quickly, however, after the other students got to know her, she was on the same playing field as everyone else. Sometimes her youth and experience were advantages in the classroom. “There was a discussion about the Minnesota Graduate nursing student Maryann Kinney reminisces with Tony Bristo about experiences in England at Augsburg’s Central Nursing Clinic at Central Lutheran Church in downtown Minneapolis. 2004 graduation standards—profiles of learning,” Payeur says. “The other students were debating them but none had ever experienced them. I was actually in school when those were in place, and so I had a unique perspective that could add to the class.” Payeur graduated Summa Cum Laude from Augsburg with a Bachelor of Arts degree in education and marched with her fellow classmates in the Commencement ceremony. In August she begins her student teaching at Oxbow Creek Elementary School in Champlin, where she lives with her husband, Micah. The next step for Payeur is looking for a permanent teaching position. After that she says, “I may return to Augsburg to complete a minor in special education or get my reading specialist certification, and eventually I would like to get a master’s degree, but I want to teach in the classroom for a while first.” Whatever she decides to do, even Payeur has to agree that she has plenty of time. Jessica Brown is a communication specialist in the Office of Public Relations and Communication. Abbey Payeur, at 19 years old, is the youngest Augsburg graduate in the Class of 2004. With an elementary education degree, she aims to teach full time and then consider graduate school. Spring/Summer 2004 SHARING A PASSION FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE by Keme Hawkins and Judy Petree Though this group of five social work students came from very different walks in life, together they discovered how their shared passions and compassion for each other helped them succeed. Throughout the past two years in Weekend College, as they faced a variety of challenges and demands on their personal and academic lives, collectively they supported each other to achieve their highest potential as students and successful graduates. Vernona Boswell, Lymoua Mouacheupao, Darin Rowles, Sophia Thompson, Matthew Thornhill, and Geralyn Williams all entered the social work program together, and on May 1 they graduated together. “They discovered that they share the passion for social justice and service to others that is the hallmark of Augsburg College,” said Tony Bibus, associate professor and social work department chair, about the group’s commitment. Three of the students shared their stories. LYMOUA MOUACHEUPAO enrolled at Augsburg after her husband lost his battle with liver cancer and left her to raise four sons. Going back to school was her way to deal with grief. “I needed a sense of meaning in life,” Mouacheupao said, and she appreciated the shared common bond of family responsibility felt in this group. GERALYN WILLIAMS came to Weekend College in 1997 after having gone in and out of college programs at other institutions for 15 years. Not sure what she wanted to do, she left school and worked at an office job, but never let her desire to finish college fade. When she finally started looking at schools Spring/Summer 2004 First row (L to R) Lymoua Mouacheupao, Matthew Thornhill, Second row (L to R) Geralyn Williams, Darin Rowles, Vernona Boswell, Sophia Thompson. again, it was the weekend program that attracted her to Augsburg. DARIN ROWLES began taking courses at Augsburg through the postsecondary program during his senior year in high school. He completed his freshman year at Augsburg until family issues, chemical abuse, and other difficulties forced him to drop out. In the mid-90s he completed an associate degree, but wanted a four-year degree. “Education has always been very important in my life, and returning to Augsburg had deep meaning to me. It was part of my plan to finish where I had started years ago.” Before Rowles resumed his education, he worked in corporate America at jobs with great pay and amazing benefits, Rowles said, but that were less than satisfying. He also worked at an adult foster home for people living with AIDS. “I found this work to be very fulfilling,” he said. “I knew I had the knack for working with people in need and keeping a level head during difficult circumstances. Social work seemed a good blend of these strengths.” The students found that studying in their cohort drew them together in rewarding ways. Initially, Rowles said he was concerned about spending two years with people who would end up sharing much of their lives with each other. He quickly learned this wouldn’t be the case. “Even though our group represented a diverse mix of race, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, employment background, and so on, we formed a very close bond, very quickly. Our diverse backgrounds led to lively, informed debates as we moved through our social work curriculum.” Williams said it was comforting at times going into class knowing this would be there. “I knew them well enough to feel comfortable calling them when I needed help or had questions about class assignments. I really appreciated the relationship I have with them.” Besides sharing help with academics, their mutual support was on a more personal level. Rowles said they listened to each other’s difficulties, and when one person was having an especially rough week, others would step in and be more involved with class discussion to lighten the load. “We let each other vent about the bad times and celebrated the good times,” he explained. “I honestly don’t know how I would have survived the past two years without the support of my classmates.” D.J.M. Edwards, social work undergraduate program assistant, said that weekend students often feel they are on their own, and a support group is a great advantage. “Working in a cohort breaks down barriers over time,” he said. “When ideas can flow without impediments the course material really starts to come to life.” This was an unusual group, he said, and definitely worked together as a unit, “We are so proud to have been partners in their educational journeys,” Bibus added. “The social work profession stands to gain mightily as they embark on their careers. The world will change for the better!” Keme Hawkins is a Weekend College communication major. Judy Petree is media relations manager in the Office of Public Relations and Communication. 33 AAlumni LUMNINews NEWS From the Alumni Board president’s desk… I was honored to speak at Augsburg’s 135th Commencement on Saturday, May 1. More than 600 graduating students participated in the ceremony, and of these, nearly 350 were day students and 152 were Weekend College students. In addition, 33 were Rochester program candidates, and 83 received graduate degrees. These figures are in sharp contrast to those of my own Commencement ceremony 20 years ago when Weekend College had just been launched and the Rochester and graduate programs did not yet exist. Needless to say, the College has evolved in many ways over the past two decades. An Augsburg degree not only indicates that the bearer possesses knowledge, but it also suggests that the bearer has the wisdom to face challenges with confidence, integrity, and honor. In fact, as alumni, we have been blessed by the time spent immersed in the Augsburg community and its ethos—i.e., that we mattered and that with a transforming education we could make a positive difference in the world. We have been given an incredible gift. Indeed, this gift reflects the Christian heritage of Augsburg. In Romans 12, Paul writes, “do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” An Augsburg education does not end with Commencement. Instead, it is the beginning of a journey of continuous renewal. We have been transformed to appreciate that there is joy doing that which one is called to do in service to others. New graduates are now members of the Augsburg Alumni Association. What does it mean to be a member of the Alumni Association? It means staying connected to the College. Check in with us by phone (612-330-1178 or toll free 1-800-260-6590), the Web (www.augsburg.edu/alumni), or via email (alumni@augsburg.edu). Let us know what you are doing. Tell us about jobs, marriages, children, moves, and other achievements. Being an alum also means serving as an ambassador of the College. Without a doubt, many of you are or will be leaders in your communities and people will wonder what makes you shine, and part of that is being an Auggie! Attend events sponsored by the College such as Homecoming and Advent Vespers. Visit former professors. Support the College with financial and service gifts. Finally, keep the College, its students, and its faculty in your prayers. A great mission is being accomplished at Augsburg, of Auggies at the Minnesota State Fair D on’t forget to stop by the Augsburg booth at the Minnesota State Fair Aug. 26–Sept. 6. Located in the Education Building, the booth will feature alumni prize drawings, give-aways, special guests, and more. For schedule information or to volunteer for a four-hour shift at the booth, call Bobbie Chong in Public Relations and Communication at 612-330-1180 or e-mail <chong@augsburg.edu>. 