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Augsburg Now Winter 04.3
A
4/5/04
7:28 AM
P U B L I C AT I O N
Winter 2003-04
Page 1
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. 2
Peter Agre ’70
2003 Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry
Augsburg Now Winter 04.3
4/5/04
7:28 AM
Page 2
LLetters
...
Show more
Augsburg Now Winter 04.3
A
4/5/04
7:28 AM
P U B L I C AT I O N
Winter 2003-04
Page 1
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. 2
Peter Agre ’70
2003 Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry
Augsburg Now Winter 04.3
4/5/04
7:28 AM
Page 2
LLetters
ETTERS
Editor’s note
I
t is said that good things come to
those who wait. This winter issue of
Augsburg Now is all about both good
things and waiting. You, the readers,
are the ones who have been waiting for
the winter Now (at least, editors
always hope you are), even as we have
already entered into early spring. On
our part, it’s the good things that have
caused us to wait on its production.
About mid-winter, when the issue
is usually mailed, we learned that Peter
Agre, Augsburg Class of 1970 and 2003
Nobel Prize winner in chemistry, was
coming to campus in late February.
Since our winter issue already included
a story about Agre and the awarding of
his Nobel Prize, we made the decision
to delay production so that we could
expand the article to include his
memorable days with us here.
It’s a rare and wonderful
moment when a college can
celebrate with one of its own,
especially one whose vocation so
richly embodies the mission of
the College. For Agre, his time at
Augsburg was a time of discovery
and connections—exploring the
subjects that piqued his interest
and connecting with professors
who made these subjects come
alive and speak to him.
While in medical school
Agre turned to research, where he
realized his talents in research
could serve to greater benefit in
seeking the causes of illness. And
now, while he has the ear of the
scientific world, he is a strong
advocate for adequate funding in
science education to enable all
citizens to make responsible
decisions about ourselves, our
society, and our environment.
The College also revels in the
recognition our partnership with
Cedar-Riverside Community
School received, as Augsburg was
lauded by the Carter Foundation
and Campus Compact as an
outstanding community partner.
Read about that in Around the Quad.
Plus, we feature the Campus
Kitchen at Augsburg, a new
community partnership program that
has already brought us local media
attention. Students and volunteers
transform surplus food from the
College’s dining service and a local
food shelter into tasty meals that are
delivered to several neighborhood
community agencies.
Last fall the College celebrated the
10th anniversary of the Hispanic/Latino
Student Services program, which
provides support and encouragement
to help these students succeed at
Augsburg. You’ll read about the impact
this program has in strengthening the
appreciation of cultural richness within
Augsburg’s learning community.
So, good things keep happening.
And, we move into spring with this
winter issue—fully aware that in
Minnesota there could well still be
some wintery snowflakes falling as you
read this in April.
The next issue will be a combined
spring and summer issue to bring you
exciting news about Access to
Excellence: The Campaign for Augsburg
College that Augsburg kicks off on
April 18 with a community festival.
Join us!
Betsey Norgard
Editor
JIMMY CARTER IS HONORED AT THE NINTH ANNUAL PEACE PRIZE FESTIVAL
AND VISITS CHILDREN AT J.J. HILL SCHOOL
The Ninth Annual Peace Prize Festival at Augsburg brought together more than 700 area school
children to honor President Jimmy Carter, the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Displays and
performances were presented around the lives of past peace laureates. Carter was not able to
participate, but special guests included Gro Bruntland, former prime minister of Norway; Knut
Vollebæk, Norwegian ambassador to the U.S.; and Professor Geir Lundestad, director of the
Norwegian Nobel Institute.
On Feb. 21, while attending the 2004 Peace Prize Forum at St. Olaf College, President Jimmy Carter
squeezed in a visit to a special “mini-Peace Prize Festival” at J.J. Hill Montessori School in St. Paul,
where children prepared skits about Nobel Peace Prize laureates. Carter was accompanied by his
wife, Rosalynn, and President William Frame.
Augsburg Now Winter 04.3
4/1/04
Augsburg Now is published
quarterly by Augsburg College,
2211 Riverside Ave., Minneapolis,
Minnesota 55454.
Editor
Betsey Norgard
11:50 AM
Page 4
A PUBLICATION FOR AUGSBURG COLLEGE ALUMNI & FRIENDS
Winter 2003-04
Vol. 66, No. 2
Features
Assistant Editor
Lynn Mena
Graphic Designer
Kathy Rumpza
Class Notes Coordinator
Sara Kamholz
8
Photographer
Stephen Geffre
President
William V. Frame
Director of Alumni and
Parent Relations
Amy Sutton
An enormous honor for
discovery of tiny
proteins
by Betsey Norgard
14
Dishing up recipes for
learning and serving
by Betsey Norgard
Director of Public Relations
and Communication
Dan Jorgensen
16
Opinions expressed in Augsburg
Now do not necessarily reflect
official College policy.
ISSN 1058-1545
by Betsey Norgard
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
Connecting on campus—
a home for Hispanic/
Latino students
19
Augsburg—a Keto
family affair
by Rebecca Welle ’04
Departments
2
Around the Quad
6
Sports
20
Alumni News
22
Homecoming 2003 Photos
26
Class Notes
35
In Memoriam
36
Auggie Thoughts
inside
back
cover
Calendar
50 percent recycled paper (10 percent post-consumer waste)
On the cover:
Peter Agre, Class of 1970, is
congratulated by King Carl XVI
Gustaf of Sweden upon receiving
the 2003 Nobel Prize in
Chemistry. © 2003, The Nobel
Foundation. Photo by Hans
Mehlin.
Augsburg Now Winter 04.3
4/1/04
11:50 AM
Page 5
AROUND
QUAD
Around THE
the Quad
NOTEWORTHY
Augsburg launches MBA program
In fall 2004, Augsburg will launch the
charter class of its new MBA program.
The 21-month program will meet in
small cohort format, encouraging close
collaboration with faculty as well as
fellow students. For information, e-mail
<mbainfo@augsburg.edu> or call
612-330-1101.
Math student teams place high
An Augsburg three-person math team
finished fourth among 65 teams in
November in the North Central Section
Team Problem-Solving Contest
sponsored by the Mathematical
Association of America.
Another Augsburg team finished in
the top half of the competition. Team
members were Tim Bancroft, Andrew
Held, Hung Nguyen, John Staton, David
Wallace, and Dan Wolf.
Physics student chapter is honored
Augsburg’s chapter of the Society of
Physics Students was selected as an
outstanding chapter for 2002-03.
The award letter highlights depth and
breadth of “physics research, public
science outreach, physics tutoring
programs, hosting and representation at
physics meetings, and providing social
interaction for chapter members.”
This is the second time in four years
that Augsburg’s chapter has been among
the top 10 percent recognized.
New and continued physics grants
Augsburg has received funding from the
National Science Foundation and NASA
for three multi-year research projects,
each of which will provide funds for
undergraduate student research. Professor
Mark Engebretson heads up both NSF
projects: the first, a five-year, $600,000
grant to support continued studies using
the MACCS array of magnetometers in
Arctic Canada; and the second, a threeyear, $426,000 grant with Dartmouth
College to continue similar studies using
data primarily from Antarctica. Professor
Ken Erickson heads up Augsburg’s efforts
to use data from NASA’s polar satellite to
study magnetospheric substorms, and
subsequent auroral displays. This
$252,000 project is shared with Princeton
University’s Plasma Physics Laboratory.
Augsburg speech team
scores top points at tourney
C
ompeting at the
state and national
levels against schools of
all sizes, Augsburg
Speech Team members
have compiled a string
of impressive victories.
At the 22nd Annual
Novice National Speech
Tournament, held in
early March at the
Heather Nystrom ’05 and
Ryan Sobolik ’05
Crystal Harles ’04
University of Houston,
junior Ryan Sobolik
Harles’ speech deals with international
placed fourth in the nation in
slavery and she said she tried to make the
Extemporaneous Speaking, while the
issue personal to help people understand
Augsburg team garnered sixth place in the
that their actions can make a difference in
limited sweepstakes division.
combating this situation.
“There were so many excellent
Junior Heather Nystrom took sixth
speakers, I was proud just to make it to
place in the same competition, with what
the finals,” said Sobolik, of Fargo, N.Dak.
she calls a “tough sell … trying to
More than 50 colleges and universities,
convince people to learn more about
with over 1,000 competitors, participated
statistical literacy, and apply it to their
in the tournament.
daily lives.” Through humor she tried to
Earlier, at the Minnesota College
keep people’s attention.
Forensic Association’s annual state
Augsburg’s team won a second place
tournament, senior Crystal Harles won
sweepstakes award in the limited entry
second place in Oratory. This gives her a
division at this state tournament. Coach
bid as one of two Minnesota students to
and communication studies professor Bob
compete in the Interstate Oratory
Groven says that this carries special weight
Competition, the nation’s oldest and most
since Minnesota’s state tournament
prestigious oratory tournament, to be held
presents some of the toughest competition
in Phoenix in April.
in the country.
“Transforming the Profession of Health Care”
Distinguished Alumnus Dr. Paul Batalden
’63 (left), Dartmouth Medical School, and
Dr. David Leach, Accreditation Council for
Graduate Medical Education, presented
the 2004 Batalden Seminar in Applied
Ethics, “Transforming the Profession of
Health Care.” This coincided with the twoday conference, “Building Minnesota’s
Healthcare Workforce through Diversity,”
sponsored by Augsburg, Minnesota
Hospital Association, Fairview Health
Services, and UnitedHealth Group at
which presenters included Minnesota
senator Sheila Kiscaden and former U.S.
senator Dave Durenberger.
2
2
Winter 2003-04
Augsburg Now Winter 04.3
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11:50 AM
Page 6
Augsburg neighborhood
partnership is honored
Alumni, Friends, and Families—
Come Celebrate!
Augsburg Community Festival
T
he long standing
relationship
between Augsburg
College and the
Cedar-Riverside
Community School
was honored as one of
six finalists for the
new Carter
Partnership Award
that was presented by
President Jimmy
Augsburg and Cedar-Riverside Community School staff were
Carter and his wife,
honored at the Carter Partnership awards banquet.
Rosalynn, as part of
the Campus Compact
director. “A president of the United States
10th anniversary event in February. The
now knows who we are and what we’ve
purpose of the award is to provide
become. And Augsburg College has been
recognition for outstanding campusthere for us all these years. They are what
community partnerships.
makes a true community school.”
The award was presented to the
Mary Laurel True, associate director of
Grant Community School Collaborative of
the Center for Service, Work, and
Duluth. But, Mrs. Carter added, “Every
Learning, said it was wonderful to be
single one of the nominated partnerships
recognized for a true, long-term, vital
deserves recognition. It doesn't matter
partnership. “It meant the world to us to
who wins.”
be able to let others know about our
“It was a grand night for Cedarneighborhood and the immigrants who
Riverside Community School,” said
live here, and all the great work that we
Stephanie Byrdziak, the school’s assistant
do together.”
Sunday, April 18, 2004
Noon–4:30 p.m.
Campus-wide activities
12:30 Campaign kickoff, free food,
and giveaways—on the Augsburg
campus
12:45-4:30 Free activities for all ages
• Free food, music, exhibits,
reading corner
• Science demonstrations
• Lute Olson basketball clinic for
boys and girls
• Hockey clinic/open ice skating
• Health screenings
• Theatre production—Machinal
• Art exhibits
• Celebration service
…and much, much more. You don’t
want to miss it!
Come back and join us on campus!
Access to Excellence: The Campaign
for Augsburg College
Three new regents elected to board
T
he Augsburg Board of Regents
welcomed three new members at its
January meeting. Dan Anderson ’65, Dr.
Marshall Stanton, and Emily Anne Tuttle
were elected to six-year terms.
Dan Anderson ’65
Dan Anderson was an All-American
basketball player at Augsburg, and went
on to play professional basketball with
the Minnesota Pipers and as a charter
member of the New Jersey Nets.
He is now president of Swenson
Anderson Financial Group in
Minneapolis, with a network of planners
across Minnesota and neighboring states.
He is also regional director for Financial
Network Investment Corporation, and a
Winter 2003-04
general agent for a number of insurance
companies. He serves on the board of
Metro Hope Ministries.
Marshall Stanton, M.D.
Marshall Stanton is vice president, medical
affairs for Cardiac Rhythm Management at
Medtronic. He is a fellow of the American
College of Cardiology and is chairman of
the Fellowship Committee of the North
American Society of Pacing and
Electrophysiology.
He graduated from the University of
Pennsylvania and the Medical College of
Virginia. He completed a residency in
internal medicine at Mayo Medical School;
he returned there to join the faculty and
became director of the Cardiovascular
Training Program. He also completed a
fellowship in cardiology at Indiana
University School of Medicine.
Emily Anne Tuttle
Emily Anne Tuttle was the first
Democratic woman elected to the
Minnesota Senate and specialized in
healthcare policy. She was also elected to
the Hennepin County Board of
Commissioners. She currently serves on
the Minnesota Humanities Commission
and the boards of the Guthrie Theater,
Abbott Northwestern Hospital, and the
Minnesota Community Foundation.
She is a graduate of the University of
Minnesota and earned her master’s
degree in public administration from the
John F. Kennedy School of Government
at Harvard University.
3
Augsburg Now Winter 04.3
4/1/04
11:50 AM
Page 7
Around the Quad
A single book and black robes—a medieval
experience
by Dan Jorgensen
T
hirty-two Augsburg first-year students
are already wearing their graduation
robes, but they won’t be participating in
graduation ceremonies in May. The
students are part of an experiment that
not only is teaching them about life in
medieval times but also is blending seven
disciplines into one exciting new crosscurricular program.
The experiment, titled “Medieval
Connections,” not only has both exceeded
its professors’ broadest expectations, but it
soon could serve as a model for other
Augsburg courses and for liberal arts
institutions across the nation. “When the
College embarked on a new general
education curriculum this academic year,
faculty were encouraged to seek ways to
present courses that were interdisciplinary
in nature,” noted Phil Adamo, assistant
professor of history and leader of the new
program. Adamo has been so pleased with
the results of the course that he plans to
prepare a paper on it for possible
publication in several national journals.
A core group of Augsburg faculty,
including Adamo; Kristin Anderson, art;
Phil Quanbeck II, religion; Joan Griffin,
Students in Medieval Connections learn from
a single book chained in the library.
4
English; and Merilee
Klemp, music, met and
put together the basics
for the course.
Philosophy colleague
Bruce Reichenbach, and
Darcey Engen, theatre,
joined them to form the
seven disciplines
represented by the
course itself.
“The key idea that
stuck with us is that the In the Medieval Connections class, students wear robes, as
university/college that
students did in the Middle Ages.
we know today comes
out of the 12th century,” Adamo said.
help teach but also to respond to one
“Faculty and students wore robes
another and students’ questions. In
somewhat similar to those that they do
addition, a wide range of faculty and
today, although today, of course, they’re
others who have learned about the
primarily used in ceremonies like
course have been “dropping in” to share
graduation.”
their knowledge and expertise on
The students are both taught and
everything from medieval armor to what it
learn in a style reminiscent of the
was like to be a “traveling Sophist.”
educational experience faced by students
One recent guest professor was a monk
from the “High Middle Ages”—the years
from St. John’s University who talked
1100-1300 A.D. To learn in this fashion,
about monastic life, the Gregorian chant,
both students and faculty attend class
and how the Bible was written by hand,
garbed in robes—the faculty members
using a project to write a new Bible
wearing the robes that signify their
currently underway at his school as an
academic background and highest degree
example.
earned; the students wearing the robes
Students begin each class with a prayer
that they ultimately will again wear on
to the medieval “saint of the day,” working
graduation day. While students do have
in teams to prepare the prayers and
access to modern learning devices, such as
presentations on the saints. Thomas
papers and ballpoint pens, they all have to
Aquinas, for example, was selected
learn from one single book—a large
because he is the patron saint of all
volume that was “constructed” by the
students. There are also long-term projects
professors in cooperation with art
for each student, and the final class will be
instructor Tara Christopherson, and is
a medieval feast where some will cook,
chained in the library where the students
some will play or sing music, some will
must go to read it. As students read, they
juggle, and some will debate—all the
can write “marginalia” (comments) in the
kinds of things students might have done
book’s margins about what they have read,
in a big medieval feast of the time.
thus providing reading help for their
“I think it’s a bit of genius here,”
classmates and others who follow. This is
Quanbeck noted. “Thanks to Professor
similar to what would have happened in
Adamo, we’re combining the theatrical,
the Middle Ages, Adamo said.
experiential, and academic and turning it
Sometimes a single professor teaches
into something that makes it very
for the three-hour class, but usually two
memorable. It changes students’ habits
or three professors come, not only to
and how they learn.”
Winter 2003-04
Augsburg Now Winter 04.3
4/1/04
11:50 AM
Page 8
Basketball in a different league
Vern Maunu
by Betsey Norgard
W
Vern Maunu
here might you find a thousand
Twin Cities middle school and
high school students on Sunday
afternoons during the winter months? A
logical answer might be the ski slopes or
the malls, but in this case the answer is
in church gyms playing in the AugsburgCongregational Youth Basketball League.
Thirteen years ago, Augsburg College
Pastor Dave Wold had concerns about
young people and their connection to
churches. Many dropped out of church
after confirmation, and many young
people in city neighborhoods had no
connection to a church. Wold was
interested in addressing these issues, as
well as getting the word out about
Augsburg College.
Wold’s idea of a basketball league
took shape when he realized how many
church gyms in the metro area were not
being used, and especially in thinking
about how many students enjoy playing
basketball but had no team to play on if
they weren’t able to make their school
teams.
Wold and a group of youth directors
and pastors developed the mission of the
More than 100 Augsburg students, led by
Pastor Dave Wold (right) help with various
tasks during the Congregational Youth
League Tournament at Augsburg in March.
Winter 2003-04
Every game in the 70-church Congregational Youth Basketball League starts with devotions and
ends with prayer, shared by both opposing teams.
league “to provide relaxed yet structured
games in a Christian setting, allowing
kids an opportunity for fun and exercise
while building relationships with
teammates, opponents, and God.”
Now, more than 70 churches and as
many as 1,000 students play in church
gyms on Sunday afternoons in the
months of January and February. The
season climaxes on the first weekend in
March at a tournament on Augsburg’s
campus. More than 100 Augsburg
students help out at the tourney as
referees, photographers, concessions
workers, security people, etc.
Wold, along with league director
David Wrightsman and other youth
professionals who run the league, seek to
keep the tournament as low cost as
possible. If churches can’t afford the full
participation fee, which pays mostly for
uniforms and referee fees, they find ways
to subsidize them.
As in any athletic division, there are
rules. Each game begins with devotions
and ends with prayer, shared by both
opposing teams. During the game, there
must be equal playing time for all team
members. And, each team is strongly
encouraged to take on service projects—
in the church’s gym, in food programs, or
in projects like Habitat for Humanity.
The league has succeeded in bringing
youth to the church. Half of the 70 teams
last year were made up of senior high
boys, and half or more of these players
were not members of the churches for
which they played. Some youth choose
to play for a church team instead of their
school team.
Wonderful friendships form through
the games. Teams from city and suburban
churches get to know each other, and
players build relationships with
teammates, coaches, youth workers,
and pastors.
The story of Noah, an adopted
Filipino high school student, is one
example of the faith and love in this
league. Noah has faced challenges all his
life from a birth defect in his brain. He
learned to love basketball and found
tremendous support and friendship in his
church team. His strength is in shooting,
especially long shots. About five years
ago in the tournament, the two finalist
teams remained locked in a close game.
In the final seconds, it was Noah who
sank the ball from a long, half-court shot
to win the tournament for his team.
“That shows how great sport can be
and how great people can be,” says Wold.
For information on the
Congregational Youth Basketball League,
contact Pastor Dave Wold at 612-3301732 or <wold@augsburg.edu>; or David
Wrightsman at the Urban Youth Ministry
Project, 612-599-6911.
5
Augsburg Now Winter 04.3
4/1/04
11:50 AM
Page 9
Sports
Auggie women skate and tour in Italy, Austria
Staff photo
by Don Stoner
M
embers of the Augsburg College
women’s hockey team took a trip
of a lifetime during the Christmas
holiday break, as they traveled to Italy
and Austria, playing three games against
local club teams and experiencing the
beauty of the two countries.
Ten Auggie players made the trip,
along with head coach Jill Pohtilla,
assistant coaches Barb Halbrehder and
Bill Halbrehder, Augsburg staff, and
several family members. The eight-day
trip took the Auggies through the heart
of northern Italy and to the historic cities
of Florence and Rome. Members of the
team raised money for two years to pay
for the journey.
“Having an opportunity to learn
about another culture, first hand, is
something the players will never forget,”
Pohtilla said. “I had a similar opportunity
playing hockey in Finland in 1980, and I
will never forget some of the experiences
I had.”
On Dec. 29, after a day-long series of
flights across the Atlantic, the Auggies
arrived in Milan, met Marc Smith, their
tour manager from GoPlay Sports Tours,
and immediately began a day of
sightseeing to help counteract the effects
of jetlag.
In Milan, Italy’s largest city, the team
toured the Duomo, a stunning baroque
cathedral with 3,400 statues and 135
spires, and walked across the city square
to a huge downtown shopping area, the
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele.
After a night of needed rest in the
nearby city of Bergamo, Augsburg was set
to play its first game, against the
Halloween Como team in the small town
of Zanica.
Women’s hockey in Italy is still in
relative infancy, with only a handful of
teams in the northern part of the country.
So, with only nine skaters and a goalie,
Augsburg was competitive against all of
its opponents.
In fact, Augsburg dispatched of
6
Members of the Augsburg women’s hockey team and others pose in front of the Colosseum in
Rome. Front row (L to R) Jana Ford, Corrie Krzyska, assistant coach Barb Halbrehder, Kristin
Johnson, Annie Annunziato, Maggie McDonald, Calla Lundquist, Britt Pennington, tour
manager Marc Smith. Back row (L to R) Dale Ford, Jacob Ford, Molly Ford, Dottie Gilkerson,
Christina Hughes, assistant coach Bill Halbrehder, head coach Jill Pohtilla, Kristin Opalinski ‘03;
sports information coordinator Don Stoner, Stacy Anderson, Laura Prasek, athletic trainer Missy
Strauch, Mari Johnson, Heidi Ford.
Halloween Como by a 14-0 count.
Freshman Stacy Anderson had a sixpoint day, with three goals and three
assists, while senior Christina Hughes
also had a hat trick (three goals). Senior
Dottie Gilkerson, juniors Corrie Krzyska
and Laura Prasek, and sophomores Calla
Lundquist and Britt Pennington each
scored two goals, while senior Annie
Annunziato contributed assists.
The team then moved on to the
Alpine city of Bolzano, little city where
the Auggies were then headquartered for
three days.
New Year’s Eve provided an incredible
day and night of new experiences,
including a two-hour bus ride deep into
the Austrian Alps. As the team rode to
Austria, jaws dropped at the stunning
scenery of the Brenner Pass, one of
Europe’s most famous trade routes.
The team’s second game also provided
a unique experience—a semi-outdoor
rink in the small town of Kundl, Austria.
The rink was enclosed, but two of the
four sides were open to the elements.
Many players said it was the first time
they had played on an outdoor rink,
which made for an interesting game.
Like Italy, women’s hockey in Austria
is also relatively new, but the Kundl
Crocodiles provided some strong
competition. The team even recruited
other players from its league to play the
Auggies, but in the end, the Minnesota
players’ years of experience proved too
much, as Augsburg won 6-0.
Pennington was the star of the game,
with a three-goal hat trick, with
Gilkerson, Hughes, and Annunziato
adding markers. Junior Jana Ford also
got on the board for the Auggies with an
assist. Augsburg outshot Kundl by a 2910 margin, with junior goalie Kristin
Johnson getting her second straight
shutout.
“One of the funniest moments for me
was when the Austrian team hosted a
Winter 2003-04
4/1/04
11:50 AM
Page 10
the famed Trevi Fountain, you will
Italy, the Bolzano Eagles. The
return to Rome someday, and every
game was played at the
member of the Augsburg group threw
Bolzano civic arena, the largest
some coins in the water.
hockey arena in the country,
Augsburg’s final full day in Italy was
with seating for more than
a whirlwhind day of sightseeing across
7,000 spectators.
Rome. Starting early, they toured the
Augsburg scored three
Colosseum, the fabled arena where
goals in the first eight minutes
gladiators battled before the emperors,
of the game and claimed a 6-2
and traveled up the hill to the Roman
victory to complete the trip.
Forum, an archeological wonder from
Anderson had her second hat
ancient times.
trick of the trip, with Prasek,
From there, the group went to the
Annunziato, and Krzyska
Pantheon, the oldest complete structure
adding goals. The Auggies
Dottie Gilkerson (left) and Kristin Johnson (right) pose
in Rome, a church of immense size and
dominated from start to finish,
with a member of the Kundl Crocodiles after Augsburg’s
beauty. The day ended in the holiest of
not allowing Bolzano’s goals
6-0 win in Kundl, Austria, on Dec. 31.
sites, St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican,
until the final two minutes of
followed by a pizza dinner and a trip to
the game.
brief get-together after our game. The
a gelato shop for some authentic Italian
With the hockey complete, the
language barrier was evident, and it
ice cream.
Auggies became tourists, as the journey
took a line from Finding Nemo to break
It was a trip filled with exciting
went south into the fabled province of
through. The players from both teams
hockey, memorable sights, once-in-aTuscany. A night in the small city of
knew the lines, ‘Keep swimming, keep
lifetime moments, and an incredible
Montecatini was followed by a day of
swimming’ along with ‘Mine...mine...
opportunity to come together as a team
sightseeing in Florence, the city that
mine.’ We all laughed hard about it,”
in the process.
spawned the Renaissance.
Pohtilla said.
From the Duomo church with its
On the trip back to Bolzano, the
Don Stoner is sports information
unique “dome within a dome” design to
team stopped for a couple of hours in
coordinator and accompanied the team on
the beautiful plazas, the Ponte Vecchio
the Bavarian winter sports mecca of
their trip.
bridge and the stunning churches and
Innsbruck, host city for two Winter
public spaces, the day
Olympic games. As the team arrived, a
in Florence, while
running race was taking place as part of
short, was still
the city’s New Year’s Eve celebration,
memorable. And
providing a unique detour.
several of the players
Arriving back in Bolzano, the
showed off their
Auggies joined thousands of Italians at
“power-shopping”
the city’s soccer stadium for a grand
skills as well.
New Year’s Eve party, complete with
Back on the bus
bands, fireworks, and plenty of
and the four-hour
celebrating.
journey to Rome
New Year’s Day provided some of the
where, yet again, the
most incredible scenery of the trip, as
scenery was
the team traveled deep into the craggy
outstanding at every
high peaks of the Dolomite mountains,
turn. The evening
unique among the splinter ranges of the
was spent in two of
Alps. The cable car rides to the top of
the most famous
the mountain at a local ski area gave the
places in Rome, the
Auggies plenty of stunning views for
Spanish Steps and the
photo opportunities and time for
Trevi Fountain.
Jana Ford (2) and a Bolzano player pursue the puck during
playing in the snow.
Augsburg’s 6-2 victory over the HC Bolzano Eagles. Augsburg won
According to legend,
The next day, Augsburg had its last
if you throw a coin in all three of its games against opponents from Italy and Austria,
outscoring the foes by a 26-2 margin.
game of the trip against the best team in
Winter 2003-04
7
Staff photo
Staff photo
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AN ENORMOUS HONOR FOR
DISCOVERY OF TINY PROTEINS
PETER AGRE ’70, THE NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY
by Betsey Norgard
Augsburg’s
focus on
vocation
centers on listening for and responding
to a call in one’s life. Peter Agre’s
illustrious career has exemplified this
process of understanding one’s passions
and talents, and discerning the work that
would best use them in service to others.
Last fall, Agre’s life was unexpectedly
and dramatically changed by another
call—a single telephone call that came at
5:30 in the morning on October 8. The
voice on the other end spoke politely
with a Swedish accent and informed him
that he had won the Nobel Prize in
Chemistry for 2003.
Since then, Agre’s life has been a
whirlwind of travel, interviews,
ceremonies, speeches, and thousands of
e-mails. Highlights have been the Nobel
week in Stockholm, honors at the White
House, and, most recently, a hometown
tribute befitting a high school and
college hero.
Agre is a Minnesota native, born in
Northfield where his father taught
chemistry at St. Olaf College. In 1959,
Courtland Agre came to Augsburg as
chemistry department chair, and within
three years, with the help of new
professors John Holum and Earl Alton,
rebuilt and refurbished the department.
Augsburg’s chemistry program then
received the prestigious approval from
the American Chemical Society.
In his senior year at Roosevelt High
School in Minneapolis, Peter Agre was
voted one of two most likely to succeed.
He was not a focused student, however,
and took more interest in the
underground student newspaper than in
his academic subjects. He refers to
himself as a “handful” for his teachers.
Already in his last year of high
school, Agre began taking classes at
Augsburg and then enrolled full time.
Here he truly connected with several
8
Nobel winner Peter Agre returned to campus and visited the chemistry labs where he spent
considerable time as a student in the late 1960s. Here, he chats with student Mike Starner
about the day’s project.
professors, most especially with John
Holum in chemistry, and was able to
complete a major in chemistry in twoand-a-half years, culminating in the
decision to became a medical doctor.
During medical school at Johns
Hopkins University, Agre began
gravitating toward research. “I wanted
the kind of career where I could help
people and do useful work that helped
people—both as individual patients and
by working on disease mechanisms,”
Agre explains. “That’s what really got me
into the science.”
In his senior year in medical school,
he began working in laboratories, rather
than pursuing the advanced training of a
specialty. After a three-year medical
residency at Case Western Reserve
University and a clinical fellowship at
University of North Carolina, he
returned to Johns Hopkins for a research
fellowship in cell biology. In 1984 he
joined the faculty and is now professor of
biochemistry.
It was his roommate in medical
school who first connected him with a
“hot” research lab on campus staffed by
an international group of researchers,
with whom he remains close. “It was
actually the people doing science as
much as the science that caught my
interest,” Agre explains. “I never felt so
excited about being with a group of
individuals as with the people in this
laboratory.” Some of these researchers
traveled to Sweden to be with him at the
Nobel ceremony.
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Prize-winning
research
Agre was honored for his work in
discovering the existence of proteins that
he named “aquaporins,” that are
responsible for the passage of water
across cell membranes, a process
essential to all living things.
Agre’s discovery was a result of
research serendipity—or “luck favoring
the well-prepared,” as it was described in
a Johns Hopkins press release. In 1991,
while engaged in other research, his lab
noticed a small, ubiquitous protein,
which they isolated and cloned—and
which later proved to be the longsought-after regulator of water
movement across cells. (See sidebar on
page 11).
Agre shares the $1.3 million prize
with Roderick MacKinnon, of Rockefeller
University in New York, whose research
studied similar questions of cell transport
involving ions.
Across the ocean and seven hours earlier, Augsburg students, staff, and faculty watched via
live webcast the formal proceedings of the Nobel Prize Ceremony in Stockholm on Dec. 10.
Nobel Peace Prize, awarded in Oslo,
Norway), on Dec. 10, the anniversary of
the death of Alfred Nobel, who
bequeathed the endowment that funds
the annual awards.
For a week around this date, the 2003
laureates presented lectures, spoke at
press conferences, made visits to
academic and medical institutions in
Scandinavia, and enjoyed the Nobel
collegiality. Agre describes the week as
“Cinderella-like, except at midnight
everyone kept partying.”
Agre received his gold medal at the
The Nobel Prizes are awarded in
highly formal prize ceremony, presented
Stockholm, Sweden (except for the
to him by King Carl
XVI Gustaf of Sweden,
surrounded by the
royal family and
prestigious academics.
At the gala banquet,
Agre presented a short
“thank-you” speech on
behalf of MacKinnon
and himself (see p.
11).
The Augsburg
community was able to
share in the festivities
via a live webcast from
Stockholm. In
Christensen Center, a
crowd gathered around
a large computer
Don Shelby (right), host of the afternoon show on WCCO radio,
enjoyed a radio interview with Peter Agre and President Frame.
monitor, under a
A week in
December
Winter 2003-04
banner congratulating Agre, and cheered
and clapped even while watching a very
fuzzy screen image.
Back home in
Minnesota
In February Agre returned to the Twin
Cities for several days to visit his family,
as well as to engage in yet another week
of whirlwind activities and talks. His
first stop in Minneapolis was at his high
school alma mater, something he says he
wanted to do for himself.
His message to students there is one
he repeated several more times during
the week: “Whatever it is that captures
your interest—you should go for it.
There’s no limit in life. You can do
whatever you want.”
At Augsburg, to a filled Hoversten
Chapel, Agre presented the same lecture
about his research that he gave in
Stockholm during Nobel Week. He
likened the chance discovery of
aquaporin water channels to that of
driving along a gravel road in the middle
of nowhere in northern Minnesota and
suddenly coming upon a city of 200,000
people. “You think to yourself, ‘now this
is really interesting,’ ” he quipped.
While on campus, Agre had a chance
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Agre and President William Frame testified
before the Minnesota Senate Higher
Education Budget Committee about the need
for adequate funding for education.
sequence of his findings that led to the
aquaporin discovery and describing
extensive research others have carried
forward in expanding the knowledge and
seeking medical applications.
Courtland Agre was a chemist at 3M
before and after his teaching career,
working with a team of scientists to
develop synthetic adhesives, and Peter
Agre acknowledged that connection.
Later, at the State Capitol, Agre
appeared with President Frame before
the Senate Higher Education Budget
Committee to plead the need for science
education and adequate funding for
research and education.
“Research is what lifts us,” Agre told
the senators, and “no one is willing to
pay for excellent research.” Without it,
for example, he said, no new antibiotics
can be developed to combat the growing
immunity to current drugs. This critical
research, especially in Third World
countries, is not the kind of profitable
research drug companies seek.
With the image projected on a large screen beside him, Peter Agre presented his research on
“aquaporins” to over 600 employees as part of Tech Forum series at 3M.
to greet several of his former Augsburg
professors—chemistry professors John
Holum and Arlin Gyberg, math professor
Henry Follingstad, and biology professor
Ralph Sulerud, among others—and
reiterated their contribution to shaping
his science interests and career direction.
During the week the Agre family also
gathered on campus, a homecoming for
10
a number of Agre Auggies. Of Courtland
and Ellen Agre’s six children, four are
Augsburg graduates: Annetta Agre
Anderson ’69; Peter ’70; James ’72, who
serves on the Science Advisory Board;
and Mark ’81. Courtland Agre died in
1995.
At 3M’s Tech Forum, Agre spoke to a
crowd of 600 or more, presenting the
Cheerleading
for science
Agre enthusiastically talks about using
his public forum this year to advocate
for science education and the necessity
for every person to be educated in
science.
With science an integral part of 21stcentury life, he stresses the importance
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PETER AGRE’S ‘THANK-YOU’ REMARKS
✷
DECEMBER 10, 2003
Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses,
Distinguished Guests:
AQUAPORINS
Written in 1895, Alfred Nobel’s will endowed prizes for scientific research in physics,
chemistry, and medicine. At that time, these fields were narrowly defined, and
researchers were often classically trained in only one discipline. In the late 19th
century, knowledge of science was not a requisite for success in other walks of life.
Indeed, the 19th century painter James McNeil Whistler achieved artistic immortality
despite failing chemistry at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, an experience
which he remembered with
amusement saying, “Had
silicon been a gas, I would
have been a major general.”
But the depth of science
has increased dramatically,
and Alfred Nobel would be
astonished by the changes.
Now in the 21st century, the
boundaries separating
physics, chemistry, and
medicine have become
blurred, and as happened
during the Renaissance,
scientists are following their
curiosities even when they
run beyond the formal limits Peter Agre, Nobel Prize laureate in chemistry, used the
opportunity when speaking on behalf of the two chemistry
of their training. At the same winners, to laud and praise science teachers for their role in
time, the need for general
creating interest for their students.
scientific understanding by
the public has never been larger, and the penalty for scientific illiteracy never harsher.
In his masterpiece, One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, winner of
the 1982 [Nobel] literature prize, describes the isolated village of Macondo where the
inhabitants suffer from their own naiveté, trading their hard-earned gold to gypsies for
what they believe to be amazing inventions—a magnet, a magnifying glass, and even an
enormous, transparent crystal that fascinated them being so cold it was painful to touch.
What they regarded as the greatest invention of their time was only a block of ice.
In a way, the inhabitants of Macondo resemble contemporary individuals without
any background in science. Lack of scientific fundamentals causes people to make
foolish decisions about issues such as the toxicity of chemicals, the efficacy of
medicines, the changes in the global climate. Our single greatest defense against
scientific ignorance is education, and early in the life of every scientist, the child’s first
interest was sparked by a teacher.
Ladies and gentlemen: please join Dr. Roderick MacKinnon and me in applauding
not the Nobel laureates but the heroes behind past, present, and future Nobel prizes—
the men and women who teach science to children in our schools.
Tack så mycket.
© The Nobel Foundation, 2003
Winter 2003-04
a chance discovery
© 2003, The Nobel Foundation. Photo by Hans Mehlin.
NOBEL BANQUET
Water comprises about 70 percent of
the human body and is constantly
passing across cell walls. Peter Agre
was the first to identify the particular
protein that serves as the channel
through which the water passes. It
was a discovery of chance for Agre’s
lab team. While researching blood
cells, they noticed a commonly
reoccurring mystery protein. It was a
colleague of Agre’s who suggested
that this might be the long-soughtafter water channel.
By isolating, cloning, and
introducing this protein into frog
eggs, Agre’s team was able to confirm
that it, indeed, allowed passage of
water—and Agre named it
Aquaporin-1.
Since then, research around the
world has explored the presence of
additional aquaporins—or “water
pores”—and extensively documented
their existence in bacteria, plants, and
mammals. Not all are equally
understood, however. Agre quips that
a particular one, Aquaporin-6, was
“sent by God for our hubris in saying
that we understand these proteins.”
While Agre’s research does not
yield immediate cures or treatments
for disease, it has exploded the
understanding of what he dubs this
“molecular plumbing system” and
provided explanations for
physiological processes at sub-disease
states. As Agre says, “We have the
answer—now what is the question?”
From here, research will focus on
application of this information in
studying a wide variety of diseases—
kidney diseases, cystic fibrosis,
diabetes, Sjogren’s Syndrome, among
them. Beyond that, Agre says that the
research can also benefit
biotechnology, and even agriculture.
11
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Page 14
receiving something
in translation.
In his banquet
speech at the Nobel
Ceremony, Agre
stated that “Our
single greatest
defense against
scientific ignorance is
education.” He then
applauded the role of
teachers, whom he
called the “heroes
behind past, present,
and future Nobel prizes.” (See the full
text of this speech on p. 11.)
When talking with young people, he
also encourages them to identify their
heroes. One of Agre’s heroes he enjoys
talking about is Nobel chemistry and
Peace Prize laureate Linus Pauling, the
eminent scientist whose unwavering
opposition to nuclear testing led the
fight to pass the limited test ban treaty.
Pauling stayed with the Agre family
while speaking in Minneapolis when
Agre was a teenager, and the strong
social conscience of the renowned
scientist profoundly impacted Agre.
Agre is taking advantage of his Nobel
stature to speak out on issues affecting
science research, especially against
restrictions placed on research as a result
of the war on terrorism. Together with
other Nobel laureates, he has advocated
on behalf of a former professor, Thomas
Butler, who faced 69 felony charges and
massive fines for the mishandling that he
voluntarily reported of plague samples
used in bioterror research.
of being able to evaluate the validity of
daily news, statements from government
officials, and so on. People without
science background are “totally at the
mercy of the government or big
companies that tell them a particular
pollutant is not dangerous,” Agre says.
Equally worrisome to Agre is the
situation where decisions about foreign
policy, such as signing the Kyoto Accord,
are made by lawyers with no scientific
background. Even though there are
scientific advisors, he sees it as similar to
12
Learning
for life
In summing up, Agre believes that
although science is important, liberal
arts are critical to educate people in
many different areas for a lifetime. He
told the Senate higher education
committee, “All the good in my life
happened because of my education.” He
believes that “part of being educated is
learning that we learn our whole lives,
and we need to … have some
background in different cultures, study
abroad.”
Agre told the press that “the
difference between laureates and the
general public is that when we get up in
the morning we really long to be at
work.” That’s a statement of calling. ■
Courtland Agre taught chemistry at
Augsburg for 17 years, from 1959 to
his retirement in 1976. He also
enjoyed an illustrious career in
industry at both DuPont and 3M in the
early research around synthetic
adhesives.
Agre revitalized Augsburg’s
chemistry department and was
recognized for his programs that
brought high school students to
campus. Under his leadership,
Augsburg’s department received initial
approval from the American Chemical
Society.
Agre’s last visit to campus was at
Homecoming in 1995 when Peter Agre
was honored as a Distinguished
Alumnus. Courtland Agre died a few
weeks later, in October 1995, from
cancer.
His wife, Ellen, when interviewed
about Peter’s Nobel Prize, told
Minnesota Public Radio her daughter
said that before his death, Courtland
had stated that one day Peter was
going to win the Nobel Prize.
“Courtland would be rejoicing,” Ellen
Agre told the interviewer.
Winter 2003-04
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1
5
2
6
3
7
1 E. Milton Kleven ’46 and his daughter, Barbara Kleven Birky, are among the attendees at
the dinner in honor of Peter Agre.
2 Bill and Kathy Urseth posed for a photo with Agre.
3 Augsburg regent James Haglund and his wife, Kathy, exchanged greetings with the Nobel
Prize laureate.
4 Proud mother Ellen Agre enjoys the light moments of Peter’s presentation in the campus
convocation about his research.
5 After his convocation in Hoversten Chapel, a throng of people waited to greet the Nobel
laureate, including Philip Quanbeck Sr., to Agre’s left.
6 Agre reminisced with Professor Henry Follingstad, his former mathematics teacher, as
members of the Department of Chemistry looked on. Clockwise, from lower left: Professor
Joan Kunz, chair of the Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics; Professor Arlin
Gyberg, who taught Agre as a student; Professor Sandra Olmsted ’69, chemistry
department chair; chemistry student Monica Koukal; and Follingstad.
4
Winter 2003-04
7 Dean Malotky ’71 (center) and Peter Agre were a year apart in the chemistry department.
Cheryl (Rogalla) Malotky ’72 (left) looks on as they talked.
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DISHING UP
RECIPES FOR
LEARNING
AND SERVING
by Betsey Norgard
photos by Stephen Geffre
Winter 2002-03
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AS ANYONE WHO
COOKS KNOWS,
finding creative ways to combine
ingredients is a challenge. In the
Campus Kitchen at Augsburg, students
receive surplus food from the College’s
food service and other local food banks
and transform these various ingredients
into healthy and tasty meals for
neighborhood residents in shelters and
community programs.
Augsburg is one of six campuses in
the country to join The Campus
Kitchens ProjectSM, a leadership
development program of DC Central
Kitchen. The project focuses on making
use of recycled food, students in servicelearning, and teaching food preparation
skills to the unemployed. It is also a great
opportunity for volunteers from the
campus and the community to combine
talents.
The Campus Kitchen at Augsburg
opened in October with President and
Mrs. Frame cooking the first meals under
the direction of Augsburg’s Sodexho food
staff. About 60 volunteers have been
involved weekly since then, serving 100 to
300 meals—a total of more than 2,400
meals in the five months.
Two or three nights a week, a team of
LEFT PAGE, TOP—Freshman Nicholas Stuber
(center) is one of the Augsburg Seminar
(AugSem) students who worked in the
Campus Kitchen as part of his religion and
history classes.
LEFT PAGE, CENTER—First-year students
learn about the new Campus Kitchen at
Augsburg. Front row (L to R): Chelsea
Hosch, Megan Christensen, and Emily
Squadroni. Back row (L to R): Micah
Lenthe, Ted Toborg, Tayton Eggenberger,
and Marisa Navarro
LEFT PAGE, BOTTOM LEFT—Campus
Kitchen supervisor Abby Flottemesch
(right) and volunteer Bill Ogren ‘73 spoon
out browned meat for the recipe being
cooked up that evening
LEFT PAGE, BOTTOM RIGHT—Senior Josh
Reichow scoops out cans of chili as part of
the meal he is making in the Campus
Kitchen at Augsburg, with senior Rhia
Gronberg working in the background. Up
to 300 meals per week are delivered to
neighborhood community programs.
Winter 2003-04
Doug Klunk (center), Sodexho food service director at Augsburg,
explains the kitchen facilities to the first-year Augsburg Seminar
students who will be working in the Campus Kitchen program.
volunteers assesses the food ingredients
available that day, and cooks up meals of
entrees, desserts, soups, etc. The next day
another volunteer team delivers the food
to one of three neighborhood agencies—
Safe Place at Trinity Lutheran Church,
the Brian Coyle Center Kids College,
Catholic Charities’ Secure Waiting Place,
and Peace House.
“One thing I will never forget is just
the look on their faces when they see that
we have brought them some food,” said
freshman Jennifer Ramos. “Along with
being happy about the food, they are
excited to see us.” Volunteers spend time
at the centers after delivering the meals to
get to know the people being served.
One of Augsburg’s first-year seminars,
or AugSem, included a service-learning
component in the Campus Kitchen into
paired religion and history classes.
History professor Phil Adamo teaches
Beginning of Western Culture, where
students study how resources are
collected, distributed, and controlled.
Preparing and delivering the meals gave
his students some first-hand
understanding of how the process works.
Project director Abby Flottemesch also
helps the students organize additional
activities—clothing drives, special events,
and projects. In February, the student
volunteers prepared a Valentine’s Day meal
for teen parents and their children at the
Division of Indian Work in Minneapolis.
The Campus Kitchen at Augsburg
developed from the collaboration of the
Center for Service, Work, and Learning
and Sodexho, the College’s food service
provider. “It’s a natural extension of our
community service-learning interests,”
President William Frame recently told the
Minneapolis Star Tribune, adding that it fit
Augsburg’s mission to be an “active citizen
in the neighborhoods.”
In addition to fulfilling their AugSem
requirements, first-year students learn the
broader lessons embodied in the Campus
Kitchens motto—“Teach, Reach, Feed,
Lead.”
“At the end of the day I feel better
knowing that I have made an impact on
someone’s life,” says Ramos. ■
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CCO ONONCNANE CMTNPI NUGSE C T I N G
—a home for Hispanic/Latino students
by Betsey Norgard • photos by Stephen Geffre
IN 2003, Augsburg’s
Hispanic/Latino Student Services
program celebrated its 10th anniversary.
Established in 1993, it is the newest of
the four programs that provide services
for ethnic populations at the College.
During its first decade, the program
grew from the initial 13 students served
to over 40 students who now receive
assistance and academic support in areas
of admissions, financial aid/scholarships,
registration procedures, academic
advising, personal counseling, and
advocacy. The students also receive help
to obtain internships, employment, and
community referrals. While most activity
in the program involves the day students,
weekend and graduate students also take
advantage of services on campus and
community networking.
Augsburg’s program is growing at the
same time the Hispanic/Latino
population in the state of Minnesota is
experiencing a triple-digit percentage
increase, according to the 2000 census
data. The College’s location in the heart
of the Twin Cities makes it accessible to
Hispanic/Latino youth of both
Minneapolis and St. Paul, and Augsburg’s
commitment to a diverse student body
enables it to offer the financial and
academic resources to reach these
students. Of the more than 40 students
served this year, 12 are international
students, while more than double that
number come from the Twin Cities metro
area.
Eloisa Echávez, who received her
16
Dulce Monterrubio, from Mexico City, is both a senior international relations major and an
enrollment counselor in the Enrollment Center.
bachelor’s degree in 1994 and master’s
degree in educational leadership in
1998, was the program’s founder and
director for its first six years. She is now
executive director of La Oportunidad,
Inc., a St. Paul community agency.
“During this time, I witnessed first
hand how the support that Hispanic/
Latino students received made a great
impact,” Echávez states. “I saw [them]
grow in every area of their lives, carrying
proudly Augsburg’s mission and
becoming leaders in their respective
communities.”
For three years, Hispanic/Latino
students have participated in Scholastic
Connections, a College scholarship
program that pairs students of color with
alumni of color in mentoring
Winter 2003-04
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Page 20
relationships. Adela Arguello, a junior
from Nicaragua, double-majoring in
finance and economics, is one of three
students currently “connected” to an
alumni mentor.
”This scholarship has been one of
the instruments that has made possible
the great experience of having a
college education in the U.S.,” she
says. “My mentor, Diane Love-Scott,
and her husband, Rick, have both been
great mentors and great friends in the
past two years.”
Love-Scott, who graduated in 1998
and now is a social worker for
Hennepin County, was one of the first
students involved in the program and
speaks about its impact. “Getting
connected to the Latino program and
being part of its development was an
honor. … Since there only were a
handful of Latino students, it felt like we
were a family. The Latino program
allowed for a group of students to be
heard and recognized that otherwise
would simply just have ‘blended’,” she
says.
Plus, becoming active in the Latino
group helps students connect with other
activities on campus. “My involvement
with campus life was greatly attributed to
my participation in the Hispanic/Latino
SCHOLASTIC CONNECTIONS
Students Renzo and Robert Amaya Torres (second and third from left) and Adela Arguello
(second from right) and mentors (left to right) Franklin Taweh, Eloisa Echávez, Maria R. Johnson,
and Diane Love-Scott are part of the Scholastic Connections program, pairing students of color
with alumni mentors. Hispanic/Latino program director Emiliano Chagil stands at the right.
Student Association,” says Juliana
Martinez, who graduated last year with
an MIS major and business minor. “As a
transfer student, it can be difficult to
approach other organizations and find
common grounds with its members. By
founding this student organization, the
Hispanic/Latino Student Services
[program] opened the doors to host and
support events together.”
In 2001, Augsburg was recognized as
a “2001 Educator of Distinction” by
Saludos Hispanos, a Los Angeles-based
career and education magazine and Web
site for its efforts in outreach and
Speaking on behalf of the mentors at the annual Scholastic Connections
dinner, Diane Love-Scott ’98 commented that “a lot of the people sitting
at these tables are a big part of what I am today.”
Winter 2003-04
recruitment. Included in that are the
College’s efforts to provide financial aid
and scholarships above and beyond what
is available through normal state and
federal sources.
Senior Victor Acosta received federal
funding and academic support that are
helping him excel as a physics major. He
is the recipient of a prestigious
Goldwater Scholarship for math and
science students and has spent two
summers engaged in research funded by
the National Science Foundation.
Part of the College’s and program
mission is to help students prepare for
Juniors Renzo and Robert Amaya Torres, twin brothers from
Colombia, spoke on behalf of scholarship recipients at the
Thanksgiving reception for scholarship donors last November.
17
Augsburg Now Winter 04.3
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Page 21
jobs in the workplace. Martinez found a
position as a technology coordinator at a
St. Paul community development center.
Charles Barton, a 2003 graduate in
education, who has been featured in a
continuing series in the St. Paul Pioneer
Press, has decided to bide his time until
the right teaching job opens up. In the
meantime, he mentors at-risk kids and
manages a before- and after-school
program at a metro-area school.
Students from the various
Hispanic/Latino countries bring their
cultural traditions to Augsburg’s campus
life. During Hispanic Heritage Month,
mid-September to mid-October, a series
of community speakers and presentations
focused on cultural traditions and social
issues in Mexico, and Central and South
America.
Each year in Chapel during Advent,
the Hispanic/Latino students present Las
Posadas, a reenactment of Mary and
Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem and search
for lodging. The campus community
joins in singing the procession along,
and then celebrates with the festive
breaking of a piñata.
Program director Emiliano Chagil
believes that Augsburg will grow as a
resource to the burgeoning Hispanic
population. Augsburg’s weekend program
is especially suited to help working
adults in the Hispanic community
complete an undergraduate education—
the dream of many immigrants seeking
better lives for their families. He credits
ABOVE—Hispanic/Latino students and
others in Augsburg’s chapel joined to
sing the traditional songs of the
celebration of Las Posadas that
reenacted Mary and Joseph’s journey to
find lodging for the Christmas night.
LEFT—Emiliano Chagil, Hispanic/Latino
Student Services director, congratulates
Charles Barton as he graduated with a
major in education last May
18
the support of the administration,
especially that of Ann Garvey, associate
dean for student affairs, in helping shape
the direction of the ethnic programs.
Chagil, a native of Guatemala who
came to the Twin Cities in 1980, has a
master’s degree in theology from the
University of St. Thomas School of
Divinity and considers himself a
testament to what is possible.
“The world is a wonderful world, but
one must have faith, and believe in one’s
self and trust others that our mission on
Earth to better creation can only be
accomplished with a community,” Chagil
says. “Education is the right guidance for
the journey. Our nation is waiting for
leadership and one must consider the
challenge. As commonly said in Spanish,
‘Dios primero,’-— ‘Let God be first.’ ” ■
CONNECTING
ON CAMPUS
CONNECTING
ON CAMPUS
CONNECTING
ON CAMPUS
CONNECTING
ON CAMPUS
CONNECTING
Winter 2003-04
Augsburg Now Winter 04.3
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Page 22
AUGSBURG
A K E T O F A M I LY A F F A I R
Winter 2003-04
many of his games, and is
already looking forward to
next year’s season.
Outside of basketball,
although Alex and Kevin
attend classes on the same
campus they hardly see each
other. Alex’s MAL classes
meet every other weekend,
and Kevin studies during the
week. Even so, they still find
time to meet or talk every
now and then—as when they
needed to clear a mix-up on
their e-mails. One of Kevin’s
professors, unaware that
Charles Walbridge
When considering their options for
higher education, this father and son duo
from Forest Lake, Minn., had no intention
of attending the same college. However,
the educational paths of Alex and Kevin
Keto led them both down different roads
to Augsburg College.
Alex, who is currently a marketing
manager for Wendy’s International, Inc.,
came to Augsburg in September 2002 to
enroll in the College’s Master of Arts in
Leadership (MAL) program. He had been
planning to pursue graduate education
after his son completed high school, and
wanted something different than an
M.B.A. Augsburg’s MAL focus on
leadership intrigued him as different from
other comparable college programs.
Believing that “you can never stop
learning,” he felt he had found a “perfect
fit” at Augsburg. He feels the leadership
aspect of the program will benefit him in
his job and give him a competitive edge.
“I hope to take what I know,” he says,
“and add some leadership to incorporate
mentoring to develop some kind of
leadership program.”
Alex’s son, Kevin, choose a different
road to Augsburg, which was in no way
influenced by his father. Kevin entered
Augsburg as a freshman last fall. A
graduate of Forest Lake High School, he
was involved in community service
through the National Honor Society
(NHS) and was the point guard on the
varsity basketball team. As a team
member and co-captain, he helped run
basketball camps for younger players.
Kevin’s college selection pointed
Augsburg’s way because he wanted to
attend a school that had diversity, that
was in the city, and where he could
continue to play basketball. To his great
joy, he made the varsity team in his first
year and found that college basketball was
a new experience he really enjoyed. He
also enjoyed having Alex in the stands at
Stephen Geffre
by Rebecca Welle ’04
Father and son Alex and Kevin Keto enjoy a
rare moment together on campus. Both are
Augsburg students, but their class schedules
rarely overlap.
Freshman guard Kevin Keto was drawn to
Augsburg as a school in the city where he
could continue playing basketball—and have
his father in the stands for many games.
Kevin was not the only Keto on campus,
e-mailed him with praise for a paper he
wrote, asking if it could be shared with
the class. Much to the professor’s surprise,
the e-mail went to Alex, who wrote back
explaining the confusion. The professor
than e-mailed Alex back thanking him for
setting everything straight and
complimenting the work of his son.
Although Alex plans to complete his
degree in the next year, Kevin will not be
far behind. Because of advanced
placement courses in high school, he is
on an accelerated pace in his college
studies. He has continued his service
work from high school and is currently
volunteering as a tutor for Somali
children as part of his Christian vocation
class.
Kevin has already accepted a position
for next year as a resident assistant in
Urness Hall, where he will help new
freshman find their way around new
classes, a new campus, and new
experiences. ■
Becky Welle is a senior communications
major and intern in the Office of Public
Relations and Communication.
19
Augsburg Now Winter 04.3
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Page 23
AAlumni
LUMNINews
NEWS
From the Alumni Board president’s desk…
T
hese are
exciting times
for Augsburg
College and
Augsburg alumni.
Several months
ago, the College
launched the
“Transforming
Education” marketing campaign.
Billboards, radio and magazine
advertisements, and the Augsburg Web
site reflect that which all Augsburg
alumni know: “Be yourself at Augsburg,
and leave completely changed.”
One alumnus who exemplifies the
transforming nature of an Augsburg
education is Peter Agre ’70. Shortly after
the campaign was launched, the Royal
Swedish Academy of Sciences announced
that Peter was one of two winners of the
Nobel Prize in Chemistry (see the feature
story on p. 8 for details). Peter’s award is
a fantastic honor and all Augsburg
alumni can be proud of his achievement.
Peter’s honor has personal meaning
for me. While a senior at Augsburg, I
traveled to Baltimore in the spring of
1984 to visit the Johns Hopkins
University where I would matriculate in
the School of Medicine that fall. Peter,
early in his career at the time, warmly
welcomed me to the city and into his
home. He gave me an exhaustive tour of
the city and the medical school and
introduced me to many of his colleagues.
Later, Peter was my teacher and mentor
on the clinical wards. Despite his busy
schedule, Peter always had time to talk
and reminisce (especially about
Minnesota and Augsburg). He was a
terrific mentor and later a good friend
and colleague. Congratulations, Peter!
In Alumni Board news, Dan
Anderson ’65, who joined the Alumni
Board last year, recently accepted
appointment to the Augsburg Board of
Regents. One of Dan’s primary roles on
the Board of Regents will be to represent
the Alumni Board and alumni. Dan is a
dedicated supporter of the College, and
this appointment will surely benefit the
entire Augsburg community.
These truly are exciting times for
Augsburg and its alumni. Within a
Christian context, the College remains
committed to an education that is
academically excellent and
“transforming.” One measure of the
“transforming” nature of an Augsburg
education is alumni participation in the
affairs of the College. Indeed, alumni
have not only increased their
participation in alumni events, but have
also increased their giving of time,
talents, and financial gifts to Augsburg.
On behalf of the Alumni Board, I thank
you for your generosity!
Paul S. Mueller ’84, M.D.
President, Alumni Board
A
ugsburg alumni are invited to
explore Lutheran heritage in
Germany and Eastern Europe in a tour
sponsored by the Alumni Association,
October 15-27. This custom created
travel program features the places of
Martin Luther’s life and ministry in the
German cities of Wittenberg and
Eisleben, as well as a special worship
service at the American Church of Berlin,
where Augsburg alumnus Rev. Ben
Coltvet ’66 is currently pastor. The
itinerary also includes visits to Dresden
and Leipzig, as well as to two of Europe’s
most beautiful capital cities, Prague and
Budapest. In addition, tour participants
will have an opportunity to interact with
the local Lutheran community in
20
Bratislava, Slovakia, where the
Lutheran church dates back to the
16th century.
Augsburg professor Dr. Mark
Tranvik and his wife, Ann, will host
this tour from the Twin Cities.
Tranvik has taught reformation
history at Augsburg for 10 years and
has recently visited the places of
Martin Luther’s life in Germany.
Pre-registration is required by
June 15. A tour information and
education meeting will be held May
16 at 2 p.m. in the Christensen
Center (Century Room). A tour
brochure is available for download in the
Alumni News section of the Now Online
at <www.augsburg.edu/now>. For further
Czech Tourist Authority
Alumni tour features Lutheran heritage in
Germany and Eastern Europe
information, contact Alumni/Parent
Relations at 612-330-1178 or
<alumni@augsburg.edu>.
Winter 2003-04
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Page 24
Second annual Connections
event a success
T
SUMMER AUGGIE HOURS
Auggie Hours are held the second
Tuesday of each month at 5:30 p.m.
Please join us!
Staff photo
he second annual Connections—A
Women’s Leadership Event, cosponsored by Augsburg College and
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, was
held January 31. It was an inspirational
morning for over 130 participants
including more than 25 current
Augsburg students.
“What makes this women’s event
unique compared to others is that we
invite students to participate in this
leadership development opportunity so The second annual Connections—A Women’s
Leadership Event in January was a successful and
they may network and be encouraged
inspiring morning for over 130 participants. The
by the experiences and stories of the
presenters, pictured above, were: Front row (L to
amazing women who attend,” said Sue R): Annette Minor, Tammera Ericson ’93, Julie Sabo
’90 (Back row): Anne Frame, Jennifer Martin,
Klaseus, vice president of Augsburg’s
I. Shelby Andress ’56, Jennifer Grimm ’99.
Institutional Advancement and
Community Relations.
challenges of working in traditionally
Presenters included Jennifer Grimm ’99,
male-dominated industries, finding balance
international recording artist; Jennifer
between work and parenting, living a life
Martin, senior vice president for corporate
of service, igniting your passion to follow
administration at Thrivent and an
your dreams, achieving financial security,
Augsburg Board of Regents member; Anne
dealing with grief after caring for a
Frame, a financial consultant and Augsburg
terminally ill loved one, and more.
leader; Annette Minor, attorney and
In addition, participants were given the
consultant with HD Minor, LLC; Tammera
opportunity to break into smaller groups
Ericson ’93, attorney and member of the
for networking at roundtable conversations
Columbia Heights City Council; Julie Sabo
led by a host committee made up of
’90, former MN senator; and I. Shelby
women leaders throughout the community,
Andress ’56, consultant and owner of I.
many of whom were Augsburg alumnae.
Shelby Andress, Inc.
Watch for details of the third annual
Presentations were wide-ranging and
event in upcoming issues of the Augsburg
included motivational discussions of the
Now!
A-Club and AWAC merge
A
ugsburg’s two alumni athletics
organizations—A-Club and the
Augsburg Women’s Athletic Club
(AWAC)—merged in November. This new
joint venture unites all resources, talent,
and passion into a single cause directed at
supporting the success of Augsburg
athletics. On the immediate horizon, the
new A-Club will be a major fundraising
force for the proposed South Wing
expansion of Si Melby Hall. The project is
an important and necessary step in
upgrading facilities for all students, staff,
Winter 2003-04
physical education majors, and
intercollegiate athletes. Look for an
expanded story about the merger in the
spring/summer issue of the Augsburg Now.
The new A-Club’s first joint golf
tournament is June 28 at the 27-hole
Pebble Creek course in Becker, Minn.
Proceeds from this annual event
underwrite various A-Club activities,
including the Hall of Fame banquet.
Contact the Athletics office at
612-330-1249 for more information.
May
Toby’s on the Lake, Oakdale
June
Solera, Downtown
Minneapolis
July
Dock Café, Stillwater
August
Bar Abilene, Uptown
Minneapolis
2004 Alumni
Directory
T
he 2004 Augsburg Alumni Directory is
underway. Have you returned your
questionnaire or contacted the publisher
(Harris) toll-free to verify your
information? If you did not receive your
questionnaire or have questions, contact
Alumni/Parent Relations at 612-330-1178
or 1-800-260-6590 or e-mail
<alumni@augsburg.edu>.
Lutheran Free
Church
celebration
A
celebration of the tradition and
heritage of the Lutheran Free Church
is planned for Sat., June 12. All alumni are
welcome to attend this special day of
worship, “singspiration,” testimonials,
lectures, and conversation. Preregistration is required by June 1; contact
Alumni/Parent Relations for more
information at 612-330-1178 or
<alumni@augsburg.edu>.
21
Augsburg Now Winter 04.3
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Page 25
HOMECOMING
2003
photos by Stephen Geffre
Robert Stacke ’71, Augsburg associate professor of music, led the pep
band at the Homecoming football game.
Stan Waldhauser
Members of the Class of 1993 gathered before the football game for a tailgating party to
celebrate their 10-year reunion.
The Augsburg Spirit Squad cheered the Auggies on
to their victory over Carleton College.
Fans expressed their Auggie pride at the
Homecoming football game.
22
Knut Hoversten ’30 (right) and his family were
honored with the 2003 Distinguished Service
Award. Since Knut’s graduation from Augsburg
in 1930, more than 40 members of the
extended Hoversten family have also attended,
including the family’s most recent Augsburg
graduate, Kari Lucin ’03 (left).
Students, alumni, faculty, and staff
gathered for the second annual
Homecoming reception celebrating
Augsburg’s four ethnic programs: the
American Indian, Pan-Asian, Pan-Afrikan,
and Hispanic/Latino student service areas.
Winter 2003-04
Augsburg Now Winter 04.3
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11:51 AM
Page 26
Charles Walbridge
Brenda Henrickson Capek ’63 gathered with fellow alumni and faculty at the
psychology department’s 40th anniversary celebration and reunion.
Staff photo
Jeremiah Knabe and Katie Scheevel were crowned 2003
Homecoming King and Queen.
Senior Jamie Smith, Auggie wide
receiver, helped lead Augsburg to a
19-0 victory over Carleton College.
Joel Nelson ’85 joined fellow alumni
and faculty of biology, chemistry,
math, physics, and psychology at
the science alumni gathering.
Staff photo
Jane Jeong Trenka ’95 and Aaron Gabriel ’00 read their work
at the English department’s wine and cheese reading and
reunion. Trenka’s book, The Language of Blood: A Memoir
(Borealis Books), is nominated for two Minnesota Book
Awards and was chosen by the Barnes & Noble Discover
New Writers Program as a fall 2003 selection.
Ertwin Jones-Hermerding ’69 (pictured above) and the Rev.
Hans G. Dumpys ’56 were honored at Homecoming Dinner
as recipients of the 2003 Distinguished Alumni Award. Other
honorees included Tammera Ericson ’93 with the First Decade
Award and both John Benson ’55 and Sigvald V. Hjelmeland
’41 with Spirit of Augsburg awards.
Winter 2003-04
The Rev. Hans G. Dumpys ’56 (right), 2003 Distinguished Alumnus, enjoyed
conversation following the Homecoming chapel service, which celebrated the
golden anniversary Class of 1953 and featured guest speaker Rev. Arthur
Rimmereid ’53.
23
Augsburg Now Winter 04.3
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Page 27
2003
HOMECOMING
1953
GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY CLASS OF 1953 (L to R) Row 1 (seated): Beverly Nystuen Carlsen, Gloria Parizek Thorpe,
Darlyne Deem Lamb, Ruth Ringstad Larson, Marilyn Elness Froiland, Gloria Ostrem Sawai, Ruth Aaskov, Erland E.
Carlson. Row 2: Don Dillon, Dorothy Strommen Christopherson, Dorothy Skonnord Petersen, Betty Manger Anderson,
Helen Lodahl Amabile, Eleanor Baker Dahle, Phyllis Vik Swanson. Row 3: Leroy (Roy) Petterson, Donovan Lundeen,
Jerome Engseth, Donald Oren, Dave Rykken, Joseph Vahtinson, Lorne Hill, James Hamre. Row 4: Duane Christensen,
Quentin Goodrich, Bill Oudal, Art Rimmereid, Roy Dorn, Herman Egeberg, Mark Raabe, Arthur Shultz, Howard “Howie”
Pearson.
1963
CLASS OF 1963 (L to R) Row 1 (seated): Diane Lindberg Lee, Joyce Gustafson Hauge, Barbra Beglinger Larson,
Brenda Henrickson Capek, Paul Rasmussen, Jerelyn Hovland Cobb, Stephen “Gabe” Gabrielsen, Nancy Joubert
Raymond. Row 2: Marilyn Peterson Haus, Sara Halvorson Strom, Karen Tangen Mattison, Mary Jo Cherne
Holmstrand, Mary Lower Farmer, Judy Hess Larsen, Faith Bakken Friest, Linda Johnson Merriam. Row 3: William
Kallestad, Janet Evenson Potratz, Ron Starkey, Roger Bevis, Ellen Vlede Meliza, Brad Holt, Carol Anderson McCuen.
Row 4: John Wanner, Glenn Peterson, Morris Bjuulin, Donald Gjesfjeld, David Steenson, Wayne Christiansen.
24
Winter 2003-04
Augsburg Now Winter 04.3
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11:51 AM
Page 28
1978
CLASS OF 1978 (L to R) Row 1 (seated): Kevin Hoversten, Dennis Meyer, Jennifer Abeln Kahlow, Ellen Wessel Schuler, Debbie
Zillmer Hoppe, Donadee Melly Peterson, Noreen Walen Thompson, Louise Dahl Wood. Row 2: Jonathan Moren, Bonnie Lamon
Moren, Amy Jo Thorpe Swenson, Cindy Peterson, Lora Thompson Sturm, Susan Shaninghouse, Bev Ranum Meyer, Paula
Winchester Palermo, Holly Crane Smith, Cynthy Mandl. Row 3: Tom Wingard, John Karason, Roberta Aitchison Olson, Dawn Heil
Taylor, Kim Strickland, Julie Rasmussen, Kris Iverson Slemmons, Joel Hoeger, Steve Thompson. Row 4: Rick Swenson, David
Backman, Eric Spore, David Wilhelm, Richard Swanson, Connie Lamon Priesz, Jerry Wood.
Recipients of Augsburg’s
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD
HOVERSTEN FAMILY (bottom left, L to R) Row 1 (seated): Chris Busch, Weston Busch, Tim Larson, Holly Mell, Janet Reily, Katelyn
Mell, Megan Mell, Craig Mell. Row 2: Sister Mary Colleen Hoversten OSF, Garfield Hoversten, JoAnn Downing Osborne, Julianne
Melll, Knut Hoversten, Chrestena Fixen, Marguerite Haster Hoversten, Phyllis Hoversten. Row 3: Lenice Gadmundson Hoversten,
Joan Novy Hoversten, Kermit Hoversten, Ruth Hammer Hoversten, Jill Nafstad, Wendy Larson, Clara Amundson, Bernice Digre,
Elizabeth Bade, Karina Peterson, Linda Singer, Chester Hoversten, Loretta Pletan Hoversten. Row 4: Allen Hoversten, Peter
Hoversten, Francis Hoversten, Norman Mell, Kevin Hoversten, Chet T. Hoversten, Clenora Hoversten, Marjorie Hoversten, Paul
Larson, Vincent Hoversten, Clifford Digre, Annette Hoversten Hanson, Clarence Hoversten, Lorna Hoversten, Roger Larson, Elise
Larson, Tom Hoversten. Row 5: Kari Lucin, Gregg Nafstad, Andrew Busch, Laurie Busch, Kyle Hoversten, Shannon Swanson
Hoversten, Tim Hoversten, Karla Singer, Pattie Sausser, Philip Hoversten, Jon Hoversten.
Winter 2003-04
25
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Page 29
CLASS
NOTES
Class Notes
Raymond Klym, Bloomington,
Minn., was inducted into the
Minnesota Softball Hall of Fame
and will be inducted into the
Minneapolis South High School
Wall of Honor in April. He can
be reached at
<rklym@netzero.net>.
1948
Clarence “Bobb” L. Miller,
Coral Gables, Fla., was elected
to the Volleyball Hall of Fame in
1995 and the YMCA Volleyball
Hall of Fame in 1997, both in
Holyoke, Mass.
1953
Leland Fairbanks and his wife,
Eunice, were honored by the
mayor of Tempe, Ariz., when he
declared August 16, 2003, as “Dr.
Leland and Eunice Fairbanks
50th Anniversary Day” in tribute
of their golden anniversary and
their service to Tempe.
Gloria (Ostrem) Sawai received
the Distinguished Alumni Award
at Canada’s Augustana University
College 2003 Homecoming
celebration in October.
1954
John “Jack” E.
Seaver,
Edgerton, Wis.,
is enjoying
retirement with
his wife, Lois.
He can be
contacted via e-mail at
<loisseaver@msn.com>.
1957
Stanley B.
Baker, Raleigh,
N.C., published
the fourth
edition of School
Counseling for
the Twenty-First
Century (co-authored by Edwin
R. Gerler Jr.) by Pearson
Prentice Hall publishers. The
new edition features online
26
lessons and an Internet site.
Baker is a professor of counselor
education at North Carolina State
University.
1959
Don C. Olson traveled to San
Lucas Toliman, Guatemala, in
August; it was his seventh year
traveling as a mission worker.
1961
Kenneth J. Manske, Asheville,
N.C., is a retired professor of
chemistry from Mars Hill
College. He and his wife, Janet,
can be reached at
<kjm39@charter.net>.
Nellie Jones von Arx,
Farmingville, N.Y., retired in June
from Sunrise Medical Labs where
she was a microbiology supervisor
for 16 years. Prior work included
15 years as microbiology
supervisor at North Shore
University Hospital in Glen Cove,
N.Y.; 10 years in medical
technology at Mt. Sinai Hospital,
Minneapolis; and over two years in
U.S. Peace Corps, Sabah, Malaysia.
1968
Frank Lawatsch, Benson,
Minn., is hospital administrator
at Swift County-Benson
Hospital, which was recently
honored as one of the top 100
rural hospitals in America.
Rev. Mark S. Hanson,
presiding bishop of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America and president of the
Lutheran World Federation,
wrote a commentary published
in the Oct. 18, 2003, St. Paul
Pioneer Press (“Pope has been a
fighter for Christian unity”)
celebrating the 25th anniversary
of Pope John Paul II. Hanson
met with the pope last spring.
Diane Tiedeman, Richfield,
Minn., is enjoying her retirement
from teaching for Bloomington
Public Schools. She likes
spending time with family and
friends, planting flowers, and
taking care of her lawn.
1970
Ray Hanson, Sterling, Va.,
received a “Lightning Award”
from ITT Industries AES
Division. He also celebrated the
marriage of his daughter in June.
1971
Barbara (Lien)
Nordaune,
Glenwood,
Minn., was
elected to serve
as associate
grand
conductress of the Order of
Eastern Star at its 2003 Grand
Chapter meeting in St. Cloud.
In addition to her many duties,
she will be traveling throughout
the state and to other
jurisdictions to represent the
Grand Chapter of Minnesota.
Barbara is a member of the
Minnewaska Chapter #129 in
Glenwood, and works as a
computerized embroidery
operator at Cowing Robards in
Alexandria. Her husband,
Lyndon, owns and operates
MTM Marine.
Mark Saari, Rush City, Minn.,
is principal of Rush City High
School.
1965
Neil Sideen, Howard Lake,
Minn., is public television
coordinator for the City of
Howard Lake and is involved in
affiliated marketing on the
Internet. He can be reached at
<cable@howard-lake.mn.us>.
ALUMNI ON THE ROAD
Courtesy photo
1947
1966
Rodger T. Ericson, an Air Force
lieutenant colonel, was deployed
oversees to a forward operating
location to support the mission
of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
1967
Stuart Utgaard, Star Prairie,
Wis., owns Sportsman’s
Warehouse, a national chain of
hunting, fishing, and camping
stores that was featured in the
December 2002 issue of Fishing
Tackle Retailer Magazine.
Clinton Peterson, Tracy, Minn., participated in the National Festival
of the States Concert Series in Washington D.C. in July as director
of the Tracy Community Band. Forty band members presented
concerts at the Navy Memorial, the Fairfax Retirement Village for
military officers, and the Lincoln Memorial. The Tracy Community
Band was Minnesota’s representative in this festival.
Winter 2003-04
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Page 30
Rev. Arvid Dixen ’52 brings a Memorial Day message
of peace by Jen Hass
Reprinted by permission of Quad Community Press in White Bear Lake, Minn.
Arvid “Bud” Dixen is convinced that most people think of Memorial Day as simply a sign
of summer’s arrival. And he’d like to change that.
Courtesy photo
ALUMNI PROFILE
The Korean War veteran and Circle Pines, Minn., resident said people could best spend
their time this holiday weekend by visiting gravesites or war memorials. Even better, the
73-year-old Dixen suggests, is to get involved with the peace movement.
His own history as a political activist is a long one, kindled by his war experiences and his
religious training. After graduating from Augsburg College in 1952, Dixen was drafted into
the military and was a combat engineer in the Korean War. He said the experience fighting
at the tender age of 21 for more than a year—and his religious views about how Christians
should react to war—changed his mind about the necessity of such conflict.
“If people could live in dignity and basic peace, they’re not going to war,” he said. Dixen
returned home a changed man, not unlike other soldiers who came back from the so-called
“forgotten war.” He became a preacher after attending Luther Seminary and worked during
the next three decades at churches across the Midwest.
But it isn’t just peace that drove him into the streets and powered his sermons. Dixen was
jailed for three days with Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1962 for demonstrating against
Rev. Arvid “Bud” Dixen ’52 has worked to
segregation in Albany, Ga. He helped promote the country’s first female Lutheran parish
promote peace ever since his service as a
pastor through the ranks at
combat engineer in the Korean War.
Edina Community Lutheran
Church in the ’70s. Around that
same time, he rallied church members to raise money for Dennis Banks and
Russell Means, members of the American Indian Movement, who were arrested
for taking control of Wounded Knee in South Dakota.
“All of these things are tied together, to recognize the dignity and worth of every
person,” he explained.
Today, Dixen has kept busy as a member of Veterans for Peace, People of Faith
Peacemaking, and the St. Paul Affinity Group, which is made up of volunteers
with the international Nonviolent Peaceforce organization.
He has continued being a minister on a part-time basis for a small ELCA Lutheran
ministry called Kairos. And he still speaks out about basic human rights and how
they apply to the modern day—though he’s just as likely to be enjoying classical
music and reading with his cats, Mozart and Socrates, at his feet.
“We’re audacious enough to think we can stop people from starting war,” he said.
“But it isn’t just an effort being made by white people—this is a worldwide effort.”
It’s a mission that has sent Dixen across the country to speak at political rallies
and faith forums, to write cabinet members in President George W. Bush’s
administration, and to contact reporters about how to best cover wars, speaking
with local establishments like the Star Tribune and KARE-11.
It has also sent him to protest locally, primarily at the intersection of Lexington
Avenue and Lake Drive in Circle Pines, where protesters gathered for the latest
Iraqi conflict.
Dixen isn’t a pacifist but believes in questioning all American military action. He
emphasizes caring for other nations, keeping the peace, and obeying the Christian
dictate to “Love your enemies.”
“I consider myself a patriot,” he said, “but that doesn’t mean I’m uncritical.”
Winter 2003-04
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Class Notes
ALUMNI PROFILE
David Cheung ’73: Tissue transplant pioneer
Staff photo
by Lynn Mena
Peter Agre ’70 isn’t the only Auggie making news in the
science community. Agre’s discovery of aquaporins and
his resulting Nobel Prize in Chemistry (see p. 8) is but
one very public example of the research and accolades
enjoyed by many of Augsburg’s esteemed science alumni.
In fact, alumnus David Cheung ’73 is currently engaged
in groundbreaking research that could very well lead to a
Nobel Prize of his own.
Cheung, a tissue transplant researcher, has successfully
developed new tissue treatment methods that allow nonliving animal tissue to be rebuilt in humans as living
tissue. This is remarkable because not only has Cheung
demonstrated that non-living animal tissue can become
living tissue in humans—but he has also demonstrated
that non-living animal tissue has the potential to actually
grow once it has been transplanted into another species.
“Ultimately, my goal is to reduce the need for allograft
(human to human) transplant tissues or human living
cells (such as fetal cells) used in other popular tissue
engineering techniques,” said Cheung.
David Cheung ’73 (center) a tissue transplant researcher, has successfully developed
new tissue treatment methods that allow non-living animal tissue to regenerate
and grow in humans as living tissue. He stopped by the Augsburg campus in
December for a visit with chemistry professor Arlin Gyberg (left) and Sandra
(Larson) Olmsted ’69, associate professor of chemistry (right).
“I would never have dreamt that such a thing was
possible when I was a chemistry major at Augsburg,” added Cheung, reflecting upon his journey from Augsburg to his current professional
research and success.
“Augsburg provided me with an environment of integrity and a value system that is consistent with the basic faith of the Lutheran church,”
continued Cheung. “Along with academic training, guidance, and encouragement, this value system made me what I am today. It prepared me
to face a world full of people who often compete with no rules, principles, or integrity. For that, I am so thankful to Augsburg.”
After graduating from Augsburg in 1973 with a B.A. in chemistry, Cheung received a master’s degree in biochemistry from the University of
Minnesota. He received his doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Southern California, where he first started working on tissue
transplant research under Dr. Marcel Nimni (Nimni helped develop the Hancock Valve—an artificial heart valve made from pig heart valves
mounted on plastic frames wrapped in Dacron cloth). Cheung stayed on at USC and joined the faculty at the USC School of Medicine (now
called the USC Keck School of Medicine).
In 1995, Cheung left USC to join the International Heart Institute of Montana Foundation (part of the University of Montana and St. Patrick
Hospital and Medical Sciences Center in Missoula) as director of the Cardiovascular Tissue Engineering Laboratory and as an adjunct
associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences and biological sciences.
In 2000, Cheung founded a medical device company called Philogenesis, Inc., located in Monrovia, Calif., a few miles from his home in
Arcadia, where he has been working on the commercialization phase of his current research (he has been traveling back and forth between
Montana and California every month for the past seven years).
In addition, Cheung is a consultant to numerous medical device industries, as well as a volunteer associate professor in surgery and
cardiology back at USC.
Cheung and his wife, Chuane-Chuane, have two children: Rebecca, a pharmacist and fellow at the VA Medical Center in Loma Linda, Calif.;
and Philip, a junior majoring in bioengineering. Cheung’s sister, Pearl (a 1971 Augsburg alumna) is a researcher with Cheung at Philogenesis
(coincidentally, Pearl and Peter Agre were chemistry lab partners as Augsburg students).
“Science is about being able to think logically and creatively, an ability given by God,” said Cheung. “It is by God’s grace that I had an
opportunity to receive my undergraduate education at Augsburg and continue on to a career in biomedical research after further graduate
training.
“I hope that Augsburg’s current students can be encouraged to hold on to their faith long after their years at Augsburg,” continued Cheung.
“I hope they are inspired to challenge the world and become future leaders.”
28
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1972
1974
Tim Nelson and Karen (Brien)
’72 moved to Colorado in
January 2003 to be closer to
their grandchildren. Both of
their granddaughters are
redheads, in honor of greatgrandfather LuVerne “Red”
Nelson ’43. Tim works in
Broomfield as a real estate
broker/consultant for Redhorse
Real Estate, Inc.
Larry Walker,
Minneapolis,
who writes
under the name
Lars Walker, is
author of Blood
and Judgment, a
fantasy novel published in
December (Baen Books). This is
Walker’s fourth book for Baen
Books. Larry was a guest lecturer
last summer on the Royal
Princess cruise ship during a
cruise from England to Norway.
He lectured on the Vikings,
sharing information he has
gathered in his book research.
1973
Cheryl Paschke was named
Educator of the Year by Young
Audiences of Minnesota. Cheryl
has been an advocate of Young
Audiences for many years, and
most recently worked as their
partner in the award-wining
“Classical Initiative Project.” She
is a K-12 fine arts specialist for
Minneapolis Public Schools,
working as an orchestra
conductor, music teacher, and
arts coordinator.
Gary Anderson, Minneapolis,
is a systems development
manager at Traveler’s Express in
St. Louis Park. He can be
reached at
<ganderson@temgweb.com>.
Rev. Michael F. Nelson,
Cokato, Minn., is pastor of
North Crow River, Grace, and
Redeemer Lutheran churches in
the rural Cokato-Dassel area. He
previously served as pastor of
Trinity Lutheran in Cass Lake
and Our Savior Lutheran in
Federal Dam, both in Minnesota.
His wife, Sue, teaches music at
St. Peter’s Elementary School in
Delano.
Joyce (Catlin) Casey and her
husband, Paul, recently relocated
to Waconia, Minn., to be closer
to Waterbrooke Fellowship in
Victoria, where Paul is worship
pastor. Joyce is a second grade
teacher at Albertville Primary
School, where she has taught for
25 years.
Winter 2003-04
1975
Steven Walen, Lino Lakes,
Minn., is a teacher for the
Anoka-Hennepin ISD #11.
1976
Shari (Simonson) Hanson,
Delavan, Minn., works at
Winnebago Elementary. She
recently helped move her
daughter into the ninth floor of
Urness for her freshman year.
Shari can be reached at
<shhanson@blueearth.k12.mn.us>.
Marjorie Miller, Minneapolis,
is executive director of Southeast
Seniors, a living-at-home block
nurse program.
1977
Andrew Stevens & Associates in
Phoenix, as well as president of
Women in Healthcare, an
organization serving executive
women involved in healthcare or
healthcare related services. She
received a graduate degree in
organizational development and
has been working as a career
consultant for over seven years;
she was previously a flight nurse
for 15 years.
Phil Olson, Bloomington,
Minn., works at General Mills,
Inc. He and his wife, Carol, have
two daughters attending
Augsburg. He can be reached at
<meant2b1@mn.rr.com>.
Rev. Jon Schneider,
Minneapolis, is senior hospice
staff chaplain at North Memorial
Medical Center. He and his wife,
Carol, have four children.
1978
David Wilhelm, River Falls,
Wis., is a physician at Western
Wisconsin Medical Associates.
1980
Paul B. Kilgore, Duluth, Minn.,
was featured in the November
issue of Minnesota Monthly
magazine. His short story,
Roeschler’s Home, was a winner of
the magazine’s 18th annual
Tamarack award.
1981
Roselyn Nordaune, Plymouth,
Minn., was featured in the
“Super Lawyers 2003” section of
the August issue of
Minneapolis/St. Paul magazine.
She has practiced family law
since 1980 and is a founder of
Nordaune & Friesen in St. Louis
Park.
Dennis Gilbertson, Rochester,
Minn., is general manager of the
Saturn dealership in Rochester. He
has been a sales manager at three
other Rochester dealerships over
the past 16 years. He and his wife,
Colette (Kehlenbeck) ’79, can
be reached at
<dennisgi@lupient.com>.
Jean M. Herges, Phoenix,
Ariz., was recently named Career
Consultant of the Year by the
International Association of
Career Consulting Firms
(IACCF). Herges is vice
president of consulting at
1982
Judy (Bodurtha) Dougherty
and her husband, Chuck, own
the Cover Park Manor, a bed and
breakfast in Stillwater, Minn.
HOMECOMING 2004
Spark Your Spirit
October 5–9
Football Game vs.
Gustavus Adolphus
Saturday, October 9, 1 p.m.
Homecoming Dinner
Saturday, October 9,
5:30 p.m.
Reunion Celebrations
Classes of 1954, 1964, 1979,
and First Decade, 1999-2004
Watch your mail and
upcoming issues of the
Augsburg Now for complete
details. You can also stay
up-to-date by visiting the
alumni Web site at
<www.augsburg.edu/
alumni>.
1983
Laurie (Bennett) Halvorson
’99 WEC, St. Paul, is in her
fourth year teaching fifth grade at
Como Park Elementary School.
1984
Lisa (Rykken) Kastler and her
husband, Brent, live in
Champlin, Minn. Brent, who
designed the magazine format
for the Augsburg Now, has a new
line of greeting cards called Fun
Cards, which are available at
local Kowalski stores.
1985
Irwin James Narum Silrum,
Bismarck, N.Dak., became the
new deputy secretary of state for
North Dakota. He worked for 18
years for the ELCA, most
recently as executive director for
Camp of the Cross Ministries
near Garrison, N.Dak. His wife,
Marci, is a producer and anchor
for a new 5 p.m. statewide
newscast for the CBS affiliate in
Bismarck.
29
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Class Notes
ALUMNI PROFILE
Courtesy photo
It all started at Augsburg
by Naomi (Christensen) Staruch ’81
Following is a story submitted by Naomi (Christensen)
Staruch ’81, in which she recounts how a gathering she
planned in 1998 to reconnect with Augsburg friends has led
to frequent, ongoing get-togethers.
We came from various parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin,
mostly. I hadn’t seen many of these people in ages. We
were still good friends but we had, over time, lost touch
as we became embroiled in our individual lives. As the
days and years passed, our paths crossed only
occasionally. This wasn’t right! We had been together on
the journey that transformed us into adults—there were
so many precious memories that shouldn’t be lost on
heavily scheduled calendars, professional obligations, or
family responsibilities.
I needed to see these people.
So I decided to throw a party. I picked the day, time, and
place—it would be in my backyard in south Minneapolis.
I sent invitations to about 25 folks, and asked them to
RSVP so I could plan food and beverages. I had heard
from a few that they couldn’t make it, but I pretty much
assumed that everybody else would. Hah, we have a good
laugh at that today!
Thanks to a get-together she planned in 1998, Naomi (Christensen) Staruch ’81
(front row, far right) succeeded in reconnecting with several Augsburg friends; the
group now meets on a regular basis. Pictured here from a gathering in November
are: Front row (L to R): Sally (Hough) Daniels ’79, David Soli ’81, Richard ’81 and
Jean Ann Buller, Naomi (Christensen) Staruch ’81 (Back row): David ’79 and Susan
Cherwein, Katherine Skibbe ’79, John and Lori (Labelle) ’82 Bartz, Paul Daniels ’79.
At the prime time of the party, only two people had
arrived, Paul ’79 and Sally (Hough) ’79 Daniels, and they
called a few blocks from the house to see if it was still okay to show up as they hadn’t returned their RSVP. It turned out that they were the
lucky ones; they were the first to meet my husband-to-be, Steven. That was the “real” reason for that first party. I wanted to introduce the man I
was about to marry (a native of Butler, Pa., of Slovakian heritage, a graduate of Oberlin College and the Eastman School of Music, a Minnesota
transplant), to my good friends from college days. Paul, Sally, Steven, and I had a great evening together. That could have been the end but
instead it was just another beginning.
I was confident that this idea of reconnecting Augsburg friends was a good idea. Steven and I tried again a few months later and this time the
backyard was full of college chums. We talked and laughed and told stories and talked and laughed some more. Even the non-Augsburg
spouses were quickly inducted into the Auggie family. Amazingly, it seemed as though we had never been apart. Then someone mentioned the
ages of their children, or someone else revealed that they had held the same job since college, and even a few were approaching their 20th
wedding anniversaries! Soon we were proclaiming that we really weren’t old enough for these things to be possible, as it seemed we had only
just graduated from college. Look at us—we are still so very young!
That first get-together was in September 1998, nearly 20-some years after our days on the Augsburg campus. Steven and I were thrilled that
most of these Augsburg friends sang in the choir at our wedding in February 1999.
Now we intentionally get together two, three, even four times a year, just for fun. Involvement ebbs and flows as it is nearly impossible to find
a time when every one is available for socializing—yet each time we are together we remember and celebrate the bond that ties us together.
It all started at Augsburg.
1986
Lisa M. Pestka Anderson,
Rochester, Minn., wrote and
performed a one-woman show,
Who Am I, and How Did I Get
Here? at The Masque Youth
Theatre and School in Rochester.
30
Augsburg theatre faculty, Darcey
Engen ’88, directed the musical
comedy.
Lisa Baumgartner, Sycamore,
Ill., is an assistant professor in
the Counseling, Adult and
Health Education Department at
Northern Illinois University in
DeKalb. In May she was elected
to the Adult Education Research
Conference Steering Committee
for a two-year term.
Patrick Guernsey, St. Paul, was
one of six AFSCME members
chosen from around the nation
to question 2004 presidential
candidates at a Town Hall Forum
in Des Moines, Iowa. The event
was televised live on C-Span and
CNBC. He has served as
president of AFSCME local 552
Hennepin County Probation and
Parole Officers since 1997.
Winter 2003-04
Augsburg Now Winter 04.3
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11:51 AM
Kara Anne (Hansel) Buhr, St.
Paul, started the Como Block
Nursing Program so more senior
citizens could stay in their own
homes. She is a social worker
and works primarily with elders
and hospice.
1987
Louise (Butler) and Peter
Mason moved back to
Richmond, Va., where Louise
works with families at the Family
Intervention Center of Virginia.
The couple also runs an
e-commerce business, CyberMall, at <www.cyber-mall.net>.
Becky (Clifford) Jans, Blue
Earth, Minn., is involved in the
national program “Musikgarten”
to bolster the learning curve in
pre-schoolers.
Alice (Dahl) Roth, St. Anthony,
Minn., recently became assistant
dean of Hamline University’s
Graduate School of Education.
1988
Christie (Moechnig) Wetzel,
Wells, Minn., was elected to the
United South Central School
Board for a four-year term. She
owns Idle Ladies Jewelry and is
also an independent distributor
for SeneGence International.
Christie and her husband, Doug,
have two children: Davis, 6, and
Lauren, 4.
Dave Stevens appeared on
ABC-TV’s That’s Incredible
Reunion Show in August. He now
works for ESPN, where he has
won three Emmy Awards, and
previously worked at KSTP-TV
sports for nine years.
1990
Alisa Holen, Iowa City, Iowa,
presented a pottery show, FatherDaughter Dance: Pottery Across
the Generations, with her father,
Norman Holen, Augsburg art
professor emeritus, last fall at the
Anderson Center in Red Wing,
Minn., where she also served as
an artist-in-residence (she was
previously a studio artist at the
Winter 2003-04
Page 34
center). The show was their first
joint exhibit. Alisa is working on
her master’s degree in ceramics at
Iowa State University.
Julie (Goede)
Luers, Eden
Prairie, Minn.,
was awarded the
National Society
for Marketing
Professional
Services’ highest honor, the 2003
Marketing Achievement Award.
A highly competitive award,
SMPS selected Julie based on her
accomplishments and
contributions in the following
areas: research, education,
professional leadership,
marketing communications, and
innovation. Julie is marketing
director of the national
architectural firm, Hammel,
Green and Abrahamson, and past
national president of SMPS.
Nancy J. Nentl, Lakeville,
Minn., is an assistant professor at
Metropolitan State University’s
College of Management, where
she teaches marketing courses.
She previously taught at the
University of Minnesota’s
Carlson School of Management
and at the University of St.
Thomas Graduate School of
Business. She owns her own
business, Panoptics LLC, cocreating and writing business
simulations for higher education.
Vicki (Janssen) McDougall,
North Branch, Minn., completed
the K-12 principal licensure
program at the University of
Minnesota-Twin Cities in
September. She is a high school
teacher for North Branch
Schools.
1991
Jeff Ronneberg, Lino Lakes,
Minn., is director of teaching,
learning, and accountability for
the Spring Lake Park School
District. He previously served as
principal of Woodcrest
Elementary School. He and his
wife, Jill, have two children:
Sam, 3, and Sydney, 1.
1992
1995
Matt Mirmak, Minneapolis, is a
loan officer at Secure Mortgage,
Inc., based in Bloomington,
Minn.
Jody Rosenbloom (MAL),
Northampton, Mass., was one of
four recipients of the 2003
Harold Grinspoon Award for
Excellence in Jewish Education
in Western Massachusetts. She
also contributed a chapter in the
recently published book, The
Ultimate Jewish Teacher’s
Handbook (edited by Nechama
Skolnik Moskowitz and
published by ARE: Denver);
Rosenbloom’s chapter is called
“The Teacher/Principal
Relationship.”
1993
Doris
Rubenstein ’93
MAL, Richfield,
Minn., celebrated
the publication
of her book, The
Good Corporate
Citizen: A Practical Guide (Wiley,
John & Sons, Incorporated), in
March. Doris owns PDP Services,
a consulting firm that focuses
primarily on philanthropy and
citizenship, and her book shares
the methods that PDP Services
uses to help mid-market
companies create vibrant,
strategic, and ethical policies and
procedures for their business
philanthropy and volunteer
programs.
Jake Slegers is executive
director of the American
Chamber of Commerce
(AmCham) in Slovakia.
1994
Maria E. Johnson, Minneapolis,
is starting her 10th year as a
middle school teacher at Webster
Open School. She can be reached
at <mariaj@mpls.k12.mn.us>.
Amber (Meier) Tarnowski,
Hastings, Minn., completed her
Master of Art Conservation at
Queen’s University in Kingston,
Ontario, Canada. She is a Kress
Fellow at Harvard, researching
ways to apply microbiology
techniques to art conservation
and preservation.
Kari (Schroeder) Prescott,
Minneapolis, is a physician and
opened her own practice in
downtown Minneapolis last
January. She can be reached at
<keprescott@yahoo.com>. She
and her husband, Scott, have a
son, Simon.
Tricia (Schafer) McCloy, White
Bear Township, Minn., and her
husband, Peter, have three
children: Kieran, 7, Casey, 4, and
Gavin, 3.
Becky (Herzan) Miller is in her
sixth year of teaching fourth
grade for Rockford ISD #883.
1996
Margaret (Lubega) Johnson,
St. Paul, is pursuing graduate
studies.
Annette Marie
(Anibas)
Poeschel,
Excelsior, Minn.,
is the executive
director of the
Intercongregation
Communities Association food
shelf in Minnetonka, which
provides food and assistance for
families in the west metro
community. In April 2003, the
Excelsior Area Chamber of
Commerce presented her with its
2003 Adult Hero Award,
honoring her significant
contributions to the community.
Annette can be reached via email at <icaannette@juno.com>.
1998
Meghan (Carlblom)
Blomquist, Minneapolis,
received her elementary education
teaching license in January.
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Class Notes
Laura (Paul) Newton,
Minneapolis, was awarded a
DOVE fellowship by the
University of Minnesota. The
fellowship is awarded to only a
few students each year who are
entering a master’s or Ph.D.
program at the university and
provides full tuition and a
$15,000 stipend. She is pursuing
a Master of Social Work.
Raylene Dale, Woodbury,
Minn., is technical director at
Minnesota Lions Eye Bank in
Minneapolis. She can be reached
at <dalex011@umn.edu>.
1999
Victoria Sadek, West St. Paul,
auditioned for and received the
role of “Mudonna,” the official
mascot for the St. Paul Saints
baseball team. She is an English
teacher at North Branch High
School, where she teaches British
literature, composition, and
detective literature. She also
coaches cheerleading and is the
one-act play director.
Tom Gronwold, Ashby, Minn.,
is a high school social studies
instructor and junior high
football coach at Ashby School.
He was previously a part-time
teacher at Jefferson High School
in Alexandria, Minn. He and his
wife, Michelle, have a daughter,
Zoe, 6.
Wendy (Hoekstra)
Vogelgesang, Litchfield, Minn.,
is a second grade teacher at Lake
Ripley Elementary and recently
became a PartyLite consultant.
2000
Ryan Mills, Philadelphia, Pa.,
graduated from Princeton
Theological Seminary in
Princeton, N.J., with a Master of
Divinity degree. He entered the
Master of Sacred Theology
program at the Lutheran
Theological Seminary at
Philadelphia, and serves the
Lutheran Campus Ministry at
Princeton University.
Mary Beth (Grahn) Gruis,
Kerkhoven, Minn., works at
Ridgewater College as an adjunct
English faculty member and is
working on her thesis at St.
Cloud State University. She can
be reached at
<maryg@ridgewater.mnscu.edu>.
Kenndy (Bade) Lewis is
pursuing graduate studies in
gerontology at St. Cloud State
University.
2001
Jessica Rivera, Le Center,
Minn., was appointed by St. Paul
Lutheran Church as their 200304 intern. She will serve the
parish by preaching, working
with the youth group, and
helping with church services.
Heidi (Hoffman) Quezada,
Minneapolis, is a warehouse
manager for Second Harvest
Heartland. She and her husband,
Carlos, have three kids: Carmen,
4, Ethan, 3, and Elan, 3. Heidi
can be reached at
<hoffman@augsburg.edu>.
Sarah Luce, Northfield, Minn.,
is a teacher at Montgomery
Elementary School.
2002
Brendan Anderson, Burbank,
Calif., guest conducted at
Lutheran High School of Orange
County, Calif., in a performance
of his piece, I Believe, written for
concert band and choir, in a
benefit concert for a scholarship
fund the school uses to send
students to music camps. The
Augsburg Concert Band also
performed Anderson’s piece with
the high school at the Crystal
Cathedral in May 2003 during
the Concert Band’s California
tour.
Kendra Roberg, Bloomington,
Minn., is a research analyst for
Hennepin County Public
Defenders and is also pursuing
graduate studies.
Elizabeth Scanlan,
Minneapolis, is a vocational
coordinator for Access to
Employment.
2003
Eric Bretheim, Minneapolis,
works at Cargill.
Courtesy photo
A L U M N I C R U I S E T O I R E L A N D A N D N O R W AY
Jeremy Jirele, Austin, Minn., is
a staff accountant at LarsonAllen.
John Tieben, Duluth, Minn.,
took part in the “White Coat
Ceremony” at the University of
Minnesota School of Medicine
Duluth. The ceremony takes
place during orientation when
freshmen students first enter the
medical community.
Aaron Kolb, St. Paul, is a
student at Luther Seminary and a
part-time youth minister at St.
Stephens Lutheran Church in
White Bear Lake. He can be
reached at
<godlovesa@hotmail.com>.
Weddings
This past summer, Augsburg alumni and friends enjoyed a 12-night cruise to Ireland and Norway on the
beautiful Royal Caribbean Grandeur of the Seas. The tour was sponsored by A-Club and the Alumni
Association. Pictured from the tour are: Back row (L to R): Dick “Porkchops” Thompson ’61, David Alberg,
Oliver Dahl ’45, Barbara Garin, Patrick Garin, Glen Gilbertson ’52 (Front row): Jane Thompson, Mary Jane
Alberg, Eileen Dankowski, Irvyn Gilbertson.
32
Debra Ann Balzer ’86, Lake
Shore, Minn., married Robert
Plagemann in June. Debra is
starting her third year as career
center director at Brainerd High
Winter 2003-04
Augsburg Now Winter 04.3
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Page 36
ALUMNI BOARD
Upcoming Alumni Board Meetings
April 20, June 15, and August 17
Meetings are open to the public and all alumni are invited to
attend. Meetings are held in the Christensen Center at 5:30 p.m.
For more information, contact Alumni/Parent Relations at
612-330-1178 or <alumni@augsburg.edu>.
CORRECTION
In last year’s winter issue of the Augsburg Now (Vol. 65, No. 2),
Eunice (Knudson) Iverson was incorrectly identified as being in the
first row of the Class of 1942 photo printed on p. 18. Eunice was
actually in the middle row, second from left. In turn, we believe
that Lannie (Olson) Seal is seated in the first row, second from left.
Please view the photo in the “Alumni News” section of the Now
Online at <www.augsburg.edu/now>.
School; Robert is a partner in
JMS Homes.
Daniel Nessel ’88, Brentwood,
Calif., married Charmaine Trifon
in June. Daniel works at
Prudential Real Estate in Los
Angeles; Charmaine works at
Coldwell Banker Real Estate.
Luke Peterson ’90 married
Heidi Jacobson in November.
Luke is a computer programmer
at Midwest of Cannon Falls;
Heidi is a business analyst at
Northwest Airlines.
Nancy Nordlund ’91,
Minneapolis, married Allan
Bernard in September. Nancy
supervises the customer contact
center at the Federal Reserve
Bank of Minneapolis.
Lisa M. Nicosia ’01 married
Brian Farrell ’95 in September.
Lisa is a registered nurse at
Fairview Southdale Hospital in
Edina, Minn.; Brian is an
attorney at McCollum, Crowley,
Vehanen, Moschet and Miller in
Bloomington.
Erika Timm ’95, Fridley, Minn.,
married Samuel Rodriguez in
September. Erika is a physician
assistant at Allina Medical Center
in Champlin, Minn.; Samuel is a
diabetes management consultant
for Medtronic in Minneapolis.
Stephen Oswood ’95,
Minneapolis, married Laura
Winter 2003-04
Slaughter in June. Stephen is a
program manager at Restart,
Inc., and can be reached at
<scooby628@hotmail.com>.
Tim Ronneberg ’96 married
Melanie Harding in September.
Tim is completing his family
practice residency at St. John’s
Hospital and will begin work as
a physician; Melanie is pursuing
her MBA at the University of
Minnesota and works for the
Target Corporation in the
finance department.
Laurie H. Boros ’97, Pierz,
Minn., married Rocky L. Boser
in April 2003 in Hawaii.
Joseph Peter ’97, Farmington,
Minn., married Shari Heggen in
August. Joseph works at
Gourmet Award Foods; Shari
works at Park Dental.
Emma Manville ’98, White
Bear Lake, Minn., married Kevin
Nelson in October. They both
work for St. Paul Public Schools,
where Emma is a kindergarten
teacher and Kevin is an
elementary counselor.
Hanne Anderson ’99 married
Jason O’Brien in September
2002. Hanne is a film editor at a
production company in New
York City, specializing in High
Definition filmmaking.
Becky Esser ’99, Ramsey,
Minn., married Derek
Anderson ’98 in October. Becky
is a buyer for Augsburg Fortress
Publishers; Derek is a computer
analyst for Interactive Quality
Services.
Natasha
Hamann ’99,
Shoreview,
Minn.,
married Josh
Schaefgen in
March 2003
in Cancun,
Mexico. Tasha
is a resident
physician at St. John’s Hospital;
Josh is an actuary for Allianz Life
Insurance.
Amanda Krebsbach ’99, New
Brighton, Minn., married Ben
West in June. Amanda is a fourth
grade teacher at Spring Lake
Park Schools.
Stephanie Lein ’00 married
Sam Walseth ’00 in Hoversten
Chapel in August. Stephanie
works at Theater Mu; Sam works
at Capitol Hill Associates in St.
Paul.
Phoebe McDonald ’00 married
Nicholas Johnson ’01 in
October. They reside in
Manhattan, where they both
work in academic information
technology—Phoebe at
Columbia University and
Nicholas at Brooklyn College.
The couple previously worked in
Augsburg’s IT department, which
is where they met.
Minneapolis,
married Matt
Segedy in
May 2003.
Heidi works
in medical
device sales
at LifeScan in
St. Paul; Matt
is a
pediatrician with Wayzata
Children’s Clinic.
Teresa Lewandowski ’01
married Christian Dawson ’01
in March 2003 in Invercargil,
New Zealand. Teresa works at
Phoenix Schools in Fair Oaks,
Calif.; Christian works at South
Pointe Academy in Sacramento.
Solveig Grafstrom ’02,
Huntsville, Ala., married
Jackson Harren in August.
Solveig works for the U.S. Space
and Rocket Center; Jackson is
studying industrial systems
engineering at the University of
Alabama, Hunstville.
Amy Huseby ’02 married Rick
Goebel in August. Amy is a
PA-C in general surgery for
LUTE OLSON ’56 MARRIES
CHRISTINE TORETTI
Julie Peterson ’00 married Kip
Kaufmann in October. Julie is a
financial planner assistant at
Olson Weiss, LLC, in
Bloomington, Minn.; Kip is a
senior IT systems analyst at
Cargill in Minnetonka.
Luke Peterson ’00 married
Heidi Jacobson in November.
Luke is a computer programmer;
Heidi is a business analyst at
Northwest Airlines.
Skylar Hanson ’01 married
Jennifer Harrison in August.
Heidi Erickson ’01,
Lute Olson ’56 married
Christine Toretti in April 2003.
Olson, head basketball coach
at the University of Arizona,
met Toretti at an NCAA
Foundation Dinner in April
2002 in Atlanta. Toretti is the
chairman and CEO of S.W.
Jack Drilling, an oil and gas
exploration drilling firm in
Indiana, Pa.
33
Augsburg Now Winter 04.3
4/1/04
11:51 AM
Page 37
Class Notes
Christopher Kambeitz ’02,
Eden Prairie, Minn., married
Melissa Ketchum ’01 in
August. Christopher works in
sales at Cargill-North Star Steel
in Edina.
Mara Koughan ’02, White
Bear Lake, Minn., married Brad
Louque in August 2002.
Carrie Lister ’02, Fridley, Minn.,
married Nicholas Matros in April
2003. Carrie is an assistant site
director for the Southdale
YMCA’s school-age childcare
department; Nicholas is a floor
technician for Reichow Parquet
Flooring in Cedar, Minn.
Kristina Lutter ’02, Wayzata,
Minn., married David Brackett Jr.
in September. Kristina is a
psychiatric technician at
Fairview Riverside Medical
Center.
Troy Peterson ’02 married
Nicole Forcier in October. Troy is
an account analyst at John B.
Collins Associates; Nicole is a
senior payroll specialist with Best
Buy Enterprises.
Karen Tweeten ’02 married
Russell Larson in September.
Karen works at Jennings State
Bank in Spring Grove, Minn.;
Russell works at Larson Well
Drilling of Mabel.
Derek Kuhlman ’03,
Maplewood, Minn., married
Angela Mold in July. Derek
works for 3 Diamond
Corporation in Shoreview;
Angela is a dental assistant at
Metropolitan Pediatric Dental
Associates in St. Paul.
Elizabeth Lallak ’03,
Tallahassee, Fla., married Aaron
Sundstrom in January. She is a
college admissions counselor.
Births
Rev. Paul Burow ’84 and his
wife, Janeen, Brooklyn Park,
34
Minn.—a son,
Christopher
Michael, in
April 2003. He
joins brothers
Danny, 10, and
Jonathan, 8.
Paul is pastor at Family of God
Lutheran Church in Brooklyn
Park.
Karin (Sabo) ’86 and Nicholas
Mantor, Burnsville, Minn.—a
daughter, Sarah Nicole, in
September. She joins siblings
Emily, Thomas, and John.
Deborah (Raetz) ’87 and Dale
Hansmeier, Apple Valley,
Minn.—a son, Paul James, in
April 2003. Deborah is a special
education teacher at Como Park
Senior High, and can be reached
at <deblr65@aol.com>.
Devoney Looser ’89 and
George Justice, Columbia,
Mont.—a son, Carl Anchor
Justice, in September.
Bonnie (Gutknecht) ’91 and
Thurston Miller, Granger, Ind.—
a daughter, Salinda Josephine,
in May 2002. Bonnie can be
reached at
<leaflaker@mail.com>.
Kimberly Anne (Swanson)
’93 and Jeffrey Paul Meslow
’92, Plymouth, Minn.—a
daughter, Kayla Grace, in
September. She joins sister Ally
Jillian, 2. The Meslows can be
reached at <jeffmeslow@msn.com>.
Ann, in May. Ann is a first-grade
teacher at Moose Lake Schools,
and Lee teaches high school
social studies.
Jeffrey Cameron ’96 and his
wife, Linda, Vadnais Heights,
Minn.—a daughter, Allison, in
September. She joins sister
Megan, 2. Jeffrey was named
partner at E.J. Brooks &
Associates, a law firm
specializing in intellectual
property law, and was named a
“Rising Star” by Minnesota Law
and Politics magazine.
Liza (Lindquist) ’97 and Ted
Jacobson, St. Louis Park,
Minn.—a daughter, Annie
Estelle, in August 2002. She
joins brother Cecil, 3.
Mary (Brooks)
’98 and Jon
Wroge,
Norwood Young
America,
Minn.—a
daughter,
Hanna Adaire, in January
2003. She joins siblings Kylie
and Cole. Mary is an English
teacher for Central Public
Schools, and can be reached at
<mwroge@central.k12.mn.us>.
Kim (Eckstrom) ’99 and Rique
Beslin Jr., Centerton, Ariz.—a
daughter, Rebecca Ann, in
June. She joins siblings
Stephanie Kae, 2, and Darrell, 9.
Kim is a systems administrator
for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.,
Corporate ISD Division, in
Bentonville.
Daria Marie
Reboin ’00 and
David
Gordhamer,
Apple Valley,
Minn.—a son,
Elijah Lee
Gordhamer, in March 2003.
Daria is a microscopist/
environmental analyst for EMSL
Analytical, and can be reached at
<reboin@hotmail.com>.
Carla Steen ’91 and Jeff Friedl,
St. Paul, Minn.—a daughter,
Lucy Steen Friedl, in January
2003. Carla is
dramaturg/publications manager
at the Guthrie Theater in
Minneapolis.
ROCHESTER PROGRAM
Staff photo
St. Cloud Medical Group; Rick is
a systems analyst at Banta
Catalog Group in Maple Grove,
Minn.
Julie L.
(Holmquist) ’93
and Ted Sellers,
Duluth, Minn.—
a daughter,
Megan
Elizabeth, in
November 2002. She joins sister
Katie Lynn, 3.
Ann
(Gallagher) ’96
and Lee
Stephenson
’96, Sturgeon
Lake, Minn.—a
daughter, Grace
Last summer, 21 of the 32 graduates in the Augsburg College
Rochester Program, Class of 2003, gathered for a special ceremony
at the Willow Creek Golf Club. From left to right are, (front row):
Patricia Engstrom, Stacy Stromback, Rebecca Maki, Rebecca King,
Sheila Hoehn, Audrey Erwin and Debra Hillier; (back row): Inger
Hillier, Wayne Hansen, Donna Kuhlman, Vikki Bevins, Karen Kuntz,
Robin Pankratz, Caroline Arpin, Diane Ryberg, Joel Hammill,
Jennifer Bishop, Jeanne Townsend, Paula Schumacher-Weideman,
Debra Zaffke, and Becky Krueger.
Winter 2003-04
Augsburg Now Winter 04.3
4/1/04
11:51 AM
Page 38
In Memoriam
Leonard C. Froyen ’30,
Braham, Minn., died in
September; he was 97. He was a
teacher, athletic director, and
coach of many sports at Braham
High School from 1930-73. In
1967, he was inducted into the
Minnesota Coaches Hall of
Fame, and was the first person
inducted into the Braham Hall of
Fame in 1989.
Esther (Sather) Kennedy ’38,
Edina, Minn., died in August;
she was 88.
Rev. Hubert F. DeBoer ’41,
Apple Valley, Minn., died in
September; he was 84. He served
various parishes in Minnesota,
North Dakota, and Wisconsin.
Rev. Michael D. Furney ’43,
Mesa, Ariz., died in August; he
was 82.
Charles “Pat” Foley ’47,
Minneapolis, died in August; he
was 82. He was a cost
accountant for ADM Company
for over 20 years, part owner of
Galaxy Film Service for eight
years, and operated his own tax
consulting and accounting
business for the past 45 years.
Rev. Gilbert Feig ’49,
Minneapolis, died in August; he
was 80. After serving parishes in
North Dakota and Minnesota for
23 years, he was a prominent
building contractor in the Twin
Cities for more than 25 years.
Betty Lee (Munson) Nyhus
’53, Edina, Minn., died in
November; she was 72. She
served in the American Lutheran
Church’s women’s stewardship
division in Minneapolis, and
after the merger, served in the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America’s stewardship division in
Chicago for 10 years.
Rev. Leo B. Vetvick ’53,
Minneapolis, died in December;
he was 84. He was a chaplain
with the Greater Minneapolis
Council of Churches in the
Hennepin County Courts and
Jails for 20 years, serving as an
advocate, counselor, and pastor
to those under the jurisdiction of
the courts. He also taught
courses in social problems and
criminology at Augsburg. After
his retirement in 1973, he served
as a visitation pastor at
Bethlehem Covenant Church. He
co-founded CoAm (Cooperative
Adult Ministry), and was also an
active member of AMICUS, a
support organization for
offenders released from prison.
David. L. Mortrud ’63, Park
Rapids, Minn., died in October;
he was 63. He served as a US
Navy submarine officer from
1963-1974, and as a U.S. Naval
Reserves officer from 1974-1989,
retiring with a rank of captain.
As a civilian, he worked as
investment counsel in the law
department of Aetna Life &
Casualty and as an investment
manager with Northwestern
National Life. He retired in 1998.
Ellen (Johnson) Strom ’65,
Prior Lake, Minn., died in
September of ALS; she was 60.
