A
P U B L I C AT I O N
Winter/Spring 2005
F O R
A U G S B U R G
C O L L E G E
A L U M N I
&
F R I E N D S
Vol. 67, No. 2-3
EEditor’s
DITOR’Snote
NOTE
Learning by seeing and doing
I
usually write this piece at the very last
moment, after all the page layout is
complete and after ... Show more
A
P U B L I C AT I O N
Winter/Spring 2005
F O R
A U G S B U R G
C O L L E G E
A L U M N I
&
F R I E N D S
Vol. 67, No. 2-3
EEditor’s
DITOR’Snote
NOTE
Learning by seeing and doing
I
usually write this piece at the very last
moment, after all the page layout is
complete and after we’ve proofed
everything. At this point, the magazine is
finally in order, and, freed of the editorial
minutiae, I can more easily take in the
content as a reader.
I always seem to discover unexpected
themes and threads among the stories.
Sometimes they’re serendipitous, and
sometimes it’s as if the stories fall together
to create something greater than the sum
of their individual parts.
When I “read” through this issue, I was
struck by how much of the content deals
with learning outside the classroom.
Moreover, the one story that is about
classroom learning lauds the new ways
that technology links us with classrooms,
students, and teachers around the world.
Experiential learning, the learning that
takes students outside of books, and
mostly outside of classrooms, is powerful.
It’s an Augsburg hallmark, enhanced by the
vast resources of the neighborhoods, city,
and world around us.
I felt the power of experience when
student Anna Warnes talked about how
the tsunami didn’t kill faceless people on
the other side of the world, but people she
knew and had learned from in Thailand. I
also felt it in hearing from our nursing
students who learned about Lakota culture
and the inequalities of health care from the
nurses and residents they met on the Pine
Ridge Reservation.
Names also became real faces and
people for the school children participating
in the Peace Prize Festival who had
“adopted” Nobel Peace Prize laureates and
spent months developing creative projects
around their lives.
And, after hearing Dr. Sima Samar
speak at the Peace Prize Forum, it will be
difficult to read about Afghanistan without
thinking about the persecution and
hardships she has endured in her life.
The timing of the article in this issue
about Professor Garry Hesser—honored as
Minnesota Professor of the Year—was
serendipity, but couldn’t have fit better
with themes about experience in an
Augsburg education. His vision, wisdom,
and leadership at Augsburg and across the
nation have enabled students to learn more
fully through internships, service-learning,
cooperative education, and by getting out
of the classroom and into the community.
So, read on and experience an
education exemplified, I believe, by the
phrase on many of the publications from
our Center for Global Education—“See the
world through their eyes, and your world
will never be the same.”
Augsburg Now is published
quarterly by Augsburg College,
2211 Riverside Ave., Minneapolis,
Minnesota 55454.
Editor
Betsey Norgard
Assistant Editor
Lynn Mena
Graphic Designer
Kathy Rumpza
Class Notes Coordinator
Sara Kamholz ’04
Photographer
Stephen Geffre
President
William V. Frame
Director of Alumni and
Parent Relations
Amy Sutton
Director of Public Relations
and Communication
Dan Jorgensen
Opinions expressed in
Augsburg Now do not necessarily
reflect official College policy.
ISSN 1058–1545
Postmaster: Send address
corrections to:
Advancement Services
Augsburg College, CB 142
2211 Riverside Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55454
healyk@augsburg.edu
E-mail: now@augsburg.edu
Telephone: 612-330-1181
Fax: 612-330-1780
Betsey Norgard
Editor
Augsburg College, as affirmed in its
mission, does not discriminate on
the basis of race, color, creed,
religion, national or ethnic origin,
age, gender, sexual orientation,
marital status, status with regard to
public assistance, or disability in its
education policies, admissions
policies, scholarship and loan
programs, athletic and/or school
administered programs, except in
those instances where religion is a
bona fide occupational qualification.
Augsburg College is committed to
providing reasonable
accommodations to its employees
and its students.
www.augsburg.edu
10
A PUBLICATION FOR AUGSBURG COLLEGE ALUMNI & FRIENDS
Winter/Spring 2005
Vol. 67, No. 2-3
FEATURES
22
22
Through the eyes of teachers,
the eyes of students
by Kathy Swanson, Anna Warnes ’05, Jeff Moores ’05,
Sue Kneen ’04, and Rachel Schuette ’03
28
Learning with your heart
by Judy Petree
8
10
13
2005 Nobel Peace Prize Forum
Garry Hesser: Minnesota Professor of the Year
Vision, news from Access to Excellence:
The Campaign for Augsburg College
DEPARTMENTS
2
Around the Quad
6
Sports
17
Faculty/Staff Notes
34
Alumni News
37
Class Notes
43
In Memoriam
44
Auggie Thoughts
inside
back
cover
28
Calendar
50 percent recycled paper (10 percent post-consumer waste)
On the cover:
The 2005 Nobel Peace Prize Forum
brought together nearly 1,000 people
to hear, consider, and discuss issues
of women’s rights, honoring 2003
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin
Ebadi. Photo by Stephen Geffre.
AROUND
QUAD
Around THE
the Quad
NEWS NOTES
Campus Kitchen receives honors
The Campus Kitchen at Augsburg received
one of nine Harry Chapin Self-Reliance
awards given by World Hunger Year
(WHY) to “outstanding grassroots
organizations in the U.S. that have moved
beyond charity to creating change in their
communities.” WHY is devoted to finding
grassroots solutions to hunger and poverty.
Campus Kitchen at Augsburg is a
partnership with The Campus Kitchens
Project and local community agencies to
use food donations from campus dining
operations, student organizations, and
Second Harvest Heartland in preparation
of meals delivered to community service
agencies. Since Augsburg’s program began
in October 2003, over 10,000 meals have
been served and 300 volunteers involved
in Augsburg’s program.
Thrivent grant will help strengthen
planned giving program
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans has
awarded Augsburg $99,935 over two years
to support the College’s plan to strengthen
its planned giving program.
The grant will expand Augsburg’s
congregational outreach to inform,
motivate, and engage Lutherans through
seminars, individual visits, direct mail, and
Web site content in the charitable giving
options available to them.
Rochester Program relocates
After five years at the Rochester Central
Lutheran School, Augsburg’s Rochester
campus program moved closer to
downtown with its new location at Bethel
Lutheran Church.
In January, the College officially
celebrated the move and dedicated the new
location. Speakers included Rochester
mayor Ardelle Brede; Rev. Gary Benson ’70,
Augsburg regent and minister of Zumbro
Lutheran Church in Rochester; Rev.
Norman Wahl ’75, executive pastor of
Bethel Lutheran; and Pat Engstrom, a
current graduate nursing student in
Rochester who spoke on behalf of the
Rochester students.
Augsburg’s Gospel Praise, a student
music ensemble that performs across the
nation, also took part in the celebration.
Robert Stacke ’71, the group’s director and
chair of the Music Department, used the
occasion to note that Augsburg would
continued on page 3
2
A college with a conscience
A
ugsburg College is one of the nation’s
best colleges fostering social
responsibility and public service,
according to The Princeton Review and
Campus Compact. It is one of 81
institutions in the nation featured by The
Princeton Review in its book, Colleges
with a Conscience: 81 Great Schools with
Outstanding Community Involvement, to be
released in June.
“A college with a conscience,” said
Robert Franek, vice president for
admission services at The Princeton
Review, “has both an administration
committed to social responsibility and a
student body actively engaged in serving
society. Education at these schools isn’t
only about private gain: it’s about the
public good.”
The Princeton Review, an organization
that prepares online test-prep courses,
books, and other education services,
partnered with Campus Compact, a
national organization committed to the
civic purposes of higher education, to
choose the schools and develop the book.
Colleges were also nominated by
organizations with expertise in campus
community service and engagement.
Criteria included the college’s
admission practices and scholarships
rewarding community service, support for
service-learning programs, student
activism, student voice in school
governance, and level of social
engagement of its student body.
From over 900 nominations, the list
was shortened as editors collected data
about the nominees’ programs and
policies, and surveyed their students,
faculty, and staff.
Parker Palmer is the 2005
Commencement speaker
P
arker J. Palmer will present the
Commencement remarks, “Living the
Questions,” at the 2005 Commencement
ceremony on Saturday, May 7.
Palmer, a respected writer, lecturer,
teacher, and activist, focuses on issues in
education, community, leadership,
spirituality, and social change. His work
speaks deeply to people in many walks
of life.
He serves as senior associate of the
American Association of Higher
Education, and senior adviser to the Fetzer
Institute. He is the founder of the Center
for Teacher Formation, which oversees the
“Courage to Teach” program for K-12
educators across the country and a parallel
program for people in other professions.
Palmer’s work has been recognized
with eight honorary doctorates, two
Distinguished Achievement Awards from
the National
Educational Press
Association, an Award
of Excellence from the
Associated Church
Press, and major
grants from the
Danforth Foundation,
the Lilly Endowment, and the Fetzer
Institute.
He has published a dozen poems, more
than 100 essays, and seven best-selling
and award-winning books, including A
Hidden Wholeness, Let Your Life Speak, and
The Courage to Teach.
In 1998, The Leadership Project, a
national survey of 10,000 administrators
and faculty, named Palmer one of the 30
“most influential senior leaders” in higher
education and one of the 10 key “agendasetters” of the past decade.
Winter/Spring 2005
New regents elected to board
Frank Cerra, M.D.
Anthony (Tony) L. Genia, Jr.
’85, M.D.
T
hree new members and one re-elected
member were welcomed to the
Augsburg College Board of Regents at
their meeting in January.
Re-elected to a second term is former
Minneapolis city councilmember Jackie
Cherryhomes ’76, a government relations
consultant and current chair of
Augsburg’s Government and Community
Relations Committee.
Frank Cerra, M.D.
Dr. Frank Cerra is senior vice president
for health sciences at the University of
Minnesota, one of the most
comprehensive academic health centers
in the U.S.
He graduated from the State
University of New York at Binghamton
and received his medical degree from
Northwestern University School of
Medicine. In 1991, he came to the
University of Minnesota as director of
surgical critical care, and in 1995 was
appointed dean of the Medical School.
He is co-developer of the bioartificial
liver, a device similar to a kidney dialysis
machine.
Anthony (Tony) L. Genia, Jr. ’85, M.D.
Dr. Tony Genia graduated from Augsburg
in 1985 with a major in biology. While a
student, he served as president of the
Intertribal Student Union. He earned a
medical degree from the University of
Minnesota Medical School, and
Winter/Spring 2005
Beverly (Halling) Oren ’55
completed a residency in emergency
medicine at the University of New
Mexico Hospital in 1993.
He is a diplomate of the American
Board of Emergency Medicine and a
fellow of the American College of
Emergency Medicine. His principal
practice is at Fairview-University Medical
Center in Minneapolis.
Beverly (Halling) Oren ’55
Bev Oren graduated from Augsburg in
1955 with a major in history and a minor
in English. She taught school for several
years and then served as vice president of
human resources during the 1980s and
1990s at Dart Transit Company, a
nationwide trucking and logistics
company of which her husband, Donald
Oren ’53, is president. She remains a
principal and adviser in the company.
She currently serves on the boards of
Minnehaha Academy and Dart Transit
Company, as well as having formerly
served on the boards of the Boys and
Girls Club, YWCA, and the Covenant
Pines Bible Camp.
The new board members were elected
to four-year terms by the Augsburg
Corporation at its meeting in October.
The Augsburg Corporation is comprised
of representatives elected by the
assemblies of the Minneapolis, St. Paul,
Southeastern Minnesota, and Northwest
Wisconsin Synods of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America.
NEWS NOTES
begin offering music courses in Rochester
next year.
The Rochester Program began in fall
1998 with 65 nurses, mostly employees
of Mayo Clinic, studying toward a
bachelor’s degree completion. Now, at
nearly four times that size, 230 students
are currently enrolled in bachelor degree
programs in business, management
information systems (MIS), education,
and nursing (BSN completion), as well as
in the Master of Arts degree in nursing.
Augsburg Academy needs high
school students
The Augsburg Academy for Health
Careers is recruiting 9th-, 10th-, and
11th-grade students interested in math
and science for its first class beginning
this fall when doors open in St. Paul.
The academy is a new charter school,
sponsored by Augsburg, Fairview Health
Services, and Faith in the City, a
collaborative of seven Lutheran-based
Twin Cities institutions. Centered on
health as a vocation and a way of life, the
free school receives grant funding from
the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Focusing on math and science within
a regular curriculum, students will gain
immediate skills, graduating with
certification in CPR and first aid, and
either as a nurse assistant or first
responder. Mentoring and job-shadowing
will begin in grades 9 and 10.
For information, contact Linda
Packard, Fairview Community Health
Outreach, at 612-672-6322.
Augsburg gains European partners
Augsburg has established academic
partnerships with universities in Poland,
Slovenia, and Finland.
Business professor Magda PalecznyZapp is co-coordinator of two
partnerships—one with the Krakow
University of Economics in Krakow, Poland,
and the other with University of Ljubljana
in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Opportunities will
include faculty exchanges, research
collaboration, curriculum development and
teaching, and study abroad for students.
Augsburg’s International Partners
program has established a partnership
with Arcada College in Helsinki, Finland,
for students in business, economics, and
MIS. All course credits taken there will
apply to Augsburg majors.
3
Around the Quad
A
ugsburg’s Speech Team placed
among the top teams in the state
with a second place sweepstakes award
in their division at the Minnesota College
Forensic Association’s annual
tournament in February.
Since Minnesota teams routinely
place in the top 20 nationally, the state
tournament serves up some tough
competition. “Our students have won
awards at almost every tournament they
attended this year,” said coach and
communication studies professor Bob
Groven, “and routinely beat some of the
best competitors in the country. After
placing second at nationals last year in
our division, it’s nice to continue
building our success.” According to
assistant coach Brad Christ, Augsburg’s
Speech Team has already this year
amassed 22 finalist trophies, with several
tournaments still left in the season.
Senior Ryan Sobolik took top honors
with a second place in Impromptu
Speaking and fifth place in
Communication
Analysis. His success
comes after three years
of hard work. “It took
me a while to get the
hang of impromptu,”
said Sobolik. “It’s tough
because you don’t know
the topic beforehand,
and you only have two
minutes to prepare your
speech.”
Erik Helgeson placed
sixth in After Dinner
Speaking, which
requires presenting a
funny speech about a
serious topic. His
The Augsburg speech team’s success grows with a second-place
finish in the state tournament. (L to R) Francis Rojas ’05, Brian
speech highlights the
Mumford ’08, Ryan Sobolik ’05, and Erik Helgeson ’05
ways that “free speech
zones” have been
should be allowed to voice their opinion,
abused to limit a protestor’s free speech
even if those in power don’t always want
rights. After working extensively in
to hear the message. It’s important that
radio, he feels a special connection to
we preserve everyone’s right to protest.”
this topic. “I really believe that everyone
Augsburg presents Native American voices in
film series
F
or the second year, the Augsburg
Native American Film Series (ANAFS)
has collaborated with local and regional
film organizations to offer regional
venues for Native American filmmakers.
This year, ANAFS has partnered with a
new film organization, Independent
Indigenous Film Minneapolis (IIFM);
continued to work with the Fargo
International Film Festival; and is
planning programs for fall 2005 with the
University of Minnesota’s American
Indian Student Association and IIFM.
The series of films being shown on
campus and in community locations
aims to engage viewers in dialogue about
indigenous film and forge collaborative
relationships with the local Native
American community.
4
The spring schedule of screenings has
included a five-film documentary series
at Augsburg with special hosts and panel
discussions, and continued with a threeday series at the Center for Independent
Artists that showcased local new media
artists and the best of the Native American
Voices selection from the Fifth Annual
Fargo International Film Festival with a
special panel of filmmakers. The fall
schedule, still in the planning stage, would
show a number of feature films at the
University of Minnesota.