34 Save the date: Annual ice cream social T he annual ice cream social at the Augsburg House will be held Aug. 31. Watch your mailbox for further details, or call Alumni/Parent Relations at 612-330-1178 or e-mail <alumni@augsburg.edu>. Stephen Geffre On behalf of the Augsburg College Alumni Board and Association, I would like to extend heartfelt congratulations to the Class of 2004 on a job well done! which you and I are beneficiaries. The College depends on your support and enthusiasm for this mission. As alumni, these are gifts that we can give back to the school that has given us so much. Again, congratulations to the Class of 2004. Welcome to the Alumni Association and God bless you on the journey you are about to commence! Paul S. Mueller ’84, M.D. President, Alumni Board 2004-2005 Alumni Board meeting schedule A lumni Board meetings for the 20042005 academic year will be held Aug. 17, Nov. 16, Feb. 15, Apr. 19, and June 21. Meetings are open to the public and all alumni are invited to attend. Meetings are located in the Minneapolis Room in Christensen Center at 5:30 p.m. For more information, visit the alumni Web site at <www.augsburg.edu/alumni>, call 612-330-1178, or e-mail <alumni@augsburg.edu>. Spring/Summer 2004 A-Club and AWAC merger unites resources, strengthens fundraising efforts by Rebecca Welle ’05 with contributions by Lynn Mena W hen we hear the word “merger,” we usually associate it with two organizations coming together to achieve a higher goal. This is precisely what the new Augsburg College A-Club is planning to accomplish. As briefly reported in the winter issue of the Augsburg Now, the College’s two alumni athletics organizations—A-Club and the Augsburg Women’s Athletic Club (AWAC)—merged in November. This joint venture provides an even stronger foundation and organization dedicated to supporting the success of Augsburg athletics. The first official meeting of the new AClub was held November 4, and those involved are prepared for the challenge. The Executive Committee of six men and six women has updated the constitution and has also created a critical structure of committees to move the organization forward. These committees address the Athletic Hall of Fame, the annual golf tournament, membership, special events, communications, and finance/fundraising. Augsburg staff liaisons to the A-Club include Jeff Swenson ’79, assistant dean for athletics and recreation, and Heidi Breen, associate director of alumni/ parent relations. Dick “Pork Chops” Thompson ’61, president of the former A-Club, serves as interim chair, and the first A-Club Executive Committee includes: Kathie Erbes ’70 (treasurer), Dustin Froyum ’98, John Harden ’70, Jane Helmke ’83, Mark Hultgren ’82, Dick Kelley ’72 Ron Main ’56, Lisa Nos ’99, Tracy Tomforde ’92, Lisa Trainor ’81, and Tim Wendt ’83. “We are very pleased that this [merger] has taken place and will be even more pleased with the results,” said Thompson. On June 28, the new A-Club successfully hosted its first joint golf tournament—the 41st Annual Clair Strommen A-Club Golf Tournament—at the Pebble Creek course in Becker, Minn. Proceeds from this annual event underwrite various A-Club activities, including the Hall of Fame banquet. Spring/Summer 2004 taken place and are anxious to make a Deep roots and passionate goals positive impact. On the immediate For more than a half-century, the horizon, the new A-Club will be a major Augsburg A-Club has been a vital link for fundraising force for the proposed South the past, present, and future of Auggie Wing expansion of Melby Hall. The athletics. The original A-Club for athletic project is an important and necessary step letter winners was started in 1937 by four in upgrading facilities for all students, of Augsburg’s top student athletes—Ken staff, physical education majors, and Schmit ’38, Jerry Person ’39, Hoyt intercollegiate athletes. Messerer ’39, and faculty adviser Dick “This merger will combine all alumni Pautz ’37. The club is one of the oldest of Augsburg’s 18 sports into a single athletic alumni organizations in the state. advocate, dedicated to the successful Over the years the A-Club has kept tradition of excellence in education, close ties with the College and its athletes recreation, and athletics at Augsburg,” through social, athletic, and fundraising said Swenson. events. The A-Club was instrumental in As a volunteer membership raising money for numerous major organization, the A-Club is dependent on athletic facility improvements, such as the the support and active participation of all Edor Nelson athletic field, the Melby Hall athletic alumni to make it a success. If fitness center and renovation project, the you'd like more information about how annual Hall of Fame dinner and program, you can help Augsburg’s A-Club, contact the Hall of Fame display in the Melby Hall Merry Ross at 612-330-1245 or lobby, locker room improvements, and <rossm@augsburg.edu>, or contact many other projects totaling more than Jeff Swenson at 612-330-1241 or $4 million in value. <swensonj@augsburg.edu>. AWAC was started as an alumni group in 1983 by Helmke to provide female athletes with the same opportunity to stay connected to Augsburg athletics. In 1989, AWAC honored the first women inductees in the Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame. “This new joint venture is truly the best future for both organizations,” said Helmke. “It unites all resources, talent, and passion into a single cause directed at supporting the success of Augsburg athletics.” Augsburg’s two alumni athletics organizations, A-Club and AWAC, merged in November 2003. Above, Bob Strommen ’74 (center) Thompson, addresses the audience with President Frame and his mother, Helmke, and all Gladys (Boxrud) Strommen ’46, by his side during the Clair members involved said Strommen A-Club Golf Tournament dinner in June 2003. The tournament, the largest yearly fundraiser for the A-Club, was they are excited this renamed in honor of his father, Clair Strommen ’46, in 2002. merger has finally 35 CLASS NOTES Class Notes Gloria (Greguson) Johnson, Minneapolis, left the Golden Valley City Council after 27 years of service. She will continue to work as a substitute teacher in Robbinsdale District 281 schools, as well as to serve on the Golden Valley Foundation, Envision steering and youth committees, and sing in the church choir. 1950 Phebe (Dale) Hanson, St. Paul, published a new book, Why Still Dance: 75 years: 75 poems. Hanson recently read from her book at Kieran’s Irish Pub in Minneapolis after it was chosen by The Rake magazine’s Happy Hour Book Club as a “selection of the month.” 1953 Quentin Goodrich, Port Ludlow, Wash., was elected vice president of the Washington State School Directors Association, an organization of almost 1,500 school directors in Washington. He served on his local school board for over 16 years and has been re-elected for another four-year term. Quentin is also chairman of the School Trust Lands Task Force for his state association. 1956 Richard Thorud, Bloomington, Minn., retired after 34 years with the Toro Company. He was senior principal research engineer and holds 52 patents. 1957 Lois (Kolden) Larson lives with her husband, Donald, in Seaside, Ore., a small tourist town on the northern Oregon coast where Donald is mayor. 36 The Larsons can be contacted at <larsondonlo@harborside.com>. 1958 Doris (Johnson) Deml, St. Cloud, Minn., received the Ray Johnson Distinguished Service in Senior Housing Award, given annually through the Minnesota Health and Housing Alliance to one recipient in Minnesota. Doris is director of operations at Clearwater Suites, an assistedliving facility in Alexandria, Minn. 1966 Judith Engle Christenson Kerr, Cornucopia, Wis., graduated from Luther Seminary with a Master of Arts in Doctrine and Theology in May 2003. She is pursuing her M.S./Ph.D. in distance learning from Capella University. She can be contacted at <jkcorny@yahoo.com>. Daryl Kosloske, Winston-Salem, N.C., is president and CEO of Behavioral Health Resources, Inc. (BHR), which manages health and substance abuse benefits for health plans and self-insured employers in North Carolina. Daryl was previously vice president of behavioral health services for NovantHealth. He received his M.S.W. from the University of Denver. His wife, Hilary, is a stockbroker and the couple has two daughters, ages 11 and 16. ordained in March 2000. He continues to coach volleyball at Grand Meadow High School, and was inducted into the Minnesota Volleyball Coaches’ Hall of Fame in November. 1968 Jan Pedersen Schiff, Mill Valley, Calif., received the Milley Award for creative achievement in the arts, presented by the Mill Valley Art Commission. She is the artistic director and founder of Singers Marin, a non-profit organization of choruses for youth and adults. Wayne Hansen, Cheyenne, Wyo., is director of the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum and the Cheyenne Depot Museum. His wife, Lois B. Hansen ’69, is a quilter and artist and also sings with the Capital Chorale in Cheyenne. The couple recently celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary. 1971 Bessie Hughes, Minneapolis, was included in an article in the winter 2003-04 issue of Minnesota History magazine that featured her husband, Solomon Hughes, who before his death in 1987 was a top Minneapolis-based golf professional. The article investigated his 1948 battle with the then “white-only” PGA when he attempted to enter the St. Paul Open tournament. 1973 William Payne, Mendota Heights, Minn., was named an assistant professor in Metropolitan State University’s College of Professional Studies, where he coordinates the alcohol and drug counseling major and teaches undergraduate courses in alcohol and drug counseling, chemical dependency counseling, and dual disorders. William came to Metropolitan State University in 2000; he previously taught in the INTERNATIONAL ALUMNI Courtesy photo 1948 1967 Rev. Ron Prigge, Racine, Minn., is a pastor at the dual parishes of Immanuel (Racine, Minn.) and St. John’s (Sargeant, Minn.) Lutheran churches. After teaching and coaching (football, wrestling, and volleyball) for 30 years, he enrolled at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Mo., and was Nohn Rebecca Kidau ’88 currently resides in Monrovia, Liberia, where she assists the deputy minister for special projects at the Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs. Spring/Summer 2004 ALUMNI PROFILE by Rebecca Welle ’05 When the Rev. Dr. Ben H. Coltvet ’66 toured with the Augsburg Choir to Berlin in 1965, little did he know that he would eventually return to Berlin as a pastor at the American Church in Berlin (ACB). Courtesy photo Rev. Dr. Ben H. Coltvet ’66: Pastoral call leads to Berlin Coltvet is currently serving as pastor of the ACB, where he and his wife, Margit, reside. He and Margit found their way to Berlin through the Division for Global Mission (DGM) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA). “It was in the interview process and selection process for working with DGM that a call was extended to us to serve in Berlin,” said Coltvet. The ACB is an independent church that has close relationships with the ELCA, the American Foreign Christian Union (AFCU), the Association of International Churches in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Evangelische Kirche in Berlin-Brandenburg. Coltvet graduated from Augsburg with a B.A. in biology and a minor in political science. “I was