After teaching third grade in
Bloomington and beginning her
family, she joined the Gittleman
Corporation, and for the last 10
years she was project manager
for the G.M. Northrup
Foundation. She was a devoted
wife, mother, daughter, and
friend.
Larry Fleming, Minneapolis,
died in December. A choral
conductor and composer, he
formerly directed the Augsburg
Choir. He founded Augsburg’s
annual Advent Vespers
celebration, as well as the
National Lutheran Choir.
Clayton L. LeFevere, Richfield,
Minn., died in August; he was
80. He was president and cofounder of LeFevere, Lefler,
Kennedy, O’Brien and Drawz,
and formerly served as chair of
the Augsburg Board of Regents.
A man called ‘Mo’
T
here are always some little known
heroes among us—folks we may never
have met, or have long since forgotten
what they did. Such is the case, perhaps,
for my good friend and former Augsburg
staff member, Wayne Moldenhauer—or
just plain “Mo” to those who knew him.
He died in September; he was 66.
Mo was an ex-convict, and he came to
work at Augsburg in 1971, straight from
Stillwater State Prison. He was one of the
first students in the classes Augsburg had
offered at the prison in 1969.
I am convinced that he, as much as
anyone else, provided leadership that
helped shape the diverse character of
Augsburg as it is today. He raised over $1
million for the College from 1971-1983 in
grants, scholarships, and contracts for
non-traditional student programs. He was
also a teaching assistant in several classes
for students with disabilities.
In addition, he organized the first
“non-medical” transportation for students
Winter 2003-04
and others with disabilities—the
beginning model that later became
today’s Twin Cities Metro-Mobility.
After leaving the College, he went
on to serve as director of the
Center for Education of NonTraditional Students (CENTS).
Later, he organized and headed
Minnesota’s Message Relay Service,
providing telephone
communication between deaf and
hearing people.
Mo had no formal degrees or
Wayne “Mo” Moldenhauer (left) raised over $1 million
even much “legitimate” work
for Augsburg from 1971-1983 and served as a teaching
assistant in several classes for students with disabilities;
experience until he came to
he died in September.
Augsburg. Ironically, it was his
experience “on the streets” that
“Augsburg College has given me the
informed his skills as an organizer and
greatest present I could have thought to
fundraiser.
receive. That present is the ability to enjoy
Mo is still a hero to those of us who
life again—both as a person who can find
came to know him. But Augsburg was also
strength in his tears and frustrations and
Mo’s “hero.” In December 1973, he wrote
peace in his strengths and successes. …”
“An Open Letter to Augsburg College,”
Thanks, Mo—from all of us—for
published in the Augsburg Echo. He wrote:
everything.
35
Vern Bloom
by Vern Bloom, Augsburg professor emeritus, social work and sociology
Augsburg Now Winter 04.3
4/1/04
11:51 AM
Page 39
C
Courtesy photo
AAuggie
UGGIE
Thoughts
THOUGHTS
After reading about Augsburg in a recent Star Tribune article,
Keely Blumentritt ’00 was inspired to write her alma mater to
express her gratitude for the education she received, as well as
to update the College on her life and work in New York. The
letter, which was shared with others in the administration,
prompted President Frame to visit her while he was in New
York. Following his visit, President Frame said he was
profoundly moved by Blumentritt’s obvious joy and fulfilled
sense of calling in her chosen profession. She shares her letter
with Augsburg Now readers.
Greetings!
I just read the article in the Star Tribune, “Augsburg College
has the Right Recipe.” And, yet again, I was overwhelmed
with gratitude for the work that is being done at Augsburg.
I know you are doing amazing things with the students
studying at Augsburg, as well as in the community.
Over the past academic year I have started supervising
MSW (Master of Social Work) interns from Columbia
University. This has given me the opportunity to deeply
reflect on my own education and experience. In addition, I
have come to the realization that Augsburg offers a holistic
learning experience that other schools are unable to offer.
I am very grateful for the education I gained, the financial
assistance I received, and the mentors that guided me. It
seems that not a day goes by when I do not think about
Augsburg at least once. Some of my thoughts reference
academic material, but more than that I reflect on the sense
of generosity, hope, empathy, and faith I gained through my
experiences. It has been invaluable. Reading the stories of
the students in the article reminded me that the same work
is still happening.
On a personal note, I am still doing the same sort of
work I started at Augsburg. After graduating from
Columbia in 2001 with my MSW, I have continued living
36
in Manhattan. Right now I am working for an organization
called Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers, Inc. I work in a public
high school three days a week doing individual and group
counseling as well as educational outreach to students. The
other two days I am at a mental health clinic working with
patients in an individual setting. My client base is aged
7–64, which adds a richness to the practice. Additionally, I
am getting married in June to a great man I met out here—
I will soon be Keely (Blumentritt) Meshel! It is a very
exciting time in life.
I owe the faculty and staff at Augsburg a great deal of
thanks for the support I have received in my educational
and, now, professional career. And, it is wonderful to know
that the good work is still being done by good people. If
you ever need anything from New York just let me know.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Sincerely,
Keely Blumentritt ’00
Winter 2002-03
Augsburg Now Winter 04.3
4/1/04
11:51 AM
Page 40
CCalendar
ALENDAR
Music
April 2–May 16
Other Events
For more information on any of these
events (unless otherwise noted), call
612-330-1265
Senior Art Exhibit
April 18
April 18
Spring Jazz Ensemble Concert
7 p.m.—Hoversten Chapel
April 20
Riverside Singers Spring Concert
Christensen Center Art Gallery
Seminars,
Lectures, and
Films
For information, call 612-330-1180
April 4–17
Access to Excellence: The Campaign for
Augsburg College
Augsburg community campaign kick-off
event, including science demonstrations,
music, exhibits, athletic clinics, theatre,
health screenings, reading corner, worship
celebration, free food, activities for all ages,
and much more.
Noon-4:30 p.m.—Augsburg campus
For information, call 612-330-1613
7 p.m.—Hoversten Chapel
Augsburg Native American Film
Series 2004
April 21
In conjunction with the Minneapolis/
St. Paul International Film Festival
Various dates and times; to request a
flyer via e-mail, call 612-330-1523 or
e-mail <marubbio@augsburg.edu>
April 30–May 1
Augsburg Concert Band Spring Concert
April 18
• Commencement Dinner
3 p.m.—Hoversten Chapel
Student Documentary Film Showcase
May 2–8
2-4:30 p.m.—Science Hall, Room 123
For information, call 612-330-1507
e-mail <davidson@augsburg.edu>
Chamber Music Recital & High Tea
4 p.m.—Sateren Auditorium
April 25
Augsburg Concert Band Tour of the
Midwest
Performances in Minnesota, North
Dakota, Montana, and South Dakota
For information, call 612-330-1279
By Sophie Treadwell
Directed by Darcey Engen
April 2, 3, 15, 16, and 17 at 7 p.m.; April
4 and 18 at 2 p.m.
Tjornhom-Nelson Theater
April 23
Senior Acting Recitals
7 p.m.—Tjornhom-Nelson Theater
Exhibits
For gallery information, call 612-330-1524
April 2–May 2
Juried Student Art Exhibit
Gage Family Art Gallery, Lindell Library
6 p.m.—Commons, Christensen
Center
• Commencement Concert
Augsburg Chamber Orchestra
7:30 p.m.—Hoversten Chapel
May 1
April 19
Sverdrup Visiting
Scientist Lecture:
“The Exploration of
Mars: An Ongoing
Saga of Fact &
Fiction, Dreams &
Aspirations”
For ticket information, call 612-330-1257
Machinal
April 30
• Honors Convocation
4:30 p.m.—Hoversten Chapel
Theatre
April 2–18
Commencement Weekend
• Eucharist Service
8:30 a.m.—Hoversten Chapel
• Baccalaureate Service
10 a.m.—Hoversten Chapel
• Commencement Brunch
11 a.m.—Commons, Christensen
Center
Dr. Noel W. Hinners,
senior research
associate, Laboratory
for Atmospheric and Space Physics,
University of Colorado-Boulder
8 p.m.—Hoversten Chapel
For information, call 612-330-1551 or
e-mail <gregoire@augsburg.edu>
• Commencement Ceremony
May 16
Lutheran Free Church celebration
Alumni Tour Information Meeting
Information about the Alumni
Association-sponsored tour exploring
Lutheran heritage in Germany and
Eastern Europe Oct. 15-27
2-4 p.m.—Century Room, Christensen
Center
For information, call 612-330-1178 or
e-mail <alumni@augsburg.edu>
1:30 p.m.—Melby Hall
Seating begins at 12:30 p.m.
Tickets required
• Commencement Reception
3 p.m.—Murphy Square
June 12
A celebration of the tradition and
heritage of the Lutheran Free Church
9 a.m.-6:30 p.m.—Augsburg campus
For information, call 612-330-1178 or
e-mail <alumni@augsburg.edu>
June 28
A-Club Golf Tournament
Pebble Creek golf course, Becker, Minn.
For information, call 612-330-1249
Augsburg Now Winter 04.3
4/1/04
11:50 AM
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>.
Page 2
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Is this a new address? ■ Yes ■ No ________________________________________________________________________________
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■ Okay to publish your e-mail address?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Position
Work telephone
Is spouse also a graduate of Augsburg College?
■ Yes
■ No
If yes, class year_______________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Your news: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Augsburg
Now
MAKING CONNECTIONS
P. 18
DOG ROBOTS IN CLASS
P. 22
GLOBAL BUSINESS
P. 24
A P U B L I C AT I O N F O R
AUGSBURG COLLEGE ALUMNI & FRIENDS
WINTER 2006-07
VOL. 69, NO. 2
A president is inaugurated
page 12
Editor
Notes
from President Pribbenow on…
The richness and wond...
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Augsburg
Now
MAKING CONNECTIONS
P. 18
DOG ROBOTS IN CLASS
P. 22
GLOBAL BUSINESS
P. 24
A P U B L I C AT I O N F O R
AUGSBURG COLLEGE ALUMNI & FRIENDS
WINTER 2006-07
VOL. 69, NO. 2
A president is inaugurated
page 12
Editor
Notes
from President Pribbenow on…
The richness and wonder of human diversity
S
o God created humankind in God’s image, in
the image of God he created them; male and
female he created them … God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was
very good. (Genesis 1: 27, 31a, NRSV)
I once heard a presentation from a nursing student
who was part of a community health practicum
course in a homeless shelter, who commented that
before she went to her assignment at the shelter, her
general feeling was that homeless people had done
something to “deserve” their fate—she had no sense
of how she could interact with these “people.” She
was frightened. Once she had begun her assignment, however, she recounted how the residents of
the shelter became her fellow citizens, her friends
even. She learned their stories, grieved with them
about bad decisions, unfair circumstances, sad and
distressing experiences. She stood side by side with
them in their struggles to find a home and set a new
course for their lives. And she rejoiced in the role
she could play in listening, empathizing, offering a
word or hand or whatever might help. In her experience in that service-learning course, she learned
about otherness and difference in ways that would
make her a better nurse, a better citizen and neighbor, a better friend.
This story is why I will never give up in our
efforts to make diversity a core value of our academic and common work and why I am so pleased that
this issue of Augsburg Now illustrates some of our
efforts to promote diversity on campus and beyond.
Creating, sustaining, celebrating, and supporting
diversity is an abiding challenge for our college.
Whether it is diversity of perspective, religion, ethnicity, race, social class, and so forth, there are critical voices from all sides pressing us to make the case
for our philosophy, commitment, experience, policies, and practices related to diversity on campus
and beyond. Here at Augsburg, we have the distinct
gift of at least three compelling mission-based
reasons for intentionally engaging the diversity of
our world.
Betsey Norgard
norgard@augsburg.edu
Staff Writer
Bethany Bierman
bierman@augsburg.edu
Design Manager
Kathy Rumpza
rumpza@augsburg.edu
Class Notes Designer
Signe Peterson
petersos@augsburg.edu
• Theologically, we believe that God has created
humankind in all its diversity in God’s own image.
• Educationally, we believe that a liberal arts
approach to learning and teaching is fundamentally committed to engaging otherness and difference
so that we might genuinely understand and
embrace the richness of human experience and
creativity throughout the ages.
• Civically, we are persuaded that educating for
democracy is at least in part about preparing our
students for lives in society that will require them
to have the knowledge, skills, and values needed
to negotiate their ways with people of diverse
backgrounds and experiences.
This past summer, I had the privilege of visiting
Augsburg’s study site in Cuernavaca, Mexico, where
I, too, learned to face my fears and stereotypes of
other cultures and life experiences. We all are still
learning to admit our privilege, to embrace the wonder of difference and other experiences, to live as
neighbors here on campus and in our community,
where the world is becoming our neighbor in very
concrete and real ways.
Our work to educate students for democracy
cannot be uncoupled from this commitment to
diversity. This is why diversity on campus, in the
neighborhood and city, in the church, and in the
world is important—it is the heart of a healthy
democracy.
Yours,
Photographer
Stephen Geffre
geffre@augsburg.edu
Augsburg Now Intern
Erin Kennedy
kennedy1@augsburg.edu
Media Relations Manager
Judy Petree
petree@augsburg.edu
Sports Information Director
Don Stoner
stoner@augsburg.edu
Director of Alumni Relations
Heidi Breen
breen@augsburg.edu
www.augsburg.edu
Augsburg Now is published
quarterly by Augsburg College,
2211 Riverside Ave.,
Minneapolis, Minn., 55454.
Opinions expressed in Augsburg
Now do not necessarily reflect
official College policy.
ISSN 1058-1545
Send address corrections to:
Advancement Services,
CB 142,
Augsburg College
2211 Riverside Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55454
healyk@augsburg.edu
E-mail: now@augsburg.edu
Telephone: 612-330-1181
Fax: 612-330-1780
Paul C. Pribbenow, president
22
Winter 2006-07
Contents
Features
11
A Change in Reference—Librarian to Volunteer
by Betsey Norgard
For nearly 15 years in retirement, Margaret Anderson has continued to volunteer
in the library she once headed.
12
Ages of Imagination: The Inauguration of Paul C. Pribbenow
Around themes of abundance, generosity, engagement, and service,
Augsburg inaugurates its 11th president.
18
Making Connections
by Betsey Norgard
After five years, the Scholastic Connections program has proven a winner for
both mentors and mentees.
22
See AIBO Walk … and Sit … and Wiggle Its Ears
by Betsey Norgard
Sophomore Jesse Docken finds both fun and challenge in “training” dog robots.
24
12
On the Cover: At his investiture as
Augsburg’s 11th president, the seal of the
College is placed around the neck of
Paul C. Pribbenow by Board of Regents
chair Ted Grindal ’76.
Global Business
by Bethany Bierman
Augsburg business classes have built-in global experience from a very
international faculty.
Departments
2 Around the Quad
5 2006 Alumni Awards
6 Supporting Augsburg
8 Sports
28 Alumni News
40 Views
Inside back cover Calendar
All photos by Stephen Geffre unless otherwise indicated.
AROUND THE QUAD
NOTEWORTHY
Three new regents elected to board
Three new members were elected to four-year terms on the
Augsburg College Board of Regents at the annual meeting of the
Augsburg Corporation in October.
In addition, Michael O. Freeman and Philip Styrland ’79 were
re-elected to second six-year terms. Freeman is a partner at
Lindquist & Vennum, P.L.L.P., and Styrlund is president of The
Summit Group, an international education and development firm.
Richard C. Hartnack
Since the beginning of his banking career in
1971, Hartnack has held positions in corporate
banking at First Interstate Bank of Oregon, and
in community banking at First Chicago and
Union Bank of California. He currently is vice
chairman and head of consumer banking at
U.S. Bancorp.
Hartnack has a bachelor’s degree in economics from UCLA and a master’s degree in business administration from Stanford University. He is a graduate of the Strategic
Marketing Management program at the Harvard Business School.
Congratulations to
Jacki Brickman ’97
Augsburg alumna Jacki Brickman
’97 was one of two teachers in
the Minneapolis and St. Paul
school districts who were awarded a Milken National Educator
Award in October.
This award, from the Milken
Family Foundation, recognizes
teachers and principals across
the country for their effectiveness
in the classroom, accomplishments outside the classroom,
leadership, and ability to inspire
students, teachers, and the community. It carries a cash award of
$25,000.
Brickman, a 10-year teacher,
is a teacher mentor at Hall
International Elementary School
in Minneapolis, working with
other teachers at the school to
test new techniques.
Brickman, who also is an
adjunct instructor in Weekend
College, is the second Augsburg
graduate to receive a Milken
Educator Award. Margaret
Knutson ’91, fifth-grade teacher
at Orono Intermediate School,
received the same award in
2004. Read about both teachers
in the Augsburg Now spring 2006
article, “Teachers who Lead,
Leaders who Teach,” at
www.augsburg.edu/now.
André Lewis ‘73
Since 2002, Lewis has served as director of
marketing and community affairs and president of the RBC Dain Rauscher Foundation.
Previously he held a similar position at
Honeywell. His background in education
includes serving as principal at both Washburn
and South high schools.
Lewis graduated from Augsburg and earned
a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. He has been active in
Augsburg’s Corporate Connections program.
Rev. Norman Wahl ‘75
Since 1996, Wahl has been executive pastor of
Bethel Lutheran Church, the site of Augsburg’s
programs in Rochester, Minn., and served on
the task force that led to the formation of the
Rochester campus. He has also been part of the
alumni board, campaign cabinet, and on staff
at the College.
After Augsburg, Wahl graduated from
Luther Seminary and earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from the
seminary in 1997.
2 AUGSBURG NOW
MBA consulting firm to start
Small businesses and non-profits in Rochester can qualify for probono consulting services from Augsburg’s Rochester MBA students
and graduates.
This new service, Augsburg Alumni Consulting Team (AACT),
extends the MBA field service program, in which all students work
with a client in the community on business issues and applications.
A “full-team” consultation by AACT on critical strategic or management issues will be staffed by four to eight volunteers. A “fast track”
for focused issues will involve one to three volunteers in two or
three client meetings. And, a “board match” program will help nonprofits build their board leadership.
Additional support services—database design, Web design,
research, etc.—may be added by Augsburg undergraduate business
and computer science students.
This College-sponsored consulting service will offer both experience and exposure to the students and alumni, and include a
review process to build case studies.
While beginning in Rochester, AACT hopes to also expand the
program to the Twin Cities.
For information, contact William Aguero at
aguero@augsburg.edu.
The “greening” of
Augsburg
Augsburg imagines environmental stewardship as central to its
mission as a Lutheran college in
the city.
President Paul Pribbenow
says, “The Augsburg College
community is deeply committed
to what it means to build a sustainable urban environment. …
Our relationships with our
diverse neighbors, with the
Mississippi River, and with other
neighborhoods in our vibrant
city are opportunities for learning, for civic engagement, and
for faithful service.”
The institutional committee
that grew out of a learning community seven years ago is now
named the Environmental
Stewardship Committee and provides leadership for the College
in areas addressing sustainability.
The committee’s growing website
offers information and resources
in the following initiatives:
• Recycling/waste
reduction—Recycling bins
have risen to nearly 75% capacity in the last year and new
equipment across campus
reduces water consumption
and energy usage. The College
recycles household items to
community organizations and
established a re-use table. A
number of measures adopted
reduce storm water run-off
from campus, which, perhaps
more than anything else, has
had an impact on water quality
in the Mississippi River.
• Transportation—Two light rail
stations within walking distance and reduced fare bus-rail
passes help the Augsburg com-
munity increase its use of public transit, freeing up parking
spaces. Accessible bike trails
provide alternatives to driving.
• HOURCAR—Augsburg is the
newest neighborhood hub for
HOURCAR—a hybrid vehicle
that can be rented.
• Curriculum—Across the curriculum, courses address sustainability issues, and study
abroad is available in metrourban studies. A new environmental studies program is
scheduled to launch in fall
2007.
• River stewardship—Augsburg
is an official “steward” of a
portion of the Mississippi
River near campus and regularly hosts “clean-ups” to prevent pollution. The
Environmental and River
Politics course explores issues
related to restoration of the
river ecosystem and ways in
which our relationship to the
river reflects the health of our
community.
• Campus Kitchen at Augsburg
College—In its three years,
Campus Kitchen has kept
more than 35,000 pounds of
food out of landfill and turned
it into over 37,000 meals for
the community. In the next
year, Augsburg plans to launch
a community garden to bring
neighbors together and provide food for community
organizations.
• Building a green
campus—The Environmental
Stewardship Committee has a
voice in the ongoing planning
for the new Science Center,
which includes a “green” roof
and maximal use of sustainable architecture and products.
Michael Lansing, assistant professor of history, wrote in the
Augsburg Echo about Christensen
Symposium speaker Douglas
John Hall’s comments on “stewardly vocations.” Hall argued that
everyone must make stewardship
of the environment both a personal and collective priority.
Lansing wrote that stewardly
vocations “push us all toward
recognizing and caring for the
many other forms of life that we
depend on for sustenance and
comfort.”
To learn more about sustainability at Augsburg, go to www.augsburg.edu/green or contact Tom
Ruffaner, chair of the
Environmental Stewardship
Committee, at ruffaner@augsburg.edu.
—Betsey Norgard
Fond farewell to ‘Mr. Augsburg’
On Sept. 30 Jeroy Carlson ’48 officially retired from the
campus and community he first came to more than 60
years ago. During that time, he served Augsburg as a student, volunteer, alumni director, and development officer.
At a packed reception in his honor, Carlson was presented with a baseball jersey bearing his No. 10 and a
“Jeroy Carlson” baseball card. He was also presented
with framed photos of the Augsburg campus, as he knew
it and as it is today.
Known as “Mr. Augsburg” by his classmates and colleagues, Carlson excelled as a student-athlete in baseball,
basketball, and football, and was part of four MIAC
championship teams. He continued to work with the
A-Club and helped establish the Augsburg Athletic Hall
of Fame.
In 1991, after serving on the alumni board and as
director of alumni relations, the alumni office was dedicated as the Jeroy C. Carlson Alumni Center.
See the winter 2005-06 Augsburg Now for a feature
story on “Mr. Augsburg.”
Vice President Tracy Elftmann ‘81 presents Jeroy
Carlson with a baseball jersey bearing his no. 10.
WINTER 2006-07 3
AROUND THE QUAD
COMMENCEMENT
Two commencements at Augsburg
Beginning this year, Augsburg will offer two commencement ceremonies, in order to recognize the different academic calendars followed. A May 5 ceremony will be held for day students and physician assistant students who are on semesters; a June 24 ceremony
will honor Weekend College, Rochester, United Hospital, and the
other five graduate program students who follow trimesters.
This year’s Commencement speakers are Eboo Patel on May 5, and
Rev. Martin E. Marty on June 24.
With a national fellowship in microbiology and an interest in infectious diseases, senior Richard Birkett is studying the genes encoding streptococcal bacteria.
Senior Richard
Birkett wins research
fellowship
Biology senior Richard Birkett is
one of 43 students across the
country to receive a 2006
Undergraduate Research
Fellowship from the American
Society for Microbiology. Its
stipend funded his summer
research with biology professor
Beverly Smith-Keiling.
The project, applied for jointly by Birkett and Smith-Keiling,
looks at the characteristics of
streptococcal bacteria and the
genes that encode them. They
study a particular streptococcal
protein, discovered by SmithKeiling, that binds a human
immune system protein, and its
role in causing infections, especially in immuno-weak people
4 AUGSBURG NOW
(neo-natal babies, elderly, and
others who are immuno-compromised). The research involves
manipulating the protein’s DNA
in the laboratory to create
mutants for further study.
“We were thrilled to receive
this ASM Fellowship,” says
Smith-Keiling. “It is a prestigious
award and played a significant
role as a feather in our cap as
one of several steps that
Augsburg is taking to secure
external funding, build our
undergraduate research program,
and move toward more scientific
research at our institution.”
Birkett’s interest in infectious
diseases began in summer 2005
when he traveled to Tanzania
with a microbiology study
abroad course through Hamline
University. He visited labs and
small villages, and found the
experience “eye-opening” in
terms of lifestyle and conditions
he encountered.
To gain background in
research, Birkett took a pilot
course at Augsburg, Introduction
to Research, designed to prepare
second-year students for facultyled research. He credits that
course for teaching him the discipline, motivation, and critical
thinking needed for scientific
study. The course was repeated
this past fall, and Birkett served
as a peer mentor.
Birkett has thrived in the
microbiology laboratory, and is
interested in pursuing work in
the health field with infectious
disease, possibly attending medical school. He, along with
Smith-Keiling and other students, will present their research
at the American Society for
Microbiology general meeting in
the spring.
“Richard has been the model
for what we hope to continue, as
students progress from their
early years without research
skills to excelling as independent
researchers, and the fellowship
played a key role,” says SmithKeiling. “It has been a privilege
and joy to work with him.”
Birkett came to Augsburg
from Boston as a student in the
StepUP Program, which supports
students in chemical recovery.
He says that Augsburg has been
great for him. “I came to
Augsburg for StepUP; I’m staying
for science and the people.”
—Betsey Norgard
HOMECOMING 2006
Two honored as
Distinguished Alumni
Augsburg’s Distinguished Alumni
are recognized for their significant achievement in vocation, for
outstanding contribution to
church and community, and for
lives that exemplify the ideals and
mission of Augsburg College.
Glen Person ’47
A native of
Minneapolis,
Glen Person
grew up in
Augsburg’s
neighborhood.
He graduated
with degrees
in mathematics and business, and was one of
the first students in Augsburg’s
new business administration
department. His college studies
were interrupted by World War
II, where he served in the U.S.
Navy.
Person’s vocational career
involved two 20-year employments in the insurance industry.
In 1948 he started as a bookkeeper at Fidelity and Casualty
Co., and left in 1968 as its bond
manager. From 1969 until his
retirement in 1989, he was an
accounting manager and bond
vice president at W.A. Lang
Company.
From 1993 to 2005, Person
served on Augsburg’s Board of
Regents, as a member of the
Finance Committee and as board
treasurer. Over the years, he has
been one of the most active
members of Augsburg’s A-Club,
and a frequent spectator and
loyal Auggie athletic booster. He
serves on the Claire Strommen
Golf Tournament Committee.
Person has also contributed
financial expertise to numerous
boards of directors, and as treasurer of Prairie Lutheran Church
in Eden Prairie, Minn.
Lois (Peterson) Bollman ’69
Lois Bollman
graduated in
1969 with a
bachelor’s
degree in
English education from
Augsburg, and
went on to
earn a master’s degree in reading.
In 2001 she earned a doctorate
in educational policy and administration of higher education.
For the past 30 years, she has
worked in a number of areas
within the Minnesota community
college system and is a recognized leader and administrator in
areas of student assessment, college readiness, and developmental education. Her strengths lie in
strategic planning, institutional
research, and evaluation of academic programs. Currently she is
vice president of strategy, planning, and accountability at
Minneapolis Community and
Technical College.
Here, she developed the
Urban Teacher Education
Program, in collaboration with
secondary and postsecondary
institutions, that aims to inspire
and educate students from urban
schools to become teachers in
their own communities. In 2003,
Bollman led the faculty development work that received one of
five national Theodore Hesburgh
Awards from TIAA-CREF.
Bollman has served as a class
agent and is active at Edina
Community Lutheran Church.
First Decade Award
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.
Spirit of Augsburg
Award
The Spirit of Augsburg Award honors alumni or friends of the College
who have given exceptional service
that contributes substantially to the
well being of Augsburg by furthering its purposes and programs.
Herald Johnson ‘68
Milana (Gorshkova)
Pirogova ’96
Milana
Pirogova graduated magna
cum laude
from Augsburg
with a bachelor’s degree in
economics and
international
relations, and went on to earn a
master’s degree in international
economics from George
Washington University.
In 1998 she began working
for the International Finance
Corporation, a member of the
World Bank Group, in
Washington, D.C. She is now an
investment officer in the Global
Financial Markets Department
and posted in Russia, her homeland.
Two of her significant projects have included working with
privatization projects in Bosnia
and drafting the Mortgage
Securities Law with the Russian
national parliament. In her current work she is able to promote
awareness and resources for the
much-needed economic and
educational development in
Russia. She also has been an
eager promoter of Augsburg
College to prospective students
in Murmansk, St. Petersburg,
and Moscow.
After graduating, Herald
Johnson first
became an
admissions
officer, then
Augsburg’s
first financial
aid officer
when new federal programs
required administrative oversight. Over the nearly 40 years
since, he became a pioneer,
leader, and mentor among all of
Minnesota’s financial aid officers.
He is respected both for
helping students understand and
access financial resources to
make college possible and for
mentoring young professionals in
the field. He is the only person
to have been twice elected president of the Minnesota
Association of Financial Aid
Administrators (MAFAA).
Johnson collaborated with
Julie Olson ’90, ’04 MAL, now
vice president of enrollment
management, to create and
implement the Enrollment
Center, which brings together
several student service offices
into a one-stop shop for students.
Johnson retired last summer,
but continues to serve as a consultant on scholarship programs
and with Augsburg’s government
relations office concerning financial aid issues.
—Betsey Norgard
WINTER 2006-07 5
Photo courtesy of Martha Gisselquist
AROUND THE QUAD
SUPPORTING
AUGSBURG
The Clement A.
Gisselquist Endowed
Scholarship—
an Augsburg family’s
music legacy
6 AUGSBURG NOW
All six of Clement and Borghild Gisselquist’s children graduated from Augsburg, and most of them were choir and band members
during their college years. (L to R): James ’68, Joel ’77, Rebecca ’67, Borghild, Martha ’87, John ’72, and Miriam ’83.
Gisselquist extended family
includes 17 relatives with
Augsburg connections. Clement’s
brother, professor emeritus Orloue
Gisselquist, attended Augsburg, as
well as two sons, Richard and
David. His wife, Marilyn, came to
Augsburg and completed her
bachelor’s degree in 1973.
Clement and Orloue’s sister
Grace E. Gisselquist ’49 married
the Rev. Oliver Johnson ’50.
Another sister, Marilyn, attended
science classes at Augsburg as
part of her nurses’ training and
married Vardon Quanbeck ’44.
While at Augsburg, Orloue,
like Clement, sang in the choir
and Grace belonged to the Music
Club, both sharing their brother’s
love for music.
Another brother, John Irving,
did not attend Augsburg, but his
son, John E. Gisselquist, graduated in 1984.
Even more telling is the musical legacy Clement left his six
children, all of whom graduated
from Augsburg. The youngest,
Miriam (Gisselquist) Jensen ’83
was a music major and is now an
organist and piano teacher—
something her mother knows
would have pleased her father.
John, Class of 1972, sang in
the Augsburg Choir and for
many years has been a member
of the National Lutheran Choir,
performing in concerts throughout the U.S.
Judy Petree
The Rev. Clement A. Gisselquist
enjoyed a lifelong love of music.
He graduated from Augsburg
College in 1941, and during his
college years he sang both in the
Augsburg Choir under Henry P.
Opseth and in the Augsburg
Quartet as its second bass when
they toured in 1940.
Following Augsburg,
Gisselquist graduated from
Luther Seminary, and he and his
wife, Borghild, served churches
in North Dakota, Minnesota, and
Iowa. Throughout his life, he
always actively promoted his
churches’ music programs.
Borghild recounts how especially
pleased he was when his church
in Sioux City, Iowa, purchased a
new organ.
After Clement died in 1979,
the family decided to establish a
scholarship endowment in his
memory and designed it to benefit students “of organ and/or
choral music who desire to serve,
professionally or otherwise, in
the ministry of music of the
Lutheran Church.”
“Augsburg was close to his
heart and we knew that music
was something he was always
interested in,” comments
Borghild, recalling the family discussions. The scholarship just
seemed a fitting way in which
they could honor their brother,
husband, father, and uncle.
The remarkable fact is that the
Nicole (Warner) Simml ’01 (left), who performs and teaches music in Germany, joined
Krista Costin ’07 (right) as soloist with the Augsburg Choir’s concert in Leipzig,
Germany last May. Both Simml and Costin are recipients of the Clement A. Gisselquist
Church Music Scholarship.
Rachel Olson ’08
Photo courtesy of Orloue Gisselquist
The Rev. Clement A. Gisselquist (far right) sang second bass in the 1940 Augsburg
Quartet. His love of music is passed on to students through an endowed scholarship
Five of the Gisselquist women enjoyed meeting the current student scholars at the
in his name. Photo taken from The Augsburg Quartets: A Mission-Driven Tradition, by
annual Scholarship Brunch in November. (L to R): Martha Gisselquist, Becky Lien,
Merton P. Strommen and David M. Larson.
Borghild Gisselquist, Marilyn Gisselquist, and Miriam Jensen.
Joel, Class of 1977, played
tuba in the Concert Band for two
years and sang in the Augsburg
Choir during his senior year. The
two oldest children, Rebecca
(Gisselquist) Lien ’67 and James
’68, also sang in the choir. James
is married to fellow Auggie Jane
(Eidsvoog) ’73. Martha, a nurse,
came to Augsburg to complete
her bachelor’s degree in 1987.
The Clement Gisselquist
Scholarship keeps the extended
family connected to Augsburg. A
number of the relatives continue
to grow the endowment by making gifts to the scholarship a part
of their regular giving—in lieu of
exchanging gifts within the family on special occasions.
In the fall, Borghild said of
her immediate family, “We’ve
already talked about this
Christmas, that we’ll make gifts
to the scholarship instead of to
each other.”
The Gisselquists enjoy meeting the Augsburg students who
receive the scholarship each year.
The 2006-07 recipient, junior
music major Krista Costin was
studying abroad in Ghana during
the fall and regrets missing the
Scholarship Brunch. She fondly
remembers meeting members of
the Gisselquist family at last
spring’s Music Scholarship High
Tea. Costin sings in the
Augsburg Choir and toured with
the choir last May to the Czech
Republic and Germany.
Last year’s scholarship recipient, senior Nikki Lemire, is a
harpist and a section leader in
the choir at Central Lutheran
Church. The 1998-99 scholarship holder, Nicole (Warner)
Simml ’01, now lives in Germany
and is enjoying a career performing and teaching voice. Last May
she joined the Augsburg Choir in
Leipzig on their tour in
Germany, and joined Costin as a
soloist.
An earlier Gisselquist recipient, Melissa (Wieland) Bergstrom
’97 has been organist and choir
director at Edina Community
Lutheran Church, in addition to
teaching and serving as director
of choral activities at AnokaRamsey Community College.
Several of the Gisselquist
scholarship recipients have sub-
sequently been chosen as Orville
and Gertrude Hognander Music
Scholars.
With many of the Gisselquist
Auggies making regular gifts to
grow the scholarship endowment, future students—and per-
haps additional Gisselquists—
join Rev. Clement A. Gisselquist’s
legacy to Augsburg’s music program—something that surely
would please him.
—Betsey Norgard
Making a gift to Augsburg
It’s easy to make a donation to Augsburg College.
All donations are tax-deductible.
Gifts online
Go to www.augsburg.edu/giving to make a secure credit card
donation. You can use the form to make a one-time donation or
to set up recurring gifts.
Gifts by phone
To make a donation by phone, call Kevin Healy, director of
advancement services, at 612-338-6537 or 800-273-0617.
Gifts by mail
You can mail your gift to:
Developement Office, Campus Box 142
Augsburg College, 2211 Riverside Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55454
For complete information about making a gift,
including the types of giving and giving programs,
go to www.augsburg.edu/giving.
WINTER 2006-07 7
AROUND THE QUAD
SPORTS
Brothers in soccer
Vinnie Brooks and Ryan Kitzman
are like brothers. Brothers united
by soccer.
For all but one year of the last
dozen, the two have played on
the same soccer teams—the same
club teams, elementary school
team, junior high team, high
school team, and the same college team.
Ever since they were each
eight years old, growing up in
Maple Grove, Minn., and attending schools in Osseo, the duo
could be found on the same
fields—Brooks on defense,
Kitzman in the midfield.
Best friends and players with
similar competitive personalities,
the two split for just one year—
their freshman years in college,
when Kitzman attended Bethany
Lutheran College in Mankato,
Minn., and Brooks enrolled at
Augsburg.
But the pair reunited their
sophomore years, became roommates, and helped to lead a renaissance in the Augsburg men’s
soccer program.
“I wanted to be back in the
city,” Kitzman said. “I talked to
Vinnie pretty much all my freshman year. I came to visit
Augsburg a couple of times, and
he said they were getting a new
coach and a new field, so I came
for another visit. Once I met
[coach] Greg [Holker], it was a
done deal.”
So Kitzman transferred, and
the pair was reunited.
“We have the same style of
play. We practice against each
other and just go at it. It’s like we
8 AUGSBURG NOW
hate each other when we’re practicing. It gets pretty intense,”
Brooks said. “He’s pretty much
like my replica on the field. We
have some minor differences, but
overall, the competitiveness and
our work ethic, we just relate to
each other. It just clicks. We both
respect each other.”
Both were starters throughout
their Auggie careers and were key
elements of the dramatic growth
of the men’s soccer program. In
Brooks’ freshman year, 2003, the
Auggies finished 5-11-2 overall, 09-1 in league play. In the 2006
season under third-year head
coach Greg Holker, the Auggies
finished 13-3-3 overall and 5-2-3
in conference play, winning a
place in the conference’s postseason playoffs.
In four seasons at Augsburg,
Brooks played in 67 games, starting 57, with eight assists from his
defensive position. As a midfielder
during his three years at
Augsburg, Kitzman started 49 of
54 contests, with five goals and
six assists for 16 career points.
As two of only three seniors
on this year’s Auggie squad, the
pair acknowledges that they have
been a part of a new beginning for
the men’s soccer program, which
they hope continues to succeed.
“It’s just awesome to have this
kind of success in our last year
playing here,” Brooks says. “It’s
like leaving a legacy behind. It’s
one of the things we wanted to
do. We had the first winning season here in 20 years and made
the [conference] playoffs.”
But the end of their senior
seasons will not mean the end of
soccer, or friendship, for Brooks
and Kitzman. The two play on
the same adult-league team and
coach a youth team together in
Plymouth, Minn. Brooks, a health
and physical education major
Auggie teammates Vinnie Brooks (left) and Ryan Kitzman (right) have played soccer
together since elementary school.
and business management minor,
and Kitzman, a marketing major,
have talked about starting a business together.
“It’s almost natural for us,”
Brooks said. “Some people hear
about it and think it’s pretty
weird. But we had the same
group of friends growing up,
from elementary school to junior
high and high school. We were
always in the same group.”
“We don’t think of it as being
weird,” Kitzman added. “It’s just
normal for us.”
—Don Stoner
An amazing soccer year
For the Augsburg College men’s and
women’s soccer teams, the 2006 season was
a history-making one.
The Auggie women captured a third
straight berth in the Minnesota Intercollegiate
Athletic Conference playoffs and finished 106-2 overall, 7-3-1 in league play—the team’s
fourth double-digit victory season in the past
five years. Augsburg’s 15 points in conference
Greg Holker, named MIAC
play this season were the most for an Auggie
Coach of the Year
squad in the 21-season history of the program.
Meanwhile, the Auggie men reached the league’s four-team postseason playoffs for the first time, finishing the season 13-3-3 overall,
5-2-3 in conference play. Augsburg finished with its most victories
(13) since its MIAC championship season of 1975 (15-2-1), and
claimed its most points in league play (13) since its last MIAC title
season of 1980 (11-1-3 overall, 9-0-3 MIAC, 21 points). Head coach
Greg Holker was named MIAC Coach of the Year this season.
Augsburg was the lone school to have both its men’s and women’s
soccer teams qualified for the MIAC postseason playoffs this year.
Both teams set school records along the way. Both teams were
unbeaten and did not give up a goal until the women were scored
upon on Sept. 20—Augsburg went the farthest among all NCAA
Division III soccer teams in having both its men’s and women’s teams
unbeaten and unscored upon.
For both the Auggie men’s and women’s teams, the future looks
bright. The men lose just three senior regulars to graduation, while
the women lose only five.
—Don Stoner
Marathoner
extraordinaire
Mary Croft ’79 didn’t catch the
running “bug” until she was in
her late thirties, a relatively late
start for a serious athletic career.
But that bug has taken the
Augsburg alumna around the
world and earned her numerous
unique distinctions in the world
of distance running.
Croft is one of only 67 people—including just eight
women—to have run in every
Twin Cities Marathon over the
25 years of its existence. She has
run a marathon in each of the 50
states—a feat that only 285 individuals have accomplished.
And over the past quartercentury, she has run in about
140 marathons and 30 ultramarathons—races ranging from 30
to more than 100 miles in
length.
She credits her running
career to her return to Augsburg
as an adult learner to complete
her bachelor’s degree in the late
1970s. She was an Augsburg student in the mid-’60s before starting her career in nursing.
“One of my friends was a
runner, and she was running five
miles a day for her mental health.
I was impressed with that, but I
didn’t start running until I graduated in 1979,” Croft said.
That year, she went to
Duluth to watch a friend compete in Grandma’s Marathon, and
was encouraged by her husband,
David, to try a marathon herself.
Later that year, the first Twin
Cities Marathon appeared on the
running calendar, and her running career kicked into high
gear.
“I trained for my first
marathon in just 12 weeks,” said
Croft, who noted that she had
As a Charter Club member, Mary Croft ran her 25th Twin Cities Marathon in October,
with a track record of 170 marathons in 50 states and several countries.
only run a 10-kilometer race
competitively before trying a 26mile, 385-yard marathon.
Since then, she has run in
each Twin Cities Marathon over
the past 25 years, a race considered the most scenic urban
marathon in the country.
According to Twin Cities
Marathon officials, Croft, at age
60, is the third-oldest woman of
the eight to have run in each of
the 25 races. She has also completed Grandma’s Marathon, a
race along the Lake Superior
shoreline from Two Harbors to
Duluth, eight times.
She has also run in two of
the most famous marathons
in the country, the Boston and
New York races. She has competed in the Boston Marathon—
a race in which runners have
to achieve a qualifying time
in another marathon to compete—three times, including
the 100th running of the race
in 1996.
“It was just such a historic
event,” Croft said. “Boston is the
epitome of marathoning in the
country.”
In 2004, she accomplished
the feat of running a marathon in
each of the 50 states (and the
District of Columbia)—becoming
the 162nd person at the time to
be able to make that claim. Since
then, the list has grown to nearly
300 members nationwide. She
has also run in marathons in
Russia and Spain.
In addition to her marathoning, she has also competed in
long-distance ultramarathons,
which brought her the most
meaningful moment in her sport.
In 2000, she ran in the 75th
Comrades Marathon, a 56-mile
race in South Africa, considered
one of the top ultra-distance
events in the world.
“It’s the biggest sporting
event in South Africa. It was the
most amazing thing,” she said.
“They were so wonderful. They
greeted us and welcomed us to
their country.”
She even incorporated running into her work. As a nurse at
the Minnesota state prison in
Stillwater, she organized inmates
and members of a local running
club to run a marathon inside
the prison walls each year for a
decade.
“We ran 112 laps around the
prison yard, about 15 to 20 runners,” she said. “It was pretty
well received by the prison
administration.”
Her best time ever was a 3hour, 18-minute effort in 1985 at
the Grandma’s Marathon. Now,
she runs in the 4:20 to 4:30
range; her time in the 2006 Twin
Cities Marathon was 4:28.34,
good enough for third place in
her age group.
“I just run for the health benefits and I enjoy it. If I place in
my age group, it’s an added benefit,” she said. “It’s the adventure,
the travel, seeing other parts of
the country, which is fun.”
She noted that she has been
fortunate not to have suffered
significant injuries during her
career, which she credits to leading a lifestyle of fitness and training in moderation.
She now runs about seven or
eight marathons a year—“I’m
always in training,” she notes—
and has been involved in organizing volunteers for the
marathon in Tucson, Ariz., where
she and David spend their winters. The Crofts live in Bayport,
Minn., during the summers.
—Don Stoner
WINTER 2006-07 9
AROUND THE QUAD
MOVING FORWARD
Kennedy Center now open
The Kennedy Center for Sports and Recreation has opened for classes,
with health and physical education staff and coaches moving into their
new offices. It will be formally dedicated on May 4.
The three-story addition to Melby Hall features a new wrestling
training facility, increased classroom space, expanded locker-room
facilities and expanded fitness facilities, as well as hospitality, meetingroom, and office space.
The new Alan and Gloria Rice Wrestling Room provides a spacious training area for
the champion Auggie wrestlers. It also provides a training facility for Greco-Roman
wrestling.
The Kennedy Center, the new three-story south wing added to Melby Hall, is open
for classes, athletic teams, intramural teams, and fitness.
In the left back corner of the photo, the roof of Lindell Library provides context to
the construction of the Oren Gateway Center, scheduled for completion in the fall.
Oren Gateway Center
Scheduled to open in fall 2007, the four-story Oren Gateway Center
will be the home of the StepUP program and other residential students in substance-free housing. The administrative section of the center will house the Institutional Advancement staff and an alumni relations conference center.
On the street level, a Barnes & Noble bookstore will serve as a
welcoming place in the neighborhood for books, readings, and coffee.
The Gateway Center will anchor a new circular entrance to the
College, flanked by Lindell Library and Foss Center.
The illustration on the sign in the photo shows the orientation of
the new center, facing the circular entrance to the College.
10 AUGSBURG NOW
After 23 years at Augsburg,
Margaret Anderson retired as
head librarian in 1990. She had
just spent several years studying
and documenting the need for a
new library building, and then
convincing the College to build
it. Now, 16 years later, she continues to work in Lindell Library
one day a week as a volunteer—
in the new building she labored
to justify.
In the first two years following her retirement, she took time
off. But then, she couldn’t turn
down a phone call asking her to
help troubleshoot problems the
librarians were facing in creating
barcodes for all materials.
There were lots of problems—“books without barcodes,
and barcodes not connected to
books,” Anderson says. Once
that process was straightened
out, she began working on a
series of long-term special projects that, without additional staff
and a meticulous eye, probably
never would have seen the light
of day.
For one project, Anderson
classified videotapes from many
years of College events that had
been turned over to the library—
which meant that she first had to
view each tape for content and
date, and then write a short
description.
Another similar project
involved classifying a collection
of sound recordings, for which
her music minor in college
proved extremely helpful.
With history and knowledge
of the Dewey Decimal System,
Anderson has also aided in classifying and cataloging fiction, the
only books in the library to use
the Dewey system.
Her current project tops all
others. In 1994, writer and
activist Meridel LeSueur donated
her personal library of more than
4,500 items to Augsburg College.
A change in
REFERENCE—
from LIBRARIAN
to volunteer
BY BETSEY NORGARD
It’s housed in the library’s Special
Collections Room, but has not
been easily searchable. After
working for more than two
years, literally from book to
book, Anderson hopes next year
to complete an extensive spreadsheet index that will enable the
collection to be searched by title,
author, and subject.
In reflecting on her 40 years
of library work, Anderson says
that the heart of the work has
not changed. “It still means connecting readers and scholars with
sources,” she says, “but now,
both in print and online.” What
has changed dramatically is the
way librarians fulfill that role,
and the different tools they use.
One of the tools that made a
huge difference in students’ (and
librarians’) lives was the development of the CLIC (Cooperating
Libraries in Consortium) system,
making materials from more
than a dozen college libraries
available on loan.
In the 1960s, Anderson was a
cataloguer, and she tells of how
librarians phoned each other to
check on availability by looking
at catalog cards for all the books.
She recalls that Karlis Ozolins,
her predecessor as head librarian, often would track down students with cars to pick up the
materials from other locations.
Two decades later, catalog
cards became relics and library
collections became housed on a
database, introducing new physical requirements for technology
in libraries. Already Anderson
had fought for improvements to
the aging Sverdrup Library,
including carpeting to replace
the loose asbestos tiles she continually removed. Upstairs, it
was so cold that the case for a
new building became obvious
when students were seen studying in mittens.
In 1982 the new Weekend
College increased the College’s
enrollment and brought new
demands on the librarians. At
the time, Anderson recalls, the
library staff was 4.75 full-time
equivalents.
Over the next few years,
Anderson detailed and documented what would be required
to meet College needs and help
it remain competitive. In the
process, she studied and visited
many libraries. She made her
case before retiring, and then—
as a volunteer—helped supervise
the move into the new building.
While it’s rewarding to work
in the new library, it’s really the
people, she says, who keep her
coming back each week. “The
people I worked with have been
among my best friends and they
were a big reason why I wanted
to stay in touch.”
Since her retirement 16 years ago, Margaret
Anderson has continued to volunteer in the
library to stay connected with the staff she
enjoyed during her career.
“We just think of her as one
of us,” current library director
Jane Ann Nelson says about
Anderson. Current cataloging
coordinator Betty Joyce talks
about what a wonderful mentor
Anderson has been to her.
Anderson’s career at
Augsburg has been part of an
Augsburg family affair, dating
back to 1949, when her husband, Ray, was appointed to
teach speech and theatre. He
retired in 1990, the same year as
his wife.
All three of the Andersons’
sons graduated from Augsburg—
Dean ’77, Stuart ’78, and Brian
’82. Stuart teaches in the
Department of Physics, but also
worked in the new library for
several years in information technology. He still spends some time
there as assistant director for
instructional course design in the
Center for Teaching and
Learning. Ⅵ
WINTER 2006-07 11
The Inauguration of Paul C. Pribbenow
October 18-21, 2006
Ages
of
Imagination
Over four days in October, Augsburg College inaugurated its 11th
president, Paul C. Pribbenow.
The days were filled with activities connecting its own community
of faculty, staff, students, alumni, and parents with city neighbors,
church leaders, and colleagues from across higher education.
Events included discussions on civic engagement, roundtables on
public education, service projects, and celebrations filled with music,
art, and good conversation. Each day at the “Abundance” lunches,
those who attended donated food and money to fill the food shelves
at the nearby Brian Coyle Community Center.
Inauguration Day, October 20, began with a Festival Service and
Holy Communion, officiated by Mark Hanson ’68, ELCA presiding
bishop, with the sermon presented by Rev. Dr. Robin W. Lovin,
Southern Methodist University. The investiture ceremony was held in
the afternoon.
Completing the inauguration was a morning of service in the community, preceding outdoor family activities and an Auggie football
game against Carleton College.
For additional information and photos from the inauguration, go to
www.augsburg.edu/inauguration.
In a lighter moment, Paul and Abigail Pribbenow,
with daughter Maya, enjoy festivities in the tent
during inauguration week.
Ages of Imagination
The theme of the inauguration, “Ages of Imagination,” was drawn
from The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, one of the most influential
works of British poet and artist William Blake (1757–1827).
From The Marriage of Heaven and Hell:
The Prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel dined with me, and I asked them how they
dared so roundly to assert, that God spoke to them; and whether they did
not think at the time, that they would be misunderstood, and so be the cause
of imposition.
Isaiah answer’d, “I saw no God, nor heard any, in a finite organical
perception; but my senses discover’d the infinite in every thing, and as I was
then perswaded, & remain confirm’d; that the voice of honest indignation is
the voice of God, I cared not for consequences but wrote.”
Then I asked: “does a firm perswasion that a thing is so, make it so?”
He replied, “All poets say that it does, and in ages of imagination this
firm perswasion removed mountains; but many are not capable of a firm
perswasion of any thing.”
(Top) The newly-invested President Paul C. Pribbenow greets his colleagues in higher
education following the ceremony. From right to left, he greets Kathryn Jeffrey, president of Hennepin Technical College; Linda N. Hanson, president of Hamline
University; Lois (Peterson) Bollman ’69, vice president of strategy, planning, and
accountability at Minneapolis Community and Technical College; James L. Peterson,
As Augsburg College celebrated the inauguration of its 11th president,
it also celebrated its calling as a college, and imagined itself in future
ages, using “AGES” to remind it of the four themes of this new era:
Abundance, Generosity, Engagement, and Service.
In moving these four “mountains,” Augsburg College, under the
leadership of Paul Pribbenow, will continue to demonstrate how the
power of imagination can transform the lives of its students and its
community.
14 AUGSBURG NOW
president of Gustavus Adolphus College; and (tallest, with mortar board) the president’s brother, Dean Pribbenow, dean of the School of Integrative Studies at
Edgewood College. (Above) Student Government president Maria Mitchell led the
responsive prayer during the Inauguration Ceremony.
Excerpts from the sermon
for the inauguration of
Paul C. Pribbenow
The Rev. Dr. Robin W. Lovin
Cary Maguire University Professor of Ethics
Southern Methodist University
(Left) Rev. Robin Lovin, from Southern Methodist University, preached about moving
mountains at the Festival Service on Inauguration Day. (Right) ELCA presiding bishop
… I greet you on behalf of all of us who have known and
worked with Paul Pribbenow over the years and benefited
from his leadership in many different places. …
I am also welcoming you to your own future, because
those of us who have worked with Paul Pribbenow in the
past know what you can expect in this new phase of the history of Augsburg College that we inaugurate today. … as I
looked at the [Inauguration] program with its multiple
events and its common themes, I spotted the Pribbenow
imprint of energy and organization. …
And I suppose that what you want to know about the
future from my knowledge of the past is whether it is really
true that this guy can move mountains. I’m here to tell you
that he can, and I’m also going to tell you how he does it. …
The way [he] moves mountains is to figure out what
everybody else is already doing and tie those activities
together into a single mission with a unified message, so that
when the mountain moves, it’s because you moved it. …
Education is supposed to be about expanding our vision
of the world and changing the way we see our own place in it.
It is about asking new questions, and questioning familiar
answers. It should change us in fundamental ways, not just fill
our heads with facts. Education is inseparable from change,
personal and social, change in ideas, goals, and priorities. …
and Augsburg parent Mark Hanson ’68 presided at the service.
The word of greeting I bring you from the past is that
great things are possible for Augsburg College, beginning
today, because you have a leader who will listen to you, who
can see the possibilities that you see, and who can bring
them together in new ways that will empower you and energize all these people who want a future of abundance, generosity, engagement, and service for this institution.
But the word I bring from the Lord, the word that cuts
across past, present, and future, comes to you today in the
form of a question. It is addressed equally to students, faculty, and staff, addressed to alumni, supporters, and to the
church. And it is addressed to the president. The question is,
“Do you really want to move the mountains?”
I think you recognize the opportunity, and I pray that
you will enjoy the blessings that come with accepting the
vocation: That through humility and even sorrow, your
hunger for truth and justice will be satisfied; that through
integrity and generosity in judgment, you will see God; and
that through the knowledge you create and share, the world
will find peace, and you will be called the children of God.
(Left) President Pribbenow gets a hug from his father, Rev. Jerome Pribbenow, who read from the gospel during the service. (Right) Associate Dean Frankie Shackelford stands
amid a sea of academic vestments as the faculty line up for the inauguration processional.
WINTER 2006-07 15
Excerpts from “Thanksgiving”
Inaugural address by
Paul C. Pribbenow
October 20, 2006
Thank you for being here today for this celebration of Augsburg
College. I am inspired by your faithful lives, and I accept the call to
be your partner in service to Augsburg with gratitude, resolve, and
humility. …
Authentic life—especially a life of faith—begins and ends in gratitude and in thanksgiving. We come together with the humility of
thanksgiving, the recognition that life is a gift and a privilege not to be
misused or misled, and, I might add, not to be missed. The late Henri
Nouwen once wrote that “Gratitude … goes beyond the ‘mine’ and
‘thine’ and claims the truth that all of life is a pure gift.”
All of life is a pure gift.
Let these words of mine, then, become my thanksgiving to God
and to all of you, my psalm of gratitude for this college, for its mission
and values, and for the cloud of witnesses gathered here today and
scattered across time and space that hold Augsburg College in their
hearts and minds. …
“In ages of imagination,” [the poet William] Blake tells us, the
power of the imagination, the power of belief, the power of a ‘firm
persuasion’ can move mountains. We must decide, today, to live in
one of those ages of imagination, in fact, to use our imaginations to
create a new era for the College. …
(Above) Augsburg Board of Regents chair Ted Grindal ’76 places the seal of the
College around the neck of Paul C. Pribbenow, who is invested as the 11th president
of Augsburg College. (Below) To conclude inauguration week, the College gathers in
community service to clean up along the Mississippi riverbank. (Right) Paul and Abigail
Pribbenow lead the recessional out of Hoversten Chapel after the Festival Service.
16 AUGSBURG NOW
For the complete texts of Rev. Robin Lovin’s sermon and President
Pribbenow’s inaugural address, go to www.augsburg.edu/president
(Left) Sounds of the big band organized and led by music professor
Robert Stacke ’71 fill the tent during inaugural week festivities.
(Below) Student Government public relations officers Rachel
Forsberg (left) and Kati Welt (right) present a giant card with inauguration congratulations from students to President Pribbenow.
There are four themes to my presidency. … These four
themes are Abundance, Generosity, Engagement, and
Service. Think of them as the “AGES” in Ages of
Imagination. … Augsburg is already blessed to have all of
these things, though we sometimes don’t recognize these
great gifts—gifts that God has given us, and gifts that we
were meant to care for and pass on. …
During my short time here at Augsburg, I have been
challenged to think again about the role of colleges and universities in an urban setting. I am committed to the mutual
dependency of colleges and the city. The paradigm for the
relationships between cities and higher education must be
less about extracting benefits from each other, less dependent on incidental impact, and more focused on the various
resources that can be shared in the pursuit of a more robust,
healthy, and meaningful urban life. …
I know that you share with me this deep sense of
thanksgiving for this college and its remarkable commitments. What we do here matters—to our students, our
neighborhood, our city, the church, and the world.
What we do here is significant—because our work is
grounded in a deep and confident faith, because it enjoys a
history of love in a community of memory and tradition,
because it believes deeply in intellectual curiosity and personal courage, and because it is full of hope.
What we need now is imagination—and faith, and fearlessness—to hear and follow the call to be a college committed to the liberal arts in all that we learn and teach; a college
grounded in faith and values that are the source of our firm
persuasion; a college located in a place full of life and
urgency that draws us out of our insular selves; a college
engaged with a creation rich in difference that constantly
surprises us.
What fun we’re going to have! Ⅵ
WINTER 2006-07 17
Many of the mentors and mentees in Scholastic Connections, including both
day and weekend students, gathered in November to celebrate the
program’s five-year anniversary. (L to R) Jim Genia ’87, Chris Adams ’07,
Natalia Pretelt ’03, Nhia Lee ’02, Luis Lopez Monterrubio ’09, Purity Ouma
’08, Mary Murzyn ’08, Killa Martinez-Aleman ’08, Eloisa Echavez ’94, ’96 MEL,
Georgette Christensen ’96 MSW, Bernice Arias-Sather ’97, Julianne Lynum
Leerssen ’00, Ami Nafzger ’94, Sama Sandy ’08, Ashley Stoffers ’08, Miguel
Sotamba ’08, Derek Francis ’08, Alex Gonzalez ’90.
MAKING
connections
BY BETSEY NORGARD
SCHOLASTIC CONNECTIONS—THE NAME SAYS IT ALL.
It’s about making connections.
In November, this scholarship-mentorship program marked the beginning of its sixth
year. At the annual dinner, senior Chris Adams spoke on behalf of the students.
“Through this program, I’ve learned to connect with many different kinds of people,”
said Adams. “This program has helped me understand the fundamentals. And these
fundamentals have helped me understand the connections between hard work, talent,
commitment, and their relationship to good grades, lifelong friends, engaging teachers,
and a lot about life in general.”
Each year, five Day College students of color—African-American, American Indian,
Asian, and Hispanic/Latino—are selected by Augsburg’s four ethnic services directors for
a $5,000 scholarship. They are also paired with a mentor who is an Augsburg alumnus/a
of color, with the idea being to connect leaders of today with leaders of tomorrow. Most
students are paired with mentors of their own ethnic group.
The scholarships are renewable annually, so students can remain connected with
their mentors as long as they are at Augsburg. Thirty students have participated in the
program since its inception in fall 2001.
18 AUGSBURG NOW
Having a mentor like Noro Andriamanalina (right), who is also an African
woman and has achieved a successful career, inspired Melat Woldegebriel
(left) to set higher goals for herself.
Scholastic Connections was the creation of columnist, playwright, and consultant Syl Jones ’73 and was designed to assist students of color to succeed at Augsburg, while engaging our alumni of
color in the College’s commitment to an intentionally diverse community. This concept of combining financial aid and mentoring garnered national notice for the program when it began.
Vivian Jenkins Nelsen, president and CEO of the INTER-RACE
Institute, a diversity think tank based at Augsburg, has been instrumental in implementing and sustaining Scholastic Connections. She
says that while mentoring is common within community organizations and in the corporate world, she is convinced that it is vastly
underrated at the college level.
With Scholastic Connections, students can pursue their careers
already connected with mentors, who are able to network within
their own communities on behalf of their mentees.
The pairs of alumni and students create their own styles of relationships. Some are largely career-driven with specific goals planned
out, while others focus around personal issues, self-confidence, and
life decisions.
Mathew Shannon says about his mentor, Chad Jackson, “I was
looking for a friend who could be supportive enough to keep me
encouraged and real enough to hold me accountable to the high
expectations I set for myself and the company I keep.”
Attorney Jim Genia’s career has been a big factor in his mentorship with Chris Adams. Adams says that in addition to learning
how Genia has been a successful lawyer, Genia has been helping
him network to find an internship in a local law firm before entering law school.
Xia Xiong also worked on career planning. “I definitely feel that
my mentor had an impact on what I am doing with my life today,”
says Xiong. “She guided me in figuring out what I wanted to do
upon graduation and helped me find resources in order to get
where I wanted to go. I think having someone who has gone
through the same path makes it so much easier.”
In some cases, cross-mentoring occurs to also connect mentees
with other mentors who match their interests.
Culture was an important factor in the partnership of Melat
Woldegebriel, from Ethiopia, and Noro Andriamanalina, from
Madagascar. Woldegebriel says, “Knowing that my mentor is from
Africa and seeing her as a successful person makes me realize that I
can be like her if I work hard like her. On top of her responsibility
at her work, [she] takes part in church and community activities. I
learned a lot from that and increased my extracurricular activities.”
Andriamanalina adds, “You don’t have to be in the same discipline or line of work to have a positive and rewarding mentoring
relationship. Melat and I were able to connect on many levels. We
are both African women balancing different roles and expectations
within and outside of our communities.”
“It’s clear that although the match did not seem perfect at first,
as I am in education and she is in accounting,” Andriamanalina
continues, “we had so much more in common than we ever imagined and learned from one another in the process.”
The value of the program to students is obvious: needed financial assistance, plus the experience of having role models who have
already been through the challenges and pitfalls of college and
career who can serve as guides.
For the mentors, their learning often includes the satisfaction of
helping others maneuver these challenges.
For mentor Eloisa Echavez it is “to be energized and contribute
to the development of a young professional who has many dreams
and plans for the future.”
Mentor Chad Jackson says, “For me it was a way to connect
with an African-American student … who had gone through the
same things I did. It showed me the importance of investing in
youth.”
The four ethnic services directors recommend alumni of
Augsburg to be invited as mentors, and Jenkins Nelsen serves as the
guiding force in making the mentorship connections. She provides
training to both mentors and mentees on how to work together to
get the most from their relationships.
WINTER 2006-07 19
In addition to the individual mentoring activities,
Jenkins Nelsen brings the entire group of mentors and
mentees together at various times during the year for cultural celebrations and other social and community activities. Both Genia and Adams have found these gatherings to
be times when the group can learn about each others’ cultures and appreciate the differences and similarities.
The creation of Scholastic Connections came about in
response to a difficult situation in Augsburg’s history. In
1986, alumnus Elroy Stock ’49 gave a $500,000 campaign
naming gift to Augsburg. When it was discovered that he
was the author of thousands of letters sent to interracial
couples and adoptive parents urging “racial purity,” the
College decided it would not put Stock’s name on the
building. Charitable gift regulations prevented the return of
the money, which led to a lawsuit by Stock that was later
dismissed.
In 2001, Syl Jones (himself a victim of Stock’s mail
campaign) proposed an endowment in the same amount of
Stock’s gift to offer scholarships for students of color and
mixed race. The program supports them in achieving academic success and developing leadership skills.
President Paul Pribbenow, in remarks at the annual
dinner, commented that Scholastic Connections is “an
example of the College at its best,” supporting its mission
and commitment to provide access to college for all students.
Overall, there is little doubt that the program is successful. So far, more
than half of the former students have gone on to complete higher degrees.
Echavez says the program enables Augsburg “to make a greater impact on the
lives of the students of color going beyond the academics, extracurricular
activities, and financial aid.”
Woldegebriel believes that more international students of color will be
attracted to Augsburg, knowing that through Scholastic Connections they can
be paired with a mentor of similar cultural background.
At the annual dinner, Genia, an attorney and lobbyist, spoke of the fact
that among Minnesota’s 201 state legislators, there are only five or six senators
Although Xia Xiong (left) comes from a different cultural background than her mentor, she appreciates the guidance that Eloisa
Echavez (above) was able to give her to plan for the next steps in
her studies and career. Since Echavez had never mentored anyone
outside of Latino culture, she enjoys learning from Xiong and
helping her pursue her dreams.
20 AUGSBURG NOW
and representatives of color, with no American
Indians.
“The legislature is making decisions every day
that affect all Minnesotans’ lives,” Genia said. “If some
groups are under-represented, … then life-changing
decisions are potentially being made without taking
into account the unique perspectives and cultural
beliefs of these groups.
“Until all races are represented in the halls of
government, in the business world, or in the academic world at the same rate at which they’re represented
in the general population,” he concluded, “we’ll need
programs like Scholastic Connections.” Ⅵ
(Left) Through Scholastic Connections,
Chris Adams learned to connect with different kinds of people—something that
helps him in his current real estate work,
and as he prepares for a law career. Jim
Genia’s (far left) work as an attorney and
lobbyist provides the networking to assist
Adams with internships and law school in
planning for that career.
SCHOLASTIC CONNECTIONS
Mentees and Mentors interviewed for this story:
CHRIS ADAMS ‘07 (sociology)
Real estate broker
Vilana Realty
MELATEWORK WOLDEGEBRIEL ’05
(accounting)
Moving back to Addis Ababa
JIM GENIA ’87 (sociology)
Lobbyist/Attorney
Animiki LLC
NORO ANDRIAMANALINA ’91
(English, religion)
Program Adminstrator in The
Graduate School and Faculty
Fellow at the Center for Teaching
and Learning, both at University of
Minnesota
XIA XIONG ’05 (sociology)
Graduate program:
Counseling and Student Personnel
Psychology, University of
Minnesota
Intern—Multicultural Center for
Academic Excellence, University of
Minnesota
ELOISA ECHAVEZ ’94
(computer science), ’98 M.A.
Educational Leadership
Executive Director
La Oportunidad, Inc.
MATHEW SHANNON ’04
(business, communication arts)
Administrative Assistant
Soft Computer Consultants
CHAD JACKSON ’97
(elementary education)
Account Executive
Bluewater Direct
WINTER 2006-07 21
Jesse Docken has enjoyed the companionship of four AIBO dog robots that he
has used to help beginning students learn basic programming as well as to
provide him challenges for more complex programming.
F
See AIBO walk …
and sit …
and wigg le its ears
BY BETSEY NORGARD
22 AUGSBURG NOW
our black-and-white dogs have taken up residence in
Augsburg’s computer science lab, and sophomore Jesse
Docken has become their keeper, trainer, and researcher.
The dogs are called AIBO, for Artifical Intelligence roBOt,
and were created by Sony Corporation in 1999. Designed as
futuristic pet robots, thousands of them with price tags of
$1,500-2,000 have been purchased and taught to play games,
shake their legs, wiggle their ears, say their names, and let their
owners know when they’re happy, angry, and bored.
There is even a “four-legged league” of AIBOs that compete
around the world in RoboCup, an international robotics competition.
Last fall, computer science professor Karen Sutherland took
the AIBOs to her Introduction to Computer Science, a course
required for all computer science, mathematics, and management information systems (MIS) students.
As far as robots go, the AIBOs are quite complicated crea-
tures, capable of highly-advanced programming. Their best
feature, however, is that their basic programming is relatively easy—much of it is self-contained and doesn’t
require proficiency in a programming language.
The task in the AIBO lab is for student teams of mostly
freshmen and sophomores to write an easy program, transfer it to a memory card, plug it into the AIBO dog robot,
and see if it goes through its routine correctly.
“The code is easy to read because it uses commands
that you would use for a real dog,” says sophomore Brietta
Schluender. “When working with the code you are able to
change the commands and numbers to see how the dog
reacts; then you can easily conclude how the changes in
the code make the dog’s actions differ.”
The students turn on the switch and watch cautiously
as their dog slowly comes to life. First a stretch, and then
one, two, three, and four shakes of a paw—so far so good!
After making several turns, AIBO ends with “an amazing
amount of ear wiggles,” as one student describes it.
Sutherland introduced the AIBOs into her class as part
of a collaborative grant—with Berea College and the
University of Minnesota—from the National Science
Foundation. Her goal is to engage and attract more students, especially women and minority students, to computer science study. The AIBOs offer an easy way to teach
the basics of programming and robotics while having fun.
“It’s easy for the students to see how the AIBO reacts to
their program, and it does cute things,” Sutherland says. “If
they can see the program physically happen, they understand it better.”
Docken, a computer science major, works with
Sutherland in the class, lending a hand when students run
into programming glitches or when the AIBO’s routine
doesn’t work. In his own research, in addition to making
the AIBOs perform various tasks, he has studied different
means of programming to ascertain which methods are
easier and harder. These results will inform how robots
might be used in future class projects.
He has enjoyed working with his new robotic pets.
“I’ve been fascinated with learning how to make them do
certain things, for instance, how to change which lights
come on [to show emotional responses], how to make
them walk, or how to make them play sounds to music.”
Working with the AIBOs will help him move into more
complex robotics.
Docken’s primary interest is artificial intelligence (AI).
“I’ve had a few ideas I’ve played around with,” he says,
“and I hope to begin AI research to make algorithms that
Sophomore Jesse Docken (second from left) helps junior David Yanagisawa and sophomore Alex
Garver with their programming to make the AIBO dog robot perform its routine, while computer
science professor Karen Sutherland looks on.
Freshman Melissa Moberg (left) and sophomore Brietta Schluender joke with Docken about the
tricks they can make the AIBO dogs perform.
could provide a more sophisticated means of handling emotions and simulate
primitive emotional responses to external stimuli.”
This could be applied, he says, in many ways—to robotics for entertainment, e.g. AIBOs that can react in more real ways, to games where characters
can respond to events, and to simulation.
Docken has written a paper on his research that he will present at a regional conference in the spring. Sutherland is using his work plus student feedback
from class labs at all three institutions involved in the NSF grant to develop a
course curriculum that will appeal to a broad spectrum of students with varied
career goals.
And, yes, Docken says their AIBOs have been given names—Sirius,
Snoopy, Scooby-Doo, and Spike. Ⅵ
WINTER 2006-07 23
Polish-born Magdalena Paleczny-Zapp, associate professor
in marketing, brings her experience as an international
business consultant to her students in class.
global
MEET THE INTERNATIONAL FACULTY
Associate professor Magdalena Paleczny-Zapp
(management coordinator) was born and
raised in Krakow, Poland, and taught in several
European institutions before coming to
Augsburg.
Associate professor Amin Kader (international business coordinator) is from Egypt. A
past president of the Islamic Center of
Minnesota, he teaches Islamic Studies in addition to business.
Before coming to the United States in
1970, associate professor and finance coordinator Ashok Kapoor worked at the American
Embassy in his home country of India. He has
brought this international experience into his
Augsburg classroom since 1998.
Master of Business Administration (MBA)
director Bob Kramarczuk was born in western
Ukraine. At the age of five, his family escaped
and hid in the forest for five months keeping
ahead of the front during World War II. His
business
Experience is a powerful teacher. In addition to study abroad programs,
Augsburg’s business students have opportunities to experience global
perspectives in their classrooms every day.
BY BETHANY BIERMAN
family was later shipped to a work camp in
Bavaria before immigrating to the U.S.
Associate professor Fekri Meziou, Tunisian
by birth, has taught at Augsburg since 1987.
“Having faculty of diverse backgrounds is
important to the richness of the academic programming offered in our department,” says
Meziou. “For instance, I am teaching an international marketing course that is approached
from a globally diverse background. We analyze the challenges of marketing products and
services in different regions around the world.
This course can only be taught by someone
who has traveled extensively and has
immersed himself/herself during an extended
stay in the life of the foreign countries.”
“I grew up on a farm outside a small
town,” says Jamie Schiller ’05, who currently
serves as MBA program coordinator. “Most of
my experience with diversity was through the
business department.” Reflecting back on her
undergraduate experience, Schiller remembers,
“[Zapp] helped us understand global differences as well as learn to make culturally sensitive business decisions. … [Meziou] changed
my life and drove me to seek out opportunities
to broaden my perspective of marketing and
business on a global level. He continuously
brought cases to his courses that had global
business challenges. … With the help of the
business faculty, I was able to customize a
study abroad program in England. … I have
Associate professor Fekri Meziou brings case studies from his own cultural experience
From his years of working at the American Embassy in India, associate professor
to his international marketing course.
Ashok Kapoor can teach finance, drawing on extensive knowledge of both
cultural contexts.
24 AUGSBURG NOW
Trading Places
grown to appreciate international differences in
other country’s beliefs, norms, and value sets.”
“Students leave the place more openminded than the day they came,” Zapp asserts.
John Cerrito, assistant professor and
department chair, says, “The course descriptions are broad enough so faculty members can
bring in their own flavor and expertise.”
“In the current context of globalization,”
says Kapoor, “my international experience
comes in handy in all my classes, but especially in the international finance classes. My work
experience overseas provides many examples
to my students and helps them keep an open
perspective leading to better decisions both
professionally and in their personal lives.”
Senior Dulce Monterrubio is a perfect
example of this. She came to Augsburg from
her hometown of Mexico City. She says, “It was
Magda’s own experience as an international
business consultant that made me understand
that being an international student here at
Augsburg was just the first step, but that successfully adapting to a second, third, or
fourth culture would be what truly would
make me the international educator/professional I wanted to become.” Monterrubio is
using her cultural experiences, which include
studying abroad in Spain, in her current role
as a program assistant in Augsburg’s Center
for Global Education.
Along with representing differences in
ethnic backgrounds, there is significant religious diversity represented in the department.
“The department really does have an
interesting diversity of faith expressions,”
comments assistant professor Lee Clarke,
who also happens to be a former ELCA minister. “For some, it’s very clear to students
because of culture and nationalities. Ashok
[Kapoor] is very upfront talking about his
Hindu faith, and Amin [Kader] and others
are Islamic. For others, it’s not as intentional… Because religion is so close to culture, it
gives students a taste of some of the challenges in global business.”
Cerrito agrees. “The College goes out of
its way to be diverse. In 1983 when I came, I
did not represent the faith, culture, or ethnic
background the culture [of Augsburg] represents, and I’ve never been anywhere where
I’ve felt more accepted.” (Cerrito is Roman
Catholic and of Italian descent.)
Kapoor says, “Both my cultural and religious background allows me to bring a very
different perspective to issues of the day that
we discuss both among colleagues and with
our students.”
Consider two college students in
1980—one, a student at the University
of Minnesota; the other, studying at the
University of Tunis. Both had the desire
to see the world through a new culture.
The two are allowed to exchange
places through the International
Reciprocal Exchange Program.
After her time in Tunisia, the
American returns to Minnesota; the
Tunisian young man decides to stay in
America to pursue his academic objectives. The two meet while serving as cochairs for a selection committee to
choose and orient another student
exchange.
Years later, the two cross paths
again, this time at Augsburg College,
where they both now work. Their
names? Regina McGoff, associate director of the Center for Global Education,
and Fekri Meziou, associate professor of
business.
Meziou says the exchange “was a
wonderful opportunity to share experiences and academic ideas with international students from a number of countries around the world… International
exchanges enable students to immerse
LAYER IN CORPORATE EXPERIENCE
A different kind of culture—corporate culture—is also something faculty add to the
international mix.
Prior to coming to Augsburg in 1995,
David Schwain, assistant professor, served on
Assistant professor Lee Clarke combines both his cor-
themselves in the cultural, social, political, and economic life of another country. The learning outcomes are tremendous and the personal growth opportunities are immeasurable.”
It’s a small world, after all.
porate perspectives from software design and programming with his background as a Lutheran minister
in Augsburg’s MIS classes.
WINTER 2006-07 25
ALUMNI NEWS
From the Alumni
Board president …
Greetings fellow
Auggies,
As I write this, fall is settling
in and the transition to winter
is in the air. Homecoming
week was a great set of
events—I hope you could
attend some of them. I particularly enjoyed the opportunity
to learn more about our
Distinguished Alumni and
Spirit of Augsburg and First
Decade awardees. Their recollections of what life was like
at Augsburg 30-40-50 years ago reminded me of how much
has changed and is changing around us all the time.
Homecoming also set a great stage for President Pribbenow’s
inauguration. I was honored to represent the alumni in the
Inauguration Ceremony and the four days of events surrounding it. The theme of AGES—Abundance, Generosity,
Engagement, and Service—is one we can all be proud of and
take part in as we live our lives in service to the broader
world. If you want to learn a little more about Augsburg’s year
of transition I highly recommend the inauguration webpage,
www.augsburg.edu/inauguration, and the President’s office
page, www.augsburg.edu/president.
By the time you read this, Advent Vespers, Christmas, and the
new year have come and gone, and before too long, Easter
will arrive. Then, in May, another commencement arrives. I’m
starting to deeply appreciate my grandmother’s insight when,
at 90, she told me that the years never seem to go by more
slowly. It’s always faster and faster.
As your new year unfolds, I wish you all the best in your
transitions.
Barry M. Vornbrock ’96 MAL
Alumni Board President
28 AUGSBURG NOW
Auggies at the
State Capitol
Alumni calendar
Congratulations to the following
Auggies who were elected to the
Minnesota Legislature in
November:
February 20
Alumni Board meeting—
5:30 p.m., Minneapolis Room,
Christensen Center
Sandy Wollschlager ’94 (DFL),
elected to her first term in House
District 28A, representing
Cannon Falls and Red Wing
March 14
Join members of the Alumni
Board Events Committee to volunteer at Augsburg’s Campus
Kitchen from 7-9 p.m. For more
information or to sign up as a
volunteer, contact Liz Pushing at
lpushing@provplace.com. Learn
more about Campus Kitchen in
the GET INVOLVED section at
www.augsburg.edu/alumni.
Diane Loeffler ’75 (DFL), elected to her second term in House
District 59A, representing
Northeast Minneapolis
Rod Skoe ’77 (DFL), elected to
his second term in Senate
District 2, representing
Northwest Minnesota. He had
previously served two terms in
the Minnesota House of
Representatives.
Sport an Auggie
license plate
Auggie license plates are available from the Minnesota
Department of Transportation
for a $10 plate fee and a minimum annual contribution of
$25 when renewing registration. The plates can go on passenger class vehicles carrying
not more than 15 persons; this
includes pickup trucks and
vans with a three-quarter-ton or
less gross weight and one-ton
passenger vans. For information, go to www.dps.state.mn.
us/dvs/PlBrochure/CollegiatePla
tes.htm.
April 17
Alumni Board meeting—
5:30 p.m., Minneapolis Room,
Christensen Center
Check the online calendar at
www.augsburg.edu for a complete schedule of campus
events.
Send in your
nominations
Is there someone you
believe is deserving of a
Distinguished Alumnus/a,
Spirit of Augsburg, or First
Decade award?
Nominations are being
received by the Alumni
Relations Office from now
until March 1.
For instructions about nominating and the nomination
form, contact Becky Taute
at 612-330-1085 or
tauter@augsburg.edu. The
forms are also available on
the alumni webpage at
www.augsburg.edu/alumni.
Please consider making a
nomination!
Centennial Singers head to the Southwest
Following a successful series of concerts in Florida in 2006 and
their annual fall concert season in Minnesota, the Augsburg
Centennial Singers will reprise their 2005 tour in Arizona in
February 2007, with additional concerts in Nevada and Utah.
Directed by Alfred (Al) Reesnes ’58, the Singers reflect the gospel
quartet tradition at Augsburg. Formed in 1993 to commemorate
the 100th anniversary of the first Augsburg gospel quartet that
traveled to Norway, the Singers have toured Norway twice, most
recently in 2001.
“Seeing alumni and other friends of Augsburg is a wonderful part
of the touring,” says Reesnes. “Our guys love to sing songs of
praise and we are looking forward to returning to the Southwest.”
Also featured in the concert are songs by a quartet, led by Paul
Christensen ’59, and including Norm Anderson ’60, Paul Mikelson
’70, and Jon Lueth, husband of alumna Marilyn (Buschbom) ’71.
This group recalls Augsburg’s strong gospel quartet tradition over
many years. In addition, a second quartet now presents songs from
a more Southern gospel tradition.
February concerts/appearances
February 6, 7 p.m.
Eccles Concert Hall, Dixie College, St. George, Utah
February 7, 7 p.m.
Community Lutheran Church, 3720 Tropicana Ave., Las Vegas, Nev.
February 8, 7 p.m.
Spirit of Grace Lutheran Church, 15820 Clearview Blvd., Surprise, Ariz.
February 9, 7 p.m.
Vista de la Montana United Methodist Church, 3001 E. Miravista
Lane, Tucson, Ariz.
Alumni reception, 6–6:45 p.m.
February 10, 4 p.m.
Chaparral Christian Church, 6451 Shea Blvd., Scottsdale, Ariz.
February 11, 8:30 and 10:30 a.m.
Worship Services at American Lutheran Church, 172 Del Webb
Blvd., Sun City, Ariz.
Alumni reception between services.
February 13, 7 p.m.
Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, El Lago Blvd. and
Fountain Hills Blvd, Fountain Hills, Ariz.
Alumni reception, 6–6:45 p.m.
February 14, 7 p.m.
King of Glory Lutheran Church, 2085 E. Southern Ave., Tempe, Ariz.
Alumni reception, 6–6:45 p.m.
A special highlight in the concerts of the Centennial Singers, who number more than
50, is a smaller group of four who keep alive Augsburg’s longstanding gospel quartet
tradition. (L to R): Jon Lueth, Paul Christensen ’59, Paul MIkelson ’70, and Norm
Anderson ’60.
February 15, 7 p.m.
Pinnacle Presbyterian Church, 25150 N. Pima Rd., Scottsdale, Ariz.
NOTE: Augsburg President Paul C. Pribbenow will be the guest
preacher at services on Feb. 17 and 18 at the American Lutheran
Church in Sun City, Ariz. (see address above):
Sat., Feb. 17—4 p.m.
Sun., Feb. 18—8:30 and 10:30 a.m., with a coffee reception
between services.
For information, contact the alumni relations office at 612-330-1085.
Join the Augsburg Online Community
It’s designed just for you—
• Keep in touch with classmates
• Find out what’s happening on campus
• Send class notes about what you’re doing
• Change/update your address and e-mail
• Update your profile so others can find you
• Make an online gift to Augsburg
It’s fast and easy. Already, more than 500 alumni have registered.
Simply go to www.augsburg.edu/alumni—have you signed up?
If you have questions, e-mail healyk@augsburg.edu.
WINTER 2006-07 29
HOMECOMING 2006
Homecoming 2006 brought students and alumni together in record numbers. Fireworks at the pep rally pumped up the crowd, and seniors
Grant Hemmingsen and Sari Gallagher were crowned Homecoming King and Queen. While the football game against Concordia-Moorhead went into
overtime, the Cobbers edged out the Auggies, 34-28, for the win.
30 AUGSBURG NOW
WINTER 2006-07 31
HOMECOMING REUNIONS
Class of 1956
(L to R) ROW 1 (front): Dorothy
(Floistad) Benson, Carolyn (Lower)
Bliss, Elizabeth (Mortensen) Swanson,
Chris (Munson) Main, Ron Main.
ROW 2: Augsburg president Paul
Pribbenow, Louise Jones, Laurayne
(Helgerson) Solberg, James Nordling,
Bonnie (Bieri) Vaagenes, Marilyne
Dahl, Wanda (Warnes) Olson, Farolyn
(Johnson) Gehring, Ruth (Borchardt)
Ysteboe Engelstad, Hans Dumpys,
John Haynes. ROW 3: Ted Berkas,
Harvey Lundin, Roger Ose, Chuck
Evavold, Glen Thorpe, Jim Pederson,
Harold Stoa, Rodney Erickson, Tom
Hofflander, Tom Benson, Chuck
Howard, Tom Hoversten. ROW 4: Bob
D. Larson, Bob Gjengdahl, John
Thompson, Bill Anderson, Ardell
Moen, Richard Thorud, Gary Fitch
Class of 1966
(L to R) ROW 1 (front): Sylvia
(Steinbeck) Torstenson, Lila (Lee)
Salls, Mary Lynn (Larson) Leff, Rhoda
(Lindekugel) Vandervoort, Grace
(Estenson) Fladeboe, Judith (Erickson)
Coppersmith, Jeanne (Wanner)
Morreim. ROW 2: Karen (Torkelson)
Leverentz, Douglas Johnson, John
Andreasen, Beth Torstenson, Karen
Johnson, Kathleen (Davis) Jacobsen,
Kay (Swensson) Cerkvenik. ROW 3:
Kathryn (Wall) Johnson, Sharen
(Muehlenthaler) Schornstein, Vernice
(Ring) Bishop, Karen (Langseth)
Oelschlager, Marcia (Thimsen) Noble,
Susan (Joesting) Propst, Joan (Alden)
Blomlie. ROW 4: Jerry Maas, Maggi
(Ahlson) Tjaden, Judith (Erickson)
Pittelkow, Kathleen (Kalpin) Franson,
Heidi (Degen) Shurtleff, Ed Huseby,
Richard Mork, Allan Kristenson. ROW
5: Kathleen (Popp) Boggess, Joy
Klemp, Smokey (Wyckoff) Nielsen,
Gracia (Nydahl) Luoma.
32 AUGSBURG NOW
Class of 1981
(L to R) ROW 1 (front): Ruth Muschinski, Karla (Morken) Thompson, Janna (Wallin) Haug, Mary Beamish, Molly Olson-Blomgren. ROW 2: Susan
(Dahlgren) Sackrison, Kirsten Schwappach, Maureen Webster, Kristine Johnson, Gaynelle (Webb) Buckland, Leann Rock, Barbara Gilbert, Janis (Blomgren)
Aune, Naomi (Christensen) Staruch.
35th Anniversary of
Metro-Urban Studies
Alumni enjoyed reuniting with former faculty and classmates at the
35th anniversary of Augsburg’s
Metro-Urban Studies program. Paula
(Brookins) Pentel ’78, warmly greets
Fran Torstenson, with professor
emeritus Joel Torstenson ’38 looking
on. In the background, professor
emeritus Myles Stenshoel talks with
Bruce Shoemaker ’81.
WINTER 2006-07 33
CLASS NOTES
1942
Chester and Ebba (Johnson)
Brooks, Duluth, Minn., celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in June at Gloria Dei
Church in Duluth, surrounded
by family and friends. After more
than 32 years with the National
Park Service, they moved to
Duluth in 1983.
campuses, when the church grew
from 525 to 7300 members. He
and his wife, Bonnie (Bieri) ’67,
have four children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
1957
Jeanette (Olson) Locke, Inver
Grove Heights, Minn., has been
awarded a grandfather clock after
35 years of service as an H&R
Block employee. She and her
husband, Peter ’60, have lived in
both St. Paul and Scottsdale, Ariz.
children, reading, and golfing.
Lois is director of nursing at the
Burnett Medical Center.
Lowell “Zeke” Ziemann,
Phoenix, Ariz., met up with fellow Auggie Hall-of-Famer Lute
Olson ’56 at the booksigning for
Olson’s new autobiography, Lute!
The Seasons of My Life. Olson is
head basketball coach at the
University of Arizona.
1968
Janet Letnes Martin and
Suzanne (Johnson) Nelson
were awarded the Gold Pen
Award by Metro Lutheran newspaper at their annual dinner in
October, recognizing distinguished
service to Christ and the church
through significant contribution to
public communication. Their
book, Growing Up Lutheran, is the
basis for the currently-running play
Church Basement Ladies. In August,
Janet suffered the loss of her husband, Neil, who died following a
four-year battle with cancer.
1959
1943
The Rev. LuVerne “Red”
Nelson, ’46 Sem, New Hope,
Minn., celebrated the 60th
anniversary of his ordination as a
Lutheran pastor on August 4. He
served parishes in North Dakota,
Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Red
was married to Grace (Carlsen)
’45 and established a scholarship
for voice students in her memory.
He also set up a scholarship for
tuba players.
Gail Castor, Redwood Falls,
Minn., played one season of
Auggie football while a student.
In the Homecoming alumni football game this year, as the oldest
player on the field at age 75, he
made two plays towards the end
of the game, one of which ended
in a touchdown. His efforts were
showcased on several local television stations as well as in
ESPN’s Top Ten Plays of the Day.
He has every intention to play
again next year.
1948
Jeroy Carlson, Burnsville,
Minn., celebrated his retirement
on September 30 after 44 years
of service and was honored at a
reception in October. (See page 3.)
1951
1960
The Rev. Morris Vaagenes,
Shoreview, Minn., recently published Baptism: God’s Activity of
Grace at Kirk House Publishers.
For 38 years, he served as the
senior pastor at North Heights
Lutheran Church and played an
active role in the development of
the Roseville and Arden Hills
The Rev. Myron Carlson,
Grantsburg, Wis., celebrated his
retirement after 37 years as the
pastor of Grantsburg Faith
Lutheran Church. He also served
congregations in Clayton, Wis.,
and rural Clear Lake. Myron is
looking forward to traveling with
his wife, Lois, visiting their three
34 AUGSBURG NOW
1976
Jane Stritesky, Georgetown, Ky.,
has taken a new position at
Northern Elementary School as
elementary music specialist for
grades K through 5. She also
coordinates after school courses
in choir, piano, and guitar.
1963
Carol Ann (Erickson) Zwernik,
Minnetonka, Minn., was named
the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America’s 2006-07 Director of
the Year, an award based on professional achievements and work
in implementing programs for
students, their families, the congregation, and community. She is
the pre-kindergarten director at
Calvary Lutheran Church.
1979
Linda Sue Anderson,
Minneapolis, received rave
reviews in the Star Tribune for
her performance as Big Mama in
Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot
Tin Roof at the Minneapolis
Theatre Garage. The show sold
out in July and was extended
into September.
1982
Diane (Peterson) Kachel,
Woodbury, Minn., has become
assistant director for the newlyestablished Center for Lung
Science and Health at the
University of Minnesota. For
nearly 25 years she has been
actively engaged in lung-related
research and administration
across the academic industry and
government sectors. In her new
role she will focus on lung
research, education, and public
service for the prevention and
treatment of lung cancer.
1985
1991
Tom Terpening, Minneapolis,
appeared on TV’s Deal or No
Deal. Unfortunatly, he didn’t win
the big money, but says he and
his family enjoyed a wonderful
four days in Hollywood for the
taping.
Betty Christiansen, La Crosse,
Wis., became a published author
this fall. Her book, Knitting for
Peace, contains stories about
charity knitting organizations
around the United States, selfhelp knitting groups in countries
recovering from war, and other
folks who are using knitting to
help others around the world.
She hopes the book will inspire
others to pick up their needles
and knit one of the 15 projects
in the book for someone in need.
1986
Debra Balzer-Plagemann,
Roanoke, Va., and her husband,
Rob, welcomed a new daughter,
Sophia, in August.
Lisa Baumgartner, Sycamore,
Ill., recently received tenure and
promotion at Northern Illinois
University to associate professor
in the counseling, adult, and
higher education department.
1987
Barbara Blomberg, Princeton,
Minn., is one of four people
inducted into the Princeton High
School Activities Hall of Fame this
year. She teaches in the Princeton
district and served several years as
the head volleyball coach.
Patricia (Noren) Enderson, Elk
River, Minn., recently joined
Deloitte Services LP, a division of
the Deloitte & Touche LLP firms,
as a marketing manager. She can
be reached at pjend@aol.com.
1994
Michelle (Eaker) Steever,
Cranston, R.I., and her husband,
Frank, welcomed a son, Gavin,
on July 27. He joins big sister
Genevieve, 2.
“PSI House Girls,” graduates of 1982 and 1983,
celebrate a girls’ getaway weekend in June at
Izatys Resort.
(L to R) Lisa (Salmonson) Weatherhead, Marlene (Sorensen) Carr, Cindy
(Winberg) Sisson, Janice (Haselhorst) Hostager, Linda (Dibos) Graslewicz,
Terry Swanson (U of M graduate), Kris (Alexander) Korby, Jean (Lucas)
Horton, Terese (Borgstrom) Almquist.
Auggies at Jellystone
1989
Mark Limburg, St. Paul, has
been published by Concordia
Publishing House of St. Louis,
Mo., for his piano arrangements,
which have appeared in many
collections. Carols for Piano is his
12th published piece. Mark has
been named of one “Today’s Top
Writers” and “Today’s Top
Arrangers.” In 1999, he toured
England with David Soul and
Hugh Burns, the guitarist for
Paul McCartney and George
Michael. Mark is currently completing a CD of original contemporary compositions. You can email Mark at rachoven63@aol.com.
This group of Auggies (Classes of 1995, ’96, and ’97) and their families
celebrated their ninth annual summer outing at Jellystone Park in
Warrens, Wis. All living in the Twin Cites, they are able to get together
often and continue to add “future Auggies” to the clan. Their shirts
read, “First Annual Auggie 5K Walk, Run, & Crawl.” (L to R) Jodi Monson
’96, Gene Louie ’95, Dave and Natasha (Solberg) ’96 Sheeley and daughter Kaia, Brian ’95 and Jennifer (Cummings) ’96 Ackland and children
Ellie and Lucas, Brittany (Lynch) ’96 and Mike Jakubiec, Brooke (Manisto)
’96 and Erik ‘97 Reseland and daughter Elsa, Tom Shaw ’95 and
Stephanie Harms ’96 and daughter Madeline, Nate Markell (fiancé of
Jodi Monson), Dylan Nau ’97 and Wendy Laine ’96 and daughter Lydia,
Andy and Connie (Arndt) ’96 Clausen and children Adam and Aaron.
WINTER 2006-07 35
CLASS NOTES
Kari (Schroeder) Prescott,
Minneapolis, and her husband,
Scott, welcomed their second
child—a son, Soren Theophilus.
He was born on June 28 and
joins big brother Simon, 6. Kari is
a physician with a private practice
downtown and Scott is a middle
school music teacher in Chaska,
Minn.
1995
Tiffany Lynn (Peterson) Garzone,
Rocky Mount, N.C., and her
husband, Steven, have adopted
their first daughter, Natalie,
from China in May 2005. Tiffany
and Steven are both chiropractors and business partners at
Rocky Mount Chiropractic.
1999
Devean George, Dallas, Tex.,
signed a two-year contract worth
$4.2 million with the Dallas
Mavericks. In his first three years
in the league, he became the seventh player in the NBA to win
three championships. He leaves
the Los Angeles Lakers to join
the Mavericks.
Victoria Sadek, New Brighton,
Minn., teaches Honors
Humanities, 20th-Century
American Literature, and
Creative Writing in the English
Department at Mounds View
High School. She also directs the
fall and spring plays and just finished a production of It’s a
Wonderful Life, presented as a
radio broadcast, complete with
sound effects. For it, marketing
students created real “commercials” for local businesses that
benefited the theatre program.
Torma-Agrimson Wedding
Jenell Torma ’00 married Erick Agrimson ’98, on May 20 at Hoversten
Chapel. Jenell is currently a training facilitator at East Suburban
Resources in Stillwater and Erick is an assistant professor in the
Department of Physics and Sonography at the College of St. Catherine
in St. Paul. The couple lives in Roseville, Minn. (Front row, L to R) Prof.
Mark Engebretson, Prof. Ken Erickson ’62, Drew Monteith ’99, Kevin
Wipf ’98, and Larye Pohlman ’98. (Middle row, L to R) Matt Klatt ’01,
Justin Walker ’98, Jenell Torma ’00, Erick Agrimson ’98, and Eric Klatt
’98. (Back row, L to R) Kaydee Kirk ’98, Jessica Rivera ’01, Rachel
Oldfather ’02, Conie Borchardt ’98, Jennifer Warner ’98, Katie Bodurtha
’99, Lois Bordurtha ’73, Lois Agrimson ’60, and Melissa Pohlman ’00.
2001
Leah Carlson, Minneapolis, has
recently moved to Chicago, Ill.,
to become operations specialist
for Dominium Inc. Because the
company has properties in 14
different states, she will be traveling most of the time.
Bonner-Pavelka Wedding
Jessica (Norman) Hafemyer,
Northfield, Minn, and her husband, Eric, welcomed a daughter, Lauren Ann, on October 15.
Lauren weighed in at 9 lb., 4 oz.
and is 22 in. long.
1996
Anna (Lalla) Johnson,
Shoreview, Minn., and her husband, Todd, welcomed a daughter, Kate Morgan, on July 28.
She joins big brother Evan, 4.
36 AUGSBURG NOW
Rachel L. Oldfather, Fargo,
N. Dak., graduated from Luther
Seminary in May with a Master
of Divinity degree and was
ordained June 10. She is now
serving at Trinity Lutheran
Church in Moorhead, Minn., as
part of the Transition into
Ministry Program. She can be
reached at: Rachel@trinitymhd.org.
Lindsay Bonner ’02 married Matthew Pavelka ’02 on August 27, 2005, at
First United Methodist Church in Dallas, Tex. Matron of honor was
Solveig (Grafstrom) Harren ’02, and best man was Jacob Pavelka. Beth
Scott and Sara Seekins ’02 were bridesmaids, and groomsmen were
Jason Pavelka and Devin Fitzsimons. Flower girl was Madison Pavelka.
Ushers were Ryan Bonner ’08, Matthew Brutsche ’00, and Andrew
Gordon ’02. Matthew is a first-year medical student at the University of
Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Tex., and Lindsay is a voice teacher
on faculty with the Galveston Island Arts Academy, and is currently performing in the East-End Theatre Company’s production of The Full
Monty.
Emily Maeder
(left) Beatrice and Benedick Deanne
McDonald ’04 played the feuding
Beatrice to Andrew Kraft’s Benedick in
Much Ado about Nothing, a production of the Traveling Players, a troupe
formed by McDonald.
(far left) Monster of Phantom Lake (L
to R) Josh Craig (as Professor Jackson)
and Deanne McDonald (as Elizabeth),
in a scene from The Monster of
Phantom Lake (2005).
Actor, director, costume designer
Deanne McDonald graduated in
2004 with a degree in theatre
arts. In the not-quite-three years
since then, she has appeared in a
surprise hit indie b-movie; started
her own acting company, starring
in its premiere production; and
directed her high school alma
mater’s theatre productions—in
between other theatre projects
and working a full-time job.
A year ago, after enjoying several
summer stints with Shakespeare
& Company, an outdoor repertory theatre in White Bear Lake,
McDonald decided to form her
own theatre company. She loved
doing Shakespeare outdoors,
where she says if feels “larger
than life,” and, along with her
sister and a group of fellow
Shakespearean actors, she put
together a company. Its name, the
Traveling Players, comes from the
description for Shakespeare’s own
actors who took their productions on the road when the theater closed to stop the spread of
the London plague.
For their premiere production
McDonald and the Traveling
Players chose Much Ado about
Nothing, which translates well for
a small cast and is quite portable.
McDonald served as producer
and costumer, and acted the role
of Beatrice. The play was performed last August and
September in Como Park, Eagan,
and Burnsville, with some of
their rehearsing done at
Augsburg in Murphy Square.
The Traveling Players’ interpretation of Much Ado about Nothing
included pop music and contemporary costumes, like camouflage
fatigues for Benedick, returning
from war. The production was
limited to an hour, with minimal
sets and an informal, intimate
outdoor setting—all trying to
more closely approximate the
experiences of Shakespeare’s own
audiences.
The turnouts were big, and even
without charging admission, the
costs for the production were
covered through donations.
McDonald’s most unexpected
recent acting success, however,
has come in a low-budget, ’50sstyle fake horror movie, The
Monster of Phantom Lake, created
by writer/director/producer
Christopher Mihm in homage to
his father’s love for the genre.
McDonald plays one of five high
school seniors enjoying a camping trip together in celebration of
their graduation. They fall victim
to a horrific, slimy monster—in
reality, a deranged war veteran
hermit who mutated into a monster from the nuclear waste that
had been dumped into the lake.
The movie was the realization of
Mihm and co-producer and star
Josh Craig’s lifelong dream to
produce a movie. With a digital
camera, at a cost of $1,500, they
brought back the experience—in
black-and-white—of movie-goers
during the 1950s who watched
an array of cheesy horror b-movies.
McDonald joined the cast after
responding to Mihm’s online
notice seeking actors for the fake
horror movie, and filming began
in the woods around the Twin
Cities. The film debuted in
March 2006.
Since then, The Monster at
Phantom Lake has been accepted
to numerous film festivals across
the country, won a number of
independent film awards, and
continues to grow a cult status
and play to sold-out audiences.
Last fall the film traveled with
care packages to Iraq and was
shown on Halloween to soldiers
at the air base.
Already Mihm has a sequel in
production, in which McDonald
has a cameo role.
McDonald’s most recent project,
as a part-time gig, was direction
of Look Homeward, Angel at
Henry Sibley High School, her
alma mater, in Mendota Heights,
Minn. On the production team
also was a fellow Auggie, set
designer Justin Johnson ’06. In
the spring, McDonald returns to
Sibley to direct The Boyfriend.
Last year McDonald’s work also
included another stage appearance in Wind in the Willows, with
New Breath Productions, a musical theatre learning collaborative.
Even with a busy theatre schedule, McDonald works full time at
TMP Directional Marketing, an
ad agency. She says the acting
experience enhances her work
there, especially in role-playing
techniques she uses for sales
training.
For information on upcoming
screenings of The Monster of
Phantom Lake featuring Deanne
McDonald, go to www.monsterofphantomlake.com.
—Betsey Norgard
WINTER 2006-07 37
CLASS NOTES
Laura Waldon and Emily
Brinkman were married on
Sept. 2 at the Inn at Castle Hill
in Ipswich, Mass. Emily graduated from Northeastern University
in Boston in August with a
Master of Science degree in
Physician Assistant Studies.
Laura is currently obtaining her
Master of Fine Arts degree in creative nonfiction writing from the
University of New Hampshire,
where she teaches First-Year
Writing and is the director of the
Online Writing Lab. The couple
lives in Salem, Mass.
Linnea Mohn, Minneapolis, and
her team, including David
Gillette and Rich Kronfeld from
the Comedy Central TV show,
Let’s Bowl, won this year’s 48Hour Film Festival. Their seven
minute short film Dangerous
Proximity was completed from
inception to delivery in 48
hours. The film can be viewed at
www.youtube.com.
Fellow Auggies in the wedding
party included Andi Slack ’07,
Becky Welle ’05, Amy Mackner
’04, Sarah Schultz ’04, Angela
Van Binsbergen ’05, Jon Fahler
’03, T.J. Bramwell ’03, Sam Gross
’03, Paul Amundson, Nick Slack
’02, and Joe Holman ’04.
2004
2003
Cherie Christ, Minneapolis, has
been promoted to director of
electronic communications at
Augsburg and is working over
the next six months on a major
study and redesign of the
Augsburg website.
Danielle Slack ’04 married John
Tieben ’03 on July 9, 2005, at
St. John Lutheran Church in
Belle Plaine, Minn., and spent
their honeymoon in Kauai,
Hawaii. Pastors Dave Wold and
Mark Johnson officiated at the
wedding.
Danielle is a third-grade teacher
in the Edina Public School
District, and John will graduate
in May from the University of
Minnesota School of Medicine.
They live in St. Louis Park, Minn.
38 AUGSBURG NOW
Kelly Chapman, Willernie,
Minn., received the Fashion
Design Award for Outstanding
Fashion Design Student. As one
of only 10 designers to participate in the Advanced Fashion
Design Program for the 2006-07
school year, her first collection
will debut at “FIDM’s Fashion
Gala” in February 2007.
Chad Darr, and his wife, Krista,
welcomed their first child, a
daughter, Addison Lynn, on
Sept. 8. Addison weighed in at 6
lb., 6 oz. and was 19 3/4 in. long.
Sara Kamholz, Maple Grove,
Minn., and her husband, Chad,
welcomed their first child,
Sophia Lyn, on Oct. 19, weighing in at 8 lb., 7 oz. and 20 1/2 in.
Katie Scheevel, Las Vegas, Nev.,
recently began teaching third
grade at Stanford Elementary
School. She can be contacted at
spicerisnicer24@yahoo.com.
2006
Justin Johnson, was set designer
for the fall play, Look Homeward
Angel, at Henry Sibley High
School in Mendota Heights,
sponsored by the Henry Sibley
Drama Club. He has recently
completed other sets, including
productions for Irondale High
School and In the Basement
Productions. He’s pictured here
with fellow Auggie Deanne
McDonald, who directed the
play. See page 37 for more on
Deanne.
2005
Katarzyna (Pruchnik) Niles,
Isanti, Minn., and her husband,
Joe, welcomed their first child,
daughter Helena Violet on July
14. She weighed in at 7 lb., 12
oz. and is 22 in. long.
Graduate Programs
Barry Vornbrock ’96 MAL, and
his husband, Ernest Lewis,
recently relocated to Palo Alto,
Calif. Barry accepted a position
with Stanford Univeristy Medical
Center as the director of IT
Systems Planning-Ambulatory
Care. Besides leading the technology efforts to implement a
new electronic health record, he
will also help Stanford Hospital
and Clinics develop a future
vision of their technology needs
as they grow their ambulatory
(walk in and walk out the same
day) services.
In Memoriam
Stella (Pederson) Eiermann
’30, Pacific Palisades, Calif., age
98, on May 31.
The Rev. Clifford M. Johnson
’34 (’30 Acad, ’39 Sem),
Bloomington, Minn., age 95, on
Oct. 12. He was a Distinguished
Alumnus and served Augsburg as
a fundraising leader, regent and
board chair, and director of
development.
Abner B. Batalden ’35,
Hanover, N.H., age 98, on Jan.
18. He traveled and worked
many years for the Lutheran
Church and Lutheran World
Relief, in social service agencies
and with refugee affairs. At
Augsburg he served as director
of alumni relations and as a
fundraiser; he was a
Distinguished Alumnus.
Wilhelm (“Bill”) Helland ’35,
Spicer, Minn., age 91, on Feb.
16.
Harold E. Mork ’38, Whittier,
Calif., on Nov. 24, 2005.
The Rev. Ormande Gordon
Tang ’41, Arden Hills, Minn.,
age 86, on July 14.
The Rev. Carl J. Carlsen ’43
(’46 Sem), Gig Harbor, Wash.,
age 85, on Sept. 3.
The Rev. Gerhard (“Giggs”)
Bretheim ’46 (’51 Sem), Edina,
Minn., age 78, on July 21 from
cancer.
Roald Nokleberg ’47, Duluth,
Minn., age 84, unexpectedly on
Oct. 12.
Mae Luhn ’50, Crossville, Tenn.,
age 82, on July 22 after a long
illness.
Aileen Okerstrom ’50,
Shoreview, Minn., age 78, on
Sept. 16.
Morris G. Jespersen ’57, Little
Canada, Minn., age 76, on Feb.
8 after a long battle with cancer.
Jack R. Norman ’59, Pennock,
Minn., ate 73, unexpectedly on
Aug. 6.
Gerald L. Peterson ’61,
Owatonna, Minn., age 66, on
Sept. 1.
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. You can also submit news to the Augsburg
Online Community at www.augsburg.edu/alumni.
Full name
Philip M. Dyrud ’64,
Newfolden, Minn., age 67, on
Sept. 18.
Maiden name
Carolyn (Hove) Dyrud ’65,
Maple Grove, Minn., age 62, on
Sept. 24, 2005, from cancer.
Street address
John A. Bruntjen ’68, Wayzata,
Minn., age 63, on Nov. 3 from
cancer.
Is this a new address? ❑ Yes ❑ No
Michael Manz ’70, Spokane,
Wash., age 58, on Nov. 1 of a
heart attack.
E-mail
Mark J. Zachary ’83, Savage,
Minn., age 45, unexpectedly on
July 22.
Employer
Kathrynn Mae Powell ’01, student in the Master of Arts in
Nursing program, Rochester,
Minn., age 47, on Oct. 22 following an accident.
Work telephone
Jason B. Mulligan ’02, St. Paul,
age 28, on Aug. 18 of ALS.
Spouse’s name
Class year or last year attended
City, State, Zip
Home telephone
Okay to publish your e-mail address? ❑ Yes ❑ No
Position
Is spouse also a graduate of Augsburg College? ❑ Yes ❑ No
If yes, class year
Maiden name
Luverne (“Vern”) Carlson,
Edina, Minn., age 86, in July.
Your news:
Robert Clyde, Crystal, Minn.,
age 79, on Jan. 9. He was associate professor and institutional
research analyst at Augsburg for
31 years until he retired in 1998.
WINTER 2006-07 39
Stu Stoller, professor of accounting, maintains active
ties with universities in Poland and the Czech
Republic, where has collaborated to develop curriculum, teach seminars, and establish a small-business
incubation center.
a national promotion board that oversaw the
“Got Milk” advertising and promotion program. His industry experience amplifies business theory in the classroom.
Professor Stu Stoller owned his own CPA
practice before going through what he calls
“a mid-life change in careers.”
Prior to joining Augsburg, Assistant
Professor Marc Isaacson worked at Innovex
Inc. in Maple Plain in various quality/engineering roles, including the launch of Flex
Suspension Assemblies into high volume
manufacturing. This took him to Asia frequently as he dealt with issues in global engineering, development, and customer service.
Nora Braun joined the department in
1997 with 20 years of information technology industry experience, most recently with
Electronic Data Systems and National Car
Rental.
Clarke was introduced to Augsburg
when Braun, a colleague, informed him of an
opening in Management Information Systems
(MIS). Clarke had worked for the EDS
26 AUGSBURG NOW
Corporation and National Car Rental System,
Inc., where he served as a software development manager, senior programmer/analyst,
and project leader. “I brought with me a corporate culture, but it was not long before it
became obvious that it was very different
here.”
All of this gives students a better idea of
what to expect in the “real” world. Ana
Chilingarishvili, a senior international relations major from the country of Georgia,
says, “Professor Zapp shared with us all kinds
of experiences she has had in her professional career which enhanced my understanding
of the concepts covered in the textbook and
showed how they can be applied to real-life
situations.”
“It’s paramount that you do what you
teach,” says Stoller. “It’s one thing to be an
academic and understand the philosophy
and the theory, but people become practitioners when they graduate from here, so
they need to understand the rules of practice.
One of the things that experience does is to
give you that practical experience… [What] I
think I give to students that they enjoy are
my stories of what is out there in the trenches of the world.”
GIVE CREDIT WHERE DUE
Cerrito credits the character of the business
department to Amin Kader, who founded it
(formerly it was combined with economics)
and served as department chair for 16 years.
“Faculty are here because of Amin’s leadership and drive. He was very successful at
establishing a culture where all members of
the department are treated with dignity and
respect.”
“When I interviewed here, Amin Kader
was the chair at the time,” recalls Stoller, who
grew up in a Jewish New York City family.
He remembers his family telling him, “‘You
mean you’re teaching in a Lutheran school,
and your boss is Egyptian?’ They said, ‘Boy,
you’re in trouble.’”
“When I got here [in 1990] and saw the
amount of diversity in the department, I
wondered if we would all work well together,” remembers associate professor Lori
Lohman, who is a self-described Midwestern
Protestant. “In a short period of time it
became apparent to me that this would be
the best place I would ever work. My coworkers are exceptional. We support each
other. We respect and value our differences.”
“For me, it would be hard to work in a
department where only one culture was represented,” says Zapp.
CREATE INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCES
The business faculty have actively crossed
borders for their teaching and research—
especially in Central and Eastern Europe.
In 1991, following a trade exhibition in
Pozan, Poland, Cerrito went to Warsaw and
met the vice-mayor of the city of Lublin, who
was also a professor at Catholic University.
“He invited me to visit the campus and meet
with professors. That really started
[Augsburg’s] relationship with Catholic
University and working with Solidarity, the
free trade movement, and privatization
issues. I then brought in Amin [Kader] and
Stu [Stoller].”
Cerrito and Kader were invited by
Catholic University’s dean to develop management degree programs and work with the
university’s faculty to assist them in privatizing state industries. Cerrito and Kader were
also asked to serve as guest lecturers.
In 1996, Stoller was invited to Catholic
University to set up curriculum and to teach
a seminar for financial auditing. “My grandfather came from Poland, from Krakow, and so I
figured I could visit on the way… I knew
nothing about Poland. The only thing I knew
were the black and white newsreels from
World War II… I thought Poland was black
and white.”
Stoller later returned to Catholic
University to set up curriculum and teach sem-
inars in Audit, and Mergers and Acquisitions.
“I learned a lot about different perspectives,
different point of view. It took me out of my
comfort zone and really gave me an education,” Stoller recalls. “But I figured, this cannot
end here, so I asked my colleagues here [at
Augsburg], if they had any connections in central Eastern Europe.”
It turned out that business/MIS professor
Milo Schield’s son was teaching in the Czech
Republic. He connected Stoller with the associate director of intercultural studies at Palacky
University in Olomouc, Czech Republic.
Stoller’s offer to help resulted in his
“thumbprint” on the Czech professor’s financial project over the Internet. This led to a sabbatical, during which time Stoller created an
incubation center for small business in the
community.
Stoller then created a course for Augsburg
students, “The Czech Republic: Social and
Cultural Impact of the Emerging Free Market
Economy,” which integrated history, culture,
and economics. In January 2001, he took 17
students to the Czech Republic for the first
time.
Students met with business leaders, workers, and citizens to discuss the impact of the
privatization process and the development of
capitalist enterprises in the ex-communist
country. The course has evolved since 2001,
but Stoller continues to lead student groups
to the Czech Republic.
Stoller was later invited to set up a similar program in Prague. Stoller has taken students there in 2003 and 2005 and will return
this year.
“Nothing can change you in three weeks
as fast as an experiential education,” Stoller
asserts. “Four years of college don’t change
you as much as three weeks in Prague.”
MAKE WIDER CONNECTIONS
In the mid-’90s, a connection with Russia
was established when Cerrito joined with
political science professor Norma Noonan to
present lectures at and facilitate an exchange
of professors with the State Academy of
Management in Moscow.
In May 2004, President William Frame
and Zapp visited the University of Ljubljana,
Slovenia, to rekindle an exchange program
with Augsburg. Several other business faculty,
including Clarke and Kader, have also visited
Slovenia. The department has hosted four
professors and the country’s prime minister,
Dr. Janez Drnovsek.
On that same trip, Frame and Zapp also
visited Krakow University of Economics,
Zapp’s alma mater. A year later, an exchange
agreement was signed between Augsburg and
Krakow University.
Last summer, through another faculty
connection, Stoller and associate professor
Kathy Schwalbe taught a course in Karlsruhe,
Germany, including four Augsburg students
and 14 students from the Berufsakademie.
More recently, Stoller has developed curriculum, discussed business cooperations, and
has given lectures in Shanghai, China. An
exchange of business programs is being considered as part of ongoing College discussions.