The series is also linked to the
American Indian Studies program’s
Indigenous Filmmakers course, offering
students an interactive environment in
which to discuss issues of America’s
history, contemporary culture, and social
justice raised by Native filmmakers with
community members.
For a schedule of the remaining
screenings or for more information, go to
<www.augsburg.edu/ais/filmseries> or
contact M. Elise Marubbio at 612-330-1523
or <marubbio@augsburg.edu>.
Winter/Spring 2005
Staff photo
Speech team wins sweepstakes award
Auggies win national title while records fall
Stephen Geffre
by Don Stoner
T
ying national records with 10 AllAmericans, six wrestlers in national
championship finals, and four wrestlers
repeating as individual national
champions, the Augsburg College
wrestling team claimed its ninth NCAA
Division III national championship in the
last 15 seasons with a dominating
performance in the national tournament,
March 4-5, at St. Olaf College in
Northfield.
Augsburg put together the secondhighest point total for any championship
team in Division III history, and the most
ever for an Augsburg team at the national
championship tournament.
Augsburg claimed 10 All-Americans, a
first in program history and the second
such occurrence in Division III history.
Augsburg head coach Jeff Swenson has
guided 143 All-Americans in his 23 years
of coaching (1980-84, 1986-present).
Junior Marcus LeVesseur became just
the eighth wrestler in Division III history,
and the first in Augsburg history, to win
three consecutive national titles, as he
claimed the 157-pound crown.
His 124-match collegiate unbeaten
streak is now the second-longest winning
Augsburg’s wrestling team claimed the NCAA Division III national championship on March 5 at
St. Olaf College—its ninth wrestling national title in the last 15 seasons.
streak in college wrestling history behind
the 159 of Cael Sanderson at Iowa State
(1998-2002). LeVesseur has yet to lose a
collegiate wrestling match.
Augsburg’s four repeat national
champions all finished their seasons
unbeaten, bringing the Auggies’ all-time
national championship total to 39 in
school history— and a record 35 in
Division III competition.
“Not only did they repeat, but they
were undefeated champions—it’s almost
unheard of at any level for a guy to do
something like that—and to have a team
that had four guys repeat and go
undefeated in that year, it’s just mindboggling,” Swenson said. “This will be in
the storybooks long after I’m done
coaching.”
Augsburg finished 14-1 on the season
in dual meets, earning Swenson his
300th career coaching victory along the
way. He is now 302-40 (.883 winning
percentage) in his career.
Don Stoner is sports information coordinator.
A
ugsburg has joined the Lutheran
World Relief’s Wave of Giving
campaign to rebuild resources in South
Asia devastated by the December
tsunami.
Augsburg’s goal is to raise $35,000;
while it will contribute to LWR’s overall
rebuilding plan in the area, the focus will
be on the rebuilding of a cyclone
shelter/school in India.
Student organizations have jumped
on to “ride the wave” with creative
fundraising events. For Valentine’s Day,
the LINK, a student service organization,
collected money for their singing
telegrams and a raffle.
Winter/Spring 2005
On March 13, Pi Day,
the student math club,
Unbounded, charged
students money for the
opportunity to “pi” their
favorite professor—by
tossing a whipped cream
mini-pie at them. Students
also took turns reading the
digits of pi, reaching a
grand total of 24,401.
Augsburg’s Center for Global
Education (CGE) and LWR have shared
their common strong commitments to
experiential education as a learning tool
with trips over the past two years to
Courtesy photo
Ride the ‘Wave of Giving’ for tsunami relief
Nicaragua to educate about the LWR
coffee project and fair trade.
Contact David Fenrick, Center for
Global Education, for further information
or to donate, at <fenrick@augsburg.edu>
or 612-330-1669.
5
Sports
Gridiron guru
by Erin Peterson
hen Jack Osberg ’62 walked off
the football field for the final time
as head coach of the Augsburg team
following the Auggies’ game against
St. Olaf at the Metrodome on Nov. 12,
he departed as the winningest football
coach in the school’s history.
But for him, that legacy isn’t nearly
as important as the one he’s had on a
generation of players.
Take Craig Peroutka ’99. Long before
Peroutka ever donned an Augsburg
uniform, he knew that Jack Osberg
would be his college coach. As a senior
at Faribault High School, the offensive
lineman hadn’t attracted notice from any
Division I or Division II schools, but he
had caught the eye of Osberg.
“Jack was the only one who took the
time to visit me at my house after a high
school football game,” he says. “He
really took time to get to know me.”
Peroutka would go on to be a part of
the 1997 Augsburg squad that finished
10-2 and earned a Minnesota
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
(MIAC) crown for the first time since
1928, while advancing to the NCAA
Division III national quarterfinals.
Now a financial analyst, Peroutka
says Osberg wasn’t just a football coach
for him; he was a life coach. “He
focused on values,” Peroutka says. “He
didn’t want us to succeed just on the
field, he wanted us to succeed in the
classroom and in everything we did.”
This is the kind of praise on which
Osberg thrives. During his 14-year
tenure as head coach at Augsburg, he’s
garnered his share of accolades, from
winning the MIAC championship to
surpassing his former coach and mentor,
Edor Nelson ’38, as the winningest
football coach in Auggie history.
But he’s much quicker to recount the
weddings of former players he’s attended
recently, and the friendships he’s formed
with many of his players. He’s happy to
talk about the successes of his players
6
not just on the gridiron, but in the
business world.
“I want my players to understand
that there’s a bigger world than football,
but that there are many things we can
learn on the football field that will help
us, whether it’s our careers, our
relationships, our spirituality, or
anything else,” says Osberg.
It’s the wisdom of a coach who’s
played the game for his entire life, and
coached for nearly three-quarters of it.
An Auggie himself, the offensive and
defensive lineman played under the
legendary Edor Nelson ’38, and he knew
by the middle of his freshman year that
he would coach.
He spent 30 years teaching biology
and coaching at Minneapolis Roosevelt,
Bloomington Kennedy, and Wayzata high
schools, where he says he quickly
learned that good coaches aren’t
necessarily the best athletes, they’re the
best teachers.
“You need to know how to motivate
and work with young people,” he says.
“I’ve always said that if I’m teaching a
class of 30 students and I get 28 positive
evaluations, I’ll wonder what I could
Head football coach Jack Osberg ‘62 retires
with the most wins in Augsburg coaching
history.
Charles Walbridge
W
Charles Walbridge
Augsburg coach Jack Osberg shares his philosophy on football and life
Coach Osberg celebrates with Auggie players in 2003 after a win over Hamline.
Winter/Spring 2005
Archive photo
begin to turn the
have done for those
program around, even if
other two. Coaching
they would not be the
is the same way. I
ones to finish first in
want to be able to
the MIAC.
relate to all of the
These days, says
players.”
Osberg, it’s tougher to
While he’s had
succeed than it used to
plenty of role models
be. Many players, even
on and off the field,
at the Division III level,
his goal was never to
are pressured to
emulate the style of
specialize in a single
any of them. “As a
Jack Osberg began his football
sport, and with everyoung coach, I went
career as an Auggie offensive and
defensive lineman.
improving technology,
to a clinic and I heard
play is far more
[former Vikings
sophisticated than it was when he was a
coach] Bud Grant speak,” he says. “I
player.
came back with all these great Bud Grant
“We have video tapes now that we
ideas, but I wasn’t Bud Grant.”
can just copy and give out,” he says.
As he looked to many people for
“We used to have just one 16-millimeter
ideas, he ended up building his own
film, and we couldn’t copy that. It was
coaching philosophy and style. For better
difficult to run, and it broke all the
or worse, the young men who played for
time.”
him would look up to him, and he
Even as players feel that they must
stresses that he tries to be a role model
do more work in the weight room and
for them. He is demanding but respectful
spend more time in the offseason
of his players; he focuses on the
preparing for the following fall, Osberg
fundamentals of the game while
tells them to find balance. College is a
acknowledging that his players and his
crucible, but it is only through the
coaches have much to teach him.
balance of sports and academics, work,
“If you think you have all the answers
and friendships that they will be
to everything, you’re not going to make
prepared to enter the world and the rest
it,” he says.
of their lives.
As a Division III coach, Osberg hasn’t
In retirement, he says he is looking
had access to the kind of talent available
forward to spending more time with his
to large programs, but he’s a proponent
wife, Nina, and six children and
of making everyone—even those who
grandchildren. He may also spend more
will never be stars—feel valued.
time on the golf course. But retirement
“Jack made me think I could
will be bittersweet because of the joy
accomplish anything,” says Mike
that his tenure at Augsburg has brought.
Weidner ’83, a defensive end who played
“I was here 40 years ago, and in that
while Osberg was a defensive coordinator
time buildings have changed, technology
under Al Kloppen. “I was 6-feet-1 and
has changed, and administrations have
177 pounds, and he convinced me I
changed,” he says. “But the thing that’s
could do the job. I don’t think we had
stayed constant is the [encouragement]
one guy who was over 200 pounds, but
for individuals to be who they are. That
he always got the most out of
is something that persists.”
everybody.”
Osberg will remain on the Augsburg
Indeed, he says one of the squads he
staff, assisting in the school’s Alumni and
was most proud of during his tenure at
Parent Relations and Development areas,
Augsburg was the group of players he
to develop connections with athletic
started with during his first year as a
alumni and parents.
head coach, in 1991. Augsburg had
compiled an abysmal 7-61-2 record in
Erin Peterson is a freelance writer based in
the previous seven seasons, and he
Minneapolis.
marveled at the 1991 group’s ability to
Winter/Spring 2005
Frank Haege to
replace Osberg
by Don Stoner
F
ormer Augsburg assistant coach
Frank Haege has been named to
replace retiring coach Jack Osberg. He will
be the 14th head coach in the 74-season
history of the school’s football program.
Haege brings a 64-24 record as a
professional football head coach to his
new post at Augsburg. Most recently,
Haege spent three seasons as head coach
of the Arena Football League’s Las Vegas
Gladiators, posting a 25-23 record
(including playoffs).
“I’m very excited about this position,”
said Haege, 36. “Working at Augsburg,
and at the small-college level, has always
been a long-term goal for me. I’ve really
enjoyed the 10 years that I coached in
Arena Football, and I’ve had a lot of
success at that level. But there is a lot
more stability at the small-college level,
and that is important to me and my
family.”
Haege served on the Augsburg staff
under Jack Osberg as offensive
coordinator from 1996-98.
“Ever since I started coaching with
Jack in 1996, I fell in love with
Augsburg,” Haege said. “It is a great
atmosphere in which to coach and teach.
People work hard, have fun, and always
look out for the student-athletes.”
Don Stoner is sports information
coordinator.
7
The 17th Nobel Peace Prize Forum and Peace Prize Festival
Left: Dr. Sima Samar,
chair of the Afghanistan
Human Rights
Commission, spoke
about her struggle as an
Afghan woman to
become a medical
doctor, establish the first
hospital for women in
Afghanistan, and
continue her pioneering
work on behalf of
women in her country.
Right: Augsburg student Sam
Kanenwisher ’06 (left) presents a
gift of the waters brought to this
year’s forum to a representative of
Luther College, which will host
the Peace Prize Forum in 2006.
Left: Students from CitySongs
children’s choir performed at the
forum prior to the Friday
evening plenary session.
Above: Augsburg was host in February to
nearly 1,000 college, university, and
community participants in the 17th annual
Nobel Peace Prize Forum honoring Nobel
Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi of Iran.
Above: National Public Radio producer Davar Ardalan
spoke in a plenary session about rediscovering her
native country of Iran and learning about the legacy
her family left in the national struggle for reform.
8
Above: Augsburg student Katie Bickel ’05 participated on a student seminar panel examining
human rights issues in China, Iran, and East Africa.
Winter/Spring 2005
Above: Frances Moore Lappé, author of Diet for a
Small Planet, spoke about the politics of food and
consideration of food as the central issue through
which to understand world politics.
Above: Augsburg sociology professor Garry Hesser, with
students Krista Dahlke and Riley Conway, presented to a
standing-room seminar audience their research on
demographics, resources, and revitalization in lowincome neighborhoods.
Above: Students from the
Prairie School of Dance in Eden
Prairie performed a modern
dance, “The Wall.”
Above: Mary Robinson, former president of
Ireland and U.N. high commissioner for human
rights, talked about her global experience as an
advocate for human rights and the use of law to
bring about social change.
Above: A participant from one of the five
sponsoring colleges brought water to the Peace
Prize Forum cauldron.
Winter/Spring 2005
Above: Ole Mjøs, chair of the Nobel
Peace Prize Committee in Oslo, Norway,
gestured in his greetings from Norway
and spoke about the significance of the
forum, sponsored by the five
Norwegian Lutheran colleges.
9
Stephen Geffre
G A R RY H E S S E R
M I N N E S O TA P R O F E S S O R O F T H E Y E A R
Augsburg News Service and Betsey Norgard
10
interdisciplinary metro-urban studies
program. He was instrumental in the
creation of Augsburg’s Center for
Service, Work, and Learning—a center
marking the marriage of the classroom
and the city that has not only emerged
as a hallmark of an Augsburg education,
but also has served as a service-learning
model across the nation.
For 28 years Hesser has been a
national leader in assisting students in
taking fuller advantage of Augsburg’s
urban location through wide-ranging
internships, community servicelearning, and cooperative education.
Education Award (National Society
for Experiential Education)
• 1998, Thomas Ehrlich Award for
national leadership and scholarship in
advancing the field of service-learning
(Campus Compact)
Stephen Geffre
A
ugsburg sociology and urban
studies professor Garry Hesser
was named 2004 Minnesota
Professor of the Year by the Carnegie
Foundation for the Advancement of
Teaching and the Council for
Advancement and Support of Education
(CASE).
The day of the announcement,
November 18, was proclaimed as “Dr.
Garry Hesser Day” in Minnesota by Gov.
Tim Pawlenty. A special chapel service
and luncheon marked the day on the
Augsburg campus.
In reflecting on his time at Augsburg,
Hesser said, “This has been an
extraordinary place to be all these 28
years. The gift of community is about the
greatest gift to be given to anybody in
one’s life.”
Hesser joined Augsburg’s Sociology
Department in 1977. Since that time he
has served as chair of the Natural and
Social Sciences Division and chair of the
His awards include:
• 2004, Distinguished Contributions to
Teaching and Learning (Augsburg)
• 2002, Distinguished Sociologist of
Minnesota (Sociologists of Minnesota)
• 2001, Pioneer in Experiential
Professor of the Year Garry Hesser is
introduced at a special chapel service by
Frankie Shackelford, associate dean for
teaching and learning enhancement.
Winter/Spring 2005
Stephen Geffre
Hesser represents the
very best teacher any of
us ever have had.
He’s that teacher we think
about with gratitude
decades later.
—Doug Grow
Star Tribune columnist
Hesser is Augsburg’s first recipient of the
professor-of-the-year honor, which is
given annually by the Carnegie
Foundation and CASE, two Washington,
D.C.-based organizations. It is the only
national award that recognizes
excellence in undergraduate teaching
and mentoring. More than 500
nominations were submitted.
The nominees were evaluated on
criteria including the impact on and
involvement with undergraduate
students, scholarly approach to teaching
and learning, contributions to
undergraduate education within the
institution and community, and support
from colleagues and students
“In my view, Garry Hesser represents
the best Augsburg College has to offer in
respect to innovative teaching, engaged
scholarship, and service to the
institution and the community,” noted
President William Frame.
Augsburg provost and dean
Christopher Kimball wrote, “His unique
preparation as a theologian and
sociologist has proven fertile soil in
which to cultivate a teaching life. He
does so with energy and care and
thereby provides a compelling example
of Christian vocation for his colleagues
Winter/Spring 2005
and students.”