going to be a funeral director,” Coltvet said, but “instead ended up going to the Luther Theological Seminary in St. Paul.” Courtesy photo At Luther, Coltvet received a Master of Divinity degree and then went on to attain a Certificate of Supervised Training in Marriage and Family Therapy from the University of Pennsylvania. Later, he received a Doctor of Ministry degree from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Philadelphia in Marriage and Family Care. During his time at Augsburg, Coltvet served as president of the Augsburg Choir, president The Rev. Dr. Ben Coltvet ’66 and his wife, of Student Christian Fellowship, and Margit, reside in Berlin, Germany, where was involved in Men’s Senate. It was at Coltvet serves as pastor of the American Augsburg that Coltvet met Margit. Church in Berlin. After two years at Augsburg, Margit transferred to Cornell University for a degree in nursing, and in 1968 they were married. The members of the ACB come from more than 15 Christian denominations and more than 30 different nations. They are united by three commonalities, which include their Christian faith, the English language, and the spirit of tolerance that appreciates and rejoices in the difference. The congregation consists of nearly 280 attending members with an average Sunday attendance of 175 worshippers. Their congregation has been welcoming worshippers to Berlin since the mid-1880s and has ministered to an estimated 1,250 members and countless visitors seeking a spiritual home in the past 25 years. The location of the ACB holds great significance, Coltvet said, not only because of the city it is in, but also because of the building itself. The importance of the city of Berlin has to do with its “unique physical location, its historically symbolic importance, and its current political importance,” Coltvet said. Because of this, “ACB recognizes a compelling need to play a Christian role in building bridges across diversity in the city.” Coltvet and his wife enjoy living in Berlin and have an avid interest in traveling, as they have ventured to Romania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Kenya, Cameroon, Tanzania, England, Hungary, Austria, and Italy all in the last few years—much of this travel being work related. The Coltvets have five grown children and four grandchildren who are scattered throughout North America. Their youngest daughter attends graduate school at the Cleveland Institute of Music in Cleveland, Ohio, for violin performance. The American Church in Berlin, where the Rev. Dr. Coltvet ’66 serves. Spring/Summer 2004 This October, the Alumni Association tour to Germany and Eastern Europe will feature a special worship service with Coltvet at the ACB. 37 Class Notes Phil Lundin, Apple Valley, Minn., was named the 2003 National Coach of the Year by the U.S. Track Coaches Association. Phil, who is the men’s track and field coach at the University of Minnesota, is the first Minnesota men’s or women’s track coach to earn the national honor. He has been the head coach of the Golden Gophers’ men’s track and field team since 1996. He also earned Big Ten Coach of the Year and the USTCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year honors. He and his wife, Sue, have two children: Dann, 22, and Teresa, 15. Stephen Geffre Stephen Geffre 1974 LUTHERAN FREE CHURCH REUNION AND CELEBRATION Stephen Geffre addiction counseling and human services programs at Minneapolis Community and Technical College. 1975 Patricia (Phelps) Georg, Hopkins, Minn., received both the Minnesota Teacher of the Year Award from the Air Force Association and the R.W. Rawlings Teacher of the Year Award for 2003. 1976 Chris Jensen, St. Paul, is a teacher at Mounds Park Academy, where he has worked for 20 years. From 1994-96 he and his wife, Barbara, a children’s book author and illustrator, traveled to Lima, Peru, to teach at an international school. He receives periodic leaves for education and travel abroad, the two most recent being a trip to Tanzania to accompany elephant DNA researchers, as well as a vacation with his wife’s South African family to Botswana. In addition to teaching and traveling, he continues to enjoy playing and coaching soccer Rev. Dr. Norman W. Wahl, Rochester, Minn., celebrated the 38 A festive celebration of the tradition and heritage of the Lutheran Free Church was held June 12. Alumni and friends gathered at Augsburg for a special day of worship, “singspiration,” testimonials, lectures, dining, and conversation. 25th anniversary of his ordination in June. He is the executive pastor at Bethel Lutheran Church in Rochester, and is married to Kathryn (Anderson) ’76. 1977 Pamela Carlson and her husband, Phil Heide ’58, recently returned from spending a year working and living in Oslo, Norway, where Pamela was cantor, organist, and choir director at Holmen menighet (congregation) in Nesbru, Norway. Holmen is part of the Lutheran Church of Norway. Their 10-year-old daughter, Selena, attended fourth grade in a Norwegian school. Bruce Cunningham, Maplewood, Minn., was elected president of the Minnesota Osteopathic Medical Society for 2004-2006. Bruce is a family physician at MinnHealthWoodbury and serves on the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners and the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation. He and his wife, Pam, have four children ranging in age from 11 to 18. Heidi (Leaf) Haagenson, New London, Minn., completed her master’s degree thesis at St. Cloud State University, titled: “The Nonlinear Nature of Jamaican Women’s Writing: Louise Bennett,” and dedicated this work to the children at Sunbeam Boys Home, near Spanishtown, Jamaica, where Heidi has traveled many times since 1995. While in Jamaica, Heidi is involved in work projects at the Sunbeam Boys Spring/Summer 2004 Jacqueline Knight, Minneapolis, was featured in the Minneapolis Star Tribune for her work as writer and director of Youth Performance Company’s production, Freedom Riders, recently performed at the Howard Conn Fine Arts Center in Minneapolis. Jonathan Moren, Eden Prairie, Minn., has been a dentist with the Boynton Health Service at the University of Minnesota for over 20 years. In addition, he is co-owner of a private dental office in Edina, named Pentagon Dental Group, Ltd. He is the official team dentist of the Minnesota Twins baseball team. Jonathan was recently chosen as president-elect of the Minneapolis Dental Society. He will take over the presidency for a one-year term in April 2005. He is married to Bonnie (Lamon) ’78, an adapted physical education teacher for Bloomington Schools. 1980 Brett Batterson, Gross Pointe, Mich., was named executive director of the University of Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre. Brett was previously chief operating officer of Detroit’s Michigan Opera Theatre, and also served as manager of the Detroit Opera House. Judith Driscoll, Maplewood, Minn., received a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy from the University of Wisconsin-Stout in May. She can be contacted at <driscoll.j@juno.com>. Carolyn (Johnson) Spargo, Chaska, Minn., was named to the “Who’s Who in America” 20032004 directory. Spring/Summer 2004 Bob Wick, St. Louis Park, Minn., received the “Building Responsible Youth” award from the Minnetonka Rotary Club for his work in youth ministry. He has been an integral part of shaping youth ministry on the junior high and senior high levels. His involvement with mission trips, youth retreats, and mentoring youth in confirmation and beyond has connected him with many of the youth at a critical time in their lives. ALUMNI IN THE MILITARY Courtesy photo 1978 1981 1982 Wendy (Fiscus) Dybdal, Mendota Heights, Minn., completed her master’s degree in organizational management from the University of Phoenix in 2002. She works in management at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, and has two children—Kyle and Kira—with her husband, Kevin. 1987 Sharon A. Romano, Minneapolis, is enrollment and student services assistant director and liaison for American Indian students at Metropolitan State University. She previously served as staff assistant at the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council as well as multicultural affairs director at Anoka-Ramsey Community College. Samantha Michele Kronschnabel ’03 graduated as a combat engineer platoon commander from Marine Corps infantry school in Quantico, Va., in March. She reported to Camp Lejuene, N.C., for duty and welcomes correspondence via e-mail at <kronsch5@hotmail.com>. CHAMBER MUSIC RECITAL & HIGH TEA Staff photo Home and enjoys spending time with the boys. She received an American Association of University Women Career Development Grant in 2001. 1988 Eric Sime, Rochester, Minn., received the National Service Provider of the Year Award from the National Association of Career and Technical Educators at their annual national convention in Orlando, Fla., in December. He was named a Minnesota state award recipient in February 2003, making him eligible for the national award. Eric is the special needs advisor/ADA coordinator for Rochester Community and Technical College. Music scholarship donors and recipients gathered April 21 for the annual Chamber Music Recital & High Tea, an event that allows donors to attend a performance by the recipients of their scholarships as well as to enjoy tea and hors d’oeuvres with the students following the recital. Pictured above, Borghild Gisselquist (left) and senior Emily Forsberg (right) are served by Ned Kantar, assistant professor of music (center). 39 Class Notes 1991 Patricia (Noren) Enderson, Elk River, Minn., is senior marketing communications specialist at Kern, DeWenter, Viere, a CPA and business advisory firm located in Minneapolis and St. Cloud. Carolyn Pool, Minneapolis, starred in Mercy of a Storm at Florida Stage in Manalapan, Fla. The production was written by Twin Cities’ playwright Jeffrey Hatcher and directed by Guthrie dramaturg Michael Bigelow Dixon and featured a Twin Cities’ cast. The theatre critic for Florida’s Sun-Sentinel wrote that Carolyn’s performance was “comic but with an edge, making the play sparkle like shattered glass.” Darbi Worley, New York, was cast in the Bat Company at the Flea Theater in New York City, a resident company at The Flea. Each year over 1,000 actors audition for a spot in the 30-person company. She performed in the play Design Your Kitchen, April 14 through May 22. She also filmed scenes for the new Glenn Close movie, Heights, and an episode of HBO’s The Sopranos. Her Web site is <darbiworley.com>. 