IN SUM
Stoller says his colleagues “tell about their
lives, they bring in their food—it’s wonderful. They talk about their experiences … you
can call up somebody like my friend Ashok
and talk about Indian culture, or Muslim culture, or whatever. It just adds a breath and
depth and experience to the department. We
all work with each other on a professional
basis and rejoice in each other’s differences.”
“It’s outstanding that we have this diversity,” says Kramarczuk. “We’re all God’s children. I’ve seen people die because of their
nationality. When I came into New Orleans
in the early ’50s, I couldn’t understand when
I would get on a bus, why an older black
woman would have to get up and give me
her seat.”
In the words of Lohman, “My colleagues
have expanded my world. It’s been fabulous.”
“We bring to the class very different
worlds,” says Zapp of her colleagues. “We
represent different cultures, different countries, different religious beliefs… The benefits
are immeasurable.” Ⅵ
The Department of Business Administration has
24 full-time faculty, more than 35 part-time faculty, teaching over 700 undergraduate and 300
graduate students.
MBA director Bob Kramarczuk, whose family immigrated to the U.S. after fleeing Ukraine, has enjoyed a career as
an international consultant and is an academician in the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences.
WINTER 2006-07 27
VIEWS
Icons of an Inauguration
THE SCHOLARLY SYMBOLS
College seals are common inauguration
icons and appear on the many official
congratulations and certificates
President Pribbenow received from his
colleagues across the country. Nearly
50 of these colleagues attended the
inauguration.
THE BOW TIE STYLE
Paul Pribbenow adopted the bow tie on a daily
A giant red bow tie anchored the “President Bush”
Bow ties, again, on the buttons that Student Senate
basis after learning to tie many of them for black
outside of Christensen Center, designed by a team of
distributed across campus during inauguration week.
tie events in his work at the Art Institute of
students led by junior Ben Katz.
Chicago. He believes he currently has more than 50
bow ties in his wardrobe.
THE STUFF
From printed programs to food and coffee, lots of visuals recall this festive
week. The Event Services Office reports that approximately 800 Augsburg
“A” cookies were served at the inauguration reception.
40 AUGSBURG NOW
CALENDAR
For music information, call 612-330-1265
For theatre ticket information, call 612-330-1257
For art gallery information, call 612-330-1524
Note: The Gage Family Art Gallery will close in Lindell Library on Feb. 16. A new
Gage Family Art Gallery will open in the Oren Gateway Center in August.
March 7
faith@work! breakfast series
FEBRUARY
Tim Geoffrion, executive director,
Family Hope/TreeHouse
7 a.m.—St. Philip the Deacon
Lutheran Church, Plymouth, Minn.
www. spdlc.org
Through February 16
“In the Secret Place,”
by Arlene Burke-Morgan
Gage Family Art Gallery,
Lindell Library
Artist talk, Feb. 8, noon,
Minneapolis Room, Christensen
Center
Through February 16
Photographs by Aviel Goodman
Christensen Center Art Gallery
February 2–11
Twelfth Night, by William
Shakespeare
Guest directed by Barbra Berlovitz
Feb. 2, 3, 8, 9, and 10 at 7 p.m.
Feb. 4 and 11 at 2 p.m.
Tjornhom-Nelson Theater
February 8
Theatre Artist Series
March 13–16
Aloha, Say the Pretty Girls, by
Naomi Iizuka
February 26-27
Visiting Artists from Japan
Guest directed by Steve Bussa
7 p.m.—Foss Studio Theater
Bidou Yamaguchi (Master Noh Mask
Carver) and Ayomi Yoshida
(Designer, Printmaker, Installation
Artist)
March 25
Augsburg Choir home concert
Feb. 26, Bidou Yamaguchi carving
demonstration
9:10–10:10 a.m., with guest
Matthew Welch, curator of Asian art,
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
11 a.m.–noon, with Martha Johnson,
professor of theatre arts
Marshall Room, Christensen Center
“Technical Direction at the Guthrie
Theater,” Craig Pettigrew, technical
director, Guthrie Theater
1:30–3 p.m.—Tjornhom-Nelson
Theater
Feb. 27, Ayomi Yoshida presentation
9:40-10:40 a.m.
Marshall Room, Christensen Center
February 9
Theatre Artist Series
MARCH
“South Indian Dance:
Bharatanatyam,” Ranee Ramaswamy,
artistic director, Ragamala Music
and Dance Theater
11 a.m.–noon—Tjornhom-Nelson
Theater
February 21
Reading by ACTC visiting writers
Ingrid Wendt and Ralph Salisbury
7:30 p.m.—Hoversten Chapel
March 2
2007 Batalden
Seminar in Applied
Ethics and 25th
anniversary of the
Center for Global
Education
Jorge Bustamante,
president and
founder of El Colegio de la
Frontera Norte
10 a.m.—Hoversten Chapel
612-330-1180
March 6
Theatre Artist Series
“Stage Movement Using Viewpoints
as Developed by Anne Dogart,”
Randy Reyes, actor/director
9:40–11:10 a.m.—Tjornhom-Nelson
Theater
February 23–March 30
“Listen: A Pilgrimage in Watercolor
and Ink,” by Tara Sweeney
Christensen Center Art Gallery
Opening reception, Feb. 23,
5:30–7:30 p.m.
Artist talk, March 9, 4 p.m.
March 6
Theatre Artist Series
“The Scenic Artist,” Mary
Novodvorsky, scenic artist
1:30–3 p.m.—Tjornhom-Nelson
Theater
7 p.m.—Hoversten Chapel
March 28
Theatre Artist Series
“Issues of Race and Ethnicity in
Asian American Theatre,” Josephine
Lee, director, Asian American
Studies Program, University of
Minnesota
11 a.m.–noon—Tjornhom-Nelson
Theater
April 9-May 6
All-Student Juried Art Exhibition
All-Student Juried Art Exhibition
Award Winners
Christensen Center Art Gallery
Opening reception, April 13, 5-7 p.m.
Awards presentation, April 13,
5:30 p.m.
April 11
Theatre Artist Series
“A History of Mu Performing Arts in
Regard to Contemporary American
Theatre,” Rick Shiomi, artistic director, Mu Performing Arts
11 a.m.–noon—Tjornhom-Nelson
Theater
March 29
Theatre Artist Series
April 12
Theatre Artist Series
Bain Boelke, Jungle Theatre
11:50 a.m.–1:20 p.m.—TjornhomNelson Theater
“Creating Original Work,” Shawn
McConnologue, artistic director of
Shawn McConnologue and her
Orchestra
11:50 a.m.–1:20 p.m.—TjornhomNelson Theater
APRIL
April 1
Masterworks Chorale concert
4 p.m.—Hoversten Chapel
April 3
Theatre Artist Series
“The Production Notebook:
Directing Pericles from Start to
Finish,” Joel Sass, freelance director/designer
9:40–11:10 a.m.—Tjornhom-Nelson
Theater
April 13-22
The Threepenny Opera, by Bertolt
Brecht; music by Kurt Weill
Faculty directed by Darcey Engen
Music direction by Sonja Thompson
April 13, 14, 19, 20, and 21 at
7 p.m.
April 15 and 22 at 2 p.m.
Tjornhom-Nelson Theater
April 15
Augsburg Orchestra concert
7 p.m.—Hoversten Chapel
April 4
faith@work breakfast series
April 16
Sverdrup Visiting Scientist Lecture
“Grace at Work” panel
7 a.m.—St. Philip the Deacon
Lutheran Church
www.spdlc.org
“The Exploration of Planetary
Systems,” Fran Bagenal, professor of
astrophysical and planetary sciences,
Laboratory for Atmospheric and
Space Physics, University of
Colorado
8 p.m.—Hoversten Chapel
612-330-1180
WINTER 2006-07
Advent Vespers 2006
The 27th Advent Vespers filled
the majestic Central Lutheran
Church for four services of
music and liturgy to begin the
Advent season. For the first
time this year, Central
Lutheran’s new carillon bells
were an added dimension to
the music of the three
Augsburg choirs and Vespers
Orchestra.
— Stephen Geffre, photographer
2211 Riverside Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55454
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Minneapolis, MN
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P U B L I C AT I O N
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A U G S B U R G
C O L L E G E
A L U M N I
Spring 2006
&
F R I E N D S
Vol. 68, No. 3
OUR CITY …
OUR CLASSROOM
page 10
T A B L E
O F
C O N T E N T S
Spring 2006
Vol 68, No. 3
FEATURES
10
17
DEPARTMENTS
Our city ... our classroom
2
Around the...
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A
P U B L I C AT I O N
F O R
A U G S B U R G
C O L L E G E
A L U M N I
Spring 2006
&
F R I E N D S
Vol. 68, No. 3
OUR CITY …
OUR CLASSROOM
page 10
T A B L E
O F
C O N T E N T S
Spring 2006
Vol 68, No. 3
FEATURES
10
17
DEPARTMENTS
Our city ... our classroom
2
Around the Quad
by Betsey Norgard
5
Sports
Teachers who lead,
leaders who teach
6
Faculty-Staff notes
22
compiled by Betsey Norgard
Supporting Augsburg—
Access to Excellence:
(The Campaign for Augsburg College)
25
32
inside
back
cover
Alumni News
Auggie Thoughts
Calendar
A college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Augsburg College is an equal education/employment institution.
Editor
Betsey Norgard
Assistant Editor
Lynn Mena
Graphic Designer
Kathy Rumpza
Photographer
Stephen Geffre
Media Relations Manager
Judy Petree
Sports Information Coordinator
Don Stoner
www.augsburg.edu
On the cover:
Augsburg Now is published quarterly by Augsburg College,
From the beginning of her
classes, first-year student Beckie
Jackson begins to explore the
opportunities around campus as
an extended classroom.
2211 Riverside Ave., Minneapolis, Minnesota 55454.
Opinions expressed in Augsburg Now do not necessarily
reflect official College policy. ISSN 1058–1545
On this page:
Augsburg’s Enrollment Center is
the one-stop shop for all the
“business” of the College—
registration, financial aid,
transcripts, accounts, and more.
Send address corrections to:
Advancement Services
Augsburg College, CB 142
2211 Riverside Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55454
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E-mail: now@augsburg.edu
Telephone: 612-330-1181
Fax: 612-330-1780
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AROUND
QUAD
Around THE
the Quad
Paul Pribbenow is chosen as
Augsburg’s next president
Augsburg News Service
P
aul C. Pribbenow, president of
Rockford College in Rockford, Ill.,
has been elected as the 11th president of
Augsburg College by its board of regents.
“We are confident that Dr. Pribbenow
has all the qualities of leadership and
passion needed to continue Dr.
[William] Frame’s work at Augsburg
College,” said Jean Taylor ’85, chair of
the Board of Regents. “He has already
demonstrated that he is an accomplished
communicator, a person who can
demonstrate his own sense of Christian
vocation, a skilled administrator, and a
visible leader, actively participating in
the life of the campus and surrounding
community.”
Presidential search committee chair
and regent Ted Grindal ’76 expressed his
thanks and gratitude to the entire
Augsburg community for their participation in the search process. “After a very
thorough and successful search, we are
pleased to welcome Dr. Pribbenow as
Augsburg’s next president,” Grindal said.
“In Paul Pribbenow, we feel we have found
a successor who will not only carry on
Augsburg’s commitment to being a college
committed to a Christian understanding
of vocation, but will maximize its
exciting potential for the future.”
“This is the work I believe I was
called to do, and I look forward to
serving as Augsburg’s next president,”
Pribbenow said. “I firmly believe that my
experiences and commitments are a
remarkable fit for the mission and needs
of the College.”
Paul C. Pribbenow was born in
Decorah, Iowa, in 1957. He received his
bachelor’s degree in sociology/political
science from Luther College, and his
master’s degree in divinity and his
doctorate in social ethics from the
University of Chicago.
He has served as president of
Rockford College since 2002. Since his
arrival there, Pribbenow has launched
several new educational initiatives,
including working with faculty and staff
to develop the Jane Addams Center for
Civic Engagement. This program’s
primary responsibility, according to
Pribbenow, “is to find ways to work with
students to integrate their education,
co-curricular activities, spiritual
experiences, and service to the
community as part of an intentional
vocational formation initiative.” He has
also been an integral part of expanding
Paul C. Pribbenow
opportunities for the campus and its
community to join together in a variety
of collaborative efforts.
He and his wife, Abigail, an arts
administrator, have two young children.
Pribbenow succeeds retiring president
William V. Frame, and will take office on
July 1.
To read more, go to
<www.augsburg.edu/news>.
NEWSNOTES
Agre to speak at commencement—two honorary
degrees to be awarded
Peter Agre ’70, Nobel Prize laureate for chemistry in 2003, will
speak at the College’s 137th commencement on May 6.
Agre is vice chancellor of science and technology at the Duke
University School of Medicine. He will receive one of two
honorary degrees approved by the Board of Regents to be
conferred on that date.
James A. Johnson will receive the second honorary degree. He
has enjoyed a distinguished career in finance and lending, formerly
with Fannie Mae and now as vice chairman of Perseus L.L.C.
Johnson has been active in supporting the Gateway Building and
development of the urban village concept along Riverside Ave.
Johnson was Augsburg’s commencement speaker in 2002.
2
Outstanding physics students
For the third time in six years, the Society of Physics Students (SPS)
has named Augsburg’s chapter as an Outstanding SPS Chapter, this
time for 2004-05. Fewer than 10% of the chapters nationwide
receive this honor; Augsburg’s chapter was also named in 19992000 and 2002-03. Professor Mark Engebretson is chapter adviser.
Jim Haglund honored
Regent Jim Haglund was honored with the Hall of Fame award by
the Association of Independent Corrugated Converters (AICC), a
1,000-member international organization. Minnesota Gov. Tim
Pawlenty lauded Haglund as characterizing the “best of
Minnesota.” Pawlenty also drew attention to Haglund’s leadership
on the Augsburg Board of Regents.
Spring 2006
Mexico social work consortium receives
award
Courtesy photo
by Betsey Norgard
A
Spring 2006
Students in the 2004 spring semester program in Mexico visited the pyramids of Xochicalco to
learn how pre-Hispanic cultures regulated the solar calendar.
is noteworthy in several regards beyond
the challenges of satisfying the needs and
criteria of nine different institutions.
Foremost, it makes possible a study
abroad experience for social work
students at colleges that can’t sustain
their own individual programs.
Also, because the program is ongoing,
issues of social work in developing
countries are constantly part of
department discussions and curriculum.
Returning students readily talk about the
program as life transforming.
“Students who return from Mexico
have a window into the lives of Hispanic
and Latino communities impossible to
gain domestically,” commented social
work professor Nancy Rodenborg. She
said the department hopes to take
advantage of this experience in working
with Twin Cities’ Spanish-speaking
populations.
Also cited in the award is the program’s
shared ownership and governance among
the partner institutions in Minnesota and
South Dakota—both public and private—
allowing social work students equal access
to study abroad.
Rodenborg stated that a large part of
the success of the program is due to the
Center for Global Education’s expertise in
offering international education and the
resources available at its Mexico center.
Courtesy photo
ugsburg is part of a social work
consortium that has been honored
for its semester study program in Mexico.
The consortium was awarded the 2006
Global Commission Partners in
Education Award by the Council on
Social Work Education (CSWE) in
recognition of “the contributions of
individuals, organizations, and others as
partners in advancing education for
international social work.”
The development of the BSW Mexico
Consortium of the Minnesota/South
Dakota Area, which includes both private
and public institutions, was more than
two years in the making and is
remarkable for the complexity of issues it
negotiates. The study courses meet all
the schools’ curricular needs and allow
social work students to participate
without delaying their graduation date.
Financial costs were worked out so that
students pay only their home-school
tuition (plus airfare), regardless of which
partner institution they attend.
The program, “Social Work in a Latin
American Context,” is based at the
Center for Global Education (CGE)
study center in Cuernavaca, Mexico, and
includes study of Mexican culture,
intensive Spanish language instruction, a
social work course, and either a field
practicum or comparative social policy
course. A several-week homestay gives
students a chance to experience living
with a Mexican family. There is also a
two-week exchange with students in the
School of Social Work at the Universidad
Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)
in Mexico City.
Cultural content courses are taught
by CGE staff, and the social work
content is taught by a rotating visiting
faculty member from one of the partner
schools. Augsburg social work professor
Barbara Lehmann is currently in
Cuernavaca, teaching for the second year.
The BSW Mexico Consortium model
Social work students visited Tlamacazapa, a
rural village where Claudia (in red, above)
helped them learn to weave.
Schools belonging to the BSW Mexico
Consortium are Augsburg College,
Bemidji State University, Bethel
University, College of St.
Catherine/University of St. Thomas,
Metropolitan State University, St. Cloud
State University, St. Olaf College,
University of Sioux Falls, and Winona
State University.
For more information on the Mexico
study semester, go to <www.augsburg.
edu/global/swksem.html>.
3
Business students seek stronger connections
through ABO
by Betsey Norgard
international presence and do a thorough
analysis of its marketing department. It
meant making the contacts, meeting with
corporate officials, and following up on
the research. Sometimes it’s even possible
to tie ABO activities into coursework for
some extra credit.
A
ugsburg business students realize
the importance of stepping out of
the classroom to gain “real-world”
experience, and the Twin Cities offers
them plenty of opportunities. The
Augsburg Business Organization (ABO)
aims to provide them a platform to do this.
Students join ABO to learn more
about the business world, to meet
corporate leaders, and to network in
search of opportunities for projects,
internships, and future employment.
Since ABO is student-run, they gain
leadership and professional skills as they
brainstorm, contact, and arrange for
speakers and trips.
Founded five years ago by business
major Rod Gonzalez ’04, ABO currently
has about 15 active students, with a
number of others who participate in
various events.
In January, 12 ABO students traveled
to Chicago for an activities-packed three
days of visits to CEOs and businesses,
following up on contacts from Augsburg’s
Development Office. While there they
visited three businesses—Chase Bank,
Hydrotech Manufacturing Co., and the
H&K law firm; plus, they met with
executives and toured the Mercantile
Exchange and the Federal Reserve Bank.
“The Chicago trip was a unique
opportunity,” said senior business major
and ABO member Nii Mensah, “in that it
gave us an opportunity to see many
different aspects of the city in both a
business and urban sense.”
Building a portfolio of experience
Anthony Haupt, a senior from Red Wing,
Minn., and the current president of ABO,
has taken good advantage of
opportunities in ABO for his own
leadership growth. Last year after
arranging for Greg Smith ’72 to be a
guest speaker at ABO, he kept in contact
with Smith, who is chief operating officer
of Walden Automotive. It led to a summer
internship at the Denny Hecker
4
Anthony Haupt, senior international business
management major and president of the
Augsburg Business Organization, hopes to
involve more business professionals and
Augsburg business alumni in the student
organization.
Automotive Group where Haupt did
financial analysis and project management
work. He and Smith still keep in touch,
and Smith continues to suggest other
contacts from whom Haupt can learn.
“ABO has opened many doors for me,
like the summer internship,” Haupt says,
“and has put me in leadership roles with
responsibility.”
Haupt also strengthened his major in
international business management with
a semester study program in Barcelona,
Spain, that included courses in
international business and Spanish. He
hopes his minor in Spanish will support
future work with a company that has an
international presence. He also
completed an internship in a healthcare
organization, and will seek opportunities
to gain training in project management
and/or account management after he
graduates in May.
Even as a part of their coursework, the
business administration faculty push
students to connect with the business
community. Haupt cites his international
marketing class in which students had to
choose a Minnesota company with
ABO seeks business contacts
Haupt’s vision for ABO is for the
organization to build a network of Twin
Cities business professionals, especially
Augsburg business alumni. What
students hope to gain, he says, are
relationships with the business
community and access to business
expertise, experience, and information.
Business professionals should be
assured, Haupt says, that Augsburg
students are well-educated and eager to
get their feet wet in the business world.
He cites several examples of past student
leaders, like the ABO presidents, who
have transformed internships into job
opportunities, and used their experiences
as springboards into a career.
How to connect with ABO
ABO offers these ideas for connecting
Augsburg business alumni and other
business professionals with students:
• Volunteer as a guest speaker at an
ABO event
• Participate in a resource network for
business students
• Host Augsburg business students at
your company or workplace
• Join the Take an Auggie to Lunch
program
• Help ABO with fundraising to support
trips and other activities
To learn more or participate in ABO
activities, contact Anthony Haupt at
<abo@augsburg.edu> with your name,
class year (if you are an alumnus/a), title
and place of work, and e-mail and/or
telephone number.
Spring 2006
Sports
For current sports information, scores, and schedules go to <www.augsburg.edu/athletics>.
Auggies inspire hoop dreams in
neighborhood kids
by Don Stoner
H
elping young members of the CedarRiverside neighborhood learn about
the game of basketball was a “slamdunk” proposition for the Augsburg
College men’s basketball team.
In January, the Auggies invited 50
boys and girls from the Cedar-Riverside
Community School, which primarily
teaches immigrant children, to attend a
morning basketball clinic at Si Melby
Hall. Head coach Aaron Griess and
members of the Augsburg squad showed
children the basics of the game, then
broke up into smaller groups to work
individually with them. Each group took
part in fun games with the Auggie
players, where they were able to put
their newly-learned skills into practice.
The clinic ended with an impromptu
dunking exhibition from members of the
Augsburg squad, to the cheers of the
youngsters watching.
“We’re proud to be able to make a
difference in the lives of young people
who haven’t had the same opportunities
that other children have, and we’re
committed to helping build the
community we live in,” said Griess, in
his first season as Augsburg’s head coach.
The clinic was organized by Griess
and Mary Laurel True, associate
director of Augsburg’s Center for
Service, Work, and Learning.
“Spending time with the kids,
watching them laugh, and teaching them
some basketball skills was a tremendous
joy,” Griess said. “Each and every one of
our students put their hearts into the
short period of time they spent with the
kids, and we’re all looking forward to the
next opportunity.”
ade
h gr
a, 4t
Laur
Fadum
o, 4th
grade
Thank you, Auggies!
“I had fun learning with you guys. It was
important to me because when I grow up
I will be a good basketball player.”
—Abdullahi, 3rd grade
“I learned basketball is not easy; it's hard,
but it just looks easy.” —Sagal, 6th grade
“Thank you for giving me inspiration to
play basketball.” —Karina, 6th grade
“In the summer I will love to show all of
my friends what you have taught me. It
really meant a lot to me when you taught
me a lot of tricks.” —Muna, 4th grade
The Cedar-Riverside kids yell “41, 41, 41…”
to pull no. 41 Auggie junior Tait Thomsen to
the floor.
“I’ve learned new tricks and so much
more. I felt like a professional basketball
player. This is one of the best days of my
life.” —Nasra, 4th grade
Fifty-plus students from the Cedar-Riverside Community School watch in awe as Auggie senior Aaron Benesh dunks the ball.
Spring 2006
5
Faculty and Staff
PRESENTATIONS
Tony Bibus, social work, presented a
poster, “Working with Involuntary Clients
in Slovenia,” about a study with Ljubljana
University, at the Council on Social Work
Education meeting in February.
Bill Capman, biology, co-presented “Reef
Aquaria in the Classroom and Teaching
Laboratory: Learning Activities, Organisms,
and Logistics” at the Marine Aquarium
Conference of North America (MACNA) in
Washington, D.C.
Emiliano Chagil, Hispanic/Latino Student
Services, presented “Higher Education and
Acculturation: The Contradictions Involved
in Improving Your Life through Education
while Sustaining Your Cultural Self,” at the
annual Breaking Barriers Conference at the
University of St. Thomas.
Su Dorée, mathematics, led a paper
session, “Countering ‘I Can’t Do Math’:
Strategies for Teaching Underprepared,
Math-Anxious Students,” at the annual
joint meetings of the American
Mathematical Society and the
Mathematical Association of America.
At the same conference, Rebekah
Dupont, mathematics, co-organized a
panel discussion, “Firefighting, Paper
Trailing, and Cat Herding: Everything You
Wanted to Know to Be an Administrator
but Were Afraid to Ask.”
Teachers meeting teachers
in Namibia
by Gretchen Kranz Irvine
F
or over five years, my life has been
exponentially enriched, professionally
and personally, from my experiences in
Namibia, Africa. I have been the trip
leader for three summer study trips in
2000, 2003, and most recently last
summer, July 1-22, 2005. I gathered a
group of educators—classroom teachers,
a preservice teacher, and teacher
educators—to travel to Namibia to learn
about the country and her people,
focusing on the education system. In
collaboration with the Center for Global
Education, my goals for the trip were to
introduce Namibia by visiting various
locations; by hearing from Namibians
working in a variety of sectors,
especially teachers, principals, and
faculty from the University of Namibia
and teachers’ colleges; by accessing local
media; and by being immersed in a
culture so different from ours, and yet
the same.
I was pleased that our group bonded
easily as a community and blended like a
fine-tuned melody. We benefited from
the two University of Namibia students
preparing to be teachers who joined us
and added depth to our understanding
of schools and the influence of culture.
A highlight for this trip was a oneday conference for teachers in the
Windhoek area hosted by our group,
with the help and facilitation of many
others. We gathered at the Rossing
Conference Center in Khomasdal, a
suburb of the capital city, Windhoek—
50 people interested in schools, teachers,
learners, and all areas related to
education—for sessions titled “The
Important Role of Teachers in NationBuilding.” The speakers, facilitators, and
organizers were both Namibians and the
members of our group.
The results far exceeded what could
be stated here. We explored large issues
impacting all teachers. We built
professional links—both individual and
group—that would sustain relationships
after we returned to the U.S. And we
Courtesy photo
Garry Hesser, sociology and metrourban studies, co-presented “Toward the
Public Good: Maps, Lenses, and Models
of Civic Engagement,” at the Association
of American Colleges and Universities
conference in November.
Hesser also presented, with Ann
Lutterman-Aguilar and Merrie
Benasutti, “Crossing Borders: Exploring
Vocation in a Multicultural/Global
Context,” at the Nov. meeting of the
National Society for Experiential Education.
Marc Isaacson, MIS, presented
“Statistical Literacy—Online at Capella
University” at the American Statistical
Association meeting.
Cheryl Leuning, nursing, and Pandu
Hailonga, CGE Namibia, co-authored and
presented, “Transforming What is Known
about HIV, AIDS, and Tuberculosis into
Culturally Appropriate Protective
Practices in Namibia and Tanzania,” at
the July Tumaini conference in Tanzania.
6
A group of educators from Minnesota spent three weeks with teachers and educators in
Namibia, based at Augsburg’s Center for Global Education. Augsburg participants are: Melinda
Stockmann (front row, left), CGE-Namibia intern; Pandu Hailonga (back row, fourth from left),
CGE-Namibia trip leader; Carol Knicker (back row, fifth from left), assistant professor of
education; and Gretchen Irvine (back row, second from right), assistant professor of education
and Augsburg trip leader.
Spring 2006
Courtesy photo
On a visit to the Haganeni Primary School in Walvis Bay, Namibia, the educators enjoyed meeting
the students, or “learners.”
Courtesy photo
helped to respond to the need of all
teachers to discuss important issues,
realizing how vital it is for people
involved in the process of educating our
children and youth to have opportunities
for dialogue and reflection. Because of
the cultural differences unfamiliar to me,
I appreciated working with the
Namibians who helped to make the
conference relevant and meaningful for
everyone.
It will be months and years before we
can realize what this trip has meant to us
as individuals. We have tried to spread
the word about Namibia, a very silent
country on the world stage. Our
worldviews have been forever changed
by images of Namibian teachers, of the
children and youth, and of the life we
witnessed in the coastal cities as different
from the villages in the north. We heard
the voices of Namibians telling of their
past, and we learned about the current
struggles toward the constitutional goals
of their 16-year-old nation. We witnessed
the joy of people together, and enjoyed
being in the company of a youth group
building their lives. And we read about
the hopes and dreams of people looking
toward the future. Our global vision has
expanded as a result of this experience.
I am grateful to the Center for Global
Education staff—both here and in
Namibia—whose expertise helped us
create the best learning environment for
our experience. In our own group,
individuals acted beyond any expectations
in caring for each other, challenging
thinking, and with kindness to all.
I have been a teacher for 38 years.
The experiences I’ve enjoyed are true
gifts to me as a teacher, and, also, to my
students at Augsburg.
Gretchen Irvine is assistant professor of
education.
Professor Gretchen Kranz Irvine presents an
Augsburg folder to Augsburg alumna
Fredericka Uahengo ’90, rector of the
Ongwediva Teachers College in northern
Namibia.
Spring 2006
Read more about this travel seminar and
conference on the participants’ blog at
<web.augsburg.edu/~irvine/Namibia>.
PRESENTATIONS
Dallas Liddle, English, presented
“Bakhtinian ‘Journalization’ and the MidVictorian Literary Marketplace,” at Oxford
University’s First Annual Conference on
the History of the Book, sponsored by
their English faculty, in Nov.
Ann Lutterman-Aguilar, Center for
Global Education-Mexico, presented a
theological perspective on the rights of
women at the International Women’s Day
conference in Cuernavaca, Mexico, in
March 2005.
She and Judy Shevelev, also with
CGE-Mexico, along with five former
students, co-presented two papers at the
National Women’s Association conference
in June.
Diane Pike, sociology, presented the
keynote, “Not Rocket Science: Teaching,
Learning, and Engagement,” at the Oct.
joint meeting of the Wisconsin and
Illinois Sociological Associations and the
Wisconsin Political Science Association.
Marc Skjervem, student affairs, and
Keith McCoy, residence life, presented a
session, “Developing a Seamless FirstYear Experience on a Small Campus,” at
the National Orientation Directors
Association regional conference in April.
NOTEWORTHY
Markus Fuehrer, philosophy, is
preparing a translation and commentary
of Albertus Magnus’ Liber de homine
(Treatise on Man). He is currently
preparing an entry on Albertus Magnus
at the invitation of the Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Brad Holt, religion, was elected to the
national board of the Society for the Study
of Christian Spirituality (SSCS), an
international organization of people who
teach Christian spirituality in colleges,
universities, and seminaries.
Patrice Salmeri, StepUP® program, was
elected chairperson of the executive
board of the Association of Recovery
Schools (ARS).
Milo Schield, business administration
and the W.M. Keck Statistical Literacy
Project, completed a textbook on
statistical literacy, which is being used in
Augsburg classes this spring.
7
Lynn Bollman, art, participated in the
Third Biennial Printmaking Exhibition,
in November, showcasing the work of 40
professors of printmaking at 22
Minnesota colleges and universities.
History professor Jacqui DeVries’
article, “Rediscovering Religion after the
Postmodern Turn,” was published in the
spring 2005 issue of Feminist Studies and
will also appear in the fall 2005 issue of
the online History Compass.
Pandu Hailonga, Center for Global
Education-Namibia, published an article,
“Violence, Rape, and Murder: Symptoms
of Societal Disease,” in The Namibian in
March 2005.
Garry Hesser, sociology and metrourban studies, co-authored a chapter,
“Liberal Learning and Internships in
Sociology, in The Internship Handbook,
edited by Richard Salem and published
in 2005.
Ann Lutterman-Aguilar, Center for
Global Education-Mexico, published a
chapter, “La reconstrucción de la iglesia,”
in Los derechos humanos al interior de
nuestra iglesia, edited by Guadalupe Cruz
Cárdenas, published by Católicas por el
Derecho a Decidir (CDD) in 2005.
Phil Quanbeck II, religion, contributed
to a collection, Teaching the Bible,
published in October by the Society of
Biblical Literature. An article by
Quanbeck “Preaching Apocalyptic Texts”
was published in the summer issue of
Word and World.
Department of Public Safety—
Augsburg’s 411
by Betsey Norgard
L
ocked out? … Too hot in your room?
… Need a jump for a dead battery?
… Want to know when the hockey game
starts? … Need a ride from the lightrail
station?
These are just samples of the
questions fielded by the Department of
Public Safety. Headed by John Pack, who
came to Augsburg nearly three years ago
after 13 years at the University of
Minnesota, this office operates 24/7 and
oversees the College’s switchboard
communications, facilities management
requests, campus security, and
communications and emergency
management.
Pack tries to get the word out about
their services, especially about campus
safety. Each summer at orientation, he
enjoys talking with new students and
their parents.
“The message is that Augsburg is in
the heart of the city,” Pack says, “which
brings tremendous opportunities, but
also some challenges, mostly parking
and security.”
Public Safety strives to ensure that
everyone in the Augsburg community
feels safe. Escort services are available to
any of the parking lots and for students
who go back and forth from internships
or service projects in the neighborhood.
Security officers also provide rides to and
from the nearby lightrail stops. A phone
call from two stops away gets students a
quick ride back to campus.
Pack has initiated regular meetings of
security personnel from Augsburg, the
University of Minnesota, FairviewRiverside, College of St. Catherine, and
the Minneapolis police to share
information and coordinate prevention
efforts in order to decrease incidents
overall.
A recent incident illustrates this
cooperative relationship. At a building
near the edge of campus, an intoxicated
person, not part of the Augsburg
community, slipped, fell, wedged his
head between two pipes, and went into
respiratory distress. Augsburg security
officers on routine patrol noticed him
and called 911. Officer Annie DeYoung
stayed with the injured man, monitoring
his medical condition, until rescue
personnel arrived. Firefighters needed
the Jaws of Life to free the man and rush
him to the emergency room.
The firefighters credited DeYoung
with saving the man’s life—for assessing
the situation quickly and applying the
medical treatment that kept his airway
and breathing clear until they arrived.
Staff photo
PUBLICATIONS/EXHIBITIONS/
PERFORMANCES
HONORS/AWARDS/GRANTS
Mark Strefeler, biology, received a
$57,500 grant from Beckman Coulter’s
matching grant program for a genetic
analysis system to aid research in plant
genetics and microbiology. It allows for
gene sequencing, DNA fingerprinting,
and molecular genetics. In his research
with students, he carries out DNA
barcoding for species identification and
identification and isolation of genes for
disease resistance in plants.
John Pack, director of public safety, accepts a Certificate of Appreciation
from Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak (left) and police chief William
McManus for the College’s cooperation and for support to the
Minneapolis Police Department.
8
Spring 2006
Photo illustration by Stephen Geffre
Office space: or how I spent 18 years
in the closet at Augsburg
by Doug Green
W
hy I didn’t move out of
my little hole in the wall
of an office when I had the
chance, I’ll never know. It’s
one of the smallest spaces in
the maze that is Memorial
Hall, a former dormitory and
the second oldest surviving building on
campus. The room can’t be more than
6 x 6 and would be more suitable as a
walk-in closet—or perhaps a very large
coffin.
My office desk, an old metal one of
modest size and a rosy beige hue, faces
the wall beneath an enormous Saul
Steinberg print of America as viewed
from Manhattan. Before I got my laptop,
Manhattan was unfortunately hidden
behind my computer, just as Minnesota
has blotted out most of my New York
past over the last 20 years.
On the wall behind me as I sit at my
desk, the floor-to-ceiling shelves are
overflowing with books, papers,
knickknacks (mostly mementoes from
past students and pictures of my wife
and son), and last year’s posters for
campus events. The filing cabinet next to
Spring 2006
the door obscures some of the shelves
and is buried under debris. Confidential
student records are now filed on top of
the cabinet for easy access—even to
passers-by in the hallway: It’s my version
of the Freedom of Information Act.
Behind the door and next to the desk
is another freestanding bookcase, also
overflowing and surmounted by stacks of
texts and paper—for creative writing, I
think. The walls and the hallway side of
the door are plastered with notices,
reminders, pictures drawn by my son,
and posters of events I had a hand in—
like the first GLBT alumni reunion and
art show: “Out and About.”
The window, however, I love best.
When I sit at my desk and look out, it’s
like Rear Window; I can spy on a whole
set of neighboring offices. But if I push
back just a little and face the outside, I
see Augsburg’s little quad, an Edenic
version of my little closet.
Maybe that’s why I can’t leave:
because this little cubby across the floor
from an old dormitory bathroom that
sports mold from the era of Warren G.
Harding and College President George
Sverdrup is the quintessential
professorial space. Like the brain in
Dickinson’s poem, my office “is wider
than the sky.” My little cabinet contains a
world of thoughts—from the books
behind and beside me to the computer
on my desk to the many visiting
colleagues and students who come to
share their inner lives with me. I need
their stifling and stimulating proximity.
My office is certainly no “proud,
ambitious heap” nor “built to envious
show,” but a place in which, like the
Sidneys at Penshurst in Jonson’s famous
poem, I can “dwell.”
Doug Green is professor of English. This
story first appeared in Augsburg Echo in
September.
9
10
1 THE NEW GUTHRIE
Only a mile away, the Guthrie Theater’s new
home makes it even easier for actors and
technicians to visit Augsburg seminars and
teach as adjunct faculty.
1
3
2
Downtown
Minneapolis
4
8
5
9
Augsburg
College
6
7
2 CORPORATE DOWNTOWN
Internships downtown with non-profits,
Fortune 500, and other companies are but a
quick lightrail or bus ride away for students
and often lead to future career opportunities.
Saint Paul
3 MEETING HIS CONSTITUENTS
City Hall is his home base, but Minneapolis
mayor R.T. Rybak enjoys getting out to meet
the new students on campus.
4 PLAY BALL!
The Twins, Vikings, Gophers—and the
Auggies, for one game per season—compete
several blocks away at the Metrodome.
OUR CITY …
OUR CLASSROOM
10
BY BETSEY NORGARD
➶
WHAT EXACTLY DOES BEING A COLLEGE OF THE CITY MEAN FOR
AUGSBURG? WHAT OPPORTUNITIES DOES IT BRING TO THE AUGSBURG
LEARNING COMMUNITY—TO STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND STAFF?
If one were to look at just a TWO-MILE RADIUS AROUND AUGSBURG,
what would be found?
5 HIGH-RISE MELTING POT
Riverside Plaza is the hub of the most diverse
neighborhood in Minneapolis—and a partner
with Augsburg in its community programs
and school.
The answer is A LOT …
the most diverse neighborhood in Minneapolis …
the downtown business district …
a Super Bowl pro-sports dome …
a brand-new home for a world-class theater …
a Big 10 university and teaching/research medical center…
a quick train ride to the largest shopping mall in the country…
miles of running, walking, and biking trails along the Mississippi River.
Staff photo
6 A JUMP ON THE LIGHTRAIL
Just a few blocks away, the lightrail train is a
quick ride to downtown, the airport, and the
Mall of America.
7 LEARNING FROM LIVE CORALS
Biology professor Bill Capman lends expertise
and some live corals to help teachers at
Seward Montessori School set up and maintain
a coral reef aquarium for their science classes.
8 WORSHIP IN THE CITY
Central Lutheran Church is the majestic
setting for Augsburg’s Advent Vespers, an
annual celebration of word and music that
begins the holiday season.
Spring 2006
Here, we highlight some of the myriad opportunities our location offers
to learn, serve, volunteer, intern, experience, shop, compete, perform,
keep fit, have fun, and so much more!
Teach. Reach. Feed. Lead.
That’s the motto of the Campus
Kitchens Project, based in Washington,
D.C., that combines preparing and
delivering meals, partnering in the
community, training for employment
opportunities, and providing service
learning for students. Since opening on
campus in 2003, the Campus Kitchen
at Augsburg has served more than
25,000 meals to community
organizations. The program, which is
student organized and run, is based in
the College’s food service facilities, and
works with surplus food from the food
service and local food banks.
Two shifts of student volunteers
each week prepare meals and deliver
them to six locations the next day. The
students spend time in each location, getting to know and talking with
the people being served.
Above, at Peace House in the Phillips neighborhood, junior Jeanette
Clark talks with a visitor. She and other students deliver meals on
Thursdays to the 30-50 people who drop in to Peace House for
conversation, fellowship, and nourishment.
During the summers, Augsburg’s Campus Kitchen operates a job
training program to train and certify unemployed people in food
management culinary skills to help them find jobs.
11
Trick or treat—dorm style
Targeting a career
Each Halloween, ghosts, goblins, and other costumed
characters wander the halls of Urness and Mortensen Halls,
going from door to door trick-or-treating.
They’re neighborhood children invited to campus by
LINK, the student service organization, for fun, games,
treats, and, sometimes, a haunted house. LINK provides
the candy, and students provide the fun for the kids.
Tim Benson ’00, graduated
with a business administration/marketing major
and a minor in management
information systems.
Benson picked up his first
downtown corporate
experience at a summer
internship with Accenture
(then Andersen Consulting).
He found it to be great
preparation for the business
world that he couldn’t have
learned in a classroom—
“protocols, unwritten rules,
and business speak”—that
helped him get a foot in the door at Target Corporation.
He started as a business analyst and was eventually
promoted to a supply chain expert. Now he is manager of
an eight-person team in the kitchenware department,
which is responsible for about 1,000 items and hundreds of
millions of dollars in sales annually in all 1400+
Target stores.
A day at the Soap Factory
(map #10)
As part of AugSem,
their first-year seminar,
students in ART 102
Design spent an
afternoon at the Soap
Factory. This turn-ofthe-century wood and
brick warehouse, which
formerly housed the
National Purity Soap
Factory, has been turned into an art gallery featuring work
by emerging artists, and offering available studio space.
The afternoon was part of City Service Projects Day,
which started with a 20-minute walk to the gallery
through the historic flour mill district. At the gallery, the
students helped take down one show and prepare to
install another. They cleaned floors, scrubbed and
squeegeed walls, and moved furniture.
The students got first-hand experience in what a
gallery is—or not, i.e. it’s not just clean floors and bright
lighting. Since a number of these students intend to major
in art-related fields, this gave them an opportunity for a
service project in something that really interested them.
Plus, the gallery director told them that what they
were able to do for the gallery in three hours would have
taken the staff all week to complete.
12
(map #2)
Staying connected with kids
(map #9)
Kristy Bleichner graduated from Augsburg in 2002 with a
major in social work. While a student, she began to
volunteer for Wednesday Night Out, a program sponsored
by Trinity Lutheran Church. For this, Trinity partners with
community organizations, including Augsburg, to provide
suppers for neighborhood families, giving them a place to
gather and talk. After supper, Bleichner and other student
volunteers take the children to a nearby gym for games,
making it more convenient for their parents to talk with
each other about family and community issues.
Even after graduating nearly four years ago, Bleichner
has wanted to stay connected with these families and
continues to devote time to the Wednesday Night Out
program.
Spring 2006
A school of many cultures
(map #5)
Around-the-world food
Five blocks from Augsburg lies the only school in the country
located in a high-rise apartment building. The Cedar-Riverside
Community School, a K-8 charter school sponsored by
Minneapolis Public Schools, is in the midst of Minneapolis’
most diverse neighborhood, largely Somali and East African.
The school serves mostly immigrant children, from nearly
a dozen different countries, some of whom never had any
formal education before arriving in the U.S. Each week nearly
30-40 Augsburg students tutor and mentor at the school, and
provide instruction or support during the year in music, art,
piano lessons, physical education, science, and health.
Augsburg elementary education students in Professor
Jeanine Gregoire’s science methods class teach hand-on
science units at the school. In the photo, Pa Kou Yang ’05 is
working with two second-graders.
When Augsburg moved to the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood
in 1872, it was home to a thriving community of
Scandinavian immigrants. Again, it is a center for many
people recently arriving in the U.S., primarily from Somalia
and East Africa.
The neighborhood has more than 20 restaurants, most of
which serve ethnic foods; as well as ethnic clothing stores,
grocers, and art galleries; and a Lutheran church and a
mosque. As part of the first-year AugSem group, students
visited area businesses and tried out some of the nearby
restaurants. In this photo, a group sits around the table at
Addis Ababa, an Ethiopian restaurant down the block from
campus.
Helping women stay fit at FOLC
Caring for the mighty Mississippi
(map #5)
Eilidh Reyelts ’06 (facing
front at right in photo), a
senior biology and premedical major, began
volunteering last year with
Rachel Domier ’05 (left) at
Family Opportunities for
Living Collaboration
(FOLC) at Riverside Plaza.
This center encourages
community members to
work together at meeting
the needs of neighborhood residents, many of whom are
immigrants or refugees with little understanding of English
or of American customs and health practices.
Reyelts and Domier were both Lilly Interns and designed
internships to explore areas within their vocational interests.
Twice a week at FOLC they taught exercise to immigrant
and refugee women, and helped them monitor their weight
and blood pressure.
Reyelts also is a Citizen Scholar through the Campus
Compact program. As an AugSem leader, she took new
students on a tour of the neighborhood and to FOLC. Reyelts’
vocational goals include a career in medicine or public health.
Spring 2006
With the Mississippi River
within a stone’s throw,
Augsburg has joined the
network of “river stewards”
and has “adopted” a section of
the river just downstream
from campus. Planned
activities involve students in
litter clean-up, trail
monitoring, placing stenciled
warnings on storm drains to
prevent pollution into the
river, monitoring invasive
species, and trail monitoring.
In the summer, political
science professor Joe
Underhill-Cady teaches
Environmental and River
Politics, a course that looks at
the challenges of balancing
economic development, social justice, and environmental
stewardship. Students spend time on the river and meet
with people involved in river-related issues.
13
Courtesy photo
H U R R I C A N E K AT R I N A :
R E S P O N D I N G F R O M T H E H E A RT
Medicine for both patient and doctor
The days were long, the work was
physically exhausting. What Augsburg
alumni Paul Mueller ’84, M.D., and Rick
Seime ’70, Ph.D., encountered in the
hurricane-devastated areas of southern
Louisiana was far worse than news
reports could show. But, Mueller describes
returning to Minnesota rejuvenated and
thankful for the opportunity to help.
Seime says he would do it again in
a heartbeat.
Mueller, an internist with a public
health background, and Seime, a
psychologist, both at Mayo Clinic in
Rochester, Minn., served on different
medical relief teams. They were a part of
Operation Minnesota Lifeline, a
collaboration of healthcare volunteers
from Mayo Clinic, University of
Minnesota, College of St. Catherine, and
the American Refugee Committee.
Sponsored by the Louisiana Department of Health, their work helped to
14
by Betsey Norgard
bridge the crisis period by treating
immediate medical needs and connecting
people to resources until more permanent
public health clinics were set up.
For two weeks each, Mueller’s and
Seime’s teams operated from a base in
Lafayette, La., and were housed at a
Baptist church. Each day they set out in
vans supplied with medicines, supplies,
and vaccines, to treat people in the field,
most of whom were either Hurricane
Katrina evacuees from New Orleans or
residents of the areas ravaged by
Hurricane Rita.
The medical teams were
multidisciplinary, including physicians,
nurses, social workers, and others. But,
everyone served as a mental health
counselor because the need was so great.
Many people had lost everything they
owned, had lost contact with family
members, and had lost their medications
and medical providers. Many simply just
needed to talk.
Despite their adversities, Seime was
“impressed with their resiliency, in the
faith they had, and in the way they came
together to help each other out.” Both
Mueller and Seime remark about the
gratitude expressed by hurricane victims
for the care they received from the
medical teams.
In Johnson’s Bayou, La., a coastal
town almost totally destroyed by
Hurricane Rita, Mueller met Rhonda, “a
salt-of-the-earth person” and one of a
very few who had returned to her home.
Above: Mayo Clinic internist Dr. Paul Mueller
’84 (left) and Sr. Romana Klaubaus (right), a
nurse from the College of St. Catherine,
posed with residents of Johnson’s Bayou
(La.). There they met Rhonda (second from
right), a local emergency medical technician,
who helped them find and treat the
residents who had moved back.
Spring 2006
Courtesy photo
left Lafayette at 4:45 a.m. and worked
until 10 p.m. that night. The team
consulted all day, but still could not meet
with everyone seeking help.
His most vivid memory is of Miss
Cindy, who came to be vaccinated in
Eunice, La. He listened to her story of
riding out the storm in her apartment
building in New Orleans. When the
levees broke, she told of trying to get
help to rescue the other tenants in her
building, and of wading in the water to
get to boats. Not all survived, and she
told of an elderly man who had to turn
back. They saw him drown without
being able to offer assistance.
Miss Cindy was so grateful for the
medical team’s help that she baked a
Cajun meal to thank them and drove it
35 miles to the church where Seime and
his colleagues were staying.
Drawing on his background in both
internal medicine and public health,
Mueller felt “called” to respond to the
medical needs in Louisiana. Seime
considered it a privilege to serve and was
glad for the opportunity, even taking into
account the 21 hours each way on the bus.
Paul Mueller ’84, M.D., is a member of the
Augsburg Board of Regents and serves on the
Science Center Task Force. Rick Seime ’70 is
a Distinguished Alumnus and member of
Augsburg’s Science Advisory Board.
Mueller’s medical team set up shop in a FEMA
trailer park, where many evacuees were living
in tents.
Courtesy photo
Donald Mattison ’66, M.D., a senior adviser at the National Institutes of Health and a U.S.
Public Health Service (USPHS) medical officer, led a team to Louisiana on Aug. 31, just
after Hurricane Katrina struck, for a two-week deployment.
Emergency medicine in a field hospital
by Donald Mattison ’66, M.D.
Mayo psychologist Rick Seime ’70 (right) and
internist Dr. Daniel Hartigan (left) from the
Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., pack the van
with medical supplies and vaccines for the
day’s assignment in the field.
Even though the local gas station her
husband owned had been destroyed,
Mueller says she was “amazingly happy
and optimistic, and determined to
re-build.”
He tells of how Rhonda knew
everybody—those who had returned to
town, their ages, what medicines they
took, etc. She was a volunteer emergency
medical technician and rode with the
team in their van, taking them to each of
the homes where returning residents
could be vaccinated and treated.
Seime spent one day on a team sent
to New Orleans, where they treated
people in a FEMA resource center. They
Spring 2006
I was part of the second team of Public
Health Service (PHS) officers deployed
into Baton Rouge, La. Our initial
assignment was staffing and coordination
of a temporary hospital established in
two buildings on the Louisiana State
University campus—an acute care
“emergency room” with intensive care
unit (ICU) containing about 150 beds,
and a lower acuity hospital containing
200-500 beds (depending on need).
While both were operating as
hospitals over about a 15-day period,
approximately 15,000 individuals were
“triaged” and about 3,000 admitted,
cared for, and discharged. When the
demand for acute care diminished, the
smaller facility was closed and the lower
acuity facility converted to a special
needs shelter. At that point additional
PHS officers were available to participate
in needs assessment and establishment of
surveillance systems with the state health
department.
Teams were also assigned to manage
medical and mental health needs of first
responders from New Orleans. Missions
Donald Mattison ’66, M.D., was honored on
campus last fall as a Distinguished Alumnus.
during the “public health” period of the
deployment included assessment and
surveillance of hospitals, clinics, schools,
public wells, food processing facilities,
and shelters.
The PHS officers I worked with
during the deployment were dedicated,
highly professional, and went far beyond
what would be expected to meet the
needs of Louisiana. I was honored to lead
these officers and extremely proud of all
of them.
15
Hurricane Katrina,
a personal perspective
by Shira Hussain
I was recruiting in Wisconsin when
Hurricane Katrina was set to hit the Gulf
Coast. My dad was determined not to
leave and actually held my family back
from evacuating as soon as they wanted
to. I even called home and was crying
because I just didn’t have a good gut
I just didn’t have a good gut feeling
about this hurricane.
feeling about this hurricane. Frequently
people in New Orleans do not evacuate
for hurricanes because they are so
common, and people fear their houses
will be looted if they leave.
My parents, sister, and brother
evacuated to Lake Charles, La., the day
before the storm hit. I watched the news
and was happy to see that the storm
came and went.
Then disaster struck on a whole new
level. The minute the levees were
declared breached, I knew things were
going to get a lot worse. I saw the city
under water and couldn’t stop crying. I
didn’t hear from my family and friends
and cried even more. I was finally able
to reach my mom two days after the
ordeal and cried for more positive
reasons. Eventually, I got in touch with
the rest of my family and also my
hometown friends.
Although I couldn’t explain why all of
this happened, I did have the choice to
find something positive out of all of it.
Although I couldn’t explain why all
of this happened, I did have the choice
to find something positive out of all of
it. The fact that my family and friends
were alive is what kept me going. A few
weeks later, my parents returned to the
16
Shira Hussain was on the road attending college fairs when she heard the news that her New
Orleans neighborhood was under water.
house, which was completely destroyed.
Fortunately, my mom was able to get our
family Bible and photos. They plan to
rebuild in the same area.
I, too, took a hard hit with all of this.
I lost the house I grew up in and the
schools I went to. Most of my hang-out
of things as we think we are. (My
parents, like so many others, are still
waiting for their insurance checks and
their trailer from FEMA). This whole
experience gives us all so many reasons
to be thankful. And it emphasizes that
minor problems, petty grudges, and bad
Helping my fellow “N’awlins” neighbors in any way I could
was in turn helping me deal with everything.
spots were gone, and the worst part was
being so far away from my family during
all of this.
So I did what I could. I got advances
on my checks and sent money home.
I headed up fundraising efforts at
Augsburg for hurricane evacuees. I even
passed out my number as a resource to
Minnesota locals who were hosting,
donating to, and/or aiding evacuees.
Helping my fellow “N’awlins”
neighbors in any way I could was in turn
helping me deal with everything.
From all of this, I’ve truly accepted
that nothing material lasts forever. I’ve
also learned that we are not as in control
intentions are really things we shouldn’t
hold on to, because major things beyond
our control will happen—both good and
bad, easy and challenging.
A family friend of ours did drown in
her house while waiting for her nephew,
who never came to get her. My mom
took it particularly hard because she had
wanted Miss Gerdy to evacuate with
them. I just trust that she died peacefully
in the house as I believe many people did
who were stuck behind.
Shira Hussain is senior admissions
counselor in the Office of Undergraduate
Admissions.
Spring 2006
Teachers who lead,
leaders who teach
EDITED BY BETSEY NORGARD
Vicki Olson describes how teachers as
leaders must be willing to take risks and
to become positive influences in schools.
O
OVER THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS
I’ve been reading about a topic dear to
my heart—teacher leadership. At
Augsburg, this concept undergirds our
teacher licensure programs at both the
undergraduate and graduate levels.
What teacher leadership means to
Augsburg’s Education Department is that
the teachers we prepare have both the
right and the responsibility to exercise
leadership within their classrooms,
schools, districts, and communities.
Recognizing that teachers lead within
the classroom is not difficult; it is
accepted enough to seem like common
sense. But once you get beyond the
classroom walls, the concept of teacher
leadership is less well established.
Some would say “teacher leadership”
is an oxymoron. Principals lead, not
teachers. They would go on to say that
teachers carry out the will of the school
district by teaching the designated
curriculum, following the standards
determined by the state, and upholding
the expectations of the community.
Teachers, in other words, follow the
Spring 2006
direction of others who make the
decisions, creating classrooms, in turn,
where students learn what they are
required to learn.
This philosophy exists, but it isn’t the
one we believe in or work from.
Certainly our vision incorporates the
idea that teachers have a responsibility to
the school district, the state, and the
community to educate students in the
best ways possible. That’s a given.
But rather than simply doing what
they are told, we believe teachers must—
truly must—see themselves as active
participants in deciding what should be
taught and how to teach it.
In our vision, teachers come to the
table with administrators, parents, other
community members, and sometimes
students to define what it means to be an
educated person and then to map out
how that education will happen within a
given setting.
Teachers count themselves among the
grown-ups and accept the responsibility
and risks from making the decisions
they make.
This conceptualization of “teacher”
that includes an element of leadership
frightens some. Responsibility and risk
bring with them accountability, but along
with that they also can bring a fine sense
of exhilaration, energy, and eminent
satisfaction in a job well done.
Roland Barth, in Learning by Heart,
says, “I think of a teacher leader as one
who has a positive influence on the
school as well as in the classroom … all
teachers have the capacity to lead the
enterprise down a more positive path, to
bring their abundant experience and
wisdom to schools.”
Like Barth, at Augsburg we believe all
teachers can be teacher leaders and share
in leading the collective “enterprise” of
making schools positive places with
learning at the heart. Teachers who
understand their role in this way—risks
and all—are more likely to define
teaching as their vocation rather than
simply their job.
Vicki Olson is associate professor
of education.
17
Teachers who lead,
leaders who teach
M
MARGARET KNUTSON ’91
Fifth-grade teacher at Orono (Minn.) Intermediate School
Education is the second largest major at Augsburg,
with approximately 500 students across undergraduate and graduate programs.
How do Augsburg students carry the qualities of
teacher leadership into their classrooms? Augsburg
Now invited a number of alumni and faculty who
have been recognized as leaders to reflect about their
careers and how they have seen themselves both as
teachers who lead and as leaders who teach.
Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award in 2004
My goal is to inspire students to find the learner in themselves,
to challenge themselves and to find meaning in their education.
To that end I have always yearned to try new things in order to
find ways to more effectively connect students to learning on a
real and personal level. When I discover or create methods I find
successful, I share these with colleagues at my school as well as
lead workshops for schools around the state.
So, being a teacher leader involves keeping your mind and eyes
open for new methods, being a risk taker and pioneer in
applying new methods, and then not being shy about sharing
your successes with others ... and to humbly educate other
teachers.
Above: Maggie Knutson tries to keep her students engaged in ways that
challenge and inspire them to find learning meaningful.
18
Spring 2006
J
JOSEPH ERICKSON
Professor in Augsburg’s Education Department, and chair of the
Minneapolis Board of Education
My personal philosophy of teaching is based on the assumption that
my primary role is to motivate learners to gather information and
develop themselves—I don’t make them learn. I think that’s a kind
of leadership; sparking curiosity and motivating learners. I think that
is central to good teaching.
In my role on the school board, I’m constantly meeting people who
have opinions about what should and should not be done in
Minneapolis Public Schools. It’s hard to underestimate how much
rumor and gossip is out there. My role is to help educate the public
when I meet people who hold information that is wrong or misleading.
More importantly, I try to make sure that I take every opportunity I can
to inspire optimism and confidence in MPS’s future. Sometimes inspiring
confidence is even more important than competent administration.
Joe Erickson brings his school board leadership experience into
his classrooms at Augsburg to help future teachers understand
the issues affecting school districts.
J
JACKI BRICKMAN ’97
Mentor at Elizabeth Hall International
Elementary School, Minneapolis
From my second year of teaching, my
classroom has been a public place—
to current and new teachers, to district
officials, politicians, and parents.
Teachers are at their best in their
classrooms facilitating learning, and when
teachers open their doors to one another
and make their classrooms a public place,
we are able lead and teach at the same
Teachers in Jacki Brickman’s school meet regularly in study
groups to share their practices and strategies in order to help
each other grow.
J
time. Both the teacher observing and the
teacher being observed can grow in their
practices if they engage in reflective
conversation after this shared experience.
JUDY SCHAUBACH ’68
President of Education Minnesota
Being a teacher and a leader are for me inseparable.
In my early years as a teacher I was a strong voice
for ensuring a positive work environment that
included advocating for professional development
opportunities, insisting on compliance with state
and federal laws, and working together with the
administration to insure a safe and respectful learning
environment. The more I took responsibility for these
issues the more I grew as a professional.
Being involved at the local level and gaining a sense
of empowerment was what prompted me to get
Spring 2006
involved at the state and national level. As a union
leader I rely on my teaching experience to help
policy-makers understand what needs to be done …
I believe that teachers should not be passive
bystanders to what is occurring in their classrooms,
schools, or communities, nor should they be silent
about policies and laws that have a direct impact
on their profession and the students they teach.
This philosophy has been the impetus for my
leadership, even when it is sometimes difficult and
may be controversial.
19
Teachers who lead, leaders who teach
A
ADAM THRONSON ’99
Social studies teacher at Coon Rapids (Minn.) High School
2005 Anoka-Hennepin School District Teacher Outstanding
Performance (TOP) award
Teachers are leaders by researching and implementing new
strategies into their classroom. It means you take a risk.
Teachers usually try methods that other teachers have found
success with, but leadership comes when you blaze a new
trail by trying something new.
B
BRUCE PALMQUIST ’84
Professor of physics and science education at Central
Washington University, Ellensburg, Wash.
Washington State Professor of the Year, named by the
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
and the Council for Advancement and Support of
Education (CASE).
I started teaching while I was a student at Augsburg. I
tutored first-year physics students. This taught me that it
takes more than good grades in a subject to be a good
teacher. I learned that I needed to understand what the
students knew and didn’t know before I could help them. …
In general, a good teacher is one who leads by example. I try
to make my science teaching methods courses relevant by
developing interesting opportunities for my students to
interact with children. My teaching methods students have
been among the first at my university to teach science lessons
in the local schools, to develop after-school science clubs, and
to provide children with practice items for the Washington
state science assessment.
(To become better acquainted with Bruce Palmquist, see Auggie
Thoughts on p. 32)
20
I have been a leader who teaches when I’ve accepted and
encouraged the work of other teachers. This could be new
programs like Link Crew or just cooperation dealing with the
same student. I have been a teacher who leads by staying positive,
supporting administration, and trying new things in my
classroom.
A
ALLEN TRIPP ’69
English teacher at Rush City (Minn.)
High School
2005 Leadership in Educational
Excellence Award,
selected by peers
After 35 years of teaching English, I can look back and see many
times where I have been both a teacher and a leader. The teacher
role is six classes a day September through May. However, the
leader role has grown on me over the years as I became more
experienced in my profession and familiar with the people in the
community. …
Teaching ability and leadership skills are a necessary
combination for any successful teacher. When I look back at
my first year of teaching, I see I had the knowledge to teach
effectively, but at times lacked the confidence to lead. By
talking to experienced teachers and gaining experience
in the classroom, the leadership skills evolved. When you
demonstrate confidence in yourself as a teacher, you will
clearly communicate goals to the students; and they gain
confidence in themselves as learners. It’s a win/win situation.
Spring 2006
A
ALYSSA SNYDER ’98
President, Bethany Lutheran
College, Mankato, Minn.
It is in the classroom where we have the
most direct impact on our students;
however, it cannot end there.
As educators we must challenge one another’s ideas and philosophies
through professional dialogue in order to gain insight into how to
better meet the needs of our learners.
My top priority is having high standards for all my students. This
is why I feel fortunate to be an instructor in the Weekend College
program. I want to influence potential educators to advocate for
all of their students, not just the smart and well behaved. A true
teacher leader is willing to do this by going against the status
quo knowing the student must come first. When I can influence
future teachers, I can impact more students positively.
D
DAN BRUSS ’75
Adjunct instructor in Augsburg’s
Education Department
J
I have been connected to the
teaching enterprise of higher
education nearly 25 years.
As a professor I saw myself not just as a champion of
my area of expertise, but primarily as a role model, an
individual concerned with the wide variety of struggles
students have during their college experience. For me
life in the classroom was seamlessly interwoven to the
life outside of it.
As a college president I still see my chief function as a role
model, although now my teaching crosses constituency
boundaries. As an administrator I look for the professor
who can have the biggest impact on students’ lives. They
generally have more lasting influence than programs or
buildings.
JOHN-MARK STENSVAAG ’69
Charlotte and Frederick Hubbell Professor of Environmental and
Natural Resources Law at the University of Iowa College of Law
University of Iowa 2005 President and Provost Award for Teaching
Excellence
All of my great teachers led by example. Every day, I try imperfectly
to emulate what my greatest teachers showed me; every day, I
expect my students to outshine me in their future endeavors. The
enterprise is driven by love: love of learning, love of the subject
matter, and love of the students. My greatest teachers led by
illustrating such love. For me, “leading” is nothing more than
striving to reflect their love to a new generation of students.
A POSTSCRIPT: After this story was completed,
announcement came of the appointment of
Augsburg history professor Bill Green as interim
superintendent of Minneapolis Public Schools.
As he steps from the classroom into a leadership
role in a difficult situation, Green has been quoted
as saying that he is “first and foremost a teacher.”
Spring 2006
21
Paulson family makes major gift to the Science Center
Courtesy photo
In December, John Paulson, together with
Norma Paulson, pledged a $1 million gift
on behalf of his family to name the front
entrance and atrium of the new Science
Center.
This is the Paulson family’s second
major capital gift to Augsburg. In 2001,
the family provided major funding to
complete the enclosed skyway link from
Lindell Library to the two-story atrium
between Memorial and Sverdrup Halls.
“One does not have to be on campus
long to see what an important need was
met by the Paulson Link,” said Stephen
Preus, director of development. “This new,
special gift by the Paulsons will provide
for an equally important and highly
attractive space.”
While Paulson is not an Augsburg
alumnus, three of his children and a sonin-law graduated from the College—Mary
Jo (Paulson) Peterson ’80, Laurie
(Paulson) Dahl ’76 and David Dahl ’75,
and Lisa Paulson ’80.
The motivation behind the Science
Center gift, however, may date back much
farther than his family’s education.
Paulson served in the Second Infantry
Division during World War II and was part
of the Allied invasion landing on D+1 at
Omaha Beach, Normandy, France, in June
by Betsey Norgard
Cory Ryan
$1 million gift will name the new atrium
John and Norma Paulson pledge $1 million for the Science Center atrium. (L to R) Dick Adamson,
vice president for finance and administration; Jeroy Carlson, senior development officer; and
Norma and John Paulson.
1944. He was a frontline soldier until July
28, 1944, when he was wounded during
the St.-Lo breakthrough. Among the
awards Paulson received were the Combat
Infantry Badge, Bronze Star, and the
Purple Heart.
In June 2004, Paulson and his wife,
Norma, traveled to France to take part in
the 60th anniversary commemoration of
the event that proved to be the turning
point of the war.
The festivities brought together
thousands of people—war
veterans, military officials,
local people and tourists, as
well as Hollywood
celebrities whose acting
roles had recreated the
battles on movie screens.
Standing in his Army
uniform, wearing medals
depicting D-Day service,
Paulson enjoyed the
commemoration.
Following the ceremony,
however, he noticed lines of
French citizens forming to
At the 60th anniversary commemoration of D-Day, Norma and
shake hands and request
John Paulson met and talked with actor Tom Hanks.
22
autographs from the U.S. veterans.
Puzzled, Paulson finally asked someone
why he wanted a soldier’s autograph.
“Don’t you understand,” the
Frenchman told him, “you saved our
country.”
Paulson recounted how vivid an
impression these words made. When he
thought about the statistics—the
staggering numbers of soldiers who were
killed or wounded during the invasion—
he realized that he was, in fact, a
survivor. And with that realization also
came the insight that he had been
blessed with many gifts in his life that
should be shared with others.
“I believe it is important to leave this
world in better condition than it was when
we arrived,” Paulson said, “so contributing
to Augsburg and other worthwhile
organizations is part of this process.”
The Science Center atrium girft is
provided in memory of Lois V. Paulson,
Rose E. Paulson, and Johnny E. Paulson,
by the Paulson family—John R., Sr., and
Norma Paulson, John Reid Paulson, Mary
Jo Peterson ’80, Deborah Stansbury, Laurie
Dahl ’76, and Lisa Paulson ’80.
Spring 2006
Naming the ‘Doc’ Johnson A-Club Office
Office in Doc’s memory. Their gifts, with
additional gifts from Louie Morseth ’51,
Roger Stockmo ’54, Leroy Nyhus ’52, and
Virg Gehring ’57 have made it possible.
In his senior year at Augsburg, Doc
Johnson was elected president of AClub. Now, it is the A-Club vice
president from that year, Ron Main,
helping to perpetuate Johnson’s legacy
as an Auggie.
Archive photo
Donnis “Doc” Johnson ’52, an Auggie who
died at the age of 23, well before his time,
will not be forgotten by his friends. Five of
his classmates and friends have joined
together to name the A-Club office in the
new Si Melby South Wing in his memory.
Raised in the small town of Newman
Grove, Nebraska—the only Lutheran Free
Church congregation in that state—
Johnson followed his sister, LaRhea, and
several relatives to Augsburg College, 400
miles away. He enrolled in 1948, majored
in physical education, and became center
on the football team.
After graduation in 1952 and two years
in the U.S. Army at Fort Leonard Wood,
Mo., Johnson returned home to a teaching
and football coaching position at the Elgin
(Neb.) High School. This was to be his
only year of teaching, as he died of bulbar
polio in November 1954. Members of his
high school football team served as
pallbearers.
Early last year, Doc’s cousin, Mark
Johnson ’54, together with Augsburg
development officer Ron Main ’56,
proposed a plan to name the new A-Club
by Betsey Norgard
“Doc” Johnson (top row, no. 28) played on the 1951 football team, along with teammate, and
now development officer and donor, Ron Main ’56 (middle row, no. 38).
Connections
Augsburg meets
Thrivent challenge
Augsburg received bonus funding of
$5,415 from Thrivent Financial for
Lutherans for successfully meeting the
GivingPlus program challenge.
About 450 Lutheran schools and
social service agencies were awarded
portions of an $800,000 grant from
Thrivent for significantly improving
participation in Thrivent’s GivingPlus
program, which matches contributions
to Lutheran institutions by its members.
In order to qualify, Augsburg needed
to increase GivingPlus by 588 member
donors before December. It exceeded
that with a total of 693, thereby also
earning $78,805 in matching funds from
Thrivent under the program.
The bonus funds will be used for
student scholarships, curriculum
development, student-oriented
activities, and campus improvements.
Spring 2006
Barbara Gage, president of the Curtis L. Carlson Family Foundation, was honored with the
2006 Leading Leaders award for lifelong commitment to family, career, and service to
community. (L to R) Emily Anne Tuttle, Augsburg Board of Regents; Barbara Carlson Gage;
and Tracy Elftmann, Augsburg vice president for institutional advancement.
The Connections event, co-sponsored by Augsburg and Thrivent Financial for
Lutherans, also included speakers Janice Aune ’88, chairman/CEO of Onvoy, Inc.; Augsburg
regent Gloria C. Lewis, president/CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Twin
Cities; and Shira Hussain, Augsburg senior admissions counselor.
23
Sig Hjelmeland led fundraising efforts for 30 years
Sigvald Hjelmeland ’41 was the second of
four generations of Augsburg graduates
and spent three decades at Augsburg
leading fundraising efforts that made
possible a number of major capital
projects. He died on Dec. 25 at age 90.
Hjelmeland returned to Augsburg in
1952 to serve as the College’s first
director of development. Major
campaigns he headed led to the
completion of the George Sverdrup
Library, Christensen Center, Urness Hall,
and Foss Center.
He is best remembered by colleague
Jeroy Carlson ’48 as “meticulous.” In the
late 1950s, as donor and giving programs
were being created, Hjelmeland drew on
his expertise and passion for detail to
create a manual accounting system and
bookkeeping procedures for donor gifts.
This included the use of a bank book to
help donors track their monthly pledge
payments.
In 1963, as the College moved
through the transition from the Lutheran
Free Church (LFC) into the American
Lutheran Church, Hjelmeland, with his
Norwegian LFC background, served a
valuable role in helping many of
Augsburg’s longtime LFC families stay
part of and feel connected to Augsburg.
“He spoke Norwegian and had a great
sense of humor,” Carlson says, “not just
American humor, but Scandinavian
humor as well.” Hjelmeland’s
relationships helped to foster a culture of
philanthropy that has nurtured many of
Augsburg’s current donors.
In 1986, Hjelmeland, with his wife,
by Betsey Norgard
Three generations of Hjelmeland Auggies: Sigvald Hjelmeland ’41, who is survived by his wife,
Helen; (back row, L to R) James Clarke and daughter Laurene (Hjelmeland) Clarke ’64; son John
’70 and Lynn (Benson) ’69 Hjelmeland; and granddaughter Jennifer (Hjelmeland) Stewart ’00.
Helen, and son and daughter-in law John
’70 and Lynn (Benson) ’69, established a
scholarship in the name of his father,
John Hjelmeland, who graduated from
Augsburg Academy, College, and
Seminary.
In 2003, Sig Hjelmeland received the
Spirit of Augsburg award for his
dedication and long service to the
College.
Hjelmeland is survived by his wife,
Helen; two children, Laurene and John;
seven grandchildren; and five greatgrandchildren. The family has directed
memorial gifts to the Rev. John
Hjelmeland Scholarship Fund.
Faculty-staff giving boosts campaign
From September through December, guided by a faculty-staff
campaign committee, employees of Augsburg raised the bar on
giving and encouraged awareness of a philanthropic culture.
A generous matching fund, matches from Thrivent Financial for
Lutherans for its members, and contacts from committee members
helped to significantly increase both the dollar amount and the
rate of giving within the Augsburg community.
24
Through December 31, an additional total of $133,000 was
given or pledged by employees of the College, beyond the
$635,000 since the campaign’s launch.
Even more important, however, was the increased rate of
participation in the campaign—to more than doubling the overall
rate of 17% in 2004-05. By the end of the year, the giving rate for
full-time faculty and staff exceeded 50%.
Spring 2006
AAlumni
LUMNINews
NEWS
From the director of Alumni Relations…
A
ugsburg College
is in the midst
of many exciting
changes this spring.
Our first group of
MBA students will
graduate in May,
along with
candidates from our
other master’s
programs in leadership, education,
nursing, physician assistant studies, and
social work—plus our undergraduates
from the day, weekend, and Rochester
programs. Congratulations to you all!
The campus face is changing, too. I
hope that you have had an opportunity
to view the artist renderings of the
planned Science, Gateway, and Si Melby
additions. We welcome you back to
campus to tour the grounds this spring
and summer—our grounds crew does an
amazing job beautifying the campus!
In Alumni Board news, three members
will end their terms this spring. We would
like to thank Beth Torstenson ’66, Andy
Morrison ’73, and Paul Mueller ’84 for
their dedication and hard work during
their tenures. We hope to see them at
many events in the future. Thank you!
Alumni Relations, along with
Advancement Services and Information
Technology, are pleased to announce the
newly launched Augsburg Online
Community, which will help you stay
informed and involved with Augsburg
via the Internet. See the information
below for details.
Planning for Homecoming 2006 is
well underway. This year’s theme is
“Watch Us Soar,” and events are
scheduled this September 25-30. Watch
your mailbox for your Homecoming
brochure in August. We have made
changes to the usual Saturday activities,
and we encourage all alumni, family, and
friends to join us.
We look forward to hosting you at an
Augsburg event in the near future. Please
let the Office of Alumni Relations know
if you will be in the metro area this
summer—we would love to show you
the campus!
Heidi Breen
Director, Office of Alumni Relations
Introducing Augsburg’s new online community
A
ugsburg’s online community has
been developed just for you—
alumni, friends, parents, and donors of
the College. The new online community
will help you stay informed and involved
with Augsburg via the Internet. This is a
great way to stay connected!
Visit the site and register today so that
you can take advantage of the great new
features to keep you connected to your
Augsburg friends and classmates.
You’ll find:
Alumni Directory
• Learn where your classmates and
friends are, and what they’ve been
doing since graduation
• Connect with other alumni in your
area of the country
• Update your personal profile so your
classmates can get in touch with you
Spring 2006
Class Notes
Tell us what you’ve been up to! As part
of your personal profile you can now
submit class notes online for possible
publication in Augsburg Now.
programs, and of course, Access to
Excellence: The Campaign for Augsburg
College. Giving online is easy and
secure—and there’s no need to be a
registered user to donate.
Events
Wondering what events are taking place
for Augsburg alumni? The online
community is the place to search and
register for events specifically for alumni
and friends of the College. Check back
often to learn about upcoming Auggie
Hours, parent events, or just to find out
the most up-to-date news around the
Augsburg campus.
It’s EASY
Simply go to www.augsburg.edu/alumni
Online Giving
You asked, and we listened! Making a
contribution to Augsburg has never been
easier. Simply visit Augsburg’s online
community and click on the “Give Now”
link to donate online. Otherwise, click
on “Giving at Augsburg” to learn about
planned giving, our various giving
It’s FAST
Moving? Changing your e-mail address?
New addition to your family? Let us
know instantly by logging in and
updating your information.
QUESTIONS?
If you have any questions, first read
through the information on the
Augsburg online community website. If
you still have questions, send an e-mail
to <healyk@augsburg.edu>.
25
Alumni Events
SUMMER AUGGIE HOURS
Please join us for these upcoming alumni events (see also the college-wide calendar on the
inside back cover for additional Augsburg events); unless otherwise noted, call 612-330-1178
or 1-800-260-6590 or e-mail <alumni@augburg.edu> for more information.
March
May
16
5
Graduation reception for all
undergraduate and graduate
business students, Marshall Room,
Christensen Center, 4-6 p.m.
April
9
Alumni tour to China departs
18
Alumni Board meeting,
Christensen Center, 5:30 p.m.
18
27
Senior reception hosted by the
Alumni Board in honor of the
Class of 2006, East Commons,
Christensen Center, 4:30-6 p.m.
WECAN meeting (Weekend
College Alumni Network), 6-8
p.m., Riverside Room, Christensen
Center
WECAN meeting (Weekend
College Alumni Network), 6-8
p.m., Riverside Room, Christensen
Center
April
Join a variety of alumni who are
actively involved in the Twin Cities
theatre community; location TBA.
May
W.A. Frost & Company, Historic
Cathedral Hill—Dacotah Building,
374 Selby Ave., St. Paul,
651-224-5715
June
Maynard’s Restaurant,
685 Excelsior Blvd, Excelsior, Minn.
(located in the southeast corner of
Excelsior Bay on Lake Minnetonka),
952-470-1800
August
Campiello, 1320 West Lake St.,
Uptown Minneapolis, 612-825-2222
June
20
Alumni Board meeting,
Christensen Center, 5:30 p.m.
25
Rochester Weekend College
graduation banquet, Rochester
Country Club, 5-8 p.m.
Commencement 2006
Augsburg
Associates Spring
Seminar
Softball and
baseball alumni
receptions
The Augsburg Associates invite you to
their 20th Annual Spring Seminar,
Saturday, April 1, 8:30-11:30 a.m. at
Foss Center. This year’s guest speakers
include Augsburg professor of religion
Brad Holt ’63, Tsehai Wodajo, and Ann
(Tjaden) Jensen. Wodajo emigrated from
Ethiopia 15 years ago and received her
MSW from Augsburg in 1997. Jensen
served in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia
after graduating from Augsburg in 1964.
They are founders of REAL (Resources
for the Enrichment of African Lives).
Registration is $15 per person, payable in
advance (this includes refreshments and
materials).
Call your old teammates and join us at
these upcoming receptions! Softball
alumni are invited to gather at 5 p.m.,
Thursday, April 20, prior to the game
against Carleton College; for more
information, contact Carol Enke at
612-330-1250 or <enke@augsburg.edu>.
Baseball alumni are invited to gather at
1 p.m., Saturday, April 29, prior to the
game against Macalester College; contact
Keith Bateman at 612-330-1395 or
<bateman@augsburg.edu>.
26
Auggie Hours are held the second Tuesday of
each month from 5:30-7 p.m. Please join us!
Reunion
celebrations
Attention Auggies from the classes of
1956, 1966, 1981, and Young Alumni
1990-2006: this is your reunion year!
Plan now to join your classmates this
September 25-30 for the annual
Homecoming festivities and your
reunion reception. Watch your mail and
upcoming issues of 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
website at <www.augsburg.edu/alumni>.
Spring 2006
CLASS
NOTES
Class Notes
1956
Richard Thorud, Bloomington,
Minn., has pursued a hobby of
writing, illustrating, publishing,
and marketing books since his
retirement as a research and
development engineer. His
seventh book, Mette Marie’s
Homestead Journal, is based on
his mother’s childhood memories
of living in a sod hut in North
Dakota; for more information, go
online to <www.amazon.com>.
1967
Rev. Harley J.
Refsal, Decorah,
Iowa, is a
professor of
Scandinavian folk
art and
Norwegian at
Luther College. He has earned
national and international acclaim
for his figure woodcarving—
including a St. Olav Medal in
1996 from the king of Norway.
Besides teaching at Luther, he has
written four books and numerous
magazine articles. He’s also the star
of an instructional video,
Scandinavian Style Figure Carving
with Harley Refsal, which earned a
prestigious 2005 Telly Award.
John N. Schwartz is serving as
interim president and chief
executive officer of St. Patrick
Hospital and Health Sciences
Center in Missoula, Mont. He
previously served as interim
president of Providence Medford
Medical Center in Medford, Ore.,
and has 30 years of experience in
the healthcare field and a long
history in management.
1969
Allen C. Tripp was one of four
Rush City, Minn., teachers selected
by their peers for the Leadership in
Excellence Award, which honors
their teaching quality and
commitment. The awards were
presented in October at a banquet
in St. Cloud. Tripp has been an
English teacher at Rush City High
School since 1970. In addition to
teaching English, he has directed
class plays and all school plays for
14 years and has been a junior
high speech coach for 15 years.
He has also served as an assistant
track coach for 20 years. His wife,
Linda, teaches first grade at
Jacobson Elementary School.
They have two sons, Ryen, 29,
and Justin, 23. See more about
Allen on p. 20.
AUGGIES AT
CARNEGIE HALL
1977
Timothy Strand was elected
mayor of the City of St. Peter
(Minn.) in November in a
landslide victory. Strand, who by
election time had served two
years of a four-year term as a
Ward II council member, was
anxious to start his new role.
“I’m very excited, and the first
thing that comes to my mind is
that I’m proud to have been
elected,” he said in a postelection article in the St. Peter
Herald.
Patricia Clausen Wojtowicz,
Largo, Fla., is manager of
Jan (Pedersen) Schiff ’68 of
Mill Valley, Calif., will be a
guest conductor at Carnegie
Hall on April 24, performing
two works for women’s
chorus and orchestra. The
concert is part of
MidAmerica Productions’
2005-2006 concert series.
Courtesy photo
AUGGIE HONORS
Ora Hokes ’90 of Minneapolis was one of 10 recipients of the 2005 Virginia
McKnight Binger Award in Human Service. The awards are an annual tradition of
The McKnight Foundation, and each recipient exemplifies the life-changing
difference one person can make through service. The following is reprinted from
the award program:
Ora Hokes is transforming the health of her community Sunday by Sunday. A
member of the Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church for 25 years, Hokes
saw the alarming health-related risk factors affecting the African American
community, and took action.
In 2003, after years of service with the Sabathani Community Center and its Way
to Grow program, she began volunteering with the American Red Cross and the
American Heart Association. Working with her pastor, she created the Health
Sundays program to provide monthly health information to her congregation.
Partnering with nurses and others from the congregation, and using additional
resources from the American Cancer Society and the Stairstep Foundation’s Health
Initiative, she implemented monthly blood pressure checks, distributed health
information on sexually transmitted diseases, instituted a “Stomp Out Stroke”
awareness program, and started the Promised Land Fellowship walking program
which focuses on weight loss, nutrition, and exercise. “My mother was my
inspiration,” Hokes says. “She had the gift of healing.”
Hokes is a lifelong advocate for continuing education. She returned to school
after her two children were grown, and has since received an Associate of Arts
degree from Minneapolis Community College, a Bachelor of Arts degree from
Augsburg’s Weekend College, a Master of Arts degree from the University of St.
Thomas, and a parent educator license from the University of Minnesota. It seems
no challenge is too big for Ora Hokes.
Spring 2006
27
Class Notes
Courtesy photo
ALUMNI PROFILE
Mike and Gail Koski: Traveling the
missionary road
by Sara Holman ’06
Working in the mailroom, falling in love with a fellow coworker, graduating
in four years, and preparing for a bright future were just a few of the things
that Mike and Gail (Niederloh) Koski accomplished while attending
Augsburg. However, finding their joint calling to become missionaries
happened just months after their marriage. Married in October 1972, the
following July carried the Koskis across the ocean to Africa.
Mike, a 1971 graduate, came to Augsburg and studied history and secondary
education. Gail graduated one year later with a B.A. in French secondary
education. Both came from congregations that were involved in missionary
work, yet each confesses that overseas missionary work had not been a part
of their plan. When the inspiration came, Mike recalls, “It was an answer to
prayer.”
“We just understood that this was the way God would want us to use our
gifts and abilities,” Gail said.
Mike ’71 and Gail ’72 (Niederloh) Koski have traveled the
world as missionaries since meeting and graduating from
Augsburg more than 30 years ago.
After 32 years of missionary work in Kenya and Zaire (now the Democratic
Republic of Congo), the Koskis are currently awaiting their next assignment. The couple works with the Minneapolis-based mission
organization World Mission Prayer League (WMPL). When choosing a mission group, “WMPL resonated well. Its principles, policies, and
practices fit the best,” Mike said.
Every four years, the couple comes back to the United States on furlough. During this one-year break, the missionaries continue their work
and await news about their future destination. The Koskis were called back in September 2005.
The couple’s mission experience started in Zaire where they worked in a rural setting, often connecting with nomadic tribes. It was the
couple’s responsibility to learn the language and culture and then present the gospel in a way that would be understood. Their time in Zaire
was limited to only four months, and then their assignment changed.
Kenya has been a very permanent place for the Koskis’ mission work. They spent many years in the agricultural parts of northern and
western Kenya but have been stationed in the city of Nairobi for the past 10 years. Mike became assistant director of the Urban Ministries
Support Group (UMSG) in 1995 and then moved up to the director position in 1999. Gail’s work has consisted of many facets: UMSG
resource center librarian, ESL teacher, Sunday school supervisor, and mission hostess. She was also in charge of home-schooling their three
children. Now fully grown, their children have all graduated college and live and work at various places within North America.
The Koskis’ main goal in Nairobi was to help develop leadership within the Lutheran church. With strong leadership skills instilled, the
church was able to discuss and respond to societal ailments such as poverty and HIV. To reach more people within the city, one church
decided to split the congregation into five groups and build five new churches. Everything was planned and prepared ahead of time: pastors
were found, worship teams were formed, and everything transitioned very smoothly. The five new congregations each held a special
characteristic that made it fit perfectly into its new part of the city. For example, in the area where many university students lived, the
church emphasized youth activities and provided a contemporary worship service.
The couple’s greatest excitement is to see their fellow church members’ faith development. “We’ve been doing this for so long that we get to
see young people grow into adults. We are able to see how their faith keeps growing and then how it impacts their families, vocations, and
communities.”
Kenya holds a special place in both the Koskis’ hearts. They enjoyed the vibrant colors and temperate climate, but it was the people-oriented
culture and relaxed pace of living that really appealed to the couple. Being concerned about people and taking time to establish relationships
is a big part of missionary work, and the Koski family praises God for the rich experiences that were shared in Kenya.
Sara Holman is a senior English/communication studies major.
28
Spring 2006
accreditations at Forensic
Quality Services, Inc., in Largo.
Courtesy photo
STENSVAAG-DARDA WEDDING (CORRECTION)
1979
1980
Nancy (Weatherston) Black,
Cornelius, Ore., is a serial
cataloger for Millar Library at
Portland State University.
Rev. David L. Norgard, West
Hollywood, Calif., has
established a consulting practice
for churches and other nonprofits in the area of
organizational development. He
can be contacted at
<davidnorgard@yahoo.com>.
1982
Kevin Gordon, International
Falls, Minn., was quoted in an
article in the St. Paul Pioneer
Press newspaper about his son,
Ben Gordon, who is a
sophomore forward on the
University of Minnesota Gopher
hockey team. Ben acquired his
hockey skills growing up playing
on outdoor rinks and from his
father, a former International
Falls High School coach and an
Augsburg All-American.
Spring 2006
The above photo from the July 2004 wedding of Rebecca Stensvaag ’01 and Paul Darda ’01, which
features more than 40 Augsburg alumni, contained unintentional inaccuracies in the winter issue of
the Augsburg Now. The correct information is as follows: ROW 1 (L to R): Cindy Huber Blummer ’01,
Emma Stensvaag ’08, Ruth Casperson ’67, Hannah Mehus Stensvaag ’38, Rebecca Stensvaag Darda ’01,
Paul Darda ’01, Nancy Strommen Stensvaag ’71, John-Mark Stensvaag ’69, Stephanie Johnson Sulzbach
’71, John Sulzbach ’69, Jean Boxrud Steen. ROW 2: Roland Blummer ’00, Mary Kay Johnson Stensvaag
’72, Ken Casperson ’70, Peggy Nelson Hintzman, Gladys Boxrud Strommen ’46, Hans Strommen ’04,
Andrea Johnson Strommen ’75, Bob Strommen ’74, Roy Steen. ROW 3: Normajean Johnson Strommen
’69, Saul Stensvaag ’72, Ann Peterson ’01, Tony Quance ’03, Tjersti Strommen ’07, Adam Thronson ’99,
Marsha Strommen Olson ’68, Dawn Hofstad Strommen ’70. ROW 4: Peter Strommen ’69, Mary Nelson
Eckberg ’70, Brad Fischer ’03, Heidi Peterson ’03, Mark Peterson ’01, Mary Ellen Strommen Lieber ’67,
Tim Strommen ’70. ROW 5: John Eckberg ‘68, Ben Paul ’03, Ainy Carlson, Jeroy Carlson ’46, Phil
Edstrom ’69, Luther Strommen ’40, Steve Strommen ’65.
1984
Bruce Palmquist, Ellensburg,
Wash., was honored as the 2005
Washington State Professor of the
Year by the Carnegie Foundation
for the Advancement of Teaching
and the Council for
Advancement and Support of
Education (CASE). Palmquist is a
physics and science education
professor at Central Washington
University, and is highly regarded
for his commitment to improving
public understanding of basic
scientific principles and working
to develop skills in the next
generation of science teachers
needed to successfully bring
about a scientifically literate
society. In his dual role as a
physicist and a teacher educator,
Palmquist has taken on many
AUGGIES ON THE ROAD
Courtesy photo
Paul Daniels, archivist for
ELCA Region 3 and
archivist/curator at Luther
Seminary, traveled to Chennai
(Madras), India, to assist the
Lutheran Heritage Centre at
Gurukul Theological College on
several projects. Daniels had
served there 12 years ago when
the archives center was just
beginning its work of collecting
and making available records of
the 12 Indian Lutheran church
bodies. Over the years he has
maintained contact with the
staff, working on issues of
collection development,
preservation, and program
expansion. Daniels and his wife,
Sally (Hough) ’79, director of
parent and family relations at
Augsburg, live in Golden Valley,
Minn., and have two daughters,
Kristin ’09 and Maren.
Jennifer Tome ’99 (left) of Minneapolis visited Mary Olson ’74
(right) in October at Airlie Winery, Olson’s winery in Monmouth,
Ore. Tome is a wine representative for Grape Beginnings.
29
Class Notes
initiatives, including developing a
new CWU program at Green
River Community College in
Auburn, called Project TEACH
(Teacher Education Alliance for
Colleges and High Schools). In
2004, Palmquist was also named
the CWU Distinguished Public
Service Professor.
1988
Brad Anderson, Plymouth,
Minn., teaches biology and
human genetics at Wayzata High
School. He also serves as head
football coach, and this past
season led the Trojans to capture
the 2005 state championship. He
and his wife, Maari Anderson
’87, have two daughters, Barrett
and Isabelle.
1990
Kay E. Baker, Savage, Minn., is
an account director hired to set
up the new Minneapolis office of
the Jerome Group, a direct
marketing support firm based in
St. Louis, Mo. She was recently
featured as a “Mover” in the
business section of the St. Paul
Pioneer Press newspaper.
1992
West Central Initiative in Fergus
Falls, Minn., as a Connectinc
Replication Project executive.
She has several years of
experience in the service
industry, including serving as a
board member for Restart Inc.
1996
Julie (Lindusky) Corcoran,
Forest Lake, Minn., was elected
in November to a four-year term
on the ISD 831 School Board.
She and her husband, Mike,
have three children.
Paul Wahmanholm, St. Paul,
is an administrative intern for
Dayton’s Bluff Elementary
School in the St. Paul Public
Schools district.
Debra Carpenter has joined
Courtsey photo
HINTON-HANSEN WEDDING
1997
Lars P. Dyrud, Amesbury,
Mass., was one of approximately
70 selected worldwide by the
Young Scientists Award Panel to
attend the Union RadioScientifique Internationale
(URSI) General Assembly at the
Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi,
India, last October. Participants
were also given the opportunity
to meet with the president of
India at the Rashtrapati, the
official presidential residence.
1998
Melanie Hinton ’04 married Mark Hansen in October; the
couple resides in Kasson, Minn. Melanie is a registered nurse
and assistant nursing supervisor at the Mayo Medical Center.
Ann Rohrig, Lima, Ohio,
married Stephen Jenkins in
June, becoming a stepmother to
two children. She is a social
worker for a therapeutic foster
care agency in Lima.
AUGGIES IN THE MILITARY
Lewis Nelson ’00, pictured here with his wife, Holly, is currently
deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He is in
the U.S. Army serving with the 506th Infantry Regiment of the
101st Airborne Division (AASLT), and is in charge of the signals
intelligence analysis section for the brigade. Lewis’ wife and two
children, Benjamin, 2, and Arianna, 9 months, reside in Clarksville,
Tenn. The family maintains a website at <www.nelson
downs.com> and welcomes any e-mail messages for Lewis at
<lewis@nelsondowns.com>.
30
2000
Mauris De Silva, Miami, received
a Ph.D. in materials science and
engineering from the Department
of Chemical Engineering and
Materials Science at the University
of Minnesota in May. He now
works in the Department of
Ophthalmology at the University
of Miami’s Miller Medical School
of Medicine.
2001
Greg Barrett, St. Paul, graduated
from the University of St. Thomas
with a master’s degree in gifted
and talented education.
Becki Frestedt, Seattle, received a
Master of Public Administration
from the Evans School of Public
Affairs at the University of
Washington in June. She works for
a community development
organization, where she
coordinates outreach for a land
use study in the city.
Beth Nordin, Minnetonka, Minn.,
was named vice president of
information technology by CHS
Inc., an energy and grain-based
foods company. She previously
served as vice president of
operations for Capella Education.
Prior to Capella, she held several
positions with Pearson Education,
including senior vice president of
information technology and chief
information officer.
2003
Shawn Smith was acquired by
the Quad City Mallards from the
Port Huron Flags. Smith is a
rookie-defenseman who has
appeared in 14 United Hockey
League games this season split
between the Fort Wayne Komets
and the Port Huron Flags.
Births/Adoptions
Lisa (Svac) ’85
and Lee Hawks
’85 in New
Brighton, Minn.,
adopted a son,
Andrew John, in
December.
Spring 2006
Carley (Miller)
’94 and William
Stuber in
Shakopee,
Minn.—a
daughter,
Kirsten Rae, in
May. Carley is executive director
of the St. Francis Regional
Medical Center Foundation in
Shakopee.
Jay Lepper ’95 and his wife,
Bronwyn, in Savage, Minn.—a
daughter, Rowan Jane, in May.
Jennifer (Polis) ’97 and Dan
Debe in Minneapolis—a son,
George William, in September.
He joins older sisters Allison, 5,
and Emily, 3. Jennifer can be
reached at <jendebe@
yahoo.com>.
Summer Joy (Sorenson) ’99
and Jeffrey Brackhan in
Mondovi, Wis.—twin boys, Cole
and Dakota, in February 2005.
Heidi
(Erickson) ’01
and Matt Segedy
in Minneapolis—
a daughter,
Eleanor
Catherine, in
November. Matt is a pediatrician
at South Lake Pediatrics, and
Heidi is currently home with
Nora.
in November.
Lisa (Ashbaugh) ’04 and
Darrel Stange in Bertha, Minn.—
a son, Nathan, in September.
Lisa and Darrel married in
October.
In Memoriam
Bertha D. Lillehei ’34,
Minneapolis, died in January; she
was 92. Following the example of
her father, Lars Lillehei, who
taught Greek at Augsburg, Bertha
taught English at Augsburg in the
1930s and ’40s.
Sigvald Hjelmeland ’41,
Edina, Minn., died in December;
he was 90 (see p. 24 for further
details).
Rev. Earl E. Dreyer ’56, Detroit
Lakes, Minn., died in December
of heart-related problems; he
was 75. Ordained in 1959, he
served parishes in Alexandria,
Rochester, Canby, and Detroit
Lakes.
Holly Ebnet ’03 married Jeremy Knutson in August 2004; the
couple resides in Hugo, Minn. Holly is pursuing an MBA at
Augsburg, and Jeremy is a pipefitter for Yale Mechanical in
Bloomington. The couple can be reached at
<hknutson04@yahoo.com>.
NEVE-KNUTSON WEDDING
Paul A. Benson ’85, Willmar,
Minn., died unexpectedly in
December; he was 42. He was a
financial controller for West
Central, Inc., and previously
worked for R.J. Ahmann
Company and Twin City Group.
Rev. Louisa (Goplen) Fure
’95, Albert Lea, Minn., died in
December after an automobile
accident; she was 53. Ordained
in 1999, she served as an
associate pastor at Trinity
Lutheran Church in Owatonna.
She was also active in
community theatre, with roles in
Sommerset Theatre of Austin,
Little Theatre of Owatonna, and
Footlights Dinner Theatre in
Rochester.
Jason Jenness ’01 died in July
2001 of Non-Hodgkin’s
lymphoma; he was 31.
Spring 2006
EBNET-KNUTSON WEDDING
Courtsey photo
Marissa
(Skowronek)
’02 and Michael
Partridge in St.
Michael, Minn.—
a son, Logan
Michael,
Courtsey photo
C.J. Beaurline ’94 and his wife,
Christin, in Ham Lake, Minn.—a
son, Basil, in December. He
joins older siblings Savanna, 7,
Simeon, 4, and Sophia, 2. C.J. is
a sales engineer at Vector Design
Technology, and has also served
as an NCAA hockey referee in
the WCHA for eight years. He
can be reached at <cbeaurline@
vectordesigntech.com>.
Niels Neve ’97 married Darlene Knutson in September; the couple
resides in Pine Island, Minn. Niels is an account representative at
UnitedHealth Group, and Darlene works for the Mayo Clinic in
cytogenetics.
31
AUGGIE
THOUGHTS
Auggie Thoughts
Editor’s note: Bruce Palmquist ’84 was honored as the 2005 Washington State
Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for Advancement in Teaching
and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).
Eschewing the normal media interviews that accompany such honors,
Palmquist decided to introduce himself to readers through the eyes of his best
canine friend, Jack.
Bruce DOES know Jack, or
Jack, Bruce’s Jack Russell Terrier,
interviews Bruce about teaching
Bruce: I like answering students’
questions and helping them make sense of
concepts they are having problems with.
Some professors go into the classroom
with an elaborate presentation all planned
out. But, that’s not me. I know where the
class should end up by the end of the
week. And, I have planned, in general,
how we will get there. But, the students
help create the path with their specific
needs and questions.
J: You often teach late night astronomy
labs or organize public observing
sessions that go late. How can you
stay up so late and still get up at
5 a.m. to take me outside?
B: Well, it isn’t easy. The Central
Washington University Astronomy Club
helps out a lot. In fact, they plan most of
the late observing sessions you
mentioned. But, I think it is important
that introductory astronomy students get
familiar with the nighttime sky. The best
way to learn about the night sky is to
observe it with some expert help. By the
way, taking you out at 5 a.m. is better
than cleaning up after you in the house.
J: Speaking of expert help, you write a
weekly astronomy column …
B: I hope Augsburg Now doesn’t misspell
that as “weakly column.”
32
J: It would be a Freudian
slip if they do. Anyway,
why do you volunteer
your time to write a
newspaper column in the
Ellensburg Daily Record?
B: Science is such an
important topic. And, it is
woefully under covered in
the popular press.
Astronomy is a very
attainable topic. The stars
and planets are always up
there for people to see.
And, I have selfish reasons
for writing the column, as Bruce Palmquist ’84 and his “interviewer,” Jack
well. If my column helps
the general public have a
requires students to write about science
more positive outlook toward science,
and to design scientific experiments.
they are more likely to support science
Simply memorizing facts will not result
teaching in the schools and universities.
in a good WASL score. And, the WASL’s
emphasis on designing experiments
J: Talk a little bit more about science
means that teachers will need to include
in the schools, especially the state’s
more experiments and the analysis of
standardized test called the
experiments in their classroom. This is a
Washington Assessment of Student
good thing.
Learning, or WASL.
J: What is your favorite constellation?
B: Even dogs know that the WASL is a
sensitive subject. In general, children are
B: Canis Major, the great dog. During the
over-tested. I think no child gets left
winter, it is low in the southern sky.
behind, because they leave such a long
paper trail of standardized test sheets.
J: Good answer.
But, the science WASL is much better
than the typical multiple choice
For more about Bruce Palmquist’s thoughts
standardized test. The science WASL
on teaching and leadership, see p. 20.
Spring 2006
Courtsey photo
Jack: What is your favorite aspect of
teaching?
CCalendar
ALENDAR
Music
April 29
March 27
For music information, call 612-330-1265
Augsburg Concert Band
7 p.m.—Hoversten Chapel
Sverdrup Visiting
Scientist Lecture:
“Civilization as a
Geosystem: A Scientific
Perspective on Global
Change”
Dr. Thomas H. Jordan, university
professor, Department of Earth Sciences,
University of Southern California
8 p.m.—Hoversten Chapel
612-330-1551 or gregoire@augsburg.edu
March 28
Augsburg Jazz Ensemble
7 p.m.—Hoversten Chapel
March 29
Augsburg Choir
5:30 & 7 p.m.— Mt. Olivet Lutheran
Church; Minneapolis
April 1
Augsburg Choir
7 p.m.—St. John Lutheran Church
Owatonna, Minn.
April 30
Musical celebration honoring the
service of President William V. and
Anne Frame
2 p.m.—Central Lutheran Church
Minneapolis
May 8–21
Augsburg Choir
Tour to Hungary, Czech Republic, &
Germany
April 2
Theatre
Augsburg Choir
8:45, 10, & 11:15 a.m.—Calvary
Lutheran Church; Golden Valley, Minn.
For ticket information, call 612-330-1257
Riverside Singers
9:30 & 11 a.m.—Mt. Calvary Lutheran
Church; Excelsior, Minn.
Metamorphoses
By Mary Zimmerman
Directed by Darcey Engen
April 7, 8, 20, 21, & 22 at 7 p.m.;
April 9 & 23 at 2 p.m.
Tjornhom-Nelson Theater
Augsburg Choir
4 p.m.—Cambridge Lutheran Church
Cambridge, Minn.
Brass in the Chapel
Joint concert of the Augsburg & St.
Thomas brass ensembles
7:30 p.m.—Hoversten Chapel
April 9
Masterworks Chorale
4 p.m.—Lake Nokomis Lutheran Church
Minneapolis
April 22
Augsburg Symphony Orchestra
4 p.m.—Sateren Auditorium
April 23
Riverside Singers
8:30 & 11 a.m.—Mayflower
Congregational Church; Minneapolis
April 26
Chamber Music Recital & High Tea
4 p.m.—Sateren Auditorium & Arnold
Atrium
April 7–23
Exhibits
For gallery information, call 612-330-1524
April 7–May 7
All-Student Juried Art Exhibition
Opening reception: April 7, 4:30–6:30 p.m.
Gage Family Art Gallery
April 7–May 14
Senior Art Exhibition
Opening reception: April 7, 5–7 p.m.
Christensen Center Art Gallery
Seminars, Lectures,
and Films
January 25–May 20
Augsburg Native American Film Series
www.augsburg.edu/home/ais/filmseries/
April 12
Speech and booksigning by Norwegian
Crown Princess Martha Louise
4 p.m.–6 p.m.—Hoversten Chapel
612-330-1176 or jorgensd@augsburg.edu
Other Events
April 18
Pan-Afrikan Year-End Celebration
6–9 p.m.—Christensen Center
612-330-1022 or bolden@augsburg.edu
April 27
Senior Athletes Award Banquet
6–9 p.m.—Christensen Center
612-330-1243 or grauerp@augsburg.edu
May 5–6
Commencement 2006
Featured speaker: Dr. Peter Agre ’70
Recipient of the 2003 Nobel Prize in
Chemistry
www.augsburg.edu/commencement/
May 22
Third Annual
Healthcare Conference:
“Building Minnesota’s
Healthcare Workforce
Through Diversity”
8 a.m.–5 p.m.—Melby Hall
www.augsburg.edu/healthcare
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A
P U B L I C AT I O N
Winter 2005-06
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. 68, No. 2
TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S Winter 2005-06
FEATURES
10
Putting a fresh ‘face’ on Augsburg
by Lynn Mena
12
Jeroy Carlson ’48—’Mr. Augsburg’
by Sara Holman ’06
...
Show more
A
P U B L I C AT I O N
Winter 2005-06
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. 68, No. 2
TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S Winter 2005-06
FEATURES
10
Putting a fresh ‘face’ on Augsburg
by Lynn Mena
12
Jeroy Carlson ’48—’Mr. Augsburg’
by Sara Holman ’06
14
Physician Assistants—increasing healthcare access
by Cynthia Hill
18
A chance to skate
by Don Stoner
20
Faith in the City
by Betsey Norgard
DEPARTMENTS
2
Around the Quad
6
Sports
23
Vision,
news of Access to Excellence:
The Campaign for Augsburg College
26
Alumni News
28
Homecoming 2005
32
Class Notes
40
Auggie Thoughts
inside
back
cover
Calendar
A college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Augsburg College is an equal education/employment institution.
Editor
Betsey Norgard
Assistant Editor
Lynn Mena
Graphic Designer
Kathy Rumpza
Photographer
Stephen Geffre
Media Relations Manager
Judy Petree
Sports Information
Coordinator
Don Stoner
www.augsburg.edu
Augsburg Now is published
quarterly by Augsburg College,
2211 Riverside Ave., Minneapolis,
Minnesota 55454. Opinions
expressed in Augsburg Now do
not necessarily reflect official
College policy. ISSN 1058–1545
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
50 percent recycled paper
(10 percent post—consumer waste)
On the cover:
On this page:
Samuel Gross ’03 shows off a
sampling of merchandise that
carries the Auggie Eagle athletic
logo he created for the College, a
project that began in a graphic
design class.
Photo by Stephen Geffre.
The maroon banners on the Link
between Sverdrup and Memorial
Halls, and Lindell Library pale in
comparison to the blazing fall
colors of the maple trees
alongside the library.
Photo by Stephen Geffre.
AROUND
QUAD
Around THE
the Quad
New regents are elected to the board
S
even new members were elected to
four-year terms on the Augsburg
College Board of Regents at the annual
meeting of the Augsburg Corporation in
October.
In addition, Gloria C. Lewis was reelected to a second six-year term. She is
the executive director and CEO of Big
Brothers Big Sisters of the Twin Cities and
serves on the Marketing and Executive
Committees of the board.
Esperanza
Guerrero-Anderson
A native of
Nicaragua, Esperanza
Guerrero-Anderson is
founder, president,
and CEO of
Milestone Growth
Fund, Inc., a nonprofit venture capital
fund providing capital to minority
entrepreneurs. She also serves on the
boards of the Bush Foundation, Walker
Art Center, Center for Ethical Business
Cultures, and Chicanos-Latinos Unidos
en Servicio (CLUES).
Norman R. Hagfors
Recently retired from
Norsen, Inc., the
management and
engineering
consulting firm he
founded, Norman
Hagfors is returning
to the Board of
Regents, where he
served from 1989-2001. He is active in
the community and his church.
Jodi Harpstead
Jodi Harpstead is vice
president and chief
advancement officer
at Lutheran Social
Service of Minnesota,
where she leads
marketing,
fundraising, public
2
relations, and public policy. She has
served on several boards, including
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and the
Girl Scout Council of St. Croix Valley, as
well as in numerous volunteer leadership
positions.
Dean Kennedy ’75
Fridley native Dean
Kennedy graduated
from Augsburg in
1975, where he was a
four-year wrestler
with conference and
All-American honors.
In 1996, he was
inducted into the
Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame. He is
president of Texakoma Oil & Gas
Corporation and lives in Plano, Texas.
Dean C. Kopperud
Returning to the
Augsburg Board of
Regents where he
served from 19982004, Dean C.
Kopperud brings 20
years of experience in
the financial services
industry. Most
recently he was national sales director
for Oppenheimerfunds, Inc., in
New York.
Marie O. McNeff
In 2000 Marie
McNeff retired from
Augsburg, where she
served as professor of
education and dean
for over 30 years. As
academic master
planner during her
last year before
retirement, she led efforts to bring
together faculty and staff in a
campuswide learning community and
created the blueprint to implement
academic provisions of Augsburg 2004,
the College’s first vision document.
Paul S. Mueller,
M.D. ’84
Dr. Mueller is an
internal medicine
consultant at the
Mayo Clinic in
Rochester. He has
served as Augsburg
Alumni Board
president and was an
instrumental force in launching
Augsburg’s Rochester program.
The Augsburg Corporation is comprised
of representatives elected by the
assemblies of the Minneapolis, Saint
Paul, Southeastern Minnesota, and
Northwest Wisconsin Synods of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
The bishops from these four synods
serve as rotating ex officio members on
the board. Bishops Peter Rogness of the
Saint Paul Area Synod and Harold
Usgaard of the Southeastern Minnesota
Synod will begin their service in January.
Advent Vespers
video wins Emmy
Last year’s video recording of Advent
Vespers won an Upper Midwest
regional Emmy for director Jeffrey
Weihe at Twin Cities Public
Television for best direction of a live
recording.
The 2004 recording will be
shown again this year in the Twin
Cities: TPT-2 on Dec. 25, 10:30 a.m.
and TPT-17 on Dec. 24 at 6 p.m. and
Dec. 25 at 12 a.m., 6 a.m., and noon.
Contact public television stations
elsewhere for broadcast times.
Winter 2005-06
Welcome to the Class of 2009
American Indian
honors given
While attending new student orientation with his daughter, Christina, Rory Waller decided it
was time for him to pursue his own dream to teach.
W
hen President Frame welcomed
incoming first-year students and
their parents at orientation last summer,
he didn’t realize he was recruiting one
more student.
Rory Waller, father of first-year
student Christina, wrote, “During
Christina’s new student orientation in
August, President Frame addressed the
new students and spoke about vocation.
His words rekindled an old desire from
my youth, in that I have always wanted
to teach. Later that day during the Expo,
I happened across the information table
for the WEC program, and discovered
that Augsburg offered a degree in
education through the weekend program.
Sometimes the signposts in life are subtle,
and other times they just hit you right
between the eyes. … [My family] backs
me wholeheartedly in obtaining the goal I
have set, and for this I am grateful.
“Because of the weekend program at
Augsburg I feel I have the opportunity to
find my true vocation in life.”
Christina is one of 320 new first-year
day students. Of them, 41% are Lutheran.
They represent 15 states, with 83% from
Minnesota. Eleven percent of them are
students of color. During their first week,
on City Service Project day, first-year
students volunteered 1,000 hours of
service at 18 community sites.
Recent grants received
• $301,000 over three years from National
Science Foundation (NSF) to physics
professor Mark Engebretson for
collaboration with the University of New
Hampshire and University of Oslo to study
northern lights in the Svalbard archipelago
of northern Norway.
• $500,000 from Lilly Endowment to sustain
the work of “Exploring Our Gifts” through
2010.
• A National Science Foundation grant to
computer science professor Karen
Sutherland for undergraduate research on
questions involving the design of robot
rescue teams, in collaboration with the
University of Minnesota. Part of the NSF-
Winter 2005-06
supported Industry/University Cooperative
Research Center on Safety, Security, and
Rescue at the University of Minnesota and
University of South Florida.
• Five-year grant from U.S. Department of
Education for TRIO/Student Support
Services to continue providing academic
and personal support to help low-income,
first-generation college students and
students with disabilities.
• $10,000 from National Collegiate Athletic
Association (NCAA) for one year to provide
health education programming primarily to
student-athletes in areas of sexual assault,
eating disorders, and nutrition.
At their 20th annual conference in
October, the Minnesota Indian
Education Association (MIEA) named
American Indian studies professor
Sophia Jacobson (left) as the
Outstanding Postsecondary Teacher, and
sophomore Chris Adams (center) as the
Outstanding Postsecondary Student.
Cindy Peterson (right), director of
American Indian Student Services,
serves as secretary of the MIEA board.
Augsburg again top-ranked
In U.S.News & World Report’s 2006
listings of America’s Best Colleges,
Augsburg was ranked 26th in the
category “Master’s Universities-Top
Midwestern.”
Augsburg was included in the
“Academic Programs to Watch For”
listings of the 40 or so top programs in
the country for both First-Year Programs
and Service-Learning, and was the only
Minnesota private college listed. For
information go to <www.usnews.com>.
Augsburg is also included in Colleges
of Distinction, an online guide listing
colleges that excel in providing the best
places to learn, to grow, and to succeed.
For information go to <www.collegesof
distinction.com>.
3
Around the Quad
President emeritus Oscar Anderson dies at 89
Augsburg News Service
scar Anderson, Augsburg’s president
from 1963-80, died Aug. 25 in
Minneapolis following injuries suffered
from a fall. He was 89 years old.
While president, Anderson was
credited with defining Augsburg’s role as
an urban college, while not losing its
roots as both a liberal arts institution and
a College of the church.
“My goal for Augsburg College was to
make it an urban college, not only one
recognized within the urban setting, but
one utilizing the resources of a
metropolitan setting,” he said in 1993
when the College dedicated Oscar
Anderson residence hall in his name. “I
think we got into the bloodstream of
the city.”
President emeritus Charles Anderson,
who succeeded Oscar, said Oscar was
instrumental, in terms of attitude, in
bringing the College together with the city.
“We always were here geographically,”
Charles Anderson said, “but our
institution moved considerably closer
with the city in Oscar’s tenure. It was true
then, and it remains so today.”
Born in 1916 in Minneapolis, Oscar
Anderson was educated at Minnehaha
Academy and Augsburg before eventually
receiving his bachelor’s degree from
St. Olaf College in 1938. He graduated
from Luther Theological Seminary in
1942; his first pastorate was at Lake
Harriet Lutheran Church in Minneapolis,
from 1942 to 1948. For the next six
years he was the executive director of the
International Young People’s Luther
League of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church. He went on to complete
graduate study at Union Theological
Seminary in New York, an experience
that heightened his awareness of
contemporary trends in theological
scholarship.
From the mid-1950s until his
appointment as president at Augsburg,
he served as senior pastor at Trinity
Lutheran Church in Moorhead, Minn.,
where he established close ties with the
4
Rob Levine
O
President emeritus Oscar Anderson returned to campus at Homecoming 1990 to speak about
Augsburg heritage.
On one of his last visits to campus Oscar Anderson posed with his two successors, Charles
Anderson (left) and William Frame (right).
academic community—both at
Concordia College and Moorhead State
University.
After coming to Augsburg, Anderson
presided over a tremendous period of
growth and evolution at the College. Six
new buildings—Urness and Mortensen
residence halls, Christensen Center,
Music Hall, Murphy Place, and the Ice
Arena—were built during his presidency.
At his retirement, Board of Regents chair
Clayton LeFevere noted that Anderson
had signed more diplomas than all of his
predecessors—approximately 4,600.
Winter 2005-06
Archive photo
A nationally known preacher,
Anderson received many honors,
including the Knight’s Cross First Class
of the Order of St. Olav from the
Government of Norway; the Paul Harris
Fellow from Rotary International; the
Distinguished Alumni Citation from both
Augsburg and St. Olaf College; and the
Distinguished Service Award from the
City of Minneapolis.
“Oscar Anderson was president of the
College during two crucial decades and
supervised our transition from a college
in the city that wished it were in the
country to a college fully engaged with
the city that had grown up around it,”
noted President William Frame.
“As perhaps the best pulpit preacher
of his time, Oscar employed a razor
sharp and telling wit to guide the College
and its alumni through this crucial
transition. He had returned to the
College frequently since his retirement
and invariably brought that wit and
powerful rhetoric with him.”