Minneapolis Star Tribune columnist
Doug Grow led his column about
Hesser’s honor by fantasizing about a
time when media would get as excited
about people who matter as they do
about celebrities and sports stars. He
wrote, “Hesser represents the very best
teacher any of us ever have had. He’s that
teacher we think about with gratitude
decades later.”
Hesser is past president of the
National Society for Experiential
Education (NSEE) and the Higher
Education Consortium for Urban Affairs
(HECUA). As a consultant, he has led
workshops on service-learning and
experiential education on over 50
campuses and at professional meetings.
Hesser holds degrees from Phillips
University in Oklahoma, Union
Theological Seminary in New York, and
the University of Notre Dame. He makes
his home in the Seward neighborhood
where he and his wife, Nancy Homans,
have raised their five children, two of
whom are Augsburg graduates. He is the
author or editor of numerous
publications and articles in the areas of
experiential education, service-learning,
and neighborhood revitalization.
Courtesy photo
At a luncheon in his honor, Garry Hesser acknowledged and greeted his friend and mentor Professor
Emeritus Joel Torstenson ’38, founder of Augsburg’s Sociology Department, as Fran Torstenson looked on.
In 2000, Prof. Garry Hesser and then-PanAfrikan Center director Joe Young taught
an Interim course on civil rights history that
included a 10-day bus tour to spots where
historic civil rights events occurred—Selma
and Birmingham, Ala.; Little Rock, Ark.;
Memphis, Tenn.; and Atlanta, Ga. For most
students, it was their first trip in the south,
and left a strong impact as they immersed
themselves in the history. Here, the group
posed on the steps of the 16th Street
Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala.
11
Robert Frost poignantly reminds us of
roads not taken, as well as those that are
taken. In 1984, I was engaged in a
faculty development internship related to
affordable housing policy and programs.
I was preparing for a sabbatical leave to
write a book with an economics colleague
focusing on neighborhood revitalization
using data that my students and I had
collected from a sample of 500
Minneapolis residents. Then the dean
called and invited me to accept an
appointment as founding director of the
newly funded Cooperative Education
program, stressing the importance of
faculty leadership in this new undertaking.
My colleague wrote the book that we
had planned together, but the alternate
“road taken” enabled me to become one
of the early faculty members who led in
the “rediscovery” and validation of
experiential education and servicelearning. Because there were so few
faculty members whose colleges
supported their involvement in servicelearning, I stood out and became
president of the National Society for
Experiential Education (NSEE), which
collaborated with Susan Stroud and Tim
Stanton as they worked with the
university presidents who founded
Campus Compact. These were heady
times for all of us in experiential
education. I found myself at Wingspread
on a task force which was deliberating on
whether to call it “service-learning” and
played a leadership role in NSEE when
we convened Wingspread gatherings that
produced the “Principles of Good
Practice in Service-Learning,” designed a
research agenda under the leadership of
Dwight Giles, and commissioned the
now classic NSEE three-volume
Combining Service and Learning, edited
by Jane Kendall.
All this also opened the door to
my becoming a FIPSE-NSEE consultant
(which has evolved into the Campus
Compact-AAHE Consulting Corps). This
20-year interchange and dialogue has
enhanced our programs at Augsburg and
12
by Garry Hesser
Stephen Geffre
T H E R O A D TA K E N
An unexpected career path and serendipity led Professor Garry Hesser to the forefront of leadership,
as experiential education, and especially service-learning, was embraced and developed in higher
education.
the over 50 campuses where I have been
privileged to conduct faculty and staff
development workshops on experiential
education and service-learning.
Serendipity played a key role in recentering my teaching and scholarship in
the very values that had led me into the
academy in the first place, namely a
desire to combine knowledge with civic
engagement that could lead to thriving
and integrated communities open to all.
These opportunities have been gifts
in a 20-year “faculty development
process” and dialogue with colleagues
from across the globe, enabling me to be
a bridge between Augsburg, HECUA, and
others on the cutting edge of experiential
education. My teaching has certainly
benefited from an expanded utilization of
community-based pedagogy. And it
would appear that Augsburg has also
benefited from this disciplinary and
interdisciplinary exchange. This summer
two of my students will collaborate with
me as we expand upon and synthesize
the community-based research of other
students over the past five years as we
deepen our understanding of five
Minneapolis neighborhoods and compare
their community-building endeavors
with five neighborhoods involved in
Annie E. Casey’s “Rebuilding
Communities Initiative.”
I do not know the roads that I
might have traveled by pursuing more
traditional forms of scholarship. But the
decision to focus my teaching and
sociological journey on experiential
education and community-based servicelearning has provided countless
opportunities in higher education and
the discipline of sociology. …
My colleagues and students, both
within the academy and the community,
young and old, have shared their gifts
and accepted mine. We have challenged
and changed one another as a
community of learners and engaged
scholars. How could any professor ask
for more opportunities than I have had
or more reasons to celebrate the joy of
being a teacher, a student, a sociologist,
an urbanist, and a citizen? ■
Excerpted from the personal statement by
Garry Hesser that accompanied his
nomination as Professor of the Year.
Winter/Spring 2005
‘Many Houses’ author found Augsburg home
With many men serving in the Armed
Forces during World War II, most
Augsburg students were women. It was
here that writer Marie (Gjenvick)
Knaphus ’45 found a home. “The entire
school was like a family,” said Knaphus.
“Augsburg means a lot to me. I received
a good education and made many
lifelong friends.”
In addition to studying, Knaphus
kept involved with oratory and debate,
singing in the Mendelssohn Chorus, and
participating in the International
Relations Club and the Writers’ Club. At
the same time, she was engaged in
community and faith-based activities
through Girl Scouts and the church.
Making Iowa her home for many
years, Knaphus last visited the campus
in 1996 for the 50th anniversary of
campus ministry among students
attending state-supported colleges and
universities. Shortly after leaving
Augsburg, Knaphus served as counselor
to Lutheran students attending the Iowa
State Teachers College in Cedar Falls,
Iowa. It was there that she met and
married her husband, George, and
together they became the ministry’s first
counselors.
During her visit, Knaphus was
amazed at the growth of Augsburg’s
Weekend College (WEC) and feels a
connection with WEC students because,
she, too, lived off campus. However, she
took a streetcar to attend Augsburg.
Winter/Spring 2005
A great-grandmother at 81, Knaphus
continues to use her education and serve
others. Currently she is working on her
third book, this one about her father, a
Norwegian immigrant. ■
Marie (Gjenvick) Knaphus ’45, then and now.
“I am impressed with what’s
happening to Augsburg today,” she said.
“Students should work hard and take
advantage of every opportunity to grow
and develop their abilities. I feel
Augsburg did this for me.”
Knaphus also thinks “it’s important
for alumni to help support the College.
It takes so much money to run a
college, and people who have benefited
from it need to help.”
She recently made a significant gift
of stock to the Bernhard M. Christensen
Endowed Fund “out of gratitude for a
good education. It [Augsburg] offered
me the incentive to go out and offer
myself in service to others. I believe
there is a place for the small college that
has a mission like Augsburg.”
Knaphus was fortunate to have
Bernhard Christensen as a professor and
keeps in contact with his widow, (Lilly)
Gracia. “I have fond memories of Dr.
Christensen’s religion class that pulled
everything together for me. Attending
Augsburg helped me crystallize my faith,”
she said.
Marie Knaphus’ story may be similar to
yours. She held stock for many years and
wanted to give to Augsburg instead of taking
the capital gain from the sale of stock. Her
gift helps build Augsburg’s endowment, and
Knaphus benefits as well.
Augsburg is focusing its endowment growth
in three ways:
• NEW FACULTY CHAIRS AND
PROFESSORSHIPS
Endowed chairs and professorships allow
the College to attract and retain the most
qualified and talented faculty.
• NEW ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIPS
By expanding the current level of endowed
scholarships the College is able to attract
talented students from all backgrounds.
• PROGRAM SUPPORT AND FACULTY
DEVELOPMENT
A strong endowment is essential to
sustaining distinctive programs, supporting
innovative faculty-student research projects,
and enhancing professional development
programs for all faculty and staff.
You may designate endowment gifts to areas
of your specific interest.Your appreciated
securities of stock, bonds, or mutual funds
may be exempt from capital gains taxes
when you transfer them to the College, and
you may receive a tax deduction equal to the
market value of the securities at the time
they are transferred. Contact the
Development Office at 612-338-0002 to
discuss how your gift can best help others.
13
Goal reached through the 3M Foundation challenge grant
The challenge went out this past fall to
Augburg alumni and friends who are 3M
employees to give back to their alma
mater through the 3M Foundation
Challenge Grant.
“I think the
3M Foundation
structured the
grant appropriately,” said Ron
Nelson ’68. “I am
pleased to see we
achieved the
match.” Augsburg
College and 3M
partnered to
Ron Nelson ’68
successfully raise
$100,000 from 69 3M employees in
support of the new Science Center. The
special challenge match opportunity
offered by the 3M Foundation ran for
eight weeks. Under the 3:1 challenge, the
foundation matched the $100,000 in
contributions from employees, retirees,
and friends with a $300,000 gift. Additionally, the foundation contributed a
$200,000 grant to the new Science Center.
“There is a long-standing relationship
between Augsburg and 3M,” said Nelson.
“This challenge grant gave many 3M
employees and retirees an opportunity to
reconnect with the College and play an
important part in the capital campaign.”
Sandra Wollschlager ’94 was compelled
to contribute because “my education made
a challenging 3M career possible. Many
3M employees completed degrees in a
nontraditional fashion when taking
Augsburg coursework. We obtained an
14
Augsburg degree
while working full
time and raising a
family.
“My daughter
was one-year-old
when I took my
first Augsburg
class. I commuted
Sandra Wollschlager ’94 a long distance.
Because Augsburg
chemistry professors came to the 3M
campus, it enabled me to juggle my work
schedule so I could take classes. If it wasn’t
for 3M and Augsburg making it easier for
me, I wouldn’t have gone to college.”
Nelson came from the small Minnesota
town of Dawson, and life at Augsburg
was his first introduction to the city. “It
became my window,” said Nelson. “All is
available within the city, and students
should plug in culturally, through sports,
and experience activities relative to
societal diversity.”
Students should “participate in the
hands-on experiences made available in
the classroom and the laboratories, and
take advantage of the research work,” he
said. “These are extremely important
building blocks for the future.”
“The connection with Augsburg to the
scientific community is imperative,” said
Wollschlager. “Students need to see and
understand the big connections. 3M is a
global company so it is involved in global
issues. So what can we do to lessen global
warming, for example? Students need to
learn air and water transport modeling so
they can see how the world is connected.
“Our generation needs to make
improvements in the environment
(sustainable chemistry, technological
advances) and we need to figure out how
to educate the public about our
improvements and, in general, the value
of a science education/background.”
“The contributions made in sciences
are important to everyone,” continued
Nelson. “We want the science programs to
continue to be competitive and turn out
leaders like Dr. Peter Agre ’70, recipient of
the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.” ■
MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Many people made a difference through the
3M Foundation Grant Challenge—please
consider how you can make a difference, too.
Does your company offer a matching gift
program? If so, please let us know.
Remember, all gifts are tax deductible.
Contact Sherry Jennings-King at
612-338-4823 or jenningk@augsburg.edu
to discuss giving options.
Vision is published by
Augsburg College, 2211 Riverside Ave.,
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55454.
Editor and Writer
Lynn James
Graphic Designer
Kathy Rumpza
www.augsburg.edu/campaign
Winter/Spring 2005
A FINE FIRST LADY
Leola (Lee) Anderson served as the first
lady of Augsburg College during her
husband’s presidency from 1963 to 1980.
President Emeritus Oscar Anderson
focused on three main areas during his
term in office: to meld Augsburg into its
new family of colleges in the American
Lutheran Church (it had been the
college of the Lutheran Free Church); to
experiment with programs that involved
the city as a learning laboratory; and to
strengthen the College academically,
which resulted in an invitation to join
the Associated Colleges of the Twin Cities
(ACTC).
As the president’s wife, Lee was active
in the Augsburg College Women’s Club,
now called the Augsburg College
Associates, and hosted College functions.
She raised four children during her
husband’s tenure, served on the first task
force of the American Lutheran College,
and was involved in the church.
She is remembered as a warm,
friendly person who cared deeply about
social issues, was a strong advocate for
women, and was close to her children.
Family was very important to her, and,
at age 86, she experienced the joy of
seeing her first great-grandchild.
TIME OF REMEMBRANCE
Donna (Anderson) Hoekstra ’68 spoke at
the memorial service about her mother,
Lee Anderson. Excerpts are reprinted
here with permission.
“She was a lovely lady with a unique,
one-of-a-kind personality and a name to
Winter/Spring 2005
Archive photo
In Memoriam
Leola G. Anderson, April 17, 1916–December 4, 2004
Leola (Lee) Anderson
match. Mom was generous with her
myriad talents. She could sing
beautifully, strum a guitar (though
upside down and backwards), sew
professionally, entertain with class,
sashay with flair on the dance floor,
draw and paint, and write with depth
and feeling.
Mom was generous with her
treasures, too. She gave, with no strings
attached, to her family, but she also gave
to the far ends of God’s world to
suffering people in places like Rwanda.
Mom embodied for me Christian
discipleship. She tried to live the godly
life—her life bore the fruits of the Spirit:
patience, kindness, goodness,
compassion, and self-control. She exemplified how I wanted to live my life.
Mom gave of herself in service to
others. She was all too often selfless to a
fault. In her early years she served as
choir director, youth leader, Sunday
school teacher, newsletter editor, and
worked in various jobs to support the
family during difficult times in Chicago.
In her years as wife of a traveling
Luther League director (that would be
my dad), Mom formed the Traveler’s
Aid group to provide mutual support
for other staff wives.
In her role as pastor’s wife, she served
gracefully. I can remember food-laden
tables at open houses and family
gatherings at holiday times, Bible
studies she led, sharing fresh insights,
overflowing Christmas baskets for the
poor, and quiet living room conversations with hurting parishioners.
continued on page 16
LEOLA G. ANDERSON
SCHOLARSHIP
Appreciating the legacy a scholarship offers,
in 2002 President Emeritus Oscar Anderson
established the Leola G. Anderson
Scholarship in Mathematics to honor
his wife.
“My wife had a love of math, but was a very
modest person,” said Anderson.“I wanted to
do something to honor her, so with
agreement from my family, the Leola G.
Anderson Scholarship in Mathematics was
established.” It is designated that one or more
students who have demonstrated academic
achievement and financial need be awarded
the scholarship. Special consideration is given
to assisting women in mathematics.
If you are interested in contributing to this
scholarship, contact Jennifer Kahlow at
612-338-6540 or <kahlow@augsburg.edu>.
15
F
In Memoriam, continued
Mom was an open person. She
opened her mind—especially during the
17 years at Augsburg. I found speeches
she had given in front of learned college
groups. And I remember a particular
Mother/Daughter Banquet. Her talk was
brilliant. How I admired her and was so
proud to be her daughter.
She opened her home—to the
freshmen for Welcome to College Week,
to friends we brought home, and to faculty
for college functions. She opened her heart
to students she tutored and to the needs of
patients at Fairview Hospital.
Books were her love from when she
was young to just three months before she
died. They informed her thoughts and
shaped her opinions.
I had a mom who was on the cutting
edge, though often herself teetering
precariously. With heartfelt empathy
from her own personal loss, she
championed the poor, the oppressed, and
the disenfranchised. She fought for peace
and justice through written word and
voice forming the MS (Miscellaneous)
group of gals to hone shared thoughts
and strategies for change. She took on
Enhancements made to Thrivent’s GivingPlus Program
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans offers a charitable/match gift program to alumni,
faculty, staff, and friends of the College. Changes to the program for 2005 include:
•
•
•
•
•
no minimum gift required,
increased member giving range,
multiple gifts option by members to same organization,
equal membership status for gifts, and
additional Lutheran organizations eligible.