1992 Heather Johnston was named Minneapolis budget director for the Minnesota Department of Finance. She spent three years at the federal Office of Management and Budget in Washington, D.C. David L. Murr of Boston University, now at Dartmouth College, was awarded the 2004 Scarf Award, given to one person, worldwide, each year for an outstanding Ph.D. thesis in the field of space science. In his dissertation, “Magnetosphereionosphere coupling on mesoand macros-scales,” he uses both data analysis and MHD simulations to comprehensively address the physical processes of two magnetospheric-ionspheric coupling phenomena: traveling convection vortices and the response of the global magnetosphere-ionosphere convection pattern to the Staff photo Staff photo AUGSBURG CONCERT BAND 2004 TOUR changes in the interplanetary magnetic field. David will present an invited talk on the subject of his thesis at the 2004 fall AGU meeting in San Francisco. Lisa (Barber) Zahn, Richmond, Minn., opened a yarn shop called The Itty Bitty Knit Shop, Ltd., in Richmond. She and her husband, an elementary music and band teacher for the St. Cloud public school district, have a son, Elijah, in first grade, and a daughter, Rose, a preschooler. 1995 Daniel R. Werner, St. Paul, is a mortgage broker/loan officer with Regents Mortgage. He can be contacted at <DWerner@ regentsmortgage.com>. Jon Olsen, Minneapolis, is an electronic solutions coordinator at ProGroup, a diversity and management consulting firm. Jon and his wife, Leann (Freeberg) ’96, have a daughter, Eleanor, 1. Jane Jeong Trenka’s book The Language of Blood: A Memoir was named Best Book by a Local Author by City Pages. The book was also cited by the Minnesota Humanities Commission for a “New Voice” commendation, received the Minnesota Book Award for “Autobiography/ Memoir,” and was a Barnes & Noble Great New Writers selection. The Augsburg Concert Band toured the Midwest May 2–8, stopping in Sebeka, Minn.; Rugby, N.Dak.; Glendive, Mont.; The Black Hills, S.Dak.; and Chamberlain, S.Dak. Pictured above is alumnus Dave Kerkvliet ’95 (left), Sebeka High School band director, standing with Robert Stacke ’71 (right), Augsburg Concert Band director, in front of Kerkvliet’s high school band. The Augsburg and Sebeka bands performed a joint concert for the entire (K-12) Sebeka school on May 3. Pictured at right is junior Molly Erickson (left) and senior Sara Lahr (right) posing in front of Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. 40 1996 Tracy Mazion Smith, Inver Grove Heights, Minn., graduated from the University of Maryland in May with a Master of Science in Health Care Administration. She is the coordinator of the donor egg program at the Center for Reproductive Medicine. She lives with her husband, Drew, and children (Thea Ose and Aidan Smith) in Inver Grove Heights, Minn. Spring/Summer 2004 Courtesy photo ALUMNI AMBASSADORS The deployment included training and real-world operations in Iraq and Liberia. 2000 Lewis Nelson is enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he studied Korean at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, Calif., for 63 weeks and received an associate’s in Korean. He was then assigned to the 101st Airborne Division’s 311th Military Intelligence Battalion, stationed in Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. He married Holly Ann Downs in 2003 and the couple has a son, Benjamin Lewis, born in December. Lewis is currently in Mosul, Iraq. Sharon (Hendrickson) Gronberg ’67 of Austin, Texas, represented both Augsburg and Texas Lutheran University in March at a Lutheran college fair in Austin. In May, she and her husband, the Rev. Karl Gronberg, returned to Augsburg to attend Commencement and celebrate the graduation of their daughter, Rhia Gronberg ’04, who received her B.A. in international relations and political science. 1997 Renee Blue, Andover, Minn., was named an outstanding teacher by the Anoka-Hennepin School District where she teaches kindergarten at Rum River Elementary School. Renee has been a part of the AnokaHennepin School District for 14 years, including the last three at Rum River. She is part of the Staff Development Committee and the Rum River Family and Teacher Association. Allison Corwin, Salem, Ore., is director of the McKay High School theatre program and teaches theatre and English in the Salem-Keiser School District. Ryan Goetz, Crystal, Minn., became a franchisee of Handyman Connection (www.handymanconnection. com) in March, providing home improvement and repair in the Twin Cities metro area. Andrew Small, Richfield, Minn., was recognized by Minnesota Lawyer magazine as Spring/Summer 2004 one of 15 “up-and-coming” attorneys of 2004. The honorees were selected by the editors from nominations made by bar associations, law schools, judges, lawyers, and other members of the legal community. Andrew works for the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office. 1998 Natalie K. Abbott, Champlain, Minn., received a juris doctor degree from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul in January. Ted Schultz, Cannon Falls, Minn., was named athletic director for the Bloomington School District. Previously, he served as activities director and football coach at Cannon Falls. Jason M. Wardlow, a Marine Corps captain, returned from an eight-month deployment onboard the USS Iwo Jima, while assigned to the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit based in Camp Lejeune, N.C. Anne Marie de Jong, Bloomington, Minn., was quoted in the Minneapolis Star Tribune after attending a fundraising speech by Vice President Dick Cheney in February. 2003 Matthew Groth, Eagan, Minn., appeared as a contestant on NBC’s Fear Factor in April. Andrew Quandt recently graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Recruit Training Center in Cape May, N.J. Marga Chiri was accepted to graduate school at Purdue University, Ind., to pursue a Ph.D. in computer science. Marga received the GAANN Fellowship and credits his graduate school accomplishment to the McNair Program. 2004 Brian Timm, Minneapolis, was accepted into Luther Seminary and will begin his studies this fall. Weddings Amy S. Ellingrod ’95 married Mark Swain in April. The couple resides in Valencia, Calif. Darlene Mueller ’96 married Matthew Finnerty in March. The couple resides in Tampa, Fla. Jennifer Kettering ’96 married Corey Doerfler in September. Jennifer is a senior project analyst for Qwest. The couple resides in Roseville, Minn. Nicole Warner ’01 married Marc Simml (international student, spring semester, 1999) in June 2003 in Hoversten Chapel. The couple resides in Lippstadt, Germany. Births/Adoptions Bonnie Gutknecht Miller ’91 and her husband, Thurston, Granger, Ind.—a son, Koert Donart, in April. He joins sister Salinda, 2. Bonnie can be contacted at <leaflaker@mail.com>. Heather Johnston ’92 and Dr. Jason Koch ’93, Rochester, Minn.— a son, Simon Koch, in October. Shannon (Schultz) Van Buskirk ’93 and her husband, Renner, S.Dak.—a son, Jacob, in March 2003. Shannon works for Pfizer, Inc., and is pursuing her MBA at the University of Sioux Falls. Dana (Ryding) ’93 and Jeff Martin—a son, Noah Jeffrey, in February. Jessica (Ferrell) ’93 and Brad Zenner ’92, Minneapolis— adopted a daughter, Lily Jin, in October; Lily was born in Hunan, China, in December 2002. Jessica is a business analyst for Marshall Field’s Travel Service and can be contacted at <jessicazenner@ hotmail.com>. Brad works at Fallon. 41 Class Notes Lynnel (Wakefield) ’96 and Ian Taylor, Inver Grove Heights, Minn.—twin sons, Jacob Bruce and Joseph Brian, in November. Lynnel is a business analyst for Express Scripts and can be contacted at <mntaylors@usfamily.net>. Brooke (Manisto) ’96 and Erik Reseland ’98, St. Anthony, Minn.—a daughter, Elsa Leigh, in November. Anne Lalla ’96 and Todd Johnson, Shoreview, Minn.— a son, Evan Edward Johnson, in September 2002. Jessica (Barker) ’97 and Paul Johnson, Minneapolis— a daughter, Lily Grace, in July 2003. Jessica is a business analyst for Target Corporation, and can be contacted at <PaulJessMax@msn.com>. Jennifer (Crego) ’00 and Chad Carls ’00, St. Michael, Minn.— a son, Andrew Joseph, in Send us your news and photos! Please tell us about the news in your life, your new job, move, marriage, and births. Don’t forget to send photos! For news of a death, printed notice is required, e.g. an obituary, funeral notice, or program from a memorial service. Send your news items, photos, or change of address by mail to: Augsburg Now Class Notes, Augsburg College, CB 146, 2211 Riverside Ave., Minneapolis, MN, 55454, or e-mail to <alumni@augsburg.edu>. October. He joins brother Tommy, 2. Chad teaches chemistry at Champlin Park High School. Mia Carol (Kordovsky) ’00 and Dr. James Stafford, Bismarck, N.Dak.—a daughter, Madeline Grace, in February. She joins sister Ellie, 3. Mia can be contacted at <miajim98@hotmail.com>. Nathan Kyle Dorenkamp ’00 and his wife, Mary, Farmington, Minn.—a son, Dominic James, in March. He joins siblings Michael, 5, and Adrienne, 2. Nathan is a software tester at Thomson West. Chad Trench ’02 and his wife, Ann, Minneapolis—a son, Ted Thomas, in October. Elisa Titus ’02 MAL and her husband, Matt—a daughter, Abigail Clara. ALUMNI BENEFITS As a member of the Augsburg College Alumni Association, you are a very important part of the College community and are welcome to receive various benefits and forms of communication: • The award-winning College and alumni magazine, Augsburg Now • The Alumni/Parent Relations Web site, www.augsburg.edu/alumni • College updates and news of your classmates from your class agent • Invitations to Homecoming, reunions, and other special events hosted on campus and in your communities • Access to the fitness center (w/picture ID) and Lindell Library (a one-time fee will be assessed to check out materials) • Access to career services resources • Alumni tuition discount • Legacy Scholarship for qualified family members attending the day school program • The opportunity to attend all regular season home athletic events free of charge • The opportunity to volunteer on leadership boards and committees • The opportunity to register for alumni tours around the world Please contact the Office of Alumni/Parent Relations for more information on your alumni benefits, and let us know how you would like to be involved. We welcome your participation, ideas, and feedback and look forward to staying in touch with you. 612-330-1178 • 1-800-260-6590 • alumni@augsburg.edu __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Full name Maiden name Class year or last year attended __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Street address __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ City State Zip Is this a new address? ■ Yes ■ No ________________________________________________________________________________ Home telephone E-mail ■ Okay to publish your e-mail address? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Employer Position Work telephone Is spouse also a graduate of Augsburg College? ■ Yes ■ No If yes, class year_______________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Spouse name Maiden name Your news: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 42 Spring/Summer 2004 In Memoriam Elsie (Lokken) Lower ’30, Minneapolis, died in February; she was 96. She taught English and social studies for many years at Phillips Junior High School in Minneapolis. A member of the Augsburg Associates, she enjoyed a lifetime of contact with Augsburg, and counted many Auggies among her closest longtime friends. She and her husband, Kenneth ’28, were among the first residents of Augustana Apartments in Minneapolis, where she became an active volunteer. At the time of her death, she had lived in the apartments longer than any other resident. She is survived by two daughters, Carolyn Bliss ’56 and Mary Farmer ’63; five grandchildren; and three greatgrandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband. Elmer A. Hendrickson ’31, San Diego, Calif., died in May 2003. He was a retired teacher. He is survived by his wife, Marie, and two daughters. Olive (Casperson) Nelson ’38, Burnsville, Minn., died in October; she was 87. Her passion in life was caring for her husband and her children; she loved to travel, entertain, and sew. She is survived by four children, 11 grandchildren, and four greatgrandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Lloyd. Harold Schwartz ’49, Richfield, Minn., died in October; he was 81. He served in the Army Air Force in both WWII and the Korean War. As a civilian, he worked for the U.S. Postal Service for 26 years until his retirement in 1982. Throughout his later years his Christian faith and his Jewish roots became increasingly important to him. He was a member of Ebenezer Lutheran Brethren Church and an enthusiastic supporter of Lutheran Brethren World Missions and Jewish Christian organizations. He will perhaps be most remembered for his special ministry of encouragement to missionaries, Spring/Summer 2004 pastors, church staff, and friends from different places. During his life he sent out thousands of cards and letters letting people know he was praying for them and appreciated them and their work. He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Carol; a daughter, Linda; and two grandsons. Rev. Lyle H. Shaw ’50, Covenant Village, Westminster, Colo., died in August 2003; he was 80. He was a member of the Army Air Corps during WWII, earning several service awards including the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star, the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Armed Forces Reserve Medal. He served First Lutheran Church in Sioux Rapids, Iowa, for four years, and was then persuaded to join the military chaplaincy. He was stationed in seven states and in both Germany and Vietnam, retiring in 1974 after 20 years of service and having achieved the rank of colonel. He continued his role as chaplain at the VA Hospital in Fort Snelling, working full time and then part time until 1994. He and his wife moved to Covenant Village in Westminster in 2001, where he continued to minister to confined residents with his harmonica and favorite hymns. He is survived by his wife, Delphine; three children; and four grandchildren. Arthur Kuross ’51, Mendota Heights, Minn., died in April; he was 76. He was a retired manager with J.C.Penney Company, and a past president of Augsburg’s A-Club. He is survived by his wife, Val; two daughters, Kathleen ’85 and Nancy; three sons, Steven ’76, Paul, and Peter; and seven grandchildren. Jean C. (Anderson) Peterson ’51, Eagan, Minn., died in February; she was 78. She was a speech pathologist at Kenny Institute and VA Hospital. She is survived by her husband, Warren, and her son, Jon. Else “BJ” Bjornstad ’58, Minneapolis, died in February. She was a research editor for Together magazine (a Methodist publication) as well as a teacher. For more than 25 years, she worked for the U.S. government in the Department of Social Security—first in the regional office in Chicago, then in the Final Appeals Division in Washington, D.C. She also served in the Marines during WWII and continued in the Reserves until 1959, retiring as a major. She is survived by her sister, Elizabeth ’43; four nephews; and three nieces. Erwin W. “Chris” Christensen ’58, Hastings, Minn., died in December; he was 67. He taught middle school science in Hastings from 1970 to 1995 before retiring. He also taught in Rushford, Minn., and Reedsburg, Wis. He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Mary Lou (Baker) ’61; two children; and six grandchildren. Donald W. Elfstrum ’59, Verndale, Minn., died in July 2003; he was 66. He worked at the Ford Motor Company assembly plant in St. Paul, retiring in 1987 after 30 years. He is survived by his wife, Claudia; two sons; and three grandsons. Frank D. Hawks ’59, Cannon Falls, Minn., died in December; he was 71. An Army veteran, he taught and coached in Cannon Falls for 32 years. He was inducted into the Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994. He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Jean; and two children, Lee ’85 and Susan. Rev. Dr. Richard L. Husfloen ’60 died unexpectedly in September of a heart attack in Phoenix, Ariz., three days before he was scheduled to undergo back surgery at the Mayo Clinic. He had retired July 1 from Augustana University College in Camrose, Alberta, Canada, where he had served as president since 1996. During his tenure he and his administration eliminated salary rollbacks, balanced the budget, and increased enrollment. Husfloen’s background was rich and varied—he held a career in the airline industry, served as an administrative assistant to synod bishops in the ALC for 15 years, and also served as a development director at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia and Waterloo Lutheran Seminary. In addition, he served as an assistant professor of sociology at Augsburg and as a visiting lecturer on church and society at Wartburg Theological Seminary in Iowa. He leaves behind a host of friends, across the continent and around the world, who join his brother, Jim ’54, in mourning his passing. Susan Lowe ’74, Denver, Colo., died in August 2003; she was 51. She is survived by her mother, stepfather, and five siblings. Thomas Wyatt ’94, Brainerd, Minn., died in March from a car accident; he was 33. He was a respected member of the law enforcement community. He is survived by his wife, Chanttel; a daughter, Brienna; and a son, Kyle. Sonja Eylandt, St. Paul, died in April; she was 86. Born in Saaremaa, Estonia, her country was invaded by Russia during WWII. She lived in a displacedpersons camp for approximately three years, and in 1951 immigrated to the United States with her mother and her son; her husband died on the operating table during the war. She was driven by an uncommon work ethic, determined to take care of her mother and son. In addition to working for Gould Incorporated for more than 30 years, she also worked in the “Chin Wag” (now Murphy Grill) at Augsburg for nearly 40 years. She held positions with other companies as well, such as Goodwill Easter Seals and Cub Foods. She is survived by a son, five children, and six greatgrandchildren. 43 SPARK YOUR SPIRIT October 2–9 Saturday, October 2 Friday, October 8 Men’s Soccer Alumni Game Heritage Society Breakfast 5 p.m.—Edor Nelson Athletic Field 8:30 a.m.—Christensen Center Monday, October 4 Class of 1954 Reunion Breakfast “Spark the Campus with Spirit Trivia Contest” begins 7 p.m.—Christensen Center Tuesday, October 5 9 a.m.—Arnold Atrium, Foss Center Homecoming Chapel 10 a.m.—Hoversten Chapel Class of 1954 Luncheon “Keeping Your Spirit Healthy” Annual College Health Fair 11:30 a.m.—Arnold Atrium, Foss Center 11:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m.—Quad Campus Tour Third Annual Powder Puff game* 7 p.m.—Edor-Nelson Athletic Field Wednesday, October 6 2 p.m.—Gather in Foss Center Women’s Soccer vs. Gustavus Adolphus College 5 p.m.—Edor Nelson Athletic Field Augsburg Associates Annual Fall Luncheon Town & Country Club, St. Paul 10 a.m.—Craft Sale 11:40 a.m.—Annual Business Meeting Noon—Luncheon/Program International Student Alumni Reception 4:30–6 p.m.—Minneapolis Room, Christensen Center Augsburg Ethnic Programs Celebration 5:30–6:45 p.m.—Christensen Center Scholastic Connections Social & Dinner Featuring an auction of signed limited edition prints by Minneapolis artist Kenneth Caldwell to benefit the Scholastic Connections scholarship fund 7–8:30 p.m.—Christensen Center Volleyball vs. Hamline University 7:30 p.m.—Si Melby Gymnasium Auggie Variety Show* 7 p.m.—Foss Center Men’s Soccer vs. Gustavus Adolphus College 7:30 p.m.—Edor Nelson Athletic Field Volleyball vs. North Central (Minn.) 7:30 p.m.—Si Melby Gymnasium Faculty Violin Recital 5:30–8:30 p.m.—Christensen Center Big Screen Movie* 9 p.m.—Si Melby Gymnasium Annual Picnic in the Park/Wrestling Reunion and Party 11 a.m.—Murphy Park Campus Tour 11 a.m.—Gather in Christensen Center Volleyball Alumnae Match 11 a.m.—Si Melby Gymnasium Class of 1994 Tailgating Reunion 11:30 a.m.—Class of 1994 tent, across from Murphy Park between Urness & Christensen Music Therapy 30th Anniversary Lunch & Workshop Noon—Riverside Room, Christensen Center 7:30 p.m.—Sateren Auditorium Master of Arts in Leadership (MAL) Alumni Gathering Saturday, October 9 Noon—Minneapolis Room, Christensen Center Science Alumni Gathering 9:30–11:30 a.m.—Marshall Room, Christensen Center Football Game vs. Gustavus Adolphus College 1 p.m.