Anderson’s wife, Leola, died in
December 2004. In 1993, at the
dedication of Anderson Hall, Anderson
had paid special tribute to Leola and the
Winter 2005-06
At the memorial service in Hoversten Chapel on Sept. 1, a photo display
captured the life and service of Oscar Anderson.
Archive photo
Oscar and Lee Anderson greeted the Homecoming crowd at
Parade Stadium in the 1960s.
President Anderson led an estimated crowd of 800 faculty, staff, and students from campus to
the Minneapolis Courthouse in 1965 in support of the Montgomery (Ala.) march.
17 years she presided as Augsburg’s first
lady. “I call the two of us ‘Osceola,’ he
said. “In my secret heart this will be
‘Osceola Hall.’” They are survived by
their children, Donna Anderson Hoekstra
’68; Randall; Sheldon ’73; and Gracia
Anderson Lindberg ’80.
A memorial service was held in
Hoversten Chapel on Sept. 1. The family
has requested memorial gifts to the
Access to Excellence campaign or the
Leola G. Anderson Scholarship. ■
5
Sports
O
by Don Stoner
White House photo by Paul Morse
Auggie wrestlers visit the White House
n Oct. 12 the Auggies,
winners of a record nine
NCAA Division III national
titles in the last 15 years,
became the first Division III
wrestling title team—and just
the second college wrestling
national title squad ever—to
meet with the president at the
White House. The University
of Minnesota’s 2001 Division I
national title team was the first
to achieve this honor.
The White House meeting
was arranged between
Augsburg coaches and U.S.
Rep. Dennis Hastert (RIllinois), the speaker of the
House of Representatives and a
former wrestler and wrestling
coach. Other key people
assisting in arranging the
Fourteen Augsburg wrestlers and coaches, along with College officials and friends, accepted an invitation to
meeting included Manchester
the White House in honor of Augsburg’s longtime domination of small-college wrestling with nine national
(Ind.) coach Tom Jarman and
titles in 15 years. (L to R) President Frame, Joe Moon ’05, Dean Kennedy ’75, Justin Sorensen ’06, Alan Rice,
Mike and Bev Chapman,
assistant coach Sam Barber, President Bush, Jared Evans ’07, Marcus LeVesseur ’07, Ryan Valek ’06, Brad Tupa
founders of the International
’06, Jamell Tidwell ’05, head coach Jeff Swenson ’79, and Mark Matzek ’05.
Wrestling Institute and
Museum, said Augsburg head
importance of that achievement and
coach Jeff Swenson ’79.
because they were student-athletes at
thanked me for mentioning it to him.”
Instead of meeting in the Rose
Augsburg College, they had this
“I was motivated when [Bush] talked
Garden, the normal site for team
opportunity. They’ll never forget that as
about the word ‘leadership’ and the
receptions with the president, the
long as they live.”
qualities he said are necessary to have in
meeting was held inside the Oval Office,
Team members said the trip was also
order to be an effective leader,” junior
a rare occurrence. The Auggies met with
a special honor for the hundreds of
Jared Evans said. “This motivated me,
the president for about a half hour,
individuals in the past who have helped
because as I looked around at my
much longer than he normally spends
establish Augsburg as a national power in
teammates, coaches, President Frame,
with teams in these kinds of meetings,
small-college wrestling.
Dean Kennedy, and thought about
White House staff told Swenson.
President Bush gave the Augsburg
Augsburg wrestling and the Augsburg
A total of 14 Augsburg individuals
group a tour of the Oval Office and
community, I realized I am surrounded
made the trip, including head coach
discussed a variety of subjects with the
by a great number of leaders.”
Swenson, assistant coaches Sam Barber
team, Swenson said, including history
“This experience obviously means a
and Scott Whirley, and eight of the 10
and patriotic subjects and sports topics.
lot to the whole team, but particularly
All-Americans from the 2004-05 national
The team presented Bush with an
Jeff [Swenson] and the rest of the
championship team. President William
Augsburg wrestling singlet with “Bush”
coaching staff that have been together for
Frame also met with President Bush,
printed on the back.
so long and working for so long to
along with team leaders Dean
“He admitted that he was not a
achieve what they have,” senior Ryan
Kennedy ’75 and Alan Rice.
wrestler, that his athletic passion is
Valek said. “It meant a lot to me to have
“To spend time with an active
cycling,” Frame said. “[I] told him that
that team together one last time. It was
president is really an incredible feeling,”
the wrestling team was consistently
really an incredible experience to be part
Swenson said. “For the rest of their lives,
[among] the highest-performing
of a group like that.”
our wrestlers are going to remember that
academically. … He acknowledged the
6
Winter 2005-06
Around the Quad
Sally Daniels ’79 heads new parent and
family relations office
by Sara Holman ’06
A
ugsburg has created a new office
specifically aimed to provide service
to the people behind the student—the
parents. Most comparable Lutheran
colleges, such as Luther or Concordia,
have an alumni and parent relations office;
however, Augsburg has gone beyond the
common model. Augsburg’s Office of
Parent and Family Relations is completely
devoted to the family.
Sally Daniels ’79, the new director of
parent and family relations, said, “This
position is not a fundraising component,
so I can focus on service to the parents.
That’s completely in keeping with
Augsburg’s mission.”
Daniels was asked to inaugurate this
position not only because she has 26 years
of experience in Augsburg’s undergraduate
admissions office, but because she is also
an Augsburg alumna and parent.
Daniels’ Augsburg experience began in
1975 when she was a first-year student
living on the fourth floor in Urness. She
graduated in 1979 and eventually married
her college sweetheart, Paul Daniels, also a
1979 Augsburg graduate. “Because I am an
alum, it comes naturally to say what a cool
place this is. I’ve told my Augsburg story
many, many times,” Sally Daniels said.
Both parents were very excited when their
daughter, Kristin, also chose to come to
Augsburg.
Daniels will draw on this experience,
as well as how she is handling being a
Sally Daniels ’79 (right) takes her experience
as an Augsburg student, former director of
admissions, and, now as parent of first-year
student Kristin (left) to a new role as director
of parent and family relations.
first-year college student’s mom, in her
new position.
This will help her build relationships
with three different types of parents—the
prospective parent, the current parent, and
the parents of alumni. All of these parents
have different questions, concerns, and
needs as their children work through
Augsburg. Daniels said, “I make sure
parents and family members have someone
to connect with about life at Augsburg,
and specifically the life of their kids.”
Parents who send their kids off to
college for the first time have many
questions, like how to deal with “letting
go,” or how to handle the new adult who
comes home in the summer. Daniels will
have personal experience to share.
By better caring for Augsburg parents,
the College can improve the student’s
experience. “Kids born after 1985, the
millennium generation, have a close
relationship with their parents,”
Daniels says.
She and her daughter, Kristin, have
this type of relationship. “We’ve always
been very close. We try to connect
somehow each day,” Daniels said.
Since Kristin studies at the place
where her mother works, it’s easy for
them to stay in contact. But, Sally says,
“This is her college experience; the fact
that she likes me is an extra bonus.”
Right now, Daniels is hand-writing
letters to all of the first-year parents. Since
she worked in the admissions office last
year, Daniels says, “I know the students;
I’ve read their essays. I admitted them all.
I’m hand-writing these notes because I
think it’s important.”
Daniels works with a parent council;
and so far 119 parents have contacted her.
Parents who do not live near the Twin
Cities are sent minutes from the council
meetings. It doesn’t matter where parents
live; they can stay connected to Augsburg.
Even though Parent and Family
Relations has split from the Alumni
Relations office, the two directors work
closely together. Heidi Breen, the alumni
relations director formerly headed both
Alumni and Parent Relations, but now is
solely in charge of alumni and has an
assistant director, Donna Torgeson.
“Donna, Heidi, and I have a very open
door,” Daniels said. “We all want this
new position to be successful.”
Sara Holman is a senior English/
communication studies major and an
intern in the Public Relations and
Communication office.
Alumni Relations
Heidi Breen, new director of alumni
relations, poses at Homecoming with
Auggie Eagle.
Winter 2005-06
Heidi Breen, who has worked at Augsburg
for 19 years in the admissions and alumni
relations offices, became director of alumni
relations in August. Donna Torgeson, who
was administrative assistant in the office,
is now assistant director. Amy Sutton,
formerly alumni director, is now director of
corporate and foundation relations in the
Development Office.
7
HOMECOMING 2005
Donald A. Anderson ’60
Janice L. Aune ’88
Donald Mattison ’66
Three honored as Distinguished Alumni
by Lynn Mena
Three alumni join 166 others as Distinguished Alumni of Augsburg
College. Recipients are recognized for significant achievement in
vocation, for outstanding contribution to church and community, and
for a life that exemplifies the ideals and mission of Augsburg College.
Donald A. Anderson ’60 is a retired two-term Minnesota
senator and business owner. He served in the Minnesota State
Senate from 1982 to 1990; between 1991 and his retirement in
1995 he also served as assistant to the commissioner of
transportation, as deputy chief of staff to Governor Arne
Carlson, and in the Department of Transportation-Aeronautics
Department. For nearly 20 years, Anderson owned a Red Owl
grocery store in Wadena, Minn., before selling to one of his
sons in 1984. He graduated from Augsburg with a B.A. in
business and history.
Janice L. Aune ’88 is chairman and CEO of Onvoy, Inc., a
Minneapolis-based telecommunications services provider. Since
her appointment in 2000, she has led Onvoy to a position of
financial growth and has exceeded all financial performance
expectations for the privately-held company. Prior to joining
Onvoy, Aune served in various executive leadership positions at
US West (now Qwest) and ended her 30-year career there as
8
president of the !NTERPRISE division and a senior officer. She
graduated from Augsburg with a B.A. in business management
and finance.
Donald Mattison ’66, M.D., is senior adviser to the directors
of the National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development and the Center for Research for Mothers and
Children. He also serves as an adjunct professor at both the
Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh
and the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia
University. He has served as medical director of the March of
Dimes Defects Foundation, and prior to that as dean of the
Graduate School of Public Health at the University of
Pittsburgh, where he was also professor of environmental and
occupational health, as well as of obstetrics, gynecology, and
reproductive services in the university’s School of Medicine. He
graduated from Augsburg in 1966 with a B.A. in chemistry and
mathematics.
Winter 2005-06
First Decade and Spirit of Augsburg award recipients named
by Lynn Mena
Augsburg is pleased to announce the 2005 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 or 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
Aaron Cross ’97 formed his own
business, Motivation on Wheels, in
which he travels the United States
delivering motivational speeches
that stress the importance of seeing
beyond daily obstacles in order to
accomplish goals. Despite his
physical challenges (Cross become a
paraplegic as a result of a bicycle
race crash in high school), he has
kept his eye on a variety of targets—
both literally and figuratively. He
holds 15 national titles in archery, five world titles, and a
bronze team medal from the 2004 Greece Para-Olympic games.
In addition to archery, Cross is also a skydiver. He graduated
from Augsburg in 1997 with a B.A. in communication.
Richard J. Thoni is director of
Augsburg’s Rochester Program. His
exceptional and dedicated service to
the College began in 1972 as a parttime instructor in the Department of
Psychology and as a counselor in the
Center for Student Development.
Starting in 1975, he served as
associate dean of students, and over
the proceeding years he also served
as acting vice president of student
affairs; director of an extensive, yearlong community outreach project; director of Weekend College;
vice president for enrollment management; and vice president for
research and development. Thoni is most widely recognized for
his leadership and achievement in the establishment of both the
Weekend College and Rochester programs. He received his B.A.
in English from St. Olaf College, and his Ph.D. in educational
psychology from the University of Minnesota.
Andry Andriambololona-Jurcich
’98 graduated from Augsburg with a
B.A. in political science,
international relations, and religion.
She received her M.A. in intercultural communications from
Luther Seminary in 2001. Jurcich is
vice-president of Marketing and
Company Relations for Invisik
Corporation, a Twin Cities-based
computer consulting company she
co-manages with her husband, Matt
Jurcich. Concurrently, she works as a professional non-profit
development consultant with various Twin Cities non-profits,
and is currently the acting executive director of Jordan New
Life Community Development Corporation—a non-profit
organization improving the lives of families in North
Minneapolis. Jurcich also continues to stay involved with
Augsburg as a member of the Pan-Afrikan Center’s Alumni
Council, as a mentor with the Scholastic Connections Program,
and as the alumni representative on the committee to select the
new Augsburg president.
Winter 2005-06
The Augsburg Centennial Singers were formed in 1993 to
honor the 100th anniversary of the Augsburg Gospel Quartets.
Since its formation, the Augsburg Centennial Singers have
furthered the quartet’s mission to spread the Lutheran faith and
the name and mission of Augsburg. Under the current direction
of Al Reesnes ’58 (who took over after the original director, Dr.
Merton Strommen ’42, retired) and assistant director Paul
Christensen ’59, the group—which consists mainly of Augsburg
alumni—are true ambassadors of Augsburg, performing across
the United States and around the world.
9
PUTTING
a
FRESH
‘FACE’
on A U G S B U R G
B Y
10
L Y N N
M E N A
P H O T O S
B Y
S T E P H E N
G E F F R E
Winter 2005-06
W hat began
as a class project
three years ago came full circle at this
year’s Homecoming, where visitors were
introduced to Augsburg’s newest
“member.”
The newly unveiled Auggie Eagle logo
could be spotted all over campus—on
team helmets and cheerleader uniforms;
on sweatshirts, T-shirts, and baseball caps;
on the balloons and decorations that
dressed up various events; on students’
faces as temporary tattoos; and even on
the gymnasium floor as an illuminated
hologram.
“The College is pleased to present its
new athletics logo, and even more pleased
to announce that its creator is one of our
own—Class of 2003 alumnus Samuel J.
Gross,” says Ann Garvey, dean of
students. “The logo further establishes
Augsburg’s identity and serves as a
graphic component to the Auggie Eagle
mascot that was introduced at
Homecoming in 2002.”
The logo first took shape a few years
ago when the Office of Public Relations
and Communication partnered with John
McCaffrey, assistant professor of art.
McCaffrey’s graphic design students were
challenged to design an athletics logo for
their final project.
While the entire class created a wide
range of exceptional designs, Gross’ logo
was a strong favorite, and this year the
College officially signed contracts to
acquire it from Gross as its new athletics
and merchandising logo.
“Sam demonstrated that he was
creative, dedicated, and driven by a
purpose from his very first assignments in
my Graphic Design class,” says McCaffrey,
reflecting upon Gross. “Sam delivered
excellent work that was always in excess
of any project requirements. It
immediately became apparent that he
would succeed in the design field. He
Winter 2005-06
dedicated himself to learning all that he
could ensuring his future career direction.”
Staff members in the public relations
department were also impressed with
Gross’ work, and quickly recruited him to
work as a student graphic designer during
his senior year. There he created designs
for letterhead, flyers, greeting cards,
brochures, and magazines.
After he received his B.A. in studio art,
he stayed on in the public relations
department for the summer, and shortly
thereafter landed his first full-time job as
the graphic design and production
coordinator at Sons of Norway in
Minneapolis.
Today, Gross serves as a graphic
designer and production coordinator for
TQ3Navigant Performance Group in
Minneapolis, a division of Denver-based
Navigant International, where he produces
original marketing graphics, designing
creative pre-trip travel packages for large
corporate industries such as Best Buy, ING,
T-Mobile, and Qwest.
In addition, Gross is building a
successful freelance business, 144design,
creating works in traditional studio pieces
as well as digital media, including digital
retouching of photographs, custom logo
design, illustration, and various print
related materials.
“The birth of 144design was inspired
by a mentor and lifelong friend, my
father,” writes Gross on his Web site,
<www.invisik.com/144design/artist2.html>.
“Born in rural Minnesota in 1980, the
influence of art began in the earliest stages
of my life,” continues Gross. “Impacted by
those around me, I began my own pursuit
of knowledge in the continually changing
art and design world.
“Two and a half decades into my life I
am still chasing this aspiration of
achieving artistic prominence in this
transforming world.”
This year, Gross designed logo and
stationery pieces for expansion NAHL
hockey team the North Iowa Outlaws, and
is currently working on other expansion
team logos. In July he designed the book
cover for Daniel Boone and the Defeat at
Blue Licks, written by Neal O. Hammon.
Gross is also an accomplished painter,
whose work was recently purchased by the
Springfield Public Library in Minnesota for
their permanent collection. His oils and
photography have twice placed third in
the annual Five County Juried Art Show in
Minnesota.
Gross, a former Auggie football and
baseball player, has particularly enjoyed
athletic logo design, and is pleased that his
alma mater has chosen to use his work.
“It’s really exciting and interesting to
see my design carried out in so many
different ways—on the uniforms, on the
line of sweatshirts,” says Gross. “Plus, it’s
great to give back as an alum.” ■
11
Jeroy Carlson ’48
‘MR. AUGSBURG’
by Sara Holman ’06
Jeroy Carlson ’48 has spent over 60
years on the Augsburg campus as a
student, volunteer, alumni director, and
development officer. Here, he sits in Old
Main 17, which was Augsburg’s chapel
and is now the art studio.
AUGSBURG COLLEGE pastor Dave
Wold paused, “Mr. Augsburg … well, I
don’t know where the name got started.
Everyone just refers to him as that.
Anyone who mentions Jeroy always says
‘Jeroy from Augsburg.’”
Why is Jeroy Carlson Mr. Augsburg?
Really, the question doesn’t need to be
asked. He just is. Carlson embodies
everything that is Augsburg—from
knowing its history to sharing its faith.
“Jeroy’s commitment and love for
Augsburg is pretty clear,” Wold said. “No
one can be identified with Augsburg as
much as Jeroy can. He has a network of
friends I’ve never seen before.”
Carlson has spent the last 42 years
serving Augsburg, first as Augsburg’s
alumni director and then as senior
development officer.
He has connected with hundreds of
people through Augsburg and has been
able to raise millions of dollars to help
build the chapel, library, fitness center,
football field, and theater (to name just a
few). Carlson’s efforts can be seen all
over campus, though he is quick to
12
protest, “I just ask for support. It’s really
about what the donors have done for this
college.”
Being 82 years old, Carlson has spent
the better part of his life on campus, not
to mention the years he spent as a
student. What would inspire someone to
become so dedicated to a place?
“I’m not here because of myself. I’m
here because of the people who have
given their lives to this place. I don’t
want them to be forgotten. I’ve developed
a purpose for living from their caring
about me. Charles Anderson, Gerda
Mortensen, Bernhard Christensen, Phil
Quanbeck Sr., Joel Torstenson, Paul
Sonnack, Dave Wold—these people have
been my friends,” Carlson said.
Carlson took his first step onto
Augsburg soil in 1940. His high school
basketball team had come to challenge
Augsburg’s junior varsity team.
Fortunately, Augsburg’s embarrassing loss
didn’t keep him from applying to the
College two years later. After spending
one year on campus, Carlson enlisted in
the Navy. On Monday, Dec. 10, 1945,
Carlson was released, and the following
Thursday he registered for classes. That
Saturday he played for Augsburg’s
basketball team. Carlson laughs as he
recalls this memory. “I hadn’t even taken
a class, but the coach needed me.”
Sports have always been a passion for
Carlson. He played baseball, basketball,
and football while he attended Augsburg
and was part of four MIAC championship
teams. After graduating, Carlson spent 15
years teaching and coaching. During this
time, he became part of the Augsburg
Alumni Board and wrote an article titled
“Why is Being a Christian Important?”
for a Christian magazine that most
alumni received. When the alumni
director position became open, Carlson
didn’t even have to apply. “Two people
just asked me if I wanted to do it. It was
the best move I’ve ever made.” In honor
of his service, the alumni office was
dedicated in 1991 as the Jeroy C.
Carlson Alumni Center.
While working at Augsburg, Carlson
was able to stay active in the Athletic
Alumni Association (the A-Club) and
Winter 2005-06
also helped establish the Athletic Hall of
Fame. He can still remember when the
A-Club started. It was 1937, and the
athletes wanted an honor banquet. Four
people took it upon themselves to raise
the money—a difficult task during the
Depression years. They put on skits like
“Uncle Tom’s Cabin” and charged 10
cents a person.
Times were very different during
Carlson’s student years. His tuition was
$50 a semester, so he worked in the
dining room, which was on the lower
level of Memorial Hall. He worked with
18 other people, 16 of whom were in the
choir. A lot of singing was done in the
kitchen, and this was a treat for Carlson,
since he wasn’t able to participate in
both music and sports. By working five
hours, Carlson was able to pay for his
Winter 2005-06
Archive photo
Archive photo
In the 1948 Augsburgian, Jeroy Carlson ’48 was called a “standout
player” on the 1947 basketball team, and he was selected for an all-state
second team.
Carlson (left), along with teammates Kenneth Walsh
(center) and Al Mateyko (right), celebrate the Auggies’
1947 baseball conference championship.
room for one week—55 cents an hour
went a long way back then. One not so
pleasant memory Carlson recalls from
the dining hall was dropping a tray on
[dean of women] Gerda Mortensen. “I
was lucky I didn’t get expelled,” he said.
“Gerda knew it was an accident. Mortensen
was a woman you never forget.”
Carlson also went to school with Jim
Lindell, for whose family Lindell Library
was named in 1997. Lindell and Carlson
both completed their first year at
Augsburg together, and then each joined
the Navy. However, upon returning to
the Twin Cities, Lindell found he needed
to transfer colleges because Augsburg
didn’t offer a business degree. He
enrolled across the river at the university
but never forgot the best friends he
made at Augsburg.
Carlson has been fortunate in his
long tenure at Augsburg to get to know
the people behind the great names on
campus. While it’s easy for students to
grumble about tuition costs and for
alumni to feel continually asked for
donations, it’s the dedication of the
people for whom Augsburg means so
much—the people who work here and
the people who learn here—that makes
the difference. Carlson understands all
of this. It’s why he has stayed so long.
“After all these years, the attitude here is
still the same. What I believe is here,
and what’s happening at Augsburg is
important.” ■
Sara Holman is a senior English/
communication studies major and an
intern in the Public Relations and
Communication office.
13
PHYSICIAN
ASSISTANTS
i n c r e a s i n g
h e a l t h c a r e
a c c e s s
by Cynthia Hill
photos by Stephen Geffre
When Rob Carlson turned 40, he turned
a career corner as well. He left the
propane gas business to enroll in
Augsburg’s very first class in the
Physician Assistant (PA) program.
Today, Carlson maintains a busy
schedule treating recent immigrants and
refugees at the Regions Center for
International Health in St. Paul. He also
sees patients at the Regions HIV Clinic
and St. Paul Ramsey Public Health
tuberculosis clinic.
Jackie Osterhaus was also in
Augsburg’s first class of PA students. She
had worked as a laboratory technician
and a clinical assistant, but wanted more
out of a healthcare career. Yet with two
small children, becoming a PA made
Winter 2005-06
more sense than medical school.
Osterhaus now handles a full
caseload of patients in Belgrade, a tiny
Minnesota town some 100 miles west of
the Twin Cities. The Belgrade clinic is a
satellite of the Paynesville Area Health
Care System, which employs five PAs, a
nurse practitioner, and seven physicians.
Carlson and Osterhaus are among
more than 170 graduates of Augsburg’s
PA program since it was launched as
Minnesota’s only PA preparation
program in 1995.
From rural towns to urban centers,
these well-trained healthcare practitioners are living out the program’s
mission of increasing healthcare access to
underserved communities in Minnesota.
What is a
physician
assistant?
Physician assistants are not doctors, but
they can do many things a doctor does,
including seeing their own patients,
making diagnoses, doing minor surgery,
writing prescriptions, and ordering tests.
“But here’s the caveat: we can’t do it
on our own,” said Dawn Ludwig,
director of Augsburg’s program who is a
PA herself. “PAs are team providers who
work under the supervision of a licensed
physician. We can’t open our own
practice.”
That doesn’t mean the supervising
physician is always in the next room.
For example, Jackie Osterhaus staffs
the Belgrade clinic four days a week,
along with a nurse and laboratory
technician, but without a physician on
site. A physician from the Paynesville
clinic 10 miles away provides regular
telephone supervision and chart review
to Osterhaus’s cases.
“It’s definitely a team effort with
ongoing communication and interaction
with the supervising physician, but as a
PA, I am ultimately responsible for my
patients,” said Ludwig, who was named
Minnesota Physician Assistant of the
Year in 2002 by the Minnesota Academy
of Physician Assistants.
Because of the similar roles, it’s not
uncommon for patients to be confused,
said May Mua, an Augsburg graduate
who also practices at the Regions Center
for International Health.
“My patients—primarily Hmong,
Somalis, and recent immigrants from
other countries who may never have had
access to health care before—often call
me ‘Dr. Mua,’” she said. “I’m always
correcting them but it’s hard to get
across the idea of the difference because
they see me regularly for their care.”
15
A response
to the
healthcare
shortage
The physician assistant career is a
relatively recent addition to the
healthcare team, growing out of the
Vietnam era when highly skilled
medics returned from military service,
Ludwig said.
“At the time, we were seeing a
shortage of physicians around the
country and needed a new source of
caregivers,” she said. To help fill the need,
Duke University created the first formal
physician assistant program in 1965.
In the early ’90s, Augsburg was
approached by the Minnesota Academy
of Physician Assistants and asked to
consider starting a physician assistant
training program for the state.
“People were going to other states for
training and not returning to practice in
Minnesota,” she said. “Augsburg’s
mission of community and world service
was right in line with the concept of
physician assistants providing health
care to underserved areas.”
Initially offered as a two-year, postbachelor’s certificate, Augsburg’s program
drew immediate interest, especially
among people seeking a career change.
“That first informational meeting at
Augsburg was standing room only. There
must have been 600 people there,”
recalls Rob Carlson.
Over 10 years, admission to the
program, now offered as a three-year
master’s degree, has remained highly
competitive, reflecting Augsburg’s
reputation and strong track record. This
year’s class of 28 was culled from more
than 140 applications.
One thing that has changed is
average age of applicants—from 34 at
the outset to 27 currently, Ludwig said.
“At first, the appeal was mainly to
16
folks already in some aspect of health
care—nurses, laboratory assistants,
emergency medical technicians, etc. But
it is definitely becoming a first-career
option for those looking for a career in
medicine.”
Cases in point: second-year PA
students Kari Badali and Jodi Winters,
both 2004 Augsburg bachelor’s degree
graduates.
“Before coming to Augsburg as an
undergraduate, I read a magazine that
listed a physician assistant as one of the
top ten careers for women. I was
interested in the medical field but not
sure which direction to go. I researched
schools offering a PA program and
Augsburg was the only one in
Minnesota,” said Badali ’04, a biology
major.
Winters, a biology and chemistry
double major, added, “The reputation of
the Augsburg program is what finally
helped me make my decision.”
High
expectations,
high
performance
Augsburg’s program is known for its
academic rigor, in-depth clinical training,
and track record of well-prepared
graduates. Consider these indicators:
• 100% pass rate on national
certification examinations since the
program’s inception.
• Scores on the national certification
examinations have never been below
the 90th percentile (the Classes of
2001 and 2004 both ranked in the
99th percentile).
• In recent years, every PA graduate has
been employed within six months of
graduation, 85% of them in Minnesota.
Winter 2005-06
These successes grow out of high
expectations and a demanding
educational program that moves from a
foundation of classroom study into
direct clinical experience.
In the first phase, students are on
campus in courses in human gross
anatomy, pathophysiology, clinical
medicine, pharmacotherapy, history and
physical exam skills, research, and ethics
and legal medicine. An orientation to the
program’s mission of reaching the
underserved is woven throughout this
phase in courses on special populations
and in annual service-learning projects.
The clinical phase is next, structured
much like a physician’s internship.
Taught by physicians and supplemented
by physician assistants and other
healthcare providers, students progress
through seven required rotations and
one elective, each six weeks long, in
healthcare facilities across the state.
At least one rotation is required to be
outside of the metropolitan area, in
keeping with the program’s mission of
addressing healthcare gaps across
the state.
Twin Cities native Debbie Maas did
rotations in Deer River, Minn., a small
community west of Grand Rapids. After
graduation last year, she accepted a job
at the Deer River clinic. About 25% of
Augsburg graduates practice in rural
communities and greater Minnesota.
“I found I really liked the variety in
a smaller clinic. There was great
camaraderie with the physicians, and I
learned so much,” she said. “This is
truly family practice medicine. We see
everything from OB-GYN to geriatrics.”
The final component is a 12-week
preceptorship—an intensive clinical
experience required by only a few other
PA programs. “This is the last piece of
their education that ties everything
together and solidifies all they’ve
learned,” said Ludwig. “It gets them
ready to go out and practice.”
The personal
touch
Core to the Augsburg PA training is an
emphasis on treating patients as
individuals, not diseases.
“We look for students who are able to
handle a tough and rigorous program but
who are also able to connect with patients
on a personal level,” Ludwig said.
“Physician assistants should be good at
JACKIE OSTERHAUS (p. 14) graduated in Augsburg’s first class of physician assistants
and enjoys the variety of patient care she gives in her work at the Paynesville Area
Health Care System clinic in Belgrade, Minn.
ROB CARLSON (left) and MAY MUA (p.16) are two of the three Augsburg graduates
who are physician assistants at Regions Hospital’s Center for International Health.
Second-year PA student CHENTEL DANGERUD (above) discusses health issues with a
resident at the Danebo Home in Minneapolis during a health and wellness fair
specifically for seniors.
Winter 2005-06
listening and building trust with their
patients.”
Patricia Walker, M.D., director of the
Regions Hospital Center for International
Health, considers the clinic’s three
physician assistants, all Augsburg
graduates, “an absolutely vital part of our
provider team.”
“They are so talented that they are
working at the level of other providers in
our group on a daily basis, and rarely ask
questions of the physicians. That being
said, they also know when to consult us
on difficult cases,” Walker said. “They
provide outstanding clinical care and are
very kind and compassionate.”
In the future, demand for physician
assistants is likely to continue to grow,
according to Rodney McFadden, M.D., a
physician with Internal Medicine and
Geriatric Associates in Minneapolis and a
preceptor of Augsburg PA students on
rotation at the University of Minnesota
Medical Center, Fairview.
“Medical schools are producing about
the same number of doctors each year, so
as the population gets older, we will need
more healthcare providers,” said
McFadden. “Physician assistants play an
important role and I see them becoming
even more common to meet growing
healthcare needs in our society.” ■
Cynthia Hill is a freelance writer in
St. Paul who frequently writes about
Augsburg College.
17
A C H A N C E T O S K AT E
BY DON STONER
The scene is like any other in hockeycrazed Minnesota on a weekday evening.
A cacophony of noise inside a cold indoor
ice arena. Young kids, some maybe just a
few months from putting skates on for the
first time in their lives, are learning the
fundamentals of hockey. Coaches strain to
be heard above the din.
On one half of the rink, an older
group has the ice. On the other, Janet
Marvin and a couple of assistant coaches
are working with girls ages 10 and under.
Marvin yells encouragement to her
young charges. “I want two hands on your
stick all the time.” “When you find it,
look up for your teammate and pass it to
her stick.” “Good job, excellent! Nice
job!”
You look at the faces inside the masks,
and that’s where you notice the difference.
Most of the girls aren’t typical Minnesota
hockey players. Most are Hmong, some
are African-American, some are white.
But if it weren’t for Marvin, it’s likely
that none of them would be on the ice
this night—or any night, for that matter.
For the past seven years, Marvin, a
1986 Augsburg graduate, has been
volunteering with young girls on the
north and northeast neighborhoods of
Minneapolis with the Edison youth
hockey program. Along with her sister
and a devoted group of volunteer women
coaches, they have provided opportunities
for young girls who wouldn’t otherwise
have discovered the sport.
For Marvin, it’s an extension of a family
tradition to provide hockey opportunities
to others. Her father, Cal, was a legend in
hockey in the Upper Midwest. A U.S.
Hockey Hall of Famer, he helped to start
the men’s hockey program at the University
of North Dakota, coached the U.S. national
team in 1958, and founded and coached
one of the most successful amateur hockey
teams in American history, the Warroad
Lakers. He helped to establish Warroad, a
small town near the Canadian border in
northwestern Minnesota, as a place
synonymous with hockey.
18
“My dad did it for young men. He let young men play
for over 50 years, and he had over 900 young guys that
got to skate for him,” Marvin said. “What he did for the
guys is what my sister and I are trying to do for young
girls who want to play hockey. It doesn’t matter where
they’re from, or what color they are, or what background
they come from. If they want to play, we’ll get them
equipment, we’ll find them a place to play, we’ll
make sure they have transportation and make
sure their fees are paid.”
One of 12 children in the Marvin family,
Janet Marvin grew up around hockey. “We
grew up at the rink,” she said. “We folded
programs, we cleaned the rink, we worked in
the concession stands, we sold tickets. We
did whatever we could do, because we wanted
to be up there at the rink with Dad and the rest
of the community. That’s what you did in
Warroad. You were at the hockey rink.”
She and her sister played hockey in
their early years, but as they grew older,
there were fewer opportunities for young
women to play hockey in northern
Minnesota. So she played basketball
instead, eventually playing two seasons of
junior college basketball and a season at
the University of St. Thomas, before
transferring to Augsburg for her senior
season, 1985-86. She earned a degree
in education from Augsburg and
eventually worked for the
Minneapolis public schools for
15 years.
But hockey remained a major part
of her life. She played competitively
on adult teams for more than a
decade, and also worked as a
volunteer assistant coach on
teams with her friend, Sue
Ring-Jarvi. Marvin also
served as an adult mentor
for young kids in northeast
Minneapolis, including
youngsters who wanted to
play hockey for Edison’s
youth program. She
eventually got involved with
coaching at Edison, and
helped to start the Edison
girls’ youth program. Along
the way, Marvin and her sister began
bring out the best of their potential. …
But her work with the hockey
incorporating more young Hmong girls
You can see how these coaches put their
program doesn’t end there. The coaches
from the neighborhood into the program.
whole lives into coaching these kids. It
organize year-round experiences for the
“Because there weren’t enough kids
makes all the work worth it.”
girls, in order to keep them active and
coming out, I started recruiting Hmong
Since many family incomes may not
together as a group. They’ve had camping
girls. My sister and I are involved in the
be able to support the expenses for their
trips, barbeques, and trips to team
Hmong community in mentoring kids and
children to play, Marvin often dips into
coaches’ cabins in northern Minnesota to
getting kids involved,” she said. “It’s been
her own pocket to pay for equipment,
go skiing.
a focus point for us to bring them into the
uniforms, and supplies.
“My parents gave us all the
program and give them an opportunity to
A shed in Marvin’s yard is full of
opportunities. If you wanted to play, play.
skate. But when we coach at Edison, we
hockey equipment that she has either
They wanted you to be involved,” Marvin
coach anyone who wants to play
said. “There’s so many kids who
and who lives on the north side
don’t have that opportunity, and I
or northeast.”
think that’s what my sister and I
The program started from
are trying to provide. We give
one small team seven years ago
them an opportunity.”
to nearly 50 girls on teams for
Last summer, Marvin and
ages 10-under, 12-under, and
fellow Augsburg alumnus John
14-under. This year, Edison has
Evans ’82 received grant money
two teams, with Janet Marvin
from City Kids Inc., a north
coaching the 10-under team and
Minneapolis program, to provide
Robin Marvin coaching the 12hockey instruction for north-side
under team, along with a faithful
children. About 30 kids took part
group of volunteer assistants.
in the summer-long program,
“It’s an all-female staff, and
portions of which were held at
not one coach has anybody
the Augsburg Ice Arena. Several
involved with the program,
Augsburg student-athletes
which is very unique,” Marvin
assisted Marvin in coaching
said. “When you go to other
during the summer program.
associations, it’s always a dad or
“The kids love the attention,
a brother or an uncle who is
and when the college kids came
coaching the kids because there’s Janet Marvin ’86 plays less hockey these days so she can concentrate on the ice, I think it was a match
on coaching. She makes it possible for girls like these at the Edison
a connection. … We just have
right away,” Marvin said. “The
Youth Hockey Civic Arena in Northeast Minneapolis to learn hockey.
females who want to come in
kids know that when they come
and coach. We’ve skated with
to the rink, there’s going to be
them in the women’s hockey associations,
purchased or had donated to her by
someone there that’s going to say ‘Hi’ to
and they want to come in and give back.
friends. It’s available for her players to
them, ‘How are you doing,’ ‘You’re doing
They see this program and they see that
pick from. She often provides
a good job,’ and giving them positive
these kids need it, these kids want it, and
transportation for team members to and
feedback. That’s what these kids need.”
these kids absorb it.”
from practices and games in her van.
Coaching has become a major part of
The devotion that Marvin and the
“Last year, my mom bought the whole
Marvin’s life, so much so that she now
other coaches have makes them positive
12-under team a brand new stick for
plays less hockey herself in order to
role models for the children they are
Christmas. That was the first time our
concentrate on coaching.
coaching, said Marta Kurak ’98, a parent
kids that we register had a brand new
“The kids like it. They want to go to
of two girls who have played hockey on
stick,” she said.
the rink. They want to play,” she said.
Marvin’s Edison teams. Kurak now serves
Marvin figures that she puts in 25 or
“You see them skating around the rink
as a manager for the 12-under team.
more hours per week into the Edison
and they have smiles on their faces. They
“[The coaches] bring an energy to the
hockey program, on a strictly volunteer
might fall down or get a little hurt, but
program. They are always positive and
basis. She now also works for Ring-Jarvi’s
they get up and they’re like, ‘OK, let’s go
never say anything negative. They always
sportswear business, in addition to
again.’ They just want to be at the rink. …
look for the positives in the girls,” Kurak
working for a local flower shop.
My heart’s really into coaching and
said. “[Marvin] works with every kid to
working with the kids.” ■
Winter 2005-06
19
Faith
City
in the
Faith
BY BETSEY NORGARD
PHOTOS BY STEPHEN GEFFRE
Envisioning a renewed public calling for the well-being of the city and its people
In a twist on the realtor’s three magic
words, the Faith in the City initiative
might be described as “location, location,
vocation.”
This distinctive collaboration brings
together seven urban-focused Lutheran
institutions in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
All of them are committed to improving
the quality of life in their community and
they all center their work around Lutheran
ideas of vocation. They share a belief that
more can be accomplished when people
and organizations work together and when
they share their particular expertise toward
common goals.
It’s a diverse group—Augsburg
College, Augsburg Fortress Publishers,
Central Lutheran Church, Fairview
Health Services, Luther Seminary,
Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota,
and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans—
20
whose members contribute their
expertise across the areas of health,
education, social services, finance,
publishing, and service in faith. The two
synods of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America (ELCA) in
Minneapolis and St. Paul are partners in
the collaboration.
After several years of informal
discussions among the CEOs, a formal
collective was launched in 2002 that
draws its calling from a passage in the
book of Jeremiah, “Seek the welfare of
the city … for in its welfare you will find
your welfare.” The collaborative seeks to
renew that same concern to care for each
other in the community that motivated
the founding of their institutions a
century or more ago. And, today, they are
again finding some of the greatest
community needs among recent
immigrants.
“[Faith in the City] has set before
Lutheran institutions across the land a
model which illustrates service
leadership,” says President William
Frame. “The CEOs became interested in
Luther’s idea of vocation as a vehicle to
draw their constituents out into the
world in service and in collaboration.”
They were encouraged by the extent of
common purpose and overlap in their
missions.
Tom Morgan, Augsburg’s vice
president for planning and market
development, speaks of Augsburg’s
perspective: “It’s a way for us to more
deeply express and live out our
commitment to the city, to service, and
to strengthen and demonstrate our
connection to the church.”
Ci
Winter 2005-06
Community initiatives
Faith in the City serves as a catalyst for collaboration among people,
neighborhoods, congregations, and others, primarily in the areas of
health, education, and neighborhood. Each initiative has two or
three member organization sponsors and appropriate strategic
partners.
Initiatives specific to Augsburg are:
Augsburg Academy for Health Careers—Augsburg, together
with Fairview Health Services, developed the first proposal to
Faith in the City. Responding to the shortage of healthcare
professionals, especially within increasingly diverse communities,
a charter school was proposed, with funding from the Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation, to prepare students for careers and
vocations in health care.
The Augsburg Academy for Health Careers opened this fall
with 61 students, a majority from diverse backgrounds, in grades
9, 10 and 11, with grade 12 to begin next year.
Lutheran College House—A second initiative spearheaded by
Augsburg, together with Luther Seminary, is the Lutheran College
House, proposed for summer 2006. Students from six partner
Lutheran colleges will live for a semester in the Phillips
neighborhood to explore vocation, service opportunities, and
leadership development.
Augsburg/Central Nursing Center—Augsburg’s 10-year-old
free nursing center at Central Lutheran Church that serves
neighborhood residents at no cost was incorporated into the
Faith in the City initiatives.
Hands-on learning
for health careers
by Judy Petree
Jasmine Smith, a junior, and one of 61 students at the new
Augsburg Academy for Health Careers, travels from Maple
Grove across the city everyday. She enrolled at the academy to
pursue a career in the health field, particularly forensic science
or neurology.
In addition to her interest in the CSI television shows, she
said she chose the academy for its small class sizes and the
ability to work one-on-one with instructors. She recently
interviewed for an internship at Fairview in the nursing
department.
Students at the academy are paired with Fairview health
professionals as mentors. Together they explore the student’s
talents and interests as related to vocations in the health field.
Students use Fairview as a hands-on learning laboratory; they
also take field trips to Mayo Clinic, and visit emergency care
centers, hospitals, clinics, and science-related businesses and
industries.
All students receive training to become certified as
emergency medical technicians, first responders, and/or
certified nursing assistants. This will help them find
employment during summers and after graduation.
Mark Youngstrom, director of Augsburg Academy, is a
former state education department specialist in English
education and co-founder of the Perpich Center for the Arts in
Golden Valley.
“The primary purpose [of the academy] is to provide
immigrant students and students of color with a solid
academic education that enables them to advance in the
educational system,” he said. “In addition, hospitals and
healthcare facilities of all kinds are treating increasing
numbers of patients from immigrant communities and
communities of color, and they need employees who speak
their languages and understand their cultures.”
Youngstrom concludes, “Our ultimate hope is to raise the
sights of our students so they can plan a future for themselves
that includes higher education and a professional career.”
Other initiatives include:
The Wellness Connection—With the help of several
neighborhood organizations and congregations, this center
responds to Somali immigrants’ health needs, promotes healthy
lifestyles, and connects them with appropriate medical providers.
ty
Personal Finance Center—Begun as a tax service for lowincome residents, this center has grown to offer a wide range of
financial literacy tools for banking, home ownership, borrowing
money, etc.
Phillips Neighborhood Park, Library, and School—Faith in
the City provides financial resources and volunteer service to
help sustain these sites as vibrant neighborhood centers.
Above left: Tom Morgan (left), Augsburg’s representative on the steering committee,
and Jeri Nelsen (right), executive director, are finding that the Faith in the City
Lutheran collaborative is an effective model for responding to community needs.
Winter 2005-06
Jasmine Smith (right) and Ophelia Mensah (left) enjoy the small
classes and one-on-one mentoring at the Augsburg Academy for
Health Careers.
21
Leadership conference—Two annual
conferences have brought together
downtown faith and business leaders for
discussion and mutual collaboration
around faith and work.
Leadership initiative—-For the second
year, a program nurtures emerging leaders
at member organizations through ongoing
discussions of vocation and faith.
The next steps
Faith in the City is proving that greater
good can come about through working
together in collaboration than by
individual organizations working in
isolation. In a commentary written for
the Star Tribune last year, Thrivent
president and CEO Bruce Nicholson
described Faith in the City’s process as
“mission-based collaboration, an ideal
model for holistically addressing pressing
community needs.”
Moving forward, the collaborative
continues to seek strategic partners for
specific initiatives as well as to engage
Lutheran congregations in outreach to
urban needs.
Perhaps nowhere else in the nation
could such an integrated community
collaboration take place, and Faith in the
City is beginning to garner attention.
Tapped for leadership
by Betsey Norgard
22
Executive director Jeri Nelsen, Morgan,
and Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota
CEO Mark Peterson presented Faith in the
City at the national meeting of Lutheran
Services in America (LSA) in April.
The collaborative has also garnered
significant attention from Minneapolis
mayor R.T. Rybak. Nelsen says that Rybak
sees Faith in the City as a model for
collaboration with great potential for
improving community well-being.
Frame believes that Faith in the City
has proven that, even within a highly
competitive arena, nonprofits can
combine resources to carry out their
work more effectively. ■
Last fall Julie Olson ’90, ’04 MAL, dean of enrollment management, was
part of the first “class” of Faith in the City’s Leadership Development
Institute. Over several day-long sessions, the group participated in
presentations and discussions on leadership, read books, and listened to
the CEOs of Faith in the City member organizations talk about their own
vocational paths—all woven around the concept of servant leadership.
This first group bonded with each other to the extent that they
couldn’t let go when the formal series ended. They continue to gather
periodically for conversation, even as the second “class” of the institute
has begun.
The leadership initiative came about as member organizations felt a
need to be better prepared for their next phase of growth. Olson says the
program is about identifying emerging leaders within the organizations,
and helping them discern their vocation—i.e., helping them feel
“tapped,” or hear the call of an inner voice.
In addition to getting to know their Faith in the City colleagues,
participants gain valuable insight into their organizations—how they’re
structured, issues they face, what’s ahead for them, and how they
respond to their constituencies.
The member organizations share a common Lutheran background, but
some—Fairview, for example-—are less overt in their Lutheran heritage
than others. Olson says that if you look at how they treat their
employees, their staff and leadership development programs, and their
missions, it’s all there. It may not be called Lutheran, or even Christian,
but the organization effectively puts action behind their values in the
model of servant leadership.
“By the end, everyone was more comfortable with identifying
themselves from a Lutheran organization and recognizing what’s special
about that,” Olson said. “This is something that’s essential to our identity,
and we mutually reinforced that with each other.”
While this is the only “inward” initiative of Faith in the City, Olson
says the leadership institute is about “building the strengths of the
individual organizations to enable them to better serve their larger
communities.”
In this second year, a coaching component was added to the
initiative, and Olson is one of two from the first group who will be
coaching members of the second group.
“It’s an honor to be asked and identified as an emerging leader,” she
said. “Now I have the responsibility to carry out that gift.”
Winter 2005-06
Scholarship brunch honors donors and students
On Nov. 20, the Scholarship and Donor
Brunch was the place where more than
170 Augsburg donors were honored for
their generosity and commitment to
Augsburg College. Scholarship donors,
Heritage Society donors who have estate
plans that include Augsburg, and
Maroon & Silver Society donors, who
give annual support at the leadership
level for Augsburg scholarships, were all
thanked.
It was also the place where 100
students had the opportunity to meet
the families behind the scholarships
they've received. Student body president
Paul Cumings, speaking on behalf of
students, told the donors, “You give; it’s
not required, but I’m here to tell you it’s
appreciated.”
Philip Rowberg Sr. ’41 had not been
on campus since 1948. He recently
endowed a scholarship in memory of his
wife, Betty, who died last year. “I decided
to fund a scholarship in appreciation of
Philip Rowberg Sr. ’41 (left) recently endowed
a scholarship in memory of his wife, Betty. At
the brunch he met the scholarship’s first
recipient, Evan Holmes ’06 (right).
Winter 2005-06
the education I received here,” Rowberg
said. “Nothing is more important than
investing in the education of our young
people.”
The Philip and Helen Taylor Rowberg
Scholarship gives preference to a student
from rural Minnesota. Rowberg and his
son, Philip Jr., were able to meet its first
recipient, Evan Holmes ’06, from
Janesville, Minn.
Among other donors at the reception
were the Rev. Orville ’52 and Yvonne
(Bagley) ’52 Olson, and their son
Jonathan. In 1993, the Olsons
established a scholarship in memory of
another son, Timothy, and in recognition
of his devotion to Jonathan.
“The scholarship is in honor of son
Timothy. Our other son, Jonathan, has a
disability, so we made our scholarship
available to students in college who have
special needs or are going into the field
of special education.
Nicky Cronin ’08, the recipient of the
Olson scholarship, is a special education
major in emotional/behavioral and
learning disabilities.
“Our giving has been out of profound
gratitude to Augsburg for the many
blessings we received as college students
and over the years,” said Yvonne Olson.
“I personally am one of 11 siblings, and
eight of us have attended Augsburg. My
husband and I graduated in the same
class, and our daughter, Beth (Olson),
and her husband, Scott Bouman, both
graduated in the Class of 1977. That’s
our connection to Augsburg.”
“‘Tak for alt’—we noticed this saying
on a lot of gravestones around
Scandinavia,” Olson continued. “This
saying is important to our family. It’s a
symbol of gratitude and means ‘thanks
for everything.’ ”
The Rev. Orville Olson ’52 and his wife, Yvonne (Bagley) ’52 Olson created a scholarship in
memory of their son Timothy and his devotion to brother Jonathan (center). They enjoyed
meeting this year’s recipient, Nicole Cronin ’08 (back center).
23
Roarin’ and soarin’ to the finish at Si Melby
At Homecoming 2005, hundreds of
alumni, students, fans, friends, and even
prospective students celebrated and
cheered for the campaign to expand
Si Melby Hall with a new south wing
addition.
It was a celebration of Auggie
athletics past, present, and future.
Emcee Tim McNiff, from KARE-11 TV,
introduced coaches and athletic teams,
fired up the crowd with achievements
and successes of Augsburg’s athletic
program, and extolled the benefits of the
new south wing.
A virtual video tour took the crowd
through the proposed 27,000 new square
feet that includes expanded classroom
space, a fitness center, training areas, and
more. The project was explained in depth
by Jeff Swenson ’79, head wrestling coach
and assistant dean for athletics, and regent
and campaign co-chair Mike Freeman.
The video also featured testimonials from
current and former student-athletes and
administrators.
The Si Melby completion team, led by
Freeman, has rallied volunteers to work
with them to make sure that all Augsburg
athletes and friends have opportunities to
help Augsburg reach the goal. The team
includes Dan Anderson ’65, Rich Colvin
’74, Mike Good ’71, Jane Helmke ’83, and
Glen Person ’47. Staff support to the team
includes Swenson and Development
Office staff: Jeroy Carlson ’48, Jack Osberg
’62, Ron Main ’56, and Donna McLean.
Momentum continues to grow as the
team pushes toward the final goal,
enjoying additional volunteer support
from Bob Strommen ’74, “Butch”
Raymond ’63, Rick Ekstrand ’72, Dave
Andell ’71, Bob Martin ’71, Bruce Brekke
’70, and Erv Inniger. Each sport is also
gathering alumni support to help
complete the project so that
Student-athletes cheered as coaches, teams, and alumni spoke at the athletic celebration.
24
Winter 2005-06
groundbreaking can occur as soon as
possible.
Augsburg is especially grateful to Alan
Rice for making the first lead gift in the
amount of $1 million and to Dean ’75
and Terry Kennedy for the largest lead
gift of $2 million, in addition to several
others whose gifts helped kick off the
campaign for the new south wing.
For additional information on the
Si Melby south wing addition, or to
make a gift, go to <www.augsburg.edu/
campaign/athletic>, or call the
Development Office at 612-338-0002 or
1-800-273-0617.
The new South Wing will
include spaces already named
in honor of the following:
Doc Johnson A-Club office
Lavonne (Johnson) Peterson ’50
Hospitality and Conference Room and
patio
Luther (Lute) Olson ’56 Hall of
Champions
Jack ’62 and Nina Osberg Student
Study and Computer Room
“Gamma House” Hospitality
Lounge and Classroom overlooking
Nelson Field
Rolf Erickson Hospitality Lounge and
Classroom overlooking Nelson Field
Many exciting opportunities remain to
create a legacy in someone’s name for
the new south wing. Contact Donna
McLean at 612-338-4826 or
<mclean@augsburg.edu> for further
information.
Winter 2005-06
Jeff Swenson ’79 (left), head wrestling coach and assistant dean, and Mike Freeman, Augsburg regent
and campaign co-chair, kept the crowd fired up about Auggie athletic successes and the progress
toward the new south wing of Si Melby Hall.
Faculty and Staff Make It Happen
Faculty and staff launched a campaign in
September to increase giving to the
Access to Excellence campaign among
Augsburg employees.
The goal of the faculty-staff campaign
was to significantly increase the
participation rate of giving from within
the Augsburg community—a critical
factor to funding agencies when
reviewing grant proposals from the
College.
At the end of last fiscal year in May,
the overall participation rate among the
more than 800 faculty and staff
employed by the College was 22%. As of
Nov. 10, with more than half the current
fiscal year remaining, that figure has
risen to 29%.
An even greater indicator of
commitment to the campaign goals from
within the College is the giving rate
among full-time faculty and staff, and
staff who work more than 50% of the
time. As of Nov. 10, full-time faculty
giving rose to 54%, while the rate among
full- and nearly-full-time staff was at 41%.
First-time givers and those who
increased their current gifts were eligible
for a full match from a special fund
established by a group of faculty emeriti,
faculty, and staff whose generosity
enabled even small gifts to grow in size.
In addition, new and increased gifts
from members of Thrivent Financial for
Lutherans were also eligible for a 50%
match from that organization.
25
AAlumni
LUMNINews
NEWS
From the director of Alumni Relations…
G
reetings! As the
new director of
Alumni Relations, it
is a great pleasure for
me to have the
continued
opportunity to work
with Augsburg’s
alumni and our many
Augsburg friends.
In addition to myself, Donna
Torgeson currently serves as assistant
director of our newly re-structured Office
of Alumni Relations. Donna finds herself
busy working with the Class Agents, the
Augsburg Associates, and also
coordinating with the alumni group
traveling to China this spring. You may
have also worked with her on your
reunion group this past year.
I have been at Augsburg since 1986,
when I began working in the
undergraduate admissions office. In
2002, I joined the Alumni/Parent
Relations office working with the Parent
Council, Homecoming and Reunions,
plus many events on and off campus. I
am very fortunate to now be working
closely with the Alumni Board—please
take a look at the calendar on the next
page and join us for one of many
upcoming events.
If you are interested in more
information regarding opportunities to
join the Alumni Board, or if you believe
that you know an alum who should be
nominated for our Distinguished
Alumni, First Decade, or Spirit of
Jon Thorson ’86 leads groundbreaking
research with anti-cancer potential
E
mploying a simple new technique to
manipulate the sugars that power many
front-line drugs, a team of Wisconsin
scientists, led by Augsburg alumnus Jon S.
Thorson, professor of pharmaceutical
sciences at the University of WisconsinMadison, has enhanced the anti-cancer
properties of a digitalis, a drug commonly
used to treat heart disease.
Reported in the August 8 edition of the
Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences, Thorson and the team describe a
series of experiments that boosted the cellkilling potency and tumor specificity of the
drug, derived from the foxglove plant and
used to stimulate the heart. The drug is
suspected to have anti-cancer properties,
but its use to treat cancer has been little
explored.
The new work is important because it
provides scientists and drug companies
with a quick and easy way to manipulate
the sugars found in chemicals produced in
nature.
According to Thorson, the technology
26
can be widely applied: “We’ve already
taken this chemistry and applied it to
many different drug classes. It’s possible to
extend it to antibiotics and antivirals.”
The new technique, according to
Thorson, will play a prominent role in the
new UW National Cooperative Drug
Discovery Group, a consortium of UW
scientists seeking to develop new anticancer drugs from natural products.
Thorson joined the UW School of
Pharmacy in the summer of 2001, and
since moving to UW has been designated
an American Society of Pharmacognosy
Matt Suffness Awardee (2004) and a UW
H.I. Romnes Fellow (2004). From 19962001, Thorson held appointments as an
assistant member of the Memorial SloanKettering Cancer Center and assistant
professor of Sloan-Kettering Division, Joan
and Sanford I. Weill Graduate School of
Medical Sciences, Cornell University,
during which he was named a Rita Allen
Foundation Scholar (1998-2002) and
Alfred P. Sloan Fellow (2000-2002).
Augsburg awards, please go to
<www.augsburg.edu/alumni> or call
612-330-1173.
We are in the midst of an exciting
year, and we hope that you’ll join us on
campus for an athletic event, theatre
production, musical performance, or one
of several convocations scheduled this
year. Please save the date for
Homecoming 2006, and bring your
classmates, family, and friends to our
next ever-growing family picnic event on
Saturday, September 30, 2006.
Heidi Breen
Director, Office of Alumni Relations
Two alumni
appointed to
Alumni Board
The Augsburg Alumni Board of
Directors appointed two new members
and elected Karina Karlén ’83 as
president and Barry Vornbrock ’96 MAL
as president-elect. To view the complete
list and photos of board members, visit
<www.augsburg.edu/alumni/board.html>.
The new members are as follows:
Dale E. Hanka ’60
Dale E. Hanka graduated from Augsburg
with a B.S. in Scandinavian studies. He
is a retired teacher, business owner, and
financial planner.
Jamie E. Smith ’04
Jamie E. Smith graduated from Augsburg
with a B.S. in history. He is a real estate
professional at Keller Williams Premier
Realty in Woodbury, Minn.
Winter 2005-06
Alumni Events
Please join us for these upcoming alumni events (see also the college-wide calendar on the
inside back cover for additional Augsburg events); unless otherwise noted, call 612-330-1178
or 1-800-260-6590 or e-mail <alumni@augsburg.edu> for more information.
December
February
10
15
11
Washington, D.C.: Alumni
gathering honoring 2005
Distinguished Alumnus Donald
Mattison ’66, M.D., Watergate
Hotel, Executive Boardroom
(Ballroom Level), 8 p.m.
immediately following the Peace
Prize Forum reception; registration
is limited, please RSVP no later than
Dec. 2 to 612-330-1598 or
<rsvp@augsburg.edu>
McLean, Virginia: President
Frame will speak at Lutheran
Church of the Redeemer,
703-356-3346, 9:45 a.m.
16
19
Auggie Hour at Beaujo’s Wine Bar
& Bistro, 4950 France Ave. S,
Edina, 952-922-8974, 5:30 p.m.,
featuring a wine tasting with Jenn
Tome ’99
Honors Program alumni
gathering, Christensen Center,
5:30-7 p.m.; please RSVP no later
than Jan. 13 to 612-330-1598 or
<rsvp@augsburg.edu>
Scottsdale, Arizona: Alumni
gathering at Winn and Maxine
Wallin’s home, 4-7 p.m.
18
Tucson, Arizona: Gospel Praise at
Our Savior’s Lutheran Church,
520-327-6521, time TBA
19
Tucson, Arizona: President Frame
and Gospel Praise* at Our Savior’s
Lutheran Church, 7:45 a.m.,
*8:45 a.m., and *11:15 a.m.,
520-327-6521
January
10
Sun City, Arizona: President
Frame will speak at American
Lutheran Church, 623-974-2512;
5:15 p.m. gathering and light
supper; 6-6:30 p.m., “Christian
Civility: Is it a Sellout?”
March
26
Annie at the Orpheum: Gather
for brunch on campus prior to a
performance of Annie at the
Orpheum Theater; transportation
provided
FOURTH ANNUAL CONNECTIONS EVENT
Augsburg alumnae are invited to attend Connections—A Women’s Leadership Event, cosponsored by Augsburg and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, on Feb. 11 from 8 a.m.-12:30
p.m. at Thrivent Financial Corporate Offices in downtown Minneapolis.
Presenters at this fourth annual event include Gloria C. Lewis, president/CEO of Big Brothers
Big Sisters of the Greater Twin Cities and member of the Augsburg Board of Regents; Janice
L. Aune ’88, chairman/CEO of Onvoy, Inc.; and Shira Hussain, senior admissions counselor at
Augsburg College.
This unique event brings together students, alumnae, and women throughout the
community for a morning of networking, mentoring, and leadership development. Please
join us for this incredible morning of empowerment and
encouragement through the experiences and stories of the
amazing women who attend!
For more information and to register online, please visit
<www.augsburg.edu/womenconnect>.
Winter 2005-06
A-Club invites
alumni on Baltic
cruise
The Augsburg A-Club invites alumni and
friends of the College on an exciting and
relaxing 12-day Baltic cruise with hosts
Dick (Porkchops) and Jane Thompson
on the Holland America Rotterdam
Cruise Ship. The adventure begins July
28 in London, England, with stops in
Norway, Denmark, Germany, Estonia,
Russia, Finland, and Sweden. Group
rates range from $2,548 to $4,300 per
person; airfare depends on your city of
origin. If you are interested, call the
alumni office at 612-330-1178. You are
encouraged to book early if you are using
frequent flyer miles for your own air
transportation. Most of the commissions
for this cruise will be donated to the
Augsburg A-Club Building Fund. So
gather a group of Auggies—or honorary
Auggies—and experience a true northern
European adventure!
Business alumni
events
All business alumni are invited to attend
the Department of Business
Administration’s Executive Management
Lecture on March 4 from noon-1 p.m.,
in Christensen Center (speaker TBA).
Alumni are also encouraged to attend the
annual Spring Business Forum (speaker
and date TBA). Please call 612-330-1191
or e-mail <heckers@augsburg.edu> for
more information.
27
Homecoming 2005—Roarin’ & Soarin’ Auggie Style
Augsburg alumni and
friends gathered during
Homecoming week for
the annual Augsburg
Associates Fall
Luncheon at the
Women’s Club in
Minneapolis.
The Auggies’ new head coach, Frank Haege,
walked the sidelines during the Auggies’ nailbiting loss to Carleton College.
Festive Auggie beads in maroon and silver decorated every tree,
building, and statue during Homecoming weekend.
28
Above: The new Auggie Eagle
logo, designed by Augsburg
alumnus Samuel Gross ’03
(see p. 10) was illuminated on
the floor of the gymnasium in
Si Melby Hall during the
athletics celebration.
Left: The Augsburg community
cheered on students who dared
to compete in the comical,
oversized boxing arena at
Homecoming picnic.
President William V. and Anne Frame performed at the student talent show in
true 1920s style.
Winter 2005-06
Photo by Charles Walbridge
The Auggie cheerleaders kept spirits high at the
Homecoming football game despite a disappointing 21-19
loss to Carleton College.
Many students and alumni received Auggie Eagle temporary
tattoos at the Homecoming picnic.
Above: Linnea Evans and Andy
Nelson were crowned as
Homecoming Queen and King.
Left: Simona “Fiery” Williams
wowed everyone at the student
talent show, taking top honors
for her rap performance.
Donald Mattison ’66, one of three alumni honored this
year as Distinguished Alumni (see p. 8), spoke during
the Homecoming chapel service
Winter 2005-06
Photos by
Stephen Geffre
(unless otherwise noted)
29
Homecoming 2005—Roarin’ & Soarin’ Auggie Style
GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY CLASS OF 1955
(L to R) ROW 1 (front): Beverly (Omdahl) Nelson, Agnes (Tweet) Schaper, Beverly (Williams) Lundeen, Miriam (Greguson) Travis, Mary Jean (Danger)
Holmquist, Wenona (Strandlie) Lund, Beverly (Jorgensen) Olander. ROW 2: John Mulliken, Richard Dronen, Delores (Eide) Berkas, Clinton Peterson, Maxine
(Dahlin) Christ, Kenneth West, I. Shelby (Gimse) Andress, Beverly (Halling) Oren. ROW 3: Darrell Egertson, Arthur Lunow, Elmer Karstad, Duane Westfield,
David Skaar, Robert Herman, James Anderson. ROW 4: Robert Sneitzer, Richard Mahre, Wesley Bodin, Wayne Thoreson, John Benson
CLASS OF 1965
(L to R) ROW 1 (floor): Lyndon West. Lyle Olson, Marie (Bergh) Sandbo, Julie (Gudmestad) Laudicina, Joyce (Anderson) Pfaff, Judy (Thompson) Eiler, Gary
Thyren. ROW 2 (chairs): Darryl Carter, Dorothy (Rasmussen) Nelson, Anita (Christopherson) Gransee, Eunice (Bergman) Dietrich, Sharon (Dittbenner)
Klabunde, Adrienne (Strand) Buboltz, Larry Buboltz. ROW 3: Carolyn (Fernstrom) Anderson, Sharon (Kunze) Erickson, Jane (Huseby) Norman, Judith
Reynolds, Wayne Fehlandt, Phyllis Borri, Mary (Tildahl) Meyers, Mary Ann Cogelow. ROW 4: Gerald Dahl, Dale Slone, Gracia Grindal, Bette (Bodin) Leeney,
Karen (Lund) Orrill, Priscilla (Strecker) Feildhammer, Paul Fieldhammer, David Berg, Larry Nelson, Keith Dyrud, Dwight Olson, James Daugherty. ROW 5:
Donald Anderson, Robert Klemenhagen, Robert Lee, Mary Ann Miller, Daniel Meyers, Ronald Blake, David Dyrud. ROW 6: Donald Hoseth, Gerald Hamlin,
Gary Blosberg, Daniel Anderson.
30
Winter 2005-06
CLASS OF 1980
(L to R) ROW 1 (front): Lori (Elmgren) Binder, Kristin (Johnson) Hella, Laurie Fyksen-Beise, Christine (Edlund) Luk, Mary Carlson.
ROW 2: Jeffrey Jarnes, Brett Batterson, Carolyn (Johnson) Spargo, Jacqueline (Brookshire) Teisberg, Claudia (Walters) Forsberg,
John Carlson. ROW 3: Paul Sannerud, Jon Burnison, Gary Tangwall.
CLASS OF 1995
(L to R) ROW 1 (front): Jonathan Arntz, Lisa (Carlson) Sackreiter, Soven Sackreiter (baby), Andy Sackreiter, Dan
Deitrich, Theresa (Hoar) Magelssen, Trygg Magelssen (baby), Scott Magelssen. ROW 2: Erica Bentley, Amy (Torgelson)
Forsberg, Aubrey Forsberg (little girl), Cory Forsberg, Olin Forsberg (baby), Andrea (Mathieu) Bedard. ROW 3 (back):
Kirk Litynski, Mark Bedard, Nick Bedard (baby).
Winter 2005-06
31
CLASS
NOTES
Class Notes
1951
John Garland, St. Paul, was
recognized by the American
Institute for CPCU and the
Insurance Institute of America as
an outstanding course leader. He
has served as an institute course
leader for 33 years, and currently
teaches insurance for Hughes
Group, LLC.
Minn., is director of social services
at Rose of Sharon Manor.
1968
1957
Marshall D.
Johnson,
Minneapolis,
published a new
book, The
Evolution of
Christianity:
Twelve Crises that Shaped the
Church, in May (Continuum).
1960
Lois (Richter) Agrimson, Eagan,
Janet Letnes Martin, Hastings,
Minn., and Suzann (Johnson)
Nelson ’68, Grand Rapids,
Minn., were featured in the Star
Tribune for their musical, Church
Basement Ladies, based on their
books celebrating the foods and
traditions of Lutherans. After
successful trial runs in Grand
Rapids, Fargo, St. Cloud, and
Bismarck, the musical is settling
in for a 14-month run at the
Plymouth Playhouse.
1969
Barbara Hagel Stevens, Inver
Grove Heights, Minn., retired in
June; she taught second grade at
Pilot Knob Elementary School in
Eagan for more than 30 years.
childhood experiences of her
grandfather, King Olav V, the
princess has written a tale about
a little boy who becomes a
prince in her first children’s
book, Why Kings and Queens
Don’t Wear Crowns.
1971
1973
Mike Sevig,
Bloomington,
Minn., and his
wife, Else
(Tallaksen) ’71,
operate Skandisk,
Inc., a company
that distributes books and CDs
(especially those related to
Scandinavia) to specialty shops
around the country. Last winter
Skandisk secured the English
language rights to publish a new
fairy tale written by Norway’s
Princess Märtha Louise and
illustrated by one of Norway’s
most celebrated artists, Svein
Nyhus. Drawing from the
Corrine (Froelich) Frank,
Detroit Lakes, Minn., proudly
reports that her son, Corporal
Will A. Frank, is currently
serving in the United States
Marine Corps in San Diego
(Miramar). He has served in
Iraq and will be deployed again
in December. He also plays tuba
in the USMC Band.
Courtsey photo
AUGGIE REUNION
1974
Marlene (Chan) Hui,
Bloomington, Minn., sadly notes
the passing of her mother, Choi
Wan Chan, in September.
1976
Rev. Gary Andersen,
Bloomington, Minn., was
installed as senior pastor of
Community of the Cross
Lutheran Church in June. He
previously served Bethany
Lutheran in Rice Lake, Wis. His
wife, Diane (Forsberg) ’76,
teaches English as a second
language.
1977
These Auggies and their spouses gathered at Chautauqua, N.Y., and stayed at the Anthenaeum Hotel to
share special memories of their 1953-1957 college years. Pictured on the hotel’s porch are: ROW 1 (L to R,
seated): Gayle Engedahl Matson, Doug Herr, Verna Skovholt Barrett, Grace Forss Herr, and Marlys Holm
Thorsgaard. ROW 2 (standing): Norman Matson and Arlen Thorsgaard (not pictured is Roger Barrett).
32
Lise LungeLarsen, Duluth,
Minn., published
her third
children’s book
in August 2004,
Hidden Folk:
Stories of Fairies, Dwarves,
Selkies, and Other Secret Beings
(Houghton Mifflin). LungeLarsen grew up in Norway, and
her parents and grandparents
filled her life with stories of
elves, dwarves, and fairies. Now
she shares those stories with
children and the adults who
read to them.
Winter 2005-06
ALUMNI PROFILE
Stan Waldhauser
100 years young: Community celebrates
Knut Hoversten’s 100th birthday
by Bill Vander Weele
Reprinted by permission of the Sidney Herald in Sidney, Montana
When Knut Hoversten [Class of 1930] was nine months old, he suffered from
whooping cough. In May, he officially celebrated his 100th birthday. In between, there
have been very few illnesses or other physical problems for the longtime Sidney
resident. Because of rheumatism in his knees and hips, Hoversten uses a wheelchair,
but appears to be in excellent health for someone who is a century old. He credits his
long life to a harmonious family and living in Big Sky Country. “I watched my appetite
very closely,” Hoversten said. “I don’t do any drinking or smoking.”
He remembers being an 8-year-old boy and reading about proper diet during his
mother’s trip to the doctor’s office. “I always had food that was tested by proper
nutrition. I kind of studied a balanced diet all through my life. I studied the kind of
vitamins food contained, especially food with good vitamins.”
His daughters say Hoversten’s wife of 65 years, Hazel, also played an important role in
his health. Hazel died in November 2004 at the age of 93. “She took awfully good care
of him,” said daughter Julianne Mell ’64. “She was a nurse and made sure he ate
right.”
During the past year, Hoversten received the shocking news from his dentist that he
had two cavities—the first in his life. Hoversten remembers, “I had to have all of my
baby teeth pulled by a dentist because of the strength of my teeth.”
Hoversten currently lives with his daughter, Carol Anderson, in Spokane, Wash. He
remains busy during the day by reading, visiting friends, and seeing his greatgrandchildren. “My mom and dad used to come out and visit, so it’s been a second
home for him,” Anderson said.
Knut Hoversten celebrated his 100th birthday in
May. Since his graduation from Augsburg in 1930,
more than 40 members of the extended Hoversten
family have also attended, including the family’s
most recent Augsburg graduate, Kari Lucin ’03.
The pair, along with the entire Hoversten clan,
was honored in 2003 with the Distinguished
Service Award.
The oldest of 14 children (eight are still living), Hoversten
attended Augsburg College in Minneapolis. He then went to the
University of Minnesota, where he majored in chemistry, physics, and aeronautics. Years later, he finished his master’s
degree at Montana State University. “He still reads and has been a student all his life,” said his daugher, Mell.
Hoversten can speak several languages, including Norwegian, German, Greek, Latin, and French. “The best resources
of medical sources are in German and Russian,” Hoversten said.
He feels the greatest advances during his life came in the physics and medicine fields. “It started out pulling slivers
out of your hand with a tweezers, and turned into working with DNA,” Hoversten said.
Knut Hoversten ’30
He experienced many highlights during his 40 years of teaching. One memory he shared was building a rocket with a
student in the 1950s and setting the rocket off from the baseball field. “It went pretty high,” he said. That student
was Kendall Habedank, who is now a retired major general from the Air Force.
Many students are thankful that Hoversten went into the teaching field. He was hoping to become a doctor, but because of the Depression,
he couldn’t continue his education. “I ran out of money,” he said.
“But I think his teaching was rewarding,” Mell said. “He was meant to be a teacher. I think he influenced more people than he would had he
been a doctor.”
Hoversten’s non-teaching activities included being a member of the Sidney Kiwanis Club for 58 years, a member of Pella Lutheran Church
for 59 years, and director of the Methodist Church choir for 30 years. His many years of retirement featured teaching Norwegian at the Sons
of Norway and working as a piano tuner. “I’ve got a good reputation in all of the area for being a good piano tuner.”
When asked if he ever thought he would celebrate his 100th birthday, Hoversten said, “No. But I didn’t object to it.”
Winter 2005-06
33
Class Notes
Courtsey photo
AUGGIES ABROAD
AUGSBURG CENTENNIAL SINGERS
2006 FLORIDA APPEARANCES
Concert Performances
FEBRUARY 1
Trinity Lutheran Church and School
3016 S. Vine St., Kissimmee, Fla., 407-847-4204; 7 p.m.
FEBRUARY 2
Emmanuel Lutheran Church
800 Tamiami Trail S, Venice, Fla., 941-488-4942; 7 p.m.
FEBRUARY 4
Peace Lutheran Church
15840 McGregor Blvd., Fort Myers, Fla.; 6:30 p.m. (time tentative)
FEBRUARY 5
Emmanuel Lutheran Church
777 Mooring Lane Dr., Naples, Fla., 239-597-1043; 3 p.m.
FEBRUARY 6
First Presbyterian Church
9751 Bonita Beach Rd., Bonita Springs, Fla., 239-992-3233;
3 and 7 p.m.
FEBRUARY 7
Grace Lutheran Church
327 C Ave. SE, Winter Haven, Fla., 863-293-8447; 7 p.m.
Church Appearances
FEBRUARY 5
Emmanuel Lutheran Church
777 Mooring Lane Dr., Naples, Fla., 239-597-1043; 8, 9:30,
and 11 a.m.
Hisham Al-Fergiani, an Augsburg alumnus from the 1970s,
stands in the bookshop and press that he owns in Tripoli, Libya,
called Dar Al-Fergiani Publishers.
FEBRUARY 5
First Presbyterian Church
9751 Bonita Beach Rd., Bonita Springs, Fla., 239-992-3233;
8:30 and 10:30 a.m.
1979
1983
1984
1985
Judy Berkeland, Fairmont,
Minn., recently became the
Fairmont Area Schools’ new
orchestra director. Her husband,
Steve ’79, is senior pastor of
Grace Lutheran Church.
Les Heen and Barbara
(Westerlund) ’89, Maynard,
Minn., are enjoying life in the
country, “with nothing but room
to run, hills to roll down, and
stars in the sky to find through
the telescope,” says Barbara. Les
is director of communications
for Minnesota Farmer’s Union,
located in St. Paul, and Barbara
is an estate and businessplanning attorney, operating her
own law practice in Maynard.
They have two children,
Christopher, 7, and Erik, 4.
Laurie (Lindell) Miles, Apple
Valley, Minn., recently moved
back to Minnesota from
California. She is a sales
representative at Northwest
Airlines.
Norm Okerstrom and John
Wahlberg ’86, owners of Excel
Promotions, LLC, have entered
into an agreement with Prime
Advertising & Design, Inc., of
Maple Grove, Minn., as an
exclusive provider of promotional
products, apparel, and corporate
recognition items. Okerstrom and
Wahlberg can be reached at
<norm@excelpromo.com>.
1980
Bradley J. Imsdahl left his
position as lead publisher of
Quickfinder Handbooks,
published by Practitioner’s
Publishing Company of Fort
Worth, Texas, to start a new
publishing company called Tax
Materials, Inc. His new company
publishes quick reference tax
guides to sell to CPAs and other
tax professionals nationwide. He
can be reached at
<brad@thetaxbook.com>.
34
Franklin Tawah was featured
as a “mover” in the business
section of the St. Paul Pioneer
Press. He is assistant vice
president of University Bank in
St. Paul.
Elizabeth (Ingersoll)
Swanson, Minneapolis, received
the Master of Sacred Music
degree with an emphasis on
conducting from Luther
Seminary in May. She currently
serves as the choir director for
Glen Cary Lutheran Church in
Ham Lake, Minn.; she plans to
become ordained as an associate
in ministry and seek a call as a
full-time cantor/music director in
the Twin Cities.
Jean Taylor, Eagan, Minn., was
elected to serve on the board of
directors for Piper Jaffray
Companies. Taylor is president
of Taylor Corporation and serves
as chair of the Augsburg College
Board of Regents. She also serves
on the board of directors for the
Minnesota Private College
Council and is a trustee of the
Glen A. Taylor Foundation.
Winter 2005-06
AUGSBURG ARTISTS
Amy Rice ’93 is known in the Twin Cities’ art community for her bold
stencil creations, inspired as much by pop art and Japanese printmaking as
the graffiti art movement. Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak has cited Rice’s
mural work as an example of how art has participated in the rebirth of
Franklin Avenue. Rice is also known locally for her advocacy role on the
behalf of artists with mental illness and recently received a national award
for her efforts.
Rice is a member of the Rosalux Collective, a vibrant and growing community
of Twin Cities’ artists. Her work will be on display at the Rosalux Gallery’s
upcoming Holiday Hoopla exhibit, Dec. 3-30 (opening reception Dec. 10, 7-11
p.m.). For more information and to view more of Rice’s work, visit the
Rosalux Gallery online at <www.rosaluxgallery.com>.
Mural on 11th and Franklin, Minneapolis, fall 2003
1986
Michael Berry was named
executive vice president and
chief financial officer of Dallasbased i2 Technologies, Inc. He
previously served as senior vice
president of Solutions
Management at The Reynolds
and Reynolds Company, Inc.
1987
Andrew Altenburg, New
York, produces and hosts
fundraising events through his
company, Will Clark USA,
which raises money for and
awareness of AIDS causes under
the umbrella name Bad Boys
Events. He produced the Fifth
Annual Bad Boys Pool Party in
Palm Springs, Calif., in May,
Winter 2005-06
Fisher Price Angel
Spray paint and acrylic on canvas, 6” x 6”
which raised $64,000 for L.A.
Shanti, a nonprofit HIV/AID
support organization in Los
Angeles. He also executive
produced a series of weekend
events that brought another
$13,000 to various Californiabased nonprofits. In the past
eight years, Altenburg has been
directly responsible for nearly a
million dollars raised for gay
men’s health organizations such
as Magnet and the AIDS
Emergency Fund in San
Francisco and the Gay/Lesbian
Anti Violence Project and Visual
AIDS in New York. He currently
hosts a weekly bingo game at the
9th Ave. Bistro in New York,
which raises money for AIDS
organizations, gay sports groups,
and community organizations
such as the Gay Men’s Chorus.
Lisa Martin-Crawford,
Minneapolis, received a 2005
Association of Schools of Public
Health Minority Fellowship to
support her study of the
experience of Ojibway
adolescents with Type II diabetes
who live on reservations. The
goal of the two-year study is to
improve preventive health care.
The fellowship is one of only
four public health fellowships
made annually by the Centers
for Disease Control and
Prevention. Martin-Crawford is a
doctoral student at the
University of Minnesota School
of Nursing, and is an enrolled
member of the Lac du Flambeau
Tribe, an Ojibway tribe in
Northern Wisconsin.
Meghan with Olivia
Mixed media, 24” x 48”
1988
Jim Damiani, Plymouth, Minn.,
was featured in the Twin Cities
Business Journal as a recipient of
its “Forty under 40” honor.
Damiani, who serves as vice
president of Bloomington-based
Welsh Cos., has secured more
than 1,500 real estate
transactions in the past two
decades. He got his start in real
estate rehabbing old apartment
buildings while still a student at
Augsburg.
1989
Dawn Givans-Lander, Los
Angeles, is a busy stay-at-home
mom with 2-year-old twin boys.
She is launching a hair salon/spa
next spring.
35
Class Notes
1990
Courtsey photo
KOLANDER-MCCUNE WEDDING
Dave Frisell, Bloomington,
Minn., is Kennedy High School’s
new head football coach. He also
teaches physical education at
Kennedy and at Oak Grove
Middle School.
Alex Gonzalez,
Bloomington,
Minn., earned the
title of financial
consultant for
Thrivent
Financial for
Lutherans after successfully
completing extensive training. He
is one of 450 financial
consultants nationwide qualifying
for membership in the group.
Judith A. Lemke was named
executive vice president and chief
information officer at Schneider
National, Inc., in Green Bay, Wis.
She previously served as CIO of
Capella University in
Minneapolis and as vice president
of the Midwest region for
Minneapolis-based BORN
Information Services, Inc.
Holly Kolander ’96 married Chris McCune in March 2004 at
Orange Tree Golf Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz. Holly taught 4th
grade, but now stays home to care for their four-month-old twin
daughters (see their birth announcement on p. 38).
Courtsey photo
BOLDEN-FIELDS WEDDING
1991
Penny R. Olson, Richfield,
Minn., received the Master of
Divinity degree from Luther
Seminary in May. Before entering
the seminary, she worked as a
registrar, data processor, health
consultant, and health unit
coordinator at hospitals and
medical centers in Minneapolis
and St. Louis Park. She plans to
serve as an ELCA parish pastor.
Carolyn Pool, Minneapolis,
originated the lead in the world
premiere of Paula Cizmar’s play,
Bone Dry, aka the Copy Editor
Murders, at the Jungle Theater. A
writer in the Star Tribune recently
described her as a “dynamo of
the stage.”
1992
Trena Bolden ’00 married Jerome Fields ’00 in August. Trena
serves as director of Augsburg’s Pan-Afrikan Center.
36
Walt Filson, Brooklyn Center,
Minn., teaches law enforcement
for Anoka-Hennepin ISD #11; he
is pursuing a master’s degree in
criminal justice.
Ladd Ojala, Minneapolis,
competed in an Ironman
competition this summer in
British Columbia, Canada.
1994
Susan (Horning) Arntz,
Waconia, Minn., recently
received the International
City/County Management
Association (ICMA)’s
Credentialed Manager
designation. Arntz, a member of
Augsburg’s Alumni Board of
Director’s, is city administrator
of the City of Waconia. She also
serves as chair of the
Leadership ICMA Committee,
and previously served as
assistant city manager for the
City of New Brighton and as
assistant to the
administrator/economic
development coordinator for
the City of Chaska.
1995
Jason Shaver was appointed as
director of broadcasting and
corporate sales by the Iowa Stars
hockey team. Shaver, who was
the vice president of
communications and the playby-play voice of the Texas
Wildcatters the past two seasons,
will be the play-by-play voice of
the Dallas Stars American
Hockey League affiliate.
1998
Camille Carnes, San Rafael,
Calif., received a Master of
Education with a concentration
in equity and social justice in
May from San Francisco State
University. She is currently
working with high-risk youth
in a young women’s
empowerment program. She
can be reached at
<camillecarnes@sbcglobal.net>.
Stephanie Simones, New
Berlin, Wis., married Jeff
Wehrman in May 2004. She
teaches at St. Mathias Catholic
School, and enjoys running and
biking in road races, marathons,
and triathlons.
Winter 2005-06
Courtsey photo
STENSVAAG-DARDA WEDDING
Brenda Selander, Champlin,
Minn., married Ted Mitshulis in
June. They met at Anoka High
School, where they teach and
coach.
2003
Eric Bretheim, Edina, Minn.,
married Kelly Anne Lewis in July.
Eric is a transportation logistics
coordinator for Cargill.
Ken McCann, Eden Prairie,
Minn., works for Target Financial
Services.
Shawn Smith was added to the
2005-06 pre-season roster of the
Fort Wayne Komets—five-time
United Hockey League
champions.
2004
Rebecca Stensvaag ’01 married Paul Darda ’01 in July 2004. Paul is a history teacher and assistant
wrestling coach at Champlin Park High School, and Rebecca teaches 3rd grade at Johnsville Elementary
School. Their wedding photo features more than 30 Augsburg alumni. Pictured here are: ROW 1 (L to
R, front): Cindy Blummer ’01, Emma Stansvaag ’08, Ruth Casperson ’67, Hannah Mehus Stensvaag ’38,
Rebecca Stensvaag Darda ’01, Paul Darda ’01, Nancy Strommen Stensvaag ’71, John-Mark Stensvaag
’69, Stephanie Johnson Sulzbach ’71, John Sulzbach ’69, Jean Boxrud Steen. ROW 2: Roland ’03, Tjersti
Strommen ’07, Adam Thronson ’00, Marsha Strommen Olson ’68, Dawn Hofstad Strommen ’70. ROW 4:
Peter Strommen ’69, Mary Nelson Eckberg ’70, Brad Fischer ’03, Heidi Peterson ’03, Mark Peterson ’01,
Mary Ellen Strommen Lieber ’67, Tim Strommen ’70. ROW 5: John Eckberg ’68, Ainy Carlson, Jeroy
Carlson ’48, Phil Edstrom ’69, Luther Strommen ’40, Steve Strommen ’65.
1999
Tony Hudson, Minneapolis, is
the diversity achievement
coordinator at Sandburg Middle
School in Golden Valley, Minn.
He recently received a master’s
degree in education
administration from St. Mary’s.
Rachel
(Westhed)
Stenback
resides in
Sweden with her
husband, Tomas.
She received a
master’s degree in enthnology
from Uppsala University in
Uppsala, Sweden. She recently
co-wrote the resources section of
a new book, On My Swedish
Island: Discovering the Secrets of
Scandinavian Well-being, by Julie
Catterson Lindahl (Teacher
Winter 2005-06
Penguin), and she has worked
on marketing the book—both in
Scandinavia and the United
States. She and her husband,
who is a math and science
teacher, have been offered
English teaching positions in
China starting next August
through the Lutheran Church in
Sweden (Svenska kyrkan).
Stenbak can be reached at
<rachel.stenbak@home.se>.
2000
Larissa (Westfield) Larson
along with her sister, Rebecca
Westfield ’03, launched
Ensemble, a women’s clothing
and accessories boutique in the
Linden Hills neighborhood of
Minneapolis. The sisters and the
boutique were featured in the
September issue of Women’s
Business Minnesota magazine.
Marcia Volk, Rosemount,
Minn., married Brian Marrison
last December.
2001
Conor E. Tobin, St. Paul,
received a juris doctor degree
from William Mitchell College of
Law in June. While attending
William Mitchell, Tobin served
as president of the Student Bar
Association and was a recipient
of the CALI Award of Excellence
for his work in the Immigration
Law Clinic.
2002
Chris Kambeitz recently moved
from Fargo, N.Dak., to Carver,
Minn. He works in sales with
Summit Products North, and can
be reached at <cgkambeitz@
yahoo.com>.
Erica Champer, Chicago, works
at Heartland Housing.
Kelly L. Chapman is a student
at Fashion Institute Design &
Merchandising in Los Angeles.
She is working and interning for
Ali Rahinii, owner and designer
of Mon Atelier. After graduation
in December, she hopes to enroll
in the institute’s third-year
program.
Rick Dzurik is a music therapist,
working with patients at the
North Memorial Residential
Hospice in Brooklyn Center,
Minn., on the North Memorial
Inpatient Hospice and Palliative
Care Unit and with Hospice
Homecare patients.
Brian Eayrs is pursuing a
master’s degree in sports
administration at the University
of Wisconsin-La Crosse, where
he serves as graduate assistant to
the defensive coordinator of the
UW-L Eagles’ football team. His
father, Mike Eayrs ’72, once
served as the Eagles’ offensive
coordinator; he now serves as
director of research and
development for the Green Bay
Packers (he also served 16 years
in the same capacity for the
Minnesota Vikings).
37
Class Notes
Dayle VanderLeest,
Minneapolis, is serving as a
long-term substitute secondgrade teacher at Cedar Riverside
Community School in
Minneapolis.
2005
Brad Schwartzbauer is the
new Mounds View, Minn., boys’
hockey coach. He was an allconference player and captain at
Augsburg, and played in the
Colorado Rockies’ minor league
system.
Births/Adoptions
Mark Muhich ’89 and Allison,
Eveleth, Minn.—a son,
Brennan, on St. Patrick’s Day.
He joins older brother Quinn, 4.
Mark owns Muhich Law Firm in
Virginia, Minn., and teaches
legal-related courses at Mesabi
Range Community and
Technical College in Virginia. He
can be reached at <mamuhich@
rangenet.com>.
Rich Blumer ’95
and his wife,
Heather, Maple
Grove, Minn.—
a daughter,
Amanda Jane,
in February. She
joins older brother Carson, 2.
Rich is an applications
consultant for US Bank.
Ryan Carlson
’96 and his wife,
Lauren, St.
Paul—a son,
Quintus (Quin)
Joseph, in
September. Ryan
is a senior manufacturing
manager for Seagate in
Bloomington and Lauren is a
scientist for Ecolab in Eagan.
They can be reached at
<rc_and_lauren@yahoo.com>.
Holly
(Kolander)
’96 and Chris
McCune,
Scottsdale,
Ariz.—twin daughters, Sierra
and Malayna, in June (see
Holly and Chris’ wedding photo
on p. 36).
Ann
(Gallagher) ’96
and Lee
Stephenson
’06, Sturgeon
Lake, Minn.—
a daughter,
Laura Ann, in May. She joins
older sister, Grace. Ann and Lee
received master’s degrees from
St. Mary’s University.
Amy
(Gustafson) ’97
and Ross
Albertson, South
St. Paul—a son,
Max Andrew,
in June. Amy
teaches 6th grade for South
Washington County Schools.
Leah (Holloway) ’99 and Kevin
Rudeen, Vadnais Heights,
Minn.—a son, Zachary John, in
June. Leah is a research
consultant with John H. Harland
Company in Roseville.
Jennifer (Crego) ’00 and Chad
Carls ’00, Oak Grove, Minn.—a
son, Brock David, in April. He
joins older brothers Tommy, 3,
and Andrew, 1. In addition to
teaching chemistry and physics
at Champlin Park High School,
Chad also sells real estate.
Jennifer and Chad can be
reached at
<chadcarls@yahoo.com>.
Amy (Stier)
’01 and Jeff
Eppen, Belle
Plaine,
Minn.—
a daughter, Courtney Breanne,
in February.
Stefanie (Lindell) ’98 and
Bruce Lender ’98, St. Paul—
a son, Samuel, this year.
Courtesy photo
ALUMNI PROFILE
Laura McGowan ’03: Study-abroad seminar
inspires future service
Written by Lynn Mena; interviewed by Betsey Norgard
After participating in an Augsburg Center for Global Education seminar to Namibia during her
senior year, Laura McGowan ’03 was so inspired by her experience that she pledged to one day
return to Africa. This summer, she landed upon an opportunity to spend six weeks volunteering
at Beautiful Gate Namibia, an international, interdenominational Christian organization providing
daycare and support to children and families in need. Located in Katutura, Windhoek, Namibia,
the center provides emotional, spiritual, and physical care to these children, and supports their
families and communities by giving practical assistance.
“I just started doing whatever they needed—sharpening pencils, cleaning, making food,” said
McGowan. “It took a bit of time for me to put into perspective what I was doing, and I started to
realize that what I might ordinarily consider menial tasks were genuinely helping to make the
staff’s lives easier as well as to serve these kids. I may not be up there in front of the class
teaching, but what I’m doing is needed just as much.”
Laura McGowan ’03 posed with one of
the children at Beautiful Gate, a
daycare center in Namibia where
McGowan volunteered for six weeks
this past summer.
McGowan, who teaches 9th-grade history at Northview Junior High in Brooklyn Park, Minn.,
formed a special bond with a young girl named Queen whom she provided one-on-one tutoring.
She also traveled with staff to various homes to perform needs assessments as well as to provide support.
Upon returning to Minnesota, McGowan was immediately struck by the multitude of opportunities available to children and students in the
United States as compared to those at Beautiful Gate. “Even though many of my students are at or below the poverty level, I started to realize
that even for them, in comparison, there is tremendous opportunity here,” said McGowan. “And so now I really have a drive to make sure
the kids I teach realize and have access to those opportunities.”
38
Winter 2005-06
In Memoriam
M. Glendora Dueland ’29,
Slater, Iowa, died in April; she
was 98. She taught in public
schools in Minnesota and
eventually entered public service
in Washington, D.C., working
for various government
departments. She retired back to
Slater, where she was active in
the historical society. Dueland
was a longtime supporter of the
College and generously included
Augsburg in her estate plans.
Joseph E. Erickson ’37,
Mukilteo, Wash., died in
February; he was 91. He was a
retired farmer and missionary,
known to many as the “singing
farmer” for his singing ministry,
which he shared during his
mission trips to more than 50
countries.
Norman Myrvik ’38, Brooklyn,
N.Y., died in August 2004; he
was 91. He was an opera singer,
composer, choral conductor,
opera impresario, radio host,
record producer, and teacher.
His Town Hall debut was
followed by many engagements
with opera companies and
symphony orchestras, as well as
leading roles on NBC’s Opera of
the Air and recitals in major U.S.
cities. In 1967 he founded the
Brooklyn Lyric Opera Company
at the Brooklyn Academy of
Music, which received glowing
reviews from The New York
Times. In 1962 his recording of
Charles Griffes and Edvard
Grieg songs won praise from The
New York Times, The Atlantic,
and High Fidelity. Myrvik hosted
Opera Stars of Tomorrow for
many years on WNYC Radio,
and held teaching positions at
Lehman and Kingsborough
colleges.
Rev. Grant H. Olson ’40,
Seminole, Fla. (formerly of
Minneapolis), died in August; he
was 90. He formed two churches
in Washington and served
Minneapolis at Lebanon
Lutheran Church for 26 years.
In 1984 he joined the Lutheran
Winter 2005-06
Synod staff in Tampa and later
became chaplain at Palms of
Pasadena Hospital and Bay Pines
VA Medical Center, retiring in
1999.
Agnes (Landsverk)
Torbenson ’41, Detroit Lakes,
Minn., died in July. She was a
retired English teacher.
Sylvia (Brandt) Sateren ’47,
Indio, Calif., died in May. She
was a retired choral music
teacher and a 1996 inductee into
the Augsburg Athletic Hall of
Fame.
Marvin Larson ’50, Carrollton,
Texas, died in September 2004.
He and his wife, Elaine, built
three Home Mission churches in
Circle Pines, French River, and
Keewatin (all Minn.) and spent
six years in Guadalajara,
Mexico, serving as missionaries
before moving to the
Texas/Mexico border town of
McAllen to open an
English/Spanish Bible bookstore.
Prior to his retirement, Larson
also taught high school building
trades and did cabinetry work.
Arthur J. Cote, Jr., ’54,
Columbia Heights, Minn., died
in September; he was 82.
Dale Erdahl ’54, Sioux Falls,
S.Dak., died in May; he was 73.
In addition to farming for more
than 20 years, he was a two-time
Minnesota legislator and an
employment counselor for the
State of Minnesota.
Rev. Glen C. Eveland ’56,
Backus, Minn., died in July
2004; he was 71. In his 38-year
ministry, he served churches in
Indiana, Iowa, and Minnesota.
Paul L. Nyhus ’57, Brunswick,
Maine, died in August of brain
cancer; he was 70. He was
former Bowdoin College dean of
students, dean of the college,
and Frank Andrew Munsey
Professor of History emeritus. As
dean of students from 1969 to
1974, he encouraged and
protected diversity among
students and faculty, participated
in the founding of the Afro-
American Society and the
establishment of co-education,
and dealt with such crises as the
student strike of 1970 to protest
the bombing of Cambodia. As
dean of the college from 1975 to
1980 and again in the fall of
1987, he continued to work on
the goals established earlier, and
participated in the debates that
lead to Bowdoin’s divestment of
investments in companies
operating in apartheid South
Africa in 1985. Nyhus retired
last year after 38 years of
service. Prior to Bowdoin as a
graduate student at Harvard, he
participated in the second march
to Montgomery, Alabama,
organized by Martin Luther
King, Jr., an experience that
forever shaped and strengthened
Nyhus’ commitment to civil
liberties and racial equality.
Nyhus was a named an
Augsburg Distinguished
Alumnus in 1978.
Rev. Glenn O. Davidson ’58,
Pine Island, Minn., died in
December 2004; he was 73. He
was ordained at Central
Lutheran Church in Minneapolis
and later served 10 years in
parish ministry in Wisconsin
and as a pastoral counselor
throughout Wisconsin for 20
years, retiring in 1995.
Marilyn Rogers ’61,
Minneapolis, died in March of
complications from post-polio
syndrome; she was 64. Despite
spending much of the past 55
years in an iron lung, she lived
an active and inspired life. In the
1970s, she helped start the
United Handicapped Federation,
which worked with the
Minnesota Legislature to
improve access for people with
disabilities.
James R. Quick ’71,
Bloomington, Minn., died in
September; he was 72. A retired
social worker, he also served in
the Air Force during the Korean
War and was a singer and
former Golden Gloves boxer.
Rev. Daniel D. Rudquist ’71,
Arden Hills, Minn., died in
August; he was 55. He was
ordained in 1976, and served the
parishes of Sillerud and Trinity in
Balaton, Minn., and Redeemer
Lutheran in Fridley, Minn.
Charlotte M. Granite ’97,
Freeport, Minn., died in July of
cancer; she was 42. She worked
as a physician assistant for the
Paynesville Area Health System
and the St. Cloud Medical Group
(Cold Spring office), and served
in the 134th Forward Support
Battalion of the Army National
Guard.
Rev. Dr. Karl H. Brevik, Indian
Wells, Calif., died in October
2003; he was 75. He taught
religion courses at Augsburg in
the 1950s, during which time he
served as a parish minister at
Central Lutheran Church.
Katherine A. Hennig,
Minneapolis, died in October; she
was 94. An Augsburg professor of
emerita of music, she also taught
voice at the College of St.
Catherine and Hamline
University. She was a soloist with
the Minnesota Orchestra and also
performed with the Minnesota
Opera Company. In New York,
she obtained the lead on the
Broadway stage in Allegro and a
role on Broadway’s 46th Street
Theater in the musical Arms and
the Girl. She also appeared in a
14-week engagement at Radio
City Music Hall.
Elvira Carlson Springer,
Golden Valley, Minn., died in
July; she was 93. She was a
dietician and teacher at Augsburg
during WWII.
Nels Stanley “Stan” Stake,
Wayzata, Minn., died in January;
he was 87. A former regent of
Augsburg, he was a longtime
employee of Honeywell. His
career took him from his
hometown of Chicago to
Pittsburgh and finally to
Minneapolis, retiring as senior
vice president of the Commercial
Buildings Group.
39
AUGGIE
THOUGHTS
Auggie Thoughts
Making cultural choices
by Dulmaa Enkhchuluun ’04
Courtesy photo
Dulmaa Enkhchuluun, or “Enkee,” as he explains below, is a 2004 Augsburg graduate who majored
in international relations. He now works for the Mongolian Parliament, handling international
communications, especially from international organizations. The following is excerpted, with his
permission, from a piece he wrote for a Star Tribune blog.
I
over. He had more electronic
am a 26-year-old Mongolian male,
equipment than my whole school
and everyone calls me Enkee. My
had in Mongolia.
full name is Dulmaa Enkhchuluun.
I learned about the value of
Under the Mongolian system, we
choice and the abuse of choice. I
only have one name, but my
had to select those things that
mother’s name is Dulmaa and out of
could help my family and country,
honor to her, I use her name as my
and I had to avoid the excess.
first name or what you would call
Having choice was worthless unless
my family name. She gave me the
I could use the choices wisely. I
personal name Enkhchuluun,
learned that I would never have
which comes from two Mongolian
more food than I could eat, that I
words, enkh meaning peace and
could never have more equipment
chuluun meaning stone. She hoped
than I could use, and that I would
that in a world of great uncertainty
buy only what I needed. I also
I would be as strong as stone but
Dulmaa Enkhchuluun ’04, or “Enkee,” walks through fields in
made a promise to myself to remain
also as peaceful as a stone.
his native Mongolia, with the sacred mountain Burkhan
as strong as a rock and as peaceful
I came to Minnesota to pursue
Khaldun in the distance behind him.
as a rock in America. In order to
my B.A. degree. It was my first trip
remain strong, I would walk or ride
abroad, and I had no idea how the
to have as much pop, milk, or tea as I
the bike that my host family gave me,
American academic system functioned or
wanted. Just walking into the cafeteria
even in the coldest weather.
even how Americans lived. I knew that
gave me more choices in food than I was
In five years I learned to be an
the images I saw on television and in
accustomed to making in a whole year
American in some parts of my life and
films did not represent real life in
back in Mongolia.
even in some parts of my heart, and yet I
America, but I had no idea what to
I came to America with one small
strove to remain a Mongol and to be my
expect aside from those images.
suitcase. I kept everything that I had in
mother’s son. I wanted to return home to
I thought of America as a large, powerful
it. Each piece of clothing was folded
Mongolia with the best education and
country associated with democracy and,
exactly as my mother taught me. My pen,
training that America had to offer, but I
of course, Hollywood.
pencil, and notebook were each carefully
wanted to be the strong and peaceful
My introduction to American life
wrapped, and I treasured them. By
man that mother intended me to be.
came through the college experience. I
contrast, my roommate had a roomful of
After all, in giving me the name
was delighted by the great choice of food.
stuff. He owned more books than a
Enkhchuluun, she gave me my destiny
On campus and within a few blocks, I
library, yet he never seemed to read. He
and my character, I wanted to live up to
could find pizzas, hamburgers, French
had enough music CDs for a music store,
her hopes for me.
fries, and the drink machines allowed me
but he played the same one over and
40
Winter 2005-06
CCalendar
ALENDAR
Music
February 16
For music information, call 612-330-1265
The Guthrie Theater: An Organization in
Transition
December 2-3
26th Annual Advent Vespers
5 and 8 p.m. service each night
Central Lutheran Church, Minneapolis
A conversation with Tom Proehl, managing
director, Guthrie Theater
7 p.m.—Tjornhom-Nelson Theater
January 27-29
Exhibits
Gospel Praise Tour
For gallery information, call 612-330-1524
Performances in southern Minnesota
November 4-December 18
February 5
Recent Works
Gregory Fitz and Jake Keeler
Gospel Praise Concert
Gage Family Art Gallery, Lindell Library
Artist gallery talk: Dec. 8, noon
10 a.m.—Woodlake Lutheran Church
Richfield, Minn.
February 17
Gospel Praise Concert
4 p.m.—MMEA Conference
Convention Center, Minneapolis
Fragments: Glimpses of History
and Place
Thomas Westbrook
February 28
Trio Concert
Featuring Mary Horozaniecki, violin;
Jim Jacobsen, cello; Jill Dawe, piano
7 p.m.—Sateren Auditorium
Theatre
For ticket information, call 612-330-1257
February 4-12
The Illusion
By Tony Kushner
Directed by Martha Johnson
Feb. 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, and 11 at 7 p.m.;
Feb. 5 and 12 at 2 p.m.
Tjornhom-Nelson Theater
January 25-May 20
January 13-February 17
Gage Family Art Gallery, Lindell Library
Opening reception: Jan. 20, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Featuring five collegiate women’s choruses
including Augsburg’s Riverside Singers
4 p.m.—St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church
Mahtomedi, Minn.
“Being Global
Citizens; Living a
Legacy”
1 p.m.—Hoversten
Chapel, Foss Center
For information, call 612-330-1022
For more information, visit
<www.augsburg.edu/ais/filmseries> or
call 612-330-1523
Gospel Praise Concert
WomanVoice Concert
Martin Luther King
Jr. Convocation
Augsburg Native American Film Series
Sculptural installations by Barbara
Claussen
February 26
January 16
Christensen Center Art Gallery
February 18-19
Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church
Tucson, Ariz.
you work and live. A continental breakfast
is served, no reservations are needed.
7 a.m., first Wednesday each month, St.
Philip the Deacon Lutheran Church,
Plymouth, Minn. For speaker
information, contact Pastor John
Hogenson at <jhogenson@spdlc.org> or
John Knight at <faith@augsburg.edu>.
Photography by Terry Gydesen
Christensen Center Art Gallery
Opening reception: Jan. 20, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
February 24-March 31
Sculpture by Jane Frees-Kluth
Gage Family Art Gallery, Lindell Library
Opening reception: Feb. 24
February 14
Dana Gioia
Poet, critic, and
bestselling author.
Part of the Augsburg
Convocation Series:
Global Citizens/Local
Citizens.
11 a.m.—“American Poetry in a
Violent War”
Hoversten Chapel, Foss Center
For information, call 612-330-1180
Mixed media by Mary Bergs
Christensen Center Art Gallery
Opening reception: Feb. 24
Other Events
December 2
Seminars,
Lectures,
and Films
December 7-May 3
FAITH@WORK Monthly Series
FAITH@WORK is a monthly meeting of
business professionals featuring speakers to
help you grow as a leader so that you can
more effectively live out your faith where
Annual Velkommen Jul Celebration
10:15 a.m.—Chapel Service, Hoversten
Chapel, Foss Center
11 a.m.-2 p.m.—Scandinavian treats and
gifts, Christensen Center
February 11
Connections—A Women’s Leadership
Event
See p. 27 for more details
Send us your news
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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>.
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6121_Augsburg_AugsburgNow-Fall 06
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Page 1
Augsburg
Now
FRESH FOOD FOR CITY FOLKS
A BETTER POLICE LINEUP
HANDS-ON HEALING
A PUBLICATION FOR
AUGSBURG COLLEGE ALUMNI & FRIENDS
FALL 2006
VOL. 69, NO. 1
Welcome to
the Pribbenows
page 12
P. 30
P. 18
P. 24
6121_Augs...
Show more
6121_Augsburg_AugsburgNow-Fall 06
9/12/06
12:25 PM
Page 1
Augsburg
Now
FRESH FOOD FOR CITY FOLKS
A BETTER POLICE LINEUP
HANDS-ON HEALING
A PUBLICATION FOR
AUGSBURG COLLEGE ALUMNI & FRIENDS
FALL 2006
VOL. 69, NO. 1
Welcome to
the Pribbenows
page 12
P. 30
P. 18
P. 24
6121_AugsburgNow-Fall 06
9/14/06
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Page 2
Editor
Betsey Norgard
norgard@augsburg.edu
Staff Writer
Bethany Bierman
bierman@augsburg.edu
Letter
from the President
W
Photographer
Stephen Geffre
geffre@augsburg.edu
hat we have loved,
others will love, and we will
teach them how.”
William Wordsworth’s remarkable words from “The Prelude” offer me
the simplest way to introduce myself to the Augsburg community. I am
an educator and college president because I have been blessed in my
life with passionate teachers who have taught me to love great ideas,
imaginative skills, faithful acts, and vibrant communities. I teach and
lead so that others also might love what I have learned to love.
A wise alumna of Rockford College—from which I have arrived to
take up my new post here at Augsburg—asked me during the interview process there in 2001 what I was reading and why. What a great
question and what an intriguing way to know someone.
Allow me therefore to offer a few texts that are always near at hand
for me, and that offer you a glimpse into the issues and ideas that
inspire my work.
The Bible is the source of my worldview. It teaches me of faithful
and abundant lives, of generous love surpassing all understanding,
and of a gracious story that still unfolds around all of us in our lives
in this world and beyond.
The Constitution of the United States sits on my desk as a reminder
of the truths and aspirations of our democracy. In those truths is the
stuff of patriotism, properly understood.
Michael Ignatieff’s The Needs of Strangers is an elegant essay that
draws together some of the best of human thought to help all of us
better understand what it means to care for each other.
Jane Addams’ Twenty Years at Hull-House is the story of a life led
in a neighborhood, serving others and strengthening democracy.
Parker Palmer’s Let Your Life Speak is my roadmap to vocational
journeys.
And Wendell Berry’s What Are People For? challenges us to remember the proper scale of human work and life—and to fight for sustainability in the world bent on destroying itself.
Shall we read together? Shall we find the time to talk together
about great ideas and actions? Shall we work together to make the
world a more faithful, just, and humane place for all God’s people?
I believe that is what Augsburg stands for and I could not be more
pleased—or have a deeper sense of gratitude—for the privilege to
lead this remarkable college.
I look forward to our work together on behalf of Augsburg College.
Yours,
Paul C. Pribbenow, president
Media Relations Manager
Judy Petree
petree@augsburg.edu
Sports Information Director
Don Stoner
stoner@augsburg.edu
Director of Marketing and
Communications
Christopher Moquist
moquist@augsburg.edu
Director of Alumni Relations
Heidi Breen
breen@augsburg.edu
www.augsburg.edu
On the cover:
On July 1, the Augsburg community welcomed Augsburg’s
11th first family—Paul and
Abigail Pribbenow, and their
children, Thomas and Maya.
Augsburg Now is published
quarterly by Augsburg College,
2211 Riverside Ave.,
Minneapolis, Minn., 55454.
Opinions expressed in Augsburg
Now do not necessarily reflect
official College policy.
ISSN 1058-1545
Send address corrections to:
Advancement Services
Augsburg College, CB 142
2211 Riverside Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55454
E-mail: now@augsburg.edu
Telephone: 612-330-1181
Fax: 612-330-1780
6121_Augsburg_AugsburgNow-Fall 06
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Page 3
18
Fall 2006
Contents
Features
Departments
12 Experience grounded in
2
Around the Quad
mission and vision: Paul
4 Sports
Pribbenow’s call to Augsburg
10 Supporting Augsburg—
by Bethany Bierman
Access to Excellence:
The Campaign for
18 Country Fresh Urban
Augsburg College
Renewal by Tim Dougherty
32 Alumni News
22 Making art and history in
France by Tara Sweeney
34 Class Notes
24 Making their mark in the
40 Views
lineup by Betsey Norgard
and
Calendar
28 Photographer’s pick—
some of the year’s favorites
by Stephen Geffre
22
30 A hands-on approach to
better health by Betsey Norgard
28
6121_Augsburg_AugsburgNow-Fall 06
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Page 4
AROUND THE QUAD
NEWSNOTES
Also elected as board officers
are: Dean Kopperud, vice chair;
Dan Anderson ’65, treasurer; and
Jackie Cherryhomes ’76, secretary.
In addition, Pribbenow has
announced the formation of a
Branding Committee, which will
work with materials as they are
developed to strengthen the
College’s position and image.
Promotion to professor
Andrew Aoki,
political
science
Vicki Olson,
education
The president’s
leadership teams
Congratulations, faculty!
Ted Grindal is elected
board chair
At its spring meeting on May 5,
the Augsburg Board of Regents
elected H. Theodore Grindal ’76
the new chair for a six-year term.
“My goal is to help the board
keep true to our vision and mission,” said Grindal, which
includes supporting the president and serving as ambassadors
to the community on behalf of
Augsburg. “If we do these things,
the College will continue to
move forward positively.”
President Paul Pribbenow has
formed two teams to help him
lead the College:
The President’s Cabinet will
be the primary administrative
decision-making body for the
College and includes the two special assistants, five vice presidents,
and chief information officer. (see
photo on p. 14)
The President’s Advisory
Group comprises a representative
group of Augsburg College faculty, staff, and students whose primary role is to convene regularly
on a one-year appointment to
advise the president on key institutional issues, to receive reports
on institution-wide projects and
initiatives, and to engage in an
ongoing conversation about
future opportunities and challenges related to institutional
planning and activity.
Editor’s note
After its first six years, Augsburg Now has received a makeover—
not extreme, but aiming to read more easily, look fresher, and
appear more contemporary with Augsburg’s other communications.
We’ve listened to your comments and hope that you enjoy the
new format for Around the Quad campus news and the Alumni
News/Class Notes. Our features aim to engage you in their remarkable stories and vibrant photography.
Please … write to us with your thoughts. Does Augsburg Now
read well? What changes or improvement should we still consider?
We’d love to hear from you.
2 AUGSBURG NOW
Tenure granted
Matthew
Haines,
mathematics
Augsburg advances in
college ranking
Mark Strefeler,
biology
Tenure granted and promotion
to associate professor
Beth
Alexander,
physician
assistant
studies
Eric
Buffalohead,
sociology and
American
Indian studies
Lars
Christiansen,
sociology
Nancy
Rodenborg,
social work
In U.S.News & World Report’s
2007 listings of America’s Best
Colleges, Augsburg is ranked
23rd in the category of “Master’s
Universities—Top Midwestern,”
an improvement of three places
from last year. For the full listings, go to www.usnews.com.
Augsburg is also named an
“Academic Program to Watch
For” in two categories—ServiceLearning and First-Year
Experience—and is the only
Minnesota private college in
either group.
Hoping for “I do” on
the Today show
WEC student Josh Linde and his
fiancé, Carrie Hortsch, are
among the seven finalists for a
wedding with all the trimmings,
courtesy of NBC’s Today. As they
tackle weekly competitions, their
fate is determined by viewer
votes, with one couple eliminated each week up to Sept. 20,
when the winner is announced.
Go to
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/130830
94/.
6121_AugsburgNow-Fall 06
9/14/06
Three learn
foodservice skills
In its third summer Culinary Job
Training program for the unemployed or underemployed, the
Campus Kitchen at Augsburg
College graduated three people
with newly-earned skills for the
foodservice industry. This year’s
eight-week program focused on
local food production in partnership with Ploughshare Farm (see
the story on p. 18).
Jessica Gaulke is
Aquatennial queen
On July 21, sociology major Jessica
Gaulke was crowned the 2007
Aquatennial Queen of the Lakes.
As ambassador, she will travel
throughout the region representing
the City of Minneapolis and receive
an educational scholarship.
RECENT GRANTS
$9,000 from the C. Charles
Jackson Foundation for a oneyear project to analyze and
develop leadership activities in
the co-curricular program.
$2,000 matching grant from the
Consulate General of Canada in
Minneapolis to purchase library
materials to support Canadian
Studies on campus.
$238,080 renewal of two-year
grant for Academic Fellows from
the U.S. Department of
Education to support summer
research of students who are
first-generation or low-income
college students working with
faculty mentors in preparation
for post-baccalaureate education.
10:57 AM
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$538,300 in grants from
National Science Foundation to
the Department of Physics to
support the collection of data
and study of Earth’s magnetosphere, or “space weather.”
$26,514 from the National
Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) to support the research of two physics
students who will carry out data
validation and scientific analysis
of magnetometer data from
NASA’s recently launched ST5
satellites.
$198,000 federal appropriation to
the StepUP Program to refine academic support services, to hire a
chemical dependency counselor
for student caseload relief, to
complete an outside program
evaluation, to develop standards
of practice, and a mentorship
program, and to write a history of
the program in book form.
Kids creating art on Riverside Avenue
Augsburg art faculty member Robert K. Tom, students from the Cedar Riverside Community School,
and volunteers from the Augsburg community have begun work on a project that will turn dour concrete walls at Augsburg’s 21st Avenue entrance into a ceramic bas-relief mural.
The mural is an outgrowth of the Cedar Riverside–Augsburg Pottery Cooperative, an ongoing partnership that Tom began with the Cedar Riverside Community School. Each week fifth- through
eighth-grade students from the largely Somali, Asian, and Hispanic neighborhood participate in
hands-on pottery and art workshops.
Starting in the fall, Augsburg volunteers and the students will create clay press moulds to be replicated over and over—moulds of icons and symbols that Tom says “represent their thoughts, values,
concerns, and/or inner beliefs.” They will be fired and placed in a radiant mandala pattern along the
220 square foot walls. In July, students in the CREATION summer arts program, sponsored by Trinity
Lutheran Congregation, enjoyed a four-day head start on the project.