Contact Stephanie Malone, director of The Augsburg Fund, at 612-338-4825 or
<malone@augsburg.edu> for details on how your participation benefits Augsburg.
the “isms” of race, gender, and culture.
My mom was a flaming liberal and an
authentic feminist. She could talk your
arm off sharing her causes. After her
death, we discovered volumes of prose
and poetry on all kinds of subjects. She
will live on in her written words.
Mom gave her love unconditionally.
She saw God as unconditional lover and
tried to model that love. She was
generous, open, and loving even during
her darkest times. Mom modeled for me
how to give, how to really see the other
person, how to serve, and how to love.” ■
SUPPORT STUDENTS
Hurry! Your annual fund donation to
The Augsburg Fund for this fiscal year must
be received by May 31.
Your tax-deductible gift will accomplish many
things: help students by supplementing their
tuition, provide enriching campus experiences,
enhance technology and curriculum, and
prepare future leaders for service in the world.
Contact Stephanie R. Malone, director,The
Augsburg Fund and Maroon & Silver Society,
at 612-338-4825 or <malone@augsburg.edu>.
Campaign Progress
$37.5M of $55M goal
as of 3-10-2005
16
Winter/Spring 2005
FACULTY
/STAFFNotes
NOTES
Faculty/Staff
Connecting with classmates around the world
by Judy Petree
new program at Augsburg connects
students and faculties around the
world via Web cam and e-mail, offering
one way for students to gain global
perspectives without leaving campus.
Augsburg social work professor
Rosemary Link, along with Robert Bill
from Information Technology, received a
State Department grant to develop the
“Exploring World Cultures” project as a
module in a social work class. Augsburg
is the only Minnesota institution among
the 10 funded grants.
The goals of the project are to
increase understanding of world cultures
and systems of human service; to
increase students’ abilities to explain
their own culture and respect others; to
identify the variety of cultures worldwide
and to recognize their interdependence;
and to develop crosscultural
communication skills, including conflict
management.
Link said they began with schools
where Augsburg already had
connections. At the University of
Ljubljana in Slovenia, where student
summer exchanges have become a
tradition, Professors Gabi Cacinovic
Vogrincic and Lea Sugman Bohinc were
“delighted to participate in this venture.”
A second project site is the National
University of Singapore. The third
partner, Tata Institute in Mumbai, India,
has been delayed by technical and
structural difficulties.
To prepare for the project, Link and
Bill visited the three overseas schools and
researched their political, economic,
historical, and social characteristics, plus
technology resources. They received
training at East Carolina University, where
this technology concept initiated, to
develop curriculum using video
technology and to review steps to establish
crosscultural relationships. They also
prepared for the reality of different
approaches to technology, firewall status,
bandwidth issues, and availability of an
academic technology team.
Winter/Spring 2005
Stephen Geffre
A
Students in an Augsburg social work class “study” with classmates in Slovenia, pictured on the screen.
Back row (L to R) Professor Rosemary Link, Kelly Sve, Cody Swanson, Stacy Anderson, Amanda Dowdy,
Emily Lunemann, Dan Quance, Carolyn Herman, IT coordinator Robert Bill. Front row (L to R) Erin Olsen,
Walter Gies, Shannon Rynders, Amanda Bockmann and Joelle Bickel.
“One of the unique elements of the
project is the opportunity to share
innovations in teaching and local
challenges with colleagues across the
globe,” Link said, “and to understand
different perspectives on issues which
affect us all, such as health, migration,
international adoptions, and conflict
management.”
The Augsburg students participating
in the project are taking Social Work
257, Exploring Human Services in
Global Context. They were matched with
students in either Slovenia or Singapore
and are exploring each other’s culture,
social well-being, and current issues
such as homelessness, SARS, and
migration.
Two logistical challenges, Link said,
have been the different semester
schedules and the time differences.
The joys, however, far outweigh the
challenges, and students even come in
on Sunday evenings to ‘meet’ their
Singapore classmates.
“I didn’t know much about the rest of
the world before this class,” fall semester
class student Samantha Privratsky said.
Another student, Brooke Vasseur,
commented that this is “way cool to be
making friends on the other side of the
globe.”
“Our colleague in Singapore, Dr.
Ngoh Tiong Tan, is an expert in cultural
conflict and mediation,” says Link. “His
class was well underway when we joined
in. His students gave excellent
presentations and our students joined
enthusiastically, although initially they
were somewhat alarmed at the view of
American culture from Asia.” She added
that this was mitigated as students emailed each other and explored concepts
of individualism and collectivism, as well
as distinct characteristics of culture
alongside common human needs.
According to Link, the project director,
and Bill, project technology director, “the
project has been quite a roller coaster, but
also enthralling, and students have said
they will never forget it.”
Judy Petree is media relations manager in
the Office of Public Relations and
Communication.
17
Faculty/Staff Notes
Toward spiritually-sensitive social work
A
calling to social work came to Leola
(Dyrud) Furman at age 12 during a
career session at a summer Luther League
convention. She followed family members
to Augsburg College and graduated with a
major in sociology and minors in social
work and religion. She then pursued
graduate degrees in social work and
human development.
She taught social work for 25 years at
the University of North Dakota. During
that time it was a personal and spiritual
crisis—the death of her husband from
cancer—that called her to the forefront of
a new movement in her field. While in the
role of a client needing support during her
husband’s illness, she realized that not
only could spiritual support help people
cope in a crisis, it could help them grow
personally and spiritually.
She understood the importance of
spirituality and religion as necessary
aspects of human identity. Her research
connected her to Edward Canda, at the
University of Kansas, who had recently
founded the Society for Spirituality in
Social Work. Together, they co-authored a
textbook, Spiritual Diversity in Social Work
Practice, The Heart of Helping that was
hailed as “a ‘state of the art’ expression of a
newly re-emerging theme, spirituality.”
This refers to the fact that social work’s
roots came from the work of 19th-century
religious charity organizations. Their book
defines the values and issues inherent in
spiritually-sensitive social work practice
and offers practical guidelines and
strategies.
In 1997 Furman and Canda developed
a national survey of social workers, asking
their views on the appropriateness of
religion and spirituality in social work
practice—the first of its kind. The survey
defined spirituality as search for meaning
and purpose in either religious or nonreligious forms, and religion as “an
organized set of beliefs and practices
shared by a community related to
spirituality.”
The survey results showed that not
only did social workers affirm a role for
18
the discussion of these topics (82%), but
that many of them had already been doing
it in various ways (75%).
An important finding, however, was
that 73% of respondents expressed a lack
of any spiritual training. That began to
change as social work schools developed
curricula and new courses. Today, most
textbooks integrate spirituality within
discussion of treating the client as a
whole person.
Spiritually-sensitive social work
practice is becoming especially relevant in
diverse communities where an important
way to reach ethnic minorities is through
their faith and spirituality.
Three years later, Furman repeated her
survey in the U.K., with similar results.
Then, building on connections she
made while a visiting professor in Norway,
Furman collaborated with Mari-Anne
Zahl, a professor in social work at the
Norwegian University of Science and
Technology (formerly University of
Trondheim) who has a graduate degree
from the University of Minnesota. Zahl
translated the survey instrument into
Norwegian, and surveyed Norwegian
social workers.
The results, while similar to the U.S.
and U.K., demonstrated cultural
differences in religious institutions. The
Norwegian Lutheran Church, until
recently, did not have the same kind of
social network and function as American
church congregations, and social workers
were not accustomed to considering
religious referrals. Also, church attendance
is less frequent there.
Zahl sees the survey results as valuable.
Social workers can understand better how
discussion of religion can be appropriate
and they gain insight into working with
increasing numbers of immigrants arriving
in Norway.
“Since social work deals with everyday
social functioning,” Zahl said, “[a client’s
religion] is part of what social workers
deal have to deal with. Are they open to,
are they sensitive to, do they listen to, and
are they comfortable enough to deal with
that aspect of life?”
by Betsey Norgard
Adjunct social work professor Leola (Dyrud)
Furman ’61 (left) and Norwegian social work
professor Mari-Anne Zahl are collaborating to
study social workers’ perspectives towards
inclusion of religion and spirituality in social
work practice, as thoroughly presented in the
book Furman co-authored.
This means that social workers need to
have understanding of their clients’
culture, religion, and the place that
religion plays in their culture. She said that
while fewer than half of the survey
respondents had any training in dealing
with religious and spiritual issues,
70-80% of them said they desire it.
With her husband, Hans Eriksson,
who returned this year as visiting
professor in Augsburg’s social work
department, Zahl is in Minneapolis on
sabbatical, continuing her collaboration
with Furman. Zahl is compiling the
Norwegian information and, along with
Furman, is writing comparative studies of
the three countries surveyed. Together,
they are presenting at national social work
meetings, and jointly teaching some of
Furman’s classes.
Leola (Dyrud) Furman ’61 is an adjunct
professor at Augsburg and the University of
Minnesota. She is a Distinguished Alumna
of Augsburg College and associate professor
emerita of the University of North Dakota.
Mari-Anne Zahl is an associate professor in
the Department of Social Work and Health
Sciences at the Norwegian University of
Science and Technology in Trondheim.
Winter/Spring 2005
Presentations
Laura Boisen and Maryann Syers, social
work, have published articles and presented
nationally on their integrative case analysis
model, including at the annual program
meeting of the Council on Social Work
Education in February.
Blake Boursaw, Tracy Bibelnieks, Nick
Coult, Matthew Haines, and
Su Dorée, mathematics, presented at the
annual meeting of the Mathematical
Association of America-American
Mathematical Society (MAA-AMS) annual
meeting in January. Mathematics/
computer science major Dan Wolf ’05
presented a poster about his NSF-funded
research last summer.
Lars Christiansen and Diane Pike,
sociology, led a teaching workshop, “Teaching
Organizational Theory,” at the American
Sociological Association in August. At that
meeting, Pike became chair of the
Undergraduate Teaching Section and the
Ethics Committee.
Jacqueline deVries, history, presented “New
Women, New Religion: Feminism and the
Victorian Crisis of Faith” at the American
Historical Association meeting in January.
David Fenrick, Center for Global Education,
was an editorial team member in an issue
group, “Effective Theological Education for
World Mission,” at the Forum 2004 on World
Evangelization in Pattaya, Thailand.
He also presented “Transforming ShortTerm Mission through Service-Learning” at
the Annual World Mission Conference of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA) in St. Paul in March 2004. In
November he co-presented a workshop,
“Reciprocity Leads to Culture Learning,” at a
workshop of NAFSA: Association of
International Educators.
Annette Gerten and Lois Bosch, social
work, presented a workshop on using
creativity to enhance learning relevance for
policy students at the annual meeting of the
Minnesota Conference on Social Work
Education in September.
Winter/Spring 2005
Orv Gingerich, international programs and
Center for Global Education, participated on
a panel, “Why Do They Hate Us So Much?
Encouraging Student Geopolitical Awareness
in a Post-9/11 World,” at the Council on
International Educational Exchange in
November.
He also participated in a panel,
“Interdisciplinary Learning, Internationalization, and Study Abroad,” at the Study
Abroad Curriculum Integration Conference at
the University of Minnesota last April.
Doug Green, English, read a poem “A
Topography of Love,” now published online,
at the Northfield Arts Guild Writers’ Night in
November.
He also presented a paper, “Estranging
Bedfellows: Early Modern Cinema Today,” for
the seminar on Shakespeare, Gender, and
Sexual Orientation at the Shakespeare
Association of America’s annual meeting.
Garry Hesser, sociology, presented a paper
co-authored with Augsburg students Riley
Conway ’05 and Krista Dahlke ’06,
“Rebuilding Communities: Comparing a
National Model (Casey) and Minneapolis
Neighborhood Revitalization Program,” at the
annual meeting of the American Sociological
Association in August.
Norm Holen, art,
emeritus, was present
for the dedication of the
F. Scott Fitzgerald
alcove in the St. Paul
Central Library, where
his terra cotta bust of
Fitzgerald was unveiled.
Holen’s works have
been included in two
recent books, The
Sculpture Reference
Illustrated, by Arthur
Williams (2005) and
500 Figures in Clay: Ceramic Artists Celebrate
the Human Form (Lark Books, Sterling
Publishing, 2004).
Gretchen Irvine, education, was a panel
member on “Service-Learning: Connecting
Schools to the Community,” at the Minnesota
Alliance of Black School Educators (MABSE)
Education Summit in October. She also
presented, “Learning Outcomes One Year
Later” at the Hawaii International Conference
on Education in January.
Mary Jacobson and Vicki Olson,
education, and Robert Bill, information
technology, presented at the National Reading
Conference on the study they have carried
out focusing on teacher preparation in the
state of Minnesota as it relates to reading.
Mark Lester, Center for Global EducationNicaragua, spoke at Seattle University in the
Salon Series, on “U.S. Consumption and the
Needs of Developing Nations: A View from
Nicaragua.”
He also presented there on the U.S.Central America Free Trade Agreement
(CAFTA), and spoke to theology, business,
and social work classes.
David Matz, psychology, was a co-presenter
of “The Social and Evolutionary Psychology of
Hair Color Preferences on the Northern and
Southern Prairie,” at the January meeting of
the Society of Personality and Social
Psychology.
Curt Paulsen, social work, with Cathy
Paulsen, graduate programs, presented “From
Spirituality to Empathy: Application to
Dialectics in Marital Relationships,” at the
National Council on Family Relations in
November.
He also presented “From Chaos to Order
by Way of a Seven-Step Process from
Freedom to Love” at the Lilly Conference
West on College and University Teaching.
Tim Pippert, sociology, presented “I Ain’t
Seen Them in Awhile: Created Familites of
Homeless Men” at the American Sociological
Association annual meeting in August.
Nancy Rodenborg and Lois Bosch, social
work, presented a paper on using dialogue
groups in teaching Master of Social Work
students at the annual program meeting of the
Council on Social Work Education in February.
19
Faculty/Staff Notes
Presentations (continued)
Patrice Salmeri, StepUP, and Ann Garvey,
student affairs, presented about Augsburg’s
StepUP program to the American Association
of University Women (AAUW), Minneapolis
branch, in September.
Nancy Steblay, psychology, presented
“Reforming Eyewitness Identification:
Convicting the Guilty, Protecting the
Innocent,” at a conference at the Cardozo
Law School in New York.
She also presented
on lineup identification
issues with real officers
and real cases at the
American PsychologyLaw Society conference
in California, and on
blind sequential lineup
identifications in the
field at a Hennepin County conference of law
enforcement officers.
Kathryn Swanson, English, served
as a panelist for Theatre Unbound’s
production of “Girls Got Pluck” and
presented a paper titled “Ten Thousand Cups
of Tea: American-born Chinese Women
Sleuths” at the Popular Culture Conference in
San Diego in March.
reflection in a curvilinear magnetic field and
formation of Alfvenic resonators on open
field lines,” in the Journal of Geophysical
Research, in 2005.
In the same journal, Engebretson is lead
author, along with co-authors Jennifer
Posch ’94 and Brian Anderson ’82, at
Johns Hopkins University; and acknowledged
student contributors Geoff Shelburne ’05,
Heather Greene ’05, Jon-Erik Hokanson
’05, and Ryan Nevin ’04, for “Ground and
satellite observations of Pc 1-2 waves on
open field lines poleward of the dayside
cusp.”
Engebretson is also a co-author of a
study, “Density enhancement in
plasmasphere-ionosphere plasma during the
2003 Halloween Superstorm: Observations
along the 330th magnetic meridian in North
America,” which recently appeared in
Geophysical Research Letters.
syllabi in international social work being
published by the Council on Social Work
Education.