—Edor Nelson Athletic Field Annual Social Work Alum Network (SWAN) Brunch 10 a.m.—Augsburg Room, Christensen Center Thursday, October 7 Athletic Hall of Fame Reception & Dinner Original art by Kenneth Caldwell HHomecoming OMECOMING 2004 First Decade/Wrestling Post-Game Party Upstairs at Grandma’s after the game English Dept. Alumni Reunion Nursing Alumni Association Brunch 4–5 p.m.—Lindell Library, Room 301 10 a.m.—Century Room, Christensen Center Homecoming Dinner & Reunion Parties Stephen “Gabe” Gabrielson ’63 Organ Recital 5:30 p.m., Dinner—Christensen Center 7:30 p.m., Reunion Parties (1954, 1964, & 1979)—Locations TBA 10:30 a.m.—Hoversten Chapel This is a preliminary calendar and is subject to change; please watch for your full Homecoming event brochure—due in mailboxes later this summer. * Denotes student activities 2211 Riverside Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55454 Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Minneapolis, MN Permit No. 2031 Vision 2004 BY SUE KLASEUS,VICE PRESIDENT OF INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS Although we’ve called these past four years the “quiet phase” of the campaign, it has certainly been an active and exciting time for all of us here at Augsburg College. It’s been a productive time, too, as we’ve raised nearly 30 million of our $55 million campaign goal during this time. In April, we went public with Access to Excellence: The Campaign for Augsburg College and we’ve stepped up our activity manyfold. Already we’ve enjoyed many successes. The impact of this campaign will be felt by thousands of students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents, and most importantly, by our community for decades to come. The effects of our campaign go well beyond our borders as we prepare students to make a difference in many areas critical to the world’s future. We’re drawing top-notch students and faculty; and we’re providing them with the best Vision is published by: Augsburg College Editor Lynn James Photographer Stephen Geffre Graphic Designer Kathy Rumpza Contributing Writers Kristin Anderson Leif Anderson Dave Benson Lynn James Sue Klaseus Betsey Norgard Alice Pepin Nancy Steblay www.augsburg.edu/campaign 2 facilities in which to teach and learn. Our campaign will have a lasting, positive impact on our ability to provide a quality education to a greater number of students now and well into the future. We’re fortunate to have already received many wonderful campaign gifts. We wish to thank all of our donors for their contributions, regardless of the size of their gifts. We’ve been blessed by receipt of six, seven-figure gifts and seventy, $100,000+ leadership gifts to be used in various areas of the campaign. These 70 gifts range from, $100,000 to $999,999. Look for more information on some of these gifts elsewhere in this insert. These donors and many others believe in Augsburg’s long tradition of service to the community and have demonstrated this belief with their generous donations and involvement. However, to accomplish a campaign like Access to Excellence: The Campaign for Augsburg College, we have to enter an entirely new realm of philanthropic giving. Our alumni giving must increase to be competitive with other private colleges. Our endowment must grow to AUGSBURG CAMPAIGN LEADERSHIP GIFTS KINNEY JOHNSON ’65 $1 million for the new Science Center (lifetime giving in excess of $2 million) ALAN RICE $1 million for Si Melby Hall expansion JEAN TAYLOR ’85 and ROGER GRIFFITH ’84 and THE GLEN A.TAYLOR FOUNDATION $1.5 million for the new Science Center FEDERAL APPROPRIATION $1 million for the new Science Center thanks to U.S. Rep. Martin Olav Sabo ’59 and others JIM AND KATHY HAGLUND and CENTRAL CONTAINER CORPORATION Leading the campaign with a $1 million undesignated gift E. MILTON KLEVEN ’46 and FAMILY $500,000 to endow the first President’s Scholarship (lifetime giving in excess of $1 million) LILLY ENDOWMENT, INC. $2 million for a program titled “Exploring Our Gifts: Connecting Faith, Vocation, and Work” sustain the long-term viability of this fine institution, and we must keep our physical plant vibrant and relevant with state-of-the-art facilities to better serve students, faculty, staff, and the community. Recently I’ve been reading The Greater Good, by Claire Gaudiani, and am intrigued by her assertion that the next 50 years will see the largest private intergenerational wealth transfer in human history. Experts at Boston College have projected that between 1998 and 2052, $31 to $41 trillion of “THE CHALLENGE OVER THE NEXT 20 YEARS IS TO SUSTAIN AND INCREASE GIVING BY PEOPLE OF ALL CATEGORIES.” –CLAIRE GAUDIANI, THE GREATER GOOD wealth will move from one generation to another. During that time, they estimate our economy will produce more than 10 million new millionaires. Gaudiani asserts that despite such wealth, the trend in generosity has remained under two percent of personal income for 30 years. The real problem, according to Gaudiani, is that we have stopped nurturing and building our giving habits at just the wrong time. You also may find this book worth reading. It may help to inspire us all to even greater heights of philanthropy. To reinforce this culture change, our branding and visibility campaign launched this past year helped to get the Augsburg mission out into the world. Breaking ground for our new Science Center, opening the doors of the new Gateway Building, and celebrating the renovation of Si Melby Hall, along with exponential growth in the Annual Fund and our endowment, will send similar messages to the public. Augsburg is strong; it stands on a long tradition of transforming our students and serving the community. We are a major player in this region on compelling issues such as K-12 education, healthcare workforce development, science and math education, theater, fine arts, and so much more. We can stand up and be proud of Augsburg and our many successes. The recent campaign kickoff was a turning point in our history. We must continue building on the tradition of giving by all constituents associated with our fine college, and find new friends willing to help. Our challenge is great, but the momentum is strong, and we have committed faculty, staff, regents, and volunteers who stand ready and willing to make this dream a reality. As you read this campaign update, we hope you will ask yourself, “How can I help?” Please don’t hesitate to contact me should you want to talk about your support of Augsburg. Remember, all gifts are important to Augsburg’s future. ■ CAMPAIGN CABINET MICHAEL O. FREEMAN co-chair JAMES E. HAGLUND co-chair JEAN M.TAYLOR ’85 co-chair RICHARD T. COLVIN ’74 TRACY LYNN ELFTMANN ’81 PRESIDENT WILLIAM V. FRAME KATHRYN H.TUNHEIM REV. DR. NORMAN W.WAHL ’75 SUSAN J. KLASEUS HONORARY CO-CHAIRS PETER AGRE ’70 RODNEY (ROD) BURWELL EDWIN C. (SKIP) and BARBARA CARLSON GAGE BISHOP MARK HANSON ’68 and IONE AGRIMSON HANSON ’68 R. LUTHER (LUTE) OLSON ’56 and CHRISTINE TORETTI OLSON MARTIN OLAV SABO ’59 and SYLVIA LEE SABO GLADYS BOXRUD STROMMEN ’46 Access to Excellence: The Campaign for Augsburg College was officially kicked off at the Augsburg Community Festival on Sunday, April 18, 2004. 3 Augsburg kicks off campaign at community festival It was a day of promise. Blessed by 80degree weather and a reprieve from rain showers, the College officially kicked off Access to Excellence: The Campaign for Augsburg College on Sunday, April 18, 2004, during the Augsburg Community Festival. This inaugural event for Augsburg built community awareness and fortified community partnerships. Neighbors, alumni, and supporters of the College were invited to join students, faculty, and staff in a campus-wide family celebration for the campaign kickoff. The afternoon event drew more than 1,500 people. Augsburg’s Camp Cruisers music band was instrumental in rallying the crowd as everyone gathered on the Augsburg football field to literally “kick off” the campaign. Footballs flew toward the goal as a banner announcing the campaign dropped between the posts. In recognition of the $55 million campaign goal, the community was treated to a 55-foot hoagie and a 55-foot cake. Everyone then scattered across campus to partake in the activities designed to appeal to all ages. Demonstrations, sports clinics, author readings, fine art, and musical and theatre performances engaged people around campus. Young readers gathered at the reading corner to listen to children’s authors Rick Kupchella, KARE-11 TV in Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Shelly Swanson-Sateren ’82. Adults also enjoyed the literary talents of English faculty member Cass Dalglish. Lute Olson ’56, flew back to Minnesota from his duties as head basketball coach of the University of Arizona to host a youth clinic for boys and girls in grades K-12. Many adults on the sidelines were impressed with how much they learned, too. Murphy Square and Christensen Center busily catered to festival participants as community partners and faculty and students drew crowds with activities, information booths, demonstrations, giveaways, and free food. 4 Science experiments of silly putty, homemade nitrogen ice cream, coral reef research, and many other hands-on activities kept the Science Hall active. The community clamored onto the fire truck driven over by neighborhood Station 7. Down the street, medical personnel in the Augsburg Academy ambulance gave heart analyses and showcased the internal workings of the vehicle. Augsburg’s nursing department offered blood pressure readings, stress level tests, and hand massages. Music streamed out of the cafeteria as bands DoomTree, Heiruspecs, and Medida performed. Reserved seats also were available for the Augsburg theater production of Machinal. Minnesota Wild hockey player Wes Walz drew boys and girls into the ice arena for a hockey clinic. The Minneapolis Figure Skating Club dazzled the crowd with their technique and ability before the afternoon concluded with open skating. The event was so successful people throughout the community were asking for the festival to become an annual event. A gala donor evening Si Melby was transformed the evening of April 17 for a donor dinner and program Minnesota Wild player Wes Walz hosts a hockey clinic for youth in grades K–12. Rick Kupchella, KARE-11 weekend anchor and children’s author, reads his book to eager listeners. Author Shelly Swanson-Sateren ’82 followed with a reading from her children’s book. focusing on Augsburg’s history and its future growth. Lead gifts to the campaign were announced on stages positioned around the event. A campaign video highlighted people transformed by Augsburg and its programs. Guests reveled in the musical talents of Augsburg student musicians, singers, and actors. The evening culminated with rousing songs by Gospel Praise and spectacular in-house pyrotechnics. Special thanks to Institutional Advancement, Ridgeway International, Sodexho, Write 2 Work, Event Services, and the College’s in-house planning committee for making these historical events a reality. ■ Acclaimed hip-hop group, Heiruspecs, rocked Christensen Center during their Festival performance. Fifty-five feet of sandwich and fifty-five feet of cake fed Festival participants. Emcees Gary Rorman ’82 and actor T. Mychael Rambo hosted the magnificent donor event on Saturday, April 17, 2004. Event participant Kim Drangeid and Chemistry professor Joan Kunz make silly putty. Lute Olson ’56 gives pointers during his basketball clinic for boys and girls. 