This project recently won Tom a seed grant from Forecast Public Art, a Twin Cities-based organization
nationally recognized as a public
art resource, to carry out the
project through November. Tom
is currently seeking additional
funds for further continuation.
Tom said that he found regular
walks in the Cedar-Riverside
neighborhood to be the impetus
for a project to chisel away at the
“invisible barrier between the
Augsburg campus and the community of Cedar Avenue.” To
him it seemed that despite the
lively energy of the dense multiethnic neighborhood, “there
were two worlds existing sideby-side with little interaction.”
— Darcy Trunzo ’06
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AROUND THE QUAD
SPORTS
Campus mourns
longtime English
professor
Seven students receive
athletic honors
John Mitchell, who taught English
at Augsburg for 36 years, died on
Aug. 17 at the age of 66. A memorial service was held for him on
Sept. 8 in Hoversten Chapel.
Mitchell taught courses in
poetry, writing, and film.
Repeatedly, former students
remark that John Mitchell’s classes were among the most difficult
and the most memorable they
took. They describe his teaching
as challenging, engaging, enraging, inspiring, and influential. He
always found time for students
and took great effort to correct
and edit their papers.
His passion for film led to a
two-year sabbatical to study film
at San Francisco State University.
English department colleague
Robert Cowgill remembers that
when the Oak Street Cinema
opened, Mitchell often attracted
groups of people around him
after the shows who stood and
listened to hear his thoughts
about the films. On campus,
Mitchell was often seen with
clusters of students and colleagues, enjoying a conversation.
In 1996, Mitchell was devastated by the death of John
Engman, an Augsburg student
whom Mitchell had met in 1968,
during his first year of teaching
at the College. Following
Engman’s premature death,
Mitchell became the executor of
his literary estate and worked to
find a publisher for a manuscript
Engman left. This poetry collection, Temporary Help, was published by Holy Cow! Press and
was nominated for a Minnesota
Book Award in 1998.
4 AUGSBURG NOW
Augsburg College has awarded
seven seniors with its athletic
awards for accomplishment,
leadership, and character on the
playing field and in the classroom. Athletic awards are voted
on by coaches in Augsburg’s
men’s and women’s athletic
departments.
Augsburg mourns the death of English professor John Mitchell, who died in August.
Mitchell was born in Decatur,
Ala., and earned degrees from
Maryville College and the
University of Tennessee. He
met his wife, Jean, while they
both served in the Peace Corps
in Liberia.
For a number of years,
Mitchell was faculty adviser to
Murphy Square, Augsburg’s literary arts journal. Last year, in the
foreword to its 30th anniversary
edition, he wrote, “I get more
pleasure from being published in
Murphy Square than from a
nationally distributed magazine.
Why? Well, more people are
likely to read my work, people I
know and care about, and readers who will be more able to
construe it in terms of my
known local identity. To put it in
literary jargon, I have the chance
to be a public poet rather than
merely a private one.”
— Betsey Norgard
2005–06 Augsburg Honor
Athletes
Mitchell was also a frequent
contributor to Murphy Square.
This poem appears in the 1998
edition:
The Sound of Two Pie Pans
The brief little period when you
Are alive is more than enough
To make up for all the years
When you were giving yourself
Advice. How wonderful to
perspire,
To examine the back side of a
leaf,
To admire the angel worms
Gorged on their silk. You could
Walk for days sucking an orange.
You could write letters home
Without stopping to compose
Your face. Living is like banging
Two pie pans together at midnight
For the brief silence that precedes
The noise. No, living is not
anything
You can say. It’s an attitude
Of swanky delight, and the
absence
Of attitude, simple sleep at night.
Darren Ginther—Ginther, a
baseball third baseman and pitcher became one of the top hitters
in the region, earning All-MIAC
and All-Midwest Region honors
as well as ESPN The Magazine
academic honors. He was an economics and education studies
major and Dean’s List honoree.
Millie Suk—Suk was the only
women’s soccer player in MIAC
to earn All-MIAC first-team honors in all four years, and she set
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Augsburg career records for total
points and goals. A political science major, she graduated magna
cum laude.
tournament, earning his second
straight fourth-place national finish to earn All-American honors
for the second time.
Seven named to Athletic
Hall of Fame
Ryan Valek—A three-time AllAmerican wrestler, Valek was an
individual national runner-up
twice at 165 pounds. He earned
ESPN The Magazine academic
honors and National Wrestling
Coaches Association Division III
Scholar All-America honors.
Troy Deden—Deden transferred
to Augsburg from St. Mary’s and,
as a catcher, helped lead the
Auggie baseball team to the
MIAC playoffs in 2005. He also
played two years of football as a
quarterback and defensive back,
and was a special education
major at Augsburg.
Named to the 2006 class of the
Athletic Hall of Fame:
2005–06 Augsburg Athletes of
the Year
Tonnisha Bell—Bell became one
of the most decorated track and
field athletes in school history. A
sprinter, she finished her career
with five All-American honors
and qualified for every indoor
and outdoor NCAA championship meet during her Auggie
career—eight in total. Bell won
11 conference championships
and earned numerous conference
honors while setting six individual and two relay school records.
Seven alumni will be inducted
into the Augsburg Athletic Hall
of Fame during Homecoming
week at a dinner on Thurs.,
Sept. 28, in Christensen Center.
For information, contact the athletic office at 612-330-1249 or
bjorklus@augsburg.edu.
Chike Ochiagha—Ochiagha was
a defensive tackle on Augsburg’s
football team, earning conference
and Football Gazette honors. A
business and marketing major,
he earned Academic All-MIAC
honors, as well as football academic club honors twice.
Brad Tupa—An upper-weight
wrestler, Tupa battled injuries
during his career. He recovered
in his senior season to qualify for
the NCAA Division III national
Tom Hall ’85—Hall earned AllAmerica honors in wrestling four
times, including twice in the
1983 season in two different
national meets. In NCAA competition, he placed seventh in
1983, sixth in 1984, and fifth in
1985 at 142 pounds.
Steve Nelson ’78—Nelson
earned All-MIAC and NCAA AllAmerican honors as a leader and
center of the 1977-78 Augsburg
men’s hockey squad that captured
the NAIA national title—the
school’s first team national title.
John Nelson ’86—A two-time AllMIAC pitcher in baseball, Nelson
set an NCAA Division III singleseason record, which still stands,
with 15 complete games in 1986,
as the Auggies reached the NCAA
Division III Midwest Regional.
Wayne “Mick” Scholl ’86—
Scholl earned All-MIAC honors
in baseball in 1984 and 1986.
Peggy Meissner ’80—An
Augsburg Honor Athlete in
1980, Meissner competed in
both volleyball and softball, and
was part of an Auggie volleyball
squad that finished second at the
MAIAW state tournament in
1979, finishing 27-15-3.
— Don Stoner
Julie Stepan Flaskamp ’92—A
track and field athlete, Stepan
Flaskamp qualified for the NCAA
Division III national championships twice in the heptathlon,
earning All-American honors in
1992 with an eighth-place finish.
She earned Academic All-MIAC
honors and was named an
Augsburg Honor Athlete in 1992.
Kristi Ockuly ’95—Ockuly, an
outfielder and pitcher, earned
All-MIAC and All-Region honors
three times each in softball and
was named a Division III AllAmerican in 1995. She was an
Augsburg Honor Athlete in 1995.
For complete schedules, scores,
and information about Augsburg
athletics, go to
www.augsburg.edu/athletics.
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AROUND THE QUAD
Ages of Imagination
Augsburg College celebrates a new season
of leadership
October 18–21, 2006
Over four days in October, Augsburg College will celebrate the new leadership of President Paul
Pribbenow, as he is inaugurated into office around the themes of AGES—abundance, generosity,
engagement, and service.
Each day will focus on one of these themes in a variety of activities and events that involve the entire
Augsburg community on campus, in our neighborhood and city, and around the world.
The Inauguration Ceremony, open to the public, will take place on Fri., Oct. 20, at 2 p.m. in Melby
Hall, followed by a community celebration.
For major events, see the calendar on the inside back cover. For further information and the complete
calendar of events, go to www.augsburg.edu/inauguration.
Lutheran college choirs
celebrate F. Melius
Christiansen
The Augsburg Choir and four
other Minnesota Lutheran college
choirs will perform together in
two concerts on Sunday, Nov. 19,
to celebrate the living legacy of F.
Melius Christiansen, the “father”
of American a cappella singing.
Christiansen’s birth 135 years
ago will be commemorated by
Augsburg, Concordia-Moorhead,
Concordia University-St. Paul,
Gustavus Adolphus, and St. Olaf
in the first joint appearance by
these five ensembles representing
the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America (ELCA) and the
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
(LCMS). Each choir will perform
individually with their own conductor and as a combined choir
under the direction of guest conductor Kenneth Jennings, professor emeritus and former director
of the St. Olaf Choir.
Two identical anniversary concerts will be performed at
Slovakian baseball, Auggie style
For the seventh year, StepUP program director Patrice Salmeri coached in a baseball camp for youth in
Slovakia. Here, Jano and Lucia sport Auggie baseball t-shirts sent from the baseball team.
6 AUGSBURG NOW
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F. Melius Christiansen
Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis on
Nov. 19 at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
The concerts are sponsored by
the F. Melius Christiansen Star of
the North Festival Concert Series
affiliated with the American
Choral Directors Association
(ACDA) of Minnesota, and will
highlight the organization’s twoday annual fall convention program and benefit the F. Melius
Christiansen Endowed
Scholarship Fund that supports
continuing education and graduate studies of young and aspiring
choral directors in Minnesota.
Music to be performed at the
concerts will feature works of
F. Melius Christiansen, including
choral favorites of thousands of
choral concertgoers, such as
Beautiful Savior, Wake Awake,
O Day Full of Grace, Psalm 50,
Praise to the Lord The Almighty,
and Lost In The Night,
among others.
Born in Norway in 1871,
Christiansen came to the United
States at age 17. In 1892, he
attended a concert by the
Augsburg Quartet in Wisconsin
and was attracted to Augsburg
College, where he became a
quartet member.
In 1903 he accepted an appointment as director of the St. Olaf
College music program. He founded the St. Olaf Choir in 1911 and
directed it until 1941, becoming
internationally known for his
Sunday, Nov. 19, 2006
2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis, Minn.
Featuring the choirs of
Augsburg College
Concordia College–Moorhead
Concordia University–St. Paul
Gustavus Adolphus College
St. Olaf College
Ticket sales available May 1, 2006
Orchestra Hall Ticket Office: 612-371-5656
1871–1955
Proudly sponsored by the F. Melius Christiansen Endowment Committee
and the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) of Minnesota
135th Anniversary Festival Concerts
development of perfect intonation,
blend, diction, and phrasing. He
was succeeded by his son Olaf;
another son, Paul, taught for nearly 50 years at Concordia CollegeMoorhead. F. Melius Christiansen
died in 1955.
Welcome, GEMS and GISE
About 100 girls and—for the first time—35 boys from Minneapolis Public Schools in grades 4–12 spent
several weeks on campus studying monarch butterflies, building the Mars terrain, programming robots,
and learning the chemistry of cosmetics. The GEMS (Girls in Engineering, Mathematics, and Science) and
new GISE (Guys in Science and Engineering) programs involve Augsburg students and former GEMS students as mentors.
For additional concert information go to www.fmcendowment.org. All seats are reserved;
tickets are available through the
Orchestra Hall box office (1-800292-4141 or 612-371-5656).
The Frame years in print
Published by Lutheran
University Press, with a preface
by ELCA presiding bishop
Mark Hanson ’68
$24.95
Available at the Augsburg
College Bookstore
612-330-1521
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AROUND THE QUAD
Dan Jorgensen retires to teaching—for now
Retirement for Dan Jorgensen, Augsburg’s public relations director
since 2000 and special assistant to President Frame for the past year,
is all relative. During this fall semester, he’ll still be commuting from
Northfield, but to a classroom instead of an office.
He has taught a journalism course in Weekend College for the past
five years, and in September he’ll teach it both in the day and weekend
programs—plus, teach a public relations course in both programs.
Much of Jorgensen’s tenure as public relations director focused on
raising the visibility of Augsburg in both the local and national media.
“I feel like we became more of a ‘player’ in terms of which institutions should be contacted when media sources were searching for
across-the-board responses to different educational questions,”
Jorgensen says. He recalls an editor of the Chronicle of Higher
Education telling him that Augsburg and President Frame were the
first who came to mind from small liberal arts colleges when planning a national forum on college presidencies.
Jorgensen also enjoyed seeing more faculty included as key
resources in the media—faculty who “took on a willingness to be
called upon,” he says. “That sort of cooperative spirit exemplifies the
overall ‘can do’ spirit of the institution. I loved that.”
For his retirement outside of teaching, he has several writing projects waiting, especially a novel about the Black Hills of South Dakota.
He and his wife, Susan, have first-hand experience living there and
have been collecting information for many years. He has also been
asked by his publisher for additional youth sports novels.
8 AUGSBURG NOW
Herald Johnson—Augsburg’s first financial
aid officer—retires after 37 years
When he came as a freshman in 1961, Herald Johnson ’68 probably
had no clue he would still be at Augsburg in 2006.
He stayed on to become an admissions counselor, but moved into
financial aid when new federal programs required administrative
oversight. In the 37 years since, he has served as a pioneer, leader,
and mentor among Minnesota financial aid officers.
One of Johnson’s legacies at Augsburg is the Enrollment Center. He
and Julie Olson, vice president for enrollment management, played
important roles in the concept development and implementation of
bringing several financial aid and enrollment offices together in a
one-stop shop for students.
He is the only person to have been twice elected president of the
Minnesota Association of Financial Aid Administrators (MAFAA). He
is proud of the Futures Task Force he created with his charge to past
presidents: “I want you to look at our association with critical eyes
and see if we’re poised for what you see coming down the road.”
His retirement plans include a fair amount of work, but his four
children and seven grandchildren are top priority. “The kids are my
friends,” Johnson says—“it’s really cool.” Their gift to him is a trip to
Norway to meet relatives and explore his heritage—a longtime dream.
He’ll continue as a consultant at Augsburg with the Scholastic
Connections program, the Scholarship Brunch, and with government
relations concerning financial aid issues in 2007.
He mentions that among his pleasures at Augsburg was hiring student workers and following their careers as they assume leadership
positions both at Augsburg and around the state.
At the end of his notice of thanks following a retirement celebration, Johnson wrote, “As we Norwegians say, ‘Mange tusen tak.’”
— Betsey Norgard
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American Indian Studies—
a cultural commitment
Augsburg’s newest department
makes a bold statement for the
College—about commitment,
about culture, and about heritage.
After being offered as a minor and
major for a number of years, the
faculty approved the creation of
an American Indian Studies
Department, headed by Associate
Professor Eric Buffalohead.
The new department models
Augsburg’s mission to serve diverse
populations, says Buffalohead, and
it signals to students, parents, and
the community that it’s permanent
and a great choice for a major—
and not just a selection of courses
that may change.
The number of students in the
program has been growing, and
they are beginning to shift from
Native to non-Native students.
American Indian Studies is a valuable major, second major, or minor
for students who are preparing for
work with human services—in
business, health care, education,
youth and family ministry, etc.
“AIS courses and skills are
transferable,” Buffalohead says,
“to law, politics, service—it’s
about cultural understanding.”
Since the program is small,
students often take several courses
with the same professor. For
native students, the program also
serves as a safety net where they
can relate to faculty and staff.
The department works closely
with Augsburg’s American Indian
Student Services program.
This multidisciplinary department includes courses in history,
literature, religion, film, women’s
studies, and special topics. The
faculty seek opportunities to
build in experiential opportunities, such as learning in the community, internships, and study
abroad. Next winter, Assistant
Professor Elise Marubbio will
M. Elise Marubbio and Eric Buffalohead are
two of the faculty in Augsburg’s new
American Indian Studies Department.
lead a travel program to
Guatemala, focusing on indigenous issues of the Mayan people.
Film has become a focus in the
AIS program. For three years, the
College has sponsored the
Augsburg Native American Film
Series, which screens documentary films, often with the filmmaker present to lead discussion.
It also provides a venue for selections from other film festivals,
and links to Augsburg’s
Indigenous Filmmakers course.
Buffalohead says that
Augsburg’s American Indian
Studies Department seeks to
excel as a regional center for the
study of Indians in the Upper
Midwest. Students can study one
year of Ojibwe language on campus, with the possibility of a second year of study.
Buffalohead’s experience in
American Indian Studies dates
back to age five, when his father
became the first chair of the
American Indian Studies
Department at the University of
Minnesota, and Eric would visit
his office. After earning academic
degrees in anthropology, he also
taught at the university, which he
considers to have been good
training for Augsburg’s new
department.
For information on American
Indian Studies, contact Eric
Buffalohead at
buffaloe@augsburg.edu or go to
www.augsburg.edu/ais.
— Betsey Norgard
Killing the Indian Maiden:
Images of Native American Women in Film
by M. Elise Marubbio
Native American women have been
characterized as various figures in
film for over 100 years. None,
however, has intrigued Elise
Marubbio more than the young
Native woman who falls in love or
is connected with a white hero and
dies for this choice.
Marubbio’s book, Killing the
Indian Maiden: Images of Native
American Women in Film, will be
published in December by the
University Press of Kentucky. The
book analyzes 34 A-list Hollywood
films, from the silent era to the present, to analyze the depictions of
women and the themes and myths that are played out.
The book stems from her dissertation and unites her various areas
of interest—she has degrees in fine arts/photography, American
Indian Studies, and cultural studies. It is the first in-depth study in
this area and is important for film studies, women’s studies, cultural
studies, and American Indian studies.
Marubbio researched film archives at the Museum of Modern Art
in New York, the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., the
Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles, and
the Cecil B. DeMille Archives at Brigham Young University. A dissertation fellowship from the American Association of University
Women gave her time to write.
What she found, she says, is that “over a 90-year period this figure
emerged in premier films in various forms as either the Princess or
Sexualized Maiden, figures through whose body national themes of
colonialism, violence toward women of color, and feats of interracial
mixing are played out.
“All the films reinforce American myths of the frontier, Manifest
Destiny, and the ideal of Anglo-European America’s pre-modernization innocence through this image,” Marubbio says.
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AROUND THE QUAD
Renewing Old Main—
heritage of place,
spirit of space
SUPPORTING
AUGSBURG
Over the top at
$55 million
A 500-ton crane has begun to set the precast concrete walls on the poured footings for
On June 27, a celebration was
held in Christensen Center as
the star was moved across the
$55 million figure and the goal
was reached in Access to
Excellence: The Campaign for
Augsburg College.
“We are here to celebrate
achievements in the capital campaign that started six years ago
with a $55 million goal,” said
Tracy Elftmann, vice president
for institutional advancement.
She reported an exact total of
$55,009,761 received to date.
Retiring president William
Frame commented that this
could not have been achieved
without everyone’s participation.
He described vocation as “living
so that you create community,”
and this accomplishment could
not have happened unless
Augsburg is becoming “something called ‘community.’”
President Paul Pribbenow
wrote in a memo to the
Augsburg community in July, “As
called for in our original campaign plan, we are continuing to
raise funds for all Access to
Excellence campaign projects
(Kennedy, Gateway, and science
facilities, along with our endowment) through the end of the
2006 calendar year. And we are
preparing to celebrate this
10 AUGSBURG NOW
the new Oren Gateway Center. The completion date is set for fall 2007. Watch the
progress on the webcam at www.augsburg.edu/campaign/gateway/construction.html.
Construction is moving quickly on the Kennedy Sports and Recreation Complex in Melby
Hall. The structure is up, new bleachers have been installed, and anticipated completion is
January 2007.
remarkable achievement during
the upcoming academic year.”
He further explained that
although the total goal was reached,
funding for the science building
was not completed, in part due to
dramatically higher construction
and transportation costs.
Pribbenow has identified the
science building as one of his top
priorities, and says that “with
anticipation and momentum we
will now redouble and refocus our
efforts to raise funds to see the
completion of the science project.”
Construction began on the
Kennedy Sports and Recreation
Complex in Melby Hall in May,
and on the Oren Gateway Center
in July.
— Betsey Norgard
A gift of $1 million has been given
by Norman and Evangeline
(Vangie) Hagfors for the renovation
of Old Main and a potential home
for the Center for Faith and
Learning. Both Norman and Vangie
enjoy longtime connections to
Augsburg through the Lutheran
Free Church. With this gift they
honor both the physical and theological heart of the Lutheran Free
Church as well as the renewed
spiritual vitality of the College,
guided by its Center for Faith and
Learning.
The renovated chapel in Old
Main will be named for Vangie’s
father, Rev. Elnar Gundale, who
graduated from Augsburg College
in 1933 and Augsburg Seminary in
1937. For more than 50 years,
across four states, he served LFC
churches and was the oldest living
LFC pastor at the time of his death.
From her childhood memories, Vangie recalls visits to their
homes during the summers from
the Augsburg Men’s Quartets.
“Their proclamation of the
Gospel as Augsburg ambassadors,” says Vangie, “made a very
positive impression on the youth
of the churches they visited, as
well as their parents, who supported the school.”
Three of Vangie’s siblings followed their father’s footsteps to
Augsburg. Vangie also attended the
College as part of her nurse’s training at Lutheran Deaconess
Hospital. She remembers her class
of 32 nurses walking across
Franklin Avenue to Augsburg
where they studied mostly science.
Among other activities on campus,
she attended chapel in Old Main.
Norman Hagfors has been a
member of Augsburg’s Board of
Regents for more than twelve years,
including serving as vice chairman
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Above: The chapel in Old Mail will be restored and named for alumnus Rev. Elnar
Gundale, ’33, ’37 Sem.
Left: Vangie and Norman Hagfors
and chairing committees. “I have
enjoyed watching the College grow
in stature both as an educational
institution and in spiritual vitality,”
he says. He gives much credit to
President Emeritus William Frame
who, he says, “really pushed the
spiritual aspects of developing one’s
life—not only at Augsburg, but as
a spokesman to other colleges.”
Norman graduated from the
University of Minnesota in electrical engineering when biomedical
engineering was in its infancy,
and worked in medical research,
authored many papers, and
received a number of patents for
his inventions. He also played a
part in several “start up” medical
device companies that brought
implantable cardiac pacemakers
and neurological devices for the
treatment of chronic pain to the
medical community.
Norman and Vangie Hagfors
have chosen to support the renovation of Old Main not only
because of its physical significance in the history of the school,
but because it embodies the spiri-
tual foundation and concepts on
which Augsburg was founded.
Their hope is that the renovation
will give support, emphasis, and
inspiration to the spiritual life of
the school and its students.
Norman and Vangie have two
married children and seven
grandchildren.
— Betsey Norgard
The Center for Faith and Learning
As the Old Main Chapel stands in the center of the campus,
Augsburg’s new Center for Faith and Learning lies at the heart of
Augsburg’s educational mission. Four years ago, Augsburg received
its first grant from the Lilly Endowment for “Exploring Our Gifts,”
helping students, faculty, and staff attend to their called lives of
service. When the Lilly grants conclude in 2010, Augsburg’s Center
for Faith and Learning will continue to embed and extend
Augsburg’s leadership in vocation.
A focal point in the Center for Faith and Learning is Augsburg’s
first endowed chair, named for former Augsburg president and
scholar Bernhard M. Christensen. In September 2005, retired Luther
Seminary president and theologian David Tiede was inaugurated as
the Bernhard M. Christensen Professor in Religion and Vocation.
In his inauguration speech, Tiede explained the Center for Faith
and Learning: “The purpose of the center is to guide the College in
the theological exploration of vocation as understood within the
Lutheran tradition. It will provide resources to faculty, staff, and students that enable them to organize faith and learning within a vocational framework.”
The center is also building external partnerships to study faith
and learning in the community. One example is faith@work!, a
partnership with St. Philip the Deacon Church in Plymouth, Minn.
This speaker series presents community leaders who provide examples and tools for living faith-based lives. (See information on the
speakers and dates in the calendar on the inside back cover.)
A $1 million gift from Norman and Vangie Hagfors will help renovate Augsburg’s
oldest building.
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Experience grounded in mission and vision:
Paul Pribbenow’s call
to Augsburg
BY BETHANY BIERMAN
12 AUGSBURG NOW
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“Hip, hip, hooray!” Thomas exclaimed, his right arm pumping in triumph. He had just been told his family’s picture would be on the cover
of a magazine.
“Wow, how about that!” replied his mother, as she brushed sand off his
little sister Maya’s knees.
I
ndeed, it is a time for celebrating at Augsburg, as the
Pribbenow family settles into Minneapolis and the Augsburg
House. Not since Bernhard Christensen’s presidency, which
began in 1938, has Augsburg’s first family included young children. Paul Pribbenow and his wife, Abigail, and their children,
Thomas (5) and Maya (2), quickly have acclimated to the Augsburg
community.
On July 1, 2006, Pribbenow became the 11th president of
Augsburg College, a position that colleagues close to him have
known was his dream—to become the president of a Lutheran college. To that dream he brought a proven track record of success—
from fundraising to developing mission and vision and from teaching
to handling senior management issues.
In announcing his Augsburg appointment to the Rockford College
community, which he had served as president since 2002, Pribbenow
stated, “The leadership opportunity at Augsburg College is a once-ina-lifetime chance to take the best of what I have learned at Rockford
College, with its commitments to liberal arts and civic engagement in
the city, and link that experience with a connection to the Lutheran
Church, which is my personal faith tradition.”
Over the months since his appointment, Pribbenow’s entry into the
Augsburg community, through an unusual shared transition with
retiring president William Frame, has seemed quite natural—as if it
had been in the making for a long time.
Son of a pastor
Paul Pribbenow was born in Decorah, Iowa, during his father’s senior
year at Luther College. The young family moved to St. Paul where his
father attended seminary, then moved to a small town near Tomah,
Wis., where his father’s ministry began.
The eldest of six children, Pribbenow spent most of his youth in
small towns around Madison. His family moved to Iowa during his
ninth-grade year, and he graduated from high school in Denver, Iowa,
near Waverly. Pribbenow graduated magna cum laude from Luther
College in three years, with a B.A. in sociology and political science.
“My first couple of years at Luther, I thought I would go to seminary,” Pribbenow recalls. Halfway through his third year, however, he
admitted to one of his religion professors, “I love the study of religion, but I don’t feel called to be a minister.” The professor suggested
looking into the Divinity School at the University of Chicago where
he could engage the questions that interested him without specifically
preparing for the ministry. Pribbenow entered the Divinity School in
1978 and spent the next 18 years in the Chicago area.
“I went from never living in a big city to living on the south side of
Chicago. If I have a place that I call home, it’s probably Chicago.”
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The call begins
Starting graduate school, Pribbenow felt his primary interest would be in
teaching religion and ethics. Along the way, however, he began to focus
his interests on the ethics and management of not-for-profit organizations.
“I learned that in American society, non-profits are one of the
important ways we live out our social ethic,” Pribbenow says. “I
became intrigued by how organizations are managed and what link
that has to how effective they are in helping society live out its social
ethic. If there’s a problem in the way a college or museum is run,
that’s going to have an impact on how well the institution will live
out its mission and values.” Pribbenow began to understand these
issues as examples of the need for reflective practice—linking learning with action.
In order to practice what he preached, he took a job in fundraising
at the university after receiving his M.A. in divinity. “I started up the
administrative ladder, along the way I taught and had chances to
write, but I never left the practice of administration. I started practicing what I studied and what I cared about. That was my calling.”
The lines connect
The President’s Cabinet (L to R) Leif Anderson, chief information officer; Barbara
Edwards Farley, vice president of academic affairs and dean of the College; Ann
Garvey, vice president of student affairs and dean of students; Tom Morgan, senior
vice president and special assistant; President Pribbenow; Tracy Elftmann, vice president for institutional advancement; Julie Olson, vice president of enrollment management; Dick Adamson, vice president for finance and adminstration; and Gaye Lindfors,
senior vice president and special assistant.
14 AUGSBURG NOW
It was in these early years working at the University of Chicago that
Pribbenow started to realize even more clearly the connection
between his various interests—higher education, management, and
ethics—and that he might have both the skills and commitment to be
a college president.
In 1993, Pribbenow was named vice president for institutional
advancement at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago—an
assignment that helped him gain valuable experience in leading a
complex (and sometimes unpredictable!) organization.
At the Art Institute he also met his future wife, Abigail, then a
graduate student in the school’s arts administration program, when
she interviewed with him for a job in event planning for the school.
Paul and Abigail were on their honeymoon when the call from
Wabash College came. After many years of living in the Windy City,
the two packed up and headed to Crawfordsville, Ind., for a six-year
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Abigail at a
glance
adventure where Paul served as dean for college advancement, secretary of the Board of Trustees, and research fellow in the liberal arts.
A taste of the ministry
While working at Wabash, Pribbenow got a call from the ELCA
Indiana-Kentucky Synod bishop, saying, “‘There is a little SwedishLutheran church down the road from you in Attica, Ind., that has lost
its pastor and can’t afford a full-time pastor. I was wondering if you’d
take an interim assignment to serve them for six months, just to help?’”
“I actually think he mistook me for my father,” Pribbenow chuckles. When he told the bishop he wasn’t ordained, the bishop
responded that he would license him for the roles that would require
ordination. “What was originally a short-term assignment turned into
a three-year stint as interim pastor,” says Pribbenow.
The Pribbenows moved to Rockford, Ill., on Easter Weekend 2002
for the start of Pribbenow’s presidency at Rockford College. After the
couple and their son, Thomas, whom they adopted in Vietnam in
2001, made the Saturday trip from Central Indiana to Illinois with
two heavily packed vehicles, Pribbenow turned around to make the
five-hour trip back to Indiana so that he could preside at his last
service the next morning—on Easter Sunday.
“My work as interim pastor in Attica was a valuable experience for
a new college president. It taught me some very important lessons
about loving a congregation, preaching the lectionary, and presiding
over congregational meetings—all activities that closely parallel the
work of leading a college.”
The Rockford years
Pribbenow became the 16th president of Rockford College at an
extremely important point. Critics at the time of his arrival described
the four-year, independent college founded in 1847 as lacking in focus,
and there were financial challenges that required immediate attention.
In his four years at Rockford, Pribbenow led the campus community in a strategic long-range planning process that refocused on the
liberal arts, launched new degree programs, renewed its commitment
Abigail Crampton Pribbenow
grew up in Flossmoor, Ill., outside of Chicago. She spent her
junior year of high school as an
exchange student in France and
two subsequent years at the
United World College–USA in
New Mexico. She went on to
earn a bachelor’s degree in
anthropology from the
University of Chicago and a
Master of Arts in arts administration from the School of the
Art Institute of Chicago.
Dance has always been a keen interest for Abigail. While growing
up, she studied classical ballet and in college learned modern dance
and choreography. Combining her experience as a dancer and her
administrative skills, Abigail’s professional work includes working in
not-for-profit management at the Chicago Dance Coalition, the
School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Wabash College, and the
International School of Indiana. While preparing to adopt Thomas,
she returned to teaching dance to children in Crawfordsville, Ind.
Abigail has fully immersed herself in the life of each college and
community in which she and Paul have lived, including serving as
president of the Rockford Area Arts Council, church council member,
board member for the Easter Seals Children’s Development Center,
and host of the biannual women in the arts festival at Rockford
College. Among her many accomplishments, she co-founded the Jelly
Bean Ball, a family-friendly fundraiser for Easter Seals. She looks forward to finding her niche in the Augsburg community.
Abigail anticipates much entertaining and relationship building in
the next several months and expects her largest challenge to be figuring out when to integrate the children into these activities. For
now, she’s glad to have figured out routes to the farmer’s markets
and local parks. Thomas and Maya seem glad about this, too.
to civic engagement, and engineered a provocative and attentiongrabbing branding campaign that played off of the image of the institution’s most famous alumna, Jane Addams, social reformer and the
1931 Nobel Peace Prize recipient.
The Pribbenow family also received the blessing of a daughter while
in Rockford when they adopted Maya in Chongqing, China, in 2004.
The call to Augsburg
When approached by the search consultant in 2005 about applying
for the vacancy at Augsburg, Pribbenow was intrigued. He and
Abigail knew Bill and Anne Frame through their work on a vocation
project with the Council of Independent Colleges.
“It was a call to a place that clearly is working to be faithful to its
church tradition while also seeking to be faithful to its educational
and civic engagement traditions,” says Pribbenow. “I’ve spent my
entire career in non-sectarian places. … I’ve learned some valuable
lessons about what it means to be faithful in the world, and I know
those are lessons that will inform my work at Augsburg.”
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Augsburg College—
the first-year initiatives
One College
Based on the College’s mission that embraces the liberal arts, faith
and values, life in the city, and diversity, the Augsburg community
will engage in conversations that explore how all the curricular,
co-curricular, administrative, and public work at Augsburg is
grounded in the College’s singular mission and vision. Wherever it
is found—in Minneapolis, Rochester, or around the world at its
Center for Global Education sites—and whomever it teaches—traditional undergraduates or adult learners—and whatever it teaches—the traditional liberal arts or professional studies—how is
Augsburg known as one college, dedicated to the same abiding
values and aspirations?
The Augsburg Promise—Experience and Image
Based on the one college conversations, the Augsburg community
will examine the promises it makes to students, faculty, staff,
alumni, its neighborhood, and the wider world. We will consider
how well we keep our promises in the daily work of the College.
We then will explore how the Augsburg community can do an
even better job of keeping its promises, talking to each other
about those promises, and then illustrating to the world what the
Augsburg brand is all about.
Common Work at Augsburg
The Augsburg community also will examine its organizational
life—how it’s governed, who’s involved in leadership and decisionmaking, and what voices are heard (or not) in its daily life. Based
on this examination, the College will develop an organizational
structure that deploys resources responsibly and is accountable.
Based on our common work of educating students, we also will
seek to offer all members of the Augsburg community the opportunities to nurture and sustain their callings.
Science at Augsburg
As a college community, we will explore what it means to educate
students in the sciences at Augsburg, within the context of the
College’s mission—dedicated to our rich tradition of excellence in
teaching and research, as well as to our commitments to scientific
literacy and responsibility. Based on our findings, we will plan curricular and co-curricular programs, public outreach, and facilities
appropriate to our highest aspirations for science education at
Augsburg. A central feature of this project will be the re-launching
of fundraising efforts for new science facilities at Augsburg.
— Paul Pribbenow
16 AUGSBURG NOW
Pribbenow did have hesitations about leaving Rockford. “I didn’t
feel as though I’d been there long enough, and there were many
issues still to be addressed.”
He was encouraged to speak with Jean Taylor, chair of the
Augsburg Board of Regents. “She listened carefully, and at the end of
our conversation she said, ‘I think you’ve got to do what Augsburg
has taught me—you’ve just got to listen.’ That was very insightful
and critical to my decision to seek the Augsburg presidency.”
It was a call to which he and Abigail couldn’t say “no.”
A remarkable fit
In his letter to the Augsburg search committee, Pribbenow spelled
out why this opportunity seemed such a remarkable fit for his leadership and experience.
To him leadership must also be understood as stewardship. He is
committed to the role of a collaborative leader who has a “responsibility to help the college community ‘pay attention’ to its most deeply
held values and priorities so that all gifts are well used.” This
includes a uniting of the campus community in shared vision, as well
as in varying forms of hospitality that engage the campus with its
urban neighbors.
Pribbenow wrote that his own deeply held sense of personal vocation builds on Martin Luther’s view of education that creates people of
“wondrous ability, subsequently fit for everything.” A college that helps
students discover this ability must in itself be a mission-driven and
integrated institution, so that all students in all programs “are chal-
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lenged and shaped by [a] vision to link education with engagement.”
Pribbenow went on to write that he is “committed to the idea that
colleges—and especially church-related colleges—are uniquely situated to help students of all ages to listen for and hear their own calls,
to find their vocations for life and service in the world.” As an ethicist
he has examined professional work in society and understands how
significantly reflective thinking (linking learning and experience) and
personal faith affect public well-being.
As he begins his Augsburg presidency, Pribbenow finds Augsburg
and Rockford colleges very similar in their commitments to civic
engagement. “I am here because of that commitment to educating students for democracy, and I intend to make it an even more important
focal point. Augsburg should be known for what it does in civic
engagement. … We need to say to the world, ‘Look at what we’re
doing and why we’re doing it. There are important lessons about faithful life in the world that are being taught and practiced at Augsburg.’”
The key difference between the colleges, he says, is of course the
connection to the church. “The role at Augsburg of Lutheran faith
and human religious experience shapes the education of students and
defines a central aspect of our identity as a college,” Pribbenow states.
“I need to have a different lens to the way I look at issues that I didn’t
in a non-sectarian institution. That’s an energizing and meaningful
aspect of the work ahead of us.”
The plan
Pribbenow’s initiatives for his first year at Augsburg all point to action
(see the sidebar on the opposite page). “We need to take the good
vision work that’s been done during the Frame presidency and translate it into organizational activity and image so that people will look
at Augsburg and say, ‘I see what this college cares about.’”
When asked what he hopes the headlines will read when he retires,
Pribbenow answers, “I do hope we’ll be here until I retire, and when
I’m ready to step down that the community will have the same affection and love that people had for Bill and Anne, because we were
faithful to what this college is called to do. … I hope the headlines
will read that I helped Augsburg to be even more faithful to its calling, and that as a result, this little college stands as a 21st-century
model for faithful and responsible liberal arts education in a city.”
As far as Thomas and Maya’s plans, they seem content to be getting
to know their new hometown. When asked his favorite thing about
Minneapolis, Thomas answered, “The Mall of America! On the log
ride, there’s this big guy with an axe. He’s GI-NORMOUS!”
Without a doubt, Augsburg seems to be on the cusp of some pretty
“gi-normous” opportunities as well. Ⅵ
5
things you may
not know about
Paul Pribbenow:
1.
He writes his own version of
a “blog,” known as Notes for
the Reflective Practitioner.
2.
He sang professionally for 13
years in Chicago. (His father
and he both sang for Weston
Noble at Luther.)
3.
He doesn’t eat red meat or
lutefisk. (Perhaps the latter
has to do with his first job
cleaning out the lutefisk tub
in the Stoughton, Wis.,
grocery store cooler.)
4.
While it’s true that his mentor
and dissertation adviser Martin
Marty wears a bow tie, it wasn’t
until years after learning to tie
them for the many black tie
affairs he attended at the Art
Institute of Chicago that he
decided to adopt the look on a
daily basis.
5.
In his car stereo you’ll find
National Public Radio, the
Mars Hill tapes (conversations on Christianity and
modern culture), choral
music, or Raffi (children’s
musician and entertainer).
To learn more about Augsburg’s mission and vision and to read
President Pribbenow’s speeches, go to www.augsburg.edu/president.
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Country
Fresh U
BY TIM DOUGHERTY
very Thursday during the growing season, Campus Kitchen
student intern Melanie Opay returns to campus around 5:30
p.m., her head barely visible above the white produce boxes
stuffing her car. Teeming with delicacies from rutabagas to
radishes and kale to kohlrabi, these bountiful boxes are
courtesy of Gary Brever’s Ploughshare Farm, a family-owned organic
farm in Parker’s Prairie, Minn. Brever’s parents, Jeanie and DeWayne,
deliver the veggies each week to drop-off sites in Alexandria, St.
Cloud, and the Twin Cities, delighting urban dwellers who have
increasingly searched for more freshness in their summer diets.
Brever is a small-business owner and entrepreneur just as much as
an organic farmer, and has carved a niche for his farm in the growing
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) movement. In the CSA
model, individuals and families purchase a “share” of the harvest at
the beginning of the growing season in exchange for a weekly box of
vegetables from mid-June to early October. Typically, paying customers receive the produce themselves, but Brever has augmented his
market by allowing people or congregations to purchase shares and
donate them to hunger organizations like the Campus Kitchen at
Augsburg College (CKAC).
For the past three summers, these white produce boxes have
formed the food foundation for Augsburg’s Campus Kitchen—a student-driven food recycling organization. Volunteers use this produce
along with surplus food from Sodexho’s campus dining services and
local food banks to prepare nutritious, free meals for residents in
neighboring community programs. The premise has always been simple: there is far too much good food going to landfills and far too
many agencies that can’t afford to buy food for their hungry clients.
By recycling food and empowering students to prepare meals and share
them with immigrant youth, the homeless, and homebound elders,
CKAC uses food as a tool to engage students in the community, to reduce
the amount of discarded campus food, and to forge bonds in Augsburg’s
neighborhood through the universal language of a shared meal.
E
Ploughshare Farm’s Gary Brever spreads
hay to mulch the tomato beds for weed
control and moisture.
18 AUGSBURG NOW
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Urban Renewal
With the addition of Brever’s organic, locally-grown produce,
CKAC has begun to build programs that can better nourish clients
with an array of ingredients infinitely fresher than grocery store fare.
At the same time, the programs redefine stewardship by supporting
local farmers and they educate youth about dietary choices that can
simultaneously heal both the earth and their bodies.
Above: Campus Kitchen culinary job
Taste the difference
trainee Kenny Peterson chops lettuce fresh
For the Campus Kitchen, the quality of freshness is staggering. Each
week, the menu for clients is set according to the contents in those
boxes, an adventurous undertaking in and of itself. “Working with
local produce has been an exciting challenge,” says Opay. “I get to
work with food I’ve never used before, which has been a great learn-
from Ploughshare Farm.
Below: Campus Kitchen volunteer Trish
Hannah leads the youth in the Jump Start
program through cooking techniques.
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ing experience and a lot of fun. Plus, our clients love the results!”
That’s because the results are often worthy of an epicurean’s table:
dishes such as arugula salad with shaved fennel and marinated chioggia beets or southern-style collards and cabbage. These meals are
then delivered, served, and shared with the community by Augsburg
students, staff, and alumni.
In addition, each week’s harvest is so bountiful that CKAC can
share full boxes of fresh produce with the Brian Coyle Center food
shelf. In the heart of the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, this community food shelf primarily serves East-African immigrants, a population
that prefers to prepare meals from scratch and spurns the canned
goods and highly processed foods that usually fill food shelves.
Brever, like the Campus Kitchen, believes that true community
health can begin with what people have on their dinner plates.
Having spent a few years on a Catholic Worker farm in Washington
state, he was well accustomed to the corn-syrup-laden, preservativerich foods typical of food shelves. While these foods may fill bellies,
they do little to build health.
Brever also saw the preponderance of these products as a good
indicator of the shortcomings embodied by our industrial food system, where—according to Francis Moore Lappé and Anna Lappé in
their book Hope’s Edge—about half of a typical grocery store’s more
than 30,000 items are produced by 10 multinational food and beverage companies.
A rural Minnesotan by birth, Brever knew the effect this homogenized system has on the fabric of rural farming communities and the
20 AUGSBURG NOW
relative lack of nutritive value provided by these preserved foods.
Longing for an alternative, he envisioned a system where small, family
farmers could thrive while even the urban poor could gain access to
fresh, responsibly grown produce. In short, everyone deserves food
grown with care, harvested at peak ripeness, and made into meals
that nourish the body and sustain the mind.
Redefining stewardship
Brever saw the CSA model as the answer. By offering people the
opportunity to donate locally-grown produce, he felt he could help
farms like his to earn a living wage while getting more healthy food
options to urban populations who lack access to such luxury. “At its
core, it’s about relationship,” says Brever. “How are we supporting the
farmers and the communities that grow our food?” In an increasingly
complicated world, it’s no longer enough to merely feed people. We
must also take into account how that food is grown and prepared
while weighing the environmental and economic realities we’re supporting with our food decisions.
The model has been hugely successful, as church congregations
and individual donors love the idea of enriching the urban community
while helping small farms succeed. In Brever’s words, feeding the
hungry is “no longer just about charity. Now, it’s also about change.”
At Augsburg, the Campus Kitchen has been helping to usher in
those changes. Thanks to a generous donation from St. Martin’s
Table, the local restaurant and social-justice bookstore, CKAC is
embarking on its third summer of vegetables from Ploughshare Farm.
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In addition to preparing meals for clients, the produce is now being
leveraged to educate youth about the health benefits of a diverse diet,
and the power we have to effect change with something as simple as
our eating habits.
Project C.H.O.I.C.E.S
Few tactics succeed when it comes to getting kids to taste new vegetables. Unless, of course, you involve them in the cooking process.
Each week, CKAC volunteer Trish Hannah leads a cooking class with
11- to 14-year-old participants in the Brian Coyle Center’s Jump Start
program. Seasonal dishes such as a strawberry, spinach, and grilled
asparagus salad that would have originally garnered a cacophonous
chorus of “eew” and “boo” are suddenly finding a receptive audience
in these young culinarians.
Project C.H.O.I.C.E.S (Community Health Originates in Creating
Environmental Sustainability) is a curriculum devised by Hannah in
conjunction with CKAC and Jennifer Tacheny, coordinator of
Celeste’s Dream Community Garden Project. Its goal is to awaken the
power in students to choose health for their bodies and the earth.
Through cooking classes using local produce, it seeks to teach youth
the full cycle of food—from the field to the table to the compost
bin—while empowering them to choose respect. It means the choice
to respect their bodies with healthy, tasty food that was grown in a
responsible manner and as close to home as possible. And the choice
to respect their neighborhoods and backyards by picking up litter
and composting food waste. Using the common denominator of food,
the curriculum hopes to teach self-sufficiency and empower these
youth to cultivate healthy, responsible lifestyles.
Honoring the full cycle
Brever can’t think of a better outlet for his produce. “So many nonprofits are forced to measure their impact in pounds of food. Just as
it’s hard to measure the intangible nutritional and environmental values of buying local and organic produce, you can’t measure the intangible value of sharing a meal with someone,” he says. “Not only does
the Campus Kitchen share my food with people in Minneapolis, it
also uses it as a teaching tool for empowerment.”
And the Campus Kitchen can’t think of a better direction to be heading, helping to better their urban backyard while supporting the work
of organic farmers in Minnesota. With the success of the Ploughshare
Farm partnership and the positive impact of programs like Project
C.H.O.I.C.E.S., the Campus Kitchen at Augsburg College hopes to
expand its programs to involve more local growers and to take clients
on field trips to the farms that make the meals possible. It could also
lead to the creation of a local community garden where clients get their
own chance to participate first-hand in the full cycle of food.
Through the Campus Kitchen, Augsburg is redefining what it
means to be a good urban neighbor and, simultaneously, support
rural communities. With such tasty food arriving by the boxful, it’s
becoming easy to build bridges to the heart through the belly. Ⅵ
Former Campus Kitchen coordinator Tim
Dougherty pounds in the staking lines for
organic heirloom tomatoes.
Tim Dougherty is the community and civic engagement student coordinator in the Center for Service, Work, and Learning. He formerly was
the coordinator of the Campus Kitchen at Augsburg College.
Augsburg Campus Kitchen volunteer
Melanie Opay heaves boxes of produce
from Ploughshare Farm into her car.
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S
Making art
and history
in
France
BY TARA SWEENEY
Above: From left, Augburg students John
Leibfried, Patrick Wendel, and Joe Trenary
greet the locals in Espeyrac, France.
Right: Augsburg pilgrims cross the old
bridge into Estaing, France.
22 AUGSBURG NOW
o, how was France?” is the usual question. “Good. Great,” is
the typical answer that satisfies a polite inquiry. The real
answer takes a little longer.
“What’s the first word of the rule?” my colleague, [Professor]
Phil Adamo, asks, and not for the first time. “Listen,” the students chime in unison, just as the old man in the beret hobbles up the
tiny cobblestone passageway that Espeyrac, this hamlet in southern
France, calls a street. It’s not easy to upstage Phil Adamo, but this
Frenchman’s hound dog doesn’t know any better. The students have forgotten about The Rule of St. Benedict. The traditional French greeting—
kiss-kiss-kiss—seems more the order of the day as they hand out eager
caresses to this tail-wagging, sweet-talking, show stealer of a dog.
They have come here with us to learn plein air drawing and to
study the religious experience of medieval France as a paired shortterm study abroad experience, May 14–June 4. Before they return to
Minnesota they will make a four-day pilgrimage, visit monasteries,
cathedrals, walled towns, museums, and a papal palace to earn two
credits and satisfy the critical thinking (CT) and liberal arts foundation (LAF) graduation requirements.
Class begins wherever 15 students can listen to the history professor
read a passage from a 1500-year-old text on monastic practice, and
the art professor read from John Ruskin’s Elements of Drawing in
Three Letters to Beginners. Yesterday it was below Le Pont Vieux in
Espalion, one of three communities on this pilgrimage with the muchdeserved designation of “les plus beaux villages de France.” The day
before it was beside the River Lot in equally picturesque Estaing.
My colleague reminds me daily that this collaboration in experiential
teaching and learning is work. Each day’s sweat, constant thirst, and
aching body parts are real enough. So are the pain of blisters, the weight
of packs, and our labored breath as we follow our capable local guide,
Laurent Riou, up another steep ascent of mud and rock. Each night we
sleep in a new family-run hotel after dining on traditional local fare at
long communal tables. We hear little English other than our own as we
walk village to village on the centuries-old pilgrimage road, le Chemin de
St. Jacques de Compostelle, with pilgrims from around the world. Some
will continue the entire summer, across the Pyrenees into northern Spain,
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Class in France begins wherever history
professor Phil Adamo finds enough
room to gather students and read the
day’s passage from The Rule of St.
Benedict.
and all the way to Santiago in the
west, to receive the official pilgrim’s
passport and a chance to have their
sins forgiven. Some, like us, are walking just a few days.
We have many things to teach;
what students learn depends on the
site visit and their willingness to try.
Each keeps a daily sketchbook/journal that integrates personal reflection with history and art assignments.
Reading from The Rule of St. Benedict is Phil’s structure for teaching
the principles of monastic community, an important aspect of medieval
religious practice. Students don’t simply hear about how silence helped
monks to listen deeply. They are expected to practice it. They do so,
awkwardly at first, for a short time as they enter Église de Perse, the
Romanesque chapel of Saint Hilarian, built on the site where the
Muslims supposedly beheaded him in the eighth century. Eventually,
they practice silence for what seems like an eternity, from sundown to
sunup, in preparation for a visit to the monastery, St. Martin du
Canigou, perched a half-day’s hike up the foothills of the snow-capped
Pyrenees. In the end, they are willingly silent beside the rushing alpine
waters of Vernet-les-Bains, embracing experiential learning at its best.
My structure for teaching plein air drawing is demonstration and practice, and practice, and practice—the medieval master/apprentice model.
Students are expected to draw at least two hours per day. For some this
is daunting at first. We stop and draw together wherever the inspiration
and pauses of travel make it possible. They learn that this kind of drawing can happen all day, any day. This means that a rest from the midday
hiking heat finds these vibrant young people sketching in the shade
along the trail. Curious fellow pilgrims pause to enjoy the view and cheer
them on. Augsburg’s students are natural goodwill ambassadors.
Our pilgrimage ends in Conques, where we receive the pilgrim’s
blessing at Abbaye de St. Foye, the patron saint of the blind and the
imprisoned, and hear Phil read the gospel of John. We pick up our
pace and continue to the restored, walled city of Carcassonne and
hear about heretics; take a dip in the Mediterranean Sea at Collioure;
and visit the papal palace at Avignon. The last full week of the course
is spent in the “city of lights” where we are surprised and thrilled to
Art professor Tara Sweeney sketches plein
air with student Cassandra Roschen on the
outskirts of Sénergues, France.
hear students wishing for more pilgrimage and less Paris.
So what was France really like? The syllabi promised we’d unravel
the mysteries of critical thinking and blind contours, learn how to
read history, and make plein air drawings. We walked a very long
way together to do all that. But if we can’t tell you the best thing that
happened in France it’s probably because it’s still happening. In
studying to understand the past, in sketching what remains of it, we
have learned to listen, to see deeply, and most importantly, to be fully
present. Transformation is like that. Go ahead, ask. Ⅵ
Tara Sweeney is assistant professor of art. Phil Adamo is assistant professor of history.
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MAKING THEIR MARK
BY BETSEY NORGARD
Nancy Steblay and her student researchers
in the lineup
have partnered with
Hennepin County police
officers to research, apply, and test
changes in police lineups to reduce the
chances of convicting innocent people.
24 AUGSBURG NOW
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n the past 14 years, 183
people have been exonerated from crimes they
did not commit, but for
which they were convicted and for which they may have
spent a decade or more in prison.
In 75% of these DNA-exoneration cases, the primary evidence
leading to their conviction was a
witness who identified them as
the perpetrator of a crime.
Only after development of DNA
technology that could positively
match evidence to a person—or
exonerate that person—did the
law enforcement community realize the depth of the eyewitness
problem in the legal system.
The social impact of a witness
identifying the wrong person in a
lineup is significant. Not only can
it send an innocent person to
prison, but it also allows the real
criminal to remain uncaught.
In the late 1980s, when psychology professor Nancy Steblay
began reading the early research
describing simple changes in lineup procedures that could reduce
the rate of false identifications,
she became intrigued. Trained as
a behavioral scientist, she saw in
this an ideal application of laboratory research and theory. “There’s
so much we could add, we could
say, about how to understand
human memory in the legal
process,” says Steblay.
What the early psychology
research offered, she says, is only
probabilistic—laboratory research
I
Psychology students have created research
projects to examine procedures used by law
officers in police lineups and to test them in
field projects. Student researchers include
Psychology professor Nancy Steblay has studied police lineups for more than 15 years and
helps students develop research that addresses problems with eyewitness identifications.
helps to estimate the likelihood
that certain events, like eyewitness fallibility, will occur. What
the legal system needs at trial,
however, is certainty about a specific case. Did something affect
this particular witness’ memory
in this particular case?
The goal of recent lineup
research, says Steblay, is to fix
the eyewitness problem before it
reaches the courts. “We need to
develop the procedures that
make certain that memory, like
all trace evidence, is not contaminated,” she says. In other words,
when a person is on trial for a
crime for which he/she has been
identified by a witness, the legal
system needs to know that this
identification is accurate, that the
eyewitness evidence is sound.
(L to R) Brenna Johnson ’07, Amanda Brey
’08, and Robert Tix ’07.
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6121_Augsburg_AugsburgNow-Fall 06
Tackling the problem
By the late 1990s, the Department
of Justice could no longer ignore
the fact that increasing numbers of
people were being proven innocent after wrongful convictions,
even by well-meaning law
enforcement officials and eyewitnesses who thought they were
doing everything by the book.
In 1999, Attorney General
Janet Reno brought together
early researchers who had been
focusing on lineup procedures
and produced an in-depth study
of their research with recommendations for improving the system. It gave visibility and awareness to the problem and options
for improving the protocol.
Augsburg’s psychology department did not have a laboratory
at that time, so Steblay was
unable to carry out any lab
research. However, what she
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could do was to produce metaanalyses, or comprehensive
reviews and syntheses of all
existing research around a particular issue or question that provide a “grand picture.” These
studies prove extremely useful
for researchers and policy makers studying the questions.
In 2001, Steblay’s meta-analysis on sequential vs. simultaneous lineups caught the attention
of Gary Wells, an Iowa State psychology professor and pioneer in
lineup research, who was trying
to encourage lineup reform
across the country.
What Wells advocated, and
Steblay’s meta-analysis confirmed,
is that the rate of false identification is lowered when the lineup
subjects, usually shown in photos,
are presented to the witness one
at a time, rather than all at once.
There is less tendency for wit-
nesses to compare one to the
other instead of to their memory
of the perpetrator.
A further procedural change
that Wells recommended was a
“double-blind” lineup, where the
law officer or person administering the lineup does not know
which person, if any, in the lineup is the suspect.
When the psychology department gained a small lab, Steblay
was able to involve students in
her research. As part of the
advanced research seminar she
taught, students could create
spin-offs of her research and
could run subjects in the lab.
To develop better research
capabilities, Steblay needed some
tools—a laptop simulation of a
crime and a lineup to show lab
subjects. The technical concept
came from IT staff person Bill
Jones, and the material came
from film professor Deb
Redmond’s video production
class. “It became the students’
assignment—to shoot a crime,
and then to help me construct
the lineup,” says Steblay. “And
they did a beautiful job.”
Hennepin County attorney Amy Klobuchar
(left) and psychology professor Nancy
Steblay (right) recently co-authored an
article that reports on the success of the
Hennepin County lineup project.
26 AUGSBURG NOW
Joining with law
officers
In 2003 Hennepin County in
Minnesota initiated a year-long
pilot project to test new sequential, double-blind lineup procedures. County attorney Amy
Klobuchar spearheaded the
study, involving four police jurisdictions—two urban
(Minneapolis and Bloomington)
and two suburban (Minnetonka
and New Hope)—after hearing
Wells speak about the need for
lineup reform.
Steblay joined the pilot project
as the data analyst, supported by
a two-year grant from the
National Institute of Justice
(NIJ). The grant paid for her
time to pull and run data from
the 280 lineups in the pilot project, and to run several analog
laboratory projects testing questions that arose. One such question was “Does it make a difference if a witness goes through
the sequential lineup photos
more than once?”
“Questions came up in the
field and we tested them in the
laboratory,” Steblay says. “Now I
can bring the two together and
say, ‘This is how we should run
lineups in the field based on
what we know now.’”
NIJ found Steblay’s project compelling because it united police
practice and laboratory research,
Steblay says. It was a field study
on the cutting edge of national
discussions, and no field data had
been collected previously.
Steblay and Klobuchar were
two of the three co-authors for a
recent article in the Cardozo
Public Law, Policy and Ethics
Journal that reported on the success of the Hennepin County
project. The authors wrote that
“analysis of the data and anecdotal responses from the participating police agencies led to the
conclusion that the new protocol
is both efficient to implement
and effective in reducing the
potential for misidentifications.”
In a press release issued by the
Innocence Project, co-director
Barry Scheck called the study
6121_Augsburg_AugsburgNow-Fall 06
“the first to use scientifically
valid research techniques to evaluate the eyewitness identification
reform in the field—in a ‘real
world’ application, rather than
an academic setting.”
Getting students
involved
The lineup research has been a
great opportunity for students to
learn about the research process.
Even before a psychology lab
existed, students co-authored the
meta-analyses with Steblay. With
the lab, dozens of students over
the years have developed their
own research questions as well
as aided Steblay with her studies.
The NIJ grant added more
opportunity. Students helped to
produce a more professional laptop video “crime scene,” to run
pilots to clarify the instructions,
and to make sure the procedures
ran accurately.
“The benefit of this kind of
research is that students can
grasp it readily and contribute
enormously. Even though the
eyewitness research is complex
and sometimes confusing in its
entirety, at its surface it’s easy to
understand what we’re trying to
do,” says Steblay.
“Students seem to enjoy the
connection to the national lineup
reform effort, as when I say,
‘Well, we’re doing this in
Hennepin County,’ or ‘I went to
Chicago and talked about that,’
or ‘the Los Angeles Police
Department called me yesterday
with this question,’” she says.
“They realize this is not just
some practice exercise—this
really counts.”
With the current popularity of
television crime shows attracting
more students to forensics,
Augsburg launched a concentration in psychology and law.
Steblay’s psychology and law class
has always been popular, and she
says that while students start out
with forensic clinical interests from
TV, the class helps them see the
broader range of opportunities.
Augsburg is one of the few
schools that offers psychology
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Page 29
and law at the undergraduate
level. Steblay feels that the
research helps prepare students
who may be intimidated by the
prospects of graduate school
research.
“I think they get a sense of,
‘Yes, I can do this,” says Steblay.
“Once you get on top of the
research, there’s no end to the
number of research questions
and directions to go.”
A good example is 2005 psychology graduate Hannah
Dietrich. She was awarded the
2006 Best Undergraduate Paper
award from the Psychology-Law
Society for her senior honors
research project on sex offenders,
which began with an internship
at the Minnesota Bureau of
Criminal Apprehension. She’s
currently studying for a master’s
degree at the University of
Colorado-Colorado Springs.
Senior psychology major Shannon Ryan, one of 60 students selected to present their
Presenting the
findings
Since the completion of Hennepin
County’s pilot project, Steblay has
presented the findings at a number of conferences across the
country. Her phone has also been
ringing more with questions and
contacts about the research since
publication of the study.
She is now completing the final
data analysis and report for the
NIJ grant, and preparing to train
in a new batch of students to start
the next generation of research in
Augsburg’s “crime” lab.
“The people I work with—the
homicide investigators, the attorneys—help keep me in touch
with how this plays out in the
real world, and the kinds of
adjustments I need to make in
the lab to try to capture that in a
better and more authentic way,”
Steblay says. “And the students
help keep me very much in
touch with what a real witness
would experience.” Ⅵ
research on Capitol Hill, has been part of Nancy Steblay’s research that is supported
by a National Institute of Justice grant.
Shannon Ryan takes lineups
to Washington
Shannon Ryan ’07 was among 60 students selected nationally to
present their research at the Council on Undergraduate Research’s
Posters on the Hill session in Washington, D.C.
in April.
Ryan’s research examines procedural guidelines for gathering
eyewitness evidence in police lineups and how witness memory is
affected by lineup structure and format. Her poster, “BlindSequential Police Lineups: A Test of Revised Procedure” compared
the number of eyewitness false identifications in two different formats, and was the only poster representing the social sciences.
While in Washington, Ryan and Professor Nancy Steblay, her
research adviser, visited with U.S. Rep. Martin Sabo and Rep. Betty
McCollum to explain the research.
Ryan will carry on the lineup research for her senior honors
project, and then continue in either a psychology and law or criminal justice graduate program.
During the summer, she worked in the McNair program at the
University of Minnesota on a project about the over-reporting of
voting behavior, with Christopher Uggen, Distinguished McKnight
Professor and chair of the sociology department.
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Left: Very Special Arts (VSA) day brings
children with mental and physical disabilities to the Augsburg campus where they
are treated to dancing, music-making,
music performances, and more by the
Music Therapy department.
Right: Members of The Remnant Gospel
Choir sing at the annual Martin Luther King
Jr. convocation, sponsored by the PanAfrikan Center. The 2006 speaker was
Dr. Bernard LaFayette Jr., SNCC co-founder
and director of nonviolent and peace studies at the University of Rhode Island.
Below: The tables on the balcony of
Christensen Center are distorted by raindrops clinging to the windows during a
Photographer’s pick—
September rain storm.
some of the year’s favorites
PHOTOS AND TEXT BY STEPHEN GEFFRE
From the thousands of photos
staff photographer Stephen Geffre took during 2005–06, he selected these photos
that give beauty and meaning to life at Augsburg.
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Left: Trevor Tweeten ’06 sits in front of a
video installation piece that was part of his
senior filmmaking show. Tweeten is the
first graduate of Augsburg’s new film major.
Above: Helping to clean up the Soap
Factory art gallery was one of the many
AugSem projects first-year students undertook on the first day of class in September.
The gallery is housed in a former soapmaking factory in the St. Anthony Main area
of Minneapolis, and “is dedicated to the
production, presentation, and promotion of
emerging contemporary practice across the
visual arts.” (Soap Factory website)
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A hands-on
approach to
better health
BY BETSEY NORGARD
r. Bruce
Cunningham ’77
talks about having
one additional trick
in the bag of medical
tricks he offers patients in his
practice.
Cunningham is a doctor of
osteopathic medicine, or DO,
and has been practicing in
Woodbury, Minn., for 21 years.
For the last 12 years he has been
a family practice physician at the
MinnHealth Clinic.
The “trick” he calls on is
manipulation, the core of osteopathic medicine. Osteopaths
examine the interrelationship
and functioning of the body’s
musculoskeletal system—nerves,
muscles, and bones—to understand disease and its causes. It’s
literally a hands-on approach
with patients as he physically
manipulates or adjusts their
D
With his left hand, Dr. Bruce Cunningham
searches for a lesion in the patient’s back
where manipulation will help his condition.
30 AUGSBURG NOW
joints, muscles, tendons, etc. that
may be injured or impaired.
“It’s not for everybody or every
problem,” Cunningham says, “but
it can be effective in a number of
common disorders—backaches,
headaches, sleep disorder. It’s a
nice tool to be able to pull out.”
In his practice, he shares some
of his patients with his MD partners—the patients come to him
specifically for certain things
because he’s an osteopath. “It’s a
very good holistic approach to
care; many MDs have a similar
approach, but very few have the
training where they can actually
do the manipulations that help
people immediately.”
“So there are reasons why we’re
a bit different,” Cunningham
says. “But if someone comes in
with appendicitis, I’m going to
treat it in exactly the same way as
my very capable MD partners.”
He says that 80–90% of what he
does is “very mainline.”
The medical training is essentially the same for both the “allopathic,” or traditional physicians,
and osteopathic physicians—four
years of medical school, at least
three years of residency, and certifying exams administered by
different bodies.
Osteopathic students have extra
study in the musculoskeletal system, including two years of lab
work. “You’re learning on other
students, and then you’re picking
on your family and friends to do
some of the manipulation,” he
says. “So there’s a better understanding of how the body works
and how to interact with it.”
Cunningham is a faculty member at the University of Minnesota
and two osteopathic colleges—
Des Moines University College of
Osteopathic Medicine and
LECOM-Bradenton College—and
enjoys working with third-year
osteopathic students, who must
spend eight weeks in rotation to
learn primary care.
“I teach both allopathic and
osteopathic students, and there’s
a big difference. … The osteopathic student is always more
comfortable touching the patient
and getting close, and doing a
number of the musculoskeletal
exams we have to do.”
Cunningham explains that
osteopathic physicians are different
than chiropractors, who also treat
patients with physical manipulation, but are not medical doctors.
Chiropractic focus is on the nervous system, while osteopathy
trains doctors to look at the body’s
functioning in more depth.
Osteopathic physicians have
not always been accepted as
equals in the medical profession.
Minnesota did not offer full practice rights to DOs until 1963; the
last state to do so was Louisiana,
just two years ago.
Currently there are about
56,000 osteopaths in the U.S.
who make up about six percent
of all physicians. In Minnesota
that figure is about 300, and
they practice across the state, traditionally serving in smaller
communities, but now increasingly in large healthcare systems
and at Mayo Clinic.
Cunningham says that osteopathic medicine is “growing by
leaps and bounds,” and that
within two or three years,
approximately 20% of all medical students will be pursuing
osteopathy. Currently they study
at 23 osteopathic medical
schools, most of which are private institutions. Because they’re
not affiliated with large hospitals,
osteopathic students tend to
travel and spread out more for
their rotations.
Four additional colleges of
osteopathic medicine are actively
on the drawing board, says
Cunningham, who has served on
the national committee that
approves new training schools.
In Minnesota Cunningham has
enjoyed being part of a team of
DOs who visit every college in
the state once a year to talk to
students about osteopathic medicine. “It’s really fun,” he says,
because “the idea that you can
learn to touch your patients and
to take a more natural approach
to some of their ailments is very
exciting to pre-med students.”
6121_Augsburg_AugsburgNow-Fall 06
Osteopaths can pursue any
specialty, although most are in
family practice. Cunningham
says that research is becoming an
important new endeavor in
osteopathy. “I’ve just had a student who finished his PhD while
he was on rotation with me and
he’s doing oncology research,
some really exciting work in it.”
The choice between traditional
medical programs and osteopathy must be a personal one for
the student, Cunningham says.
First they have to know they
have a choice, and then some
will go the osteopathic route as
they become excited by the
approach osteopathy offers to
concentrate on treating the person and not just the disease.
Cunningham’s own vocational
route was not so direct. When he
was not accepted at first into
medical school, he took graduate
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Page 33
courses at the University of
Minnesota and worked in a hospital. After trying a year at law
school, it was a fellow classmate,
John Ronning ’77, now a physician in St. Cloud, who suggested
osteopathy. When Cunningham
learned more about it, he
applied, and went on to Des
Moines University College of
Osteopathic Medicine.
He says he owes a lot to the
profession, since it was while on
his internship in Grand Rapids,
Mich., where he met his wife.
He has served twice as president of the Minnesota Osteopathic
Medical Society, and has been
active on committees within the
profession, including the
National Board of Osteopathic
Medical Examiners.
Cunningham credits Augsburg
with a good preparation for leadership and service. He attended col-
lege as a commuter student to save
money, but was welcomed by the
residents and even kept a sleeping
bag in the corner. He served as
student body vice president, and
remains best friends with Ron
Robinson, who was president.
“The student leadership and
the opportunities Augsburg gave
me to be in that role were really
great testing grounds for what
I’ve gone on to accomplish in
medicine,” Cunningham says. He
encourages all students to take
advantage of leadership opportunities during their college years.
Cunningham says he loves
being involved in the politics of
medicine. This should keep him
active as osteopathic medicine
keeps growing and offers additional tricks in the doctor’s bag
for health and wellness. Ⅵ
For over 20 years Dr. Bruce Cunningham
’77 has brought the additional perspectives
from osteopathic medicine to his clinical
practice.
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ALUMNI NEWS
From the Alumni
Board president …
When I attended Augsburg in the
MAL program from 1993-1996, I
often thought of Augsburg as a diamond—many facets, one beautiful
gem of a college. Serving on the
board of directors of the Augsburg
Alumni Association over the last
few years has offered me many different and wonder-filled views of
Augsburg, yet I come back to the
same thought—many facets, one
beautiful gem of a college.
As another school year begins,
the cycle it brings is also the same
and different. Augsburg is about its
same calling—offering a transformative education rooted in vocation and service—while embracing
new presidential leadership.
Healthy expressions of excitement,
concern, joy, and challenge are evident every day I visit or speak
with someone on campus.
Augsburg is very alive! And well!
I encourage you to participate
in this cycle of life at Augsburg
through your Alumni Association.
The association remains committed to its purpose: “…to support
and serve Augsburg College in its
stated mission and to promote
interest and involvement of the
membership in Augsburg College
and in the association.” And there
is something new, too: the
Alumni Association has restruc-
32 AUGSBURG NOW
tured itself and its activities, and
has prepared itself to be a
stronger partner with the College.
I invite you to (re)connect
with Augsburg and your Alumni
Association:
• Attend events. Take advantage
of the many interesting and
meaningful activities available to
alumni. These include the inauguration of our new president,
music and theatre, athletics,
Velkommen Jul and Advent
Vespers, Homecoming, alumni
gatherings, and conferences.
This year’s alumni events also
will include volunteering with
Habitat for Humanity and the
Campus Kitchen, as well as the
Master of Arts in Leadership’s
20th anniversary celebration.
• Visit the campuses. Yes, that’s
plural! Augsburg now has at
least five campuses: ‘traditional’
day school, weekend, graduate,
Rochester, and overseas. Look
up former professors and mentors, shop at the bookstore,
and see the dramatic changes
that are occurring at Si Melby
and Gateway and planned for
the Science building. You
could even come back to
Augsburg for another degree!
• Stay in touch. We want to hear
from you and we want to be able
to contact you! Register for the
Augsburg Online Community
(www.augsburg.edu/alumni,
then click on Augsburg Online
Community) and let us know
what you are doing. Remember
to update your profile, and
look for your friends and
classmates. You can also use
the form on page 39 to submit
information, or e-mail it to
alumni@augsburg.edu.
• Contact us. Let us know how
you would like to be involved
with the College and fellow
alumni. You can reach me by
e-mail at bvornbrock@gmail.com
or through the Online
Community. You can also contact us through Alumni
Relations by phone at 612330-1085 or 1-800-260-6590,
by e-mail at alumni@augsburg.edu or in writing
(Campus Box 146, 2211
Riverside Ave., Minneapolis,
MN 55454).
I look forward to seeing you at
Homecoming.
Barry Vornbrock, ’96 MAL
President, Augsburg Alumni
Association
Homecoming 2006—September 25–30
“Watch Us Soar”
Highlights of Homecoming Week
Please note that not all activities are on campus. For a complete listing and information, go to www.augsburg.edu or call 612-330-1085.
September 25
4:30-6 p.m.
Intl. Student Organization reception
September 26
11 a.m.–2 p.m.
6:30 p.m.
7:00 p.m.
Counseling and Health Promotion Annual Fair
Alumni Baseball Game
Powder Puff Football
September 27
10:30 a.m.
Augsburg Associates Annual Fall Luncheon—
speaker, Abigail Pribbenow
September 28
5:30–8:30 p.m.
5:30–8:30 p.m.
Education Dept. Open House
Athletic Hall of Fame Banquet
September 29
9 a.m.
10–11 a.m.
12:30–2 p.m.
2:15 p.m.
4–5:30 p.m.
5–7 p.m.
5:30–7:30 p.m.
7 p.m.
7:30 p.m.
1956 Reunion Celebration
Homecoming Chapel
Homecoming Luncheon
Campus Tour
English Alumni/ae Reunion and Reading
Pan-Afrikan Alumni Reception
Metro-Urban Studies 35th Anniversary
Homecoming Variety Show
Men’s soccer game vs. Macalester College
September 30
10 a.m.
10–11:30 a.m.
11 a.m.
11 a.m.
11 a.m.–noon
11 a.m.–1 p.m.
1–3 p.m.
3–7 p.m.
1966 Class Reunion
Political Science Dept. 40th Anniversary
1981 Class Reunion
Young Alumni Reunion (1990–2006)
Campus Tour
Picnic in the Park
Football Game vs. Concordia College-Moorhead
Auggie Block Party
6121_Augsburg_AugsburgNow-Fall 06
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(Front row, L to R) Karen Oelschlager ’66, Donna Amidon, Linda Holt, Karen Johnson ’66,
Cathy Holmberg ’64, Joyce Pfaff ’65, Nancy Roemer, Janet Roemer ’79, Andy Song.
(Row two, L to R) Larry Turner ’69, Lynn Kielas, Colleen Johnson ’60, Margaret Fogelberg,
Doug Pfaff, Connie Bagenstos, Marie Sandbo ’65. (Row three, L to R) Florence Borman
’54, Joyce Young ’64, Donna Pederson, Sue McQuire ’70, Sue Turner, Lana Donald,
Mike Holmberg ’64, Lee Johnson, Donna Torgeson, Joan Dehn, Matt Young.
(Back row, L to R) Dennes Borman ’57, Louis Dehn, David Pederson ’70, Tom McQuire,
Jim Donald ’63, Brad Holt ’63, Hans Sandbo ’63
Centennial Singers perform in the Twin Cities
The Centennial Singers, a male chorus of Augsburg alumni and
friends, will present a series of concerts this fall in the greater
Twin Cities area.
The chorus was formed in the early 1990s of former Augsburg
Quartet members to revive and continue singing the gospel quartet
tradition. Since then, they have toured to Norway twice and to the
Southwest U.S.
Fall Concerts/Appearances:
Sat., Sep. 30, 7 p.m.
Vinji Lutheran Church, Willmar
China: A visit to the Great Hall
Thirty alumni and friends of the College, hosted by assistant alumni
director Donna Torgeson and faculty members Brad (’63) and Linda
Holt, toured China for two weeks in May. The tour featured the history, culture, and scenic beauty of China, and included a visit to the
Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City; a boat cruise
down the Yangtze River past the Three Rivers Dam project; an
evening at the opera; and many other historical stops. The experience
took travelers from Beijing to the international city of Shanghai. In
addition to visiting the famous sites of China, the group enjoyed an
educational opportunity to explore the religions of China with visits
to several temples and churches.
Sun., Oct. 1, 4 p.m.
Central Lutheran Church, Elk River
Sat., Oct. 7, 7 p.m.
Oak Grove Presbyterian Church, Bloomington
Sun., Oct. 8, 4 p.m.
Crystal Free Church, New Hope
Sat., Oct. 14, 7:30 p.m.
Gethsemane Lutheran Church, Hopkins
Sun., Oct. 15, 4 p.m.
Faith Lutheran Church, Coon Rapids
Sat., Oct. 28, 7 p.m.
Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church, Prior Lake
Join the Augsburg Online Community
It’s designed just for you—
• Keep in touch with classmates
• Find out what’s happening on campus
• Send class notes about what you’re doing
• Change/update your address and e-mail
• Update your profile so others can find you
• Make an online gift to Augsburg
It’s fast and easy. Already, more than 500 alumni have registered.
Simply go to www.augsburg.edu/alumni—have you signed up?
If you have questions, e-mail healyk@augsburg.edu.
Sun., Oct. 29, 2 p.m.
House of Prayer Lutheran Church, Richfield
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CLASS NOTES
1950
1951
1957
Rev. Raynard Huglen ’53 Sem,
Rev. Herbert C. Hanson, Forest
Stan Baker, Raleigh, N.C., pro-
Newfolden, Minn., has published
a book, The Race Before Us, a
collection of writings from his
27-year tenure as editor of The
Lutheran Ambassador, the publication of the Association of Free
Lutheran Congregations. His
book is available through
Ambassador Publications of the
AFLC, in Minneapolis.
City, Iowa, was presented the
Golden Hammer award by
Habitat for Humanity in North
Iowa and the Volunteer of the
Year award for 2005 by the Forest
City Chamber of Commerce for
his volunteer work for Habitat for
Humanity. In April, he celebrated
his 80th birthday.
fessor of counselor education at
North Carolina State University
in Raleigh, was recognized as one
of the 100 Distinguished Alumni
during the centennial celebration
in May of the University of
Minnesota’s College of Education
and Human Development. He
received a Master of Arts degree
in personnel and guidance work
from there in 1963.
Auggie Reunion
Marshall Johnson, Brooklyn
Center, Minn., has completed 60
articles for The New Interpreter’s
Dictionary of the Bible, forthcoming from Abingdon Press.
Virgil Vagle, Paynesville, Minn.,
was inducted into the Minnesota
State High School League Hall of
Fame in May. He has coached football and wrestling at Paynesville
Area High School for 70 seasons
combined and held the state record
for most career coaching victories
in wrestling from 1997–2004.
1963
1970
Carolyn E. Johnson, Placentia,
Bonnie (Christopherson) Feig,
Starkville, Miss., has been teaching social studies at Starkville
High School for 16 years. During
that time, she has been named
the state’s outstanding social
studies teacher by the Mississippi
Historical Society, the district’s
Star Teacher (chosen by the high
school’s Star Student), the
Starkville Teacher of the Year for
2005–06, and the American
History Teacher of the Year by
the Mississippi Chapter of the
Daughters of the American
Revolution. Her husband,
Douglas ’68, teaches political
science at Mississippi State
University in Starkville.
Calif., received a grant from
Rotary International to teach for
one semester at the University of
Belize in Belize City, starting in
February 2007. She will also
work with the Women’s Issues
Network in Belize. Contact her at
cjohnson@fullerton.edu.
1965
Peter Jacobson, Paynesville,
Six roommates/housemates who graduated in 1967 celebrated their 25th consecutive annual
reunion in August 2005. They all have been teachers at some point in their careers. (Back
row, L to R) Gloria Lamprecht, Sue (Overholt) Hampe, Pat (Rupp) Rossing, Phyllis
(Stradtman) Krieg; (Front row, L to R) Ruth Ann (Gjerde) Fitzke, Ardell (Arends) Lommen.
34 AUGSBURG NOW
John K. Luoma, Stow, Ohio,
recently saw the re-publication
of his case study on the Anglican
divine Richard Hooker in the
Journal for Case Teaching
(2004–05). It was recognized as
one of the outstanding cases in
the Association for Case
Teaching archives.
Minn., and his wife, Lynne, were
honored as Distinguished
Alumni of the Paynesville Area
High School. They have been the
publishers of the Paynesville
Press since 1973, when they
took it over from her father, who
had succeeded his father as well.
In June they became semi-retired
when their son, Michael, took
over as publisher/editor.
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Rev. Kathryn Schreitmueller,
Green Bay, Wis., has been named
pastor of Resurrection Lutheran
Church, after serving for 20
months as interim pastor of Peace
Lutheran Church in Oshkosh.
She teaches liturgy and worship
at the Eastern Lay School of
Ministry and has led students to
work for Habitat for Humanity.
1991
Jennie (Clark) Anderson, Park
Lisa Dietz, Golden Valley, Minn.,
was selected as one of the artists
for the Minnesota State Arts
Board’s second annual Art of
Recovery exhibit, April through
June. Her work included a
poem, an essay, and textile art.
Rapids, Minn., is the new owner
and innkeeper of the Red Bridge
Inn in Park Rapids.
www.redbridgeinn.com
Christine Halvorson, Hancock,
1977
Sharon (Johnson) Sullivan, San
Ron Housley, Santa Maria,
Jose, Calif., was honored by the
Junior League of San Jose as one
of the City of San Jose’s
Outstanding Volunteers for 2006.
She received her honor at the
37th Volunteer Recognition
Luncheon on April 28. She was
nominated by The Tech Museum
of Innovation for her dedication,
compassion, and action.
Calif., is in rehearsal with The
Kingsmen Alumni Corps, a
group of musicians who formerly
were members of The Anaheim
Kingsmen Jr. Drum and Bugle
Corps, for the 2007 Summer
Music Games. Recently, his
arrangement of “Eternal Father,
Strong to Save,” was chosen for
inclusion in the book of The
Kingsmen Alumni Corps.
1975
Craig Olsen (deceased) was
inducted posthumously in April
into the Oregon Chapter of the
National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
During his career he coached high
school teams in Minnesota and
Oregon, and at Pacific University
and University of MinnesotaMorris. He died of cancer in 2004.
1981
N.H., has entered the business of
corporate blogging as a consultant to companies wishing to join
the blogosphere.
www.halvorsonnewmedia.com
1989
Carolyn (Ross) Isaak,
Rochester, Minn., was named to
the U.S. Track and Field Cross
Country Coaches Association’s
Silver Anniversary Team, as one
of the outstanding performers in
women’s outdoor track and field
of the last 25 years. She was
named for her performance in
the 400-meter hurdles, for which
she still holds the NCAA
Division III national meet record.
1990
1978
Debra Axness, Charleston, S.C.,
has been living with her
boyfriend, Larry Struck, aboard
Debonair, their cutter-rigged sailboat, for four years after sailing
from Duluth, through the Great
Lakes, down the Erie Canal and
Hudson River, and down the
East Coast. They are ready to set
sail again towards Bermuda and
south to the Caribbean Basin.
Ora Hokes, Minneapolis, was
one of two winners of the 2006
University of Minnesota Josie
Johnson Human Rights and
Social Justice awards, named for
the first African American to
serve on the university’s Board of
Regents. The award recognizes
individuals who have devoted
their time and talents to making
substantial and enduring contributions to the University of
Minnesota community.
1992
Steven Benson, Owatonna,
Minn., was one of 100 teachers
nationwide to be awarded a 2005
Presidential Award for Excellence
in Mathematics and Science
Teaching. He and his wife, Nancy,
spent a week in Washington, D.C.,
sponsored by the National Science
Foundation, in a combination of
professional development activities
and festivities, which included a
White House breakfast meeting.
He is an advanced mathematics
teacher at Owatonna High School.
Sven
Erlandson,
Minneapolis,
published his
third book,
The 7
Evangelical
Myths:
Untwisting the
Theology behind the Politics, that
addresses the intersection of religion and politics in America,
specifically the role of evangelical
Christianity in the current political culture. During the spring he
served as Augsburg’s strength and
conditioning coach for all sports.
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CLASS NOTES
1993
1999
Anne JulianVan Abel,
Minnetonka,
Minn., started
a new business,
The A-List, a
human resource firm that provides
sourcing and staffing services for
local and national firms in all
industries. She had been an independent consultant for 12 years.
1996
Ryan Carlson, St. Paul, was
appointed an alternate member
by the Highland District
Council’s board of directors. The
council is an organization that
provides a neighborhood voice
to decisions made by the city
and the state.
1997
Sarah (Gilbert) Holtan,
Milwaukee, Wis., was promoted
to assistant professor of communications at Concordia University
Wisconsin. She can be reached at
sarah.holtan@cuw.edu.
1998
Angie Ahlgren, Minneapolis,
will begin a doctoral program
this fall in theatre history/criticism/theory/text with an emphasis in performance as public
practice at the University of
Texas at Austin. She holds an
MA in English literature from the
University of Minnesota.
36 AUGSBURG NOW
Erik C.B.
Johnson,
Chicago, Ill.,
received a
PhD in biochemistry
and molecular biology
from the University of Chicago
on June 9. He is currently a third
year medical student at the
University of Chicago, Pritzker
School of Medicine.
2003
Kristen Opalinski, White Bear
Lake, Minn., was named Coach
of the Year by the Northcentral
Schoolgirls Lacrosse Association
(NSLA) after coaching the North
Suburban Lady Spartans lacrosse
team to an undefeated record
and state championship. She was
also head coach for the
Minnesota All-Stars team, made
up of the state’s best girls in
lacrosse, who achieved a 2-1-2
record at the US Lacrosse
Women’s Division National High
School Tournament at Lehigh
University in Pennsylvania, after
six years of winless appearances.
Kristen works as a graphic artist.
Lindsay Plocher, Megan Feider, and Miya Kunin—the Des Cordes String Trio
2004
2006
Kelly Chapman, Willernie,
Lindsay Plocher, Megan Feider,
and Miya Kunin ’04 have joined
Minn., graduated magna cum
laude from the Fashion Institute
of Design and Merchandising in
Los Angeles. She was one of 10
students accepted into the third
year design program and awarded a full Nolan Miller Scholarship
for the 2006–07 school year.
2005
Yi Chen, New Brighton, Minn.,
works with her husband, Chen
‘04, at Akingco, Inc., a company
that sells gift pens.
together as the Des Cordes String
Trio, playing for weddings, parties, and corporate events. The
trio has performed prior to Saint
Paul Chamber Orchestra concerts as part of their community
series, and in the Linden Hills
Live Music Festival. They are
currently on the preferred musicians list of the Twin City Bridal
Association. www.descordes.com
Graduate programs
Doris Rubenstein ’93 MAL,
Richfield, Minn., has been
named a contributing editor to
CPA Wealth Provider magazine.
She is the principal of PDP
Services, a philanthropy management and planning consulting
firm in Minneapolis.
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Sports and Scores in Saginaw
Darryl Sellers, a Weekend
College grad of 2002, is the most
recent addition to the WNEMTV5 news team in Saginaw,
Mich. The station’s no. 65 ranking is an impressive advance for
Sellers, coming from no. 153,
KAAL-TV, in Austin, Minn. It’s
one more stepping stone on the
journey that began at Augsburg.
While earning a major in mass
communications and a minor in
English through the weekend
program from 1997 to 2002,
Sellers spent three years as a
McNair Scholar, which helped
him to prepare for graduate
school through workshops,
weekly meetings, conferences,
and outside assignments involving cultural awareness.
Sellers credits Augsburg for
“[laying] the groundwork for my
path… The school helped me
open many doors that were
closed to me before.”
For his McNair mini-thesis,
which he presented at the State
Capitol, Sellers chose to research
the Western Appeal, a St. Paul
African-American newspaper
published from the late 1800s to
the 1920s. He was able to see
how the newspaper began and
how it handled issues facing
blacks of that era such as racism,
discrimination, disenfranchisement, voting rights, and equal
education. Sellers concluded that
the black community was divided
in a number of issues. “Although
the people had many of the same
goals in mind,” he said, “the pathways to get there varied.”
The project helped Sellers
learn crucial lessons in balanced
reporting. “It helped me explore
both sides of issues. I learned
that objectivity itself can be subjective. Balance can’t always be
achieved, and this was something very valuable for an aspiring broadcast journalist.”
After Augsburg, Sellers and his
wife moved to Los Angeles where
he entered the Annenberg School
for Communication at the
University of Southern California.
Although he chose the school
because of its excellent program,
staff, and campus, he also admits,
“I fell in love with Los Angeles
during my honeymoon; I had
fantasized about living in
California. I also wanted to see
what it was like to escape the
tundra country and cold temperatures for two years.”
Part of his study there included
a six-week internship in 2003 in
Cape Town, South Africa, working
for SABC-TV, which he found to
be a great, eye-opening experience.
He received a Master of Arts in
broadcast journalism in May 2004,
and by August, KAAL-TV in
Austin, Minn. offered him a weekend sports anchor position. “I
started working there in
September 2004. It was a whirlwind summer—our son was born
August 13, so we drove more than
2,000 miles to Minnesota with a
three-week-old baby.”
In addition to the weekend
anchor spot, Sellers did sports
reporting and put together feature stories. He was in charge of
all his own camera work, producing, writing, and editing.
After a year and eight months
at KAAL-TV, Sellers stumbled into
a great opportunity through the
persistence of his father-in-law—
whom he calls his “unofficial
agent”—to connect with a
Phoenix TV-station president so
he could tell him about Sellers.
The president sent notification to
sister stations with a wonderful
recommendation. A week or so
later Sellers received e-mail from
the news director of WNEM-TV,
requesting a tape and an interview
in Saginaw. Sellers was then hired
as an 11 p.m. Fox sports anchor.
This new position offers both a
wider geographical area and a bigger budget. It also offers greater
challenge and opportunity to
report on events such as the PGA
Buick Open and to cover college
sports teams, like Michigan State,
and professional teams.
Darryl Sellers ’02
Sellers does miss Minnesota
and the people back home, and
he hopes to eventually make it
back to Minneapolis. “I would
like to work for WCCO-TV—
save a place for me, Mark Rosen,
as a sport anchor,” he says, and
adds with a smile, “Of course, I
wouldn’t say no to KARE, KSTP,
or KMSP.”
His goals also include starting
his own production company
and mentoring aspiring, young
journalists and other youth. “I
want to give back and help pave
the pathway for their future.”
Right now, though, Sellers is
staying very active with his new
job and helping to raise a very
energetic little boy.
— Sara Holman ’06
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CLASS NOTES
WEDDINGS
BIRTHS/ADOPTIONS
Dale Martin Christopherson ’85,
Grand Forks, N.Dak., and his
wife, Debra, announce the birth
of Alyssa Mae, in March. Dale is
a chemist at the U.S. Department
of Agriculture’s Human Nutrition
Research Center.
Mark Keating ’91 and his wife,
Amy, of Edina, Minn., announce
the birth of their third son,
Aidan Howard on March 14. He
joins brothers Owen, 4, and
Carson, 2. Mark is an account
executive at Symantec.
Nicole (Smith) Sendar ’93,
Edina, Minn., and her husband,
Jordan, announce the birth of
twin boys, Cameron and Gavin,
in September 2005. Nicole is a
teacher in the Minneapolis
Public Schools and can be
reached at nsendar@mn.rr.com.
Sarah (Ginkel) Spilman ’99,
Ames, Iowa, and her husband,
Damion, announce the birth of
their son, Alexander (Zane)
Nicholas, on Jan. 3. Sarah
earned her Master of Arts degree
in sociology at the University of
Iowa in 2004. She is a research
scientist for the Institute for
Social and Behavioral Research at
Iowa State University.
Jennifer Johs-Artisensi ’94, Eau
Ami Nafzger ’94 married Aron Spiess in July. They wed in a tradition-
al Korean wedding that took place as part of the 10th annual Dragon
Festival, an event in St. Paul at Lake Phalen, where they were introduced to each other three years ago. Both Ami and Aron are adoptees
from South Korea. Ami says, “The chair of Dragon Festival asked if
Aron and I would be willing to share our culture with the public at
the festival. We agreed and thought it made sense. Since we met at the
Dragon Festival, we should wed at the festival.” She serves on the festival board as treasurer, as well as on Augsburg’s Alumni Board.
Ami is the founder in 1998 of GOAL, the Global Overseas
Adoptees Link in Korea, that helps to inform Koreans about the existence of adoptees and helps adoptees to connect with their Korean
families and culture. She is beginning a three-year project to start a
GOAL in Minnesota for Asian adoptees and others. Ami and Aron
live in Minneapolis.
38 AUGSBURG NOW
Claire, Wis., and John Artisensi
became the parents of Alexis
Polina in May 2005. She was
born in Novosibirsk, Russia, and
is now two-and-a half years old.
Jennifer is an assistant professor
in the University of WisconsinEau Claire healthcare administration program and John is an elementary music teacher. She can
be reached at johsarjl@uwec.edu
Erica (Johnson) and Jared Trost
’00, East Bethel, Minn., welcome
to the world Josiah Jeffrey, their
first child, on March 19. Coming
in at 8 lbs., 13 oz. and 21 1/2
inches, Josiah is definitely a keeper. Erica is a science teacher at St.
Francis High School, and Jared is
employed by Cedar Creek
Natural History Area.
6121_Augsburg_AugsburgNow-Fall 06
IN MEMORIAM
The Rev. Robert D. Weeden
’51, Newington, Conn., age 82,
on June 22. He served churches
in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and
Connecticut, as well as serving in
the chaplaincy during WWII and
at hospitals until his retirement
in 1990.
Phillip Gronseth ’55, Bella Vista,
Ark., age 72, on April 7. He was
an entrepreneur who retired to
Arkansas, where he enjoyed
being an avid golfer. While at
Augsburg he sang in the
Augsburg Quartet and continued
singing throughout his life. He
remained close to Augsburg,
with a special fondness for the
baseball program, and has supported athletics and the sciences.
9/12/06
12:47 PM
Page 41
Betty (Hanson) Rossing ’64,
Grand Rapids, Minn., on July 3.
With a special love for children, she
mentored teenagers, taught Sunday
School and Vacation Church
School, taught elementary grades in
public schools, and encouraged
young people to become involved
in ELCA missions.
Bessie Mae Hughes ’71,
Minneapolis, age 94, on June 8. A
native of Alabama, she came to
Augsburg to complete her college
degree at age 59, after raising four
children, and then taught in
Minneapolis Public Schools. In
1992 she was named an Augsburg
Distinguished Alumna for her contributions to community and her
church, St. Peter’s A.M.E. Church.
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.
Full name
Maiden name
Class year or last year attended
Street address
City, State, Zip
Joseph Boyer ’90, Greenwood,
Minn., age 38, died unexpectedly
at home on June 11.
The Rev. Harry H. Fullilove ’59,
Coral Gables, Fla., age 81, on Dec.
25, 2004, after a lifetime of service
as Lutheran pastor and missionary
in Pakistan, Ghana, and India.
Is this a new address? □ Yes
□ No
Home telephone
E-mail
Okay to publish your e-mail address? □ Yes
□ No
Employer
Position
Work telephone
Go, Auggies! Lots of spirit at Homecoming ’55
Is spouse also a graduate of Augsburg College?
□ Yes
□ No
If yes, class year
Spouse name
Maiden name
Your news:
Auggie spirit resounded around the Quad as the cheerleaders led the
Pepfest for this year’s 50-year anniversary class at Homecoming 1955.
FA L L 2 0 0 6 3 9
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VIEWS
Reflections on
Red Lake
by Janna Caywood ’04
Janna Caywood, former program
coordinator for the Master of
Social Work program, interviewed
Matthew Thornhill ’04, ’06 MSW
about his reflections, as a social
worker, following the Red Lake
school shootings. Following is a
summary of her longer article.
40 AUGSBURG NOW
n March 21, 2005,
16-year-old Jeffrey
Weise shot and
killed three adults
and five classmates,
wounded seven other students,
and then killed himself. It’s a day
in history that the Red Lake Band
of Chippewa will never forget.
This one-hour violent act tore a
gaping hole in the collective spirit
of the entire Red Lake Nation. The
shock and pain were unimaginable. People simply could not
believe something so heinous
could happen in their community.
Worst of all, it was children who
were most deeply affected.
Social work graduate Matthew
Thornhill, a foster care social
worker for American Indian
Family and Children Services in
St. Paul, is an enrolled member
of the Red Lake reservation and
a relative of one of the kids who
died. When he heard the news
that day, his first instinct was to
go to the reservation to be with
his family and friends. “To be
present is very important in
Native culture,” he explains.
He immediately coordinated a
fund drive with his social service
colleagues to help many other Red
Lake members in the Twin Cities
also make the trip back home.
When Matt reached Red Lake,
what he found was both rewarding and disheartening.
It was rewarding to see the
close-knit Red Lake community
pull together and support one
another. Rewarding also was the
support that came from outside
the reservation—from Native
peoples across the U.S. and
Canada, in particular, who called
and e-mailed to express sorrow
and to offer help. “It’s a cultural
value,” says Matt. “We look out
for each other.”
O
Matthew Thornhill ’04, ’06 MSW was named
the “2006 Social Work Student of the Year”
by the National Association of Social
Workers–Minnesota Chapter. His wife,
Angelina, accepted the award with him.
Non-native responses, too,
came from around the globe,
including from some who had
suffered their own school shootings. Many non-Native emergency
responders in Red Lake learned
how to be culturally sensitive
while helping in the community.
The collaboration between
emergency responders and tribal
elders was quite remarkable.
Medicine men, spiritual leaders
and other Band members acted
much like social workers to help
individual families cope and pull
the community together toward
stability and healing. They organized healing ceremonies and
prayer circles for spiritual strength,
both on and off the reservation.
The collaboration between
emergency responders and tribal
leadership was also impressive.
Each morning tribal leaders met
at the local hospital to brief one
another on recent arrivals, so the
newcomers could be dispatched
where need was greatest. Given
the sovereign status of the Red
Lake Nation, there was no ambi-
guity as to who was in charge
and responsible for emergency
efforts—unlike the post-Katrina
confusion.
What Matt found disheartening was the media frenzy around
the shootings and the allegations
about the involvement of the
tribal chairman’s son. Insensitive
behavior by a number of journalists made many in Red Lake feel
exploited. Matt and his family
were most disturbed by news
stories that focused on Red
Lake’s social and economic struggles, implying that they were the
result of failed Native values and
an indifferent, incompetent
community.
The truth is, Matt says, Red
Lake does have its difficulties.
But the root causes are complex
and can only properly be understood through the lens of history
and an understanding of the
long-term effects of colonialism.
What didn’t always come
through were the embedded cultural values in the Red Lake
community and Native way of
life that give strength and
endurance in times of crisis.
In the end, Matt says, Red Lake
did not succumb to the media
barrage, because people drew on
their cultural traditions to rally
each other. “We are a proud,
strong Nation” he says. “We hold
onto our traditional values, yet
we adapt with the times. Red
Lake is gonna make it.”
6121_AugsburgNow-Fall 06
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For music information, call 612-330-1265
CALENDAR
For theatre ticket information, call 612-330-1257
For art gallery information, call 612-330-1524
SEPTEMBER
October 18
Concert by the Habbestad Trio, tone
poem and chamber ensemble
September 15–October 27
Reliquiae
Sculpture by Sam Spiczka
“Terje Vigen” song cycle,
by Kjell Habbestad
7 p.m.—Sateren Auditorium
Free and open to the public.
Gage Family Art Gallery, Lindell Library
Artist reception, Oct. 7, 4–8 p.m.
Artist gallery talk, Oct. 25, 12:30 p.m.
Egg Basket
Full of
Hollyhock
Dolls
Paintings by
Amy Rice
’93
Christensen Center Art Gallery
Artist reception, Oct. 7, 4–8 p.m.
Artist slide presentation, Sept. 29, 3:30
p.m., Marshall Room, Christensen Center
September 21
Many Voices: Bold Visions
Convocation Series
The Rose Ensemble
“Common Threads: Exloring Shared
Texts among Early Christians and Jews”
11 a.m.—Hoversten Chapel
Free and open to the public.
September 25–30
“Watch Us Soar”—Homecoming 2006
October 18–21
Ages of Imagination: A New Season
of Leadership
The inauguration of Paul Pribbenow
Free and open to the public.
October 20
Festival Service
Bishop Mark Hanson ’68, presiding
Rev. Dr. Robin Lovin, preaching
10:30 a.m.—Hoversten Chapel
Inauguration Ceremony
2 p.m.—Melby Hall
Community Celebration
3:30 p.m.—Murphy Square
October 21
Auggie Spirit Zone
11:00 a.m.—Murphy Square
Football game vs. Carleton College
1 p.m.—Anderson-Nelson Field
For information:
www.augsburg.edu/inauguration
See page 32 for schedule.
NOVEMBER
OCTOBER
November 1
faith@work! breakfast speaker series
October 2–3
2006 Christensen
Symposium
Douglas John Hall,
professor emeritus
of Christian theology, McGill
University
Free and open to
the public.
October 2, “Where in the World Are We?
Being Christians after Christendom”
7:30 p.m.—Hoversten Chapel
October 3, “What Are People For? Caring
for Life in a Violent World”
11 a.m.—Hoversten Chapel
October 4
faith@work! breakfast speaker series
Paul Pribbenow, Augsburg president
7:30 a.m.—St. Philip the Deacon
Lutheran Church, Plymouth, Minn.
Free and open to the public.
Contact: John Knight, 330-1351 or
faith@augsburg.edu. Go to www.spdlc.org.
Barbara Helmsley, founder, Hope
Chest for Breast Cancer
7:30 a.m.—St. Philip the Deacon
Lutheran Church, Plymouth, Minn.
Free and open to the public.
Contact: John Knight, 330-1351 or
faith@augsburg.edu. Go to www.spdlc.org.
November 3–11
Hedda Gabler
By Henrik Ibsen
Faculty directed by Martha Johnson
November 3, 4, 9, 10, and 11
at 7 p.m.
November 5 and 12 at 2 p.m.
Tjornhom-Nelson Theater
November 3–December 17
Signs of Life
Sculpture by
Kim Matthews
Gage Family Art
Gallery
Artist reception,
Nov. 3, 5:30–7:30 p.m.
Artist gallery talk, TBA
November 5
November Nativity
Concert by Masterworks Chorale of
Augsburg
4 p.m.—TBA
November 17–19
Exceptionally Ordinary
Guest directed by David DeBlieck ’88
November 17, 18, and 19 at 8 p.m.
performed together with
No Exit
November 5–19
Henrik Ibsen Film Festival
Lindell Library 301
Free and open to the public.
November 5, 4:30 p.m.
Immortal Ibsen!—a documentary by
Erling Borgen (Norway, 1999)
Terje Vigen–Victor Sjöström (Sweden, 1917)
November 10, 7 p.m.
The Wild Duck (Vildanden)—
Tancred Ibsen (Norway, 1963)
November 12, 4:30 pm.
A Doll’s House—Patrick Garland
(England, 1973)
By Jean Sartre
Student directed by
Justin Hooper ’07
November 17, 18, and 19 at 9 p.m.
Foss Studio Theater
November 18
Augsburg Concert Band concert
4 p.m.—Hoversten Chapel
November 19
F. Melius Christiansen Festival concert
2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.—Orchestra Hall
See page 6–7.
November 17, 7 p.m.
Lady Inger (Fru Inger til Østråt)—
Sverre Undnæs (Norway, 1975)
November 19, 4:30 p.m.
An Enemy of the People (En
folkefiende)—Erik Skjoldbjærg
(Norway, 2004)
November 5–30
Exhibit–“To Be a Poet Is to See:
Ibsen in Our Time”
Lindell Library, third floor
November 6
Scholastic Connections Gala
Reception and Dinner
Celebrating the scholarship/mentorship program and the four ethnic services programs
Free and open to the public.
6 p.m.—Christensen Center
Info and reservations:
612-330-1104
November 10
Anita Gay Hawthorne Jazz &
Poetry Bash
6:30 p.m.—Hoversten Chapel and
Arnold Atrium
November 12
Augsburg Symphony Orchestra Concert
4:30 p.m.—Sateren Auditorium
Augsburg Jazz Ensemble concert
7 p.m.—Hoversten Chapel
Subjective Mapping: An Exploration
of Spirit and Place
Paintings by Teresa Cox
Christensen Center Art Gallery
Artist reception, Nov. 3, 5:30–7:30 p.m.
Artist gallery talk, TBA
DECEMBER
December 1
Velkommen Jul Celebration
10:15 a.m.–Chapel service,
Hoversten Chapel
11 a.m.–2 p.m.–Scandinavian treats and
gifts, Christensen Center
December 1–2
27th Annual Advent Vespers
A service of music and liturgy
5 and 8 p.m. each night
Central Lutheran Church, Minneapolis
For seating envelopes,
612-330-1265
December 6
faith@work! breakfast speaker series
Norah Long, Canto, St. Philip the
Deacon Lutheran Church
7:30 a.m.–St. Philip the Deacon Lutheran
Church, Plymouth, Minn.
Free and open to the public.
Contact: John Knight, 330-1351 or
faith@augsburg.edu. Go to www.spdlc.org.
FA L L 2 0 0 6
6121_Augsburg_AugsburgNow-Fall 06
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“Hostas and Water Drops” was
the first photo in a series called
“Photo of the Week” on the
AugNet page of the Augsburg
College website. This feature
was created to keep AugNet
readers up to date on College
happenings, to help them
notice beauty they may have
overlooked, and to add variety
to the page.
— Stephen Geffre, photographer
2211 Riverside Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55454
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Minneapolis, MN
Permit No. 2031
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Title
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Augsburg Now Summer 2006
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A
P U B L I C AT I O N
F O R
A U G S B U R G
C O L L E G E
A L U M N I
Summer 2006
&
F R I E N D S
Vol. 68, No. 4
A SMOOTH TRANSITION
page 2
FEATURES
17
The Frame years—
a journey toward vision
by Betsey Norgard
22
Augsburg’s original MBAs:
The Class of 2006
by Bethany Bierma...
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A
P U B L I C AT I O N
F O R
A U G S B U R G
C O L L E G E
A L U M N I
Summer 2006
&
F R I E N D S
Vol. 68, No. 4
A SMOOTH TRANSITION
page 2
FEATURES
17
The Frame years—
a journey toward vision
by Betsey Norgard
22
Augsburg’s original MBAs:
The Class of 2006
by Bethany Bierman
27
On tour with the Augsburg Choir
by Judy Petree
30
Those Lutheran Ladies
by Betsey Norgard
DEPARTMENTS
2 Around the Quad
7 Sports
8 Commencement 2006
12 Sixth Annual International
Programs Photo Contest
14 Supporting Augsburg
Access to Excellence:
The Campaign for Augsburg College
35 Alumni news
37 Class notes
TABLE OF CONTENTS
40 Auggie Thoughts
Summer 2006
Vol 68, No. 4
A college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Augsburg College is an equal education/employment institution.
Editor
Betsey Norgard
norgard@augsburg.edu
Graphic Designer
Kathy Rumpza
rumpza@augsburg edu
Staff Writer
Bethany Bierman
bierman@augsburg.edu
Staff Photographer
Stephen Geffre
geffre@augsburg.edu
Media Relations Manager
Judy Petree
petree@augsburg.edu
Sports Information Director
Don Stoner
stoner@augsburg.edu
Director of Marketing and
Communications
Christopher Moquist
moquist@augsburg.edu
Director of Alumni Relations
Heidi Breen
breen@augsburg.edu
www.augsburg.edu
On the cover:
Augsburg Now is published quarterly by Augsburg
Augsburg President William Frame (right)
and President-elect Paul Pribbenow (left)
have enthusiastically worked together for a
smooth administrative transition.
College, 2211 Riverside Ave., Minneapolis, Minnesota
55454. Opinions expressed in Augsburg Now do not
necessarily reflect official College policy. ISSN 1058–1545
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
50 percent recycled paper (10 percent post-consumer waste)
AROUND
QUAD
Around THE
the Quad
From one president to the next—
in smooth transition
I
n what President William Frame calls a
rather remarkable and unusual
occurrence in higher education, both he
and President-elect Paul Pribbenow
jointly spoke to the spring gathering of
faculty and staff in March.
Frame explained what he understands
as a complex relationship between
continuity and change, as both he and
the incoming president individually and
jointly continue to increase the “clarity of
the College’s self-definition” as well as
“the speed at which it is being realized”
during the transition period.
(In a gesture to ease at least the visual
transition, Frame turned just before
introducing Pribbenow and donned a
bow tie, calling reference to the incoming
president’s signature accessory.)
Pribbenow lauded and affirmed the
defining work that has been carried out
by the Augsburg community in
articulating its vision. “I would not be
here,” he commented, “if I did not find
your aspirations inspiring and
compelling.”
Pribbenow takes office on July 1, and
his inauguration has been set for Oct. 20.
The next issue of Augsburg Now will
outline his administration’s priorities and
introduce his leadership team.
William Frame donned a bow tie to signal his
“profound regard” for his successor.
Both retiring president William Frame (left)
and incoming president Paul Pribbenow
(right) spoke to faculty and staff in March.
Chris Kimball will be chief academic
officer at California Lutheran University
C
hristopher Kimball, provost and vice
president for academic affairs, left
Augsburg May 31 to assume the same
position at California Lutheran
University in Thousand Oaks, Calif.,
beginning in July.
Kimball, a member of the history
faculty since 1991, was appointed dean
in 2000 and provost in 2004 when that
position was created. His impact at
Augsburg is seen in the areas of
curricular reform, calendar changes,
teaching loads, several new programs,
and the “internationalization” of the
campus.
“I have been blessed to work at
Augsburg during a time of great change,
2
especially in the articulation of our
mission and vision,” said Kimball.
“California Lutheran University, located
in an economically vibrant and culturally
diverse region, offers a wonderful
opportunity to continue that work.”
President William Frame stated,
“… Chris’ gifts, some of which were
shaped in the process of giving our
College new vitality and sharp direction,
have been acknowledged by a fine
institution in current need of them.”
In May, the Department of Business
Administration presented Kimball with a
plaque recognizing his support of business
studies and his “entrepreneurial spirit.”
Summer 2006
Farewell to the Frames—a ‘gentle roast’ and
a proper tribute
1
2
3
O
n April 21, more than 300 faculty and
staff gathered to honor and show
appreciation to Bill and Anne Frame, and
to entertain them with some ‘gentle’
roasting. Augsburg’s Gospel Praise
provided music, with returning special
guest artist Jennifer Grimm ’99.
Gift presentations were made and the
Frames offered an Augsburg rendition of
Woody Guthrie’s song, “So Long, It’s Been
Good to Know You.”
Frame reflected on his time at
Augsburg. “These years have been a great
gift to us … because they’ve given us the
possibility for growth … And new
understanding about this great business of
education—where it comes from, what it
changes, why it’s crucial for the salvation
of humankind. …
“This place gave us a chance to think
through [a great calling] more deeply and
better than ever we would have had a
chance to do otherwise. So, we’re grateful.
We’re grateful to you and we’re grateful to
Summer 2006
this place and its great lineage in history.”
When asked by Augsburg Echo about
his plans for retirement, he mentioned one
specific project—an old boat with “at least
a year’s worth of work before it’s ready for
the water.”
On April 30, a more proper
“Celebration of Music and Worship for the
Presidency of Bill and Anne Frame at
Augsburg College” was held at Central
Lutheran Church.
ELCA presiding bishop Mark Hanson
’68 presented the keynote address. Three
music groups—Augsburg’s Gospel Praise,
Masterworks Chorale, and the Augsburg
Centennial Singers—each sang several
pieces.
Campus pastor David Wold read a
series of tributes received honoring the
Frames, including an ode written by
Wartburg College president Jack Ohle and
his wife, Kristy, and a proclamation from
the City of Minneapolis declaring this day
to be “Bill and Anne Frame Day.”
4
1 Bill and Anne Frame enjoy some of the
lighter minutes of the “roast” in their
honor.
2 Campus pastor David Wold reads the
proclamation from Mayor R.T. Rybak
declaring April 30 “Bill and Anne Frame
Day” in the City of Minneapolis.
3 President Frame picked up his guitar to
join Gospel Praise in “I Saw the Light” at
Central Lutheran Church.
4 Assistant director of alumni relations and
former football coach Jack Osberg ’62
leans in close to extend his greetings
above the jazz and gospel music.
3
Campus News
Honors for distinguished
teaching and learning
Association, and the American
Association of School Administrators.
Selection to the network, part of ECS’
National Center for Learning and
Citizenship (NCLC), commits its
members to further service to promote
civic engagement for all students.
Erickson serves as chair of the
Minneapolis School Board.
Hannah Dietrich’s research
paper wins national award
Dietrich visited the sex offender
treatment program at the Lino Lakes
Correctional Facility and learned about
the pre-release transition program. She
became interested in finding out if
offenders really understood the
registration process and if they became
more compliant and submitted better
verification after completing the
program.
Together with Steblay, she crafted a
research plan that became her senior
honors project.
Dietrich is now in the master’s program
in experimental psychology at the
University of Colorado-Colorado Springs.
Orientation leaders
receive awards
Congratulations to the faculty and staff
who received awards for Distinguished
Contributions to Teaching and Learning
from the Center for Teaching and
Learning and the Office of the Provost
and Dean of the College:
Teaching—Phil Adamo (standing, left),
history
Mentoring—Dixie Shafer (seated,
center), Undergraduate Research and
Graduate Opportunity (URGO)
Service to Students—Heather Feehan
(standing, right), Chris Pegg (seated,
right), Scott Krajewski (seated, left),
Robert Bill (standing, center)—all from
Information Technology.
Joe Erickson selected for
national network
Joseph Erickson, education, has been
named to the “100 District Leaders for
Citizenship and Service-Learning
Network.” The network includes school
board members and district
superintendents across the country
selected by a panel representing the
Education Commission of the States
(ECS), the National School Boards
4
Hannah Dietrich’s honor project research
with Professor Nancy Steblay was named
Best Undergraduate Paper.
Hannah Dietrich, a 2005 psychology
graduate, has received the American
Psychology-Law Society’s 2006 Award for
Best Undergraduate Paper. She presented
her research and received the award at
the AP-LS meeting in March in St.
Petersburg, Fla.
Her paper, “Predatory Sexual
Offenders: Post-Treatment Registration
Compliance and Recidivism” is the result
of research she did in collaboration with
psychology professor Nancy Steblay.
Dietrich became interested in
studying disorders after taking an
abnormal psychology class. She landed
an internship at the Minnesota Bureau of
Criminal Apprehension, working in the
Predatory Offender Registration Unit,
and connected with a supervisor who
included her in many areas of the work.
Augsburg’s student orientation leaders
participated in the National Orientation
Directors Association Regional
Conference in Minneapolis.
In the Undergraduate Case Study
competition, Greg Hildebrandt ’08 won
the Best Problem Solving Award, and
Sarah Black ’09 received the Best
Communication Award. Student
Activities director Marc Skjervem
presented on the changing culture of
college students using online
communities and the consequences
students face with the misuse of
websites.
Wrestlers are second in nation
in academics
For the ninth year in a row, Augsburg
finished in the top 10 in the National
Wrestling Coaches Association’s Scholar
All-America team program, finishing
second among more than 100 NCAA
Division III wrestling institutions, with a
3.42 team grade point average. The top
team, Messiah College (Pa.), had a team
GPA of 3.47.
Augsburg is the only school in NCAA
Division III wrestling to finish in the top
10 both in competition on the mat and
in the academic team competition in
each of the nine years that the NWCA
has awarded an academic team national
championship. ■
Summer 2006
‘Zyzzogeton’—
the last word
A
ugsburg launched a new tradition this year with
“Zyzzogeton,” a four-day celebration of student
and faculty work—from artistic performances to
student research posters.
Taking its name from the last entry in Webster’s
Third New International dictionary, the celebration is
meant to wrap up and highlight the breadth and depth
of scholarship at Augsburg. Art exhibits, faculty and
student recitals, faculty research roundtables, student
research posters, film projects, theatre productions,
museum installations, and more filled the calendar
of events.
(In the dictionary, “zyzzogeton” is defined as a
genus of South American leaf hoppers.)
Visitors to campus during this time included high
school students who came on Drama Day to learn
more about the theatre arts program, and middle
school students with developmental disabilities and
peers taking part in the annual Metro Arts Festival
with Augsburg’s music therapy students.