James Vela-McConnell, sociology,
participated in a department chairs workshop
at the annual meeting of the American
Sociological Association.
Publications
Beth Alexander,
physician assistant
studies, was lead
author of “Methods of
Pain Assessment in
Residents of Long-term
Care Facilities: A Pilot
Study” which appeared
in the March/April
issue of the Journal of the American Medical
Directors Association.
Tony Bibus and Rosemary Link, social
work, published a chapter, “The Impact of
U.S. Welfare Reform on Children’s Well
Being: Minnesota Focus,” in Promoting the
Well Being of Children, Families, and
Communities, edited by Harriet Ward and
Jane Scott and published in 2005.
Jacqueline deVries, history, published an
essay, “Rediscovering Christianity after the
Postmodern Turn,” in the winter issue of
Feminist Studies and two essays, “Women’s
Religious Organisations” and “Women’s
Charity Organisations,” in A Change in
Attitude: Women, War, and Society, 19141918, edited by Susan Grayzel.
Mark Engebretson, physics, and David
Murr ’92, at Dartmouth College, are coauthors of an article with lead author Slava
Pilipenko, Institute of the Physics of the
Earth in Russia, and frequent visiting
scientist at Augsburg for “Alfven wave
20
Bill Green, history,
published an article,
“Brown, Adequacy, and
Young Men Getting
Real about One Big
State,” in the
December/January issue
of Minnesota Law and
Politics, about the
desegregation of Minnesota schools and the
legal doctrine of “adequacy.”
Rosemary Link, social work, is co-author
with Lynn Healy of a collection of model
David Matz, psychology, co-authored
“Cognitive Dissonance in Groups: The
Consequences of Disagreement,” in the Journal
of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 88. He
also co-authored “Social Norms and Identity
Relevance: A Motivational Approach to
Normative Behavior,” in the Personality and
Social Psychology Bulletin, vol. 30.
Bruce Reichenbach, philosophy, published
“Miracle Cure or Moral Quagmire?” about
the ethics of stem cell research in the October
issue of Covenant Companion.
He also published “Dances of Death: SelfSacrifice and Atonement,” in Mel Gibson’s
Passion and Philosophy, edited by Jorge J.E.
Gracia and published by Open Court in
2004. He also authored “The Cosmological
Argument,” for the online Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy in 2004.
Nancy Rodenborg, social work, published
an article, “Service to African American
Children in Poverty: Institutional
Discrimination in Child Welfare?” in the fall
issue of Journal of Poverty: Innovations on
Social, Political, & Economic Inequalities.
Glenda Rooney, social work, is co-editor of
the seventh edition of Direct Social Work
Practice, published this year by Brooks/Cole.
Winter/Spring 2005
An April 1999 article in Law and Human
Behavior, by Nancy Steblay, psychology;
Solomon M. Fulero; and students Jasmina
Besirevic ’97 and Belia Jimenez-Lorente ’97—
“The Effects of Pretrial Publicity on Juror
Verdicts: A Meta-Analytic Review”—was one
of the magazine’s top 10 downloaded articles
in 2004.
Francine Chakolis, social work, president of
the Minnesota Alliance of Black Educators,
coordinated a three-day summit on the
Augsburg campus in October, “Yesterday,
Today, Tomorrow,” addressing disparities in
educational achievement.
Kathryn Swanson, English, has been a team
member for several accreditation site visits
under the auspices of the Higher Learning
Commission (North Central Association) and
has served on readers’ panels and as part of the
accreditation process. She is also an elected
ARC (Accreditation Review Council) member.
Honors/Awards
Retiring football coach Jack Osberg ’62 was
honored by Minnesota collegiate football
coaches as the 2005 Man of the Year for his
valuable contribution to football.
Tony Bibus, social work, was elected chair of
the Minnesota Board of Social Work, a board
appointed by the governor that regulates social
work practice in the state.
Five Augsburg staff members won top honors
at the annual awards banquet for the
Minnesota Chapter of International Special
Event Services (ISES) in March. Jodi Collen,
event services, won the top prize for Best Event
Logistics for her planning work on
Homecoming 2004. She, Heidi Breen,
alumni/parent affairs, and Marc Skjervem,
student activities, won first place for Best
Corporate or Non-Profit Event Planning—also
for the weeklong Homecoming 2004. Kathy
Rumpza and Sara Kamholz, public relations
and communication, won top prize for Best
Use of Graphic Design for the range of
publications and promotional materials used
for the 25th anniversary of Advent Vespers.
Winter/Spring 2005
‘Thirsty for God’
R
eligion professor Brad Holt’s recent
book seeks to help readers
understand the thirst they experience
in their relationship with God, but
may not realize or understand.
Thirsty for God is an updated and
expanded edition of Holt’s work by the
same name from 1993 that now
broadens the survey of persons and
institutions included under Christian
“spirituality.” It expands the body of
non-Western Christian materials and
includes maps identifying locations of
people and movements
described.
“This is a needed text
for students and for the lay
person,” says Holt, “to help
them understand the global
perspectives of Christian
spirituality. It is not just
about Europe and the U.S.”
Holt makes the
distinction between
“spirituality” and “religion”
within the context of 20thcentury scholar Baron von
Hügel’s tripartite nature of religion as
intellectual, institutional, and mystical.
Holt equates spirituality with this
mystical dimension, and thus a
necessary component for well-rounded
Christians.
The book is accessible and free of
the jargon that writer Kathleen Norris,
by Betsey Norgard
who is included in the book, refers to as
“scary words” in the theological lexicon.
Holt intends for this book to be as much
about “formation”—what he calls
“discovery of new being, new
relationships, and new practices”—as it
is about “information.” Each chapter
contains spiritual practice exercises.
Organized chronologically, the survey
of Christian spirituality begins with early
Christian times and carries forth into the
21st century to include such disparate
Western contemporaries as Jean Vanier,
Jim Wallis, Cesar Chavez,
and Robert Schuller. From
the Third World, Holt
discusses, for example,
the Virgin of Guadelupe,
liberation spirituality,
Pentecostalism, and
African indigenous
churches.
Holt will travel to Italy
for six weeks this
summer, as one of 15
scholars in various
disciplines selected by the
National Endowment for the Humanities
(NEH), to study one of the subjects in
his book, St. Francis of Assisi. The
scholars will examine source texts and
visual representations of the saint within
his 13th-century world to better
understand his meaning for today,
beyond the popular images.
Stephen Geffre
Noteworthy
Professor Brad Holt’s recent book expands the survey of Christian spirituality.
21
4
THROUGH THE EYES OF TEACHERS,
THE EYES OF STUDENTS
English professor Kathy Swanson and her husband, Jack, both former Peace Corps volunteers, led a group
of nine Augsburg students to their Thai village home of 35 years ago for an internship in teaching English.
The students lived Thai culture through the eyes of teachers Kathy and Jack; through the Thai teachers,
some of whom are former students of the Swansons; and through the schoolchildren. Excerpts from the
Augsburg students’ final papers describe their experience.
4
SEEING THE ‘REAL’ THAILAND
I’ve never even seen the ocean!” …“I can’t wait to see
Bangkok.”… “Do you think it’s safe?”… “Does the flight really
take 26 hours?”… “I already miss my mom!” These were some
of the comments we heard as nine Augsburg students, my
husband, and I waited to board the first leg of the flight that
would take us back to the place we had called home 35 years
ago. Jack and I served as Peace Corps volunteers, teaching
English in a small rural village, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand,
during the height of the war in Viet Nam. Now we were
returning, for the second time, but with the responsibility of
nine students, some of whom had not traveled beyond the
Midwest.
“We want to see everything through your eyes,” Jack had
told the students. We all expected adventure, some chaos, and
wonderful experiences. We knew these three weeks would
open our students’ eyes and hearts; we didn’t know how
significantly it would change their lives.
Our family had returned to Thailand several years before
the Augsburg trip and had found that Bangkok had become a
huge, modern city, but that our village had remained essentially
unchanged. Yes, there were now a 7-Eleven store that offered
ice cream and pizza, an ATM machine, and Internet cafes, but
the essence of Thailand was there. Prachuab had remained a
sleepy, beautiful, fishing village. Walking through the market in
the center of the village, we found piles of fish and shrimp
22
by Kathy Swanson
from the morning’s catch, baskets of chilies ready for curries,
mounds of chicken feet, stands with mangoes and sticky rice,
and hills of pineapple, durian, and mangosteen fruit.
Most importantly, we found that time had not erased
memories we had for our former students and they for us.
Returning to the schools where we had taught English, we
found that several of our former students were now teachers.
They welcomed us with gifts, hugs, and tears and we began
thinking about sharing this magnificent place with Augsburg.
“You can bring students to teach us,” we were told—and the
seed was planted!
After my course in Teaching English in Thailand was
approved as an English elective, Jack and I began making plans
for the trip. We knew that the heart of the experience was to be
living and teaching in our village. We also wanted students to
see parts of Thailand that tourists likely would miss. Arranging
to be present in the village school when classes began after the
rainy season, we planned to begin the adventure in Bangkok,
then travel to Chiangmai, and then south to Prachuab Kirikhan.
Most important to us was that our Augsburg students
experience the real Thailand as we had so many years before.
And so, after crossing many time zones, watching many inflight movies, and trying to sleep in cramped airline seats, 11
Auggies arrived in Bangkok, Thailand. Even though it was
Winter/Spring 2005
2
midnight, traffic was heavy and the heat was oppressive. Too
excited to sleep, we checked into the hotel and all set off down
Sukhimvit Road. Smells of unrecognizable things, sights of
unfamiliar occurrences, and sounds very non-Minnesotan
overwhelmed us until we had to give in to sleep.
We spent the next several days seeing Bangkok’s magnificent
temples and palaces, sampling foods students had never
imagined existed, holding giant snakes at the Pasteur Institute,
winding through old Chinatown, riding in both tuk-tuks and
the new skyway train, and trying to survive humid, 100+ degree
temperatures.
Ready for a respite, we flew north to Chiangmai. Here we
were met by representatives from Payap University who made
sure Midwest students understood proper and polite Thai
behavior.
“Don’t cross your legs so that your toe is pointing at
anyone;”… “Never touch anyone on the head;”… “Wear skirts
and long pants in the temples;” … “Acknowledge one’s social
status by the appropriate wai (bow).”
In Chiangmai, we learned about Thai history and culture,
spent time at the night markets (after practicing bargaining in
Thai!), visited a mountaintop temple, rode elephants through the
jungle, trekked on a visit to hill tribes, and rode bamboo rafts
down a jungle river.
Despite these exciting events, I believe all the students would
agree that the highlight of the trip occurred during a stop on our
way to the airport as we were leaving Chiangmai. The grandma of
one of our students, Rachel Schuette, and her church friends had
sent handmade quilts with each of us. We had carried these 15
quilts until we stopped at an orphanage to deliver them to the
children. Seeing excitement and joy on the faces of these children
as they sang for us and finding tears on our own faces as we left
them is a memory none of us will forget.
After Chiangmai, we took a long, hot, Thai travelers’ trip by
train south to Prachuab. Located on the Gulf of Siam, with the
mountains of Myanmar to the west, Prachuab is unspoiled
paradise. Here students marched to the secondary school,
notebooks and lesson plans in hand, to join Thai students on that
first day of the term. We were introduced and welcomed at the
opening assembly and then began teaching.
Moving from class to class, level to level, each class period,
Winter/Spring 2005
Left: Kathy Swanson (back row,
sixth from left) poses with students she and Jack
taught in their Peace Corps days in Prachuab Kirikhan. Many are now
teachers in the school where the Augsburg students practice-taught.
Right: Nine students traveled to Thailand to practice-teach English
with Professor Kathy Swanson and her husband, Jack, in the village
where they had served as Peace Corps volunteers 35 years ago. (back
row L to R) Jack Swanson, Carl Butler, Jeff Moores, (third row L to R)
Kathy Swanson, Stephanie Nichols, Rachel Schuette, (second row L to
R) Sue Kneen, Sabrina Jurey, Bekah Chell, (front row L to R) Annie
Reierson, Anna Warnes.
Augsburg students learned quickly how to gesture and
communicate with just a few Thai words. Jack and I moved
around with them, helping occasionally, but mostly sharing in
this wonderful experience. After a few days, students felt at home.
Every morning as we participated in the school’s opening
ceremony, Thai students waved and welcomed us. One of our
students received a Thai name, many received gifts, and all
realized we were receiving much more than we were able to give.
Teachers hosted a party for us toward the end of our time in
Prachuab and we reciprocated the next evening. Some of our
former students from our Peace Corps days joined us and led
rounds of the Peter, Paul, and Mary songs we had taught them 35
years ago. There were no dry eyes in the room after we all joined
Ratchana, one of my former students and now a teacher in the
secondary school where Augsburg students had spent their time,
in “To Sir, with Love,” the song she chose to honor us as teachers.
Carrying gifts and e-mail addresses from their Thai students
and unconsciously humming “500 Miles,” Augsburg students left
Prachuab for Bangkok and Minneapolis. “Saying farewells amid
smiles, hugs, and many tears, we promised to return someday
soon—and I’m sure we will. For, as one student said, “There’s so
much about the world I didn’t know. I thought this trip would
change me; I just had no idea how much!”
Kathy Swanson is professor of English and chair of the English
Department. She directs the English as a Second Language program.
23
j
TOUCHING
MY HEART
by Anna Warnes ’05
Above: For Anna Warnes, traveling in
Thailand was an experience for all five
senses; but most important were the
friendships she made that touched her heart.
Thailand is an experience, not just of the
mind or for the eyes, but a complete
immersion into the culture. Unless you
stay at a pristine, exclusive hotel in Hua
Hin, it is hard not to touch all five of
your senses in Thailand. For me,
Thailand was an adventure of smell,
sound, taste, sight, and touch, and most
importantly, an experience of the heart.
The sounds of Thailand are like
nothing else. After spending 26 hours on
a plane listening to movies, people
snoring, and babies crying, the drone of
traffic is a welcomed sound in Thailand.
Bangkok always had the sound of
buzzing tuk-tuks in traffic and trains
overhead, but it also had more profound
sounds. The sound of complete silence
in the wat (temple) with the many
pagodas and the loud, but quite musical,
sound of blind musicians singing into
microphones as they wandered the
streets come to mind.
Chiangmai had the sound of rushing
water over rocks as we slipped by in our
open raft and the constant sound of
bartering hill tribe women with their
silver jewelry and colorful hats.
Chiangmai also had the sounds of Doi
Suthep with its deep bells booming over
the hill and children playing amongst
the tourists and monks.
Prachuab had the sound of rain,
whether misting or pouring, washing the
market streets. Prachuab also had the
24
sound of
monks blessing
people in the
early morning
hours, speaking and singing prayers
over women bowed before them.
Amusingly, the national anthem was
played at school every morning by the
marching band and on the loud
speakers, and it also played in my head
for the remaining 23 hours of the day
until my roommate would throw a
pillow at me!
My favorite sound of Thailand was
the sound of singing. Several times the
former students, Kathy, and Jack sang
“500 Miles” by Peter, Paul, and Mary. It
certainly wasn’t the beauty of the
singing that struck me, but the fact that
the students remembered all the words
and sang them so faithfully. It was
obvious that the students had been
significantly moved by their teachers.
As the students sang, you could see the
love and appreciation exuding from
them; so much so that it made my eyes
water every time they would sing. When
I heard the students sing, I could only
hope that I too would have such an
influence on a group of people. …
Forming relationships with my
students was an aspect of teaching that
really touched my heart. I was able to
get especially close to two of my
students, Maew and Por. These students
were extremely helpful to me in the
classroom and they both wanted to learn
English so badly. On the Friday evening
of the teachers’ dinner, Maew and Por
were able to eat dinner with me. I loved
talking to them about anything from
music to Por’s schooling abroad to my
family and America. Maew and Por have
e-mailed me several times since our
group returned to the United States.