5 Major gifts directed to new Science Center Donors typically have unique, special memories and connections with Augsburg College that inspire them to help the school. Such is the case with these generous gifts that will be used for the new Science Center, the top goal of the campaign. KINNEY JOHNSON ’65 Augsburg College has been a central, significant part of Kinney Johnson’s life–and vice versa–for many, many years. His relationship with the College became closer recently when he joined the Augsburg Board of Regents. Johnson has given generously to Augsburg in various ways over the years. His first $1 million gift went to the Lindell Library to honor his father, Herb ’34, and now he has given a $1 million gift to the new Science Center. In addition, he continues to provide strong leadership for The Augsburg Fund each year. Johnson’s family has a rich history with Augsburg, beginning with Herb Johnson, who was on Augsburg’s Board of Regents for 12 years. Augsburg lost a true friend when he died earlier this year. Herb Johnson’s aunt, LaVonne Peterson ’50, also had an impact on Augsburg. She was a role model and pioneer in women’s athletics and was in charge of the women’s athletic department before the title “director” was applied to that department. Kinney Johnson has been very close to his 6 cousin, Jeffrey Peterson ’63, LaVonne’s son, and the two attended Augsburg College together. Jeffrey is retired from the Federal government and lives in Virginia. Johnson’s sister, Jennelle Cunning, also graduated from Augsburg in 1962. Needless to say, Augsburg has been an integral part of the lives of both the Johnson and Peterson families. We are especially grateful to Kinney Johnson, a highly successful, generous entrepreneur who is a general partner of a venture capital firm in Boulder, Colo. JEAN TAYLOR ’85 Jean Taylor’s passion for Augsburg College is difficult to overstate. A 1985 graduate, Taylor is co-chair of the campaign and began a twoyear term as Board of Regents chair on May 1. She volunteers her time and energy tirelessly and her enthusiasm is felt on the board and the campaign. Her drive is helping to chart the course for Augsburg College now and into the future. “Nothing gives me more confidence than knowing that my successor brings more talent to a job than I have,” said outgoing board chair Kathy Tunheim. “So I am extremely confident that the next phase of Augsburg College’s governance will be even more important and fruitful than the years in which I had the honor of participating. Jean Taylor brings the discipline and experience of business leadership, the passion of her feelings about this College, and the great humor and wit of a wonderful leader.” Taylor is also a corporate leader from one of Minnesota’s most important business families, and she and her husband, Roger Griffith ’84, together with the Glen A. Taylor Foundation, have given nearly $1.5 million in leadership gifts to the campaign that will help build the new Science Center. “The new Science Center is not only the centerpiece of the campaign, it also links the College’s past to its future. Our rich history of talented science faculty and alumni and the importance of science in a liberal arts education are the foundation of using our new Science Center to better serve our community and educate future leaders who will find essential a knowledge of science, health care, and the natural world,” Taylor said. Perhaps her friend and fellow regent Tracy Elftmann ’81 best summarized Taylor’s contributions to Augsburg when she said, “Jean is one of the most strategic thinking people I’ve known and is incredibly accomplished in being able to identify and articulate Augsburg’s vision and values. I think she is going to move us forward in ways we never envisioned. “Jean is grateful for her education here and is committed to giving back to the institution in a meaningful, long-lasting way that is also forward thinking.” (Major gifts continued on page 7) New Science Center planning includes ‘green’ features “Green building” features are the focus of this summer’s design work for Augsburg College’s new Science Center, thanks to a $25,000 planning grant from the Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance. With a matching grant from the College and another $30,000 from Xcel Energy, consideration of sustainable design is integrated into the design development process currently underway. The architects, engineers, and oncampus planning committee will make a recommendation to College administration later this year regarding sustainable design features for the new building. The term “green building” is synonymous with a high-performance building, sustainable design and construction, and Rendering of the new Science Center at night. (Continued from page 6) MARTIN OLAV SABO ’59 U.S. Rep. Martin Olav Sabo was instrumental in obtaining a $1 million federal grant for Augsburg’s new Science Center. The grant will allow Augsburg to respond to our country’s need for science professionals by educating top- notch scientists for the future. A farm boy from Crosby, N.Dak., Sabo has spent the past four decades in elective public service. He served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1961 to 1978, including six years as speaker of the house and four years as minority leader. Sabo was first elected to Congress in 1978 and is currently running for his 13th term in the House of Representatives. ■ environmental responsibility. A primary objective of sustainable design is to reduce operating costs. Xcel’s contributions include consultant services on energy efficiency and a detailed energy model for the building. Once the building is complete, Xcel will contribute another $14,000 in services to verify that the selected measures have been installed and will provide cash incentives to encourage energy efficient practices. Sustainable design also employs strategies to increase occupant comfort and to reduce negative environmental impact. For example, the team is evaluating expanded use of day-lighting, ways to reduce construction waste, and use of local and renewable materials. “Augsburg is committed to incorporating environmentally-responsible features in the Science Center and is grateful to the OEA and Xcel for providing their expertise and financial support,” said Augsburg professor Nancy Steblay, the Sustainability Project coordinator. In developing a sustainability plan, the building’s architects, Holabird & Root, will use a rigorous green-building rating system for effective sustainable design known as LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The architects will examine LEED criteria as they relate to the Science Center’s design and evaluate the cost/benefit of each. The criteria fall into six categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor air quality, and innovation and design process. ■ 7 Barber gift to go to Science Center Loren Barber’s extensive history in the sciences has resulted in a most generous gift of $50,000 from Barber and his wife, Mary Quanbeck Barber ’77, to be used for the new Science Center. And 3M, Barber’s employer for many years where he served as a corporate scientist, is making the Barbers’ gift even more meaningful through a $25,000 matching gift. In addition, the Barbers are members of the Maroon & Silver Society, providing annual support to Augsburg’s students. Even after Barber retired from 3M in 2001, he wasn’t ready to let go of his work in the sciences, and he continued to work two days a week for a couple of years. Barber is used to hard work; raised on 160 acres in upstate New York, he attended the Rochester Institute of Technology on a cooperative Site plan of new Science Center. 