A lighter highlight of the celebration was a
vigorous debate, Lefse vs. Lutefisk, in which four
scholars—President Frame (political science), Lori
Brandt Hale (religion), Joan Griffin (English), and Ken
Kaminsky (mathematics)—took sides to argue and
defend the Norwegian delicacies from the viewpoints
of their academic disciplines. The judges were
Norwegian bunad-clad members of the Augsburg
Associates, and guests were treated to the delicacies of
each, including their aromas. (And, yes, the lutefisk
side was declared the winner.)
Top left: The spring theatre production, Metamorphoses,
by Mary Zimmerman, uses contemporary language and
imagery to explore ancient myths.
Center: Biology major Ben Sonquist explains his research
to physics professor Ben Stottrup.
Bottom left: Physics professor Mark Engebretson shared
his research on geomagnetic pulsations in Earth’s space
environment.
Summer 2006
5
Larry Ragland retires after
21 years
P
rofessor Larry Ragland was
one of the founding
members of the Computer
Science Department and retired
in May after 21 years teaching
in both that department and
mathematics.
He has stayed at Augsburg,
he says, for the same reason he
tells prospective students they
should come—to be in a
supportive environment where
students and faculty work
closely together.
While computing has
changed greatly over two
Professor Larry Ragland served as one of the founding
decades, he says, the discipline
faculty of the computer science department and retired
of computer science has not.
after 21 years at Augsburg.
“When I started, we showed
students the ‘on’ switch and
unmanned flights.
how to use a mouse … We operated in
Ragland recalls his first assignment at
an entirely different way then,” Ragland
Augsburg
as chair of the Academic
says. Now, with a comprehensive campus
Computing
Committee, with a goal to
network and the global Internet, “we
hire
a
full-time
academic computing
have changed how we relate to the
director.
That
finally
happened in 1990.
world.”
At
Ragland’
s
retirement
celebration,
Ragland reflects on the fact that he
Professor
Karen
Sutherland
said the
has spent his entire career working in a
department
will
miss
his
“advice,
cool
discipline that didn’t exist when he went
ideas,
ability
to
keep
them
calm,
and
to college. His first degrees were in
sense of humor.” Junior Cory Nathan
mathematics, and he started out teaching
spoke
for students, thanking Ragland for
in public schools.
“putting
up with us and teaching us a
His interest in computer science
thing
or
two
along the way.”
developed while he worked in the Apollo
Ragland
has
no definite plans yet for
Space Program in Houston. During the
retirement.
He
says
he has room for one
period in which the manned program
big
“yes”
for
a
project,
but has no idea
recovered from its tragic fire, Ragland
yet
of
what
that
project
will be.
worked on computer displays for
Joy Bartlett leaves Education Department
E
ducation professor Joy Bartlett retired
from Augsburg in December 2005
and moved to Las Vegas. Since 2001 she
has taught orientation to education,
reading methods, and technology in the
classroom.
6
She fondly recalls the warmth of the
Augsburg community and the
enthusiasm of her students. Also, she
enjoyed helping students in the McNair
program and the Undergraduate Research
and Graduate Opportunity office with
their research.
Sandi Lallak
leaves Augsburg
for Arizona
A
fter 23 years at
Augsburg
working with
students in the
CLASS program,
Sandi Lallak retired
in May and moved
with her husband to
Mesa, Ariz.
When Lallak began working in the
Center for Learning and Adaptive Student
Services (CLASS), she recalls, CLASS had
one computer, little technology, and
mostly provided advocacy for students
with disabilities—about 10 of them.
An endowment from the Groves
Family in 1988 enabled the program to
grow and make the commitment to
become a premier program. Lallak
researched the field to learn about
available adaptive technology, traveled to
visit programs, and helped create a small
lab on campus. She and colleague Sadie
Curtis began to tape textbooks.
Within three years, the program grew
to provide services and accommodations
to over 100 students. Lallak and Curtis
spent nearly a decade developing the
systems, databases, and procedures for
CLASS as it is today, including its student
workers. “I’m so honored to have been
able to make this happen,” she says.
With new technology, Lallak says,
“students are reading better, retaining, and
comprehending better.”
Lallak became the first
accommodations specialist she knows
about; Curtis is now a physical disabilities
specialist in the ACCESS program.
While CLASS currently serves about
190 students, past students remain an
important part of Lallak’s life. A double
bulletin board jammed with photos of past
students—weddings, babies, vacations—
covered a corner of her office.
Lallak has no definite plans in
retirement, but many ideas for volunteer
opportunities in Arizona.
Summer 2006
Sports
For current sports information, scores, and schedules go to <www.augsburg.edu/athletics>.
Carol Enke retires from coaching
by Don Stoner
I
“ ’ve never looked at any part of my job as
a ‘job’,” said Carol Enke, who has
coached Augsburg’s softball team for 21
seasons and taught in the Health and
Physical Education Department for 19
years. “I always say that I’m going to
‘school.’ I never say that I’m going to
‘work.’
“I’ve looked at this as fun. I get paid to
come in here and do this—interact with
students and interact with studentathletes.”
Enke left her coaching position at the
end of the 2006 season, while continuing
to work in the HPE department. In 21
seasons at Augsburg, Enke has compiled
302 career victories, while coaching six
players who have earned National
Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III
All-American honors and 28 players who
have earned all-region honors (entering
the 2006 season).
Along the way, Enke has touched the
lives of hundreds of softball players, along
with hundreds of HPE majors who are
continuing her legacy in classrooms all
over the region. In 2001, the senior class
selected her as one of three Honored
Faculty.
“I’ve enjoyed watching the students
grow,” Enke said. “I have them in a 200level class in their first or second years,
and I ask myself, ‘Are they really going to
make it in the teaching profession?’ Then
when they are in the 300-level classes their
junior and senior years, you see that these
kids have made a lot of progress and
they’ll be OK.”
Enke was a standout athlete in
multiple sports in her hometown of
Janesville, Wis.—she was inducted into
her hometown’s Athletic Hall of Fame in
1995—and played collegiate softball at the
University of Minnesota. She coached for
three seasons, two as head coach, at
Minneapolis Roosevelt High School before
coaching her first season at Augsburg
in 1986.
Enke initially worked part time at
Augsburg, while completing her master’s
degree at Minnesota. And in her early
Summer 2006
Softball coach Carol Enke, flanked by players (left to right) Sarah Mueller ’09, Sarah Green ’09,
and Katie Johnson ’08, cheers on the team in her last game as coach after 21 seasons. Enke will
continue teaching in the health and physical education department.
years, she felt that Division III Augsburg
would be just a step in her career to bigger
goals.
“Way back when, I thought that
someday I’d move up to coach Division II
or Division I softball. Then, it happened
that I started to teach more courses in the
[HPE] major and I really enjoyed that
along with coaching. After that, I never
thought about moving up to Division II or
Division I.”
Do I remember very many
games? Heck, no. Do I remember
the fun we had? Absolutely.
—Carol Enke, softball coach
Enke has developed a close-knit, family
atmosphere with her softball teams,
encouraging the players’ families to be
active in the program during the short
spring season. In the past, she has taken
the players on off-season adventures and
team-building activities, such as crosscountry skiing, winter camping, snow
tubing, and rock climbing.
She has also encouraged her studentathletes to be active in multiple activities
on campus. Several of her players compete
in multiple sports at Augsburg, while also
serving as members of clubs and
organizations on campus.
“With the softball teams, our athletes
aren’t one-dimensional,” Enke said. “We’ve
got them going in all directions, more than
ever before. That’s just how well-rounded
they are, and we encourage that. We tell
them that they have four years here, and
they should ‘bite off as much as they can
chew.’ If you want to play two or three
sports, do it. If you want to be active in
campus activities, do it. Take advantage of
what you’re getting for your tuition.”
There have been many changes in
college softball during the 21 years of
Enke’s tenure, including in bat technology.
“When I started here, a bat was $29.95.
Now bats can cost over $200,” she said.
But what hasn’t changed with Enke’s
Auggie teams is the fun atmosphere she
encourages, along with the life skills she
teaches, both in the classroom and on the
softball diamond.
“It keeps me young,” she said. “Just
the relationships with the students and
student-athletes, getting involved in their
lives. Letting them know that you are
someone they can come to. I really like
that, and I like to watch them grow in all
areas of their lives—not just as student,
not just as an athlete, but as the person as
a whole.
“I’ve loved the people, the teammates
and the coaches, all the relationships
we’ve had. Do I remember very many
games? Heck, no. Do I remember the fun
we had? Absolutely.” ■
7
COMMENCEMENT
2006
The 137TH YEAR of Augsburg College
PAUL CUMINGS RECEIVES
MARINA CHRISTENSEN
JUSTICE AWARD
Faculty and students grab one more farewell in Augsburg’s longtime tradition
of faculty cheering on their students as they process to the ceremony.
Libby Henslin, admissions and operations
coordinator for Augsburg’s Rochester
program, graduated with a major in
religion and shared the day’s excitement
with her daughter, Rebecca, who earned
a degree in social work.
Paul Cumings, an international relations
major and student body president, was
selected as the 2006 recipient of the Marina
Christensen Justice Award.
Each year, this honor is presented to the
graduating senior who best exemplifies
Augsburg’s motto, “Education for Service.”
Cumings came to Augsburg from
AmeriCorps, serving at the Brian Coyle
Center on the West Bank in Minneapolis.
He worked two years in the college readiness
program, helping junior high and high
school students first consider going to
college and then helping them prepare the
skills to gain acceptance.
On campus he served in numerous
service and leadership roles—as resident
adviser, as director of food and clothing
drives, as a co-sponsor of the “get out the
vote” efforts, and as a leader in neighborhood Somali programs.
As a Sabo Scholar, Cumings helped
Augsburg make connections between public
policy and service, laying groundwork for
future Sabo Scholars.
The award recipient must have
demonstrated a dedication to community
involvement as characterized by the personal
and professional life of Marina Christensen
Justice, who reached out to disadvantaged
people and communities.
President William Frame congratulates
student body president and Sabo Scholar Paul
Cumings, who was awarded the 2006
Marina Christensen Justice Award.
8
Summer 2006
EXCERPTS FROM THE COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS
“An Augsburg Education: Vocation and the Social Good”
—Peter Agre ’70, M.D.
I would like to use this occasion to reflect on my life and share some of the lessons I have
learned. While an Augsburg student I became a die-hard advocate for the liberal arts
tradition …
Proud chemistry professor Arlin Gyberg (left)
straightens the hood of his former student,
Dr. Peter Agre ’70, who was the Commencement
speaker and received an honorary Doctor of
Humane Letters degree. The accolade was read by
Dr. Paul Mueller ’84, a student of Agre’s at
the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
The Honorable Walter F. Mondale reads the
accolade for the honorary Doctor of Humane
Letters degree awarded to James A. Johnson,
former executive assistant to Mondale and
CEO of Fannie Mae.
Lisa Prytula ’04, ’06 MAN, who completed
a bachelor’s degree in nursing and
finished a master’s degree, spoke on
behalf of the graduate students.
I was a student here in the 1960s—an era notable for extreme turmoil in our country.
During my years in high school and as an undergraduate, I lived through the assassinations
of John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert Kennedy. My years here
coincided with unprecedented social disturbances resulting from conflicts between white
supremacists and civil rights workers, between supporters of the war in Vietnam and antiwar protesters. Despite the consternation experienced elsewhere, those of us at Augsburg
enjoyed an island of tranquility where issues and events such as these could be discussed
with respect and civility.
Augsburg College has never been a school for privileged members of the establishment.
Augsburg recognized the importance of inclusion at a very early time and has long been a
leader in providing educational opportunities for the Native Americans and other ethnic
minorities. Augsburg’s commitment to students with physical disabilities had just begun in
the 1960s. Similar to previous generations of Augsburg students, many of my classmates
were from the working class, often the first members of their families to attend college. …
But this is not the tradition prevailing at the so-called “prestige” colleges and
universities in the United States where it is rare to have first generation students or
students with parents holding blue-collar jobs. Clearly the working class of America is
being excluded from many institutions of higher education. This makes me even prouder
of the modest roots of Augsburg students, for as the late Kirby Puckett reflected, “It doesn’t
matter where you come from. It only matters how you play the game.”
And I always felt that my classmates at Augsburg learned to play the game extremely
well. This was due in part to the splendid Augsburg faculty—perhaps most outspoken
among them was my father, Courtland Agre, whose unbridled enthusiasm and exuberant
encouragement directed many of us into professional and graduate schools. …
While my generation, the “Baby Boomers,” has achieved unprecedented prosperity, I
sincerely feel that we have failed to improve the world to a state better than it was when
we received it from our parents. In fact, I fear that the world is in worse shape now. If
this continues, we will be the first generation in memory to fail in such an important
endeavor. We all know what the problems are: damage to the environment, continued
war, prevalence of famine and untreated disease in the developing world, violent crime
and poverty in our inner cities, the epidemic of drug abuse, failure to provide adequate
health care to all Americans, and the staggering $9 trillion national debt which will fall
on your generation.
Education has never been more important than in the current time of growing antiintellectualism in America. It is really shocking when you think that less than half of all
Americans read a single book last year.
As Mark Twain informed us, “The man who doesn’t read good books has no
advantage over the man who can’t read them.”
I fear the emphasis in our country has now become one of fixing the blame rather
than fixing the problem. The polarized special interests have caused gridlock in our
national government where the two major parties can seemingly agree on nothing. Let
me suggest that the hour is late and we must stop the face-slapping and join hands and
concentrate all of our attention on fixing the problems. It is often said that “the genius
of this immigrant nation is that we have always found our center,” and I believe that we
need to do so urgently. …
Thank you and congratulations.
The full Commencement Address is at <www.augsburg.edu/president/commencement06.html>.
Summer 2006
9
COMMENCEMENT
2006
BACCALAUREATE HOMILY (EXCERPTS)
WILLIAM V. FRAME, PRESIDENT
Physician assistant graduate Tara Rick is the center of attention as she receives her
master's hood from PA director Dawn Ludwig.
“Separating Together”
[I]n John’s Gospel and the Book of Acts, Jesus is preparing the disciples for
their new assignment—dispersal, one by one, each on his own, into the
world for the sake of the great commission. He suggests that they can
sustain themselves in the midst of their independence only if they remember
before leaving that they were transformed from a motley crew of fishermen,
tax collectors, and other workaday professionals into a “community.” But
this recollection will strengthen them for the independent journeys just
ahead only if they repair the terrible rip in the fabric of their collegium
caused by Judas’ betrayal. Hence, before the reprise of community can be
undertaken, Judas’ empty position must be filled. And it is, by one Mattias,
who is called up from the apostolic bench (which appears to have been
deeper than that of the Timberwolves) by a drawing of lots. …
You and I are separating—together—and the good news is that we’re
separating from a place that gave each of us something to be separated from. …
[from] a community of learning, in which ideas of the transforming kind,
experiences (sometimes of the embarrassing kind—some, entailing success,
and some, failure and frustration), gave us new life and, therefore, identity. …
Like us, in the hands of the College, the disciples had been molded into
something new by their particular course of study, faculty, and classmates.
Their capstone course culminated in the resurrection. Yours came to a more
conventional conclusion a week ago. But neither we now, nor the disciples
then, are yet prepared for separation.
Until we recognize that we were transformed by our time together; until
we confess that each of us is now becoming someone—not the realization of
some persona prescribed at or even before birth—but a self created by a
million incidents of concourse, a thousand recollections of experience,
a hundred moments of revelation. Until we begin becoming ourselves, we
shall lack the independence of the world that vocation requires. To stand in
the midst of the life each of us is about to undertake—either of a job search,
employment, or retirement—and to render service to our neighbor, we must
know who we are and how we got that way. That knowledge is of identity; it
constitutes the protective suit, even though not fully woven, that allows us
to live in and serve the world without being wholly fused with it. …
But what we have learned here—about ourselves, the world, and God;
what the disciples learned about themselves—remains beyond our grasp and
theirs without the great final examination known as saying goodbye!
Until we address our separation—seriously; until we face the fact that we
are leaving people who have meant the world to us—teachers, friends,
10
Sunny Olise receives his master’s hood from director Robert
Kramarczuk in Augsburg’s first MBA class.
parents (that you now realize you didn’t leave four years
ago but are now, finally going to leave—today!)—we are
not tempered for the new immersion in the world. Until
we know who and what we have become, we cannot
maintain our independence in the world when we are out
there in it, on our own.
Goodbyes force us each to meet ourselves face to face,
as Achilles did in The Iliad. That means that we have put
our affairs in order—so that they may be abandoned; we
have to repair the rents in the fabric we knit in the
College cocoon in order that we might be released from
it—a beautiful butterfly capable of flying into the
maelstrom of life without danger to bring a glimpse of
beauty to a dour and broken world. …
And so—let us, to each other, both now and this
afternoon, say, “Goodbye!” And in so doing, we shall
each bear the College with us, out into the world—a
shield and a buckler of the vocational life that fulfills the
requirements of the great commission in the kingdom on
the left.
That last great goodbye gives us the capacity and even
the need for reunion. If done right, it allows us to soon
again say—here, at the intersection of Riverside and
22nd—“Hello! It’s good to see you. I’ve missed you!”
To read the full Baccalaureate Homily, go to
<www.augsburg.edu/president/baccalaureate06.html>.
Summer 2006
THE AUGSBURG COLLEGE CLASS
OF 2006
3,420
Attended the ceremony
3,600
Cookies and petit fours served at the reception
752
Class of 2006—346 traditional day students, 162 weekend
students, 39 students in the Rochester program, 13
from United Hospital, 1 from 3M; and 191 graduate students
in six programs
580
Graduates marching
490
Enjoyed Commencement Brunch
350
Attended Commencement Dinner
125
Faculty marching in the procession
58
Age of the oldest graduate
20
Age of the youngest graduates
14
Flags representing countries of international graduates
2
Honorary degrees conferred
1
Retiring presidential couple—many thanks to Bill and Anne!
countless Smiles and tears of happiness, gratitude, and appreciation
Audra Johnson, a studio art graduate, has a
jubilant smile on graduation day.
The sociology department faculty take a moment to get photos of their graduates.
Summer 2006
11
SIXTH ANNUAL International Programs Photo Contest
1
2
3
7
1
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS AT
AUGSBURG, second place.
“Melting Pot.” Kamilla T. Fossem,
Norway.
2
PEOPLE PORTRAITS, first place. “Yo
confío.” Kathryn Jones ’08. San
Salvador, El Salvador.
3
PEOPLE PORTRAITS, third place.
“Begging Musicians.” Richard
Garnett ’08. Cuernavaca, Mexico.
4
5
LOCAL PEOPLE, second place.
“Video Games vs. the Acropolis.”
Katharine Mahon ’06. Athens,
Greece.
LOCAL PEOPLE, third place. “A
Journey through an African Desert.”
Therese DeMay ’06. Swakopmund,
Namibia.
12
8
6
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS AT AUGSBURG,
first place. “The Old and the New
Minneapolis.” Martin Garnes, Norway.
7
CITYSCAPES, third place. “Untitled.” Britta
Boyum ’06. Lofoten Islands, Norway.
9
8
LOCAL PEOPLE, first place. “Bearing the Load.”
Kelsey Nolan ’06. Sontule, Nicaragua.
9
PEOPLE PORTRAITS, second place. “Familia.”
Megan L. Schiller ’06. Nicaragua.
10 CITYSCAPES, second place. “Cusco by Night.”
Joelle Bickel ’07. Cusco, Peru.
11 INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS AT
AUGSBURG, third place. “A Frozen
Falls.” Martin Garnes, Norway.
12 CITYSCAPES, first place. “Fishing
Industry.” Britta Boyum ’06.
Harstad, Norway.
13 BEST OF SHOW. “Waca Wasi
Wardrobe.” Joelle Bickel ’07.
Waca Wasi, Peru.
Summer 2006
4
5
6
10
11
12
Summer 2006
13
13
Supporting Augsburg
Gift of $4 million gives green light
to Gateway
by Betsey Norgard
A
$4 million naming gift from Donald
’53 and Beverly (Halling) Oren ’55
has provided the funding needed for
Augsburg to proceed with the $18.5
million Gateway Building.
On May 5 the Augsburg Board of
Regents granted approval for the College
to pursue the financing needed to begin
construction this summer. A ceremonial
groundbreaking is scheduled for Sept. 8,
with building completion in fall 2007.
Donald Oren ’53, an Augsburg regent
emeritus, is chairman of the board of Dart
Transit Company, founded by his father in
1934. The trucking and logistics company
ranks 53rd of the Top 100 Carriers
nationwide.
Beverly (Halling) Oren ’55 has taught
school and worked as vice president of
human resources at Dart Transit. She
remains a principal and adviser to the
company, and currently serves on
Augsburg’s Board of Regents.
Three of their children are involved
with Dart Transit—David, president;
Daniel, vice president; and Bradley, general
manager. Daughter Angela Anderson is
mother to one-year-old Samuel.
“We are pleased and honored to
participate in Augsburg’s growth by being
part of the Gateway project,” says Beverly
Oren. “The business school is of special
interest as it offers an opportunity for
students to experience the entrepreneurial
Donald ’53 and Beverly (Halling) Oren ’55
spirit. Also, Augsburg’s commitment to
promoting vocation provides a very
worthy goal.”
The Gateway Building will be
Augsburg’s link to its surrounding
community and city, and a distinctive
“front door” on Riverside Ave. It will easily
connect the College with the CedarRiverside area, the University of
Minnesota’s West Bank, and the FairviewUniversity Medical Center across the
street.
The building is a four-story combined
administrative, commercial, and residential
center. It will provide new homes for the
Alumni Conference Center, the StepUP
Program, the Master of Business
Administration program, the Gage Family
Art Gallery, and offices for Institutional
Advancement. Community residents and
organizations will be encouraged to use
meeting space in the new Gateway.
On the first floor, retail stores such as
Barnes and Noble will serve not only the
campus community, but staff and patients
of the hospital across the street and the
West Bank and Cedar-Riverside
communities as well.
The top three floors will provide
student housing—upperclass students on
the second floor and StepUP students on
floors three and four.
From Riverside Ave., a central Gateway
plaza welcomes visitors to campus.
Circling the plaza are Hoversten Chapel,
Lindell Library, and the Gateway Building,
representing the College's commitments to
faith, reason, and service.
For Augsburg’s StepUP program, which
provides students in addiction recovery the
support and skills they need to succeed in
college, the Gateway Building will
centralize their office, counseling, and
residential space.
It’s about “having a home where we’re
all together,” says StepUP director Patrice
Salmeri, and will give students who
complete the program the “ability to stay
longer and mentor younger students.”
In eight years, StepUP has grown to
over 50 students, and they have
maintained an 83% abstinence rate while
in the program and a grade point average
of 3.0. Augsburg is a national leader in the
recovery school movement; Salmeri
currently serves as president of the
national organization.
The Augsburg MBA program, which
after only two years is now the state’s
third largest, will gain much needed and
more suitable classroom, technology, and
study space in Gateway for its small-class
learning.
Save the date!
GATEWAY BUILDING
CEREMONIAL GROUNDBREAKING
Friday, September 8
Noon
14
Summer 2006
Gateway’s ground floor will welcome
alumni and visitors, and provide a
gathering space to meet over coffee and
enjoy exhibits in the Gage Family Art
Gallery, which will move from Lindell
Library to a more accessible location in the
new building.
“[T]he connection to the wider
community will be greater than ever
before,” says Kerry Morgan,
coordinator of galleries and exhibits.
“The easy access from Riverside will be
welcoming to off-campus visitors; and
Augsburg students, staff, and faculty
will continue to find inspiring and
thought-provoking art where they
work, live, and study.”
Planning for the Gateway Building
has been carried out in conjunction
with the Riverside Corridor Project
development, funded partially with an
early campaign gift from James A.
Johnson, former banking administrator
and public servant. The project brings
together West Bank partners—the
Cedar-Riverside Business Association,
the West Bank Community
Development Corporation, the
University of Minnesota, Augsburg,
Fairview-University Medical Center, and
others—to envision a thriving urban
village that links to the light rail system.
The City of Minneapolis has begun to
develop a small area plan for the entire
Cedar-Riverside neighborhood.
“One issue the plan will consider is
how to make Riverside more comfortable
for pedestrians and bicyclists,” says Beth
Elliott, principal city planner. “More retail
stores and outdoor seating opportunities
will also help in adding vibrancy to that
section of the corridor.” She says the
Gateway Building can be “an example that
others can follow if they are thinking
about redevelopment.”
Honoring a graduate by honoring the College
A
s a nontraditional
student past the
usual graduation
age, Matt Van Zant
seemed just a bit
too old for the
traditional card
with a money
pocket. So Frank
McKinney, a close
family friend,
Matt Van Zant ’06
called Augsburg
and asked how he could make a gift to the
College instead, in honor of Van Zant.
Van Zant came to know McKinney, a
corporate lawyer, in Ohio where Van
Zant grew up. “He encouraged me and
stressed the importance of ethics,”
Summer 2006
Van Zant says. “[He] is a believer in
education and encouraged me to remain
in school and do well.”
McKinney said he was proud of Van
Zant, that after many years he would
return to school for his degree.
Van Zant works as an operations
analyst in the healthcare field. He
enrolled in Weekend College in fall 2001
to begin a major in management
information systems (MIS).
One of the common themes he found
in his classes fits right in with what he
remembers learning from McKinney.
“People who work with data, who
manage sensitive and confidential
information,” says Van Zant, “are and
should be held to higher standards of
performance and integrity.”
Juggling full-time employment with
full-time study was difficult, and Van
Zant says he tried to take it just one term
at a time. “It helped to work on
coursework almost every day and try to
remain current with the material.”
His strategy worked, so much so that
he will begin an MBA degree in the fall,
looking forward to “the opportunity to
develop strategic decision-making skills.”
McKinney says he enjoyed making the
gift to Augsburg in Van Zant’s name and
that Van Zant also enjoyed it. To
McKinney, “it just seemed the appropriate
thing to do.”
He says now he’ll just wait for Van
Zant’s master’s degree.
15
Construction begins on Melby Hall addition
by Betsey Norgard
n a chilly, cloudy May 5, a crowd
gathered on the south side of Melby
O
Hall to ceremonially mark the
groundbreaking for the $6.1 million new
south wing, named the Kennedy Sports
and Recreation Complex.
Augsburg regent and emcee Mike
Freeman, in describing the expansion,
called it “lots of much-needed space to
show our Auggie pride.” He drew
attention to the efforts that had made the
project possible, especially noting that
every coach had put together a plan to
reach former students and athletes.
He read a statement from lead naming
donors Dean ’75 and Terry Kennedy, who
Kennedys. “Your gift is exciting, and we
so appreciate it.”
The Kennedy Sports and Recreation
Complex includes the Alan and Gloria
Rice Wrestling Center and the James and
Katherine Haglund Fitness and
Recreation Center, as well as other named
spaces: the Lavonne (Johnson) Peterson
’50 Conference Suite; Lute Olson ’56 Hall
of Champions; “Doc” Johnson ’52 A-Club
Office; and the Gamma House
Hospitality/Classroom.
Work has already begun on the new
south wing; construction is expected to
be completed in spring 2007, with the
official opening in fall 2007.
weren’t able to be in attendance, saying
that their “family is proud and excited to
be part of this [project].” Kennedy was an
All-American wrestler and, as co-captain
of the team, led Augsburg to a runner-up
spot at the NAIA national finals, marking
the beginning of Augsburg’s longtime
dominance in small-college wrestling.
President William Frame drew
attention to Augsburg student-athletes
and the leadership they bring to the life
of the campus.
Football linebacker Michael Matson
’06, speaking on behalf of studentathletes, directed his remarks to lead
donors Alan Rice, Jim Haglund, and the
Front row (L to R): Major gifts director Donna McLean; regent and lead donor Jim Haglund; Board of Regents chair Jean Taylor '85; assistant dean
and head wrestling coach Jeff Swenson ’79; lead donor Alan Rice; regent Mike Freeman; and President William Frame.
Melby groundbreaking—twice!
When Rev. Clifford M. Johnson, ’34 (’30
Acad, ’39 Sem) received his invitation to
attend the May 5 ceremonial
groundbreaking for the expansion of
Melby Hall, he remembered that he still
16
had a 46-year-old photo from the day he
held a shovel to break ground for the new
Melby Hall.
Johnson, age 95, has been part of the
Augsburg community since 1926 when he
entered the Augsburg Academy. He has
been a fundraising leader, a regent and
board chair, and a director of development
over the years. In 1993 he was honored as
a Distinguished Alumnus.
He recalls the excitement in 1960 of
constructing the first athletic facility for
Augsburg. Until then, he says, the
basketball team played on the court in the
basement of Old Main. He also remembers
that the invocation that day was given by
Lutheran Free Church president Rev. T. O.
Burntvedt ’12.
Johnson was thrilled to be part of this
new excitement this year and to see that
earlier photo at the ceremony, enlarged to
poster size and sitting on an easel.
Just announced …
$1 million gift has been received
A
from Norman and Vangie Hagfors for
the renovation of the chapel in Old Main
and the creation of a home for Augsburg’s
Center for Faith and Learning. Read more
in the next issue.
Summer 2006
The
FRAME
years
a journey toward vision
BY BETSEY NORGARD
W
William Frame, the 10th president of Augsburg, is not typical of his nine
predecessors. He is not a Midwesterner, nor is he of Norwegian background or an
ordained Lutheran minister.
From his nine-year tenure, he leaves a long litany of new programs, partnerships,
and much-needed capital improvements. But, much more significant is that he leaves
an Augsburg that has renewed its self-identity, and that has crafted and refined a
vision representing the deepest thinking any college could undertake about its own
mission or “institutional vocation.”
In the foreword to Augsburg’s revised vision document, The Augsburg Vocation:
Access and Excellence, Frame describes this vision not as his, but as “drawn from the
soul of the College.” It is an idea—vocation—that “has been calling Augsburg to its
work since the founding.”
Frame points to his time at Augsburg as the continuation of a vocational journey
that began as a young instructor at Kenyon College, that immersed him in the urban
life of corporate banking and finance, and then took him back into academia. All
along, the work he did served to shape, nurture, and refine a strong, personal sense
of vocation. At Pacific Lutheran University, he came to understand Martin Luther’s
two-dimensional world of faith and reason, one in which students explored vocation
as both learning through faith to understand themselves and learning through reason
to prepare for careers and service in the world.
Top, left: President Frame (right) and ELCA presiding bishop Mark
Hanson ’68 (left) find a moment for conversation at
Commencement. Staff photo
Middle, left: Bill and Anne Frame enjoy talking with passersby at
Augsburg’s State Fair booth. Staff photo
Bottom, left: President Frame occasionally joins the Augsburg Jazz
Ensemble with his guitar.
Summer 2006
17
At Augsburg Frame discovered the
theology of Luther’s close colleague,
Philip Melancthon, who authored the
Augsburg Confession and advocated the
participation of Christians in civic
affairs. This German theological duo
became the basis for Frame’s model of
education and the hallmarks of
Augsburg’s vision: vocation, service,
civility, diversity, and community.
Remarkably, in retrospect, the agenda
for the Frame years seemed set even
before he became president. In summer
1997, shortly before taking office, he was
interviewed for Augsburg Now, and was
asked to identify the three most important
agenda items for Augsburg College as it
prepared for the 21st century.
Nine years later, his responses at that
time seemed predestined:
1. finding “communal clarity about our
purpose”—who we are and what
we do;
2. determining “how we adapt what
we’re up to, to what properly serves
the world” … i.e., what we must do
to carry out our mission;
3. figuring out “how we do all that” …
finding “a form of life on campus that
allows us to do all this thinking in a
fully civil, candid, ingenious,
participative way.”
Clarifying the vision
In the first two years of Frame’s
presidency the entire campus engaged
itself in a highly collaborative process,
which included commissions charged
with producing working papers around
issues that would form the groundwork
for a vision document.
English professor Joan Griffin,
describes that period:
“When Bill Frame became president
of Augsburg, the College suddenly
became Lutheran. I’m exaggerating, of
course, but despite the required religion
courses and daily chapel, our Lutheran
identity was something that we took for
granted: we did not always connect it
with how we go about doing our work.
18
“But then Bill arrived, and even the
least theologically sophisticated among
us became familiar with the kingdom on
the right and the kingdom on the left,
freedom, paradox, and of course, most of
all, vocation. Bill changed the Augsburg
lexicon.”
Griffin and physics professor Mark
Engebretson were charged with shaping
the 250 pages of discussion into the
College’s first vision document, Augsburg
2004: Extending the Vision, approved by
the Board of Regents in 1999.
Five years later, as 2004 approached,
Frame again called the campus
community into discussion about
updates to the vision. Again, Griffin and
Engebretson compiled a revised vision
document, The Augsburg Vocation: Access
and Excellence, that succeeds in bringing
vision and practice closer together.
Tracy Elftmann ’81, vice president for
institutional advancement and former
regent, commented, “The leadership Bill
brought to our visioning work is nothing
short of extraordinary. The clarity of
purpose in Augsburg’s vision provides
balance, meaning, and motivation to our
daily work. We know who we are and
what we are here to do.
“Let’s be clear,” she continued, “this
is not Bill’s vision for Augsburg—it’s our
vision. We wrote it, we work it, we live
it. The collaborative effort to bring this
work to full fruition was laborious but
well worth the effort.”
Tom Morgan, vice president for
planning and market development,
added additional context. “Through Bill’s
leadership we have rediscovered who we
are and clarified where we need to go.
More than simply words on a page, we
have been inspired to rededicate
ourselves to a course that was charted at
the time of the College’s founding.”
Carrying out the vision
The most significant result of the
revisioning process was the launching of
a new general education curriculum to
imprint the core values of the vision.
Griffin led a faculty team that crafted a
new Core Curriculum. Combined with
the depth of study in a major, this would
prepare students for careers and service
in the world.
Ideas of vocation, citizenship, and
engagement are reflected in the signature
elements of the Core Curriculum—
Search for Meaning courses to explore
vocation; the first-year program that
Summer 2006
Staff photo
The LEGACY of WILLIAM FRAME’S
YEARS at AUGSBURG (1997-2006)
New programs
• New general education—Core Curriculum
• Scholastic/Corporate Connections
• New master’s degrees—education, nursing, physician
assistant, and business administration
• Youth and family ministry major
• Finalizing and naming first endowed chair—Christensen
Chair in Religion
• Growth of StepUP program
• Degree programs in Rochester
Community partnerships/collaborations:
• Nursing degree programs at United Hospital and Rochester
• Augsburg-Capella innovative“brick-click” courses
• Faith in the City—plus the spin-off Augsburg Academy for
Health Careers
• Clinical Lab Science program with Fairview
Capital buildings/improvements:
• New Hall—apartment-style residence hall
• Groundbreaking for Melby Hall expansion
includes learning about and connecting with the city; experience
gained through internships, research, community service, and
global study; and a keystone summative seminar. Combined with a
liberal arts foundation and skills development, students prepare to
become effective, informed, and ethical citizens.
Important to Augsburg’s vision are a number of new programs that
provide access to education for students who lack it for various
reasons: Scholastic Connections, a scholarship program that matches
students of color with alumni of color in mentoring relationships;
StepUP, a nationally-recognized program that provides support to
students in addiction recovery to help them succeed academically; and
graduate programs to help students understand the world through a
lens of vocation.
Augsburg’s vision has taken the College into many new and
innovative partnerships. A program in Rochester now serves 300
students, mostly from Mayo Clinic and IBM, who wish to complete
baccalaureate and some graduate degrees. An unusual partnership
with Capella University involves Augsburg faculty developing and
teaching online courses.
One of Frame’s key leadership roles was helping to found Faith in
the City, a collaboration of seven urban Lutheran institutions in
Minneapolis that together seek to improve the quality of life in the
community. Included is the year-old Augsburg Academy for Health
• Link between Library and Sverdrup/Memorial— Sverdrup
renovation, new atrium
• Christensen Center renovation—welcome and gathering
area, coffee shop, gallery space
• Purchase and renovation of Augsburg House
• New signage on Mortensen Hall and on I-94
• Upgrading of residence halls
• Replacement of Edor Nelson Field turf
• Overall beautification of grounds
• Sale of Ice Arena to gain lease-back arrangement
and capital
• Added two new parking lots and upgraded security
• Purchased additional perimeter properties
around campus
Administrative
• Creation of Enrollment Center as one-stop shop
• Creation/consolidation of Center for Service, Work,
and Learning
• Creation of Undergraduate Research and Graduate
Opportunity (URGO) from McNair program
Awards/Recognition
• 2006—Augsburg Medal
Left: President Frame poses for a moment with the directors of the ethnic
programs at the annual Scholastic Connections dinner in October 2005.
(L to R) Bao Thao, Cindy Peterson, Frame, Emiliano Chagil, and Trena
Bolden Fields.
• 2006—award from Lutheran Educational Council of North
America
Top: First-year students hear from the president on City Service Projects
day during their Augsburg Seminar.
• 2004-05 chair of Minnesota Private College Council
Summer 2006
• Project director for Council of Independent Colleges’
19
Presidential Vocation and Institutional Mission seminars
• 2006—Toby LaBelle award from StepUP to Anne
and Bill Frame
• 2003-04 president of the ELCA Council of College
Presidents
Careers, a joint charter school with
Fairview Health Services that prepares
high school students for careers and
vocations in health care.
Augsburg, under Frame’s leadership,
has gained considerable recognition for its
visioning work. Elftmann stated, “College
presidents across the country consistently
ask Bill how Augsburg was able to capture
its essence, its purpose, its wholeness so
well. Bill’s contributions have established
Augsburg as a national leader in terms of
strategic direction and future focus. “
The College was recognized by The
Princeton Review and Campus Compact as
a “college with a conscience.” It
consistently ranks high for service-learning
programs and is one of 12 colleges selected
for excellence in first-year programs.
Frame has served as president of the
ELCA Council of College Presidents, as
chair of the Minnesota Private College
Council (MPCC), and as project director
for the Council on Independent Colleges
(CIC) seminars reflecting on vocation
and institutional mission. He also has
received awards from the Lutheran
Educational Conference of North
America (LECNA) and Augsburg’s
StepUP program, who selected Anne and
Bill Frame for the 2006 Toby LaBelle
Award for support of its ideals.
Changing the culture
Frame’s third agenda item from his 1997
interview was the creation of a campus
culture that would support and model the
mission and vision. His first task was
confronting what he called “militant
modesty,” the difficulty of the College to
“toot its own horn.” He immediately put a
great deal of attention on both tangible
improvements—fixing up and painting
residence halls, landscaping, new
facilities—and more deep-seated changes,
such as making Augsburg salaries more
competitive.
Griffin says that Frame has been able
to get Augsburg to “think big about
ourselves”—in both small ways, like the
campus improvements, as well as bigger
ways, with new programs and initiatives.
“I think we’re becoming more willing to
20
embrace our complexity—and also our
promise,” she said.
The Frame presidency has been one
very much shared by both Bill and Anne
Frame. Anne has been active in a number
of Augsburg programs, contributing her
business expertise, hospitality, and much
volunteer time.
She told faculty and staff that after long
consideration of how to describe her role
at Augsburg, she had recently been
introduced in a way that seemed very
comfortable to her—“this is Anne Frame,
she’s a member of the Augsburg
community and happens to be married to
our president.”
Hospitality, from the theological sense
to a simple friendly welcome, has become
a hallmark of the vision—and one in
which Anne has played a significant role.
Their sharing of Augsburg House as a
center for college hospitality has opened
new dimensions in how community
members relate to each other.
In March Bill Frame articulated
Augsburg’s vision of hospitality: “[Our
college] welcomes the stranger as a gift to
a learning community composed of
students, many in the guise of faculty and
staff colleagues, who cannot proceed in
their own quests for vitality and hope
without constant contact with a diverse
array of learning styles and even learning
capacities, each one at least beginning to
feel that deep and absorbing hunger
to know.”
In an interview with Augsburg Echo,
Frame recently reflected on what he
considers his proudest moment—“having
our envisioning work recognized as
distinctive by candidates and their
sponsors for the 11th presidency of the
College.”
And, indeed, President-elect Paul
Pribbenow told faculty and staff in March,
“I would not be here if I did not find your
aspirations inspiring and compelling.”
Griffin offered an Augsburg
community perspective: “I think at least
part of the excitement of the approaching
Pribbenow era is that Bill brought us to a
point where we can imagine how much
farther we can go.”
Since February, when Pribbenow was
chosen by Augsburg regents, an unusual
The Frame years in print
William Frame has published a collection
of writings and speeches from his years
as president at Augsburg College. He says
it intends to both “provide a record of
the principal stops on the faith and
reason journey on which I was sent when
elected as Augsburg’s 10th president,”
and to share his connection with Martin
Luther and Philip Melanchthon.
The book’s preface was written by the
Rev. Mark Hanson ’68, presiding bishop
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America.
Published by Lutheran University Press in
Minneapolis, the book is available in
bookstores, online, and at <www.
lutheranUpress.org>. Proceeds from sales
of the book will be donated to
Augsburg’s annual fund.
collaboration has developed. Frame invited
Pribbenow to share the podium with him
in March at the College’s all-faculty and
all-staff meeting.
Mark Hanson ’68, presiding bishop of
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA), summarizes the impact
of the Frame years, “… Bill draws upon
the great themes of the Lutheran
Reformation and weaves them into the
mission of a Lutheran urban college in the
21st century. When Bill Frame speaks, I
want to ask him to stop after each
sentence so that we can ponder the depth
of his wisdom.”
In every way, the Frame presidency has
been one of introspection and distinction,
even to his legendary eloquence and
penchant to speak long. Quipped student
body president Paul Cumings, “He will be
missed. Even his dry humor and lengthy
lectures.” ■
Summer 2006
At Augsburg House—since 1998
Frequency of events: about twice a week
Events held: 430
In 1998, the Augsburg Board of Regents authorized the purchase of a house for
the home of the president and a gathering place for campus events. In January
2006 Anne Frame talked to the Board of Regents about hospitality at Augsburg
House. Following are excerpts of her talk.
People who have attended: 8,600
Catering by Augsburg-Sodexho staff
(as of January 2006)
Staff photo
HOSPITALITY
and the House
BY ANNE FRAME
I
I’ve been asked to think about some of
the ways my work with Augsburg is
applied to implementing the idea of
hospitality. The Augsburg Vocation, our
vision document, talks about
community and intentional diversity–
language that conceived of this College
as a welcoming place, where persons are
accepted, perhaps because of their
differences, and where a community is
developed that contributes to the
learning for all of us.
Much of my work takes place away
from this Riverside campus. From the
beginning, Bill and I—ironically, as the
newcomers—took as our job helping the
various constituents of the campus feel at
home here. We have visited alumni and
friends of the College in many locations
to let them know what is going on now
at Augsburg, and specifically to
emphasize that they are welcome here.
That they, as a part of Augsburg’s history,
therefore have a place in its present. And,
as we have learned much from their
stories and memories, we hope they have
strengthened or rekindled their bonds to
this place.
We have been privileged both to live
at Augsburg House and to use it
frequently for College events. A plaque
in the entry hall—carved by a Norwegian
in Iowa—states our purpose:
In this place we extend to our guests
the friendship and hospitality of the
Augsburg Community in loving
memory of Adeline Marie Rasmussen
Johnson ’31 and through the
Summer 2006
generosity of James and Kathleen
Haglund and Milton and Dorothy
Kleven.
So we are acting for the community and
have practiced that hospitality to student
groups, to faculty and staff, to the
regents, the parents and alumni and
friends of the College, to neighborhood
and community groups who may not
know Augsburg well. We have done this
in as many different forms as we can
think of: with receptions, breakfasts,
lunches, dinners, conversations. We
bring these groups together for food and
fellowship, for study and discussions. We
feel that getting to know each other
better, spending time together, and
talking about the College together helps
us to be a stronger community.
Frequent remarks I hear as people
learn how many groups and events are at
Augsburg House each year come in one
of two forms, the first being, “You must
get really tired of having so many people
at your house.” (The answer is a very
clear “no.”) The other comment is, “You
must really be a party person!” I don't
think that’s quite the case, either.
But these two questions have caused
me to try to express what it is that I do
like about using Augsburg House in this
way. What do I get out of it?
The answer is … getting to know the
wide and diverse constituency that is
Augsburg—learning histories and
connections, hearing staff and faculty
speak across their areas of expertise, and
listening and discussing ideas with
each other.
Bill and Anne Frame welcome the community
to Augsburg House.
What a rare privilege this is. It has
given me an appreciation of this place
that is deeper than I could have
discovered elsewhere. It has widened my
horizons, expanded my understandings,
and has made this College house truly
“home” to me.
What we do at the house is
intentional, and I believe it’s consistent
with trying to build our community, as
stated in The Augsburg Vocation, “the
development of a sense of connectedness
that leads to lasting relationships.”
The author of the Book of Hebrews
exhorts his readers: “Do not neglect to
show hospitality to strangers, for by
doing that some have entertained angels
without knowing it.” And I’m convinced
there are at least a few angels hanging
around Augsburg.
21
Augsburg’s original
MBAs
The Class of 2006
BY BETHANY BIERMAN
22
Summer 2006
The
AUGSBURG
MBA
Nathan Appel joined the army right out of high school in Colorado and spent several years in the
service. He eventually came to Minnesota to attend the university but “became tired of rollerblading
from Timbuktu to a class where another student taught us.” So he transferred to another college,
taking evening classes to finish his undergraduate degree in management. His campus? A hotel
conference room in the suburbs. His cohort? Number 327.
Later, with his career at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage well underway, Appel decided to return to school
for his Master of Business Administration degree. He was about to choose another program when he
received an MBA postcard from Augsburg. He came to an information session and was sold. His new
campus? A small, fully functioning campus in the heart of Minneapolis. His cohort? Number 1.
“It’s kind of cool … We are the original,” Appel says.
A JUMP-START LAUNCH
This May, Augsburg graduated the first four sections, or cohorts, of
its new Master of Business Administration program—a total of 84
students.
The 20-month program evolved from eight years of discussion,
research, and planning by members of the business department, with
Professor David Schwain serving as the chief designer.
“In the feasibility study, our researcher found that our business
program ranked third best business program in the state by those
students taking the GMAT,” says John Cerrito, chair of the
Department of Business Administration. “Of course, we did not have
a grad program at that time, which the two programs that ranked
higher did, so we felt we’d have good acceptance in the market.
When we introduced the MBA, we met with instant success.”
In fact, recruiting one group to start the program doubled into
two, as 44 students responded by the time the MBA began in fall
2004. The initial goal of four cohorts by the end of three years was
met within four months of launching the program. It was these
students who became Augsburg’s first MBAs in May.
THE CAPTAIN
Since its launch 20 months ago, under the direction of Robert
Kramarczuk, the MBA program has grown to over 300 students.
Kramarczuk’s international career had included teaching at the
International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in
Switzerland, running several successful businesses, and starting up
six other graduate educational programs. He was already enjoying
retirement, but the Augsburg call was too good to pass up.
He was attracted to Augsburg’s commitment to service-learning,
Top: MBA director Robert Kramarczuk places a hood on Kristen Schell, one of
84 in the first class of MBA graduates.
Bottom: Sarah Anton offers a comment to her classmates in Cohort 3.
Summer 2006
23
“In the real world, you don’t function on
your own. You rely upon other people.”
—CHRISTINE WAGGONER ’97, ’06 MBA
which became an integral component in
the MBA. “The program reflects very well
Augsburg’s mission—service to others,”
Kramarczuk says. “It’s a hallmark of our
program.”
One group of MBA students spends
time in the Somali community. All are
involved in field projects where, as a
team, students work with an organization
for 10 to 11 months. Kramarczuk says
that these sorts of experiences put
Augsburg’s MBA students “ten levels
above” those in other programs.
“The other key factor is that we
consider really good leaders to differ
from others by being able to think
critically … That’s woven into the entire
program.”
Even with six other successful
program starts, Kramarczuk considers
Augsburg’s unique. “We look at it from a
different perspective. We look at it as
your life’s purpose or vocation, with the
MBA being a critical leg in this life’s
journey… We tell our students, ‘After
you get this MBA, you’ll say this
is probably one of the most
important decisions you’ve made
in your life.’”
Jamie Schiller, MBA coordinator, and graduate
As a requirement for
Christine Waggoner pause from the action of an MBA
admission to the program, each
softball game.
applicant must personally
interview with Kramarczuk. “It’s
humbling to hear them share and discuss
THE CURRICULUM
their goals and aspirations and how the
The intense curriculum includes finance
MBA fits into this process. … I consider
and economics, local and global issues,
myself almost like a peer. I love my
organizational management, and
students, and I think they kind of like
leadership ethics. Through application
me.”
and research, students learn to
Like him they do, and at a recent
implement ideas and communicate vital
event they presented Kramarczuk with an
statistical, financial, and other critical
award. Accolades include these words
business-related data in an evolving work
from Babette Blumenauer of Cohort 4:
environment.
“He has started this program that will
The required field project, which
change my life course. … I am not just a
serves as the thesis for the MBA, often
number or an obscure student here. Dr.
responds to real-world requests that
Kramarczuk … gives me time, shows he
come to the program from business and
cares, and he knows my name. And that
industry.
has meant a lot to me.”
“Book learning is very different from
Announcing
•
•
•
•
•
•
NEW MBA
GRADUATE
CERTIFICATES
Finance
Financial planning
Human resource management
International business
Marketing management
Music business management
Graduate certificates provide applied, practical, graduate-level
training to enhance skills and advance careers. In addition, they
can later be applied toward a master’s degree. Certificates can be
earned in as few as six months with courses meeting one evening
per week for seven weeks. Cohorts will form beginning this fall.
For information, call 612-330-1390.
24
real-life experience,” says Christine
Waggoner of Cohort 2. “It’s that real-life
experience that is discussed and studied
in this program.”
Waggoner earned her bachelor’s
degree from Augsburg in 1997. “Given
my positive experience as an
undergraduate, I cannot tell you how
excited I was when I received the
postcard announcing that Augsburg was
starting an MBA program,” she says. “At
Augsburg, the professors know you.
They tailor their teaching methods to the
students in their class. They share their
personal stories … [and] successes and
failures they’ve gone through.”
“When you finish, you will be at a
higher level of leadership and decisionmaking,” Kramarczuk says. Additionally,
because of the liberal arts background, an
Summer 2006
Augsburg MBA graduate will be more of
a “cosmopolitan” thinker.
Waggoner confirms this. “I have a
new outlook on the way I view myself
and my career. I have a lot more
confidence in my ability to lead, manage,
and make strategic business decisions.”
A significant number of students have
been offered new jobs and promotions as
a result of what they have taken away
from the MBA program.
LIFE IN THE COHORT
The cohort model has been critical to the
success of the program. It allows
students to build relationships and
become almost like family to each other
as they travel together through the
sequence of courses.
“Taking classes as a member of a
cohort has really enriched my learning
experience,” says Waggoner. “Classes are
sequentially ordered so that students
build upon learned skills, and those
skills are continually reinforced
throughout the program. The program is
organized so students can focus on
learning.”
This even includes providing a warm
meal before each evening class.
“[Students] have an opportunity to sit
together,” says Kramarczuk. “They are
from different professions, different parts
of the Twin Cities. They sit down to
really communicate about class work,
personal life, professional life.”
“In the real world, you don’t function
on your own,” Waggoner says. “You rely
upon other people.”
“You learn a lot from the students,
too,” adds Appel. “There are people of
diverse backgrounds—professional
backgrounds, cultural backgrounds, age
groups…”
This group atmosphere extends
beyond the classroom to social events
and celebrations. Appel formed and
managed a softball team with players
representing multiple cohorts. They
ordered Augsburg caps and jerseys and
even won a game. “We were beyond
awful, but we had a lot of spirit!”
Waggoner says.
“When Cohorts 3 and 4 came on
board, we had a little party at
Kramarczuk’s Deli,” reminisces Appel.
“Bob [Kramarczuk] wrote a ‘Rudolph the
Red-Nosed Reindeer’ song and made
them sing it.” The parody was titled
“Auggie, the Adult Professional.” These
kick-off dinners have become a tradition,
with older cohorts welcoming new ones.
Other social events have included the
students’ families, giving them a chance
to meet classmates and professors.
Already, a graduation celebration is in
the planning, where awards will be
handed out and, in line with tradition,
Kramarczuk’s musical parodies will
probably be sung.
THE CAMPUS
MBA director Bob Kramarczuk (left) and Auggie Eagle (right) lead Cohorts 3 and 4 in their
“initiation” song.
The opportunity to study on a “real”
campus also attracts students to the
program.
“Here, you come to school,” Appel
says. “There’s people with laptops, people
studying, there’s the bookstore… When I
meet my cohort outside of class to study,
we meet at the library. You feel like you
“[My classmates are]
people I respect…
very smart people.
Just like family.”
—SUNNY OLISE ’06 MBA
MBA graduate Nathan Appel, originator of the
MBA softball team, strikes a pose.
Summer 2006
Nigerian-born Sunny Olise came to the U.S. to
study business and appreciates the small-group
atmosphere in Augsburg's MBA program.
25
are in school… Now, actually coming to
campus just feels more like I’m at an
institution of higher learning and all that
goes along with that.”
Nigerian-born Sunny Olise began
studying in Lindell Library while he was
an undergraduate business student at
another school because he found it to be
a more calming and productive place for
him to work.
So when he heard the ad for
Augsburg’s new MBA program on the
radio, he said to himself, “Yeah, it’s a
good school.” Olise called Kramarczuk
and told him the story of how he woke
up one day after working for the
Nigerian government for 21 years
wanting to “try something new.”
The two later met in the coffee center of
Christensen Center. At the end of their
visit, Kramarczuk said, “Congratulations,
Sunny. You’re in!”
“I didn’t even know he was
interviewing me,” Olise says, laughing.
From there, Kramarczuk took Olise to
the bookstore to purchase his books.
Less than two years later, Olise is one of
the Cohort 4 graduates. He describes his
group as “people I respect… very smart
people. Just like family.”
“In addition to the knowledge you get
from the MBA program, there’s a lot of
prestige attached to it,” says Olise. “I work
full time, I have a full-time family, I
attended school, and I’m a chess addict…
I have no regrets whatsoever. None.”
COMING OF AGE
Kramarczuk considers the number of
students pretty close to the maximum
the College can currently support,
although he sees a huge potential for
growth. In response to a particular need,
Augsburg now offers the full MBA
program at Thrivent Financial’s corporate
center in downtown Minneapolis. Several
students have transferred in from nearby
programs, and Kramarczuk anticipates an
eventual 100 students at the Thrivent
location alone.
Augsburg also launched its first MBA
cohort in Rochester in fall 2005, its second
last winter, and will add its third this fall.
26
“Augsburg is a very traditional
institution, while the MBA is a very
entrepreneurial effort. There’s continual
adjustment that’s had to happen on both
ends,” Kramarczuk says. “It’s seems to be
progressing well.”
“We want to continue to develop
graduate business programs geared
toward executives. We are also
developing MBA programs in specific
concentration areas such as international
business,” says Cerrito.
Putting their MBA
“It’s kind of scary being the first class
of MBAs, but Augsburg’s reputation in
the metro and in the region is solid,”
Appel says. “The undergraduate business
program has a really good reputation.
Hopefully we’ll piggyback off of that. …
I’m banking on Augsburg’s reputation
carrying weight. I think it will.” ■
For more information about the MBA
program, go to <www.augsburg.edu/mba>.
(L to R): Derek Zielin, Max Boller, David
Sandvig, Matthew Barrett, Sarah Anton,
Scott Kretzschmar
TO WORK
Many MBA students seek out the
program to help them advance in their
current positions. For some students in
Cohort 3, however, the program
provided the foundation for a new
business venture.
One particular group of students
began talking during breaks, after
class, and, of course, over the pre-class
dinners. At these dinners, student
Sarah Anton says, “We learn about our
families, our goals, our plans for the
future.”
These discussions led to the creation
of Minnesota Business Consultants, LLP
(MBC), a group of five men and Anton.
“Each member brings a different
expertise to the group that comes out
of our diverse career paths,” she says.
MBC specializes in strategic
planning and profit maximization for
small- to medium-size businesses.
“Guiding businesses that might wish to
re-evaluate their current financial
picture” is the mission, according to
Anton. “We see using the contacts
we’ve gained from Augsburg to
develop a client base and to develop a
niche in an industry where small
businesses are struggling. We believe
small businesses are an important part
of our Minnesota culture.”
MBC is starting out in rental office
space, and each consultant will
maintain his or her current job until
MBC is able to support them fully.
“It’s a natural progression of the
excellent talent pool that Kramarczuk
puts together,” says Anton. “It would
surprise me if there aren’t more
businesses formed out of the MBA
cohorts.”
Summer 2006
on tour with the
AUGSBURG
Choir
STORY AND PHOTOS BY JUDY PETREE
HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW WROTE, “Music is the universal language of
mankind.” As the Augsburg Choir set out on its European concert tour they would come to
understand the meaning of Longfellow’s words.
From May 8-21, under the direction of Peter Hendrickson ’76, the choir toured Budapest,
Hungary; Prague and Kutna Hora, Czech Republic; and Dresden and Leipzig, Germany,
where the tour ended at the American Choral Festival.
The 66-voice choir sang in basilicas that took their breaths away, in churches that dated
back to the 1300s, and in one of the finest concert halls in Europe. Their audiences included
U. S. citizens living in Europe as well as people who could speak little or no English.
The choir learned that it wasn’t the words they sang, but rather the music they made that
touched hearts and brought smiles—and sometimes even tears—to the people who came to
hear them. They also learned how music is indeed a universal language, and that experiences
like these also create bonds among themselves that last across continents and time.
On the return trip home, tenor Hayes Kaufman ’09 said when he joined the choir his dad
expressed his hope that someday he, Hayes, would come to appreciate the opportunity he
was being given.
“I think I already have,” Kaufman told his fellow choir members. “Thanks to everyone
for this great trip, the memories, and opportunity.”
H U N G A R Y,
Summer 2006
C Z E C H
R E P U B L I C ,
A N D
G E R M A N Y
27
B U D A P E S T ,
K U T N A
H O R A ,
P R A G U E ,
D R E S D E N ,
L E I P Z I G
(1) The concert tour began at St. Stephen’s Basilica
in Budapest, Hungary, the city’s largest church. Not
only its beauty and magnificence awed the choir,
but also the sound of their voices. Tenor Tony
Wallin ’08 said he couldn’t believe that “we, the
Augsburg Choir, would ever have the opportunity
to sing in such a place.”
(2) In the small Czech town of Kutna Hora, once
famous for its silver mines, the choir sang at St.
Barbara’s Cathedral. Here, a few choir members
take a break at intermission to catch a view of the
town at night.
(Front row, L to R) Aleah Tebben, Mike
Schmit, Colin Callander, Kathryn Goerges (Back
row, L to R) Stacey Zeutenhorst, Miranda Nelson,
Eric Anderson, Adam Krumwiede, Tom Robinson
and Kent Bodurtha.
1
In Prague, the choir sang at St. Ignatius, an active
church run by Jesuit monks that was begun in
1665 and completed in 1671.
2
3
4
28
(3) At a stop in Krabcice, another small Czech
town, the choir performed for an audience of
senior citizens, most of whom knew no English. A
highlight of the tour for many of the students was
a song they sang in the Czech language, for which
they received a standing ovation and compliments
on their pronunciation.
“This by far has been the best part of the tour
for me,” said soprano Molly Shortall ’07, who
enjoyed talking with one of the senior citizens
after the concert.
“It was better than the larger concerts because
you could just feel that it meant so much to these
people. These are people who had their culture
taken away from them for so many years, and now
you can see how much it must mean to them to
get it back.”
(4) The audience was sparse but very appreciative
at Annen Kirche in Dresden, Germany, one of the
only churches there to escape bombing during
World War II. A woman in the front row was so
clearly moved by the choir’s singing, she would
direct along with Peter and, at times, smile broadly
and cry quietly.
Summer 2006
B U D A P E S T ,
K U T N A
H O R A ,
K R A B C I C E ,
D R E S D E N ,
L E I P Z I G
“It doesn’t always matter how many people are
in the audience, said bass Dave Czepa ’06. He
spoke for many of the choir members as he said,
“that one lady and what this obviously meant to
her made the whole concert worth it.”
(5) In Leipzig, Germany—home to such famous
composers as Bach and Handel—the choir visited
St. Thomaskirche, where Johann Sebastian Bach
was a cantor and where he is buried. They also
toured St. Nicholaskirche, founded in 1165.
6
(6) The choir teamed up with the Northwestern
College Choir of St. Paul to perform at the
Gewandhaus in Leipzig for the American Choral
Festival. They sang several songs as a massed
choir, plus each choir performed on its own.
Joining the choir was Augsburg alumna Nicole
(Warner) Simml ’01. Simml now lives in Germany
teaching voice and performing frequently.
Performing solos are (L to R) Nicole (Warner)
Simml; Krista Costin, Augsburg; Nathan Bird,
Northwestern; and Dave Czepa, Augsburg.
Directing is Northwestern choir director Timothy
Sawyer, with Augsburg director Peter
Hendrickson on piano.
What was the most memorable part of the trip—
the beautiful churches; the scenery; experiencing
different cultures, food, and languages? Not
according to many of the students. What they will
remember most are the bonds and friendships
they made with each other. Although the choir
has been singing together all year, they found that
sometimes it takes an experience such as this to
get to know each other really well. Alto Kellin
Pray ’08 said she really enjoyed being with others
who enjoy the same thing. The sad part, she
added, is now saying goodbye to the seniors
whom they were just starting to really know.
7
5
8
(7) (L to R) Kellin Pray, Bri’Ann Wright, and
Micah Erickson.
(8) (L to R) Emily Denstad, Emma Stensvaag, and
Adena Berg.
(9) Mother’s Day greetings from Prague were sent
home by Brian Halaas and Kari Aanestad.
9
Summer 2006
29
E
very week more than 2,000
people fill the Plymouth
Playhouse in the Twin Cities’
suburb for an afternoon or
evening of laughter, sharing
the lives of four women and their pastor
in the church basement of the East
Cornucopia Lutheran Church.
The play, Church Basement Ladies,
pays homage to the stalwart women who
cooked for and served every church
congregation. And it strikes a chord with
anyone who grew up in the 1950s and
’60s across the Midwest, whether they be
Lutheran, Methodist, or Presbyterian—it
was all part of their own experience.
Church Basement Ladies is based on
the Scandinavian humor books of Janet
Letnes Martin and Suzann (Johnson)
Nelson, both 1968 Augsburg graduates.
On stage the role of the church’s
matriarch, Mrs. Lars Snustad, is played
by Janet Paone ’83. For all three of them,
their Augsburg experiences play big.
Martin and Nelson came to Augsburg
in 1964 as freshmen, each attracted to
the big city and driven by the desire to
escape a future as a farm wife. When they
arrived, Augsburg was in the midst of
great change, reflecting new college
direction and leadership—the College
had just merged into the American
Lutheran Church after the demise of the
Lutheran Free Church, and Oscar
Anderson had just become president.
Students were pushed to explore and
understand the social and racial issues of
the city around them, forever changing
their worldviews.
Nelson aspired to be a home
economics teacher, but by the end of her
“God knew that if there were going
to be growing, self-sustaining, active
Lutheran Churches in America, he
would have to create a special
species of people, so He created the
Lutheran Church Basement Women.”
—Growing Up Lutheran,
Janet Letnes Martin and
Suzann (Johnson) Nelson, 1997
first semester had switched to political
science, and then in her sophomore year
to Scandinavian studies when the new
major was announced. She studied
Norwegian and was active in the
Norwegian Club, which led to many
opportunities, such as meeting the
visiting King Olav V of Norway.
Both Martin and Nelson felt
comfortable at Augsburg. They loved the
big city around them, but appreciated the
small-town comfort of the campus.
What they discovered was that smalltown Scandinavian Lutheran life was the
same everywhere. Nelson recalls the
many nights she and classmates from
small towns across the Upper Midwest
sat around in Gerda Mortensen Hall and
talked about their common backgrounds.
“We all grew up the same way,” Martin
confirms.
Students not from rural small towns
were commuter students, and Nelson
remembers stunning her city roommates
by talking about eating cream on bread.
So much so that she and others went
shopping and demonstrated how it was
made and eaten.
Paone arrived at Augsburg 15 years
later. By then Augsburg was less
THOSE
Lutheran
ladies
BY BETSEY NORGARD
30
Summer 2006
Top: Janet Letnes Martin ’68 began writing
down her experiences growing up in rural
North Dakota and calls herself a “NorwegianLutheran farm girl humorist.”
Suzann (Johnson) Nelson ’68 used her
Scandinavian studies to inspire the
characters of rural Norwegian
Minnesota in her books.
Janet Paone ’83 has made a career in
acting and voiceover work, and
brings her Augsburg experience to
the stage in Church Basement Ladies
Bottom: From The Augsburgian, 1968.
Bottom: From The Augsburgian, 1968.
Bottom: From The Augsburgian, 1981.
obviously Norwegian Lutheran and far
more diverse, but it was because of the
Lutheran church that Paone chose it. Her
mother was Lutheran and her father was
Catholic. She was raised in Abiding
Savior Lutheran Church, but within her
family she felt the stigma of being the
child of a parent who “turned,” i.e.,
married outside the Lutheran faith. She
feels her father’s family never really
accepted her Lutheran mother.
After applying to music schools in New
York, she decided to stay home for college
and chose Augsburg because she had
always respected and enjoyed the
Augsburg students who were counselors at
Lake Wapogassett Lutheran Bible Camp.
She had also considered the ministry, but
she ended up in the theatre program.
“There was definitely a Norwegian
Lutheran influence at Augsburg,” Paone
says. “There was a Scandinavian studies
major, and most people’s names ended in
–son, -sen, -gard, or –dal.” She also
remembers the aesthetic influence of the
“good” dinnerware with Scandinavian
design used for special dinners.
Martin and Nelson graduated in
1968, but neither returned to her small
town. On a Norwegian Club trip to
Decorah, Iowa, Nelson had met Ronald
E. Nelson ’67; in March 1967 they were
married in Mindekirken, the Norwegian
Lutheran Memorial Church in
Minneapolis. She studied Scandinavian
literature in graduate school and for 10
summers directed Skogfjorden, the
Norwegian Language Village.
Martin married shortly after college
and began raising a family. More than a
decade later, in 1983, while helping her
mother-in-law research family history,
she became frustrated at not finding
much information about life in rural
communities and decided to begin
writing down what it was like growing
up. Together with Allen Todnem ’64, also
an Augsburg graduate, she co-authored
Cream and Bread, and then Second
Helpings of Cream and Bread.
Martin and Nelson remained close
friends. In 1994, on a whim, Martin
suggested that Nelson should write a
book with her, and Nelson quit her job
the same day.
Sitting around the kitchen table in
their flannel nightgowns enjoying
Summer 2006
31
REMEMBERING
those
Lutheran
ladies
BY DAVE WOOD
IT WAS THE MID-1980S. I had recently been appointed
book review editor of the Minneapolis Star Tribune after a lengthy
stint as English teacher at Augsburg and feature writer for the old
Tribune.
“Dave,” said the receptionist, “There’s an author out here in
the lobby who wants to see you.”
Wow. My first author. Who would it be? I trotted down to the
lobby to discover a woman who looked like a pert middle-aged
housewife from Hastings, Minn., which, in fact, she was.
“Hi,” she said, thrusting an enormous layer cake into my paws.
“I’m Janet Martin. I went to Augsburg back in the ’60s. I’ve
written a book and if you’ll review it the cake is yours.”
Looking back, I sincerely hope I wasn’t too condescending
when I explained to Janet Letnes Martin that Star Tribune policy
prohibited my taking gifts, blah blah blah.
“OK,” she said, unflappable. “I’ll take back the cake. You take
the book.”
So there I was with Janet Letnes Martin’s first literary effort,
Cream on Bread. I gave it a whirl. It was wonderful. As a minor
ethnician of the times, I had read lots of this stuff, like Howard
Mohr’s work, and I think I knew what was good. Janet Martin’s
was excellent. No cheap shots. There were no big yuks in Cream
on Bread, just lots of little ones. That’s because Janet Martin was
smart enough to know that there aren’t a lot of big yuks in
Lutherandom, but lots and lots of little ones. That’s why she
became one of Lutheran humor’s most honest purveyors.
Was I surprised? Yes. But I shouldn’t have been. I had taught
for 10 years at Augsburg, not too many years after she had
graduated. I had taught at four other schools before my arrival
there and was continually surprised at the little college’s vitality
and intellectuality. Sure, there was a streak of inferiority feeling
running through the student body. The University of Minnesota
students across Riverside Ave. called Augsburg “God’s Little Acre.”
We had great music, science, art, and poetry, but the steam heat
system in Old Main on a cold day sounded like the last 15 minutes
before the H.M.S. Titanic went down. Nevertheless we had great
32
Dave Wood is a past vice-president of the
National Book Critics Circle and former
book review editor of the Minneapolis Star
Tribune. He taught English and journalism
at Augsburg from 1969 to 1981.
poetry readings, students went off to good
graduate schools.
Best, we all had lots of fun, parked
right in the middle of a seedy old section
of Minneapolis.
But back to Janet Letnes Martin. Her
first book was a success followed by many
more, including one of my favorites, which
involved Hastings housewife/detective
Shirley Holmquist, a direct steal from Arthur Conan Doyle. In 1994,
her Auggie classmate, Suzann Nelson of Grand Rapids, Minn.,
joined her and their books tumbled out, books like their
monumental theological tract about Lutherans and Roman
Catholics entitled They Glorified Mary … We Glorified Rice. They
also performed two-woman shows, filling church basements across
the Midwest.
Ever since the Martin/Nelson success, I’ve been a bit jealous.
I’ve tried my hand with ethnic humor. Like Martin and Nelson I
grew up in a little Norwegian Lutheran town. But my stuff never
lit any fires. Why did theirs?
I’ve come to think that Augsburg College had a lot to do with
it. Augsburg was traditionally on the outer fringe of the Lutheran
establishment. Its supporting synod, the Lutheran Free Church,
was always suspicious of clericalism, authority, big shots. An
immigrant church, it had to survive by its wits. (Janet Letnes
Martin, you see, didn’t actually think her layer cake would
persuade me to review her book. It was just a way of tweaking my
self-satisfaction, cutting me and the Star Tribune down to size.)
And so the two pious girls from small farm towns came to God’s
Little Acre in the heart of the Sinful City and found out one could
love one’s church and have some fun with it, too.
I look back more than a quarter century at the students like
Martin and Nelson and wonder at their successes, many of which
have just a bit of orneriness in common. It’s a wonderful tradition
and the women who made church basements famous are
definitely part of it.
And so now the girls are moving out onto the national scene.
Martin and Nelson are no longer girls, but I can’t help thinking of
them in that way, for their girlish glee and for poking a little fun
at the basements where they both spent hundreds of hours
learning that certain concepts were “most certainly true.”
I have only one bit of advice and that’s for Janet Letnes
Martin. If and when you get to New York City, don’t bring a layer
cake to the offices of the New York Times Book Review.
The editor won’t get it.
Summer 2006
copious amounts of both coffee and
laughter, the two women began to
capture recollections and memories as
they spilled out. Nelson has said that it’s
her job to jog people’s memories and
their job to laugh. Their intention is
never to make fun of anyone or anything.
“There’s a fine line between making fun
of something and having fun with it,”
Martin told an interviewer. “Hopefully
we’ll never cross it.”
Three books came within the first six
months. So far, they’ve written nine
books together, the most popular being
Growing Up Lutheran: What Does This
Mean?, which won a Minnesota Book
Award for humor.
Requests for speaking engagements
also started coming, and for several years
Martin and Nelson crisscrossed each
others’ paths as they spoke to church
groups, women’s groups, and local
organizations. Then they devised a
comedy routine and began appearing
together as “Those Lutheran Ladies”—
nothing more than sharing their own
backgrounds.
An idea for a play came about when
TroupeAmerica’s president and executive
producer-director, Curt Wollan, hired
Those Lutheran Ladies to perform for
three weeks at the Medora Musical in
North Dakota. Wollan invited a
playwright-couple, Jim Stowell and
Jessica Zuehlke, to pen the script.
Wollan, who had grown up as
“Lutherans attending a Lutheran
college in the ’50s and ’60s did not
have to prepare themselves for any
big culture shock. Some of them
even shared the same last name—
but were not related.”
—Growing Up Lutheran,
Janet Letnes Martin and
Suzann (Johnson) Nelson, 1997
president of his Luther League and the
son of a dedicated church basement lady,
encouraged Paone to take the part of
matronly Vivian Snustad, the
unequivocal and uncompromising queen
of the church basement ladies in his
fictional East Cornucopia Lutheran
Church.
Paone, a veteran character actress seen
in Tony ’n Tina’s Wedding, pushed for
revisions to the script through a workshop
process in order to engage Mrs. Snustad
more with the audience. This character is a
curmudgeon, but works through her
issues and begins to understand why
things must eventually change—beginning
with her consternation over the hymnals
changing from black to red.
Church Basement Ladies previewed at
several locations before settling into its
long run at the Plymouth Playhouse.
Paone recalls opening in Fargo, where
the cast was extremely nervous about
how it would go over. Once the audience
started laughing and didn’t stop, Paone
remembers the “neat moment” between
acts when the cast suddenly realized that
“this thing is going to be huge.”
Audiences react differently to the
play, Paone says, and she can tell by what
they laugh at whether the crowd (often
comprised of large church groups) is
Lutheran or Catholic. And, if they react
most vividly to the physical comedy
aspect, they probably aren’t churchconnected at all.
Even if someone is not well versed in
the ways of Martin Luther, she says, the
play is still very accessible. “It’s about a
[small] country church … it’s the social
center, with many different layers.”
Paone would love to pull more
material from Martin and Nelson’s books
for the stage, and Martin and Nelson
would love to have the current actors
stay involved with the East Cornucopia
Lutheran Church.
What’s next for Those Lutheran
Ladies? When asked about it, Martin
quickly replies, “Oh, ya, there’s lots more
in it.” When they get together and start
laughing, she says, “We just run with it
… and sometimes we just blurt out the
same thing.”
And, to quote Martin Luther and the
church basement ladies, “This is most
certainly true.” ■
“If Scandinavian Lutherans could add one more feast day to the church
calendar, it would be the feast of fish and flatbread … Unlike the Catholics
who had to eat fish every Friday, Scandinavian Lutherans were only morally
obligated to eat it once a year, and that was at the annual Lutefisk supper.”
—Growing Up Lutheran,
Janet Letnes Martin and
Suzann (Johnson) Nelson, 1997
Summer 2006
33
CHURCH
Basement
Troupe America, Inc.
Ladies
—you bet it’s a big hit!
The cast of Church Basement Ladies (L to R): Janet Paone ’83 (Mrs. Lars Snustad—Vivian), Greta
Grosch (Mrs. Gilmer Gilmerson—Mavis), Tim Drake (Pastor E. L. Gunderson), Dorian Chalmers
(Mrs. Elroy Engelson-Karin) and Ruthie Baker (Signe Engelson—Karin’s daughter).
BY ANY MEASURE, Church Basement Ladies is a monster
hit. It has been running for more than 35 weeks at Plymouth
Playhouse (scheduled through the end of 2006) at 101%
occupancy. It now has a double cast and offers 10 or 11 shows per
week.
Curt Wollan, producer and director, found inspiration for the
play in his own mother. After she died, Wollan was asked if the
gift she left the church could be used for their greatest need, a
new stove for the kitchen. He agreed, and it was named Lorraine
in her honor, a seemingly fitting legacy.
“We’re honoring people who are never honored … and who
are under-appreciated,” says Wollan. “The play has been hugely
popular with women who have worked in church basements, and
with their daughters and granddaughters, who are remembering
mom and grandmother.”
He remembers being a Luther Leaguer in his own church when
they’d sing, “Come out, dear ladies, come out, come out” so the
women could be recognized, and they were always bashful about
it. “They were the unsung heroes of the church—they kept it
clean and fed, and the coffee going.”
He says the play is universal—it doesn’t matter where or what
church you’re in—every church has its basement ladies. The show
just happens to be Norwegian Lutheran because it’s based on
Nelson and Martin’s book, Growing Up Lutheran.
The play is important, he says, because this part of church life
is dying. “As women have started to work, there are fewer
basement ladies and there is more catering,” says Wollan. “This
34
celebrates the past and its heritage.”
Church Basement Ladies is preparing to embark on a ninestate, 50-city tour from January-March 2007, in mostly small towns
throughout the Upper Midwest, but reaching as far as New
Mexico, Colorado, and Montana. Then, they’ll wait a year and
tour bigger cities.
Already underway are plans for a second cast to begin
production in Chicago. New York is pending, and there has been
interest in an off-Broadway venue where it would play in a real
Lutheran church basement.
Norwegian Lutheran food is central to the play. One of
Wollan’s favorite lines is “Lutefisk and lefse are directly descended
from the five loaves and two fishes at the Sea of Galilee, and have
since lost their color.”
The music and lyrics were written by Drew Jansen; here are
two samples:
From “Closer to Heaven”—“You’re closer to heaven in the
church basement, Where we do the Good Lord’s work. Everywhere
you look you see spectacular sights; 40 kinds of food to feed some
fierce appetites; Nearly new linoleum and fluorescent lights,
managed by a stalwart squad. Here below the house of God.”
From “Dead Spread”[term for the spreads served on
sandwiches following a funeral]—“Dead spread, a splendid affair,
to celebrate someone who’s no longer there; dead spread, a
wonderful thing, what sweet consolation a hotdish can bring.”
For more information, go to <www.plymouthplayhouse.com>.
Summer 2006
AAlumni
LUMNINews
NEWS
From the Alumni Board president’s desk…
S
erving as
president of the
Augsburg Alumni
Board the past year
has in many ways
been one of the most
rewarding and
enriching things I
have done. I am
continually inspired
by the many outstanding and diverse
accomplishments of our alumni, and I
am honored and humbled by the
opportunity to serve the Augsburg
Alumni Association and Augsburg
Alumni Board over the past seven years.
My goal this year was to continue the
transformation and forward momentum
of the Alumni Board in its journey from
the role of an advisory board to a
working board. Under discussion has
been our advisory member initiative, in
which we invite representatives of
various campus constituencies to attend
our committee meetings in order to
foster greater dialogue, e.g. parents,
international students, A-Club, the
Augsburg Associates, Faculty and Staff
Senates. Our Connections Committee,
led by Buffie Blesi, undertook an effort to
explore possibilities for offering alumni
benefits. Stay tuned to hear more about
this effort in the coming months.
I’m proud to report that Alumni
Board members are well on the way to a
fourth consecutive year of 100%
contribution to the annual fund. Our
intention is to continue to build on this
tradition of giving, and I am pleased to
say that the Alumni Board has also
committed to a 100% contribution rate
among board members to the Access to
Excellence campaign. We are certainly
blessed by these commitments and by
these gifts.
President Frame’s leadership of
Augsburg is finishing with tremendous
energy, solid growth for the College, and
renewal of its vision for the future. The
strength and constancy of his leadership
has helped draw Augsburg to new levels
of recognition. In his own words,
“Augsburg plays a unique role in the
world of Lutheran education. Its service
to the city, to the provision of
accessibility to first-class educational
opportunities, and its regard for faith and
reason as interactive and mutually
reinforcing modes of understanding …
gives us a special mission.” Augsburg has
been truly blessed by President Frame’s
incredible leadership the past nine years.
I had the privilege of speaking at
Augsburg’s 137th Commencement on
May 6 and welcoming 752 graduates as
the newest members of the Augsburg
Alumni Association. Our Alumni
Association has grown considerably since
my Commencement ceremony a little
over 20 years ago, when the Weekend
College had just been launched and
when graduate programs, the Rochester
program, and many others did not yet
exist. The Alumni Association in those
days numbered around 10-11,000
members and now includes around
18,000. Congratulations and welcome to
the Class of 2006!
I am excited about Augsburg’s future,
the future of the Alumni Association,
and the Alumni Board. I hope you will
join me in welcoming President-elect
Paul Pribbenow and incoming Alumni
Board president Barry Vornbrock—the
next chapter in our history!
Stay close and stay connected.
Karina Karlén ’83
President, Alumni Board
LSAT prep for a bargain
Don’t take out a loan to pay those expensive test prep companies.
Augsburg’s Office of Undergraduate Research and Graduate
Opportunity (URGO) is hosting LSAT Prep on campus this fall.
The instructor is Brian Farrell ’95, an attorney and Augsburg
alumnus, who scored in the 99th percentile on the exam and taught
LSAT prep for Princeton Review. Four sessions are offered:
TUES., OCT. 10, 6 TO 9 P.M.-—Homework review, reading
comprehension strategy and practice
TUES., OCT. 17, 6 TO 9 P.M.—Homework review, continued practice in
all sections, overall test-taking strategies, test-day preparation, class
questions
TUES., SEPT. 26, 6 TO 9 P.M.—General introduction to the LSAT,
analytical reasoning strategy and practice
The cost for the four sessions is $150 for Augsburg alumni,
compared to $580 at the University of Minnesota and over $1300 at
Kaplan or Princeton Review.
TUES., OCT. 3, 6 TO 9 P.M.—Homework review, logical reasoning
strategy and practice
To register (limited spaces are available), contact Dixie Shafer,
<shafer@augsburg.edu>.
Summer 2006
35
Alumni Events
Please join us for these upcoming alumni events; unless otherwise noted, call 612-330-1085 or 1-800-260-6590 or e-mail
<alumni@augburg.edu> for more information.
June
August
20
8
Auggie Hours, 5:30-7 p.m.
Campiello, 1320 West Lake St.,
Uptown Minneapolis,
612-825-2222
15
Alumni Board Meeting,
5:30 p.m.
Minneapolis Room,
Christensen Center
10
Auggie Evening at the Races
Canterbury Park, Shakopee, MN
Gather your friends and family and
join us for free admission and
complimentary hors d’oeuvres.
RSVP is required and space
is limited.
16
Auggies attend Lutheran
Night at the Dome
Minnesota Twins v. Cleveland
Indians, with first pitch at 7:10.
Lower level seating—$18 per
ticket(group rate).
Tickets are limited-contact the
Alumni Relations Office,
612-330-1613 or send check to:
Alumni Relations Office,
2211 Riverside Ave S., CB 146,
Minneapolis, MN 55454
Once your payment has been
received, the tickets will be mailed
to you in August.
Alumni Board Meeting,
5:30 p.m.
Minneapolis Room,
Christensen Center
July
11
Auggie Hours, 5:30-7 p.m.
Maynard’s Restaurant,
685 Excelsior Blvd., Excelsior, MN
(located in the southeast corner of
Excelsior Bay on Lake
Minnetonka), 952-470-1800
Please e-mail the following
information to <ecs@augsburg.edu>
or call 612-330-1104: Total number
in your group, names of you and
your guests, your graduation
year(s), and your contact number.
The deadline to register is Friday,
August 4.
Homecoming 2006—Watch us Soar
September 25-30
Mon., Sept. 25
Wed., Sept. 27
4:30-6 p.m.
10:30 a.m.
7:30-9 p.m.
International Student
Organization reception
Student Kick-Off Event,
Coronation and Pep Rally
Augsburg Associates annual
fall luncheon (off campus)
Noon-1 p.m.
Auggie Cup Knowledge
Bowl (East Commons)
9:30-10:30 p.m. Homecoming communion
Tues., Sept. 26
11 a.m.- 2 p.m. Counseling and Health
Promotion Annual Fair
6:30 p.m.
Alumni Baseball game,
Parade Stadium
7 p.m.
Powder puff football
9 p.m.
FCA campfire, Murphy Park
Thurs., Sept. 28
11 a.m.-2 p.m. Student activity—Old Auggie
photos
5:30-8:30 p.m. Athletic Hall of Fame Banquet
Fri., Sept. 29
9-10 a.m.
10-11 a.m.
11 a.m.-2 p.m.
12:30-2 p.m.
36
2:15- 3:15 p.m. Campus tour
3:30-6 p.m.
Hall Crawl
3 p.m.
Artist Amy Rice ’93, slide
presentation, Marshall
Room, Christensen Center
7 p.m.
ASAC Variety Show
7:30 p.m.
Men’s soccer game v.
Macalester
Reunion breakfast
Homecoming chapel
Student activity
Alumni luncheon
Sat., Sept. 30
11 a.m.-1 p.m. Picnic in the Park
noon
Auggie Cup Desk
Hurling
1-3 p.m.
Football Game v. ConcordiaMoorhead
3:30-7 p.m.
Auggie Block Party
Summer 2006
CLASS
NOTES
Class Notes
1956
Evelyn (Chanco) Steenberg,
Missoula, Mont., and her
husband, Tom ’58, ’61 Sem,
celebrated their golden wedding
anniversary on June 2, and hope
to be at their 50-year reunion at
Homecoming. They’ve spent 45
years in the ministry, including
35 years as missionaries in Japan.
The Steenbergs can be reached at
<tasteenberg@aol.com>.
1957
Gloria (Grant) Knoblauch,
Lake Elmo, Minn., was recently
recognized for her service and
leadership in forming the Friends
of Lake Elmo Library, which
succeeded in bringing a branch
of the Washington County
Library back to their city.
1958
Rev. Gary Turner, San Jacinto,
Calif., is an Anglican priest and
V.A. Hospital chaplain. Last
summer, while at the Hollywood
Bowl to see Garrison Keillor, he
ending up sitting two rows
ahead of Philip Knox ’57.
1965
Dwight Olson, San Diego,
Calif., was elected president of
the Licensing Executives Society
(LES) of USA & Canada, a
professional society of over 6,000
members engaged in the use,
development, manufacture, and
marketing of intellectual
property. LES is part of an
international organization, with
30 national societies representing
12,000 members in 80 countries.
He can be reached at
<dwight.olson@ironmountain.com>.
1969
James Roste, Roseville, Minn.,
retired on Dec. 31 after 36 years
in corrections work. He has
joined his wife, Lorene
(Peterson) ’70, in her business,
“Senior Moves,” helping seniors
Summer 2006
sort, pack, move, unpack, and
settle in at new locations.
1971
Thomas Haas, West St. Paul,
Minn., retired last August after
working 32 years at the State of
Minnesota Department of
Employment and Economic
Development, helping people find
employment by providing basic
skills and resources. He says that
retirement is “almost all I have
heard it can be—WONDERFUL.”
He also wonders how he had time
to work and get other things
done before. His wife is a genetics
researcher at the University of
Minnesota.
Jean Holbrook, San Mateo,
Calif., has been named San Mateo
County superintendent of schools
through January 2007, to
complete a vacated term. She
brings 30 years of experience
with the San Mateo County Office
of Education to the position.
Charles Maland, Knoxville,
Tenn., was awarded the
Alexander Prize for his superior
classroom teaching and
distinguished scholarship at the
University of Tennessee. His
teaching and research focuses on
American literature and cinema,
and he has been named editor of
a volume of James Agee’s film
criticism.
NewsCenter in Duluth, Minn.,
which provides weather news to
several TV channels and
newspapers in northern
Minnesota and northwestern
Wisconsin.
1988
Kiel Christianson, Champaign,
Ill., writes a golf equipment
column for travelgolf.com as a
hobby, and was recently quoted
in an article in CNNMoney.com
about a new Nike golf club.
1989
Nnamdi A.
Okoronkwo and
his wife, Sabrina
K., Minneapolis,
announce the
birth of their son,
Grayson
Nnamdi, very unexpectedly and
quickly, with the help of the
Minneapolis Fire Department. He
was born on his parents’ fifth
wedding anniversary and joins
older brother, Spencer, 18
months. Nnamdi and Sabrina
work for Best Buy and Target.
Steven Torgerud and his wife,
in St. Paul, welcomed a
daughter, Abigail Mae, on
March 1.
1992
Susan E. (Gehrke) Erdman
and her husband, Shane,
Marinette, Wis., announce the
birth of their daughter, Wynn
Leslie, on Sept. 9. She joins her
brother, Carson.
1993
Dana (Ryding)
Martin, and her
husband, Jeff,
Andover, Minn.,
welcomed a son,
Caden Joshua,
on Dec. 2. He
joins brother Noah, age 2. She
can be reached at<dana.martin@
moundsviewschools.org>.
1975
Daniel Swalm, Minneapolis, is
an adjunct professor at the
University of Wisconsin-River
Falls in the Graduate College of
Education and Professional
Studies and teaches career
counseling through the
Department of Counseling and
School of Psychology. He is the
executive director of Career
Solutions Inc., a nonprofit career
development agency in St. Paul.
1986
Karl Spring was named chief
meteorologist at the Northland’s
Joyce (Nelson) Schrader ’64, Friendswood, Texas, is a retired
elementary school teacher who taught second, third, fourth, and
fifth grades. Her husband is a retired human resources manager.
In the photo are Joyce and her husband, Steve (middle and top
rows, right); their daughter Mandy and her husband, Scott (top
row, left and middle), with their children, Haley (3) and Cason (1);
and their daughter Julie (bottom row, left) with her dog, Elvis.
37
Class Notes
Courtesy photo
ALUMNI PROFILE
Targeting cancer as both
physician and scientist
by Sara Holman ’06
Nine years have past since Arlo Miller roamed Augsburg’s campus as
a biology and chemistry student. However, this recent M.D./Ph.D.
Harvard graduate has not forgotten his Minneapolis alma mater.
“One of the biggest challenges in medical school is just trying to
figure out what is important and what actually matters. It’s
essentially very easy to lose the forest for the trees. I think Augsburg
science did very well to emphasize the forest, which provided a good
starting point,” Miller comments. He also credits the Honors
Program for its emphasis on critical thinking and communication
skills. After his junior year, Miller worked for the summer with a
leading cancer researcher at Washington University in St. Louis, who
helped convince him to seek the dual medical/research degrees.
Entering Harvard after his 1997 graduation was the first step in
Miller’s pursuit to study oncology, and his lab work in graduate
school led him to study melanoma. “I’d always been thinking I
would do hematology-oncology,” says Miller, “but I found that
dermatology is a better fit for me. Dermatologists actually deal with
the most prevalent forms of cancer, but the work primarily occurs in
the clinic rather than in the hospital. This will better enable me to
spend a fraction of my time doing research.”
Arlo Miller '97 received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2004 on
the same day as his fiancée, Ileana Howard, graduated from Harvard
Medical School. In June, he completed the M.D./Ph.D. program and
also received his medical degree.
Whether to become a regular doctor or a regular researcher or to split his time doing both has been something Miller has grappled with since
becoming part of the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP).
MSTP was founded to bridge the gap between physicians and scientists. “Sometime in the 1970s,” Miller says, “there was a concern that the
divide was widening to the point that effective translation of basic science research to the realm of medicine was in jeopardy. The MSTP
program sends people to medical school and graduate school with the hope of creating a pool of people who could serve as bridges between
these two communities.”
Miller entered the MSTP program with a National Institutes of Health (NIH) training grant, given to about 300 students across the country.
The grant pays all medical school costs and provides an annual stipend to compensate for the economic consequences of choosing the
lengthy M.D./Ph.D. path.
In this joint medical-research program, Miller’s first two years included the medical school core scientific curriculum—anatomy,
biochemistry, microbiology, pathology, pathophysiology, etc. Then he shifted to graduate work and did research for five years in three
different laboratories, including the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Finally he returned to the last two years of medical school and
worked in hospital and clinic settings.
In early June, Miller graduated from the M.D./Ph.D. program and will marry Ileana Howard, also a physcian. For the next year, he has a
transition-year internship in Seattle, where Howard is currently a resident in physical medicine and rehabilitation.
In July 2007, Miller will begin a three-year residency in dermatology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., a department known for its
excellence in the research and treatment of unusual problems. He imagines himself ending up at a research university and says he feels
drawn to the area of cancer biology.
When dealing with the very sensitive subject of cancer, Miller says his Augsburg experience continues to impact his role as a doctor. “You
often find yourself taking care of people that the rest of society has pretty much given up on and for whom all social support systems have
failed,” he says. “This is a community service aspect of medicine that I hadn’t anticipated or appreciated when I started, but I feel that
Augsburg helped prepare me through informal means, including the Link program and its urban setting.”
Sara Holman graduated in 2006 with majors in communication studies and English.
38
Summer 2006
operas in repertory during its
eight-week season, attracting
40,000 people from around
the world.
Courtesy photo
TOASTMASTERS AWARD
Graduate
programs
Doris Rubenstein ’93 MAL
was elected to the Board of
Directors of Affinity Plus
Federal Credit Union. She is
principal of PDP Services, a
consulting firm specializing in
corporate and personal
philanthropy.
In Memoriam
The Honorable Pamela Alexander ’74, Minneapolis, received the
Toastmasters International Communication and Leadership award
for 2006. She was lauded for her community service as a youth
motivational speaker, basketball coach, and teacher, and for the
more than 50 community service awards she has received. She is
a judge of the Fourth Judicial District Court, Juvenile Division, of
Hennepin County.
Jessica (Ferrell)
and Brad
Zenner ’92,
Minneapolis,
adopted a
daughter,
Jasmine Shan,
in November. Jasmine was born
in Hunan, China, in February
2005. She joins a happy sister,
Lily Jinxiong, 3. Jessica can be
reached at <jessicazenner@
hotmail.com>.
1994
Carrie Kennedy
and her husband,
Eric Peterson,
Hopkins, Minn.,
announce the
birth of a son,
Kieran Philip, in
January. Carrie is an adjunct
professor of English at Concordia
University in St. Paul and
teaches fiction writing at the Loft
Literary Center.
1996
Anne Lalla married Todd
Johnson in March; they live in
Summer 2006
Shoreview, Minn. They have one
son, Evan, born in September
2002.
Leslie Lucas ’00 married
Matthew Weide in July 2005.
She is currently a student in
the Master of Social Work
program, and he is an account
executive for Donaldson in
Bloomington. They live in
Minneapolis.
1998
Brittani (Gross) Filek ’00 PA,
Corona, Calif., and her husband,
Matt, welcomed their first child,
Van Owen, in June 2005. They
were married in July 2004;
Brittani is a surgical physician
assistant at Kaiser Permanente
General and Plastic Surgery
Department.
1999
Bobby Scala, Eden Prarie,
Minn., along with his brother-inlaw, has opened Scala’s Beef
Stands in Maple Grove, a
restaurant selling products from
his family’s Chicago-based
wholesale meat company.
Sarah (Ginkel) Spilman, Iowa
City, Iowa, and her husband,
Matt, announce the birth of their
son, Alexander Nicholas, on
Jan. 3. Sarah earned a Master of
Arts degree in sociology at the
University of Iowa in 2004.
2000
Kai Gudmestad ’06 MBA,
Minneapolis, Minn., and his
wife, Amy, welcomed their son,
Elijah Douglas, on Jan. 29. Kai
graduated in the first Augsburg
MBA class.
2001
Kathryn Koch has been named
production stage manager for the
Glimmerglass Opera 2006 festival
season in Cooperstown, N.Y. She
will lead the stage management
staff and be part of a world
premiere opera, The Greater Good.
The company produces four
Irvin Nerdahl ’40, age 87, Jan.
27 in Crystal, Minn. He is
survived by his children,
Marsha, Laura, John, and David.
Kelly Roth ’47, age 85, in
Wheaton, Minn. He is survived
by his wife, Beverly, and three
children, John “Champ”,
Richard, and Janice, who also
attended Augsburg. Kelly,
nicknamed “Smiley,” was a
manager at the Smiley’s Point
confectionary. He retired from
Lutheran Brotherhood and
Central Life Insurance. He was
inducted into the Augsburg
Athletic Hall of Fame in 1978.
Rev. Philip A. Nelson ’55, ’58
Sem, age 72, Dec. 1 in New
London, Minn. He is survived
by his wife, Beverly (Omdahl)
’55, and three sons, Bruce, Peter,
and Blair. Phil had callings to
Colombia Heights, Morris, New
London, and Osakis before
retiring in 1994 due to health
concerns.
Edward M. Sabella, professor
emeritus of economics, May 5 in
Minneapolis. He taught at
Augsburg from 1967 until his
retirement in August 2000 and
was chair of the Departments of
Business Administration and
Economics from 1968-81.
39
AUGGIE
THOUGHTS
Auggie Thoughts
Over spring break, 35 Augsburg students joined with students from Grand
View College in Des Moines, Iowa, for a trip to Biloxi, Miss., to help with
hurricane relief sponsored by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA). Students posted daily journal entries on Augsburg’s website; the
following is a portion of Jeanette Clark’s journal from the last day of the trip.
Guarding people’s stories
by Jeanette Clark ’07
Some look at the journey home as a necessary part of a trip—something
logically following going away somewhere. On some level, this is true. On
the other hand, the opportunity to travel home is one that should not be
ignored. One does not have an experience, really, until he/she reflects on
it, and this is part of going home. So rather than being a burden, this 30hour bus ride has been a blessing—a chance to continue to get to know
people and to process, or try to process, all we have seen and heard.
It seems that more than the work we did during our time in Biloxi, our
greater service was guarding people’s stories. We heard the great trials and
agony of those who worked in the morgue after Katrina. By going home,
caring for those around us, and sharing these stories, we will guard the
stories of those who suffered through this disaster. More than clearing
brush, painting, or scrubbing, it was crucial that we took the time to value
the experiences of those who suffered so much. It was a service to hear AJ
talk about the importance of his camp. It was a service to hear Jack tell of
the struggles of those living in FEMA trailers. We heard the stories of
spelling tests and possible “reward movies” by the elementary students we
visited. There is no way we can begin to understand their pain or their
experiences, but we can listen, and in doing so, we show them they matter
just as they showed us that we mattered by cooking and caring for us with
the utmost hospitality.
On some level, our trip home is when the journey starts. Who around
us is also suffering, and how do we get to the root of this pain? Who
around us has a story to tell that no one has listened to? How can we be in
solidarity with those on the coast who are trying to rebuild their lives?
There is still work to do. We’ve only just begun.
Jeanette Clark ’07 is pursuing a degree in metro-urban studies, and youth and
family ministry. She is a student leader in Campus Ministry and the Campus
Kitchen at Augsburg.
40
Summer 2006
The Golden
Fisherman
According to the volunteer coordinators at Lutheran Episcopal
Disaster Relief in Biloxi, Miss., Mondays start slow. So, to quell their
nervous energy, some students got on the bus for a quick tour of the
damage that Hurricane Katrina caused. Even after nine months the
destruction is awe-inspiring. The U.S. Highway 90 bridge, which once
spanned the 1.5 miles between Biloxi and Ocean Springs, looks like a
set of dominos. “The Golden Fisherman,” a sculpture by Harry Reeks,
has only its feet connected to the cement base, with the rest of the
eight-foot brass-and-copper figure thrown 20 feet from its home.
—Stephen Geffre, Staff Photographer
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2211 Riverside Ave., Minneapolis,
MN, 55454, or e-mail to
<alumni@augsburg.edu>.
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Page 1
Augsburg
Now
SUMMER ACTIVITIES P. 12
IMMERSED IN BOLCOM P. 18
SOCIAL WORK FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE P. 24
A P U B L I C AT I O N F O R
AUGSBURG COLLEGE ALUMNI & FRIENDS
FA L L 2 0 0 7
VOL. 70, NO. 1
Making orchids
more affordable
page...
Show more
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Page 1
Augsburg
Now
SUMMER ACTIVITIES P. 12
IMMERSED IN BOLCOM P. 18
SOCIAL WORK FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE P. 24
A P U B L I C AT I O N F O R
AUGSBURG COLLEGE ALUMNI & FRIENDS
FA L L 2 0 0 7
VOL. 70, NO. 1
Making orchids
more affordable
page 14
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Page 2
Editor
Notes
from President Pribbenow on…
Collaborating with our sister colleges and universities
Y
ou’ll read in this issue about a special
program organized last spring to celebrate
the musical legacy of the American
composer, William Bolcom. The program,
called “Illuminating Bolcom,” is a fine
example of the sorts of remarkable opportunities our
students enjoy as a result of our collaborative
relationship with sister colleges and universities in the
Twin Cities. Organized with our partners in the
Associated Colleges of the Twin Cities (ACTC)—
Augsburg, the College of St. Catherine, Hamline
University, Macalester College, and the University of St.
Thomas—this special program gave our students and
faculty unprecedented access to performances, master
classes, and informal experiences with a world-class
musical talent.
What a privilege it has been for me to experience the
many collegial and genuinely collaborative
relationships that exist between Augsburg and its
sister colleges and universities. Surely it is a sign of
abundance that we can partner with higher education
institutions that perhaps once were seen primarily as
competition for students. Today, I believe these same
institutions are modeling the sort of collaborative
efforts that lead to innovation, a careful use of
important resources, and a perspective on life in the
world that eschews the sort of scarcity thinking and
living that our culture promotes. We care deeply at
Augsburg about living with a sense of abundance, and
here are several collaborations I would like to lift up.
We participate with the other 27 colleges and
universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA) in regular gatherings for administration
and faculty members. In addition, many of the ELCA
institutions participate together in insurance
partnerships, tuition savings programs for parents, and
tuition exchange programs for faculty and staff. Our
partnerships also are sources of good ideas and best
practices for our institutions, even as we celebrate our
common links to the Lutheran church and its abiding
commitment to vocation and education.
We are proud charter members of the Minnesota Private
College Council (MPCC), which serves as an advocacy,
fundraising, and public affairs partnership for 17 private
colleges and universities in Minnesota. Together we have
a significant impact on creating awareness of, and access
to, higher education in our state.
ACTC is an innovative partnership begun more than 35
years ago that allows our students to register for courses
on all five campuses; that organizes joint programs like
the “Illuminating Bolcom” series; and that has created
administrative partnerships that save our schools more
than $2 million annually on supplies and services.
Our athletic conference, the Minnesota Intercollegiate
Athletic Conference (MIAC), is one of the premier small
college conferences in the country and includes 13 of
Minnesota’s private colleges and universities.
There are several other national organizations in which
we proudly participate: Campus Compact, which brings
together colleges and universities dedicated to the public
and civic role of our institutions; the Council of
Independent Colleges (CIC), to which we turn for best
practices in teaching, learning, and administration, and
tuition exchange opportunities for our faculty and staff;
the National Association of Independent Colleges and
Universities (NAICU), our lobbying consortium in
Washington, DC; and the Association of American
Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), working with us to
promote the continuing relevance of liberal arts
education in the 21st century.
Surely these various partnerships and collaborative
relationships point to the remarkable opportunities we
have to enhance the Augsburg experience for all of our
students and to model a way of working together, across
institutional boundaries, to serve the public good.
Betsey Norgard
norgard@augsburg.edu
Staff Writer
Bethany Bierman
bierman@augsburg.edu
Creative Director
Kathy Rumpza
rumpza@augsburg.edu
Class Notes Designer
Signe Peterson
petersos@augsburg.edu
Photographer
Stephen Geffre
geffre@augsburg.edu
Media Relations Manager
Judy Petree
petree@augsburg.edu
Sports Information Director
Don Stoner
stoner@augsburg.edu
Assistant Vice President of
Marketing and Communication
David Warch
warch@augsburg.edu
Director of Alumni Relations
Heidi Breen
breen@augsburg.edu
www.augsburg.edu
Augsburg Now is published
quarterly by Augsburg College,
2211 Riverside Ave.,
Minneapolis, Minn., 55454.
Opinions expressed in Augsburg
Now do not necessarily reflect
official College policy.
ISSN 1058-1545
Send address corrections to:
Advancement Services, CB 142
Augsburg College
2211 Riverside Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55454
healyk@augsburg.edu
E-mail: now@augsburg.edu
Telephone: 612-330-1181
Fax: 612-330-1780
Paul C. Pribbenow, president
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10
Fall 2007
Contents
Features
12 Summer activities
Faculty and students take advantage of their summer time to pursue
diverse activities on and off campus.
18 Immersed in Bolcom
by Betsey Norgard
A two-week festival gave Augsburg musicians extraordinary access
to a renowned American composer.
22 Faith, vision, and a call to Guyana
by Betsey Norgard
Ruth Singh responded to a call 13 years ago to help the people in her homeland.
24 Social work for social justice
by Holley Locher, with Michele Braley and Nils Dybvig
18
A couple gives up their Twin Cities jobs to become peacemakers
amidst violence.
© 2006 Katryn Conlin for VocalEssence
Departments
On the Cover: Chemistry major Caryn Quist
experiments with chemical compounds, seeking
less-expensive ways to grow orchids.
2 Around the Quad
8 Sports
11 Supporting Augsburg
27 Alumni News
29 Class Notes
32 Views
All photos by Stephen Geffre unless otherwise indicated.
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AROUND THE QUAD
Teaching and
learning awards
The Distinguished Contributions
to Teaching and Learning Awards
honor significant contributions to
teaching and learning at Augsburg
by faculty and staff in the areas of
teaching, mentoring and advising,
and services to students.
The 2007 awards went to: Doug
Green, professor of English, for
teaching; to Susan O’Connor
(center), associate professor of
education, for mentoring and
advising; and to Lois Olson (left),
director of the Center for Service,
Work, and Learning, for service to
students.
Congratulations,
faculty!
Tenure granted
Keith Gilsdorf, economics
Tenure granted and promotion
to associate professor
Phillip Adamo, history
Lori Brandt Hale, religion
Stella Hofrenning, economics
Barbara Lehmann, social work
David Matz, psychology
Scholarships awarded for 2007-08
by the ELCA Foundation. Junior
Reid Larson was named a first
alternate and received $3,000 for
academic expenses.
The Rossing Physics Scholarships
were established by gifts from
Dr. Thomas D. Rossing, who
taught at Northern Illinois
University and St. Olaf College.
They seek to encourage top
physics students to attend ELCA
colleges and universities, to help
ELCA schools recruit top physics
students, and to encourage
students at ELCA schools to
consider majoring in physics.
This is the third year they have
been awarded by the ELCA
Foundation.
Two students
participate in
international music
program
Meghan Sherer, who graduated
in May, and senior Krista Costin
were accepted to the
Festivalensemble Stuttgart, a
choir that is part of the
Internationale Bachakademie
Stuttgart, founded and directed
by conductor and artistic
director Helmuth Rilling. They
spent a month in Germany from
Aug. 17-Sept. 13, with all
expenses paid, together with a
worldwide group of about 100
selected musicians.
The performances included
Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem,
and Gustav Mahler’s Symphony
No. 5.The first two weeks, the
choir rehearsed in southern
Germany and then traveled for
two weeks, performing in
various festivals. In addition to
the European Music Festival
Stuttgart, they sang in the
Rheingau Music Festival,
Beethovenfest Bonn, and in
Dresden, Halle, and Berlin.
For several years, Augsburg has
been one of the 24 audition sites
around the world, and this is the
first time that any Augsburg
students have been accepted.
Sherer performed with
Augsburg’s Gospel Praise, and
was a soloist with the group at
the June Commencement. She
graduated cum laude in May
with a Bachelor of Music degree
in music performance.
Costin toured with the Augsburg
Choir last year to Germany and
the Czech Republic, and was a
soloist at their Leipzig concert.
2 AUGSBURG NOW
Darcey Engen leads
“The Mother Project”
A collaborative theatre project,
staged at the Open Eye Figure
Theatre in August, told the
stories of six mothers from
different ethnic backgrounds and
traditions, across generations,
who all tried to juggle their
identities as care-giver, teacher,
parent, worker, and leader.
Darcey Engen ’88, assistant
professor of theatre arts, led the
collaboration of mothers—Jeany
Parks, Nanci Olesen, Maria Asp,
Sonny Case, Erin Carlson Sutton
’03, and herself—who created
the work through writing
exercises, recounting their
individual journeys through
motherhood.
According to Engen, the women
were drawn to “The Mother
Project’ because each had grown
restless seeking a place where
their experiences could be told,
and not finding it in literature,
television, drama, or cinema.
Kent Bodurtha
receives Rossing
Physics Scholarship
Senior physics major Kent
Bodurtha was awarded one of the
two new $10,000 Rossing Physics
Theatre arts professor Darcey Engen ‘88
worked with five colleagues to stage a
presentation about their journeys and
experiences of being mothers.
Meghan Sherer ’07
Krista Costin ’08
ELCA News Service
NOTEWORTHY
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Physician assistants
celebrate 10 years
Augsburg’s Physician Assistant
Studies program celebrated the
10th anniversary of its first
graduating class at a reception
and dinner on Sept. 15.
Members of the graduating
Class of 1997 attended, along
with other graduates and faculty.
“It was truly special to have so
many classmates and original
faculty join us to celebrate,” said
David Barlow, a graduate of the
Class of 1997 and current assistant
professor in the program. “We’re
fortunate to be part of a fabulous
profession that makes a difference
in so many lives.”
One of the program’s early faculty
members who couldn’t attend
wrote, “In general terms, [the 1997]
class most likely recently passed the
one million mark in patients seen.”
The 1997 physician assistant class, shown here as they graduated from Augsburg’s new program, reunited for a
10th-anniversary celebration in September, after treating probably more than one million patients during the decade.
ELCA News Service
Mark Hanson
re-elected presiding
bishop
Rev. Mark Hanson ’68 was
solidly re-elected presiding
bishop of the ELCA for a second
six-year term on Aug. 7, at the
2007 ELCA Churchwide
Assembly in Chicago. He is the
third presiding bishop of the
ELCA, is the second to be reelected, and is the second
Augsburg graduate to serve in
the ELCA’s highest elected office.
“Six years ago I said that I do not
view this as an election won but
a call received,” Hanson told the
assembly. “I view what you have
done today [as] the affirming of
that call to which I continue to
hold with great humility and
deep gratitude.”
Prior to his election as presiding
bishop in 2001, he and his wife,
Ione (Agrimson) ’68, lived in the
Twin Cities where he was bishop
of the Saint Paul Area Synod.
Several of their children have
attended Augsburg.
tration. She also served on the
Institutional Review Board and
was its chair for over a number
of years.
Sharon Patten, social
work, is mourned
The Augsburg community
mourns the death of Sharon
Patten, associate professor of
social work at Augsburg for 16
years, who died from cancer in
hospice care on Aug. 25.
She was instrumental in the
development of the Master of
Social Work program,
particularly in creating the
Program Development, Policy,
and Administration concen-
Sharon Patten
Bishop Mark Hanson ‘68
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AROUND THE QUAD
Star Tribune/Minneapolis-St. Paul 2007
Dan Schueller ’83
Coping with the
bridge collapse
Dan Schueller ’83 was on his
normal bike commute from work
along West River Parkway on
August 1, when fate placed him
as one of the first persons on the
scene of the monumental
collapse of the I-35W bridge over
the Mississippi River, just a mile
from Augsburg’s campus.
Tragically, Sherry Engebretsen,
who worked for Thrivent
Financial for Lutherans and is the
mother of Augsburg first-year
student Jessica Engebretsen, was
one of the 13 people killed in the
bridge collapse. Several Augsburg
staff were near the bridge when it
fell, and at least one of them
helped rescuers with victims on
the wreckage.
In the week that followed,
Augsburg provided space on
campus for the American Red
Cross to set up a Family
Courtesy photo
After hearing a crack and seeing a
cloud of dust in front of him,
from the rubble he began to hear
crying and moaning. “That’s what
kicked me into gear,” he told the
Star Tribune in an audio slide
show. “I knew I had to climb up
there and see if I could help
somebody.” He left his bike, and
was able to assist a number of
people out of their cars and onto
safe ground.
One of the first persons on the scene of the bridge collapse, Dan Schueller ’83
helped people out of their cars to safe ground.
Assistance Center, in partnership
with the City of Minneapolis, for
families and friends waiting for
news about their loved ones.
During that same week, a public
meeting of area and neighborhood business owners, with state,
local, and federal officials was
held at Augsburg to discuss how
to help the local businesses cope
with the effects of restricted
traffic and detours.
Retirees gave more
than a century of
teaching years
Three long-time Augsburg
faculty members, whose
combined years of service
amount to more than a century
and a decade, retired in June.
All of them have served under
four Augsburg presidents, and
two of them spent virtually their
entire classroom careers at
Augsburg.
Robert S. Herforth, biology professor, set a high example for his students of the
importance and quality of research.
4 AUGSBURG NOW
Robert S. Herforth, professor of
biology, came to Augsburg in
1967, from graduate work at
the University of Nebraska. His
research there focused on
hereditary disease in fruit flies.
Discoveries that he made
The effects of the bridge collapse
will endure long beyond the
clearing of the wreckage
spanning the river. Schueller said
that when he attended a meeting
of the weekly support group of
bridge survivors, he was “very
saddened to see so many people
with bad backs and still having a
hard time dealing with what
happened.”
— Betsey Norgard
pointed out errors by leading
scientists in existing scholarship,
for which he received university
honors.
Over the years, Herforth taught
animal physiology, developmental
biology, genetics, and molecular
biology; and he always stressed
research.
As a freshman at Augsburg,
associate biology professor Dale
Pederson ’70 was in Herforth’s
classes. At Herforth’s retirement
celebration, Pederson recalled
Herforth’s fly lab, especially
noting the quality of the technical
drawings done by art professor
Phil Thompson. Pederson called
Herforth’s scholarship
“exemplary.”
Courtesy photo
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Retired colleague Esther
McLaughlin spoke about teamteaching general biology with
Herforth and remarked about his
patience.
For enjoyment in his retirement,
Herforth’s colleagues and friends
presented him with an iPod filled
with recordings of bird songs.
7:19 PM
Page 7
how one should be in the
world.”
Griffin ascribed an “epic
quality” to Kingsley’s career, and
noted that Augsburg presidents
have sometimes recognized her
as quite an “adversary.”
Colleague Don Steinmetz
mentioned that
Al Kloppen, health and physical education, connected with students both in the
classroom and on the playing field as a football coach.
Mary A. Kingsley retired after 43 years of teaching Spanish and sharing her passion
for social justice issues.
Mary A. Kingsley, associate
professor of modern languages,
came to Augsburg in 1964 and
has taught Spanish here since.
She served many terms as
department chair, taking
occasional breaks when it was
held by a colleague.
Former English faculty professor
Joan Griffin commented on
Kingsley's “passion for justice,
especially if it’s an underdog that
has been wronged.” She said that
Kingsley “has engaged
generations of students about
department faculty have always
preferred to have Kingsley on
their side.
In the early days of the Center
for Global Education, Kingsley
and her husband donated a
house in Cuernavaca, Mexico,
to Augsburg, which was used as
the center’s base of operation
for some time.
Kingsley is enjoying her time in
retirement at their cabin in the
Apostle Islands.
Alvin L. Kloppen, assistant
professor of health and physical
education, came to Augsburg in
1976 from Augustana College in
Rock Island, Ill., where he had
been defensive football
coordinator. He served both as
Augsburg’s head football coach
and HPE faculty member for 10
seasons. He later served as an
assistant football coach while still
teaching.
Assistant athletic director Paul
Grauer commented on Kloppen’s
tenure at Augsburg. “Al Kloppen
had a ready smile and a funny
story for everyone he
encountered during his days at
Augsburg. As a coach, Al was a
tireless worker who always
looked for innovative strategies
and techniques which would
give his team the greatest chance
for success.
In 1977, he was named
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic
Conference (MIAC) “Co-Coach
of the Year” when the Auggies
finished the season with an upset
win over powerful Concordia
College (Moorhead).