They like to ask me questions about my
jobs or different musical acts in the U.S.
I think it is great that I was able to
connect with these students in such a
way that they feel comfortable e-mailing
me and talking to me about their lives as
well as mine. …
Thailand is not a place that can be
seen on a National Geographic episode
and be fully comprehended. I had to
smell the markets, hear the temple bells,
taste the pineapple, see the countryside,
touch the silk, and feel my gia (heart)
warmed by the people in order to know
Thailand. The exciting part of my
experience in Thailand is knowing that
there is so much more waiting for me to
encounter when I go back.
Anna Warnes completed her studies in
December 2004 with a major in English.
She plans to attend law school.
Winter/Spring 2005
BECOMING A TEACHER
1
In his first teaching experience, Jeff Moores ’05 just barely got
his feet wet in the classroom and left Thailand wishing he had
more teaching opportunities, as well as anticipating his next
return trip.
“Tomorrow,” I wrote in my journal on Sunday, May 16, “I
become a teacher.” Unofficially, of course, and I’m
technically still very much a student; but, I’ll be stepping
into a role, a job, that rivals that of prostitution for the
title of the world’s oldest occupation. I’m feeling what
every teacher—from Kathy in her initial teaching years,
to Aristotle—must feel when faced with the daunting
task of instilling knowledge upon youthful minds:
nervousness, anxiety, fears of inadequacy. But mostly, I’m
excited. Excited for something new, something
frightening, an experience that might open my mind
along with those of Thai students. …
My most challenging teaching experience in Prachuab
happened at the end of Thursday. … At 3 p.m. I returned
to the English office to track down a teacher-less class to
take over or an occupied class to observe. I was quickly
told that Stephanie was teaching level 6/9. I hadn’t taught
or observed a high grade level yet, so I thought it would
be worthwhile to attend. … Outside the classroom, the
slightly older students relaxed on the benches, some
slumped over with the end of the day, others energetically
giggled with friends. One thing was certain: Stephanie
had not yet arrived.
I looked at the students in a way that hopefully said,
“I’m the teacher; time to start. Get in. Sit down.”
Friendly, of course, but I wasn’t about to let the older
students walk all over me. Meanwhile my head was
reeling: Stephanie’s not here; my lesson plans are for
younger students; are they expecting Stephanie? What if
they already know everything I’m teaching them?
A deep breath later, I calmly flipped through my
Winter/Spring 2005
by Jeff Moores ’05
notebook as they settled down.
Dictation. That was it, an exercise I
had not yet utilized. I slowly read four
sentences about a man going to a
market and then returning home to eat
dinner and watch TV. Their attentive
gazes and lack of utterly confused
looks encouraged me, but it was
difficult to discern whether they were
genuinely interested or if they were
simply patronizing the new foreign
teacher. A few of the boys, including
one who sat in the middle of the front
row, were energetic and active,
sometimes scratching their heads and
employing grimaces of misunderstanding
or raised eyebrows of clarity.
Stephanie showed up about halfway
through the class, hopefully adding to
any authority I had over the classroom.
In the end we walked away not
knowing what to conclude. I had felt a
lack of influence with level 3/9, and
now I felt a lack of respect from level
6/9. On top of it, inadequacy stemmed
from having viewed [regular teachers]
Charles and David wielding their
experienced skills.
The mere 10 pages of this essay
cannot begin to explore the intense
realizations I began uncovering about
my future as a mentor, a teacher, a
parent—an adult. Luckily, as I
suspected it would, my thirst for
Thailand continues. A week in
Prachuab was not enough time
teaching English. I wanted two, three
weeks to practice my skills. I wanted to
tutor university students and come
into contact with all age levels. After
my first trip, I predicted that I would
definitely return to Thailand someday. I
found myself in Bangkok’s busy streets
sooner than I thought.
Jeff Moores is in the Honors Program and
is a senior majoring in English with a
concentration in writing. He is news
editor of the Echo. This was his second
trip to Thailand.
c
25
ef
MY GOD AND
YOUR BUDDHA—
THE SAME, ONLY DIFFERENT
by Sue Kneen ’04
As a religion major and a prospective
seminary student, I was most anxious to
see and experience Buddhism first hand.
… As I really thought about it, there is
much that our faiths have in common:
God or Buddha, do good works, eternity
or Nirvana, God is omnipresent or
eternal nothingness, prayer, denying
self, look to pastors/monks, churches
and temples, worship, help the poor and
taking care of your neighbor. There
really isn’t anything so unusual—only
different.
I thought [our Bangkok tour guide]
Panya’s comment summed it all up well
as he said with great feeling, “My
Buddha and your God, they are the
same. When we are sad, we talk to
Buddha. Sometimes we talk to a monk,
and he makes us do better with what he
says, but sometimes we don’t want to
tell anyone, so we talk to Buddha. And
we feel better; we feel lighter and
THE
REAL
happier.” Now that sounds just like me
and my God.
I’d like to quote what I wrote in my
journal as I stood on top of “Monkey
Mountain,” listening to the hauntingly
beautiful Buddhist music and the
chanting of the monks, and the pungent
aroma of their incense lifted to my ears
and nose, and the cool breeze smoothed
against my face: “It was a beautiful view
from on top of the hill over the ocean,
Prachuab Kirikhan, and a big sprawling
temple to the west. What was especially
significant to me was seeing the building
where the monks had their evening
meditation and hearing them chant and
hearing their music. I will never forget
that feeling. I imagined and hear them
praising their God as I do mine (for lack
of better words). It was a feeling and
very real sense of oneness while very
different. It was surreal and profound. I
am thankful for this experience.”
FACES
IN
THE
Prachuab Kirikhan is located on the east coast of Thailand,
on the Gulf of Thailand. It escaped the massive destruction
of the tsunami that devastated areas farther south on the
west coast. Of course, when the tsunami hit, everyone from
the trip feared for his or her old and new friends.
Anna Warnes was the first to hear news from Prachuab.
“The day before the tsunami struck I received an
e-mail from one of my Thai students. Maew, a sweet 12-yearold, wrote me one of her typical e-mails: ‘Hello Miss Anna,
how are you? How are your studies? I am fine. My family
went on holiday. It was fun,’ etc.
“The next day I heard about the tsunami on the news. I
immediately thought of Maew. I wrote her an e-mail: 'Maew,
26
Sue Kneen ’04 gained a rich introduction
to Buddhism as she prepared for her
own seminary studies.
It seems I am very fortunate
indeed to have been introduced to a
culture such as this through the lens
of respect and deep affection. … I
will never be the same, and my
daughters and those with whom I
have the privilege to share about my
trip will be able to see some of
Thailand and foreign travel for
themselves.
Sue Kneen graduated from Weekend
College in 2004 with majors in English
and religion and is now studying at
Luther Seminary.
TSUNAMI
are you safe? Were you hit
by the wave?' I received a
response within a day.
Maew was in fact safe,
although her father had
been working near
Phuket, and he was
injured but alive.
“By expanding the world
classroom and making
connections with people in
Thailand, the tsunami affected real people, people I knew.
The tsunami did not kill thousands of faceless people on the
other side of the world; the tsunami killed people I may have
met and learned from.”
Winter/Spring 2005
C
ONE STUDENT I MAY
HAVE TOUCHED
by Rachel E. Schuette ’03
SEEING THAILAND
THROUGH KATHY AND
JACK’S EYES
“Kathy and Jack also had endless tidbits about Thai
culture to share with us throughout the three weeks.
Whether we received lessons about teaching English, how
to eat at a Thai restaurant, or when to take our shoes off
at a Buddhist temple, Kathy and Jack’s previous
knowledge of Thailand was a critical part of the
wonderful experience we shared.”
—Jeff Moores
“The entire trip was affected because Jack and Kathy led
Rachel Schuette ’03 compiled a lesson plan book, in
collaboration with Professor Swanson, with materials from the
Augsburg students’ lessons “to show appreciation for the
gracious welcome they received from everyone in Prachuab
Kirikhan.”
It has been three weeks since we returned home and I am
still on “Thai time,” meaning I feel much more laid back
and not really pushed to do anything in a hurry. …
I learned so much from this experience; it is difficult
to pinpoint the important issues. Being a teacher is not
always about teaching test-ready material. It was not until
about the third day of teaching in Prachuab that I
realized this. I wasn’t there to teach them how to
conjugate verbs perfectly, or to show them how to use
articles all the time. I was there to learn from them and to
hopefully share my culture with them. There was no test
on Friday or review of information; the visit was much
more than that. It was an experience that I will keep with
me for the rest of my life. It will serve as a reminder
every time I walk into a new classroom or job. It made
me appreciate what I have here in America, but still
understand that just because some people do not have
these luxuries, they may be just as happy as I. It was
apparent through the interactions among Professor
Swanson, her husband, and the former Thai students that
a lifetime connection can be made. Truly, for me, it was
finding that one student whom I feel I may have touched,
but who really touched me, that makes me say, “YES!
That is why I went to Thailand.” ■
Rachel Schuette graduated in 2003 with a double major in
English and secondary education/communication arts
licensure.
All photos were taken by participants on the trip.
Winter/Spring 2005
the way, I suspect. On just a superficial level, the heat, the
smells of the streets, some of the foods, and the different
standard of living we enjoy could have easily been turned
into disgust by travelers not accustomed to such extremes
and who were not constantly challenged to look deeper
for beauty and meaning and perhaps a different way of
living life.”
—Sue Kneen
I
27
28
Winter/Spring 2005
Learning with
your heart
by Judy Petree
photos by Stephen Geffre
A
Long distances and remote locations
make healthcare delivery difficult
on the reservation.
Winter/Spring 2005
visit to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation helps nursing students bridge cultural
differences to experience health care from the perspectives of a community long
underserved by mainstream healthcare systems.
Last November, three Augsburg nursing students—Sharon Gentile, Susan Loushin,
and Cathy Miller—spent several days on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in
southwestern South Dakota. Led by Cheryl Leuning, professor and chair of the
Nursing Deptartment, and Susan Nash, nursing professor in Augsburg’s Rochester
program, the experience is one of several nursing practicums offered in the Master of
Arts in Nursing program.
Augsburg’s graduate nursing program prepares nurses for transformational
leadership and transcultural practice across care settings, especially as they address
health inequities. At Pine Ridge, they became immersed in a community with different
cultural values and traditions that has long remained outside the mainstream of the
health care system.
The Pine Ridge Reservation encompasses about two million acres and is home to
approximately 40,000 Lakota people. Pine Ridge is also home to two of the poorest
counties in the nation.
According to the “Village Earth” online newsletter and “Pine Ridge Reservation”
(pineridgerez.net), the unemployment rate is 86 percent, versus a 5.5 percent national
average; and 63 percent of the people live below the federal poverty level. Alcoholism
affects 8 out of 10 families, and half of the people over the age of 40 have diabetes. The
infant mortality rate is the highest in this continent, and the school dropout rate is
more than 70 percent. The Indian Health Service is understaffed and ill-equipped to
29
Pastor Larry Peterson, director of the Pine Ridge Retreat Center
introduces the students to Lakota culture before they begin their home
visits. (L to R): Cheryl Leuning, Nursing Department chair; Susan
Loushin; Sharon Gentile; Cathy Miller; Sue Nash, Rochester program
nursing professor; and retreat center director Larry Peterson.
fully address the health needs of the
community. Consequently, health
inequities continue to increase.
The students spent two days
shadowing the Indian Health Service
(IHS) nurses from the reservation who
served as cultural guides. However,
before the students became immersed in
the program, they gained a brief insight
into the Lakota culture and history
through visits to Prairie’s Edge Native
American Cultural Art Center in Rapid
City, and short stops at Mount Rushmore
and the Crazy Horse Memorial.
At Pine Ridge the students stayed in
30
the Pine Ridge Retreat Center, run by
Pastor Larry Peterson. Peterson sat down
with the group the first night to give
them a brief lesson on the Lakota people,
some dos and don’ts, and what they
should expect when going on home
visits. “Knowing the culture of the
Lakota people is really important when
interacting with them,” Peterson said.
Another history lesson came from
Leonard Littlefinger, Lakota cultural
teacher at the Loneman School in Oglala.
Littlefinger has been the IHS hospital
administrator at Pine Ridge for a number
of years, and is also the great, great
grandson of Lakota Chief Big Foot, who
was slain in the Wounded Knee Massacre
of 1890. Littlefinger shared with the
students the key values integral to the
culture of his people, their past and
future.
“The Lakota people are the fastest
growing people, yet have the greatest
health issues,” he said. “It’s not just
about a healthy body, but about a healthy
spirit and soul as well.”
Karen Red Star, health educator with
the Indian Health Service, also shared
her experiences as a healthcare provider
on the reservation. She advised the
Winter/Spring 2005
For Leonard Littlefinger, Lakota cultural
teacher and great, great grandson of Chief
Big Foot, a healthy spirit and soul are as
important to his people as a healthy body.
Augsburg student Sharon Gentile (background) shadowed
Indian Health Service nurse Sally Mercier (left) in home
visits on the reservation.
students to be “culturally sensitive,” as
there is a high turnover of healthcare
providers on the reservation and the
clients see different people all the time.
“This makes it more difficult to establish
any sense of trust and familiarity.”
Equipped now with some background
information, the students were ready to
pair up with the public health nurses at
the Indian Health Service and begin their
home visits. For the next two days, the
students set out with registered public
health nurses Rod Sahr, Sally Mercier,
Kendra Lone Elk, Mary Moussear, and
Andrea Pond, visiting homes in town and
out in the countryside.
The nurses clued the students in on
what to expect in the coming days. Sahr
said that much of his time is spent
simply tracking down clients, as families
on the reservation move frequently. And,
as frustrating as that can be, he said, you
learn when to keep searching for them
and when to move on.
“There are hundreds of people we
have to see, but just don’t have the time,”
Sahr said. “Actually, there is probably
someone we’re supposed to see in every
single house.”
Not only is relocation a factor, but
Winter/Spring 2005
also many of the homes in the country
are miles apart. Some people live on
long, rut-filled, one-lane dirt roads, miles
off of the main highway. Obviously this
causes problems in the wintertime, Sahr
commented.
One of his clients is an elderly
woman struggling with diabetes. She and
her husband are also raising their two
grandsons, not uncommon on the
reservation, said Sahr. Family connections
are a strong part of Lakota culture and
tradition.
One of the keys, he told the students,
is to listen and treat the clients with
respect. He demonstrated this by just
visiting with the client at first, asking her
about their grandsons and family, and
only after this initial conversation
moving on to the health issues.
Lone Elk, another public health
nurse, also modeled how relationships
were built during each home visit. “You
need to build up a rapport with the
people. You need to get them to trust
you, or they will agree with whatever
you say just to get rid of you.”
Many of the visits throughout the two
days included varied services—vaccinations, monitoring of blood sugar levels
and blood pressure, new mother and
baby checkups, and post-surgical visits.
Throughout, however, was what one
student described as the “wonderful way
the nurses have of working with the
clients.”
“There’s more to health care than just
the medical side of it,” nursing student
Sharon Gentile said. “I feel there is a
need to find a better way, a better
approach to health care.”
Cathy Miller, a public health nurse in
the Rochester, Minn., area, shadowed
Lone Elk one of the days, and told Lone
Elk that much of what she does is not
that different from what she was seeing
on the reservation.
“The first time you visit you see so
much, you just want to jump in and fix
everything,” Miller said, “but you have to
take it slow and gain their trust first.”