8 work-study program at Eastman Kodak Company with a major in chemistry. That combination of school and work experience made his studies more meaningful and led him to Ames, Iowa, where he received his Ph.D. Eventually, Barber arrived in Minnesota, and Augsburg is very fortunate he did. Science education is very important to Barber and he provides leadership on Augsburg’s Science Advisory Board. Mary Barber has strong connections to Augsburg, beginning with her father, Philip Quanbeck Sr., a distinguished professor of theology who attended Augsburg College and Seminary and subsequently joined the faculty in the 1950s. In his retirement from Augsburg, he serves as visitation pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church and is a Mary and Loren Barber’s gift to the Science Center is enhanced by corporate matching. member of the Augsburg Institutional Advancement staff. Mary’s brother, Philip Quanbeck II, is also a prominent professor of theology at Augsburg. Mary Barber received her B.A. in English from Augsburg and her M.A. in speech pathology from Michigan State University. She serves the North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale schools as their speech-language pathologist specializing in early childhood education. “Our gift is rooted in our strong belief in supporting scientific literacy in our society and increasing awareness of how science affects each of our lives,” Loren Barber said. The Barbers were married 10 years ago and recently purchased a home on Lake Vermilion. They share a passion for the outdoors, water, and the environment, and Loren has discovered a new avocation—building canoes. For information about making your Science Center gift, contact the Development office at 612-330-1462. ■ McNair Scholar Stephanie Perkins likes Augsburg’s personal touch A science fair project in eighth grade on the oxidation states of iron hooked Stephanie Perkins on the study of science. This fall the McNair Scholar will be a senior at Augsburg College majoring in science and working with other students as a peer instructor under associate professor Joan Kunz in chemistry. Augsburg has transformed Perkins’ childhood curiosity about science into a meaningful education that she will take out into the world. A first-generation college student, Perkins has found the McNair Scholar program to be an indispensable guide along the way. When Perkins first visited Augsburg, she was impressed with the way the chemistry faculty members went out of their way to make her feel welcomed and special, a culture that she says is unique to a small college like Augsburg. Perkins has continued to experience that personal attention throughout her education here. “This is what makes good scientists—the ability to interact with the faculty in this way,” Perkins said. “Science involves communicating with peers and consensus about ideas.” While it was the faculty who attracted Perkins to Augsburg, she feels that facilities are important, too, because they help the school compete for the best students and faculty. She believes the new Science Building will be extremely beneficial to students, the school, and the field of science. According to Perkins, a new facility will allow faculty and students to conduct more effective research and it will house additional and better instruments. After graduation, Perkins is planning to pursue graduate school and a doctorate in physical chemistry. ■ AUGSBURG SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD JAMES AGRE ’72, M.D. Ministry Medical Group, Eagle River,Wis. RALPH SULERUD, PH.D. Professor Emeritus of Biology Augsburg College LOREN BARBER, PH.D. 3M NEAL O.THORPE ’60, PH.D. M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, Vancouver,Wash. GARY CARLSON ’95 3M, Retired FRED FAXVOG, PH.D. Honeywell, Inc. STEVEN GRINDE ’81, D.D.S. Maple Grove Dental Center JOEL L. HOULTON Honeywell, Inc. DAVID KNUTSON ’69 Park Nicollet Medical Center PAUL S. MUELLER ’84, M.D. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. JOEL T. NELSON ’85, PH.D. University of Wisconsin-Madison RICK PANNING Fairview Health Services RICHARD SEIME ’70, PH.D. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Augsburg Board of Regents and Staff Liaisons RUTH E. JOHNSON ’74, M.D., Science Advisory Board Chair Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. BEVERLY THOMPSON HATLEN, R.N., M.S.N. Minnesota Life College Ex officio— Augsburg College CHRISTOPHER KIMBALL, PH.D. Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs and Dean of the College JOAN KUNZ, PH.D. Associate Professor of Chemistry NANCY STEBLAY, PH.D. Professor of Psychology Assistant to the Dean for Special Projects 9 Opening the door to Augsburg— Gateway Building to welcome all RIVERSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD COLLABORATION The Gateway Building will be multiuse and will feature retail space, student housing, and an administrative area. The design will provide greatly needed space for College programs and offices, including the StepUP program; the Center for Service, Work, and Learning; and the Institutional Advancement division, including the Augsburg Alumni Center. The Gateway Building’s commercial hub on Riverside Avenue will contribute to the growth of a thriving urban village encompassing Augsburg’s campus, the CedarRiverside neighborhood, the University of Minnesota’s West Bank, and Fairview-University Medical Center. Landscaping along Riverside Avenue will create a pedestrian-friendly, safe, and attractive thoroughfare for students and community residents and link the campus to the nearby light rail transit stop. This project will increase the physical presence of Augsburg in the surrounding community and is part of the College’s commitment to the Riverside Corridor Project, an economic development collaboration with Augsburg’s neighbors in the West Bank. ■ ACCESS TO EXCELLENCE: The Campaign for Augsburg College THE GATEWAY BUILDING OFFERS: • A new home for the StepUP program, including residential and counseling space. • Strengthened links to community organizations, local businesses and corporations, and service-learning opportunities through the Center for Service,Work, and Learning. Meeting rooms for neighborhood groups. • Retail opportunities to attract students, local residents, and the staff and visitors of the Fairview-University Medical Center complex across the street. Local business owners are excited about the prospects for increased commerce in the neighborhood. • A comfortable gathering place for Augsburg alumni within the Institutional Advancement offices. • A more visible Gage Family Art Gallery providing enjoyment and learning to the entire community. 10 Step up and support the Parent/Family and Friend Challenge Augsburg’s StepUP program for students in recovery from substance abuse will receive a leg up in financing as parents and families respond to a Parent/Family and Friend Challenge offered by a second Gateway gift of $425,000 from Jim Johnson. Through a matching gift program, the challenge is to raise another $425,000 this year to match Johnson’s generous gift to further the construction of the Gateway Building, which will house the StepUP program. Several donors have already committed nearly onehalf of the goal. Johnson was one of the first contributors to Access to Excellence: The Campaign for Augsburg College when he agreed to fund the planning for the Gateway Building. It was his encouragement that prompted the collaboration between Augsburg, the University of Minnesota, and the local community, and his lead gift of $150,000 helped secure the project. Johnson resides in Washington D.C., with his wife, Maxine Isaacs. As a native of Benson, Minn., he maintains local ties through family, business, and Augsburg College. Johnson has made gifts to Augsburg in memory of his mother, Adeline Rasmussen Johnson ’31; in honor of U.S. Rep. Martin Olav Sabo ’59; and, more recently, toward campaign projects. If you are interested in the Parent/Family and Friend Challenge, please contact Sherry Jennings-King at 612-330-1386. ■ Gift from Mark ’79 and Pamela Hanson ’79 Moksnes symbolic of their College experience The passion that Pam and Mark Moksnes felt for Augsburg College when they met here as students in the late 1970s continues today—perhaps more than ever. While they were drawn to Augsburg by the small, liberal arts, Christian-based community, situated within the city, what they discovered were professors and staff who cared deeply about them personally and about their life goals. A campus ministry program that nurtured their already strong Christian beliefs, especially the Fellowship of Christian Athletes where they met, particularly touched them. As Pam and Mark reflect on those transformative years, their expressions provide affirmation of the truly inspirational experience they remember. They are grateful that a nurturing culture is still at the core of the student experience today. Their lives have been happily entwined with Augsburg; many of their closest friends are also Augsburg alumni and their daughter, Laura, is a current Augsburg student. “That personal approach has been consistent over the years, and now our daughter is experiencing it, too. It’s part of Augsburg’s core—they’re there to help students build their futures,” Pam Moksnes said. Yet Augsburg has changed a lot since Pam and Mark graduated in 1979, particularly its facilities. They believe that the new buildings have greatly enhanced the teaching and learning Pam Hanson ’79 Moksnes and Mark Moksnes’ ’79 recent gift supports the campaign’s Gateway Building. environment so critical to delivering a quality educational experience. They are proud to continue to be part of the campus community, so much so that they’ve made a campaign commitment designated to the Gateway Building, which will symbolically embrace the city as part of students’ learning experiences. This isn’t the first time Pam and Mark have helped out their alma mater; previous gifts have supported the athletic program, the Lindell Library, and campus ministry, and they are lead annual fund donors in the Maroon & Silver Society. Pam and Mark say they are committed to furthering Augsburg’s mission because of what the College has meant to them. Pam Moksnes is a partner at Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, and has been instrumental in helping the College launch its annual women’s “Connections” event. Mark is an executive vice president at Delta Dental. Among several board appointments, they both serve on the state board for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Thank you, Pam and Mark Moksnes, for all you’ve done for Augsburg College! ■ 11 Heightened demand for sport facilities drives Si Melby expansion Nearly half of the Augsburg community— students, faculty, and staff—participates pates in some form of athletic activity, contributing to the strong sense of community and camaraderie on campus. Expanded athletic facilities will accommodate the increasing demands of the College’s 18 intercollegiate NCAA Division III varsity men’s and women’s sports, the health and physical education academic program, intramurals involving some 600 students, and workout facilities. The ever-growing popularity of personal fitness, the growth in the number of women’s sports offerings, and the heightened demand by the community for use of the College’s facilities contribute to the pressing need for expanded facilities. A NEW SOUTH WING FOR SI MELBY HALL WILL PROVIDE: • Four new classrooms and related facilities for the Health/Physical Education Department. • More locker rooms, training facilities, and offices for intercollegiate athletic programs. • Expanded fitness facilities, a new aerobics/multi-purpose studio, and new locker rooms for the student body. • Additional wrestling training facilities, which include a new Greco-Roman wrestling center. • Two new student gathe