“In the classroom, Al had an
engaging approach which
enabled him to connect with his
students. He was there to give
support and encouragement to
all his students and especially to
those who may have taken ‘the
road less traveled’.”
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Medieval Minnesota:
Summer camp at Augsburg College
This summer, from August 5 to
11, 10 students from across the
country flocked to Augsburg to
learn about and, above all,
experience the Middle Ages.
They came for Medieval
Minnesota, the weeklong summer
camp for students ages 14 to 17
that encourages them to reimagine medieval life.
For seven days, students worked
and played together, learning
everything from swordsmanship
to Renaissance dancing, from
calligraphy to bookbinding, from
period music to storytelling. By
the end of the week, they had
researched and created medieval
characters and built period
costumes that they wore to a
graduation performance at the
famed Minnesota Renaissance
Festival.
Edward Peterson, 14, a student
from Wilmington, Del.,
performed the rousing “Saint
Crispin’s Day” soliloquy from
Shakespeare’s Henry V. Other
students, coached by music
professor Merilee Klemp,
performed a French love song
about Robin Hood and Maid
Marian, written by the 13th
century troubadour Adam de la
Halle. With the help of theatre
professor Darcey Engen, the
entire group wrote and performed
in its own version of a Robin
Hood play.
The students also got a taste of
college life. In addition to many
of the classes being taught by
Augsburg professors, they stayed
in Urness Hall, were guided in
research by Lindell reference
librarian Bill Wittenbreer, and ate
all their meals in the cafeteria.
6 AUGSBURG NOW
Photos courtesy of Phil Adamo
AROUND THE QUAD
Every day they went to classes
and workshops, from eight in the
morning until eight at night. Just
before bed they would unwind
playing medieval board games—
not Dungeons and Dragons, but
Hnefatafl, a strategy game played
by the Vikings! They also
watched Augsburg’s first-ever
Robin Hood Film Festival.
Medieval Minnesota was recently
featured in Renaissance magazine
(vol.12 #2, issue 54), a national
publication that features articles
on history, as well as news from
Renaissance festivals across the
country. The story brought
students to the camp from a
number of states, including
Delaware, Kentucky, Wisconsin,
and Iowa. Two of the students
who attended the 2006 camp are
now enrolled as first-year
students at Augsburg. Even the
youngest students at this year’s
camp have Augsburg on their list
of possible colleges for the future.
“The camp is meant to be
educational and fun, in and of
itself. But it’s also part of our
recruitment plan for the major
here at Augsburg,” said Phil
Adamo, associate professor of
history and director of the
College’s Medieval Studies
program. “We hope to have more
students at the camp next year.
Some of these will be returning
students, and others will be their
friends,” Adamo said.
Medieval Minnesota held a soldout benefit on October 5 to
From around the country, 10 high school students spent a week at Augsburg
immersed in the history, culture, and customs of the Middle Ages—all part of
Augsburg’s Medieval Studies program. (Back row, L to R) Joe Piper, Jack Randleman,
Edward Peterson. (Middle row, L to R) Alyssa Perra, Kelly Ryan, Ben Davidson,
Liz Ryan, Cambria Rosales. (Seated, L to R) Kayla Fratt, Jessica Larson.
provide scholarships for the camp.
That’s when former Monty Python
member Terry Jones, who is also a
well-respected medieval scholar,
presented “Medieval Lives.” His
presentation attempts to combat
the image of the Middle Ages as a
time of ignorance, misery, and
superstition. Jones’ talk surprises
and provokes, and makes you
think, and leaves you smiling.
At the end of the “medieval
camp,” e-mail addresses were
exchanged, as well as hugs. The
students had only one question
for each other: “Are you coming
back next year?” There may be
new students next year, and
different students, but Medieval
Minnesota will still inspire them
in their love of history.
For information on Medieval
Minnesota, go to www.augsburg.
edu/medievalstudies
— Bethany Locke ’11
Bethany Locke is a Medieval
Minnesota alumna, assistant
counselor, and now is a first-year
Medieval Studies major.
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Photos courtesy of Phil Adamo
Second-year physician assistant
.
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11/20/07
studies student Kate McKenzie spent
time with a couple at Augustana
Apartments as part of a graduate
course that trains physician
assistants, social workers, and nurses
to become better skilled in meeting
the various needs of older adults.
Preparing for the
‘age wave’
In a new five-week summer
course, Augsburg physician
assistant (PA) students explored
issues of aging in preparation for
the anticipated needs of the
nation’s baby boomers as they
become senior citizens.
The new course, Multidisciplinary Perspectives on
Aging, focuses on building
geriatric skills for professional
social workers, nurses, and
physician assistants. The goal is
for older adults to be cared for by
teams of healthcare providers
working collaboratively to
address needs comprehensively
and holistically.
Meeting one-on-one with older
adults to learn about their needs
has been part of the PA study
curriculum for several years, but
this course is the first to consider
aging from an interdisciplinary
approach. In the future the
course will also include graduate
social work and nursing students,
and upper division psychology
students.
To shape the program, physician
assistant studies professor Beth
Alexander and social work
professor Christina Erickson
partnered with Augustana
Apartments and Health Care
Center, a nearby community of
senior apartments, assisted living,
and long-term care. Together
with Augsburg alumna Patty
Crawford, director of resident
services at Augustana, Alexander
and Erickson set up three sessions
at Augustana where students
could learn by directly interacting
with residents.
At a preliminary session, an
interdisciplinary panel broadly
looked at issues to offer an
appreciation of the diversity of
older adults’ lives.
At the second session, the PA
students spent the morning oneon-one with Augustana residents
who are living independently.
The students developed
interviewing, listening, and
relationship-building skills by
asking open-ended questions to
assess the residents’ social,
psychological, spiritual, and
medical needs.
Second-year PA student Kate
McKenzie met with a couple
begining to deal with health
issues. “This has been very
challenging … for the couple,”
says McKenzie. “Fortunately
[they} have wonderful and
supportive children who visit
often and help out a lot.”
In their final visit to Augustana,
students examined specific cases
of long-term care residents,
reviewing their medical charts
and discussing their needs.
For McKenzie the class made an
impact. “Combining social work,
nursing, and physician assistant
perspectives on older adult care
has helped create a balanced
picture of what geriatric care is
truly all about,” she says.
“There is so much more than
meets the eye!”
The course began as part of a
three-year, $50 million project
on gerontology funded by the
Hartford Foundation with the
Council on Social Work
Education (CSWE). Augsburg is
one of 72 social work programs
across the country selected to
prepare social workers to improve
the care and well-being of older
adults and their families.
adults and the growing need for
more specialized skills.
Augsburg added the interdisciplinary collaboration as part
of the College’s initiative to build
bridges across programs. The
opportunity to partner with
Augustana, within a mile of
campus, also engages these
programs with its neighbors in
the community.
“The course has changed my
opinion of geriatric care
altogether,“ McKenzie says. And,
meeting the residents of
Augustana was something that
will remain dear to her.
— Betsey Norgard
Alexander also recognized the
need to better train physician
assistant students in this area.
She also recognized how often
PAs, social workers, and nurses
work together in caring for older
Elizabeth Baker interviewed a resident
to help understand how the role of a
physician assistant fits into a
multidisciplinary team of health
providers caring for older adults.
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AROUND THE QUAD
2
A
SPORTS
Augsburg College
names 2006-07 Senior
Honor Athletes,
athletic award
winners
Seven Auggies earned Senior
Honor Athlete designation, the
highest honor the College gives
its senior student-athletes for
accomplishment, leadership, and
character on the playing field and
in the classroom. Three Auggie
student-athletes were named
Senior Athletes of the Year. The
awards were voted on by coaches
in Augsburg’s men’s and women’s
athletic departments.
2006-07 Senior
Honor Athletes
Emily Anderson, a biology major
and chemistry minor with a 3.39
grade-point average, finished her
career as one of the top forwards
in Augsburg women’s soccer
history. She earned All-MIAC
first-team honors in her
sophomore and junior seasons.
Anderson earned ESPN The
Magazine Academic All-District
third-team honors in 2005 and
was an Academic All-MIAC
honoree in 2004. She has been a
Dean’s List honoree and was a
member of the Tri-Beta national
biology honor society.
8 AUGSBURG NOW
Jared Evans, a health and
physical education major with a
3.27 grade-point average, earned
All-American honors three times
as a 149-pound wrestler at
Augsburg, finishing seventh his
sophomore season, fourth his
junior season, and fourth in his
senior season. He was a part of
Augsburg teams that won
national titles in 2004-05 and
2006-07. He earned National
Wrestling Coaches Association
Scholar All-America honors in his
sophomore, junior, and senior
seasons.
Erik Helgerson, an accounting
and finance major with a 3.51
grade-point average, was a key
member of an Augsburg men’s
golf program that showed
tremendous growth during his
four seasons. Helgerson cut his
stroke average nearly five points
from his freshman to his senior
campaigns and earned All-MIAC
honors with top-10 finishes in
the league meet three times.
Andrew Johnson, a business
administration and economics
major with a 3.72 grade-point
average, was another key member
of the Augsburg men’s golf
program. He cut his stroke average
almost four points from his
freshman to his senior campaigns.
He earned All-MIAC honors this
season, finishing fourth at the 2006
conference meet. He was also a
Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar
last season.
Christopher (Critter) Nagurski,
a business management major with
a 3.30 grade-point average, was
one of the top scoring hockey
forwards in the MIAC throughout
his career, Nagurski earned AllMIAC first-team honors his
sophomore, junior, and senior
seasons. In 2006-07, Nagurski
finished second on the team in
scoring with 40 points, as the
Auggies returned to the
conference’s postseason playoffs
after a three-year absence. He also
earned Preseason All-USCHO
honors from U.S. College Hockey
Online twice.
Andrew Neumann, an elementary
education major with a 3.46
grade-point average, shined in
both football and wrestling. In
football, he was named to the AllMIAC first team in both 2005 and
2006 and was an all-region
selection by D3Football.com and
Football Gazette. In wrestling, he
competed twice at the NCAA
Division III national tournament
as a heavyweight, earning AllAmerican honors, among others.
He received National Wrestling
Coaches Association Scholar AllAmerican honors in both 2006
and 2007.
Shannon Olson, a marketing and
communications major (public
relations/advertising emphasis)
with a 3.66 grade-point average,
was a defender of an Augsburg
women’s soccer team that
qualified for the MIAC postseason
playoffs three straight seasons.
Olson earned All-MIAC first-team
honors her senior season and
Academic All-MIAC honors in
2005 and 2006. She was a
multiple Dean’s List honoree.
A
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Page 11
wrestler to win four individual
national championships and the
second college wrestler (with
Cael Sanderson at Iowa State) to
finish his career unbeaten and
untied, with a 155-0 career
record. He also played parts of
two seasons of football at
Augsburg as a quarterback, and
in 2004 he set all of the school’s
single-season rushing records.
Betsey Norgard
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Aaron Johnson, a health and
physical education major, was
one of the top forwards in
Augsburg men’s hockey history.
He earned All-American honors
twice, as a first-team selection his
junior and senior campaigns. This
season, he earned MIAC Player of
the Year honors and was one of
two NCAA Division III players
selected to compete in the 2007
NCAA Pontiac Frozen Four Skills
Challenge at the Division I men’s
hockey Frozen Four. He was also
named a Preseason All-USCHO
Division III West Region honoree
this season by U.S. College
Hockey Online.
On Sept. 8, the football jersey of Scott Hvistendahl ’98 was formally retired.
He is pictured here with the Gagliardi Trophy as outstanding NCAA Division III
player in 1998, and shown with Jostens representative John Abel [left] and coach
Mike Matson was one of the top
linebackers in the MIAC during
his football career, earning AllMIAC second-team honors in
2005 and first-team honors in
2006, while also earning AllMIAC Sportsmanship Team
honors his senior campaign. In
2006 he was named to the
Preseason All-Division III first
team by Lindy’s National College
Football Preview magazine, and in
both 2006 and 2007 he earned
D3Football.com and Football
Gazette honors.
For more about Auggie athletics
go to www.augsburg.edu/
athletics.
Scott Hvistendahl’s
jersey is retired
Jack Osberg [right].
At a halftime ceremony on Sept. 8 during the game against
Northwestern College (Roseville, Minn.), the No. 30 football jersey of
Scott Hvistendahl ’98 was formally retired.
Hvistendahl is one of the top Division III receivers in history, having
won, among many honors, the Gagliardi Trophy in 1998 as the
division’s outstanding player. In the last game of his career, he broke
NFL legend Jerry Rice’s record for receiving yardage with 285 passes for
4,696 yards received.
The ceremony marks the 10th anniversary of the 1997-98 football
season in which the Auggies captured the conference championship and
reached the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.
Hvistendahl’s honor was held during this Northwestern game because
he serves as an assistant coach at the school.
The Auggies went on to win the game, 31-26.
— Don Stoner
n
Marcus LeVesseur, a health and
physical education major, was
one of the top competitors in the
history of small-college wrestling.
He became the first Division III
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AROUND THE QUAD
Augsburg men’s
soccer team has the
trip of a lifetime in
Argentina
The soccer players trained at the
CEFAR Academy (Centro
Entrenamiento Futbol Alto
Rendimiento/Center for High
Performance Football Training),
a private training facility.
In addition, the Augsburg group
toured the city of Buenos Aires,
The Augsburg and CEFAR teams pose for a photo after the teamʼs first game in Argentina.
experience gained from the trip
was invaluable for the squad.
“This experience will be one that
will last a lifetime,” said Augsburg
head coach Greg Holker. “Our
guys played some of the best
The team also attended two
professional soccer matches in
Buenos Aires and experienced the
passion that Argentines hold for
the sport. They were lucky to
have the unique opportunity to
tour the training facilities of Boca
Juniors, one of the top teams in
Argentine professional soccer.
“Every day in Argentina is about
soccer—it is not just a way of life,
but a way to make a life,” Holker
said. “Generally speaking, if a
young boy growing up in Buenos
Aires does not make it in a club,
he is likely to fall victim to a life
of delinquency. When they play,
they are not only playing for
passion, but for their lives.”
To view daily stories from the
trip, along with student-athlete
diaries and more than 1,200
photos from the trip, go to
www.augsburg.edu/athletics/msoc
cer/2007argentina/index.html.
Former Argentine professional soccer player and coach Jorge “Coqui” Rafflo coaches
the Auggie players. Rafflo is the director of the CEFAR Academy, where the Auggies
stayed during their trip to Argentina.
often termed as the “Paris of
South America.”
The Auggies played four games
against strong club competition,
and though the team only scored
one goal in the four contests, the
10 AUGSBURG NOW
soccer they have ever played, and
faced opponents with qualities
they are unlikely to see again.
On top of this, they experienced
a culture that is not all that
different from our own in the
United States, with the exception
of its incredibly strong sporting
passion.”
James See (9) brings the ball forward
during Augsburg’s game against a River
Plate reserve team. David Long (6) trails
the play.
— Don Stoner
Photos by Don Stoner
Andrew Seidel plays the ball during
an Augsburg scrimmage against a
CEFAR squad.
Judy Petree
The Augsburg College men’s
soccer team had the experience
of a lifetime in August, traveling
to Buenos Aires, Argentina, for
an 11-day training and
competition trip. Twenty-seven
players, along with five Augsburg
staff members and several
parents and family members,
made the trip to Argentina.
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Making a gift to Augsburg
It’s easy to make a donation to Augsburg College.
All donations are tax-deductible.
SUPPORTING AUGSBURG
Putting your IRA to
work for Augsburg
Vera (Thorson) Benzel ’45 had
decided to establish a family
scholarship through her estate—
until she learned of the advantage
of gifting a portion of her IRA now.
She and her late husband, Jerold
’51, met at Augsburg. After she
graduated with a major in English,
Augsburg offered her a job
teaching secretarial studies in its
business department. After raising
her family, she also taught at the
Minnesota School of Business. At
Augsburg she graduated with a
minor in music, and for many
years enjoyed her time directing
church choirs.
Bob and their son, Loren, were
both photographers who
chronicled the life and culture of
Nordic cultures, both in the five
nations and among their
descendents in Minnesota. In
business together for many years,
they were the official
photographers for at least two
Norwegian royal visits. They were
also known for the colorful
calendar they produced annually
in Norwegian, Swedish, and
Finnish versions.
Gifts online
Go to www.augsburg.edu/giving to make a secure credit card
donation. You can use the form to make a one-time donation or
to set up recurring gifts.
Gifts by phone
To make a donation by phone, call Kevin Healy, director of
advancement services, at 612-330-1619 or 1-800-273-0617.
Gifts by mail
You can mail your gift to:
Development Office, CB 142
Augsburg College, 2211 Riverside Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55454
Matching Gifts
Many employers and organizations have matching gift programs,
and if you are a Thrivent Financial for Lutherans member, you are
eligible for additional matching opportunities through the
GivingPlus program.
For complete information about making a gift,
including the types of giving and giving programs,
go to www.augsburg.edu/giving.
After Loren’s death in November
2006, they established a fund in
loving memory of him for
students who are art majors
studying graphic arts and design.
In addition, they established a
second endowed scholarship in
Bob’s name to assist art students
interested in photography.
end of this calendar year. The law
allows individuals aged 70 1⁄2 or
older to make immediate gifts to
qualified charitable organizations,
including Augsburg, from funds
they transferred directly from
an IRA.
Making a gift using your IRA
The Pension Protection Act of
2006 presents a special giving
opportunity—but only until the
If you are interested in making a
gift like this, you will not have to
pay taxes on the amounts
transferred. You can transfer any
amount up to $100,000 on or
before Dec. 31, 2007.
The transfer counts toward your
minimum required distribution as
long as you have not yet received
your 2007 distribution. The
transfer generates neither taxable
income nor a tax deduction, so
you will receive the benefit even
if you do not itemize your tax
deductions.
The best part of a gift from an IRA
transfer is that you can witness the
difference your philanthropic
dollars make now for students at
Augsburg College.
Judy Petree
The recently established Benzel
Family Scholarship honors Jerold
and Vera and their children, David
’71 and Ann (Benzel) ’78 Rieck,
who both attended Augsburg.
Since all of their careers have
included business, their new
scholarship will assist students
who are studying business.
Robert ’50 and Ruth Ann Paulson
decided to use an IRA to fund a
new endowed scholarship, which
will provide encouragement and
financial assistance to students in
graphic design and photography.
For information, call the
Development Office at
612-330-1613 or 1-800-273-0617.
— Betsey Norgard
David Benzel ‘71 and Ann (Benzel) ‘78 Rieck (pictured here
when they visited campus in September) together with their
mother, Vera (Thorson) ‘45 Benzel, have established an
endowed scholarship honoring their family from the transfer
of funds from an IRA.
President Pribbenow enjoyed talking with Robert ‘50 and
Ruth Ann Paulson, as they established two endowed
scholarships, one that is in memory of their son, Loren.
FALL 2007 11
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Courtesy photo
SUMMER
activities
During the summer,
students and
faculty can be found in interesting and
varied activities—research, internships,
travel, summer jobs, and more... .
Here are just a few examples of where
Auggies spent their summer days this year.
12 AUGSBURG NOW
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Courtesy photo
COOKING UP
an internship
Senior Emily Johnson
used her summer job at
camp as an internship
to learn about the
business side of
running a camp and
understanding the
importance of
leadership skills.
This year she returned as head
cook, and everything just fell
into place.
For a number of
summers, Grand Rapids,
Minn., native Emily Johnson
and her friends spent time at
Camp Hiawatha, a Voyageurs
Lutheran Ministry (VLM) camp
in northern Minnesota. After
high school, she found a way
to keep returning to camp
while earning money for
college—working as an
assistant in the camp kitchen.
Last year, when spring
came around, she
received a call asking if
she would consider taking
over as head cook at
Camp Vermilion, VLM’s
other camp, following the
retirement of the longtime
cook. She accepted …
with trepidation.
Johnson is a business
management and economics
major, set to graduate next
May. She plans to use her
management experience,
combined with a love for the
outdoors, to own and manage
her own resort some day. After
“
“I made all the mistakes there
were,” Johnson says, as she
talks about what she
encountered in figuring out
what to serve, how to make it,
and how much food to order
each week.
It was good
for me to take
what I’ve learned
in my classes and
apply that
knowledge…
”
graduation she intends to seek
a job at a resort in the Pacific
Northwest. She'll bring added
expertise in scheduling events
from her student work on
campus in the Event Services
office.
Johnson decided to shape this
summer’s camp experience
into formal learning to fulfill her
required internship. She
learned and wrote about
aspects of business management in her work—how the
camp runs as a business; how
she could avoid unnecessary
costs in ordering food; and
how the kitchen staff manage
and communicate important
camper issues, like food
allergies.
“It was good for me to take
what I’ve learned in my classes
and apply that knowledge …
away from school,” Johnson
says. “It’s amazing how much
of it comes into view when
you’re in the midst of it. … I
also learned how difficult
being a good manager is.”
Her work involved long hours
and a lot of planning to feed
campers who vary in age from
kindergarten to ninth grade at
nearly a dozen different
sessions all summer. She was
usually in the kitchen by 6:30
each morning, enjoying a brief
calm before the day’s routine
began.
Figuring out what foods the
campers would relish, and how
much to make were among
Johnson’s greatest challenges.
Once she figured out some of
the tricks to adapt and
multiply recipes, she enjoyed
borrowing some of her
mother’s recipes to try out on
the campers. Most of the time
they worked well.
What she learned included
leadership training—values
such as patience, compassion,
and standing up for yourself—
as well as business savvy.
“I even felt I was able to
contribute to conversations
about business matters,”
Johnson concludes. “That was
a good feeling.”
–— Betsey Norgard
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OBSERVING
Orchids
Chemistry major Caryn
Quist partnered with a
local supplier to obtain
the orchid stems needed
to study chemical
reactions that would help
her understand how the
costs of growing orchids
might be reduced.
With a national
wholesale value of
$100 million, potted
orchids are second in
popularity only to poinsettias,
and the wholesale value is
much greater. Thus,
discovering how to best
propagate low-cost orchids
is big business.
of phenols (a class of chemical
compounds) produced in vitro
under varying light and
temperature conditions by
phalaenopsis, a genus of
approximately 60 species of
“
The orchid breeder of
Orchids Unlimited in Apple
Valley thought so as well, so
when junior chemistry major
Caryn Quist approached
him about sponsoring her
summer research project,
he jumped on board. In the
initial stages of her project,
beginning in January, Orchids
Unlimited was the sole provider
of orchid stems for research.
Quist’s research focused on
determining the total content
It’s really
exciting, taking
this risk and
knowing I
could make a
contribution.
”
orchids. Other student
researchers included Steve
Eichten, studying adjustments
with light quality in orchid
propagation, and Nick Nelson,
researching ways to
manipulate the germination
process of Ladyslippers. Mark
Strefeler, associate professor
and department chair of
biology, led the research
team.
“Research is about going into
the unknown,” Quist says. “It’s
really exciting, taking this risk
and knowing I could make a
contribution. … It has certainly
begun to change the way I
observe and formulate
questions about the natural
world around me, and has
given me a chance to see a
slightly different side of
academia. I feel really
fortunate to have had this
research opportunity.”
While the summer research
didn’t uncover any great
discoveries, Quist considers it
time well spent. “I learned how
to do tissue cultures, and
learning the process itself took
a lot of time. We also ran into
contamination issues, which
slowed things down. … This fall,
I expect more results.” Quist will
continue her research through
the coming year and
eventually pass it on to a
younger student.
Through its Summer Research
Program, Augsburg’s Office of
Undergraduate Research and
Graduate Opportunity (URGO)
students are given opportunities to explore theoretical
and practical questions in
depth under the mentorship of
Augsburg faculty.
For more information on
summer research projects
and URGO, go to
www.augsburg.edu/urgo/.
— Bethany Bierman
14 AUGSBURG NOW
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Page 17
MUSIC
to help the
brain
heal
Senior music therapy
major Holly Tapani
studied the importance
of multidisciplinary
support for students
with brain injuries to
give them the best
college experience.
inadequate to treat the
increasing numbers of survivors
in rehab centers. And not
many colleges are prepared to
support brain injury survivors
who want to pursue higher
education.
Last semester, in one of
Holly Tapani’s music therapy
courses, music and movement
were incorporated into the
learning of two Augsburg
students who are survivors of
traumatic brain injury. She
immediately saw the benefits
of music therapy to their
learning, and she began
imagining ways to also
improve their overall college
experience.
“
Tapani understands the
urgency of this work. More and
more young people are
recovering from brain injury,
which is coming to be known
as the “signature” injury of the
Iraq War. The holistic therapies
designed to go beyond the
medical needs and address
the social, emotional,
cognitive, and physical aspects
of brain injury are totally
This is just
the small
beginnings of
the program
”
Tapani sought funding through
Augsburg’s Undergraduate
Research and Graduate
Opportunity (URGO) program
to formally study the activities
of the music and movement
class—an opportunity to carry
out needed research that can
help future students.
She interviewed the two braininjured students who participated in the class—both of
whom have been successful
academically despite their
impairments from brain injury.
Tapani asked them about the
various types and levels of
support they’ve received from
campus resources, as well as
from families and friends.
The students reported general
satisfaction in addressing their
physical and cognitive needs,
but they felt they lacked many
of the social and emotional
experiences typical of college
students.
Tapani proposed a program
that pairs student survivors oneon-one with a student mentor
who can manage the multiple
aspects of support, beyond
classroom tutors, for the
survivors and help to make their
college experience more
normal.
“This is just the small beginnings
of the program,” Tapani says,
but it will help colleges
understand a need to develop
the staff and knowledge to
offer broader support to this
growing population of students.
In order to launch the mentor
program, a benefit concert in
September featured the trendy
pop-rock band, The Abdomen.
Next year, Tapani will complete
a six-month internship, hopefully
at a rehabilitation center, and
graduate. Her long-term goal is
to specialize in neurologic
music therapy, further pursuing
her interest and research in
working with brain injury
survivors.
— Betsey Norgard
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Page 18
AUGGIES
at
AMNICON
Courtesy photo
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(L to R) 2007 grads
Erik Hinderlie, Ted Fabel,
Brett Cease, and senior
David DeBlock spent the
summer as canoe and
backpacking guides at
Camp Amnicon.
Three recent Augsburg
graduates and one senior
spent their summer working as
guides for canoe and
backpacking trips around the
heartland of
Northern
Minnesota,
Michigan, and
Wisconsin.
“
adventure trips—kayaking,
backpacking, Voyageurcanoeing—and retreat
programs for youth and adults.
“What makes Amnicon so
foster agency programs,” says
Cease.
“Many of these kids have
never had the opportunity to
spend a week
of their lives
outside
before. … I
have never
seen such
profound
change and
positive
growth come
out of a week
of a young person’s life than
the work I get to take part in at
Amnicon,” Cease continued.
Many of these kids have
never had the opportunity to
spend a week of their lives
outside before …
Erik Hinderlie ’07,
Ted Fabel ’07,
Brett Cease ’07,
and David
DeBlock ’08 were
guides at Camp Amnicon, an
outreach of Central Lutheran
Church in downtown
Minneapolis. For 40 years,
Amnicon has offered both
”
unique is its strong commitment
to getting the majority of its
campers from at-risk groups
throughout the state, whether
from inner-city, reservation, or
The groups visit areas including
Lake Superior, the Brule and
Namekagon Rivers, the
Sylvania Wilderness, and the
Apostle Islands. On some trips,
campers paddle as a team in
34-foot Voyageur canoes on
Lake Superior or in Voyageurs
National Park.
“Being canoe guides is
undoubtedly one of the most
inspirational havens in our
lives,” says Cease of the
experience he and the others
have had. “It is because of
places like Amnicon that I am
continually reminded of the
importance of building an
intentional and caring,
supportive community, like
that which was modeled at
Augsburg.”
To read more about Camp
Amnicon, go to
www.amnicon.org.
— Bethany Bierman
16 AUGSBURG NOW
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Page 19
ADVENTURES IN
HAITIAN MUSIC
After teaching for years
about work songs in
various cultures, Stacke
traveled into the Haitian
hills and recorded sugar
Bob Stacke
cane workers playing a
This was Bob Stacke’s fifth
summer trip to Haiti as a
volunteer band director and
music teacher, but this year’s
adventure he calls one of the
most spectacular things he’s
ever done.
For Stacke, Augsburg’s band
director, associate professor,
and music department chair,
one big difference in this year’s
sojourn was the chance to
spend the first two weeks there
with his photographer
daughter, Sarah Stacke, who is
a staff photographer for the
Minnesota House of Representatives. Another was that
being with her also made it
easier for him to pursue his own
hobby, which also happens to
be photography.
Their first adventure, and
Sarah’s assignment, was a
week in Port Salut, where she
shot photos for a non-
governmental organization
providing health care in
southwestern Haiti.
Bob’s highlight was traveling
into the hills there and listening
to the call-and-response work
“
I think I
learned
more than
they did.
”
songs of the sugar cane
workers. He says for years he’s
been teaching about the
cultural role of work songs in
marking rhythm and giving
structure to tedious work, but
this was the first time he’s
heard it live in the field. He
documented the workers, their
instruments, and songs in both
photos and recordings.
variety of homemade
instruments.
Sarah’s second assignment was
photographing projects of Yéle
Haiti, an organization started
several years ago by GrammyAward winning Haitian
recording artist Wyclef Jean.
His foundation provides
resources and inspiration
targeted at Haitian youth, with
music infused throughout.
Yéle Haiti’s programs include
food distribution, health care,
education scholarships, films,
sports, and music programs,
which involve thousands of
people and reach far into the
poorest and most violent
Haitian neighborhoods.
But Bob’s primary reason for
being in Haiti was to teach
band and percussion at the
Holy Trinity Episcopal School
summer music program in Portau-Prince. Professional
musicians and music students
keep returning as volunteers to
teach in this summer program,
working with Haitians ranging
in age from elementary kids to
young people well into their
twenties.
“This experience was so much
fun,” Bob says. “I teach them
Western music all day, and all
night they teach me how to
play their music. I think I
learned more than they did.”
He describes their music as
incredibly complex and driving,
with meters that defy barlines,
and with countermelodies and
melodies laid on top.
Next year he’ll likely return to
Haiti. But before that, he’ll lead
a two-week study trip for
Augsburg students to Jamaica
to reconnect with the second
of his three favorite Caribbean
music traditions—Haitian,
Jamaican, and Cuban. ■
— Betsey Norgard
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© 2006
lEssence
for Voca
Conlin
Kathryn
Immersed in
Bolcom
by Betsey Norgard
Augsburg students Kristen Lueck and Bri’Ann Wright struggled for
weeks to feel comfortable with the four-hand piano piece they
would play in concert, with the composer in the audience. Little
did they know it would be a world premiere.
For several weeks in the spring, music students and faculty in the
five Associated Colleges of the Twin Cities (ACTC)—Augsburg,
Hamline, Macalester, St. Catherine, and St. Thomas—enjoyed a
rare experience to explore and absorb the musical genius of a
single composer, William Bolcom, winner of a Pulitzer Prize and
four Grammy awards. Through master classes, concerts, and
coaching, they interacted collectively and one-on-one with this
most interesting and eclectic composer.
It was all part of the “Illuminating Bolcom” festival, organized by
18 AUGSBURG NOW
Brian
11/20/07
7:21 PM
Page 21
n
tt Holma
Brian Sco
The centerpiece of the Bolcom festival was a huge, multimedia concert,
including video images of William Blake’s illustrations for his poems,
showing here “The Tyger.”
Bolcom’s popularity is often attributed to the accessibility and
variety of his music, often an eclectic borrowing across
musical genres. Songs of Innocence and of Experience, for
example, includes a country western rendition of “The
Shepherd,” and ends with a raucous, Bob Marley-reggae
interpretation of “A Divine Image.”
Beyond composing, Bolcom keeps a busy performance
schedule accompanying his wife, Joan Morris, a versatile
mezzo-soprano cabaret singer. (Minnesotans may be
surprised to discover that Bolcom wrote “Lime Jell-O
Marshmallow Cottage Cheese Surprise,” a cabaret tune
made popular by Morris and often played in the context
of Minnesota local culture.)
Ragtime music is another of Bolcom’s musical passions,
and the recordings he made in the 1970s of Scott
Joplin’s music are often considered the force behind
the revival of ragtime music and the inspiration for
the rags that Bolcom himself composed.
Exploringgenius
It was all part of the “Illuminataing Bolcom” festival, organized
by Philip Brunelle and his Twin Cities ensemble, VocalEssence,
and involving many of the area’s top performing arts
organizations. Star Tribune music critic Michael Anthony
predicted that this festival might prove to be the Twin Cities’
ACTC faculty and music students enjoyed more than a dozen
opportunities to connect with William Bolcom in lectures,
coaching sessions, and performances. For his consideration, they
prepared selections of his works for voice or instrument, for solo
performance or in ensembles, as in the following highlights:
“classical event of the year.”
Courtesy photo
s
705384_CATALOG:705384_CATALOG
Versatilecreativity
William Bolcom is a down-to-earth pianist, teacher, and
composer—and clearly was grateful and completely engaged
in the two-week attention to his work. A child prodigy pianist
by age 5, he began studying music at the University of
Washington at age 11, and went on to study with composers
Darius Milhaud and Olivier Messiaen. Since 1973, he has taught
at the University of Michigan.
“Illuminating Bolcom” presented a diversity of his gospel,
chamber, classical, and stage music. The festival
centerpiece was a multimedia concert at Orchestra Hall,
“Songs of Innocence and of Experience,” presenting the 46
poems of William Blake’s collection of the same name, set to
music by Bolcom. The 2005 recording of this work won four
Grammy awards.
May music graduate Bri’Ann Wright (right) and music therapy major Kristen
Lueck (left) played a 30-year-old piano piece by Bolcom (center) that turned
out to be a historic performance.
FALL 2007 19
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Lecture/Recital—At the University of St. Thomas, Bolcom
The music has been called “monumental”—46 numbers, with
lectured about his own process for composing the music in
sound ranging from classical to ballad to gospel to country
Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience. The evening
western. Stacke, associate professor and chair of the music
recital, which he attended, focused on performances of the
department, called it “about the hardest music he had ever
same Blake poems set to music by a variety of other composers,
played, but just amazing.”
and included performances by Augsburg students—sopranos
Meghan Sherer, Kaila Frymire, and Evelyn Tsen; and tenors
Surprisepremiere
Andrew Kane and Brian Halaas; accompanied by Kirsten Bar
Schubert Club Courtroom Concert—Wright and classmate
(oboe), Melody Buhl (clarinet), and Jerusha Sunde (piano). The
Kristen Lueck had an even more amazing personal Bolcom
program also included faculty soprano Janet Gottshall Fried,
experience when they played in the concert sponsored by the
and Sonja Thompson, who provided accompaniments.
Schubert Club, featuring ACTC students.
Student Composer Master Class/Band Rehearsal—Senior music
For that concert, they had been given a four-hand Bolcom
performance pianist Bri’Ann Wright was a student in Carol
piece, called “Abendmusik,” which he had written for his piano
Barnett’s music composition class that Bolcom visited. She and
teacher, married to an astronomer.
classmate Adrian Moravec were writing and preparing a piano
film score accompaniment to the 1920s German silent film,
“It’s a cosmic, ethereal piece; very slow, with chords appearing
Pandora’s Box, being shown on campus. The task was
all over the piano, out of the air,” says Wright. It’s also “very
daunting—to compose, play, and improvise music to fit the film.
difficult, obscure, and abstract,” she continues, “and you can't
Playing their score for Bolcom proved invaluable, as he gave
wrap your ears around it easily.”
them tips for how to use the piano more effectively with film.
Lueck says that in practicing it, they counted for months just to
Faculty Chamber Music Concert—At Hamline University, in a
get the rhythm and timing in their brains. Only a few weeks
concert titled “A Little Night (Chamber) Music,” faculty from all
before the coaching session with Bolcom preceding the
five ACTC colleges, including Augsburg faculty Merilee Klemp
concert, she says, the piece had “just begun to gel in our
(oboe), Jill Dawe (piano), and Angela Wyatt (saxophone),
minds and fingers.”
performed a series of Bolcom’s chamber works all containing
night themes. Rebroadcasts of portions of this concert on
At the coaching session, Lueck says, Bolcom was very laid
Minnesota Public Radio extended its listening audience.
back. He made some random remarks and confirmed their
dynamics for portions of the piece. He also made a passing
Lecture in Music History Class—Just as Klemp’s music history
comment that in 30 years he hadn’t seen that piece again nor
class was completing a study of 20th-century music, they had a
heard it played.
visit from Bolcom, one of the composers they had been
studying. Roberta Kagin, associate professor of music and
Wright and Lueck opened the concert with “Abendmusik.”
director of the music therapy program, attended the class and
When Bolcom was asked to explain the piece to the audience,
observed that “Students opened their music history textbooks
he mentioned that it had never been performed.
and were reading about him, as he stood in front of them.”
“So,” declared emcee Randall Davidson, Augsburg’s fine arts
“Songs of Innocence and of Experience”—Three Augsburg
manager, “this is a world premiere!” Wright and Lueck were
faculty members—Klemp (oboe), Bob Stacke (percussion), and
then brought back on stage for accolades and hugs.
Matt Barber (percussion)—played for “Songs of Innocence and
of Experience,” the centerpiece concert at Orchestra Hall.
“It was an huge, overwhelming honor,” Lueck said of the
Faculty member Steve Lund was the orchestra contractor. It was
performance, “and a privilege to work with Bri and [Bolcom].
a gigantic performance, illuminating in vivid sight and sound the
… Playing for him was an affirmation of our work.” And a very
poetry of William Blake, with 13 soloists and three choirs,
lucky day for two unsuspecting college music students.
supported by an orchestra of 95 players. All through the
concert, striking video images based on Blake’s own illustrations
Students Tammy Smith (flute) and Nikki Lemire (harp) also
for his poems were projected on a huge screen.
played in that concert, performing two selections from
Bolcom’s “Celestial Dinner Music.”
20 AUGSBURG NOW
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Page 23
Kathryn Conlin for VocalEssence
Courtesy photo
Senior Tammy Smith received coaching from Bolcom, along with recent
grad Nikki Lemire on harp, for his piece they would play in concert.
May music graduate Bri’Ann Wright (left) and music therapy major Kristen Lueck (right)
walked off stage to applause, not yet realizing they had just performed a world premiere
by one of the country's leading composers.
Learnerstogether
A collaborative grant from ACTC, conceived by Davidson,
Bolcom’s settings to the Blake poetry. At Augsburg, this included
funded the various activities that aimed to involve faculty and
students in the Honors Program and British literature course who
students from at least three ACTC schools at each event.
explored the poetry from the perspectives of the music.
Klemp says that the ACTC collaboration afforded valuable
Davidson was thrilled with the impact of the Bolcom festival.
opportunities for everyone involved. Students and faculty were
“Rarely has an American composer been celebrated like this,”
learners together as they worked with a master teacher.
he says. “The festival has given our students extraordinary access
Students became music professionals as they worked side-by-
to Bill Bolcom, and will remain an important point of reference in
side with their own teachers to prepare Bolcom’s music for
their lives for years to come; there is no substitute for first-person
master classes and performance. And, student and faculty
experiences. Augsburg’s participation helped build deep and
from the five colleges collaborated to sample a wide variety of
lasting partnerships within the Twin Cities’ world-class arts
the musical genres that make up this composer’s life work.
community and a premier fine arts program at the College.” ■
The Bolcom festival and the ACTC grant also encouraged
To read more about the Bolcom festival, go to
students and faculty in disciplines outside of music to examine
www.illuminatingbolcom.org.
FALL 2007 21
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Page 24
Courtesy of Guyanese Outreach
705384_CATALOG:705384_CATALOG
substitute taught at vocational and
technical schools, eventually earning a
bachelor’s degree in industrial technical
education at the University of Minnesota
and securing a full-time teaching position
in apparel arts at Minneapolis Technical
College.
During this time, she began to dream of
going back home to help the Guyanese
people living in poverty, a vision she
planned to follow in her retirement.
Singh’s life changed, however, with auto
accidents that left her with long-term
disabilities, unable to continue teaching.
In 1993 she felt compelled to address the
vision and answer the call.
She made plans to return to Guyana,
together with two of her sons—John, who
graduated from Augsburg in 1983, and
Earl. “As long as this is what I am called to
do, they would support me,” she says.
Guyanese Outreach
Singh tells of feeling fearful that she had
nothing to offer the Guyanese officials,
whose help she needed to secure
resources and locations for her work.
founder Ruth Singh
helps a child learn
to read.
Faith, vision,
and a call to Guyana
by Betsey Norgard
Ruth Singh’s story
is about paying attention
to a vision. It’s about
answering a call. And it’s
about how life can bring
this about unexpectedly.
For the past 13 years, Singh has been
responding to a call she received from
the Lord to return to her native Guyana
to help her home country meet its basic
needs in poverty. As she has traveled
back and forth in these years, the vision
has been transformed from strictly
22 AUGSBURG NOW
providing humanitarian relief to creating
programs that help people escape
systemic poverty through education.
Singh first came to the U.S. from Guyana in
1957 with her husband, who was studying
on a scholarship. She studied home
economics at Augsburg, and has fond
memories of Dean Gerda Mortensen’s days
on campus. The Singhs returned to Guyana
in 1960, but stayed only three years. When
they came back to the Twin Cities in 1963,
Singh concentrated on raising her four sons.
In 1979, the Singhs divorced, and Ruth
decided to return to school. With good skills
in sewing and embroidery, she studied and
“Lord,” she recalls praying, “address my
fears … you could let me help You [in
Guyana] by helping me walk boldly into
those [government] offices.”
Three months later, she had plans to teach
women to sew. It was clear that she would
not move to Guyana but keep her house
in the Twin Cities and travel back and
forth, so that she could collect shipments
of materials to help meet basic needs in
her home country.
In 1995, her fledgling organization,
Guyanese Outreach (GO), sent its first
container of relief items—clothing, toys,
medical and dental supplies, and other
basic necessities. She recruited women for
her sewing classes, with the initial meetings
taking place in Hindu temples, and began
teaching and sharing the gospel with them
—without electricity, on pedal sewing
machines, and with many women who
couldn’t read or understand to sew with
patterns.
h
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Back home, GO found a home base at
Brooklyn Park Lutheran Church, and
partnered with several other
congregations, including Hope Lutheran
Church, to collect the materials and
money to begin expanding their work.
In 1997, GO secured an old building in
Guyana, without roof, windows, or doors.
Several spaghetti dinners later in
Minnesota, they had raised funds to
help repair and rehabilitate it as a
vocational center.
In the past decade, the work of
Guyanese Outreach has
exceeded all expectations.
Beginning with sewing and
computer classes in the two
rooms at this building, they have
added after-school reading
programs, additional sewing
and crafts classes for all ages,
Internet access for the
community, and a library of
more than 6,000 books. In
addition to teaching out of their
Vo-Tech building, they arrange
for a number of after-school
satellite locations, mostly in
churches.
Page 25
warm milk and some snacks when they
arrive. The program also gives monthly
basic food staples to the families of
participating children.
A second primary-level program, TOPS,
targets children who were not able to pass
the Grade 6 exam. GO teaches them
sewing and crafts to build their vocational
skills and self confidence for making a good
living. A future plan for GO is to address the
special needs of these TOPS students and
return them back to the normal track to
receive their school diplomas.
Teams of GO volunteers travel to
Guyana for short terms, and recently
more mission trips are being arranged,
mostly through STEM (Short Term
Evangelical Missions).
GO also partners in-country with NGOs,
and is working with both VSO and
Peace Corps volunteers to set up
classes, train teachers, and provide
some management.
Ruth Singh’s vision doesn't end here. GO's
space and resources are now stretched
to the limits, and for several
years they have been
negotiating with the government and searching for a new
location. GO’s ongoing
Gateway Project proposes a
new 17,000 sq. ft. architectdesigned center that offers
space for classes as well as for
mission groups, and is just
waiting for sufficient physical
and fiscal resources.
Guyanese Outreach
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In the Twin Cities, Guyanese
Outreach has a volunteer
board, currently headed by
Teacher Olivia Phillips’ after-school reading class at the Streams of Power Church
John Olson. His first involvement
always begins with a warm cup of milk.
with GO was packing crates of
supplies to send to Guyana.
In the shift from humanitarian
Computer classes teach the basics of
Two years later, he joined the board, and
relief to job training classes and teaching,
now heads plans for the Gateway
it is Singh's firm belief that “the way to help computer literacy to all ages, and Singh
says there are few government offices there Project. On Oct. 7, a benefit concert
this generation and future generations is
that don't have workers who were past
featuring Christian music group
to help them through education.”
students in GO’s computer classes.
“downhere” was held.
In 2005, after-school classes were
One of GO’s newest programs teaches sex
Singh continues to travel back and forth
launched for primary students ages 6-11
education
to
teenagers,
using
the
to Guyana, more and more frequently
to build functional literacy through
abstinence curriculum developed by Dr.
dealing with various government offices
reading, writing, and spelling. They focus
James Dobson, in order to confront the high
as their program expands—something
on phonics, in cooperation with the local
rates of HIV/AIDS, the highest in the Western
that may now be easier than those first
school system. The goal is to help students
Hemisphere except for Haiti.
offices she tried to boldly enter 13
succeed on the Grade 6 examination,
years ago.
thus enabling more children to enter the
All of GO’s classes are offered at no cost to
secondary level track rather than
the participants, except for the higher level
“We’re small,” she asserts, “but the fruits
vocational education. So far the program
computer classes, which have a very
we yield are phenomenal.” ■
has served around 500 children, and
modest fee. The only paid employees at
continues to expand to other villages as
GO are the local staff in Guyana. The
funding becomes available.
teachers, for the most part, are untrained in
teaching. GO provides training in phonics,
Since the children come at the end of
reading, or their subject material, plus a
their school day, often hungry, Singh
small stipend.
forged a partnership with Food for the
Poor to provide the children a cup of
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Page 26
SOCIAL
WORK
for
by Holley Locher, together with
Michele Braley ’96 MSW and
Nils Dybvig ’96 MSW
SOCIAL
justice
a
uthor Thomas
Friedman coined the phrase,
“the world is flat,” to describe
the process by which society
has become global and
interdependent. In this
context, social workers are
obligated to address social
injustices at every level and
be culturally competent and
responsive to people from all
corners of the world.
Two Minneapolis social
workers have traveled many
miles to do this. In 1996, after
graduating from Augsburgs
Master of Social Work
program, husband and wife
Nils Dybvig and Michele Braley
quit their jobs, moved to the
State of Washington, and
decided they would quit their
jobs again in 10 years. So, in
September 2006 they took a
year’s leave from their jobs
and left for Barrancabermeja,
Colombia, in the Magdalena
Medio region of oil
production, mining, and
agriculture.
24 AUGSBURG NOW
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Page 27
They are volunteers with Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), an
the role of U.S. tax dollars in Colombia and works through Congress
organization that devotes the same amount of discipline and
to convert this funding into social and economic development
self-sacrifice to nonviolent peacemaking as armies devote to
funding. In June the U.S. House of Representatives passed a
war. CPT places violence-reduction teams in crisis situations and
revision to Plan Colombia that reduces military aid and increases
militarized areas around the world. To date, Braley and Dybvig
development aid; similar actions occurred in the Senate.
have been working primarily in rural areas with Colombians who
have been threatened with violence and feel more comfortable
Braley and Dybvig spend their days attending meetings and
with an international presence. And violence is definitely
visiting with people in rural areas. For instance, Braley tells of one
something that Colombians have lived with every day—for at
weekend that she and her husband spent in a small community
least 40 years.
on the Opón River.
In the early 1960s, amidst a climate of great social and economic
“This is a community that was violently forced off their land several
inequality, two left-wing guerrilla groups (the FARC and the ELN)
years ago,” she says. “CPT was invited to Colombia to assist this
formed, partly in response to the struggle for access to land rights
community in returning. Currently, a team from CPT takes the two-
on behalf of poor farmers. In the 1980s, large landowners and
hour canoe ride to the community every week to spend time with
drug traffickers privately funded paramilitary groups (still in
the people. Most of the time is spent in people’s homes, but we
existence) that oppose the guerrilla groups. While these
also stop to talk to any armed groups in the area to let them know
paramilitary groups often work in concert with the Colombian
who we are, and to ask them to respect the rights of the local
military, they are not officially affiliated with the government and
people.”
are, therefore, able to use aggressive—often horrifically cruel and
violent—tactics. The paramilitaries are responsible for 70% of the
The goal for a visit Dybvig made to an indigenous community was
human rights violations against civilians.
“to make them [the people] more visible by publicizing their
struggles in an area that has a strong presence of both the FARC
It is sad to note that many of the casualties in Colombia's war are
and the paramilitaries.”
not members of any armed group, but civilians. Guerrilla groups
accuse civilians of collaborating with the Colombian military and
On an 11-day trip in April, Braley and Dybvig traveled to Mina
paramilitaries and vice versa. It is a vicious cycle that claims the
Caribe, a rural mining village to bring an international presence to
lives of nearly 3,000 Colombians each year. In the last 20 years,
a five-day leadership training school, followed by a general
over 3.6 million people have been forcibly displaced by violence
assembly of more than 100 miners and farmers. Dybvig wrote, “we
or the threat of it-more than in any other country of the world
took a bus for three hours, then a taxi, then traveled an hour by
except Sudan.
boat, then another taxi, then two hours by four-wheel-drive truck,
and finally three more hours by mule.”
,
The United Nations now calls the situation in Colombia the worst
humanitarian catastrophe in our hemisphere. Through Plan
When Army soldiers showed up as the assembly was to start,
Colombia the U.S. has sent $4.7 billion to Colombia since 2000,
tension increased. The local residents had already been victims to
80% of that as military aid. CPT works to educate others about
harassment and detentions; and a mining federation leader had
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Page 28
Courtesy photos
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Much of Braley's time is spent getting to know community
members and attending their meetings, which often focus on
health and economic issues.
Michele Braley and Nils Dybvig apply their social work and
peacemaking skills to support rural communities in Colombia
threatened by the military presence and illegal armed groups.
been killed earlier by the same battalion. Several hours of
many death threats that the government was forced to drive
discussions that CPT and other organizations had with the Army
her around in an armored vehicle for her protection, as a human
sergeant, plus calls from the government’s human rights
rights issue.
ombudswoman to the battalion’s commanding officer, finally
resulted in orders for the Army to leave town.
Braley believes they are immersed in “what I think is some
valuable social justice work where we are definitely challenged
Braley and Dybvig have noted many similarities between the
to use our social work skills. … We are lucky to partner with great
work they do in Colombia and social work in the U.S. They assert
Colombian organizations, and it is interesting to learn how they
that while the violence in Colombia is motivated by different
provide social services to a rural population plagued by violence
reasons and while community organizers risk their lives nearly
and the legacy of 40 years of an armed conflict in this country.”
every day to bring about change in their communities, some of
the outcomes and struggles are analogous to those in
“The work of CPT is very much in line with our social work values;
Minneapolis. In one instance, after speaking with several young
we work in communities where we are invited, and our presence
men engaged in illegal fishing, Braley says “… these men
allows others to make changes in their lives.” Braley says. “We
reminded me so much of the men dealing drugs in Minneapolis.
don’t come in with answers. And, we work to change policies in
[They have] limited education, attraction to easy money, and
our own country that are impacting the situation here.”
the idea that their life could end by violence at any time. So
why bother to play by the rules?”
Dybvig and Braley were back in Minnesota for two months
during the summer, but decided to spend one more year with
They also see similar practices among women’s organizations in
CPT and returned to Colombia in early September.
both Colombia and the U.S. that move people from poverty to
self-sufficiency. According to Braley, “To walk into their offices or
To follow their work, go to www.nilsandmichele.blogspot.com.
talk with their staff, you could not tell the difference from one of
our programs in the U.S., if it weren’t for the language.” That is,
Holley Locher is program coordinator in the Master of Social
until she says that the director of the organization received so
Work program. Michele Braley has served as an adjunct
professor in the Social Work Department.
26 AUGSBURG NOW
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Page 29
ALUMNI NEWS
From the
Alumni Board
president …
Greetings fellow
Auggies,
There is something special about
fall. While during summer we
typically take time away from
school and work, fall is when we
return to our routines and
reconnect with friends and
colleagues.
And so it is with the Augsburg Alumni Board. We enter fall with
high aspirations for achieving our strategic goals, which are
primarily centered on making connections with various campus
and affinity alumni groups, participating in campus events, and
ensuring that we tell the stories of our alumni.
In order to achieve these goals, we need your help!
• Become an Alumni Board volunteer for special projects or
participate in alumni-sponsored events
• Talk to your Augsburg friends and classmates about getting
involved in the greater alumni association
• Nominate special alumni or friends of the College for
Distinguished Alumni, First Decade, or Spirit of Augsburg awards
• Participate in the Career Networking event with current students
• Sign up for Augsburg’s online community at
www.augsburg.edu/alumni
• Become a member of the alumni association
The alumni association is not just a group of people who sit on
the board. It is about providing an avenue for expression of our
gifts and talents. It is about making a difference and conducting
“real work.” And, finally, it is about you!
So, are you interested in reconnecting with old friends and
making new ones? Do you need more information about what we
are doing and where we are going? If so, contact Heidi Breen, at
breen@augsburg.edu.
Welcome!
New members join Alumni Board
At the June meeting of the Augsburg Alumni Board, Buffie Blesi ’90,
’97 MAL, began her term as president. The other officers are: Joyce
Miller ’02, vice president; Carolyn Spargo ’80, secretary; Chad Darr
’04, treasurer; and Barry Vornbrock ’96 MAL, past president.
Three new members joined the Alumni Board at this meeting:
Daniel Hickle ’95 graduated with a major in journalism and a
minor in economics. At Augsburg, he wrote for the Echo and
interned with the Career Services Office, where he worked on a
monthly newsletter for graduating seniors. He also worked off
campus with autistic adults and children to help them develop
socialization skills.
Hickle owns and operates Fortis Agency, a full service insurance
brokerage, in Brooklyn Park. On the Alumni Board, he would like
to help further Augsburg’s mission in the community.
Jim Kline ’01 MAL, served as a student representative on the
Graduate School Committee. He received his bachelor’s degree from
Southwest College in Winfield, Kan.; he is a retired Marine Corps
colonel, and has 35 years of leadership and management
experience.
Kline is vice president of operations at SICO America Inc. in
Minneapolis, and is responsible for the operations of three factories
and product development. He is serving on the Alumni Board to
show his support for liberal arts education.
Lee Anne (Hanson) Lack ’67 had double majors in German and
English. While attending Augsburg, she wrote for the Echo, sang in
the Women’s Choir, was involved in theatre, and helped plan many
events, including the Honors Day Assembly, Religious Emphasis
Week, and the Spring arts event. Known as having a knack for
making people laugh, she values diversity, justice, and kindness.
Lack is an assistant financial associate in charge of financial
products and service sales at Thrivent Financial for Lutherans in
Golden Valley. On the Alumni Board, she wants to remain
connected in a meaningful way and make a significant contribution
to the school she loves.
The mission of the Alumni Board is to support and serve Augsburg
College in its stated mission and to actively promote involvement of
alumni and their giving of time and resources to the College and
the Alumni Association.
Buffie Blesi ’90, ’97 MAL
President, Augsburg Alumni Board
FALL 2007 27
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Page 30
ALUMNI NEWS
Experience Spain and
Portugal—March
2008
Visit Greece and
Turkey—October
2008
You are invited to join an
Augsburg alumni group to visit
Portugal, Morocco, and Spain,
from March 27–April 6, 2008.
Alumni and friends are invited to
join religion professors Phil
Quanbeck II, accompanied by
his wife, Augsburg regent Dr.
Ruth Johnson, and Mark Tranvik
for educational travel in October
to the cradle of western
civilization and early Christianity,
Greece and Turkey.
The 11-day tour begins and ends
in Lisbon, Portugal, and includes
two nights in Lisbon, two nights
in Madrid, two nights in Tangier,
two nights in Seville, and one
night in Granada. All along the
way stops will be made for site
visits.
The land portion of this trip is
$1499 each based on double
occupancy. A few single
supplements are available for an
additional $319. Airfare is
additional, and can be booked
by you or arranged for you.
Current airfare with Trafalgar Air
is approximately $995.
For further information and a
brochure, contact the alumni
office with your name and
address at alumni@augsburg.edu.
To reserve a place on the tour, a
$200 deposit is required; if you
choose Trafalgar Air for your
round-trip airfare, an additional
$100 is needed. Reservations
must be made by December 10
and space is limited.
This tour is sponsored by
Augsburg A-Club, and a portion
of the proceeds will benefit
Augsburg.
The tour begins in Istanbul, the
capital of the Roman, Byzantine,
and Ottoman Empires and
travels along the Aegean
coastline to the port of Kusadasi.
From there, a two-night cruise
through the Greek islands of
Patmos, Rhodes, and Santorini
arrives in Athens.
This study tour explores the
history, culture, and legacy of the
Greco-Roman world and cities
associated with the Apostle Paul
and the rise of early Christianity
in the Greek and Roman context.
The tour looks at the legacy of
the Byzantine Empire and
considers the rise of the Islamic
empire of the Ottoman Turks,
with some attention to modern
Turkey. The tour concludes with
Athens and Corinth, with a visit
to the Parthenon on the
Acropolis and Mars Hill.
Granada, Spain
Athens, Greece
The tour includes visits to
museums, open air archaeological
sites, and modern cities, with
expert local guides. The tour
leaders provide lectures and
insight from their previous travel
in this region and their fields of
study and expertise.
For further information contact
Phil Quanbeck II at 612-3301006 or quanbeck@augsburg.edu.
Santorini, Greece
28 AUGSBURG NOW
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Page 31
CLASS NOTES
1951
1981
1989
1994
Rev. Leonard E. Dalberg,
Buellton, Calif., is a retired
pastor and was named
California’s Volunteer of the Year
by the California Association of
Homes and Services for the
Aged. His wife, Annabelle
(Hanson) ’52 continues to serve
as church organist. She began
playing the piano for Sunday
School as a teenager 65 years
ago. The photo shows them at
Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis
in August 2006.
Karla (Morken) Thompson,
Pine Island, Minn., is a physical
therapist at Mayo Clinic in
Rochester, Minn. In June 2007
she was certified as a clinical
specialist in orthopaedic physical
therapy and celebrated 26 years
at Mayo Clinic. Her son, Danny,
is an Augsburg sophomore.
Jody K. Johnson earned a
master’s degree in community
counseling at University of
Wisconsin-River Falls and works
as a child protection social
worker. She and her husband,
Mike, have four children, ages 7
to 14. The two youngest are
adopted from India and Korea
and have special needs.
Carley (Miller) Stuber, and her
husband, William, Shakopee,
Minn., welcomed the birth of
their daughter, Carolyn Sophie,
on March 30, pictured here with
big sister Kirsten, 23 months.
1968
Gretchen (Strom) Schmidt,
Ventura, Calif., has retired and
began an 18-month road trip in
July with her husband in their
“fifth wheel.” At the end of the
trip, they’ll settle in South
Carolina.
1978
Julie Anne (Johnson)
Westlund, Duluth, Minn., has
been director of career services at
the University of MinnesotaDuluth since 1988. This year she
received the John Tate Award for
Excellence in Advising from the
University of Minnesota.
jwestlund@umm.edu
1982
Laura (Lam) Redding,
Samois-sur-Seine, France, has
published Late Blossom, a
chronicle of wartime Viet Nam,
and a memoir of life, loss, and
love. She is a refugee from Viet
Nam, who graduated with a
degree in business
administration.
Princeton University has
identified Late Blossom as
required reading for a new
graduate course on the Viet Nam
war era, and a university in
Japan is also interested in using
the book in their Southeast Asian
Studies Department. In Paris,
several book clubs have selected
it for reading, and a French
translation is expected soon.
1992
Heather (Wagner) Rand,
Duluth, Minn., was a candidate
for the District 3 Duluth City
Council seat. She works as
Duluth planning commissioner
and chair of the citizen
committee that developed the
Duluth Comprehensive Land Use
Plan. She is also a Duluth
heritage preservation
commissioner and a higher
education commissioner.
1997
Paul Cicmil, Minneapolis, began
in July as one of two
undergraduate representatives
(recruiters) for DeVry University
in the Twin Cities at its Edina
Center.
Read more about Laura and Late
Blossom at her blog,
http://lauraonvietnam.blogspot.com
Join the Augsburg
Online Community
• Keep in touch with
classmates
• Find out what’s happening
on campus
• Change/update your address
and e-mail
www.augsburg.edu/alumni
FALL 2007 29
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Page 32
CLASS NOTES
Carolyn Herman ’05 and Tessa Flynn ’05
1998
2004
Jamie Larkin married Kelli Leick
on Jan. 27, 2006; they live in
White Bear Lake, Minn. On April
18, they welcomed the birth of
their son, Jack Thomas.
Kerry Lynn (Keller) married
Cole Patrick Bryan ’03 on Aug.
25, 2006; and they live in St.
Michael, Minn. Cole is in
purchasing and sales with RoadRite Truck Sales.
klkeller82@yahoo.com
Carolyn Herman and Tessa Flynn, were honored June 22 by
Admission Possible as the AmeriCorps Members of the Year at
Admission Possible. AmeriCorps volunteers work with this program
to help economically disadvantaged students gain college admission.
Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak proclaimed June 22 as Carolyn
Herman Day in Minneapolis, and June 24 as Tessa Flynn Day, for
serving the citizens of Minneapolis admirably, with passion, pride,
and unending commitment to [their high schools] and to [their]
students.
Herman worked at Patrick Henry High School and helped 34 seniors
gain admission to college, and helped them raise nearly $175,000 in
scholarships. Currently she is at the University of Hyderabad in India
as a Rotary Ambassador Scholar studying literature.
Flynn, worked at North High School and also helped 34 seniors gain
admission to college, with nearly $250,000 in scholarships awarded.
1999
Rebecca Welle ‘04 and Laura Olson ‘89
Trudy Marie (Kueker) married
Michael Howard on May 26,
2006; they live in Woodbury,
Minn. She is an RN, CCRN for
Healthways and Healtheast.
tmhoward@mm.com
2000
Rev. Melissa (Moyle) Pohlman,
Minneapolis, was one of the
presiding ministers at the daily
worship on Aug. 7 at the ELCA
Churchwide Assembly in
Chicago. She is the presiding
minister at Christ English
Church in Minneapolis.
Rebecca Welle ’04 (left) and Laura (Henning) Olson ’89 (right)
took a break from volunteering around the city with Meals-onWheels to visit the Auggieasaurus in Murphy Square. They both
work at ING in downtown Minneapolis. Becky is also the women’s
assistant cross country coach at Augsburg.
30 AUGSBURG NOW
Harry Ford, Brooklyn Center,
Minn., is director of Emerge
Villages. Its program, Fathers
and Children Together (FACT),
which provides transitional
housing for custodial fathers and
their families, received a Family
Strengthening Award from the
United Neighborhood Centers of
America/Annie E. Casey
Foundation.
A
2005
Y
Sara Baufield ’05 married Justin
Sorby on May 5 at Holy Name of
Jesus Catholic Church in
Wayzata, Minn. Sara is currently
pursuing another bachelor’s
degree in early childhood
development at Minnesota State
University-Mankato. Justin
graduated in 2004 from North
Dakota State University and
works as a grain merchandiser
for Archer Daniels Midland.
They live in Mankato, Minn.
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Page 33
2006
In Memoriam
Emily Soeder, Washington,
D.C., has been appointed an
associate director in the White
House Office of Presidential
Speechwriting. For eight months,
she worked for the assistant
secretary in the Office of
Legislation and Congressional
Affairs at the U.S. Department of
Education. During the summer
she traveled to Haiti with a
group working at an orphanage.
Tungseth, Rev. Erling M. ’40,
Cambridge, Minn., age 89, on
July 21.
Correction:
In the summer issue’s note about
Lauren Falk ’06 and her new
business, Lauren B. Photography,
her e-mail contact was omitted.
You can reach her at
laurenbfalk@aol.com.
Waggoner, Sylvia (Haukeness)
’47, Seattle, Wash., on Oct. 3,
2006.
Johnson, Wilgard “Will” ’57,
Lexington, Ky., age 75, on
July 25.
Calderwood, David ’50,
Birchwood, Minn., age 81, on
Sept. 18, of cancer.
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. You can also submit news to the Augsburg
Online Community at www.augsburg.edu/alumni.
Full name
Maiden name
Schmidt, David Has ’85,
Phoenix, Ariz, age 47, on
Sept. 27.
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? ❑ Yes ❑ No
Employer
Position
Work telephone
Is spouse also a graduate of Augsburg College? ❑ Yes ❑ No
If yes, class year
Spouse’s name
Maiden name
Your news:
“Auggie is an action verb” t-shirts were worn by all
first-year students on City Service Day.
FALL 2007 31
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VIEWS
Auggie women who participated in
sports prior to 1988, when athletic
letters were first awarded to women,
were honored with framed “A” letters
at an event in September that
celebrated 35 years of varsity women’s
athletics at Augsburg.
A maroon-letter day for Auggie women athletes
by Augsburg News Service and Betsey Norgard
September 28 was a special day for 78 Auggie
women who competed in sports at Augsburg prior to
1988, the year in which the first athletic letters were
awarded to women. They finally received their letters
as well.
The dinner that evening celebrated 35 years of
varsity women’s athletics at Augsburg, as well as the
rich history of women’s athletics prior to the Title IX
era. In 1972 Augsburg’s varsity women’s basketball
and volleyball teams were started, along with
gymnastics and tennis.
The celebration event started in the LaVonne
Johnson Peterson Health and Physical Education
Center, named for “Mrs. Pete,” the longtime
instructor, women’s athletic director, and coach of the
famed “Auggiettes” basketball team of the mid-1950s.
Following dinner, current female student-athletes
led a Parade of Champions from Kennedy Center to
Hoversten Chapel, accompanied by a brass band. In
a ceremony there, the alumnae received framed
maroon A’s and a place in Augsburg’s sports history.
Though the varsity era of Auggie women’s
athletics began in 1972, there have been women’s
College dating to the mid-1920s. From the 1940s to
the 1970s, there were numerous intramural sports
sponsored for women, including the Auggiettes
basketball team. They competed in the Minneapolis
Park Board league and compiled a 125-5 record in
15 seasons from 1950 to 1965.
At Homecoming in October, the unbeaten
Auggiettes team of 1956-57, celebrating its 50th
anniversary, was honored with induction as a group
into the Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame.
In an article printed in the Star Tribune following
the celebration event, assistant athletic director
Marilyn Florian ’76 recounted how, on her first day
of classes at Augsburg, she asked then-athletic
director Joyce Pfaff ’65 when volleyball practice
would begin, assuming there was a team. Florian
said Pfaff then started and coached a team, learning
the sport as she went. “She knew we had talent and
desire,” Florian said. “We just needed the
opportunity and we’re all grateful we got it.” This
was a sentiment echoed throughout the evening’s
athletic festivities.
For more about women’s athletics, go to
www.augsburg.edu/athletics.
Current female student-athletes
led a Parade of Champions from
Kennedy Center to Hoversten
Chapel, where the alumnae
athletes were honored and
awarded athletic letters.
32 AUGSBURG NOW
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CALENDAR
For music information, call 612-330-1265
For theatre ticket information, call 612-330-1257
For art gallery information, call 612-330-1524
February 22–April 4
Augsburg Art Department
Faculty Exhibition
NOVEMBER
Gage Family Art Gallery,
Oren Gateway Center
Reception: Friday, Feb. 22,
5– 7 p.m.
Artist talk: March, TBA
November 30
Velkommen Jul Celebration
10:15 a.m.—Chapel Service,
Hoversten Chapel
11 a.m.—Scandinavian treats and
gifts, Christensen Center
January 20
2008 Convocation Series
20th Annual Martin Luther King Jr.
Convocation
Ekwueme Michael Thelwell, “Visions
of a Just Society: Dr. King’s Legacy”
1 p.m., Hoversten Chapel
November 30–December 1
That All May Have Light
28th Annual Advent Vespers:
A service of music and liturgy
5 and 8 p.m. each night
Central Lutheran Church,
Minneapolis
For seating envelopes,
612-330-1265
JANUARY
February 28-29
2008 Convocation Series
FEBRUARY
February 1-10
The Visit
by Friedrich Durrenmatt; transl. by
Maurice Valency
Guest directed by Luverne Seifert ‘83
Feb. 1, 2, 7, 8 and 9 at 7 p.m.
Feb. 3 and 10 at 2 p.m.
Tjornhom-Nelson Theater
January 11–February 22
Contemporary Native American Art
Christensen Center Art Gallery
Artist reception: Friday, Jan. 18
Artist presentation: TBA
January 16–February 1
Augsburg Art Club Exhibition
Student Art Gallery, Christensen
Center
February 29–April 4
Kelly Connole, Where the Sky
Meets the Earth
Ceramic installation
Artist Reception: Friday, Feb. 29,
5:30–7:30 p.m.
Artist Presentation: TBA
(group show)
Gage Family Art Gallery, Oren
Gateway Center
Reception: Friday, Jan. 18
Artist talk: TBA
Barbara Harman: Prints, MixedMedia Drawings, and Artist Books
Batalden Seminar in Applied Ethics
“Reinhold Niebuhr for the 21st
Century”
Rev. Robin Lovin, Cary McGuire
University Professor of Ethics,
Southern Methodist University
Feb. 28—7:30 p.m.,
Hoversten Chapel
Feb. 29—10 a.m., Hoversten Chapel
February 15-16
2008 Convocation Series
Dr. Ned Hallowell
Feb. 15, “Worry”
3:30 p.m., Hoversten Chapel
Feb. 16, “CrazyBusy”
Noon, Hoversten Chapel
MARCH
March 11-14
The Exception and the Rule
by Bertolt Brecht,
transl. by Eric Bentley
Guest directed by Warren C. Bowles
March 11, 12, 13 and 14 at 7 p.m.
Foss Studio Theater
FALL 2007
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Page 36
Our college in the city
Augsburg has gone through dramatic changes over
the past three years, including new turf on the
football field and the addition of the Kennedy and
Oren Gateway Center buildings, which have given
the College a new look from the air.
Photograph by Stephen Geffre.
2211 Riverside Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55454
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Minneapolis, MN
Permit No. 2031
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Augsburg Now Winter 2000-2001
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AUGSBURG NOW
A
PUBLICATION
Winter
2000-01
FOR
AUGSBURG
COLLEGE
ALUMNI
&
FRIENDS
Vol. 63, No. 2
About the new Now ...
he new, New, New, NEW Now arrived
in Lhe mail today and , if you don't
mind , I have a sugges tion to make . Do it
again and again and again . Hooray.
Finally got ...
Show more
AUGSBURG NOW
A
PUBLICATION
Winter
2000-01
FOR
AUGSBURG
COLLEGE
ALUMNI
&
FRIENDS
Vol. 63, No. 2
About the new Now ...
he new, New, New, NEW Now arrived
in Lhe mail today and , if you don't
mind , I have a sugges tion to make . Do it
again and again and again . Hooray.
Finally got a real alumni magazine. And
this is a won der ful premiere issue . Good
for you and the others who helped make
Lhis come to pass. It is so attractive. It will
be fun to see all of the good stories ,
features, artwork , etc. that you can fit into
it. An enjo yable ch allenge, I am sure. My
best wishes to you and your team .
T
-T om Benson '56
I
j ust wanted to let you know how
WO DERFUL the Aug burg Now looks!
Its great! I found myself actually READING
the entire publi cation. Nice work!
-R enee Dubs '82
ongratul ations on the Now's new loo k.
Its wond erful. I hope you are hearing
that over and over again .
-Paul Daniels 79
C
ust received my co py of Lhe magazine
with iLS"new loo k." It's a real knockou t gra phi c design , the ph otos are a
pe rfect compl ement to the articles, and the
thematic appro ach and sup erb writing are
add ed bonuses . Writing in th e alum
publi caLions has always been the high est
quality, but you folks have really outdone
yourselves with this issue.
The articles about Old Main and
several of the Auggie families broug ht
smiles to my lips and tears to my eyes.
Can't wait for the next issue. Keep up the
good wo rk.
J
ongratulations and than ks for the new
format of the Aug burg Now received
recent ly. The contents brou ght back so
many memori es from the 11 years I spent
as an !academy, college, and semin ary!
stud ent on the Augsbur g campu s and four
years as a staff person .
The article on "Rememb ering MainOld and New" was of special interest to
me since all of my classes , social function s,
chapel, ph ysical edu cation , showers, etc.
were spent in this buildi ng during my
stud ent days. I lived in North Hall, a
thr ee-story men's dorm .
Personally, I am grateful for Old Main
and Lhe service it has rend ered for nearly
100 years to the life and developm ent of
Augsbur g. The edu cation and training I
received within th ese walls has been of
specia l blessing to me ph ysically, socially,
and spiritu ally. It was in the theological
room that God called me int o the mini stry
in wh i h I have now served for 6 1 years.
To have witnessed th e transformati on
of the Augsbur g campu s from one squ are
block with four or five old buildin gs, a
stude nt body of 200-300 to the present
campu s of more than 25 acres, 20 or more
mode m bu ildin gs, parkin g lots, tenni s
cour LS, athletic field , and a stud ent body of
3 ,000 is trul y a miracle and som eth ing I
never th ought I would see in my lifetime!
- Cliff M. Johnson '34
C
We welcome
your letters!
Please wn le Lo:
Editor
Augsburg Now
22 11 Rive15ideAve., CBl4 5
Minneapolis, MN 55454
E-mml: now@augsburg.edu
Fax: (6 I 2) 330- 1780
Phone: (6 12) 330- 118 I
Le11e15for publica11on mus1
be signed and include your
name. class year, and daytime
telephone number. They may
be edned for length, clanty,
and style.
-Co raly n Bryan '62, '92 WEC
Correction
The an,cle ,n the Summer 2000 ,ssue about
Augsburg student RyanCobians Goldwater
Scholat5h1pstated that the $7,500
scholarship would cover the cost or tuition,
fees, books, and room and board. It should
have stated that the schola15h1pwould apply
toward these costs.
A correction ... Augsburg student Becky Stensvaag '01 was inadvertently omitted
from the photo in the fall issue w ith her grandfather, Clair Strommen '46 . Becky
is pictured at left above , with her sister, Kirsten , on the right .
AUGSBURG NOW
A
PUBLICATION
FOR
AUGSBURG
COLLEGE
ALUMNI
& FRIENDS
Winter 2000-01
Vol . 63 , No . 2
Features
Augsburg Now
is publ ished
qu an erly b y Augsbur g Co llege ,
2211 Riverside Ave., Minn eapo lis,
Minn eso ta 554 54 .
Betsey Norgard
Engaging Research-Stud ent
and Professor One-on-One
Editor
by Lynn Mena
Lynn Mena
AssisLam Ediwr
Meet several Augsbu,·g studenrs who spent thei,·
summer working closely with their faculty mentors
on research projecrs.
Kathy Rumpza
1
Graphi c Designer
William V. Frame
President
Dan Jorgensen
Director of Publi c Relations and
Communi caLion
Nancy Toedt '94
Directo r
orAlumm
and Parem
6
Relations
O pinion s ex pressed in
Augsburg
Now do nm necessarily reflect
ISSN I 05 8-1 545
Postm aster: Send co rrespond ence ,
name chan ges , and addr ess
correc tion s to : Augsburg Now,
O ffice of Public Relations and
6
Communication , 22 11 Riverside
15
Ave ., Minn eapolis, MN 55454 .
Augsburg College, as affirmed
or disability in ifs education
policies, admissi ons policies,
scholarshipand loan programs,
atliletic and/or school
adminisr ered prngrams, except
in those instan ces where religion
is a bonafide occupational
qualification.Augsburg College
is commiu ed to providing
reasonab le accommodations lo
its employees a nd ir.sstudents.
www.augsburg.edu
Smiley's Point Returns to Augsbur g
Crui sin' at Camp Snoopy
Departments
2
in its mis sion, does not
discriminar e on the basis of race,
color, creed, religion, national or
ethnic origin, age, gender, sexual
orien tati on, mariral stat-us, statu s
with regard to public assistance,
by Lenore Franzen
Four Augsbu,·g women set their sighrs on
dreams andfounded businessesthat fulfill their
special passions.
o fficial College poli cy.
E-mail: n ow@augsbur g.edu
Teleph one : (6 12) 33 0-11 8 1
Fax: (6 12) 33 0- 1780
Passions , Dreams, and
Hard Work
Around the Quad
Chape ltalk
Sports
21
26
32
Alumni News
inside
back
cover
Calendar
Class Notes
Auggie Thoughts
50 percent recycled paper (10 percent post-consumer waste)
On the cover:
Assistant Professor). AmbroseWolf
Oeft) and senior Tal,er Omar
collaborated to design and build the
equipment needed for their
research in thin magneticfilms.
Photo by Mike Habermann.
Augsburg ranks again in top tier
In Lhe U. . cw & WorldReport2000
ratings of colleges and universities ,
Augsburg again ranks in the top tier of
regional liberal ans colleges.
The rankings are measured by
categories such as academic reputation ,
graduation and retention rates, faculty
resources, student selectivity, financial
resources, and alumni giving.
Augsburg ha improved from 1999 in
measures of freshmen in the top 25 % of
Lheir high schoo l class and percentage of
full-Lime faculty.
light improvement
was also shown in
freshman retention,
graduation rate,
and alumni giving.
President Frame visits China
President Frame and his wife, Anne , joined
oLher Minnesota private college presidents
on an eight-day trip to China , ho ted by
China's linistry of Education . Several local
college board members and business
leaders accompanied Lhe group.
The trip aimed to assist in Lhe
development of a private college/univer sity
sector in the People's Republic of China, to
increase the number of undergraduate
student exchanges , and to expand
understanding of Chinese cultur e,
education , and economics .
Psychology professor Norman
Ferguson retires
Professor onnan Ferguson , who came to
Augsburg m 1972 , reti red earlier this year
and was granted emeritu s status by the
Board of RegenLS.Over the years, he taught
psychology in the day, weekend , and MAL
programs, supervi sed the department 's
internships , and was part of the Honors
Program faculty.
"What I miss most about Augsburg is
the in-class discussion with students, " says
Ferguson . "I cou ld never tell in advance
how a group of sLUdenLSwould respond to
a reading assignment, so each class session
was different and exciting. "
Ferguson and his wife recently built a
house in Taos, N.M. In addition to
mentoring high schoo l studenLS, he teaches
a comm unity edu cation course .
2
A-UGSBURG NOW
Two churches
•share• a painting
A
n article in the Septemb er issue of The
orscman, Lhe magazine of
Nord mann 's Forbund et in Oslo, recoun LS
the history of Lhe painting that hangs in Lhe
comer of Hoversten Chapel. In "'And there
he prayed ': A tale of two paintings, " writer
Harry T. Cleven tells of Norwegian artist
larcus Grnnvo ld , who was comm issioned
in Lhe 1890s to paint a large altar paintin g
for Lhe new St. John's Churc h in Bergen .
Based on the text of Mark 1:35, it po rtrays
a solitary Jesus Christ at prayer.
When Melchior Falk Gjertsen , pasto r
of the (then) new Trinity LuLheran Chu rch
in Minneapo lis, visited Bergen , he was
deep ly impressed by the work of art. His
remarks abou t wishi ng for a paint ing as
beautiful for his new church led to a
request to Gr0nvold to copy the painti ng.
\i iLhshipping paid for by the t. John 's
congregation , Lhe work was sent to
Minneapolis in 1902 . Sixty years later,
when Trinity church was razed to make
way for the freeway, Lhe painting was
placed in storage. It now hangs in
Hoversten Chape l, home to Lhe Trinity
Lmhera n congregation.
~
Kelly Chapman '04 receives CocaCoca Scholarship
Freshman Kelly Chapma n
is the first recipient at
Augsburg of a Coca-Coca
First Generation
Scholarship, given to
stude nts who are first in
their families to attend a
college or university. he
is a pre-med major who
plans to beco me involved in the Link
student commu nity service organization
and play baske tball and intramu ral
volleyball.
One stude nt from each of the 16
Minn esota private colleges received a
$5 ,000 renewab le scholarship from the
Coca-Coca Foun datio n . Chapm an , from
Mahtomed i, Minn ., was honored with the
other recipienLSat a luncheon at the
Governor's Mansion in September.
The painting by Norwegian artist Marcus
Grsnvold , copied from a Bergen church
and given to Trinity Lutheran Church,
offers an inspirational setting in
Hoversten Chapel for speakers . Pictured
above is Jean Vanier, humanitarian and
founder of the L'Arche Communities,
who spoke at Augsburg in October .
A history of the
Andersons' era
The Anderson Chronicles:An Intimate
Portrait of Augsburg College, 1963-97
By Dave Wood and Richard C. Nelson
Two fonner professors chronicle the 35
years of the Oscar Anderson and
Charles Anderson admi nistrations, \vith
comments on future opportunities from
current President William Frame.
For information
on obtainin g
co pies (some
autograp hed),
call th e pu blic
relations office,
(6 12) 330- 1180 .
Winter 2000-01
Matt Klatt receives national
recognition for research
S
12
enior physics major Matt Klan was
OuLStandin g
chosen for one of the
Stud ent Paper awards for a poster
presentation he made at the sprin g meeting
of the American Geophysical Union (AGU).
He was the only und ergradu ate selected for
this honor.
Klatts presenta,ion grew out of
research in space ph ysics with Professor
Mark EngebreLSon . Klatt came to
Augsbur g, in fact, because of research
opp ortuniti es the College offeredsomethin g he had first observe d when his
older broth er, Eric, was at Augsbur g.
Klatt's paper was titled "Und er Wh at
Conditi ons do Solar Wind Compressions
Stimulat e Pc 1-2 Pulsations in the Out er
Dayside Magnetosphere?"
"I was stud ying how the solar wind
presses against the earth s atmosph ere and
then wha t effect that has," Klan exp lained.
"Matts study gave real quantit ative
inform ation abo ut how this activity works
and at the same tim e eliminated any
puzzlement abo ut what is going on ," said
Engebretson. He ad ded that Klatt also
wrote some of the compu ter so ftware used
to display the research data.
Klatt said he plans to contin ue with
the research . "My next goal is to help
complete a paper about the work (along
with Engebretson and four others) that can
be publi shed . After gradu ation , I'd like to
go on to graduat e scho ol in electrical
engineering ."
Also receiving an out standing
presentation awa rd was Lars Dyrud '97 ,
now a gradu ate student at Boston University,
for research that build s on work he did
while at Augsbu rg.
Freeman, Styrlund named regents
ichael 0 . Freeman and Philip R.
Styrlund '79 were elected to six-year
terms on the Board of Regents at Augsbur g's
annu al meeting in Octo ber.
Freeman , a partn er in the law firm of
Lindquist & Vennum , PL.LP., is a certified
trial specialist and has a broad range of
litigation ell.
7Jerience representin g clienLS
M
before regu latory and governm ent bodies . He
M ichael O. Freeman
Philip R. Styrlund '79
served as Henn epin Count y attorn ey from
199 1-99 and argued a case before the U.S. Supreme Cou rt in 1993 . His political
background includ es two terms in the Minnesota Senate and end orse ment as the
DFLJLabor candid ate for govern or in 1998 .
Freeman serves on the boards of several edu cation organizations and is an adjun ct
faculty memb er at Winona State University and the Hubert Humph rey Institute of Public
Affairs. He is a graduate of Rutgers University and the University of Minnesota Schoo l of Law.
He and his wife, Terry, have two daughters and a son .
Philip R. Styrlund '79 is group vice president of sales for ADC Broadband . Prior to
joining ADC, he held management positions for 17 years at US West. Styrlund gradu ated
with a dou ble majo r in bu siness adm inistration and finance. He subsequently earn ed an
M.S. in telecommuni cations science and an M.A. in bu siness management from St.
Marys College.
Styrlund serves on the board of Urban Ventur es Leadership Foun dation , Church
Metro, and the Management Assistance Program (MAP). He also is co-leader and leader for
the Colin Powell Youth Leadership Center in Minneapolis and the Carmelite Monastery in
Lake Elmo, Minn ., respectively.
He is married to Jul ia (Davis) Styr lun d '79; they have two daughters.
Winter 2000-01
Edwards,
Gingerich
are new
associate deans
Barbara A. Edwards
Orval J. Gingerich
wo new associate deans have been
named to Augsburgs Academic and
Leamin g Services division .
Barbara A. Edwards was named
associate dean for faculty affairs, while
Orval j. Gingerich will serve as associate
dean for international programs.
Edwards, who most recently served as
academic dean at Saint Vincent College in
Latrobe, Pa., began in August. She earned
her bachelor's degree from the College of
Saint Benedict, and M.B.A. and Ph.D.
degrees from the Carlson School of
Management at the University of
Minnesota.
Her responsibilities include wo rking
closely ,vith both faculty and stud ents on
issues in academic affairs. She also oversees
programs includin g the summ er school,
academic advising, professional
developm ent , and the Center for Service,
Work, and Learn ing.
Gingerich is directo r of cross-cultu ral
programs and associate professo r of
edu cation at Eastern Menno nite University
in Harrisonbur g, Va. He has begun his new
duties at Augsbur g on a consultin g basis
and will arrive full time next su mmer.
Gingerich began his work in
international edu cation serving for three
years with the Teachers Abroad program in
Nigeria from 1968-7 1.
He will coo rdin ate the activities of the
Center for Global Edu cation , interna tional
stud ent advising, and the Interna tional
Partn ers programs.
-Augsb urg ews Service
T
A-UGSBURG NOW
3
Around the Quad
Feeling welcomed as an Auggie
he opening convocation was no t wha t I
expected, on any level. It was an
extremely pleasant surprise to be treated
with so much admiration, given so muc h
support, and be welcomed with so muc h
enthusiasm and warmth .
I can vividly relive, ,vith every one of
my senses , the su rroundings I encountered
the morning of eptember 6. Waiting in
Murph ys Park , with close to 300 of my
T
Augsburg College
at 2000
Da
Weekend Graduate
College
umber or
stud ents
1,665
1,178
127
Average age
21 5
34.5
36.8
0 . or states
reeresented 32
4
4
o. or foreign
counlri es
36
n/a
n/a
28.8
71 2
94
90.6
Gender (%)
Male
Female
48.8
51.2
Race/ethnic group (%)
Whne
73.6
76.4
12.0
Students of
10 .1
color
5.6
.3
Foreign
11.3
(M1Ssin~info. 10.5
/refuse )
Residency (%)
Resident
52.5
Commuter
47 5
84.3
9.5
1.6
47
.l
99.9
1.6
98.4
Graduate programs (%)
Master of Arts in Leadership
Master of Ans in Nursing
Master of Social Work
27.6
19.7
52.8
fellow classma tes before the convocation ,
the "bu uerflies" of anxie ty in my stom ach
were overw helming. I had no idea what to
expec t or really what I was doing here.
That nervous ness was soo n replaced ,vith
feelings of relief and acco mplishment , even
though the on ly thing I had do ne thu s far
was show up . The faculty's app lause
welcome d me into these new surr oundin gs
and gave me a short preview of all the love
and suppo rt I wou ld receive in the fut ure
from everyone on this campu s, and in this
community . Before I had entered the
chapel , I already knew I was in for a lot
more than I had plann ed. Little did I know
I wou ld find out very shortly j ust how
many opportuni ties and experie nces were
lying there before me.
Dean Kimball's speech uncovere d
some of those possib ilities for me . I
enrolled at Augsburg most ly for the
academic end of things. The fact that it is a
Lutheran school also ap pealed to me;
however , that was simp ly an added
incentive of the College . In the dean 's
speech , which emphasized freedom on a
political, persona l, and social level, I
realized how much of my college career the
religious aspect of Augsbu rg would be. Th e
sta tement that "the trut h of Jesus and the
cross set us free" really moved me. Over
by Becky Michaelson '04
the last couple of years, I have become
stron ger in my faith to God , and I was
concern ed that I might lose that at school.
In actuality, I now know that my belief can
only grow stronger by being at Augsburg ,
surround ed by people who also aim to
keep God as the center of their lives. Dean
Kimball also said "a large part of freedom is
prot ecting others' freedom" and that
"freedom is depend ent up on a community ."
Th ese statements revealed to me that an
Augsbur g edu cation ,viii not only get me a
degree to teach, but also provid e me with
an environm ent in which I am able to be
myself, worship my God , and be
encomp assed by others who baule the
same qu estions and concern s as I do
everyday-in my faith , my schoolwork ,
and every other aspect of my daily life.
The openin g convocation last
Wed nesday showed me what being an
Auggie is all about , and that everyone here,
although each person has his or her own
reasons for choosing this school, is also
here for the sense of love and su pp ort this
place offers, whether they kno w it or not.
Th e deans speech and the convocation , as
a whole, helped me realize this fact and
served as a warm welcome into the
Augsbur g commun ity.
•
Largest major s
Day
Business Adm1mstrauon
Educauon
Psychology
Music
Biology
Weekend
College
Education
Business Administration
Nursing
Computer Science
MIS
Students in the Class of 2004 were welcomed by facu lty and staff at the opening celebration .
4
,4 uGSBURG NOW
Winter 2000-01
Chapeltalk
by Mark Engebretson , Professor of Physics
Text: Exodus 35:30--36:1
his week Augsburg began its
convocation series for the year, with a
focus on the dialog between science and
religion . You have heard somethin g of the
long hisLOryof this dialog-il goes back al
least 400 years, and il has become
especially confusing and has engaged man y
more people in this past centu ry. For some
of you , the fact that there is any contact
between science and religion al allwheth er that contact is friendly or not so
friendly-ma y be a new idea . But for many
OLhersit's been serious business , and a
mauer of ongoing concern, or of strenuous
or even biller deba te.
We al Augsburg hope not only that
science and religion can be in dialog , but
Lhal by discussing them LOg
ether we might
find some clarity rather than conf usion ,
and be beuer equipped Lo deal with the
comp lexities of our world. It's also consistent
with our Lutheran roots, a Christian
tradition born in a university, that they can
and should be discussed LOgether.
It's in that spiri t, of helpin g Lo prepare
T
was natural , and God called them Lo work
the land and Lo use its resources. Walking
with God meant living and work ing in the
wor ld of Lime and mauer.
Our text tells the sLOryof two
craftsmen , Bezalel and Aholiab , who were
filled ,vith God 's spirit so that they could
design and build the tabernacle .
It's significant that this is the firsl
instance in the Bible in which God is said
LOhave filled persons ,vith his sp irit. 0l
Moses, the greal leader of Israel, but
Bezalel and Aholiab , two craftsmen . ow
later on in the Old Testa melll various
proph ets and judges , and even ,vise King
Solomon, were said LOhave received God's
spirit-but it's notabl e that in the Bible,
God's spirit isn't divided or specialized in
the way our cu ltur e seems LOwant Lo
divide it-into chur chly thin gs vs. secu lar
or worldly thin gs. Creativity and
leadership-in whatever field-are gifts
from God .
Much later, the prophet Joel used
these word s Lo describe what wou ld
happen after the coming of the 4essiah:
"Everyone who is deeply involved in his or her earthly task, who is skill~d in
the craft and wisdom of his or her particular work, brings about something
real that they offer to humanity, and to God."
ours elves for the important but thorn y
issues related to this dialog , that I have
gone back Lo what might seem an unlik ely
source for a Lexl for this chap el Lalk-a tiny
snipp et from the book of Exodu s.
The Old Testament bears no record of
ack nowledging the role of scientisL-il was
the Greeks , not the Hebrews , who were
famous for their curio sity about the world .
The Hebrews seem , rath er, LOhave
borrowed their science from their
neighbor s. Bul they did acknowledge the
importance of craftsmen , and of scholars.
They weren't scared of natur e-far from il.
Moumain s, trees, oceans, clouds , sun and
moon , gold and silver, wood and sLOnesthey were jus t that-n ot the deities or
spirits, or even monst ers, that their
neighbor s feared . They , ere under God's
control , and on ly God was to be feared ,
respe ted , and tru sted. As a result , natur e
Winter 2000--01
Uoel 2:28-29 ) "After thi s I will pour out
my spirit on all people. Your sons and your
daughters sha ll proph esy, your old men
shall dr eam dreams , and your young men
see visions . Even on the slaves, men and
women , ,viii I pou r ou t my spiril in those
days."
In fact, the Lutheran traditi on insists
that the call of God-th e call lo serve
God-i s not limited Loa special class of
Chri stians who by the supp osed holiness of
their lives have placed themselves closer Lo
their Creator. Instead , God calls all peop le
LOvocations , which are focused precisely in
and on thi s world . God indeed pour s out
his spirit on all of us , and we serve God by
serving each OLherin thi s wor ld.
Luther and others, in fact, reacted
against a strictly religious view of vocation
that said only monks and other professional religious folks (o f both gend ers)
had vocations. Luther said no: farmers ,
business people , laborers, stud ems,
parems, childr en , all have equa lly
imp ortalll vocatio ns. Lutheran can agree
with those who say that hristianit y is
really the most materialistic of all religions :
it does not imp el us Loescape the world ,
but LOcare for it and fix it; we are not
called LOescape from other people and
their concerns, but Lo work with them.
We can also agree that our vocations
are informed by ou r faith. Vocations are the
prin cipa l means by which the love of
Christ, and the righteousness of God, make
their way into the world , LOuphold it and
to tran sform iL Vocation is our way of
serving our neighbor , and taking care of
our world . Everyone who is deep ly
involved in his or her earthl y Lask , who is
skilled in the craft and ,visdo m of his or
her particular work , brings about
something real that they offer to hum anity,
and to God.
o, why thin k abo ut science and
religion? Wh y discuss the natural world in
a chapel talk) We might as well ask why go
Lo school at all! Because it is our calling, as
persons freed and empowered by od , to
use God 's spirit , the gift of creativity, Lo
serve others and glorify him .
•
The above i excerptedfrom Professor
Engebretson's homilyof September27, 2000.
For the entire talh, visit the ow Online , at
<111W1
v.augsburg.cdu/110111>
.
A-UGSBURGNOW
5
Opening day in 1947 at the Smiley's Point confectionary
Dick Pautz '37 busy behind the counter.
was a crowded occasion and kept proprietor
Community officials, friends , and family partook in the fest ivities, as pictured in the front row (L to R): Lawrence Quist,
Pautz's brother -in-law; Ray Myhre , Southside Insurance Co.; Clyde Jorgenson , president of the Fourth Northwestern
Bank ; and Elmer Berdahl, a Minneapolis businessman .
Among the Augsburg students who crowded Into the shop on opening day were George '46 and Jean (Christenson) '49
Sverdrup , shown in the second row , second and third from the left .
Please contact us if you recognize yourself or your classmates
,4 UGSBURG NOW
in the crowd!
Winter 2000-01
The build ing across
Riverside Avenue where
many Augsburg students
gathered during the
1950s is now hom e to the
27-person staff of
Augsburg's institutional
ac!vancement division .
The College leased the
building from FairviewUniversity Medical Center
in order to bring the
division 's three
depart mentsdevelopment,
alum nVparent relations ,
and public relations and
communication - togeth er
at one location .
From its construction
in 1899 , the Smiley's
Point building served for
over 60 years as an
apothecary, initially
found ed by Norwegian
immig rant Johan Vedeler.
The Svane Apotek (Swan
Pharmacy) served the
largely Norwegian area of
the Cedar-Riverside
neighbor-hood near
streets named Bjornson
and Sverdrup , and next lo
the Norwegian Hospital,
now Fairview-University
Because of its shape and
architectural detail, it was
the most prominent
building of the several that
inhabited the land
surrounded by Riverside
Ave., Sixth St., and 23rd
Ave.After Vedeler's death in 1934 , another
pharmacist bought the building and
gradually added features for students , such as
a post office. The owner's personality and
customer service were not panicularly
endearing to the students, however, and the
place became known as "Grumpy's place."
Winter 2000--01
In 1947, Dick Pautz '37 was working
Decemb er. The developm ent team has
in Augsburg 's public relations office. When
offices on both floors, while alumn Vparent
an opportunity came to buy the business ,
relations and public relations are upstairs.
he was talked into it by friend s in the
The office of the division 's vice
Seward and Southside Businessmen's
president is located upstairs in the rounded
Association .
bay \vindow on the point , in the room that
"I took it as a sideline, and didn 't
Fairview Hospita l preserved in its original
intend to run the bu siness," says Pautz . "I
state and called the Victorian Room. The
tried to figure out how to change the
Vedeler family lived on the second floor
place's char acter."
above their pham1acy for a time, and this
Pautz sought to create a place for
office shows the beautifu l original
students to go after chape l, an d expand ed
woodwork and detail of the building .
Augsburg students have also lived upstairs
the scope of the busin ess. Flowers were
added to also serve hospital visitors. Drugs
at different times .
were eliminated, and the place became a
"We're very pleased with our new
offices, the opportunity to continue the
confectionary, serving ice cream and
sweets. Kelly Roth, nickname d "Smiley,"
tradition of Smiley's Point , and the ability
to work more effectively as a division ," says
was hired as manager.
In order to nam e the bu siness, Pautz
Augsburg regent and interim vice president
Allen Housh .
launched a contest. The winnin g entry,
"We hope to see many alumni and
from a neighb orhood child , was "Smiley's
friends here at Smiley's and hear memories
Point ," wh ich appealed to Pautz as an
they may have from their time at
antid ote to the former nickna me.
In 1953 , Pautz sold the bu siness, and
Augsbur g," he continu es.
the build ing was hom e to coffeehouses and
other establishments
before Fairview
Hospital pu chased it.
Until this year, the
hospit al has housed
several of its clinics
and offices in the
building and
continued to use the
Smiley's Point name.
Two adjoining
bu ildin gs have been
connected to the
original triangu lar
bui lding.
The alumnV
parent relations and
the development
offices moved to
Smiley's last summ er,
while the publ ic
relations and
communication office The institut ional advancement division recently hung their
shingle across Riverside Ave. at Smiley 's Point. a familiar
j oins them in
landmark and gathering place for many students in the 1950s .
•
,4 uGS BURGNOW
7
Sports
Playing hard-for
Multi-sport studentathletes excel both on the
field and in the classroom
enio r Brend a Selander has virtua lly
Severy minut e or her lire plann ed . Wake
Eat a nutritious meal. Go
Work a rew hours . Go Lo
practice . Eal a nutritious meal. Study.
Sleep .
And it's all wriuen down in her
planner , typical for a college stud entath lete who participates in one sport .
However, elander participat es in threesoccer, hockey, and sofrball.
"I'm the type or person who has a lot
or energy, and I need to have something to
do all the Lime to release that energy,"
Seland er said . "I have good timemanagement skills. I don 't procrastin ate at
all, or else I'd be stressed out. Everybod y
thinks I'm crazy for playing three sports,
but I'm a liule ball foll or energy. I need to
express that energy."
While Selande r is the only Augsbu rg
athlete in three varsity sports , ther e are
numerous Auggies, among the more than
400 in varsity athletics, who engage in
multiple sports .
Athletes who have excelled at multip le
sports say they prerer competing at a
Division Ill college, where the y can
continue participating in more than one
activity. At many scholarship Divis ion I and
II colleges, coaches limit athletes LOju st
one spo rt.
"I was oITered a socce r scholarship at
Mankato State University, but I wanted to
go to a place where I cou ld be in both
up. Go
LO classes.
LO classes.
games and grades
was ju st 20 minut es from my parents '
house, and they're a hu ge supp ort for me. I
needed them LO be close Lo me here."
eland er has earned all-conrerence
honor s and has been Augsburg's leading
soccer scorer during her entire career; plus ,
she was a third-line forward on the
women's hockey Learn.
specialist for Augsburg's track and Held
team , he has also been a key memb er of
Augsburg's six-time national champ ion
wrestling team.
A heavyweight, Bauer earned his first
trip to the NCM Division III wrestling
tournament in 1999, then returned LO the
meet last season and won the individual title.
Ang ie Rieger '01 (on right)
Brenda Selander '01 (on right)
,,,_ti-, ..-r
l~ .l
f .. _,) "',. ·-,;.'
,..) -1," /
8
,4UG SBURG NOW
..
; .. !\
' . .·--
Ben Bauer '01
Desman Oakley '01
Last spring , she decided Lo put sortball
back into her plann er. Despite missing the
sofrball team's first month or practice and
spring games in Florida , du e to the
At the 1999 MLACou tdoor track and
Held meet, he became the first compe titor
ever to earn top-eight honors in three
weight events-s hot put , discus, and
hamm er throw.
"The thin gs that have helped me the
most are spending a lot or time in the
weight room and staying organized, " Bauer
said. "The stron ger you get, the further you
can go. Plus you have to stay organized to
be in two sport s, going Loclass at this time ,
working ou t at this Lime, going to bed at
this time.
"The work ethic I've learned in
wrestling has worked well for me in track,
too . The track program here is small, so
"[At Augsburg], you can do so many things and you have to focus on
academics, too . If you only did one thing in your life, what kind of life
would you have?" -Angie Rieger '01
soccer and hockey," Selande r said . "Plus,
my brothe r goes to Ham line, and my
family is really close. I'm a family-oriented
person; Sunda y is the time 10 go hom e and
have a dinn er with my parents .
"My parents co me LO every game. They
never miss anythin g I do . O ne or the key
reasons why I chose Augsburg was that it
byDonStoner
women 's hockey team 's national
co mpetition, Seland er still excelled ,
becoming the team's startin g centerHelder.
enior Ben Baue r found that comp eting
S in two sports has helped him Lo excel
in both . A multipl e all-conrerence weights
Winter 2000-01
there aren 't enough people LOreally push
you forward . You have to have that work
ethic to excel. "
enior Desman Oakley has also excelled
in track and field , "~nning the MlAC
ind oor 55- meter hurd les in 1999 and
being a multipl e all-conference comp etitor
in the spri nts and hurdle evenLS. He has
also been the second leading receiver for
th e Auggie football team the lasLtwo
seaso ns.
"I don 't remember wh y, buL origina lly I
wasn 't recruited to play football her e,"
Oak ley said . "But while I was talking Lo th e
track and field people , I asked th em about
playing footba ll. I miss ouL on the track type fall conditioning to play football , but
they let me do it."
Oak ley also credit s being organized LO
his success in bot h sports.
"ILhelps you get inLOa set sched ule,"
Oak ley said . "When you 're doing the same
thing every day, like practicing from 3 LO5
[p.m .]. you get inLOthe same panern and it
he lps you keep organized ."
A side benefit for Oakley was Lhe fact
that he was able LOsta rt his college
experience early, since the football team
starts practice two weeks before th e schoo l
year begins . "Before I sta rted schoo l [in
1997]. I already kn ew 80 peop le. It helped
me adjust Lobeing in college."
S
or Angie Rieger, playing in just
wome n's ho ckey and volleyball was a
redu ction from the five sports she played
in high school.
"I look at life as a cha llenge. I love my
life busy. I can 't stand being bored ," she
said . "I have LOlive my life this way, always
on the go."
Going into her senior season , Rieger
has set virtually every Augsburg women 's
hockey career and single-season scorin g
record , earning All-America hon ors thr ee
times. She was named MIAC Player of th e
Year last season in wome n's hockey , leadi ng
th e Auggies to th e Division 111nation al
finals.
In volleyball, Rieger has banl ed
injuri es through out her career, but still
earned AII-MIAC first-team honors in her
j unior season . She has led th e Auggies in
kills per gam e and au ack percentage for
F
Winter 2000-01
most o f her career.
"My secret is to always come into
practice kn o,ving there's somethin g you
can impro ve," Rieger said . "You have LOgo
100 percent every day. Wh en you push
your self in prac tice, it shows in how you
play in games."
And she did all this whil e maint aining
a 3.8 grad e point average \viLh an
int ernation al bu siness maj or and wo rking
as the commi ssioner of the Augsbur g
stud ent newspaper.
"God blessed me ,vith a brain for
acad emics," she said . "In high schoo l, I
didn 't have to stud y at all. It came
naturall y, so my focus was on sports. Here,
it's different. You definitely have LOstud y."
grades actu ally improve d after she decided
Lo take up softball. Oak ley aid footba ll
stud y groups , along ,vith an increased
focus on graduati ng this year, helped him
imp rove his grades. Bauer' grades have
steadily risen , averaging 3 .85 th e past th ree
semesters. Last year, he earned ational
Wrestling Coaches Associatio n cholar AllAmerica honors.
"Di,~sion I athletes get s holarships
and th at's all they do , j ust their span,"
Rieger said . "There's no academic focus .
Here, you can do so many th ings and you
have Lo focus on academics, too. If you
only did one th ing m your life, what kind
of life would you have? You have LOhave
variety."
II th e athlete s affirn1ed that being in
athletics helped them improv e their
grade s. Seland er said in her junior year her
Don Stoner is sports inf ormalion coordinator.
A
•
Center court to honor
Ernie Anderson
Augsbur g College ~II honor longtim e
athletic dir ector and men's baske tball
coac h Ernie Anderson by nam ing th e
recentl y renovated center coun at Melby
Hall in his honor , College officials
announ ced recentl y.
A dedication ceremony will be held
on Jan . 29 duri ng the men's basketba ll
game against Hamline. Game Lime is 7:30
p.m. For information on the dedication
event , contact Norm Okers trom ,
developm ent office, at (612) 330- 1616 .
Anderson has been a member of
the Augsburg com munit y since the
1930s , when he auended the Augsburg
Academy. He played basketball and
baseball al Augsburg , graduatin g with a
histor y degree in 1937 .
After recei\~ng his master 's degree
from the University of Minnesma , he
return ed Lo his alma mater in 1947 as
athletic dir ecLOr, men's baske tball coach ,
and as an instru cLOr and director of
health and physical ed ucation .
During his 23-year basketball
coaching career ( 1947 -70) , he compiled a
266 -239 overall record. The Auggies won
MlAC crowns in 1963, 1964 , and 1965 ,
advancing LONAlA
district compe LiLi
on
and the NAlA
nationa l LOumament
t,vice. He earned
MlAC Coach of the Ernie Anderson '33,
'37, as pictured in the
Year honors each
1949 Homecoming
of the conference
football program
Litle seasons.
He served as athletic direcwr for 34
years. During that Lime, he was president
of the NAlA in the 1970-71 school year,
was named LOthe NAlA Hall of Fame in
1975 , and was induct ed into the
Augsbur g Athletic Hall of Fame in 1975 .
He also earned two Distinguish ed Service
Awards from the Minneapolis Chamb er of
Comm erce. He served on several NAlA
commin ees and on the U.S. Olympi c
Comm iuee from 1969 LO1973 .
In 1984 , the College named iLS
athletic field in honor of Anderson and
longtime coach Edor Nelson . The field will
be rededicated in Nelson's honor in the fall
of 2001. Bolh the Anderson and Nelson
evenLSare pan of a celebration of recent
major improvem enLSin athletic facilities.
A- UG 8 RG NOW
9
5~
~
PIW'{t14D~
lD,N,-t,~-o,N,
by Lynn Mena • photos by Mike Habermann
1.5icsmajorTaber Omar, computer science student
ltlad on to learn about their explorations in designing and
mlilg children's Legos into computer robots , and in
10
A- UGSBURG NOW
Winter
2000--01
n the short time since assistant
proressor J. Ambro se Wolr j oined the
ph ysics faculty in August 1999, he has
won great favor among his stud ent s, and
his research has attracted both corpora te
and intellectual interest.
Previously at rlie University or
Missouri -Columbi a, Wolr brin gs to
Augsbur g ideas, hopes, and dreams to
develop his specialization in experiment al
cond ensed matter ph ysics. He began by
establishin g a Thin Magnetic Film
Research Laborato ry earlier this year.
From the start , Wolr kn ew that he
wanted stud ents to be involved in the lab's
set-up and ensuin g research . So, in
Janu ary, he recruit ed two stud ents, seniors
Taher Om ar and Marc Tollds on , with an
eye toward expandin g their involvement
int o rull-tim e summ er research .
"Ambrose brok e us in very slowly,"
says Omar, a ph ysics major. "He held a
weekly seminar to discuss meth ods or
research and certain topi cs th at we would
be dealing with in the lab . Then we did
literatur e research and present ed our
findin gs to him ."
The seminar allowed Omar and
Tollefson to become familiar with the
material, so that when they entered the lab ,
says Woir, they could "hit the floor dancing."
"My aim is to get this on a continu ous
cycle and start out two or three stud ents
every year, get their reet wet in the seminar,
and then get them into the lab ," says Wolf.
,
Winter 2000-01
By summ er, Wotr
determin ed that Omar
and Tollefson were ready
to begin research and
start maki ng thin
magnetic films. These
are essentially th in layers
of magne tic materials,
curr ently being used for
read/w rite heads in
comput er drives. "Both
Honeywell and Seagate
have prot otypes ror
magnetic comput er
RAM," says Wolf. "The
RAM curr ently used in
comput ers is fastworkin g, but when the
comput er is turne d off,
you lose infom, ation .
With magnetic RAM,
when you turn it back
on , a second later you're
right back where you
left off. The appli cations
that were open are still
open , and the text you
were edit ing in a word
Physicssenior Tah Omar and assistant professorJ. Ambrose
processing progra m is
Wolf (L to R) wo ri<j together to design and build the
still there."
equipment need for their magnetic film research.
In order to make
Crucial to the chamber are the two
these films, Wolf, with Omar and
sma ll ovens located on the bottom .
Tollefson's help , designed and buil t the
Basically, the ovens are used to evaporate
equipm ent. 'To start , we organized the lab ,
metals , which then condense on a
found what we could use of what was
subs trate to form a thin film. Each film
already here, and how to use it most
can be created with subatomic sensitivity,
efficiently," says Wolf. "And th is chamber
which can be made to the thinness of a
[pictur ed above] is our first result. I
single atomic layer. Omar and Tollefson
designed thi s bott om part , which we
each built one of the ovens , which
had built at the
followed a design used by Wolf during his
University of
post-doctora l research at the Naval
Minn esota machin e
Research
Laboratory
shop . The n Marc
The three recently presented their
designed a mirror
research to the Augsbur g communit y and
system that goes inside,
guests from Honeywell and Northw estern
and Taher designed a
College, amon g others.
shutter system that's
Omar and Tollefson's research
also inside ."
'4UGSBURG NOW
11
participation was funded by a grant
from NA A during the school year, and
by a Bush Foundation Grant during the
summer. Omars summer research was
also funded by a McNair Scholars
grant. In addition , Omar himselr wrote
a Bush Foundation grant proposa l
which was funded for the fall semester.
"I had a lot of fun here this
summ er," says Omar. ''I've never
thought of myself as very mechanica l,
but we've been able Loget this thing
up an d running . You can relate this
project LO so man y thingsgrantwriting , technical wri.,ti,_,
. n=- ---comp uter science, mathematics,
chemistry, physics, engin eering-it s a
spid er web . I found something that I
really like LO do. Hopefully come
gradua te schoo l, I'll be able Lo focus
on research , because I trul y enjoy it."
Computer science senior Cameron Rowe constructed a navigat ion robot with Legos as part
of NSF-funded research designed and overseen by Karen Sutherland (pictured with Rowe on
page 10) and Charles Shaeffer, computer science faculty members .
A
ugsburg senior Camero n Rowe never
thoug ht the Legos he played with as
a child would reapp ear years later in
college. But this past summ er, he used the
brigh tly-colored plastic blocks as the
foundation of a robot he created in a
co mputer science research project.
The projec t, entitl ed the Robo tic
Navigation Project, was conceived and
developed by Augsburg associate professor
Karen Suth erland and assistant
professo r Charles Shaeffer. Funded
by a grant from the National
Science Founda tion , this
und ergradua te program
involved eight stud ents from
four schoo ls. Rowe , Maisian
Xiong, Ryan Forsberg, and
Abdu lrashid Salad were
among the Augsbur g
stud ents; the other four
participants came from the
12
A-UGSBURGNOW
College of St. Catherine, the University of
Minn esota , and the Fond du Lac Tribal
and Communit y College.
"My partner [Daniel Curry from Fond
du Lac] and l worked on usin g neur al
networks as a contro l system for ou r
robot 's navigation ," says Rowe. "Neura l
netwo rks simul ate the wo rkin g of a
hum an brain ." Rowe and Currys neural
network was a software constru ct wriLten
in a simpl e form of th e C progr ammin g
language.
"Our initial goal was Locreate a robot
that wou ld be able LO navigate within the
environm ent of the comput er science wing
of Sverdrup Hall," says Rowe. "But after
some researc h and testing , we found that
our robot's contro l board wasn't capab le of
handling that comp lex of a task . ln the
end , we created a neura l network that
would be capable of helpin g a robot learn
how Lo drive in a straight line, whic h may
Winter 2000-01
nol sound so imp ressive. Bul what a lot
of people don 't think about is the fact
that when the y were childr en they had
Lolearn how to walk in a straight line,
too. And the way th is robot is learnin g
is very similar Lo the hum an brain ."
The robot , nickn amed CB3 for
Cataglyphis Bicolor 3-Wheeler , is about
one foot in height , and is com posed of
Lego blocks and thr ee Lego wheels, a
Hand y Board control board (de veloped
al MIT and sold in robo tics stores) , two
different types of sensors, and thr ee
Lego gear motors.
Part of Rowe's research experie nce
includ ed writing a tech nical report of
the project. The 22-page do cum ent ,
which includ ed det ailed backgro und
inform ation and instructions , pictur es,
and diagrams, was a valuabl e
compon ent of the program , allowing
Rowe the opp ort unit y to develop
advanced tech nical writing skills.
"A lot of people don 't think of
research as being something Lhal an
und ergrad do es," says Rowe. 'This was
a great op portunit y, and I really enjoyed
gettin g into programmin g issues that I
had never even considered before."
Professor Sutherland agrees . "l
think il's so important for
und ergradu ates to have the opportunit y
to get involved in a research experience.
It's cen ainly a great benefit for the
faculty, Loo, because it lets you stay
active in your field . 1 also really like
working with und ergraduat es-th ey
have mor e interesting ideas , and they're
not restricted to the set ideas they've
read about.
"Emplo yers and gradua te schools
look for NSF-sponso red wo rk because
they know that you wouldn 't gel this
grant if il wasn't a quality proj ect,"
continu ed Sutherland . 'The NSF is very
selective, and they don 't often give
these grants Lo small schools; they more
often go Lolarge research uni versities,
so it was really nice to be able Lo do
this research."
Rowe recently began a paid
internship with United Defense in
Fridley, where his work involves
modeling and simulation of the
W inter 2000-01
Crusader Artillery System for the U.S.
Army. He credi ts his robo tics research
experience with landin g a higher-Lhennormal internship wage. In the future ,
Rowe says that he would love Lowork
further with robotics, and has considered
appl ying LOa robo tics gradu ate program.
The NSF grant is a thr ee-year grant ,
and Suth erland hopes to continu e
receiving il beyond this period . "The
bo LLOmline is that what a student learns
in the classroom has to work , it's not just
abou t theory," says Suth erland . "A stud ent
research op portunit y suc h as this really
brin gs everything together."
~~
ol all research projects involve
robots or ph ysics equa tions. This
pasl summ er, senior Cassi Van
Ausdall and associate professor Jacquelin e
deVries teamed up for history research ,
which was funded by a faculty/student
N
research grant from
Augsburg 's Cent er for
Professional Developm ent.