Miller came to Augsburg because she
was looking for a program that would
enhance her own work as a public health
nurse. “Some of the art of nursing has
gone by the wayside,” Miller said. “It’s
not enough to know what the diagnosis
is, but what the barriers are that may be
preventing treatment. Many times it’s just
a cultural misunderstanding.”
31
Miller added that she sees transcultural nursing as giving nurses the
tools to practice both the “art of nursing
and the science of nursing,” and a way to
bridge barriers through understanding
culture and cultural differences.
“It has opened my eyes to see that
there are other ways to look at problems.
Ten years ago I never would have done
that.”
At the end of the day, all of the
students remarked on the value of the
experience. “The nurses all showed
empathy, respect, persistence, and true
interest in their clients,” Miller said.
“The healthcare provider needs to truly
listen, be present, and value what the
Lakota person shares as being important
to them. Only then can they (the
provider) move on to an effective
partnership.”
Listening in an intentional way,
Leuning said, is a skill that needs focused
practice. It is an integral part of
Augsburg’s nursing program, built into
classes from the very beginning of the
students’ educational journey.
“I think the uniqueness of these
practicums is that we can more easily
identify preconceived ideas that block
true listening and hearing of the other
person’s voice,” Leuning said.
“Experiences like this uncover our own
biases and values. Once we experience
that ‘aha’ kind of moment, it provides a
prototype for applying skills to our own
daily life and interactions.”
Nash added that this practicum opens
the world to the students. “Having this
opportunity to closely experience other
cultures first hand will give the graduate
nursing students an incredible
opportunity that expands their world
view.”
These aren’t sightseeing trips, Nash
continued, but rather opportunities to
walk side by side with other people and
to view the horizon from the other
person’s perspective. “That kind of
experience is truly life changing and
transforming,” she said. “It is more than
head learning. It is heart learning.” ■
Small medicine bags hang on the chainlink fence
surrounding the mass grave at the site of the Wounded
Knee Massacre on the Pine Ridge reservation.
Judy Petree is media relations manager.
32
Winter/Spring 2005
Learning nursing care
across cultures
H
ealth is influenced by culture, belief, and values, and
it often suffers when the culture is not understood.
Today, the influx of immigrants to the United States,
particularly to Minnesota, is severely challenging social
service programs. A disproportionate burden of disease and
suffering experienced by minority and foreign-born
populations in the United States is but one indication that the
healthcare system is ineffective.
Given the current shortage of nurses, it is not surprising
that there is an increasing demand for professional nursing
leadership to provide culturally-congruent health care to
people of diverse cultures with emphasis on holistic care,
cultural diversity, and community-focused practice. Augsburg’s
graduate nursing program prepares nurses for advanced
transformational leadership and transcultural practice across
care settings.
Through nursing practicums, Augsburg students form
relationships with persons representing diverse cultures both
locally and globally in order for the students to understand
the health inequities that people experience. Learning how to
do this while preserving the cultural dignity of others goes
Winter/Spring 2005
beyond basic nursing skills.
The aim of the program is not for every student to become
an “expert” in every culture, but rather that every student will
learn skills that are necessary to become a culturally competent
nurse, such as basic knowledge of cultural differences and the
awareness of differences in delivery of patient care; recognition
of the nurse’s own bias and influence of personal culture views
and practices; and an awareness and respect for cultural
communication issues, etiquette, and problem solving.
The practicums are a vital part of Augsburg’s nursing
program, says Cheryl Leuning, nursing professor and
department chair. The focus is on reaching populations
underserved by traditional healthcare systems. “If a student can
see the world through another’s eyes, it changes how they see
their own world. It is the unique balance of in-class and incommunity opportunities that attracts students to the nursing
programs.”
Augsburg offers nursing practicums for both graduate and
undergraduate students in several cultural contexts: Namibia,
Mexico, Guatemala, the inner cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul and
Rochester, and at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. ■
33
AAlumni
LUMNINews
NEWS
From the Alumni Board president’s desk…
A
ugsburg
College alumni
are a pretty amazing
bunch. Consider
Carol (Johnson)
Casperson ’60
(profiled in this
issue on p. 38),
who is working to
create affordable
housing nationwide with Habitat for
Humanity. I’m thinking also of 2004
Distinguished Alumnus Dr. Brian
Anderson ’82, who is working on
pioneering physics research, as well as
Alumni Board past president Dr. Paul
Mueller ’84 from the Mayo Clinic and
First Decade awardee Susan (Horning)
Arntz ’94, city manager for the City of
Waconia.
These folks and many others have
passed through Augsburg on the front
end of their life journey, and all have
significant, everyday impact on the lives
of other people. They all have very
different vocations, but share one
similarity—they all received an
undergraduate degree at Augsburg
College.
Which other group of amazing people
is forming new ideas, creating new
journeys, and setting new standards?
Why, that group is attending Augsburg
right now! They are participating in one
of many world-class Augsburg programs
that deliver transforming education:
• The Center for Global Education
connects students with learning
opportunities around the world, while
the Center for Service, Work, and
Learning finds opportunities for
experiential education locally.
• Augsburg offers great athletics
including a nine-time national
championship wrestling team along
with superb women’s hockey.
• The nationally recognized StepUP
program offers a supportive
educational environment for students
in recovery.
• Augsburg is one of 12 colleges
nationally chosen for excellence in its
first-year program.
• The Weekend College program offers
the most comprehensive and quality
adult learning program in the region.
• New graduate programs like the
Master of Business Administration are
providing expanded and growing
learning opportunities for adult
learners.
There is a renewing group of leaders
attending Augsburg right now. They are
future alumni who will go out into the
world and impact our lives and
communities. I am so proud to be part of
this transforming educational
community, and all that we do!
Bill Vanderwall ’93 WEC
President, Alumni Board
Alumnae present gift to the Women’s Resource Center
I
n December, five Augsburg alumnae
presented a special gift to the Anne
Pederson Women’s Resource Center in
honor of former Augsburg professor Dr.
Gerald Thorsen and in commemoration
of the 40th anniversary of their
graduation from the College.
The five women, who refer to
themselves as the “619 Club” (so named
for the house they resided in as students
on 22nd Avenue—the site now occupied
by Foss Center), are Class of 1964
alumnae Betty (Hanson) Rossing, Karen
Kohout, Ellen (Paulson) Keiter, Sandra
(Simpson) Phaup, and Deanne (Star)
Greco.
The women met during their
freshman year in the advanced freshman
English/Western literature course taught
34
by Thorsen.
“Dr. Thorsen, never one to
slight the intellectual talents
of women, encouraged us to
stretch our critical abilities
and tackle literary analysis,”
says Greco. “Two of us
became English majors, in
part inspired by our
experience in his class.
“Thank you, Dr. Thorsen,
for the part you played in
forming our lives and
careers,” continues Greco.
“We are pleased to honor you,
a ‘feminist’ before it was
fashionable, by making a gift to
the Women’s Resource Center
in your name.”
Five alumnae presented a special gift to the Anne Pederson
Women’s Resource Center in honor of former Augsburg
professor Gerald Thorsen and in commemoration of the 40th
anniversary of their graduation from the College. Pictured, L to
R, are Deanne (Star) Greco, Sandra (Simpson) Phaup, Ellen
(Paulson) Keiter, Karen Kohout, and Betty (Hanson) Rossing.
Winter/Spring 2005
Third annual Connections event honors
Jane Freeman
J
ane Freeman, former first lady of
Minnesota, was presented the
“Leading Leaders” award at the third
annual Connections—A Women’s
Leadership Event in January.
The award, which recognizes those
who have inspired others to high levels
of achievement through vocational,
community, and civic leadership, honors
Freeman, who has led by example as the
first lady of Minnesota from 1954–60,
and as president of Girl Scouts of the
USA from 1978–84, building the
organization and shaping the futures of
many young women through her vision
and dedicated service.
Frances Hesselbein, current chair of
Jane Freeman (front row, right), former first lady of Minnesota, was presented the “Leading Leaders”
the Board of Governors of the Leader to
award at the third annual Connections—A Women’s Leadership Event in January. She is pictured here
along with fellow event presenters: (front row, L to R) Ami Nafzger ’94, Frances Hesselbein, and Jane
Leader Institute and former CEO of the
Freeman; (back row, L to R) Jennifer Martin, Gloria Lewis, Jean Taylor ’85, Kathryn Tunheim, and Phebe
Girl Scouts, made a special trip to take
Hanson ’50.
part in this year’s event to
help present the award to her
friend and former Girl Scouts
colleague. Hesselbein defined
leadership as “a state of
being” and not something
that you “do,” and offered
her friend, Jane Freeman, as
the perfect example of grace
and leadership.
Co-sponsored by
Augsburg and Thrivent
Financial for Lutherans, this
year’s gathering joined more
than 100 women from
Numerous Augsburg students participated in the event’s
throughout the community
these two students gained valuable insights from
for a morning of inspiration, activities;
Koryne Horbal during a roundtable networking discussion.
encouragement, networking,
and empowerment.
Board of Regents, who inspired the group
Several Augsburg alumnae provided
with her own discovery of how she is able
Frances Hesselbein (left), former CEO of Girl
an excellent program with Augsburg
to share her unique gifts and talents with
Scouts of the USA, presented the “Leading
Leaders” award to her friend and former Girl
regents Gloria Lewis and Jennifer Martin
others more effectively after learning how
Scouts colleague, Jane Freeman (right).
providing the welcome and the closing.
to also receive gifts from others. Ami
Author Phebe Hanson ’50 set the tone
Nafzger ’94 shared her journey as a
Link (G.O.A.L) to provide services and
with a poem from her new book Why
Korean adoptee of finding her place in
support for other adoptees on their path
Still Dance—75 Years: 75 Poems.
the world. She spent several years in
of self-discovery.
Featured speakers included Jean
Korea after graduating from Augsburg
Mark your calendars for the fourth
Taylor ’85, president of Taylor
exploring her heritage, and ultimately
Connections event next January 28.
annual
Corporation and chair of the Augsburg
founded the Global Overseas Adoptees
Winter/Spring 2005
35
Alumni News
Alumni events calendar
Please join us for these upcoming alumni and parent events (see also the college-wide
calendar on the inside back cover for additional events):
April
June
28 Senior Reception hosted by the
Alumni Board, East Commons,
Christensen Center, 4:30–6 p.m.
14 Auggie Hour at Three Fish, 3070
Excelsior Blvd., Minneapolis (near
Lake Calhoun and Whole Foods),
612-920-2800, 5:30 p.m. Meet the
new Auggie coaches!
May
6 Special reception for business
graduates (all Augsburg faculty,
alumni, and 2005 business graduates
are invited), Christensen Center,
4–6 p.m.
10 Auggie Hour on-campus reception
for all current and former Alumni
Board members, 5:30 p.m.
24 Class Agent Year-in-Review,
Minneapolis Room, Christensen
Center, 5:30 p.m.
23 Alumni Board meeting at
Canterbury Park, 5:30 p.m.
July
12 Auggie Hour at Trattoria Da Vinci,
400 Sibley St., St. Paul,
651-222-4050, 5:30 p.m.
August
9 Auggie Hour at Dock Café,
425 Nelson St. E, Stillwater,
651-430-3770, 5:30 p.m.
18 Canterbury Park Alumni Event
(Watch for details this summer!)
ALUMNI TOUR TO CHINA
Join alumni and friends of the College on a
discovery tour of China hosted by Brad Holt,
professor of religion. Plans are in progress
for a May 2006 two-week tour featuring the
history, culture, and scenic beauty of China.
Discover treasures of this ancient land and
witness China’s rapid growth in the 21st
century. The tour begins in Beijing with visits
to the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the
Ming Tombs, and the Summer Palace. Marvel
at the thousands of terra cotta warriors
uncovered in Xian in 1974 and dated to 221
BC. Experience China’s historic and majestic
Yangtze River on a four-night cruise. Few
places on earth match the splendor of the
Yangtze River’s Three Gorges, which will be
flooded by the dam project at the end of this
decade. The international city of Shanghai
concludes this travel experience. More details
available later this spring; call or e-mail the
alumni office at 612-330-1178 or
<alumni@augsburg.edu> to get on a special
mailing list for further information.
36
Parent Council
is invited…
Parent Council members are invited to
attend the annual New Student
Orientation, June 17–18. Contact
Alumni/Parent Relations at
<alumni@augsburg.edu> for more
information.
Auggie Day at
Como Park
Bring your family to Como Park in
St. Paul on June 4, 11a . m. –1p. m. , for this
fun annual event. Bring a picnic lunch
(BBQ grills are available) and Augsburg
will provide beverages and goodies,
giveaways, and fun for the kids. For more
information, contact Alumni/Parent
Relations at <alumni@augsburg.edu>.
Annual golf
tournaments
Alumni are invited to participate in
Augsburg’s Annual Men’s Hockey Golf
Tournament on June 10 at Manitou
Ridge Golf Course in White Bear Lake,
Minn; cost is $90 per person (contact
Mike Schwartz ’83 at 612-330-1163 for
more information). Alumni are also
invited to the 42nd Annual Clair
Strommen A-Club Golf Tournament on
June 27 at Pebble Creek Golf Course in
Becker, Minn. (contact Ron Main ’56 at
612-338-4824 for more information).
Homecoming 2005
Attention Auggies from the classes of
1955, 1965, 1980, and First Decade,
1995–2005: This is your reunion year!
Plan now to join your classmates this
September 26–October 1 for the annual
Homecoming festivities and your
reunion reception! Watch your mail and
upcoming editions of the Augsburg Now
for complete details; please let us know
your current e-mail address at
<alumni@augsburg.edu>. You can also
stay up-to-date by visiting the alumni Web
site at <www.augsburg.edu/alumni>.
Winter/Spring 2005
CLASS
NOTES
Class Notes
Rev. Jim
Glasoe recently
published The
Immigrant’s
Treasure
(Publish
America), a factbased, fictional biography of his
late grandfather, Michael Glasoe,
an ambitious young Norwegian
who emigrated to America in
1886, settling first in Minnesota
and eventually homesteading in
North Dakota. Jim and his wife,
Nicole, are retired and live on a
lake in the north woods of
Minnesota, where he does his
writing. From 1972–97, he
served as executive director of
several non-profit corporations
that provide residential and
developmental program services
for children and adults with
developmental disabilities. He
also served as a Lutheran parish
pastor for 10 years.
1964
Deanne (Star) Greco,
Bloomington, Minn., was elected
president of the Ordway Circle
of Stars.
1966
Alan Stensrud, Plymouth,
Minn., recently retired as
president of the Animal Humane
Society, a position he had held
since 1975. He was also awarded
the Glen Summerlin Service
Award, presented by the Society
of Animal Welfare Administrators
at a conference in San Diego,
Calif. He looks forward to
spending more time with his
wife, Shirley, his son and two
daughters, and his four
grandchildren.
1969
Mark Lund, professor of
economics and director of
international education at
Luther College, Decorah, Iowa,
was appointed as the college’s
Dahl Professor of Economics for
Winter/Spring 2005
the 2004–05
academic year. As
the Dahl
Professor of
Economics, Mark
devotes part of
his professional
time to teaching activities that
encourage students to develop
sound analytical and critical
thinking skills, become active
participants in community and
civic activities, and understand
the importance of incorporating
personal responsibility and
accountability into their work
and lives. Mark has served on
Luther’s faculty since 1978.
1971
David Siedlar,
previously of
Concord, Mass.,
emigrated to
Netanya, Israel, a
port on the
Mediterranean
between Haifa and Tel Aviv, by
virtue of the Law of Return, an
Israelian policy that grants
automatic citizenship to any Jew
of the diaspora. David is retired
from the U.S. Navy.
Lieutenant Colonel Jerry
Steinke, began service at Camp
Victory in Baghdad, Iraq, about
two weeks before she left
Kuwait. Prior to Kuwait, she
owned a dental practice in
Maplewood, Minn.; Kristin and
her husband reside in North
Oaks, Minn.