·w e did a literature
review and a summ ary
draft based on the
que stion of wheth er there
is a Christian perspective
on histor y," says Van
Ausdall. "And if th ere is,
should that perspective be
present ed in the
classroom?
"A lot of the project
was spurr ed on for me by
the Augsburg 2004
docum ent that the College
publi shed ," cont inu es Van
Ausdall. "A big ques tion
that this document asks is
'how do we integra te faith
into the classroo m?' Th is
project went hand-inhand with th at qu estion ."
Accord ingly, the
second pha se of the
project, which is still in
progres s, involves Lak ing
beginning -level Augsburg
classes and exp lori ng how these faith
perspec tives cou ld be integrated into the
classroom .
"Also, in the course of ou r research,
Cassi asked some really good questions
about who these historians were and
A-UGSBURGNOW
13
wha t faith tradi tions they came from,"
says de\lries . "It opened up a wh ole
other line of inqu iry about di fferent
kind s of churc h-related schools, and
how Aug burg differs from a
lennonit e college or a Calvinist
college. I think in the process we bo th
became mu ch mor e in mne with what
Aug bur g is, and what its theological
and con Lituency base is."
an Ausdall points out that their
research served more as a "re-opening ,
rather th an as an opening , of
disc ussion concern ing the nature of
Christian cholarship ."
"One thin g we realized coming
int o th is research was that this was not
necessa rily original research ," says an
Ausdall. "\ e knew that a lot of
historia ns had tried to tackle this
ques uon or had asked the qu estion
'how does my faith integrate into my
scholarship ?' o we had wanted to go
back into the discussions that the>' had
ope ned up and present the different
views we saw. From that, we were curious
to see if we could discover a new
perspective that's particularly appli cable to
a place like Augsbur g."
De ries, wh o appr oached Van Ausdall
abou t the projec t as a result of the
student 's performance in her history class,
The haping of the Modem World , was
thrill ed to have the chance to work
together. "It's been extremely useful and
reall qui te wond erful to work with Cassi,"
says de ries. "I think too often faculty lose
sight of their audie nce. We do n't often
have these kinds of disc ussions where we
know what is really going on in stude nts'
minds . This projec t opened up some of
that , and I believe it helped me think more
carefully abo ut what my role is as a
professor.n
After graduation , Van Ausdall hopes
to go into yout h ministry. In addit ion to
the history research projec t, she also held
an interns hip ,vith the Fellowship of
Christian Athletes over the summer where
she helped organize their high schoo l
.........
lnlDd
14
A-UG BURG NOW
camps. She curr ently serves as presid ent of
the FCA on campu s and volunteer s with a
youth group at her chur ch .
"I've always had a heart for kid s,
especially the high school age group ," says
Van Ausdall. "That's where my passion s
are."
She also believes that she gained a lot
from her summ er research project with
deVries. "Jacqui is such a knowledgeable
person ; it was awesom e to be able to work
,vith a professor of such high caliber," says
Van Ausdall. "I for one believe that faith
should be integrated more int o the
classroo m , and th is research has given me
a chance Lo see that oth er people have
asked these qu estions, too. Being able to
take a look at the different perspectives
has allowed me to develop my own. That 's
one of the reaso ns why I'm a history major
-l o see what other peopl e have gone
th rough and writt en before me and appl y
it to my own life."
•
deV'rles
(L to RJ,1Nmecl up for 1'85Nrdlto Investigate the existence
amn lwnlng.
Winter 2000-01
Cruisin' at Camp Snoopy
byBe t seyNorgard
"B esi
des
the [Snoopy] characters, we're the only regular live entertainment at one of
the biggest tourist attractions in the count ry " Augsburg senior Trevor Johnso n is
talking about the part-tim e j ob that he and four classmates have shared for nearly a
year. They're the "house band " at the Mall of America's Camp Snoopy, the largest indoor
theme park in the largest shoppi ng center in the cou ntry, in Bloomington , Minn.
The Snoopy Cruisers-t rumpet, trombone, sousap hone, snare drum , and bass
drum - wander through the park on Saturd ay and Sund ay afternoons , playing a musical
repertoire to please the oldest and youngest mall visitors. During the summe r months ,
they played six da,ysa week in Camp Snoopy.
"We play whatever we think would be a cool amusement park song-i t's like a pep
band for a basketball game," says junior Brendan Anderson , who plays snare drum. Their
selections range from '50s tunes to action movie themes to kids' songs.
Music department chair and band director Robert Stacke recruited the Cruisers from
his band members when he received a call from the mall, inquiring after a group that
could be built around these particular five instrum ents.
The band members each have a name-Clum sy Cruiser, Cool Cruiser, Classy, Quirky,
and Curly Cruiser. The names are natural, says Anderson. "Its not a matter of us playing to
the names, its the names playing to us." Their costumes are seasonal; durin g October when
Camp Snoopy became Camp Spooky, the Cruisers donned orange "Ghostbusters" jumpsuits.
While its not a typical part-tim e stud ent j ob , the Cruisers all feel that playing has
been a valuable extension of their Augsburg stud ies. Junior Sara Seekins is a music
therapy major. In addition to improving her range and techniqu e on the tromb one,
playing often and for this many people has given her more confidence on
her horn.
The Snoopy Cruisers entertain Mall of
Anderson , a music compos ition major, has collaborat ed
America visitors with their mixture of music.
with fellow Cruiser, sophomor e sousaphoni st Ben Duane, to
(L to R) Lindsay Bonner, Trevor Johnson, Sara
arrange all the music for the grou p. "I now know how to write
Seekins, Brendan Anderson, and Ben Duane.
for trombone , trump et, and tuba inside and out, " says Anderson.
"We have a good 25 songs in our repertoire, and you really learn how to
do it. "
John son , the trump et player, is a bu siness and economics major who j oined the j azz and
concert band s for enjoyment . After performing with the Cruisers, however, his career aspirations
are leaning toward a job in the mu sic indust ry,
combinin g music and business experience.
Juni or music major and bass drumm er Lindsay
Bonner sings in the Augsburg Choir and is a vocalist
with Gospel Praise. "Playing percussion is definitely
stretc hing me musically, and that is exciting . Next, I get
a cowbell, too," she quipp ed .
In their wandering around Camp Snoopy, the
Cruisers attract lots of attention, especially when the live
Snoopy characters join them to dance. "That's really the
best time we have- when we can get together, both the
band and the characters. They dan ce and we play, and
everybod y really gets into it," says Anderson .
"One of the greatest things is seeing kids get
excited about the music," says Bonner, who occasiona lly
rums over her mallet for kids to beat the drum.
The Snoopy Cruisers take all of this publi c exposure
in stride. Seekins ponders , "I wonder how many home
videos we're in."
W inter 2000--01
A-UGSBURG NOW
15
Passions, Dreams,
HardWork
by Lenore Franzen • photos by Linda Cullen
Four women - all graduates of the l 980sowe their entrepreneurial success to a
combination of strong values and vision
F
our Augsburg alums-Jenni
Lilledah l '87 , Kari (Eklund ) Logan
'82, Lori Moline '82, and Sarah
(Wojtowicz) Stehly '88-are pan of the
entrep reneurial trend . They have joined
the huge flux of women who now own
their own business, an impressive 38
percent of all U.S. firms.
Their dreams are as varied as they
are. Lilledahl and her husband own and
opera te the Brave New Workshop , a
comedy theater. Logan runs C.E. L.
Public Relations, Inc. with her business
partner . Moline starte d an international
travel tour company, CrossingBorders,
with a long-time colleague . Stehly owns
two related businesses, Constru ction
Technology, Inc. and Simplex
Construction Suppli es, Inc.
As different as th eir professions are,
these four women share a common
profile, shaped as much by national
trend s as by their persona l dreams and
upb ringing . They embody the many
strengt hs required to succeed in this
high- stakes' ventur e. They have a vision
th ey won't compromi se. They are
guided by values of hard work, integrity,
and service . Ultimately, they share a
desire to make a difference in the world .
Here are th eir sto ries.
16
A- UGSBURG NOW
Winte r 200~1
AUGSBURG
COLLEGE
ANNUAL REPORT OF DONORS
The Augsburg giving societies recognize donors who express their confidence
Aug burg College bJ con tributing at ad
in
ignated level. A Li t of each giving society 's members is published
once a year in an annua l r po,1, unle s the donor specifie a desire to remain anonymous .
LIFETIME GIVING
l egacy ociety
Cumu lati
gifts of
~00,000 or mor e
1869 ociety
Cumulative gifts of
100,000--499,000
Benefacto,
Cumul ati e gifts of
r ,000-99 000
PLANNED GIVING
Heritage ociety
Member hip in th
ug bu rg Coll g H ritag o i ty i extend d to all v ho have rem mbered Aug burg
College in their e tare plan wi th a "plann d gift " that v ill pa to Aug burg at ome time in the futur .
ANNUAL GIVING
gnize all annu al gift
f a h made w ithin
Th e Aug burg gi ing
Mar hall ou n ii
10,000 r mor
Build r ' Club
Founder · ircl e 5,000-9 ,999
entury Club
Regen ' ircle
2,500--4,999
upp rting Le el
lub
1,000-2, 99
Do nor recog ni zed f r th ir annu al gift ar Ii t d in th
~
a fl cal year at the following levels:
500-999
240--499
120-2 39
p to
119
llow ing categori
• Alumni giv ing by cla year
• Faculty and taff
• Par ms and fri end non-alumni )
• hur he , corp rations, founda ti n , gov rnm ent, and other organizat io n
l11is rcpon lislS gi fts made b ·1wce n June I , 1999 and May 3 1, 20 0. Every effon has been made 10 en ure thai all names are in lud ed
and ,pc llecl orrectly. If yo u noti ce an error, please all uc All ard :ii (800) 273-06 17.
Dea
r
alumni and friend s of Aug sbur g:
Please accep t th i repo n of gifts and co ntributi o n to Au gsburg Coll ege d urin g the period
Jun e l , 1999 throu gh May 31, 2000. To it , 1 acid th e gratitud e o f th e stud ent and
emp loyees o f the Co ll ege for w hat yo u- all of yo u- have clone in our beha lf and in
beha lf o f o u r herita ge and mi
io n. A strong spirit o f renewa l and hop e now perm eates
the camp us, and we are g rateful , ind eed , for yo ur enco ur agement of it.
Thi s p ast eptemb er, we opened o ur 132nd year w ith a reco rd day choo l enro ll ment
and stron g g row th in the extension o f o ur weekend pr ogra m to Roc hester. Durin g th e
summ er, a batch of capit al proj ects we re co mp leted (o r at least we ll laun ched) . A new
"o ne stop " stud ent service
center now occ upi es th e fir st floo r in
verclrup , w hi ch w ill be
co nn ected to th e new li br a1y b y a kyw ay that is ex pected to ope n in
wa
refurni hed for di e Cla
1ove mb er;
m ess
of 2004 and its successors; ind oo r co un spo ns wi ll be
played th i year o n a new floo r and w itn es eel from ne\v eatin g ; the exe rcise faci liti es in
Willi am V. Frame
Melby have been upgrad ed and th e bui lding itself g ive n a new face; the ice arena has been rehabilit ated ; and all o f us- stud ent
raff , and facu lty-w
ere g reeted in Sept emb er w ith new and ve1y we lc med in formation te hn olog y capabi li tie .
Th e inspirati o n for thi s general rehab ilit ati o n and rev itali zatio n is th e new visio n fo rmul ated in A 1tgsb 11rg 20 04: Ex tendin g tbe
Vis ion . Thi s doc um ent has brought new di stin cti on to Aug sbur g Co llege-in
th e counu y and in the regi o n- and is guidin g o ur
wo rk in program deve lo pm ent , curr icul ar refo rm , and mark eting . Thi s self-definin g im age :
• enco ur ages voca tio nal develo pm ent , spark s the dial og ue of fait h wit h reaso n, and promo tes a div erse
campu s cu ltur e as th e very co nditi o n o f edu catio nal ex cell ence;
• helps all o f us here grow in mind , body , and spirit so as to actu all y reali ze the li fe o f servi ce to w hi ch each
of u i call ed ;
• fosters and rewa rd the exce ll ence of a faculty cleclicatecl to ex pert teachin g, in both subject and soc ialit y;
• promi ses d istin gui bin g curri culum , featurin g hi gher leve l o f int egratio n of lib eral and pro fessio nal
learnin g and o f expe rientia l with classroom w isdo m ;
• in sures that stud ent fro m all eco no mi c and cul tura l backgroun I have access to the Aug sburg edu catio nand in faciliti e and atmo pher e app rop riate to di e purp ose.
In pra ctical terms, yo ur g ift s provid e di e fu el for th e mo tio n imp arted by A 11
g sb11rg 2004. T hey help us keep the fir es of passion
alive-for
a "tran formin g " edu catio n th at makes us and o ur tud ents both useful wo rk ers and carin g citi zens.
Th ank yo u for yo ur help and beli ef in o ur mi ssio n.
;;z·v
~
\ illi am
Pre iclent
. Frame
O PERATI G B UDGET
$38 ,503,5 4 6
\Jon ie in the operating b11dgetfi111d
the ornra/1 work of the College,from
facul()' and ta.!J alarie to tude11t
financia l aid to paying the 11tilitie
bill. 7be operating budget keep the
College up and mnnin g, and is
s11ppo11ed in pa,1 by und e ig11atedgift to the Aug b11rgF11nd.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Tuitio n & Fees 80%
O ther Source 5%
Board 4%
Room 7%
Private Gifts 3%
Government G rants 1%
1999- 2000 Revenues
P
T A
ET
et) $44,328,125
Plant a et de cribe the phy ical
presence , or the place that i
Augsb11rg. 7be newest addition to the
phy icctlp la nt are the ew Re idence
Hall, which opened in eptemb er
1999 and a link atrium conn ecting
Lindell Library to the core ca mpu ,
comp leted in ovemb er 2000 . In
addition, major renova tion work was
unde11aken on verdntp Hall, Melby
Hall, the ice are na , and rn e. Hall .
E D0WMENT
Market Value : $26,623,4 15
A strong end ow men t en ure
Augsbu rg ' fitture treng th and
grow th . 7be in terest and inv e tmen t
income on the end ow ment principa l
provide needed fi1 ndin g for studen t
f inancia l aid .
•
•
•
•
•
Salary & Benefits 50%
Othe r 14%
Financia l A id 19%
Utilities 4%
Equip ment &
apital Improvement 4%
Student Salary 3%
Debt Service 6%
1999-2000 Expenditures
The e11dowme11tha s grow11
stead ily o ve r th e pa s t te11ye ar s.
11111
199 1
1992
I 93
1994
1995
1996
1997
ENDOWM ENT As ET
May 3 1, 1999- May 31, 2000
1998
1999
2000
LIFETIMEGIVING
Jo han Sverdrup
I ean '62 & Barb.tr:t Begl inge r '63 Lar.on
frl e 11ds of A11gs b11,-g w/Jo /Ja ve g e 11e ro11s /J1
And rew Erne-.s+
Philip & Dian e LJr,o n
gi ve11a 111/11/mumof $25,000 lo t/Je Colleg e o ver
Elsie Wi ldun g+
Harris '51 & J\laryon LcL'
a lif e time.
John & Eleano r Yackel
A lph amae Lofgren+ '3 1
LEGACY SOCIETY
BE EF CTOR
Larry & ~larie ~le eff
Cumul ative gifts of $500 ,000 or mor e
Cumulati ve gifts o f $2 5,000- 99,000
Th eodo r ~lenzel+
Earl & Do ri> Bakk en
Ernest & Helen A lne
Ebe ~li chaelsen '3 1
Richard '74 &
Ha11vig
Robert ' 0 & Sue /viidn c ,
Tl:Je followir,g
societi es r ecog11ize fllunmi a11d
Larry Lokk en '60
ancy Co lv in
nclcrson +
Sp~ncer '66 & Gay J hn,o n '66 ,\l inear
Juli an+ '30 & June+ Foss
Ted & Ruth Arn eson
Edw in & Barbara Gage
Luth er+ '29 &
O rv ill e+ '36 & Gertrude Lund '36 Hognande r
Kennell , + & Doroth y Bailey
Joel & Jeann e ~l ugge
Ed+ & Phy lli s+ K:tvli
Ad a Bakk en+
I laro lcl & Loui::,e Nk h e n
Kinn ey John so n '65
Zane & Bmb ara Birky
Edith
E. Mi ll on '46 & Dorothy Lijsing '47 Kleven
Roy '>9 & Ard b Bogen
Lute '56 & Bobbi e O lson
larette Jo renb)' '29 Arn old
ancy Bloo mfi eld '63 Bouem ill er
Jame, · 6 & Jean Lind ell
Do nald &
Elroy Stoc k '49
Roclnc )' & Barbara Burw e ll
Clair '46 & G ladys Box rud ' 6 tro m men
Carl
Ian & Janel 1\ lontgomc ry
'orberg+
D nald
'53 & Beverly I lall ing ·55 O ren
Donald+ & Dagn)' Pad ill.t
·59 & Kathy Aaker '62 Ca, per;,on
Glen Per on '47
1larvey '52 & Joann-.: Varner '52 Petc11iO
n
Fritjof Christensen '28
1869 OCIETY
Jaff1es+ & - 1.h
e r+ Crabtree
Cum ulativ e gifts of $100 ,000-4 99 ,000
~Ir, , Osc ir DeVo ld+
Th o ma~ Peterson
C. A . L.+ & Esther J. E. A nderson
A my Erick son
~l an in+ '29 & · ·th er+ Q u:inbeck
C ha rles &
Tracy El ftmann '8 1
Phili p '50 & Dor:i Frojc n •,19 Qu anbeck
aLhe rine A nd e r o n
liver & Jeannette Peter~on
·-o
Leo n,, Rad mo n A nth olz+ '41
Phili p & La ve rne Fand re i
Lulher Ro dvik '5 1
Paul '63 & LaVo nn e O bo n '63 Batalden
Jerome '37 & W in ifred 1-telb nd ' 7 Formo
O li ve Ro nho lm '47
arl Blegen+
Jack & Jo)•Ce Boss
Ms. Dereninger+
Darrell
'55 & Helga Egertson
Emil Fos,a n + '30
~lathild a Sageng '3 1
O laf Gaastjon +
Clar.1 E. Sand er, +
Do nald+ & Irene Grangadrd
Kenneth Schmit + '38
Philli p Gro nseth '55
Huth chmidt '52
Raymond Erick,o n + 'SO
Flo re nce H ~1asarud+
Lyall & Inez O lson
Malco lm Estrem+
John 1-tan,o n +
Rosemary Shafer
Agne Sive r on+
'59 Schwarz kopf
Clar3 Evju+
M r.+ &
Jerry & Je,111Foss
Lawre nce & Lois H au ge
Glen & An na Skov holt
Paul '42 & Max ine Frid lun d
Ann :i Mae I tayden
i\ lath ias
R:iymo nd ·57 & Janice Grin de
Loren Henderson
i\luriel Sm ith+ '2
Frank li n & Carolyn
roves
No m, an & Evange line H :1gfors
Jame & Kath leen 1-1
:ig lun d
1r .+ Rcucl D . Harmo n
Do uglas & G race Fors,
'S
I lerr
Th elm a I less+ '32
hester '60 & Cleno ra Hove rsten
leua+
Bo rger o lberg
t:inl ey & Beuy Stake
Roge r '5--t& Bo nni e . toc.km o
d in Sto ric n + '28
Do nald '39 & Phylli s Ho lm
Cheste r+ & Be rni ce H o ve rste n
A llen & Jean Housh
G:ir fi eld Hovcr, tc n 'SO
Jean T:tylo r '85 & Roge r Griffith '8 I
J:.une Jo hn on & M ax.inc Isaacs
V incent '50 & J\ta rjorie H ov er!ltt!n
Jack & P. Da" n Heil '78 Taylo r
Roy Kro hn+
Will iam & Stephanie , aegele
Joseph H ieh "6 1
Oscar+ & Pearl Loken Husby
\'\lilli:.un & D onn a Teeter
Richard & Barbara Tj o rnh o m '54 'eb o n
Alfr ed Iver en
L. Ocrni cc Th mp !,on +
Ida
Richard & ' :m clra Jacobso n
Jo hn Thut+
Ruth Jo hn son+ '27
Joa n Vo lz '68
Ruth Jo hnso n '74
Richard & O liv~ Nilsen '5 1 Zo ller
elso n+
~lanh a
ylander+
Jo hn l' aub on
urtis & M arian :1mpson
Bn1ce & Maren Kleven
Paul & Lo re ne Stee n
D av id & 13a rbara Kle ve n
Ge nevieve
Lo we ll ,~4 & Janice Kleven
telberg+
onr:.ld unde + 'I ~
Leland & Louise un de t
Helen Sverdm p +
Di ck & Glend a I touston
Norma KnutSon+
tildr ed Kro hn
Dean & Su,a n Ko pp erud
+ Deceased
PLANNED GIVING
HERJT GE OCIETY
Tbe Augs burg Colleg e He ritag e Soc iety
r eco g 11i.zes th ose w ho ha ve arra,rged a
d ef e rr ed g ijlf o ,· tb e College tbrougb a be qu est,
life i11s 11rar, ce poUCJ'· a,muitJ ' ag ree ment, or a
charitab le tn, s t. Tbese tbou gb tft ,I gifls e:d e11d
s upp o rt to ge 11.
e,·at io t1s of futur e s tud e nt s.
Ernest & Helen Inc
Harold Ahl bo rn ·47
harles & C:ttherine Anderson
E. \\"i lliam And erson ·; 6
Ernest
& largaret Ande rson
Esther Anderson+
Gary & ~l.ir y Anderson
0 ar ·35 & Leola And erson
\\" illi am . And erson •
I. helby Gimse '56 Andr ess
Vi ncem Andrew s+ ·50
Betty m old
Robe rt & Carol Arn old
Luther+ '29
Clarette Jorenby '29 mo ld
Oscar+ ·4 & Doro thy Austad
Earl & Doris Bakk en
Andrew ·50 & Barl>ara Ko lden ·50 Balerud
Mary Qua nbeck T Barber
Glady s P~'"<
lerson Barnes ·25
Warren & Elizabeth Bartz · 2
Abne r ·35 & Martha Batalden
Tom '56 & Bernie Benson
idney '5 & Lola Lidstro m '50 Berg
Gary & Doro thy Borsgard '64 Berk land
Birgi t Birk eland '58
Ann e Blegen+
Kendra Oonderud 78
Richard & ancy Borstad
Donald & ancy Blomfi eld '63 13onemill er
Bernard Bretheim • 8
'ancy Drow n
Jeroy · 8 & Lorrain e Carlson
Harold C:tsperson + · 2
I lerbert '5 & Corinn e Chilstro m
Fntjo f E. hristensen '28
Judtth A . Christensen
L. Gracia hristcnsen
O lga Christo pherson
Wi lli am E. hritto n+
Ai lene Cole
George '72 & Janet Dahl man
arrie Dau ner 7 1
Dallas Day '64
lli t hard '55 & Aud rey Dro nen
Beverly Durk ee
ll uben '45 & 111elma Egebc rg
Tracy Elftmann '8 1
larencc + '35 & Th ora Eliason
Avh Elli ngrod
•r
asper & Thelma '39 Emberson
Denise Engebrets0n '82
Loren · 6 & Edn a Kastner '•2 Ericksen
llaymo nd Erickso n+ '50
Du:ine Esterly · 5
M:ilcom J. Estrem
Jo hn Evans '82 & Joan Molin e '83
All i · n Everett 78
orman & ll :ichel Ferguson
Maud Forberg
Jerome '3 & Winifred Hell and ·3 Forrno
rdella F um
~- illi am & Ann e Frame
Leola Dyrud '6 I Furman
harle Gabriel · n
Harry arlock+ '25
Do nald+ & Irene Grangaard
Roger rifr.th • and Je:in Taylor '85
racia rindal "65
Raymond '5 & Janice
Phillip Gro nseth ·55
Florence I laasarud+
rind e
ary · I & Dallas Ah rens '69 Hagen
James & Kathy Haglund
David · 6 & Janet Olso n 9 Halaas
Lo ren & Helen fork ' 2 Henderson
Edward & hirl ey Hansen
ynthio Han n "66
Erne t & Ann a · Ham, n
lark '68 & lone Agrimson ·
Hanson
L.1wren e & Lois Hauge
Loren & Helen Mohn ' 2 Henderson
ll bert '55 & Karin Herrn:in
Mrs. 11 E. J-ljell e
ig ' I & Helen Hjdm eland
rvill e+ '36 & Gertrud e Lund '36
Merton M. '59 & Jo Ann D. Bjornson '58
John on
Mimi Johnso n
lluth Johnson '7
Walter+ '2 & Ruth+ '27 Johnson
Kenneth & Carmen Jones
Larry & Jennif er Abeln ' 8 K.ahlow
Mary Kingl sey
Ruth Kislingbury
Glo ria Grant '5 Knob lauch
orrnan & Gwen Johnso n '58 Krapf
Roy Krohn+
LaJune Lange "68
Dave Lankinen '8
Marjorie Lankinen
Erne t Larson+ '30
Luther '52 & Janice Bremseth '55 Larson
Alan & Do rothy Lee
Harris '5 & Maryon Lee
Jayton & Virgini a LeFevere
Ella Lindberg
James ' 6 & Jean Lindell
0 . Herbert & Ilene Lindqui st
Terry Lindstrom '73
Marion Liska
Alph amae Lofgren+ '3 1
Arn e '46 & Jean ,vanson '52 Markl and
Ronald & Donna Matthi as
Th eodo r Menzel+
Daniel '65 & Mary Tildahl '61 Meyers
Carol Mork '6
Ri hard Mo rk '66
Mark · 9 & Pamela Hanson '79 Moksnes
Van & Mike Mueller
Do nald G. Murphy '43
co rge el.sen+ ' 7
ll ogn:inder
Kenneth · 4 & Linda Bail ey '7 Holmen
Grace Peterson el.son+ '33
Kenneth & era elson
Everett '55 & Ethel Ho lt
Mildred el.son
Richard & Barbara Tjornhom '54 el.son
Robe rt ·9 & ll o e nn elson
John Hoium
All en & Jean I loush
Merlin & Ruth H vden
hester '60 & Jen r:, Ho versten
klrencc I lovcrsten ' I
arl1eld ll o versten '50
I.ester Hoversten
Lorna ll ove rstcn '62
llobert Hoversten
Th o m:is '56 & Loretta Hover ten
lli h:ird & andr:1 J:i ob.so n
Morris '57 & Beverly Jespersen
Anna Johnso n
Jerry & Bo nita Johnson
Kinney Jo hnson '65
Mark '5 & Thelma Jo hnson
Roger '52 & Marilyn el.son
ivi an Jenkins cl.sen
ll oselyn ord aune · 7
telle No rdine+
James '57 & hirl cy
o rman
Jonathan ye · 2
Terry ll . yganrd '70
Martha ylander+
Marvin Nystrom
Arlen Oftt!dah l '64
Norm '85 & Kim Asle o n '84 Okerstrom
Evelyn O lson+
Gord o n "63 & Janice Olson
rvillc '52 & Yvonne Bagley '52 Olson
Lute '56 & Bobbie O lson
·-s &:
Donald ·53 & Bcve rl)' Hallin g '55 O ren
Robert & Marianne ander
Kenneth , ·endsen
Kenneth & Lilli an Ystcboe '5 1 Ose
Leland '35 & Pauli ne
Ervin '56 & Sylvi a 1oe ·59 Ov erlund
Donald+ & Dagny Padi lla
Kenneth chmidt + '38
Johan b,·erd rup
Doro thy w ard+
Ruth chmi dt '52
~brg aret yrin g
R bert '50 & Ruth Ann P"u l
Roge r D. chw" rtz '62
Rosemary h:tfer
Jack & P. Dawn I lcil '78 Tay lor
n
Richard '37 & Ge rtrude Erling '36 Pautz
Gerald '39 & 13erni ce Person
ateren
lli-,on E, i:n -
ary '80 & Deanna T:u1g" ,ill
O liver+ & Elisabeth Th omp son
idn ey+ ·36
Jo hn + & Ve ra+ Thut
Harve)' Peter on '52
James '50 & Glady, Dahl berg '52 Peterson
Rodney Sill ' 2
Jod '38 & Fm.n ee~ T r.-ite n..,on
Arn o ld '48 & arol Skaar
James Smith ·9,1
Jo hn & l\la rcia Th ornp',() 11 78 T urcott.:
Roy Qu am+ '3 1
Russel '50 & Virginia T hompson '50 bmith
~to rris '5 I &. Bo nni e 13u
.:ri '5-1 \ ,1.1gcni;:--,
Eileen M. Qu anbeck '46
Paul G .+ 's2 & Evelyn onnack '43
Dollie ~orenson +
~lark '83 & Beth Voel ker
Norman --5 and K:.n.hr
yn Andcr,on '76 \X'ahl
Robert & Joyce Engstro m '70 pector
To m \'\'a rm e
Douglas & Joyce
Th elma
nder, o n '65 Pfaff
chrode r Preu::,se + '38
~lart in + '29 & E>Lher Qu anbeck
ancy Joubert '63 ll:ty mo nd
Arth ur ·53 & Charlo uc Kleven '53
Jeanell e To llef,on ·2 I
Kenneth '26 & O , ede1.1 Ton ,k
John ~ . '.J6 and Esther \I. Steen
Rim mc re id
Donald Wichm an '89
Peder '49 & Ali ce Berg ''; I Wil cox
Barbara Rod v ik
Paul & Loren e
O live Ronho lm '47
Odi n Sto rien + '28
Do nald '38 & Borghilcl Ronni ng
Clair '46 & G lady s Boxrn d '46 Stro mmen
Aud rey
1
·5-
Collen Kay Watson ·9 I & I.try ~lcDouga ll
teven & N~lo mi C hristeru,e n '8 1 Staruch
1een
Da rre ll & Laura lee I lowe '63 Ze nk
Merto n '42 & Irene Huglen '43 Stro mmcn
age l 'SI Sand er
ANNUAL GIVING
Alumni Giving by Class Year
The Aug bu rg giv ing ocietie recog ni ze all annu al gifts of cash made w ithi n a fiscal year at the fo llowi ng level
Aug bu rg Circl e
10,000 o r mo re
Marshall Cou nci l
500-99 9
Foun ler ' Circl
5,000-9 ,999
Bui lders' Club
240--499
R gents' Circle
2,500--4,999
Century Club
President's Club
1,000-2 ,499
Supp orting Level
ClAS S OF 19 27
1 umbe r of Alumni : 9
Total amo unt of Gifts: 35
Part.ic ipatio n: J 1%
PP RTING LEVEL
Ali ce im o ns n Solberg
REGENTS' CIRCLE
Else ~li chaelsen
CIASS OF 193 0
CE
'umb er o f Alumni : 1~1
UPPORTI 'G LEVEL
Mo rris Jo renby+
To tal am uni of Gifts: 2 10,505
CIASS OF 192 8
A
B RG
Julian Fos. +
umber of Alumni :
P:trticipation: 2 1%
B II.DEi ' L B
Fritjof Chrbt en,e n
RY CL 13
Part icipation :
lumni : 13
T tJI amount o f Gi fb : 2_5
PRESIDE TS CLLIB
SUPPO RTING LE EL
Agne, Arno ld ~andb erg
um be r o f A lumni :
13
Elsie Lokk en Lowe r
Pa ni ipation : 7%
CENT URY LUil
Hamdr Bcn.,on
ENTURY CL B
Leo nard Froyen
SUPPO RT! G LEVEL
S PPO RTII\G LFVEL
BUILDERS'
L B
' PO RTING LE EL
tella Pederson Eie rmann
Tot:d amo unt of Gifts : 50
largit Orni ng T roge +
~I.
CIASS OF 19 33
N umbe r of A lumni : 10
Toi.II amo unt of G,fLs: 200
ClASS OF 193 1
RY CLUB
lenclo ra Dueland
Charle.., Rctrum
BUILDEH~ Llll3
Cliff ord Johnson
CIASS OF 1932
Particip:itio n: 15%
En ·
29'lo
'cs,;
ClASS OF 1929
um be r o f
JJ9
CIAS S OF I 934
Number of Alum ni 2 1
TotJI .uno unt o f G ift,
1,915
IR LE
Total amo unt o f Gif b : 250
Parti ipatio n: 25%
n·
Re ube n
120-2 39
p to
Pa rticip ation :
30'4:>
N um be r o f Alun1ni: 16
Tot:tl amoun t
f Gi fts: 2,827
Pan i ipa1i n: 25%
UPPO RTING LEVEL
o lveig Bergh
inceni Ke n:,t~tcl
Al be n Knu ,..,en
I Id en Lee L 1r,en
Norm~m Lar,.,en
\X'. DonJ ld O lsen
Borghi Id Dro 1mL1d O lson+
f-!Jrold \t<mcll
Glady, Ouda l \\ 'ooh on
Joel Torsten ·on
ClASS OF 1935
Inez Hinr ichs Sullivan
Roger Tho mpson
Number of Alumni : 20
Total amou nt of Gif t : 3 -0
Participation : 2- %
ENT RY L B
Abn er Batalden
Leland ateren
ENTURY CLUB
Else Bjo rnstad
~alome Eidnes annelin
D nnld Ro nnin g
Ethel inner Shebeck
Leland teen
UPPORTI G LEVEL
Laura Leigh Jore nby
Cliff ord Kent
Carl
Iberg
UPPORTI G LEVEL
aroline ageng Brown
na Lee Kru se
retha Halvo n Loken
Edor 'elson
ClASS OF 19 36
Numbe r of Alumni: 2;
Total amou nt of Gifts: 2, 1-0
Panicip aLio n: 3
Eric Paul on
PRESIDENT CLUB
phia Iverson Gjerde
MARSHALL CO
CIL
Gertmde Lund Hognander
UPPORll G LEVEL
igne Berg Halverson
Roselyn Ekberg lhl ing
Viola 'ydah l
Dagmar Dahl Quanbeck
Elisabeth Thompson ' idney
Ann Kveen veom
OAS
,235
BUJLDERS' CL B
Ernest Anderson
Jerome Formo
Winifred Helland Formo
Forre t Monso n
CEl'ITURY CL B
Wilbert Bbke
Richard Pautz
E. Margaret
PRESIDENrS CL B
Philip Rowberg
BUJLDERS' CL B
Fern Han o n Gudme tad
Leno re Ga rvue 1-fa lverso n
Richard Jacobson
Mabel elson Kingstad
Th elm a ydnes Mo nson
Helen Helm Mork
5
ateren Trautwein
SUPPORTI G LEVEL
Carl Chri lock
Palmer Henrickso n
Conrad Jergenson
Phyllis Kennedy
Ruth Schubert Williams
Robe rt Girod
igvald lljclmel and
E. David Mickelsen
H. Alfred Weltzin
CIASS OF 1938
umb er o f Alumni : 3
Total amount o f Gifts : 2,845
Participati on: 32%
PRESIDENrS CL B
Oscar Ander son
13 ILD ERS' CL 13
E. Irene Nescth
Hannah Mehus Stcnsvaag
Ad rian Tindcr holt
El'IT RY L 13
Marion Lund Lowrie
UPPORTI G LEVEL
Robert halmers
Gordon Korsrno
Vivien TI1 mp n Paulson
Gerald Person
Alfred
vig
Wendell Tj n
Hazel Willand
Palmer Wold
CIAS OF 19 0
umber o f Alum ni: 56
Tmal amount of ifts: 3,085
Participati on: 1%
B ILDERS' L B
Russel Helleckson
Florence Retrum Hov land
Earl Lanes
Erling Tun gseth
CENT RY LUD
Margaret Chri lock
arl Overvo ld
ENT RY L B
Helen R wberg Dr-ake
CIASS OF 19 43
umber of Alumn i: 85
Total amount o f Gifts : $17,162
Participati on: 32%
AUGSBURG CIRCLE
LuVerne elson
PRESID ENl" S CLUB
Glo ria Burntv edt Nelson
A. Irene Huglen Stro mmen
~ aldema r Fram stacl
A G BUR
JR LE
D nald Ho lm
B ILDERS' CL B
Ruth Aune
Lester Dahlen
Luther tromm en
CENTURY CL B
Lynn Hanson Luthard
Gertrude Erling Pautz
OF193
Numbe r of Alumni : 26
Total amount o f Gifts :
Participation :
ClASS OF 1939
umber of Alumni : 5
Total amo unt of Gifts : 11,
Parti ip atio n: J I%
CIASS OF 1941
umb er of Alumni : 70
Total amount o f Gifts: $3,438
Particip atio n: 32%
Elma Haaland Frykman
Florence Borstad Hi epler
Verlind a 0 1 on Huus
Kenneth Jacobson
Donald Lundberg
Sigfrid Aadland Lybeck
Elaine O lson eal
Magdalene Gronseth Stolee
Everald trom
ii eth
SUPP RTI G LEVEL
Wanda everson Ben n
Henry hapman
Valbo rg Gilscth hrisloc k
Dori s Han n urrens
Roy o rd n
Lucius li eu ser
Floyd Lien
Alben O lson
Robert Pear n
Ruth Kveen Ryd qui st
Law ren e ll ydqui st
PP RTI 'G LEVEL
En in Chell
ila Erickson+
Reynold Erickson
Edward Evenso n
Elm er Frykman
Vincent Hawk inson
Claren e Hoversten
Louise Froiland Johnson
Roy Jo hnson
Karl Krohn
Theodo re Nelson
Le lie Nelson
Edmund trand
0 . Tang
Irene leuen Thore sen
Ruth udim Wold
ClASS OF 19 2
umber o f Alumni : 72
To tal amou nt o f Gifts : 5, 80
Panicipati n: 3 1%
PRESIDENl"
L 13
Philip Helland
Men n trommen
B ILDERS' CLUB
Hildur Anderso n Bretheim
Carl Gilbertson
O rloue Gisselqui st
Alto n Halverson
Do rothy Herman Lane
harlone And erson Rasmussen
CENTURY CLUB
Borghild Estness
Harry Johnson
Martin Larsen
lo ne Chalgren Manin
Arno Martin
Wayn e Peterson
Evelyn Arnund on o nna k
leone Bolslll d Tang
UPPORTI G LEVEL
Add ell Halverson Dahlen
Clarence Gault
Herrnan Holten
Arnold Huus
Emil Martin son
Donald Murphy
tanforcl Nel on
Esther Paulson
Henry taub
Ruth Framstad teen
Marshall teen
Gerald Thorso n
E rtJ RY LEVEL
D rothy Anderso n Ashley
Archie Buseth
J. Maurice Erickson
Mary Eye Helleckson
Viet r Mill er
Louis Smith
Harry
renson
Royal teen
Morris Irin g
CIAS S OF 19 44
Number of Alumni : 79
Total amount of Gifts :
Particip ation: 2 1%
UPPORTING LEVEL
Hazel Lanes Ange ll
he ter Br oks
Ebba Jo hnson Broo ks
Myrtle Durman Carson
Roy Erickso n
M<1r
garet :tr lstedt Preclrickson
BUILDERS' LUB
Burton Fosse
Peggy Lou Zlgne igo Fo e
Lw ill e Henjum L~rson
V:irdon Quanbeck
, 75
PRESfDEl'IT '
LUB
hester Hoversten
MAR HALL COU CIL
Marvin ulzclo rf
CE m.JRY CL B
Kenneth Gille
Edwi n Jo hn on
Iver Sonna k
ll oben Warren
S PPORTI G LEVEL
H arriet H alvorso n Barwi n
Ar lene O lson Borge ndale
O laf Ensrud
Herman Hofstad
David Lar o n
Phyll i · Berg chmidt Micke lson
Marjorie Kleve n Quam
Helen Nichols Quanbeck
Go rdo n Rhylander
Ord Rishovd Stee n
VPPO RTING LEVEL
Jeanell e leb erg Boxrud
Do nald Carlson
Eunice Tande Langhaug
Marcella Solheim Nelson
Valdemar X avie r
AUGSBURG CIRCLE
Do roth y Lijsing Kleven
Numb er of Alumni : 58
Total amou nt of Gifts: s ,345
Panicipa ti o n: 3 1%
O live Ro nho lm
PRESIDENT 'S CLUB
Vera Th orson Benzel
DERS' CIRCLE
CENT URY CLUB
Mildr ed Serstock Box rud
Muri el Ruud Frosch
Marguerite G regu on Larsen
Hjalmar And erson+
Lo rraine G imm estad Clyne
Esther Bakk en Crosby
amille ivensen Forness
Harland Halvorso n
Gerhard Karlstad
Richard Ko plitz
Catherin e Mo rk Ko rdahl
Duane Lindgren
Marilynn Peterson O lson
PRESIDE !T'S CLUB
Haro ld Ah lborn
Lois Black Ah lbo m
Glen Per on
Mary Kuhn Schm idt
Arn e Simengaa rd
Ruben Egeberg
BUILD ERS' CLUB
John Parbst
Joyce Opse th Schwa nz
mith
MA R HALL COU CIL
Margery Manger To rgerso n
Ray Skone
Arlin e Stapel Th omas
Erik Tro mborg
Kenneth Walsh
\Xlillis W'essman
Marie Gjenvick Kn ap hus
l'vlaria Ga lin Berryman
Erm a Chin ander
Bo rghil d Rholl Gabri elson
Lowe ll Larso n
aro l Ystebo r Lindsay
Maril yn Rykk en Mic haelson
Semore elson
Roald No k leberg
Herm an O lson
Gu ilf o rd Parson
Edith Dr eyer Reesnes
Sylvia Brand t Sateren
Jo hn Th omp so n
CL\SS OF 1948
Clair
umber of Alumni: 107
Tota l amount of Gi fts: 8,970
Pani cipati on: 35%
Lro mm e n
PRESIDENT' CL 8
Mario n My rvik Buska
PRESIDE !T'S CLUB
Jero y Carlson
Ar n Id Skaar
Mary Schind ler T ho mpso n
B ILDER ' CL B
O rdelle Aaker
MARSHALL CO NCIL
Ro na Q uanbeck Emerson
G ladys Boxrnd tromme n
'orm a Sa1eren A nde rson
CENTU RY
L B
B l LDERS' CL B
J. Bernh ard Bretheim
Ge rh3rd Bretheim
Alto n Knutson
Eil een Q uanbeck
Jo hn teen
fargaret 'elso n Fos
Gerald Ryan
Ge orge Sverdrup
Fabi an Carlson
D avid Christenson
Beve rley Law rence Co nway
Am os D yrucl
Lee Fee ro
John Gi el
Will ard Glade
Lorene McGinnis Han en
Carol fanin Hanson
Eve ly n G ree n H arris
M 3)'11~1rd Kr3gtho rpe
H arrien Hau ge n Loc kre m
Jea nette Jacobso n Ma rtinson
Jo hn Jl.lidtling
Th eodo re Nystuen
Anna Strand O lson
Ly la O lson
Ralph Pearson
D onald Peterson
Lo rrain e Lund h Qu a!
Jo hn Qu aff1
Particip alio n: 34%
A GSBURG Clll CLE
E. Milton Kleven
James Linde ll
Anhur Berv ig
Carol Jo hnson Logan
PRESIDENT'S LUB
El ic Ro nholm Ko ivula
John Werk et
-o
SUPPO RTING LEVEL
Emil Bagley
irginia igue Bakken
Karl Berg
Jack Berry
Nlento r Larsen
SUPPO RTING LEVEL
Norman Bakken
Delph a Rand klev Berg
Num ber of Alumni :
Total amount of Gift s: 34 ,749
Doro thy Th orberg
hm idt
Ru ell o lhcim
Conni e Rho ll \\"agonc r
Peder~ ii ox
umb er of Alumni : 160
Total amount of Gif lS: 23,585
Pani cip ation: 40%,
SUPPORTING LEVEL
Roben Barstad
O liver Dahl
Esther Aadland Hofstad
CL\SS OF 1946
Caro l Brekk en Rinenhouse
CL\SS OF 19 49
FO
DERS' IRCLE
Dora Frojen Qu anbeck
Ruth \Xfehzin Swanson
Lyla b rson Jystad
JO)'Ce D reye r eset
Harry Krieg
BUILD ERS' CLUB
Agn es Valvik Larson
Roy R. Roth
CE !TURY CL B
J. Verno n Jensen
Pnidence Hoka n on Ny tuen
Elin Johnson Lappegaard
Irene Ppedahl Lovaas
Carol T)'VOll 'okl eberg
Mamie Opsa l OI ·o n
L. Buesin g Opgra nd
8 . Rando lph Q uanbeck
Ruth Chrisloc k ever o n
Grace G i d qu1!'1
t Jo hnson
M arv in Jo hru,o n
PPO iff l 1G LEVEL
Numb er of Al umn i: 72
Tota l amo unt of Gifts: 129,568
Pani cip atio n: 33%
FO
Llew ellyn RusLad
Roben Th arp
CL\SS OF 1947
CL\SS OF 194 5
CE !T RY CLUB
·n, eodo re And erso n
Barba ra Ekse Carlson
DoroLhy Quanbe ck John o n
Laverne Moe Ol son
Edman aland+
MARSHALL O NCIL
Henry Roufs
Sheldo n Torgerson
Donald ateren
Do rothy Solheim Schalk
Doroth y Shaleen
BUI LDERS' CLUB
Rob en Andersen
Jeanell And erson
Ray And erson
Lo is Warner Bergeland
Luther Bergeland
Ir is Johnson Brustad
Geo rge Dahl
Do nald Emb retson
Shirl ey Geo rge Poster
Arn old Henjum
Esther Tun gscth Hinschberger
Loui sa Jo hnson
1argretta Ramale)1 Knu lSon
Jea n Christenson Sverdrup
D onald Swee n
Lillian H anson St:1delman
Calvin Larson
Phy ll is Erickson Qu anbeck
A lmin a Nelson Ringdahl
E J'U RY CLUB
John Alm q ui t
Helen Bergeland Bennett
Roben Carlson
James arl on
Ruth lsaa o n Corn ell
Richard Th o rvig
CL\SS OF 1950
N umb e r o f Alu m ni : 231
Tota l amount o f G ifts: 42,294
Panicip ation: 31%
A UG BURG
Roy Boge n
IR LE
FOU 1D ERS' CIRCLE
Robe n Paul son
Philip Q uanbeck
REGENTS' IR LE
Edwa rd Alb erg
Frank Ario
Geo rge tte Lanes Ari o
PRESIDENT'
L B
Kerm it 1-loven, ten
Bc nil
andbc rg
'o nnan Dahle
o kl eberg
Betsy Town s FramsLad
BUILDERS' LUB
Ethel An derson Andersen
Erling Hell and
Barbara Ko lden Balerud
Harold Dall and
Andrew Balerud
Erling Carlsen
Alfred Forsell
ylvia Kleven H anson
farj orie ~ ilberg Hauge
Robert Howe lls
Archie Lafon
George L1ne
Don ald Ol son+
Quentin Quanbeck
Lyle haw
Eunice ysruen
rtland
Harold Toll efson
CENTURY LUB
Lola Lidstrom Berg
Gordon BerntSOn
'orma Westby Berntson
Dorothy Gramling Ho mander
Esther Johnson
Oliver Johnson
Torgney Jy 1ad+
Harvard Larson
Roger Leak
James Peterson
Elizabeth Felland Ro nning
Alfred annerud
Margaret Moe Sannerud
Angeline Rolland
renson
UPPO RTI G LEVEL
Milo And erson
Marilyn Vall Andros
Elmer Anhalt
Herman Aune
Delphine Jensen Bakke
LaVerne Olson Burnived1
George Capetz
P. Carson Jr.
Robe rt Ef1edahl
Charlotte Forness Egeberg
Vernon Elstad
Donald Erickson
Do lo res olan Fevig
Marilyn Larson Forslund
Raynard Hugl en
LeRoy Jo hnson
Delores Farm Jo hnson
Everette Jo hnson
William Knu lSOn
Evelyn helstad Kriesel
Caro l Schmidt Larson
Corinn e hiell Leslie
Marion Iverson Loges
Mae Jo hnson Luhn
Lynn Lundin
Miriam Hoplin Lundin
Rhonda Hek tner Lybeck
La Vonne Wessman Lyons
Robe rt Michelsen
Gordon Obe rg
Paul Olson
Wayne Peterson
Mario n Jacobsen hum acker
John Shelstad
Russel Smith
Virgi nia 111omp son mit h
Joan Fering mit h
Ann Bucid e Spencer
Do ro thy Twit o n
Robert !saker
Carl Vaagcnes
David
~
asga11
OASS OF 1951
umber of Alumni : 167
T Lal amount f Gifts: 25,526
Participatio n: 33%
FO
Marolyn
~
illiam Halverson
REGE
' CI RCLE
Robe rt Odegard
PRESID ENT CLUB
Audrey agel ander
Jenning Tho mpson
B ILD ERS' L B
Dou glas Augu Line
Gertrud e e Berg
TI1eodore Berkl and
Mill o n Bru tad
James Chri topherson
hirl ey Larson Gop lerud
Glo ria Jo hnson
La~ ayne Morseth
D. LaRhea Johnson Morseth
Daniel Pearson
C.1lvin tor ley
RY CLUB
Elizabeth Becken
James Bergeland
Doris Frojen Bretheim
Trygve Dahle
hirl ey Oden • rns Erickson
Robe rt Hofnander
Arvild Jacobson
Merlin Jo hnson
Arthu r Kuross
Harl and elson
Clarice TI1ingelstad Onsager
Lillian Ys1eboe Ose
Doro thy wanson Ryan
Ho ward
rtland
Ali ce Berg ~ ilcox
SUPPORTI G LEVEL
Marvin Andr os
Kerman Benson
Do lo re Flaa Bjerga
Al bert Bjerkestrand
Robe rt Boxrud
Ruby Helland Brown
Anabelle Hanson Dalberg
Haro ld Emerson
Ellen Lenberg Erickson
Kmhryn Th orsgard Erickson
Porrest fraa sch
John Garland
Paul Green
Ronald Guderian
Hub ert Hanson
Herbert Hanson
Freda Bind er Helm
I. Glen Hendr ickson
Howard Hjelm
Josep h Huhersirum
lllean r Ewert Hutchinson
John Jo hnson
Joan Baxter Larson
Caroli ne Borsheim Melhus
Richard Myhre
Eugene Nelson
A. Pete Petersen
Stanley Puelsto n
). Don larks
Charles Lenvig
Herbert vendsen
Joel w iggum
Mary Valtinson Vevle
Robert Weeden
David Westphal
Ruth Fostervo ld Westpha l
Lo ren Woo lson
CLASS OF 1952
umb er of Alum ni : 168
Total amount of Gifts: 4 ,779
Participati on: 31%
A UG BURG CIRCLE
Ruth hmidt
REGENTS' CIR LE
Glen Gilbertson
PRESIDENT CLUB
Orville O lson
Yvonne Bagley Olson
Gordon Tho rpe
MA I HALL COUNCIL
Leroy yhus
BUI LDERS' CL B
Irene helstad Henjum
Marjorie Danielson Jo hnson
Morris Johnson
William Kuross
Luther L1rson
Lloyd Lyngdal
Irving Ringdahl
David Ro kk e
Leona Eng Ro kk e
CENTURY CL B
Eugene Anderso n
Richard Howe lls
Mill ard Knu dson
James Kono m
John Leak
Donna Wang Leak
Mildr ed Nelson
Glady Dahlberg Peterson
Harvey Peterson
Joanne Varner Peterson
Beverly Gryth Villwock
Orlene Hjell e Waller
SUPPORTING LEVEL
LeRoy Anenson
James Armstrong
No rma Arn eson
Norman Backstrom
Lauri e Balzer
Elroy Blomqui st
henn:111Bohn
eli a Manson Burk
David hristcn en
Leonard Dalberg
LeVon Paulson Di mer
June Johns n Enge1
Robert Gordo n
Edith Sorem Gudim
Marian Halvo rson
Elmer Hanson
M. Joyce Tall man Han on
Mildr ed Heiager
Anna Marie Sabo Huesers
Lloyd Huesers
TI1eodore Hustoft
Axel Kordahl
Elwood Larson
Benjamin Larson
John Madsen
Lola Nel on Nebel
Roger Nelson
Elwood estvold
Gordo n Odegaard
Arnold Paulson
Richard Perry
Dorothy ko nnord Petersen
Marlo Petersen
Vera Peterson Rachuy
Do navon Roberts
Laton Schwartz
Mae ess parby
Aly ce Larson Th ureen
OASSOF 1953
umbe r of Alumni : 161
Total amo unt of Gifts : 22,400
Participati o n: 32%
FOUNDERS' CI RCLE
Donald Oren
Mark Raabe
PRESIDENT CLUB
Ruth Aaskov
Gloria Parizek Th orpe
MARSHALL COUNCIL
Marly Ringdahl Gunderso n
Joan Jo hnson Kuder
Betty Munson Nyhus
Arthu r Rimmereid
B ILDER ' CLUB
Wilgard Johnson
Ruth Ring tad Larson
Thomas Oh no
David Rykke n
Allan ortland
ENTURY CLUB
Do rothy Stromme n Christopherson
J sep h Cleary
Eleanor Baker Dahle
Herman Egeberg
Maril yn Elness Froil and
Clarence Hansen
Do nova n Lundee n
Beverly Ny tuen Carl en
Wilm er Oudal
Richard Pear on
Edmun d Youngqui st
UPPORTING LEVEL
Beny Ho kanson Acker
Helen Lodahl Amabi le
Elizabeth Manger Anderson
Ll1Von Moderow Belanger
Torrey Berge
Rudo lph Bern lSOn +
Du ane Chri tensen
H. Danielson
Faith Carlstedt Di ppo ld
Jero me Engseth
Leland Fairbanks
Cun is Fox
Carol Handahl Grender
Ma rvin Hagen
'orman Johnson
igrunn Kvam me
M arvin Larson
Jo hn Lingen
Harri et Dup slaff Luehrs
Jack Lundb erg
David Lunde
Duane My rin
How ard Pearson
Haro ld Peterson
Donald Reim er
. Arthur Shult z
am kogsbcrgh
fa rjorie Th one milh
Vernon Stenoien
Phyllis Vik wam,on
Corinne Re1hwill Ti egs
Harold Werts
Wi lli am White
Helen Larsen Wi n
CIASS OF 195 4
'um ber o f Alumni : I 4
Total amount of G ifts : 11,510
Parti ip ation: 26%
CIASS OF 1955
umbe r of Alunrni: 120
To tal amoun t of Gifts: 9,063
Participatio n: 2; %
FOUN DERS' CIRCLE
Beve rly Halling O ren
REGENTS' CIRCLE
Phill ip Gron eth
•r•s
MA RSHALL COUN IL
Ethel No rdstrom hi ell
PR !DENT'
LUB
Low ell Kleve n
IL
B II.DER ' CL B
Art hur And erson
Lo ui s Becker
Mark L. Johnson
Richard John o n
Colette Peter o n Lyngdal
Ali ce Jensen I ob le
Janice And erson Rykk en
Roger Stoc km o
ENT URY L B
r.,d And erson
Flo rence Hell and Bo rman
Low ell Brow n
O rp ha Hushagen lsemin ger
Leroy lseminger
fav is Kyll onen
Robert Langseth
Mary Peterson Lc:1k
Be erly Jacob sen Lundee n
Ruth Pousi O llil a
PPORT I G LEVEi.
Betry Carl o n Bate o n
~ ill ord Botk
Roge r Carlson
Valborg Ky llo Ell ing ·o n
Duane We tfi eld
CL\S
OF 19 56
umber of Alum ni: 144
Total amount of G ifts: I 1,605
Particip ati on: 33%
FO NDE llS' CIRCLE
R. Luther Ison
PRESIDENT'S CLUB
Delo ris And erson
MA RSHA LL O NCI L
Mark Thorp e
13U1
Ll ERS' LUB
I. Shelb y Gim e And re
Lloyd Grind e
W,inda Warnes 0 1 on
Ervin verlund
i\lerl in \Xlhite
Robc:r1 T w ito n
IDE
CL B
Pl
Darrell Egertson
REGENTS' IR LE
Herbert Chil stro m
MARSHA LL CO
James Shi ell
George Fisher
hi dey andq uist Fragale
Esther O leson Freund
James Geisendo rfer
Eil een Jo hn on Hanson
Erli ng 1-fuglen
Alan ·Iathiason
larlys Back lund Iorland
Ar lene Larson Nel o n
Karl 'estvold
Edward Nyhus
Winifr e I y tuen yhus
Ard i · I) rr Nystuen
Glenn O lson
Lloyd Peter o n
Horace Porte n
Ardell e kov ho lt Q uanbe k
D onna Erickson Reimer
Mary ls Mark man Schmidt
John eaver
Allan Th or on
B I I.DER ' L B
Agnes Th o mpson Becker
Richard Dro nen
Arvin Halve rs n
Jani e Bremseth Larson
Richard Mahre
Beverly O mdahl Ne) on
Phil ip 'elso n
CE rru RY CLUB
Gr::iceLarson Anderson
Jo hn Ben o n
Maxi ne Dahlin Chr ist
Richard Hage tuen
Wenona Strand lie Lund
PPO RTI G LEVEL
Wil lard Burk
Elain e F ss Erick o n
Ja q uelyn Bagley Hanson
Wallace Hanson
R bert Herman
Ervin Johnson
LaVonne oderbe rg J hnson
Ralph Martinsen
Aud rey Larson lill er
Clari ce Carl o n a, by
Diane elson
Beverly Jorge nsen O lander
lyde Peterson
Jo hn Peterson
Kenneth West
CENT RY CLUB
Do rot hy Flo i iad Benson
Carol yn Lo wer Bliss
Hans Dump y
Jo hn Haynes
Stanley Ludvik sen
Chri slin e Mu nson !Vlain
Ronald Mai n
James Pederson
Harold Stoa
Elizabeth ~lo rtensen Sw anson
SUPPORT! 'G LEVEL
fargaret Hermanson Barnes
Gerald Baxter
Leland Erickson
Faro lyn Johnson Gehring
Shirley Iulen Graus
Glen Hanggi
James Haugen
Th omas H vcrstcn
Charles Howard
Marg~iret Helgaas Linco ln
Robert Lockw oo d
Harvey Lund in
Robert o rby
Luther O lson
Roger O e
Jame Pearson
Robert Roos
Laur:1yne Helgerson Solbe rg
Richard Th o 11.1
d
CIAS S OF 195 7
Num ber of Alumn i: I 76
To tal amo unt o f G ifts: 3,759
13 11.DERS
' LLIB
Ald emar John. n Hagen
Gloria rant Kn blau ch
Gerald Min l11.1m
Barbara Tj mh o m I elson
Mayn ard Nelson
Bill Zinn
RY L B
rmsu-ong
Sidney Berg
Dennes Borman
CE I
Jame
A nne lie:,c l..:1idig Haynes
Th omas Hoffi ancler
Roger ~lackey
Erw in i\loe
Orv al ~Ioren
James No m1an
David
ystue n
Richard Vevle
SUPPO RT! 'G LEVEL
David Freedlan d
Doro th y Burke Freedl and
Virg Gehrin g
Bruce G ib:,on
Peggy or en o n Gr:1ble
Gi ll ert Graus
Do ris Rovick Hanson
Jean Mangu ·o n I l icks
Everett Ho lt
i\ Iorris Jespersen
Ralph Jo hnson
Wayne Jo hnso n
Ronald Jo hnson
Leo n Kaltv ed
Alfred Kaupin s
David Ncl on
Os ar O lson
Elain e Kroshus rvo lcl
Robert Oslund
Jarncs Plumeclahl
Lawrence Prall
Daulat Billawa la Ramamoo nh y
Neal Sni der
Judy Sather SuLher
Marlys Ho lm Th o rsgaard
Lesli e Tin eth
Gordo n Trebt :id
Jo hn Welc kl e
Ro nald Welde
CL\SS OF 19 58
Number o f Alumni: 159
Total amount of Gif ts: 21,775
Panicipmi on: 25%
Participatio n: 28%
AUG SB RG cm LE
Mabeth aure ylbtr om
A GSB RG CIRCLE
Raymo nd rinde
Harris Lee
PRESII E r' S LUB
Jo Ann 0 . Bjornson Jo hnson
Joanne tiles Laird
PRESIDENT'S CL 13
tanley Baker
De,i n Ho lmes
~IARSHALL
CIL
Birgit Birke land
Lila Oga w a Fun1kaw a
Ann a Hov land Hanson
MA RSHALL
Paul Ny hus
'CIL
13 ILDER ' LUB
Che ter Dy11.1d
Kenneth Hagen
Ben Johnson Hass
endell hiell
Wesley ideen
Grace Kemmer Sulerud
ENTURY LUB
Pau l Almqui st
Mary 1\vi ton Bosben
ndi a Christensen
Loi Anderson Go lie
rlene elander Hill
Rodn ey Hill
Ruth Thorsgard Homme
Hany Horne
Shirl ey ordi ne Kehrberg
Carolyn Westph al
~
E ITTJRY CLUB
James lmqu ist
Robe rt Bagley
Conrad Fristedt
Hugh Gilmore
Byro n G lie
Jero me Kleven
SUPPORTING LEVEL
Lois Rid, ter Agrim
n
Jean Knutso n A nderson
Jo hn And erson
orma n Anderson
aro l Myrvik Berg+
UPPORTING LEVEL
Elyce Lundq uist ANidso n
De nnis B:irnaal
Gudwre n Elli ngson Belk ho lm
Elaine 'elson Bernards
Env in Christenson
Janet 'iederlo h hri teson
Glen n Davidso n
Lois fackey Davis
Le Ro i Elias
Sonja Jo hnson Enstad
David Harris
Phil ip Heide
Carl HeUzen
C. Leroy Jo hnson
Joy Hutzell Johnson
Gwen Johnson Krapf
Margaret Peterson Langne
Alice Lindell Lindgren
Mary Erickson Lockwood
Jo n Matala
Jo hn Miskowi ec
Donald lyrvik
Rhoda Dahl Myrvik
Phyll is Knudson Seim
Ro nald tave
LaVo ne tud licn
Lowell Tornqu ist
Ard en Wahlberg
CLASS OF 1959
1 umber of Alumni : 176
Total amount o f Gi fts:
Participati on: 30%
PRESID E S CL B
Carl Casperson
Denn is Gibso n
Merto n Jo hnson
John Martinsen
Eugene Peterson
Manin abo
Inez O lson Schwar, ko pf
MARSHA LL CO
Tho mas Moen
Kay Lcmmerman Gilmore
Donald Homme
Clayton Paulson
Paul Tho mpsen
Lowell Ziemann
CIL
B ILDERS' CL B
Lois Madson Al len
John Berg
Patricia Eld ridge
Law rence Lystig
Joseph ystucn
Sylvia Moc Ove rlund
tanl ey Q uanbeck
David Ringstad
Bonnie Martinson Storlcy
Janet Cooke Zitzcw itz
,6 8
PPORTI G LEV.EL
o rman Berg
Denn is Bur reson
Paul hristensen
Delores Grupp hri lio n o n
Charles Feri ng
Jame Gulclseth
Do nald Hagestuen
Jame Han n
Jomes Horn
Rhoda Monseth Huglen
Ro nald Ja obso n
Donald Jorenby
I.any Junk ermeier
Harold Kamb3k
Gory Lange
~lonroe Larson
Gordon Lindgren
Walter Lundeen
Robe rt lefTert
Ronald lisko, ice
Harold eilsen
Hubert elson
Reidu n Hartmark e, qui st
Richard Overby
,cki ko r Pearson
Ruth Hojem Peterson
David Quanl>e k
o rmon Quanl>eck
Ri hard Robinso n
Luther R mo
Do nald alien
K. kurd al
nja ather kurd al
Gale To rstenson
Cl.AS OF 19 6 0
uml>er f Alumni: 19 1
Total amo unt o f Gif ts: 12,655
Partici patio n: 20%
rne BO)'Um
Ge rge ruy
Barbara O lson Denle
Freel Engelmann
Ruth Borchardt Engelstad
ancy arlancl Erickson
Barbara Mill ar Evenso n
Phyll is Dahlmeier Fering
Arden Platen
Do nald ilberg
Kennell , Hall ancl
Gerald Hendr icks
Ri hard Ho lte
La
o nne G r.:tvgaarcl Iverson
Del Lind
Mary Lundqui t Meffen
leve loo re Jr.
Paul Myhre
Cli fi rd Myhre
Loren ielsen
James ol le
Rull, Carlson O lson
D ight Pederson
Barbara Rie berg Peterson
Harold R~dden+
Byro n hmid
Ramona Pedersen energren
Go rdon yverso n
Lany Th omp n
Kermit Valleen
haro n Groclt West
hi rl~y Harms ~ ilsey
B ILDEHS' L 13
Che tcr Hoversten
David Nordlie
Darrell Wiese
CENT RY L B
aro l Jo hnson "s person
Bn ,cc Cunning
UPPO RTING LEV.EL
Gayle Arvi dson
Theodo re Boll en
David Buchk osky
Lois Burm eister
Lawrence Gallagher
Curtis Haney
James Ho lden
Audrey Halvo rson Hov land
Patricia Swanso n Kreuz ige r
Co nnie Bute Langager
Keith Leiseth
George Lundquist
Julie Magnuson Marineau
Karen Erickson McCull ough
Cedric O lson
Christian Osw ood
Sharon Raivo Remmen
Myron Rew
Marie Gjerde chlin k
Terrance chlin k
Judy Fosse nider
Delo ris O lson tinson
Gary Terrio
Karen Ege dal Trelstacl
E. ~ ikelius Wil son
Cl.ASS OF 1962
umbe r o f Alumn i: 2l3
Total amount of Gifts: 8,305
P~ni cipatio n: 23%
REGE
J
' CIRCLE
ann Eliason Am un dso n
PRESIDENT' CLUB
Kall1leen Aaker Casperso n
Euni ce Kyllo Roberts
P:1nicipation: 2 1%
Arne ather
FO
Dl!R ' lR LE
Joseph Hsieh
MA.R HALL COUNCIL
Kay Hanenburg Madson
E rs· JR LE
Bruce Am undson
MARSHA LL
N IL
Ruth Carlsen Moen
even Score
Bruce Westphal
CLASS OF 1961
umber o f Alumni : 198
Total amount of Gifts: 15,670
Rio
PRESIDENT S LUB
Barbara Milne Go rdo n
Lawrence Lokken
Do nald Olsen
CENTURY CLUB
Harri Bendix
Leola Dyrucl Furman
George Jo hnso n
Geo rge Larso n
Arden Norum
James Redeske
B ILD ER ' L 8
Marilyn Ellin g o n Akerman
o nia Overmoen Gulli ck
PRESIDENT' CLUB
Roger Go rdon
Kenneth elson
LL
MA RSHALL 0
Gregory Madson
Mary Tild:, hl Meyers
13 11
. DBRS' L B
Kenneth Akerman
Maril yn :,ur~ Breckenridge
I aniel arlson
D~nnls Jo hnson
aro l Oversvce Jo hnson
o nstancc ildseth Spang~nberg
Lorna Hoversten
Judy Jo hnson
O livi a Gordo n Lorents
Jack Osberg
Ron con
ENT RY L B
Wendell Brown
Jennelle John on Cunn ing
Bruce Gilclseth
Paul G rover
Jo hn Hugo
Phillip Mattison
Roger Sci" artz
Lew is Sundqui st, II
All an 1\ •eite
Mary Ann
rensen
rban
Kenneth Erickso n
Juli a Ose rose
Jerelyn Hov land Cobb
~ illi am Eri k o n
fary a hristensen Farrell
Donald Gjesfjeld
Lola Nel o n Graf, tro m
Bradl ey Hoh
·irolyn Jo hn n
Jud ith Hess Larsen
Juli e Medbery
Andre 'el on
Russell O sterberg
Glenn Peterson
Lois Mahlum H agen
Janel Eve n o n Potratz
!l oc k Helgeson
Wanda And erson l·krn e
Lynne 'iclean Junke rmeier
Charles Kin g Jr.
Barbar-J Cook Krueger
Lloy d Raymo nd
Nancy Joubert Ray mond
James Roback
Tru dy Jo hn n chohen
Arvid Schroeder
Lois Knu tson Larsen
Bonn ie Carlson Pehrson
James Pom merenke
Paul She rvey
Th omas \Vadsw o rth
SUPPORTI 'G LEVEL
Kri ti And erson
no e Marie o rdi n Anderso n
Twy lah Tjon Ayarbe
Jo hn Bostad
bir e Hell and Buettner
Jo hn Chri stensen
herman Co ltvet
John Sorenso n
Moril yn Heide ~ aller
Linda To llefson Zenk
CIASS OF 1963
CIASS OF 1964
'umb er of Alum ni : 23
Total amouni o f G ifi,,: 5 1,884
Number of Alumn i: 250
Total amo unt of Gifts: 17,779
Particip atio n: 2 1%
Participation: 20%
A UG BURG CIR LE
LaVonne O lson Bat" lden
Paul Bataldcn
REGE T ' JR LE
Joyce Leifgren Yo ung
REGENTS' CIRCLE
ancy Bloo mfi eld Bouemill er
All en Hove rsten
PRF !DE NT' CL B
MAil HAL L CO
~larie Hali e ~b
Andr e,v Berg
UPPOllTI N LE EL
Bradfo rd Aamod t
Sharo n Bate. Erick,o n
Barry Fo land
Ro nald ro ff
~largery Kyv ig Haaland
Robert Hans n
Ann Tja len Jensen
Roge r J hn on
David Johnson
Verli e Bloc k Jorenby
Ellen Paulson Keiter
haro n w an o n Knutson
Bruce L, ngager
Mary Lindgren
Karla Krogsrud 1\l iley
Donald ~lill er
David Stce nson
B ILOERS' LUB
Linda arl tedt
D:•wicl Proctor
Han andbo
All en Sauer
1rom
rdean Torsten::
,on
Robert Tuff o rd
Christo pher Wagner
Jo hn ~ anner
Lauralee Howe Zenk
Diane Petrik Ziemann
ENT Ull Y CLUB
n. hark Anderso n
Ro nald Beckm an
Lanncll F:i.rmer
f\lary Lower Farmer
Helen Anderson Gil dseth
Maril yn Peterson Hau,
Doris Wilkin s J hns n
Jud ith Lille. t I
Karen Tangen ~fanison
David 1lonrnd
Clari ce Staff
PPO llTI NG LEVEL
Charles Arndt
!o rris Bjurli n
Karen LeMere 8 ~moe
R ger I3o moc
Wendell Carls n
loria bu s n
~larilyn
'iel..,en
Jean Ami .ind Berg
Arvid Berg
Mary nn Ho lland Berg
Loi Harp Bjorngaard
~lary Cogcl ow
Euni ce Bergman Di etrich
Th om:is Eberhart
Judy Th mp on Eiler
Gary Ell is
Dale Engel
Sharo n Kun ze Erick
n
M:iril ynn nos. Fall trom
D o nald Francb
Ani ta
Sato ru Sudo h
Michael \Xtalgren
ndcn,o n
Judith Ka~in An enson
Patri i~1 SLrecker Pederson
Le·ley chw:i rten Schmid
Lind a H am ilto n Sem:i
Jame:, piess
'all y
Mi h3e l ~Llrcy
D ivin Peterso n
Charlotte Ge rclee n Osw oocl
H ild ur Oye n Gle:i,o n
hrb to pherso n Gra nsee
Helen Friederichs Griller
Nancy Bacon Hale
Glenn H:imberg
Linnea Hanke
Lo is Rajala H anson
CIASS OF 1965
Number of Alumni: 29 1
Total amouni of G ifts: 202, 185
P:1nicipation: 23%
Ronald Hanson
Kendall Kamp
Chuck Kienho lz
Paul Larson
andra impson Phaup
Charles chu lz
AU G BURG CIRCLE
Kin ney Jo hnson
MARSHA LL CO ' IL
Rob ert No rdi n
Stell a Ky llo Rosenqu ist
Karen Henry Steenson
FO NI Ens· CIRCLE
Robert Lee
Mi chael 1\ lonson
Gene Nagel
Jud ith O lson 'elson
Larry Nelson
Da n Anderson
Catherine W'chncr O rna n
'CIL
Carol A nderso n tvlc uen
Sara H alvorso n
UPPO llTI 'G LEVEL
Caro lyn Aadland Allm on
Clayto n And erson
Donald And er,o n
David Parup sky
REG E
r ' JR
LE
Steve n Strom rnen
B ILD Ell S' CL B
D enn is Erickson
M ary Lou Ervin Eri kson
Janet Batalclen Johnson
Jean Pfeifer O lso n
Helen ,ueren Q uanl eek
David idney
\Villiam tro m
Do rothea Hake To rstenso n
PRES! DENT' CLUB
Steven 'ielsen
•lerilcc Alne Schroeder
~!A R HAU
Darryl arter
CIL
Julie G udrnesw d Laudi ci na
Lilah Ra mus:,cn
Judit h Rey no ld>
I. Patricia Stec nson Roback
Sylv ia Johnson Strand
D av id Swe nson
\'(!illiam Tessman
Gary Th yren
Robert Zell er
CIASS OF 1966
um be r of Alu mni : 28 1
Kenneth Z iemann
Dani el ~!eyers
Shirley wanson 'ordin+
CE rr ll Y CLUB
D r thy Bo rsgarcl Berk land
\'v'anda \Xl:ig ner H anson
REGE
Peter Jacobson
Jo hn Luo ma
Gary Ison
Gay Jo hm,on Mi ne:u
Bru e Braaten
Jerry DeVrieze
I ea nne Star G reco
1-1
. Le:,ter Hahrer on
har n Christen en Kildal
Gary Langness
Diane Garbi ch Levake
haro n Lindell Mortru cl
Ro nald No rd in
James Park.
Virginia Hovland Plun ken
Beny H anson Rossing
tanley pangenberg
Marilyn Th mps n
Cark1 Q u:inbeck ~•algren
Ann Johnso n Wo llm an
Tota l amount o f G ift,,:
Participatio n: 190/o
BUl LDEll S' CL B
' CIR LE
Spence r M inear
D av id Patenaude
MAR HALL
Marie Bergh Sandbo
Larry ch Ila
Cy ntJ,b H anson
D avid Sevig
B ILDERS' CLUB
Larry Cole
ENT Ull Y
L B
Th omas
U CIL
o lema n
Lois Lut hard And erson
John G reenr.eld
Gary Bl ,berg
JoAn n Halvor,o n
Th o mas H anson
o rclelia
ohvc t H offm ann
Donald Hosetl,
Beve rly 1c:lson Hugo
Janice M3 U....,on John ·on
haron Diubenner Klabu nde
:iro l Welc h Langne
Do uglas John.a n
Kathryn \Vall Jo hnson
Gracia 'yda hl Luo m:i
Richard Mo rk
Robert 'elson
Darrel Peterson
Beth Torstenson
16,7
ENT RY
L 8
teven Holm
Edw:ird Huseb)'
!Ian Kristenson
fary Larson LefT
teven Westby
PPORTI G LEVEL
J. Luther Anderso n+
ylvi a ather Anderso n
John Andre:i en
anne n 1ese th Berg
David Berg
Charles Bonn es
~larilyn Franzen Chri tensen
Helen Colrvet Clarke
Judith Erickso n Coppersmith
hirle y andin D:ihl
C. Franson
Kathleen Kap lin Franson
Jack Gustafson
Mary Kunh Haag
nd ra Edstr0 m Hamberg
Jerry Hokk anen
Loi undberg Jacobson
Gary Jo hnson
l:irie ygaard Jo hnson
Catherine Blom Johnson
larjorie Delany Jo nes
Joy Klemp
Daryl Kosloske
Sandr:i Jo hnson Kotva l
Elsie Anderson Larson
Joh n Lund
Jo hn Mill er
Karen Langseth Oelschlager
Beverl y Hallcock O hm:inn
Carol trand Pattee
Dennis Paulson
lardelle Jo hnson Pearson
Judi th Erickson Pittelkow
Carolyn Benson Piuman
1ary And erson Rop
Linda 1-loversten inger
Joann Gi lbenso n nyder
Charles tenson
James tru ve
haro n Peterson Tessman
OAS OF196
um ber of Alumni : 283
T0tal amou nt o f Gifts: 9,820
Participa ~o n: 2 %
PRESID E1'n"
L 8
John
hwartz
MARSHALL
Elaine Larson
CIL
8 ILD EllS' CL B
tephen Batalden
Sandr:i Batalden
Gail tromsomoe Dow
Mary Westcrmo Parrar
Lee Ann e Hansen J.ack
Mur iel IJerg Scho lla
Rebe ca Helgesen Vo n Fio;cher
Philip Wold
CENT RY CL B
Duane hil gren
Loren Dunham
Mari lyn Alb augh ierke
Alan Gierke
arol Nerd rum Grover
Jo hn rover
uzanne Overholt Hampe
Bari :ir-a ~ alen Han n
David Haugen
Karen Jacobso n Haugen
Duane Hetland
Darlene Tesdell Hetland
Rebecca Beito Huseby
Mark andbo
tuart tgaard
FOUNDE RS' CIR LE
John Fahlberg
Ro nald elson
Joan Volz
UPPORTI G LEVEL
Barb:ira Amderso n Aaberg
ue brahamson
John Anderson
Bruce Anderson
Lynn Bo llm an
Joanne haib le Bonnes
Keitl1 Bratseh
Ro n Burke
Beverly Kronstad Burke
Jame Call
Janet Fi her Dawnpo rt
. Leroy Erickson
Mari lyn 1cKnight Erickson
Ruth Ann Gjerde Fitzke
Terry Frovik
Kmhleen Mauer Gjesficld
Lorrain e Vash o w isch
ickie Mell um Ho kk:i nen
R bc rt H man
R ger Hu by n
andr-J Doeri ng Jeppesen
David Kern
Karen Lenander
James Leschensky
Rebec , Gisselqu ist Lien
George Lillquist
James Lindell
Kathl een Feddick Luedtk e
Eleanor Moe
Johanna eldert
Bonnie Johnson elson
Linda Larson Pahl
Daniel Peterson
Kenneth Peterson
Janet Madsen Peterson
Willi am Pittman
Fern Rasmussen
Dl:i ne Munso n Ristr m
Aud rey Anderson Rogness
Dennis Sa krei ter
Karen Foss ackreiter
ancy Osberg hnelde r
Mi ke evig
Patricia itkin
Ro bert kouegaard
Paulene elso n peed
retchen Larson wenson
W:,yne Swen o n
Duane Vlk
Miri am Cox Peterson
I.ASS OF 1968
Number f Alumni : 335
Total amount of ifts: 33,227
Particip atio n: 2 1%
REGENl ' UlCLE
Larry harpc
PRESIDENT'SCLUB
Michael Arndt
Karalynn Lestrud
John Weinard
IARSHALL O
c rge elson
CIL
13 ILD ERS' CL B
Doro thy And erson
Jean Hemstreet Ba hman
J nmhan DeVrie
Dean Ersfeld
Luther Kendri k
Marsha trOmmen O lson
fary R iland Peterson
J hn Roebk e
Judy And erson haubach
· rolyn Hanson hild gen
Jane Knudsen \V/, Id
ENl ' RY cum
David Boe
I ne Agrimson Hanson
Mark Hanson
Bruce Jo hnson
Lois Hall oc k Jo hnson
Jomes Karkh fT
Linda Haack Lomker
us:1nne tarn Malolk y
Lyle Malotky
David Melby
Ali ce Draheim Peters
ary chmid1
Earl ·thre
Janet Tho rp
n tan e Ackerso n ~ anner
PPORTI G LE EL
D nna nder o n
hrist Behm
Pri ilia Plan Berg
ral ulli vn Berge
Joel Bjerke trand
Jo hn Bohn ack
D nald Brill
Janet Br-Jaten De aetano
Elizabeth J-lukee Deretl h
1' ph en Erickso n
Willi am Farmer
Do uglas Feig
Do uglas Frisk
All en Glslas n
Denis Guctzk w
Paul Hanso n
Leif I lartmark
Ann e Dauphin e Hayward
D:ile Hendri ckson
Kathl een ~ illi ams Hen lrickson
Jo hn Hopper
ally Amund o n Ho pper
Jim I los •1h
I Jerald Johnson
Dolore Johnson
Th eodore Johnso n
David Joyce
David Loftness
Janet Letnes Martin
NoReen Nystrom -Henk e
Mary Firl Ol son
Jan Pedersen- chiff
Robe rt Peters
Linda Christensen Phillip s
Barbar:i Hanson Raymond
James Romslo
Merrill Ronnin g
Gerald ine Carlstrom Rustad
Nancy Peterson almi
andy Pagel Sammelson
Carol Watson aund ers
Gretchen trom chmidt
Jan everson
lair everson
Audrey
eiderhauser Severson
Joanne Dokken trauser
Byron Troite
Loi Wellnitz Warren
GI.ASS OF 1969
Number o f Alumni : 384
Tot al amount of Gifts: ,366
Particip atio n: 16%
PRESIDENT' CLUB
John Harden
larilyn Kusel Kirk
MARSHALL COU CIL
Pamela Bjorklund Carlson
\Vayne arl on
B ILD ERS' CLUB
David Cross
JaJl)e Ericksen
Diana 0 1 n Ersfeld
Ri hard King
Jacqu elin e Kniefel Lind
Ric hard O lmsted
andra Larson Olmsted
Mark ateren
l.ee challer
Jero me chauba h
rma Jo hnson tromm en
Lawren e Turn er
Jeanne M. Kyllo Wends huh
ENT RY CL B
Lynn Benson Hjelmel and
Ingrid Kloster Koc h
Barbara hiv ne Parrish
ene Parrish
Robe rt trandqui st
Erik trommen
Jo hn Sulzbach
Ro nald Swanso n
James To rfln
Karen o rum Alm
Juli e Teig land Anderson
:iro l Halvorso n Bjerkestrand
Robe n Bliss
Lois Peterson Bo llman
Joel 0ranes
hery l Jenneke Br:itsch
The Augsburg Fund Annual Giving Societies
These groups recognize gifts made within the fiscal year to The Augsburg Fund .
Augsburg Circle
Founders ' Circle
Regents' Circle
President 's Club
Marshall Council
Builders ' Club
Century Club
Supporting Level
$10,000 or more
$5,000 - 9,999
$2,500 - 4,999
$1,000 - 2,499
$500 - 999
$240 - 499
$120 - 239
up to $119
Thank you. If you would like more information about making a gift to Augsburg ,
please call the Office of Institutional Advancement and Community Relations , (800 ) 273-0617 .
- ...-.
A gift to The Augsburg Fund
I/We wish to contribute $ ____
My check is enclosed.
_
•
___
Card no.
Signature:-
•
0 Please charge my
_______
---------
--
-
•
O VISA
___________
_
------------
Nam e(s) _ _
Augsburg 's fiscal year
ends on May 31.
__
_
-------
_____
______________
__
0
Class Years(s) ___
_
(lrapphcabld
Street._______
Ci ty ___
_
Weare interested in the EFT (electroni c fund transfer ) program
(Monthl y gift transfer from my bank to Augsburg-plea se send me the correct forms)
(pleascprinl )
S7Z
ed tJ11
6cv"?~ nd
MasterCard
Exp. date:______
____
_________
__
_
_
_______________
________
_____
State ___
__
ZIP _____
_
_
My emplo yer will match my gift. Enclos ed is my emp loye r's matc hin g gift form .
0 Thi s gift can be matched by Lutheran Brotherhood (if a polic y hold er).
0
This gift can be matched by AAL (if a policy holder or associa te memb er).
11100116SM/AR
Place
S1amp
Here
The Augsburg Fund
Augsbur g Co llege
Campu s Box 142
22 11 Riverside Ave
Minneapolis , MN 55454
Peggy elson Edstro m
Philip Edstrom
Diane Folling swd
ydn ey And erson Gray
John Greenfi eld
Janice H awk ins f-lalvo rson
laudia Melvie Hanmark
Eunice Helgeson
Royce Helmbr echt
Joan Halverson Ho h
Rosemary Jacobson
Laurel Jo nes Jo hnson
Ellen I.arson Jo hnsto n
Robert Kir chner
Ma rcia \\!"ellzin Kjesbu
Joanne Ogdahl Leach
Donald Lenzen
James Lindstrom
Mark Lund
Bruce Mestemacher
tvlarsha\l Os ma n
Caro le On e Pesek
Mich ael Peterson
Ro nald Petrich
Dennis Pflip sen
Sandra O lson Pietig
Sharon Riskedahl
James Rosie
Mary Mether Sabalk e
Richard Sandeen
Nancy Ne umann Th oren
Mark Trechoc k
Bo nni e Jami eson Wedel
uni s Z ieske
LaRhae G rind al Knarterud
Dani el Koc h
Berry Mackay
'ico lyn Rajala
Lisbeth Jorgensen etJ1re
Mi chael Th orsten on
M . Jane Corneli on Van Brunt
Ro nald Wahlb erg
Paul Wie e
SUPPORTI 'G LEVEL
Daryl And erson
Po rtia Maland Brandsoy
arolyn Gilb enso n Brow n
Kenneth Campb ell
herman Danielson
Barbara Ellefson Ditty
Kathie G ild emeister Erbes
Bo nn ie Christo pherson Feig
J\fark Francis
Lynn Anderson 1-laanen
oel Hauge
Mary ldsvoog
Renee Maikkul a Isaacson
Jerry Jo hnson
M arnee M oline Kopren
Jo hn Kulczyc ki
Maril yn Lading
Sonya ydah l Lund
Judith Benso n Madsen
Catherine Gorder Mazyc k
Susan \Xl illiams McG uire
Air ell ygaard
Linda \'{lichmann Oja
Joel 0 1 en
CLASS OF 1970
Lo rene Peterson Roste
Numb er of Alumni : 356
Tota l amount o f G ifts: 48,382
Donald Smith
Participatio n: 13%
A GSBURG CIRCLE
Th oma Peters n
Joyce Engstrom Specto r
Da w n Hofstad Slrommen
Tim oLhy Strornmen
Sharo n Johnson Sulliv an
D iane Johnso n Th orkil dso n
1ary Lo ken Veiseth
o nya Hagen Zieske
Linda Sw anson Z immerman
FOU N DERS' CIR LE
Robert Mid ness
PRESID ENT' S
L B
Nancy Paulson Bjo rn o n
N. Edwa rd Briesemeis1er
Terry ygaard
Paul ene O lson Od egaard
MARSHA LL CO NCIL
Linda Larson
Paul Mik elson
B ILDERS'
L B
G a,y Benson
ara Palmgren Benson
Mary Buss
Chery l Nelson Kin g
Richard Seime
u ~an Lindberg Sorenson
ENT URY CL B
James Ashley
Kerry Bad
J:i.mes Fischer
Jo hn I·lj elmeland
Lon Johnson
Linda Radtk e Karkh ff
Ronda Teigland Zoc hen
Nancy Ro tberg Sylvester
ENT URY CLUB
Jennif er Mi ller Bunk er
Willi am Eggers
Ali ce Rutkmvs ki Gaarde r
lary G roote r Lew is
Charles Maland
Gregg 1 elson
All en Ofstehage
Janice Bell chmidt
Stephanie Johnso n Sulzbach
SUPPO RTING LEVEL
Nancy Padd oc k Brenn y
Glen Bruin s
Susan Gib bo ns Casey
T imothy Casey
Paul Chind vall
Kathy Krop elin Cracraft
Lorraine \Xlietzke Aaland
A.
Lind a Kru se Andell
usan And erson
V ivian Yonke r And erson
Margaret Reitz Bade
Bruce Bo reson
arolyn Benson D:rnn er
Ruth Schroeder Duf fy
Peter Eckb erg
Tim othy Brady
Mark Bund y
Linda Schlue1er
urran
Kent G rosser
Vicki Aanstad Do rrell
David Hil k
Shi rley Schroeder Holtzman
Michael Hostetler
Mary Jech
Rachel Hendri ckson Juli an
Leslie Lee
Virginia Simeng:lard Liebig
Maril yn Buschbo m Lueth
Ro bert Martin
Debora h Sherman Enzenauer
Do nova n Erickson
\Xl illiam J\'lees
Ly nn Oder Mill er
Jo na1han
ye
Gerald 0 1 o n
Barbara Berg Petersen
Reynold Petersen
Judith Larson Peterson
Gary Gaddy
James Geske
Richard 1-labstrill
Marilyn ilox ness Hall
Bernellt! M anson Hansen
Nao mi Hauge n
Judy Baco n Haugo
Nancy O lson Hrdli cka
Al an Huu s
Rachel Ive rson
Lenn ice No rdaun e Keefe
Na ncy l-led tro m Voeks imoneni
Kath ryn Modrow Kufu s
Roberta Larson Lee
Greg Lindb erg
Pamela Haagenson Lindberg
Susan Did rikso n Lisell
Mm grera M agelssen
Patrick Marcy
Chery l Lindroos lartin
Mary Muhl brnd t
Daniel o rdi n
Bruce Paners n
Darrell Skoge n
Janice heldo n Th ompson
Janet
Jane Sontag Vern ess
Ro nald Weitbr cc ht
Gregory With er
Maril yn Bo rcherdin g Wortreng
Kathy Q ui ck
Robe rt Reid
Kathl een Bur ke Ridd le
Stephen Ro lfsrud
elson Pierman tier
Susan Maa hs Rowa n
David Owe n
Ka}' Hendrick son Owe n
CLASS OF 19 72
Willi am Urseth
Numb er of Alumni: 35--
MARSHALL CO 1CIL
P31rici:1 O lson Ellinger
Mark Ellin ger
Philip Hovers ten
Barbara Durk ee Mik el o n
Ronald Jo hnson
Gary Larson
Janice elson
Christy Larsen Branes
Lea nne Phinn ey
PRESIDE NT 'S CL B
Wayne Jorgenso n
Burto n Haugen
Th o ma Howe
Al an Soli
Nancy Becker Soli
Jo hn Rask
Tim oth y Rauk
Lind a il benson Romslo
Mark Saari
Glenni s Wi lda chluk ebi er
FOU DERS' CIRCLE
8n 1ce Bengtson
CE
RY L B
Ric hard Ekstrand
Krisline O lson
Karen Sand ness
'umb er of Alumn i: 346
To tal amount of Gifts: 26,896
AUSGBURG CIRCLE
Mi chael Goo d
Peter G3 le
John Gisselqui st
Gail Th acker O fstehage
SUPPORTING LEVEL
David And ell
Jeffr ey And ert
Donald Beach
Th om Berkm itz
Jane Catlin Bracken
CLASS OF 19 7 1
Pa11icipation: 14%
B ILD ERS' CL B
Joann Koelln Frank ena
Total amount o f Gif ts:
Pan ici patio n: 17%
11,60
PRESIDENT' CL B
Car I Pederson Jorgenson
F, Clayto n T)•ler
Rita Lran1pc Samue lson
Jud ith Sandeen andell
Else Tallaksen Sevig
Ronald pencer
'lary Kay Joh nso n Stensvaag
au l tcnsvaag
Gary Syverson
Jacque lin e Henry Taylor
Kalhlee n eim Til ck:rq uist
B IL DERS' CLUB
John Jenn eke
u an Sc a Swanson
MARSHALL COU CIL
D avid
hristianson
Mi chell e Karkh off Chri stianson
Marlys Oe lschlager With ers
James \XI, lslegel
Cl.ASS OF 19 3
umber of Alumni : 3 " tal amount o f Gif ts: , 28
Participatio n: 6%
PRESIDE
LUB
Terry Lindstrom
Carol Zinial ndberg
A G DURG CIR LE
Ri hard o lvin
RE E
' CIR LE
Ruth Johnson
B ILOERS' CL B
PRESID ENT CL B
Kenneth Holmen
Linda Dailey Holmen
K.1thleen Tinseth
Gary Anderson
Maril yn Gisselquist
Linda ~ ahlberg Jenneke
1ARSHAU CO
Mary Olson
IL
Bonni e Peterso n
CE.Nll .JRY CL B
Rebecca 'ysruen Berger
Joyce Catl in
Jame Hagen
'ancy Klein Maland
James Larson
Marvin Le,':lk e
Pamela Nichols 'elso n
Jeffrey Nelson
Da,id Pautz
D ILDERS' CL
Alan Bachman
Cynth ia Behmer Gale
Eliz:ibeth el n Gil benson
David Gilbenso n
1arlene Chan Hui
Brian ~ ,gdahl
Y CLUB
CE
Dean Anderson
tephen Blake
t Dav is
UPPO RTI G LEVEL
R. Charles And erson
heldo n And erson
Jo Ann Berg Bablitch
Catherine Berglund lk >cker
M arcia Raymond Berkow itz
Lester Breuer
u Brow n
Janet hurr Brubak
teven Carlson
Marily n Rude Chind vall
Beverly Mattson Conboy
Douglas Conboy
Nancy Johnson Dahlo f
Kathleen Cina Dimm er
TllTiothy Dob le
Duane Foss
Corrin e Froelich Frank
Lyth Hartz
Ruth Gu ndale Hill ebrand
Thomas Jensen
Denn is Jo hnson
Cheryl Peterson uin gc
Mark Mattoo n
Doane Bears Mills
Robe rt ilsen
Lavonne Pearso n
Willia m Pearson
Daniel Peterson
Reid Peterson
Janice Weum Philib ert
Peggy tafne Ruch
ou Schum ack
Kipp Skaden
Lou is Stender
Do nald wenso n
JL-an Bridges Wachs
Lin Carlson Wahlberg
Cynth ia Brakk e Wo lslegel
Karen Levisen Zcim is
I.ASS OP 197 4
Number o f Alu mni: 376
Total amo unt of Gif ts: I 17, 155
Participatio n: 17%
Eli z:ibcth Turrittin Lien
Ward hendel
Lynne And erson Volkm an
Baroora And erson Albr echt
R nald Al brecht
tephe n nen n
Rhona 'ew port Bry ky
Carl Bublitz
Grego ry Carlson
uivo n Emerson-Henry
Valerie Dilger Gryni ew icz
Morcia Tho mpson Hogen
Gayle Baker Hofmann
Lyle 1-!o rrmann
Mi hacl Hover..ten
Kathleen And erson Lor..ba h
Martin Lucin
Philip Lundi n
Paige 'elson
Wendy ilsson
toeve
n O T oo l
Mary Oa pp Overend
Richard Pearson
Kathryn anode n Pearson
Linda uirso n Pipk rn
Mary Ratzlaff
Ro land Root
harles huh
Robe rt tro mmcn
Joel olhelm
LAS OP 197 5
umber o f Alumni : 288
Total amount o f Gifts: 16,646
Participa tion: 16%
SB RG Ill LI!
Daniel Jo hnson
A
PRESIDENT'
L D
Eric Br wni ng-L.1rsen
0 ILDllllS' L 0
Linda I lyde Bachman
Duane Esterly
Merilee Klemp
George Mothison
Pamela Birdsall Richard
Shi rley l10berg
Allan To nn
orman Wahl
CENll.JRY CLUB
David Dahl
Karen Jo hnson
Richard Kruger
David uin gness
Bradl ey Lundell
Kathryn Faber o rum
ui urie Paulson Dahl
Marilyn Pear..on Florian
Rachel Rohde Gilc hrist
Donald Grote
Peter Hendri ckson
Karen Hesselroth
Tho mas Koelln
Susan Forsmark Long
UPPORTI G LEVEL
ancy Dahl And rews
Jon Bergherr
Deborah Fredrickson Crow ley
Belvin Doebbe rt
Jame Erlandson
usan Gu enthner Ga rne
PPORTI G LEVEL
Conni e Garry Adams
Peggy And erson
hery l Birk Gable
Con.stance o rdby Bonde
Kothleen Briggs
John Burgeson
Brenda Hoppes Ca11:1doris
ndrea Eri kson
tep hen Graziano
tep hanie Gierke ustafson
Gerald Halvor..on
Jann lei ner Hamilto n
Rayn1o nd Hamil ton
uiurie Hayden
Keith Howard
Loretw Mack Koc h
Patri Edwards Kroml inger
usan Jo hnson Mc eill
Ii Mo llner
ancy
Daniel 'elson
hirl ey hristensen i kel
LondaJo hnson Paulson
Elizabeth Kaste Peder..en
James Ring
Ann Bubo ltz Roc he
Andrea Johnson tro mmen
Paula Roberts Tetzlo ff
Alla n Tor..tenson
Janette Tup a
Chris Jensen
Mark Jo hnson
Douglas John.so n
David ui ne
Willi am Lindqu ist
Kim Hoversten Ludn
Solveig Evenson Mattson
Elsa Mohn
Douglas elson
Jeff essler
tee n Olson
Vicky Bergh Paschke
Dale Paschk e
tephen Pearson
Ruth Graf Peter..on
Becky Gustafson Raadt
'«~lli om Raadt
harles Rapp
Jero me Rokk e
Mary Ro nnin g
Dean mith
Richard viggum
ancy elson Temte
Michael Thomsen
Lois Wanm an
Debra
heeler
Cl.ASS OF 1977
umber of Alumn i: 3 5
Tow l amount of Gifts: 13,83 2
Participatio n: 15%
Cl.ASS OF 197 6
umber of Alumn i: 05
To tal amount of Gifts: 22 ,558
Particip atio n: 15%
A G D RG IRCLE
Ii . Th eod re GrincL11
PRESIDENT CL B
Jacki e Parker herryho me
tephen Reinarz
MARSHAU CO
1ephen veom
B ILDEI ' L B
·ott And er..on
Dovid Pagerlle
usan Gang.sci
Kothryn Anderson
Mark Zcll,m:r
IL
~
ahl
E
RY I.UB
Janel elso n And erson
Steven lll oo m
PRESIDENT S CLUB
Daniel Eitrheim
Charles Gabri elson
Joel Gisselqu ist
Roselyn ordaun e
MARSHALL CO
CIL
R bert And erson
Antoinette Laux veom
Patrick Zumbu sch
0 ILDERS' CL B
Mary Quanbe k Barber
Inez hey Bergqu ist
Debr:o Daehn-Zellmer
Mi hoel Heck
Daniel Reu ·
Mark chmidt
Laurn unon
ENTURY CL B
Willi am Babcock
Jeffery Blixt
Mary Fastner Bloo m
Bnice Cunningha m
John Sonnack
Jud ith Knudso n trommen
Lou Ann DielZ Wenen
S PPO RTI G LEVEL
ancy Berg tro m Allen
Debra ha e Anderson
Eric Aune
Wend y Bjork lund
Lynne Kohn Blixt
Elizabeth O lson Boum an
con Bouman
D wa ine Brun
1at.han
arisen
Pamela Carlson Heide
Linda arlson \Xtescon
David Cornell
Wayne Eklun d
co ll Fridley
James Haley
~lark Hall
Lori Q uo Hansen
Rox:mne l·b n
Michele Granlund Jerde
Susan Heng)' Johnson
Marlene Ell Jo rgen en
Susan Lageson Lundh olm
Douglas lerrill
Lori Ha lin ger Merri ll
Randall 'elson
Leslee Sandvig Nestingen
Laurie Stevenson 1ielsen
Paul Rinenh use
John and nes
'iarn a Schi eld
John Schraan
Jerome Spetzman
T imoll 1)' Strand
James trommen
Paul trommen
Bernie we nson
Rmh nderdahl-Peirce
Janel Waddin gto n Van\Xlyk
Sharon Svendsen \Xtanvig
farjo rie Ell is Welde
David Wyga nt
CIASS OF 1978
um ber o f Alumn i: 368
Total amount o f Gi fts: 30, 26
Pani cipmion: 17%
AUG 13 RG CIRCLE
P. D:1w n Heil Taylor
PRESID E T CLUB
All ison Everen
Kennel h Svendsen
MARSHA Li.
IL
Jennifer Abeln Kahlow
13 ILDERS' L 13
Mary Powe ll Ashley
J3me:, Bern~Lcin
Kendra Bo nderud
Th oma, Burnside
Patrick I la:ir
Bev Ha.m111"
1 Nleyer
Dennis Meyer
. Eri pore
1ephen Th ompso n
CENT RY L 13
Richard Hendrickso n
Th omas Hendrickso n
Linda Kin g
Bonnie Lamon 1oren
Jonathan 1loren
James Peterson
oreen \Xtalen T hompson
Loui e Dahl Wood
SUPPO RT! 1G LEVEL
Dir k Abra ham
Randy Asman
Kir ten Sateren Bergherr
andra Fretty Bruesewit z
Joan Brustad
lichael Colehou r
James Dahlen+
Mark Depaolis
Do nna Woodw ick Didrik son
ChrislOpher Cea o n
andra Glass-Sirany
Janet Hall
Peter Hanson
Bnice Hendrickson
M urray Hers1ein
Joel Hoege r
Catherine Arvid ·on Kaiser
J. Jo hn Karason
con Kemper
Caro l Fevo ld Koepk e
Brad Larson
Darla Burbach Lindqu ist
Caro l Ro mnes Loncar
Keith Lundell
Tama ly n Anderson Lundqu ist
Th omas Lundqui t
Ro lf Mo rck
Robert lorrow
Rachel Lindell elson
Carol Krassin Nis en
Paulene Soine Ison
Paul3 \Xlinchester Palermo
Bruce Peterson
Connie Lam n Priesz
Margery Mi elke Roberts
Scou Rysdahl
Ell en Wessel Schuler
Mark Sever.,on
Kevin Shea
Michael Sp:ir by
Suzan Moe S1egemoell er
Lorn Th ompson Sturm
Jani s Th o reson
Joan Swenson-Bredenbe Van '\' in.
I ebora h Lease Wagman
Gary Walls1ein
Megan Webster
aomi '-:' illiamson
Timothy Wo lter
CIASS OF 197 9
umber of lumni : 405
Tota l amount o f G ifts: 10,56Part.icipalion: 16%
Kevin Bondcrud
u :111Johnson Drakulic
Diane i\leyers
on \Veber
1ephen \'i'emzell
Juli a Davis tyr lund
Phil ip tyrlun d
Jeffrey we nson
CIASS OF 1980
~IAllSI-IALL O
Terry Jell ison
I
IL
13 LDERS' L 13
John Aune
Rebecca Lund een Aun e
Laurie arl on
con Hanus
Mi chael Kennedy
Adelaide Peterson Parbst
Jay Phinney
Sharon Lak in pi on
CENT RY LUB
Eric Anderson
Annette Johnson Anderson
El a Parbs1 Dean
Jeff rey Defr eese
David Eitrheim
L. ra ig Estrem
T heresa Serbus ~ lrem
aro l Dubov ick Hard
Chri 1o pher Haug
Lynn Schm idtk e Lyng
Emilie ysruen Kennedy
Laurie 'elson O rlow
Debra Merier Peters
Gram Rykk en
i\l ark To nsager
PPO RTING LEVEL
Lind a Ande rson
KaLhy Ploquin Asman
Debr:t Bal er
Steven Berkeland
David Boots
Tom Bo rdw ell
Judy Bender Brin k
Pamela Cantley
Paul Daniels
Sall y Hough Daniels
Robe rt Egan
Craig Ell estad
Julie Edso n eason
Catherine lngman Golv
Tonia Hendrickson u taf on
Kim Ranczka Gyuri sko
Joanne Leig hto n Hacker
igne ll strup
Jul ie lsen lngleman
Joni Jensen
Ho ll y ro1en Kreku la
lVlark Le wi s
Perry ~lalco lm
Vernon Mel nryre
Christel Hartwi ck Meye r
Amy Hoversten J\lorck
'icholas Nelson
"usan O hnesorge
hawn Pagliarini
Jacqueline Roesler Peterson
Donald Pouer
Terri Radovich
Deborah Larso n chult z
L, na Hall Skah<:n
Borb ara wffel
Dana Pa1ch Th omas
Jane Ol son uk c lich
Number of lumni : • 19
Total amou m f ifL>. 1- , I 19
Panicip :11ion: 14%
FO
DEi ' JR LE
Laurie Fyksen-13eise
PRESID E 1T
CLUB
Ma nin L-irson
Chri , Walker
1CIL
~IA IUi ALL
Jeff rey Jam es
Jacque lin e Brook hire TeTSb
e rg
BUILDERS' L B
JoAnne I eller-Ander,,en
Harold Weick
CENT RY L 13
Cind y Brehm
Charle:, 13urmeis1er
Dani el Carlson
Anit a Hill Hansen
Kay Kendall Kapp er,,
Kristy Ander:,o n i\latt.son
Phillip Nelson
Kr isten Obrud
Robert Roy
Paul Sannenad
Chery l i\licheben Slencn
SUPPORT! 'G LEVEL
G rego ry Baufie ld
~l ichael 131
obe rger
Denise Dup re Boc klund
co11Bock lund
Jody Yaroc h Bordw ell
Jon Burnison
Ju lie Ungemach Collv er
Janyce Erickso n
Claudi a Walters Forsbe rg
Dann Fo rsberg
Robert Gardn er
Fritz Hacleler
Julie Levisen Hammon:,
Paul Han.mark
Dawn Hendri cks
Dale KenKni gh1
Sandra Ketcham
Paul Kilgore
ynthia Ellm an Kncis l
Gary Kub al
Robe 11Laf leur
Gail Ryan Lehn
Lee Lill quis1
Peter Ma nignac o
tacy John:,on I nson
Bradle)' Ruff
Lisa Rusinko
Roalcl atcren
Margaret Ison ommer~
John Sorenson
John \\7:1genaar
Rob) '" Arno ld Zollne r
CIASS OF 198 1
Number of Alumni :
18
-Y:tal amount o f Gifts:
,199
Participation: I
GB RG CIRCLE
Tracy Elftmann
FO DERS' OR CLE
Roben ~ ick
PRESIDENT' CL B
Leeann Rock
Dean undquist
MARSHALL CO
Erik Kanten
Karla Morken n ,ompson
J hn Twi to n
Kathl een Knost an ess
Kevin ~ alther
CIASS OF 1982
umbe r of Al umni: 494
Total amount o f Gifts: 9,511
Pan icipation: 10%
PRESID ENT
LUB
Brian Anderson
Jo hn Evan
CIL
BUILDERS' CLUB
Galen Bruer
Pamela Herzan Crowell
Kimberl y Marki e
Dean Mo ren
Ruth Muschinske
Elisabeth Lundeen andgren
'aomi Christense n taruch
John tro mmen
CENfUR Y CLUB
Chris And erson
Michael Burkhard t
Camill a Knu dsen Carlson
Kristo fer Ho no n
John Manson
David Soli
UPPO RTI G LEVEL
Christopher Ascher
Arlin Becker
Beverly Benson
Estell e Brouwe r
Brian Budenski
Kathry n Mickelso n Canwright
Christine Conroy Cherwi en
Victoria Jeff ress Di al vo
Peter Froehlk e
Louise Becken Gallagher
Barbara Gilben
teve n Grind e
Janna Wallin Haug
John Hofnander
Wah Johnson
Kristi ne Johnson
Laura Kasdorf
Rebecca Jami eson KenKni ght
Timo thy Kidde r
Fred Larson
David Leo nidas
Marilyn Gutzman Lodoen
Charles McCan
Dana Holmes McInty re
Meryem Mestoura-Oerge
Scott Musselman
Janine Mattison Nelson
Juli e Holm Odi l
Wendy Nelson Peterson
Di ane Roo k-Jo hnson
Susan Dahlgren Sackrison
Susan Horvat Schill er
Kirsten Schw appach
Stephanie To rgerson Sippr ell
Kari Ann a Beckman Sorensen
Penny Becker ull ivan
Linda Roo p Svendsen
MARSHALL O
CLL
Jeff hri tenson
Debra Krueger Knight
Lori Mo lin e
Roel ill
Randy Stensrud
Ronald l\ mg eth
Jo hn Turn er
Katheri ne Drechsel Vichich
David Wilson
Dale Womeldorf
CLASS OF 1983
Number o f Alumni : 28
Total amount of Gifts: 3,259
Pan icipation: 8%
PRESID ENT CLUB
Joan Molin e
BUILD ERS' CLUB
BUILDERS' CL B
Melinda Tum a Arvo ld
Robe n Arvo ld
Jeffery andgren
CENTURY CLUB
Eli zabeth Bartz
usan Cash
heryl And erson hark
Katherine Aun e \Vade
UPPO RTI G LEVEL
Do uglas Adams
Paul Amos
Mark And rican
usan l-lanson
mu
Lori LaBelle Ban z
Richard Benneu
Kathleen Juli n Benson
David Berrym an
Eli zabeth Bonn er
Leslie Boyu m
Linda O lson Brandt
Julie Christenson Brenny
Terry Brown
Roxanne llausc hno t Buch:inan
Mic hael Cady
Debra Baardson Carlson
Elizabeth Carlson
o n Daniels
Cheryl Howar d Fisher
Do nald Fulto n
Jean Hanson
Rand Henjum
Kay Kenned y Henjum
Penelope Larson Hinderaker
Mark Hu ltgren
Elizabeth Bly Iverson
Rurik Jo hnson
Laura Kasper
Debo rah Church Kidd er
Kala Knuts0n
Laurie Mann
Tim othy Nohr
regory Opit z
Lynda Bonsell u
Richard Redetzke
Leslie achs Ruff
Patt i Evenson Ruth
Jo hn Sackrison
Virgin ia arver
Shell ey w anson ateren
David chepers
ENTURY CL B
Mary Thu reson Belden
Paul Elliott
Jean Luca Ho no n
Pamela Brakke Lanning
Alli son Larges O 'Day
Maren Lecy Ogd ie
Cathy hea
James ier:1kowski
PPORTI G LEVEL
Timothy
grirnson
An ne Togerson Aune
hawn Dr-aper
Lori hmidt Fisher
Meredith Gardi n
Laurie Bennett Halvorson
Lynn Helmke
Janice Haselho rst H tager
harles Ho uts
Mary:, Matts n Hultgren
Miriam Gi elquist Jensen
usan Pull eyn Lenzen
usan Hackb anh Lundq ui t
Do nald Mc lur e
teve ayman
hristo pher elson
Jerry Quam
Mary Roc k
Janet Griffi th andfo rd
Daniel hucll er
Mich ael hw an z
Peter kjervo ld
Rebe a Ostendorf Tun gseth
Meri lee ander Womeld rf
Mary Yurick
CLASS OF 1984
umber o f Alumni : 361
Total amou nt o f Gifts: 18,2 17
Pan lcipatlon: 9%
PRESID ENT' CLUB
Paul Mueller
Kim A leson Ok erstrom
BUILDERS' CLUB
Kyle Anderson
armela Brow n Kranz
Michael Pickell
Patrick ir
Mi chael 1rong
ENTURY CLUB
usan Richmond Jo hnson
Kent Karni ck
Janet Larson Karnick
Brenda Hansen Peterson
Kari Evanson tro ng
UPPO RTI G LEVEL
Bruce Arvo ld
Brent Crego
urtis Ei hen
Anne Erickson
John Gi elqui st
Tim othy Heitman
Jo hn Hilpisch
Lisa Rykk en Kastler
Patti Lloyd
Perry Madsen
Gail Morland
Mary O lson
u an \Varnes Quam
Michelle Reid
Do uglas Ruth
Julie hue11
e
Rhonda Riesberg Tjaden
CIASS OF 1985
'umber of Alum ni : 394
Total amount o f Gifts: 22,549
Pan icipa tio n: 9%
A G BURG IRCLE
Jean Taylor
F UNDERS' IR LE
heri Hofstad K.~mp
PRESID ENT CLUB
ancy Mackey Mueller
o rman Okerstro m
harles Rath
Tamera O ell Rath
13 l LDERS' LUO
usan Berg
Jennif er Olstad Hammer
D, ight Heaney
Steven Lee
ENTURY L 0
Jenni fer J hns1o n Schaid ler
S PPORTING LEVEL
Brian Ammann
Dawn Gerber Amm ann
Peter Auran
RE ENT ' IRCLE
Michael Ooclnarczuk
Jeff Bump
Michael Burden
Dale hris1o pherson
Trud y Fairbank Crego
R. L,w rence Evans
Lee Hawks
Ann
harberg Hein
Carrie Kosek Knon
Kath leen Kuro ss
James
BU ILDERS' CL B
Keith Gliva
Lisa Jo hn o n ~ ahlberg
Kari Huseby Wessman
owac k
Cathleen mith Pagels
erena prenger teffenhagen
Lisa Svac
PPORT ING LEVEL
An gela chillin g Aitk en
oe l Swanson
Paul Thomp o n
uc Th omp on
Michael Tj aden
ClASS O F 1989
Num be r of Alumni : 465
Total amo unt of Gifts: 2,
Particip atio n:
6%
~IAR HALL
O U CIL
9%
REGENTS' CIRCLE
Rebecca Gue nzel Bodnar czu k
Richard Bahr
Arny Hy land Baretz
Chri stin e Wacker Bjor k
faureen McNei l Braatz
Bri an Brakke
Caro l Chase
'I rris Engler
Lisa Brakk e Geis lin ge r
Dea nn a Germain
Jean Guemher
hristian Hahn
CENT RY LUB
1eve n Agge rgaard
Chery l olo mo n o n
Bo nnie L1r.,o n: rem o
Lori Jackm an Hand be rg
Lia Pcteni.o n
D an Terrio
!'PO RTING LEVEL
Debra Brazil
Melissa Hargrave Brueseh o ff
Ti mo th y Gu stafso n
T imothy Jo hn on
Dua ne Birnbaum
Andr ew Moen
Deva ney Looser
A nn Erk kil a Dud ero
Daniel Hanson
Jo hn Wahl be rg
Paul Rensted
Daw n Do naldson Riddering
Jane McA nnany
CENTURY CL B
Kenneth Boe hm
Di ana Wilki e Buffi e
Robe r, Kappers
UPPORT ING LEVEL
Lisa Pestka A nde rson
co n Schue
Christo pher Schul z
teve n evertso n
Mark Wh eeler
Am y Johnson Hanson
Carrie John o n Ingram
J\ilark Muhi ch
Catherine O niskin
Dr ew Priveue
ash
Caro lyn Ross
Broo k
\Xlilliam Schwa rtz
Meld o n Seeland
Todd Steenso n
Cathleen Kleim an Th om
Participatio n: 7%
Kevin Augustine
Lisa Baumgartne r
Aaron \: arwi ck
Caro l Cypr ian Callahan
Virginia arlson
B ILDER ' CL B
Chri s Pieri Arn old
Jame Arn o ld
Clay Ell ing so n
Paul Ca ·anova
Susan Haka la Gl iva
Total amount of Gifts : '4, 890
Anne Conze mius
Deid re M idd leto n
Participatio n:
aroline Q uin zon Ma rvels
Kristin Senerg ren McGin ness
Th omas Mill er
ar:.1h Evanson
elson
M ichell e Mo rit z Richards
Margaret Rog
Jeff rei• Schlieff
Dav id Shaske)•
Lynn Demaray
pliustoesser
Juli e zabla
lark Zaruba
551
PRESID ENT' S
Carla Asleson
L B
B ILDERS' CLUB
Jorgen Ellin gson
G rego ry Schn agl
CE n -u RY CLUB
Chri stin e Coury arnpb ell
Mich ael J:1c b!,on
Kent Klepp e
Kevin Ro nnebcrg
Shirley eve rso n
Jul ie Urb an
ClASS OF 199 0
'umb er o f Alumn i: 451
5%
SUPPORT ! G LE EL
Jo hn Beatty
L,ur:l Bo wer
PRESID ENT'S CL B
Bru ce Ho lco mb
unli ffe
David Dro lson