1975
Brad Forsythe,
Cincinnati,
Ohio, published
his debut book,
Bulletproof Your
Business—
Cutting Risk for
Small Business Owners and
Managers. The book has been
featured in several media outlets
and reviews from across the
country, and serves as a “plainEnglish guide that shows
companies how to simply and
cost-effectively conduct risk
management on a do-it-yourself
basis.” Brad is founder and
president of Best Practice
Advisors.
Patricia (Reuter) Georg,
Hopkins, Minn., was selected as
the Minnesota State Teacher of
the Year in 2003 by the United
States Air Force Association/
Aerospace Education Foundation;
she was honored in November
2003 at the Rawlings Chapter
Fall Awards Banquet. Patricia
teaches at Franklin Elementary
School in Anoka.
AUGGIES ON TV
Courtesy photo
1957
1972
Kristin
Rajala, an
Army major,
returned
home in
April 2004
from Camp
Udairi in Kuwait, where she
served as a dentist for three
months to incoming U.S. troops
and nationals. She also donated a
keyboard and served as organist
at the camp’s chapel, where she
also conducted the service when
the chaplain was unavailable. In
addition, Kristin created three
banners for the soldiers who
attend camp Udairi chapel, as
well as for both her family home
church and for her husband’s
home church (she is pictured
here with her husband and one of
her banners). Her husband,
Augsburg alumna Linnea Mohn, Class of 2003, recently
completed work on the first season of the Channel 45 (KSTC-TV)
show, Nate on Drums. Hosted by local musician Nate Perbix, the
half-hour program stars Mohn along with fellow actors David
Harris and Motion Price, and showcases comedy segments
coupled with local music and original animation. During its
premiere season, the show won the 2004 Minnesota Music
Academy Award for Best Audio-Visual Production. Pictured from
the show, clockwise from left, are David Harris, Nate Perbix,
Motion Price, and Linnea Mohn ’03.
37
Class Notes
ALUMNI PROFILE
Carol (Johnson) Casperson ’60: Building hope one home at a time
by Bobbie Chong
A physical education and biology major, Carol (Johnson) Casperson fondly recalls hanging out at “the grill” and
wild ping-pong tournaments at Augsburg. Originally from St. Paul, she chose Augsburg because some of her
cousins were current students. After graduating in 1960, she taught at Shakopee Public Schools and served as its
only P.E. teacher. She went on to teach at a school in the New Hope district that she describes as having been the
epitome of “brand-new.”
Casperson later married, had two children, and moved to California where her (now former) husband attended
medical school and completed his internship and residency. During this time, Casperson says “Vietnam happened,”
and her family received military orders to relocate to 29 Palms Marine Base or “MCB.” In the 1960s, 29 Palms was
literally in the middle of nowhere, and Casperson describes the desert location of what was to be her family’s new
home as “465 square miles of kitty litter.”
Flash-forward to the present day and 29 Palms isn’t the “middle of nowhere” anymore. Reflecting on her former city of residence and the dramatic
change it’s undergone, Casperson says, “Now when you fly into Orange County Airport you can’t believe the new houses. There are massive
developments, roofs touching, [many cost] $500,000.” As executive director of D.C. Habitat for Humanity, Casperson is familiar with the national
housing crisis and the realities and hardships of the real estate market.
She made the leap from California to Washington, D.C., after she helped a former neighbor campaign for Congress. He won and asked if she’d be
interested in working at the home office. She needed to send a copy of her résumé but didn’t have one because at the time, “as a teacher in
Minnesota, when I graduated, they came looking for you.” She quickly threw one together and was hired on the spot.
A few years later she got bored and asked if she could come out to D.C. and work on the select committee her boss served. While newly
transplanted in the D.C. area, an Iowan friend of Casperson’s stayed with her for three years. This friend was registered in the volunteer
clearinghouse and asked if anyone in the area inquired about Habitat for Humanity because, at the time, there wasn’t an affiliate in that area. “I
didn’t know anything about it [Habitat] at the time.”
Recalling the beginning of the D.C. Habitat, “Three people came to town to start one,” Casperson said. She was invited to go with her friend into a
questionable part of the D.C. area for one of the very first meetings. “I drove down there and went to the meeting with her and I thought, ‘What a
great idea. I wonder if this really works?’” So the two friends both began volunteering. Casperson was still working full time then.
“We had such a terrible time in the beginning,” laments Casperson, “First of all, we’d never done anything like this so who’s going to believe you,
that you can actually do this? I mean, it sounds good, [but] people have pulled so many schemes on people in D.C. that no one trusts anybody.”
Despite obstacles, the group persisted and “we got the first two houses done, then we started on the next two. Then our ‘blueprintist’ got this
brilliant idea to apply to be the site of the Jimmy Carter Work Project (1992).” Casperson then became director for what she says “should’ve been
a one-year assignment, but I’m still here.”
In 1988 when she first began volunteering with Habitat, there were about 200 chapters across the United States. Today, there are over 1,700
worldwide. Casperson pointed out that a common misconception about Habitat for Humanity is that it’s only about construction. “We have 12
committees, including the Family Selection Committee, which tends to [include] people such as loan officers or mortgage bankers—people who
know about the mortgage business because that’s really what you’re doing. Based on Habitat’s criteria, you’re picking people for a mortgage
because there aren’t too many banks that want to carry a no-profit, no interest mortgage.”
Another opportunity for volunteerism is the Family Partnership Committee. This committee helps provide moral support to families because
many are first-time homeowners and the process can be scary and can literally throw a person into a panic.
Much of D.C. Habitat’s fundraising comes from direct mail, donations, and their once-a-year, one-hour breakfast that generated $150,000 last year.
And though it is rare, occasionally a developer or landowner will donate plots of land. The D.C. Habitat has built two homes on Capitol Hill that
turned out to be model green homes. Currently, the group is working on a 53-house project on 4.3 acres of land.
When asked what job advice she would impart on current Auggies or recent alumni, Casperson said, “I would say the same thing I said to my
daughter when she was in school forever. She said, ‘Mom, I don’t know what I want to do when I graduate.’ You know, what you want to do is not
necessarily what your major subject was. But it’s whatever makes you happy. And that’s what you have to follow. If things aren’t making you happy
in your job, you need to pick out the things that you do like and then follow that path.”
For more information about the D.C. Habitat for Humanity, go to <www.dchabitat.org/>.
Bobbie Chong is an administrative assistant in the Office of Public Relations and Communication.
38
Winter/Spring 2005
1978
P. Dawn (Heil)
Taylor, Des
Moines, Iowa,
was honored as
one of 10
“Women of
Influence” in
August for her volunteer work
and activism. She has been an
advocate for Iowa’s Latino
communities, serving on the
Iowa Commission of Latino
Affairs and as vice president of
the Hispanic Educational
Resource Center, which operates
a bilingual preschool and
provides outreach assistance to
families. She currently serves on
the boards of the Greater Des
Moines Community Foundation
and the Red Cross of Central
Iowa Foundation, and is an
Augsburg regent. In addition,
she is an adviser to the Center
for New Communities and the
Iowa Project, an immigrant
rights organization geared
toward Latinos. She has served
as an advocate for Latinos who
were in the process of being
deported, and has assisted them
in finding resources and
guidance.
1979
Barb Ahl, Evansville, Minn.,
received the Evansville Public
School Teacher of the Year
Award for 2004–05. Barb is a
music teacher for Evansville
Public Schools.
Kathy (Gray) Dohner,
Fairbanks, Alaska, is a sign
language interpreter.
AUGGIE AUTHORS
Courtesy photo
LaJune Thomas Lange,
Minneapolis, was featured in The
Minnesota Women’s Press’ annual
“changemakers” issue, which
salutes 25 individuals and
organizations whose actions in
the public arena over the past
two decades have promoted
greater self-determination,
equality, and justice for women
and girls. LaJune is a judge on
the Hennepin County 4th
Judicial District Court; she has
held this seat since 1986.
1980
Robert Stanley
Peter Gardner,
Rochester,
Minn.,
composed
original music
for the Saint
Paul City Ballet’s production of
Charles Dickens’ A Christmas
Carol. A blend of ballet and
theatre, the production was
presented in December at both
the O’Shaughnessy in St. Paul
and the Paramount Theatre in
St. Cloud.
1981
Walt Johnson, Minneapolis,
completed a two-year fellowship
at the Patent and Trademark
Depository Library (PTDL)
Program in Arlington, Va.
During that time, he researched
patent and trademark questions
from PTDLs throughout the
country and spent many days on
the road conducting public and
PTDL-staff training sessions. He
returned to his former position
as a reference librarian at the
downtown Minneapolis Public
Library.
1982
Rev. Rebecca Sogge received a
doctor of ministry degree in
single parent ministry from
Luther Seminary last May. Before
entering Luther, Rebecca served
for five years as co-pastor of
Christ, Marble, and Singsaas
Lutheran churches in Hendricks,
Minn. She then spent another
five years as pastor of Trinity
and West Lake Johanna
Lutheran churches and Union
Presbyterian Church in Brooten,
Minn. She is currently an
associate pastor at Zion
Lutheran Church in Buffalo,
Minn.
Three alumnae authors were featured as special guests at a
recent Auggie Hour celebrating Augsburg authors. Pictured, L to
R, are: Erika Hammerschmidt ’04 (Born on the Wrong Planet,
Tyborne Hill Publishers LLC); Doris Rubenstein ’93 MAL (The
Good Corporate Citizen: A Practical Guide, John Wiley & Sons);
and Phebe Hanson ’50 (Why Still Dance: 75 Years: 75 Poems,
Nodin Press).
1983
Gordon Sandquist, Ballwin,
Mo., began a new call at Trinity
Lutheran Church in Chesterfield,
Mo. in September. He and his
wife, Sonja, recently adopted two
girls, ages 6 and 7.
1985
Ron Munkittrick, Westfield,
N.J., was appointed chief
financial officer of Ramp
Corporation in October; he had
been working with Ramp since
June as a consultant on
operational and financial
initiatives. Ron has 20 years of
experience in corporate financial
management with companies
such as Fingerhut Corporation,
Hanover Direct, Genesis Direct,
Site59.com, and Decima
Ventures. Most recently he was
CFO of CapeSuccess LLC, a
staffing and information
technology consulting company.
Ron has an M.B.A. from the
University of St. Thomas.
1986
Michael A. Johnson accepted
the position of director of
Winter/Spring 2005
dramatics at Trinity High School
in Trinity, N.C. His wife, Ann
Marie (Glover) ’84, has
contributed to the field of early
childhood education as a Head
Start administrator and teacher
for more than 20 years.
1987
Rev. Tammy J. Rider,
Claremont, Minn., was a finalist
in a national sermon contest
sponsored by the FaithTrust
Institute (formerly known as the
Center for the Prevention of
Sexual and Domestic Violence)
with her sermon, “Sleeping
Women.” As such, her sermon
was published in The Journal of
Religion and Abuse (Haworth
Pastoral Press, Vol. 6, No. 1,
2004).
1988
Carl R. Holm (formerly
Holmes), Albertville, Minn., was
recently promoted to northern
regional sales manager at F.A.
Davis Co. Publishers. His wife,
Chrisanne D. (Rebertus) ’89,
began her fifth year of
homeschooling their three
children: Emilyanne, Mark, and
39
Class Notes
James. They can be contacted at
<arenzano1@earthlink.net>.
1990
Vicki (Janssen) McDougall,
North Branch, Minn., is the new
dean of students at Forest Lake
Senior High School.
1991
Rev. Judith A. (Benson)
Bangsund received a master of
divinity degree from Luther
Seminary last May. She is a
missionary at the Division of
Global Mission for the ELCA in
Chicago, and following
graduation, Judith returned to
Makumira-Tumaini University
in Usa River, Tanzania (where
she served as an intern as part of
her degree requirements), to
serve in an ordained role in
missions.
written exams. Sharol specializes
in coaching nurses and “peak
performers” from all walks of life
through her company, Life
Illumination Keynotes, Seminars,
& Coaching; Sharol can be
reached via her Web site at
<www.lifeillumination.com>.
law degree at William Mitchell
College of Law.
Cindy (Kostusak) Waldron,
Fairfax, Va., graduated from
George Washington University,
Washington D.C., in 2004 with
an M.B.A. specializing in finance
and entrepreneurship. She works
for Freddie Mac in the Financial
Research Department.
Julie (Holmquist) Sellers,
Duluth, Minn., is a media
planner for Out There
Advertising, a Duluth advertising
firm. She was previously a media
director for von Goertz &
VanHove (also in Duluth), and a
senior media planner and
account executive at Haworth
Marketing and Media Co. in
Minneapolis. She was also a
media analyst at the
Minneapolis-based Campbell
Mithun Esty agency.
1993
1994
Michael H. Haukaas, Brooklyn
Center, Minn., is a clerk at the
law firm of Schwegman,
Lundberg, Woessner & Kluth for
a second year. He is pursuing a
Bill Gabler, Prior Lake, Minn.,
married Corinne Lindborg, a
1998 Gustavus Adolphus
alumna, last May. In addition,
Bill was inducted into the 2003
Prior Lake High School Hall of
Fame for his achievements in
athletics in both high school and
college—he was a standout
three-sport athlete (football,
wrestling, and baseball). He is
the youngest male to be
inducted.
Dan Sweeney, Minneapolis,
recently opened his own
business, Keep In Touch
Massage, in Uptown
Minneapolis. The company
offers a wide range of massagespecific services and natural skin
care products. Dan can be
reached via his Web site at
<www.keepintouchmassage.net>.
1995
Deb (Bellin) Smith, Neenah,
Wis., is a recruiter for
TEKsystems, an IT services
THE AUGSBURG CENTENNIAL SINGERS
Courtesy photo
1992
David Murr, Orford, N.H., was
presented the F.L. Scarf Award in
December during the 2004 AGU
Fall Meeting in San Francisco
for his thesis, “Magnetosphereionosphere coupling on mesoand macro-scales.” The award is
given annually to a recent Ph.D.
recipient for outstanding
dissertation research that
contributes directly to solarplanetary sciences (David
earned his Ph.D. at Boston
University in 2003). David also
received the National Science
Foundation Geospace
Environment Modeling (GEM)
postdoctoral researcher award in
2003. He currently works with
William Lotko at Dartmouth
College.
Sharol Tyra,
Hanover, Minn.,
recently
completed the
Coaches
Training
Institute’s
Certified Professional Co-Active
Coaching Certification Program
and passed both the oral and
40
The Augsburg Centennial Singers recently completed a tour of Arizona, sharing their passion and
enjoyment of singing with congregations from Green Valley to Scottsdale. They are pictured here in Sun
City West, where they performed at Lord of Life Lutheran Church.
The Centennial Singers will perform in the Twin Cities:
THURSDAY, MAY 12, 7 P.M.
Calvary Church of Roseville, Lexington and County Road B
Free will offering
Winter/Spring 2005
recruiting firm in Appleton, Wis.
She has been married for four
years to her husband, Scott, and
she enjoys spending time with
her son Noah, 3, and her
stepdaughter Andrea, 9.
Rev. Kari L. Burke-Romarheim
is pursuing a master of divinity at
Luther Seminary. She previously
worked for three years as a youth
and family minister in Bergen,
Norway.
1997
Arlo Miller, Brookline, Mass.,
successfully defended his thesis,
“The Regulation of Melanoma
Antigens by the Microphthalmia
Transcription Factor,” and
received a Ph.D. in biochemistry
and molecular pharmacology
from Harvard University Graduate
School of Arts and Sciences.
1999
Rev. Deborah
Hutterer
recently relocated
to Pontiac, Ill.,
where she is
serving as pastor
of St. Paul
Lutheran Church. She received
her Master of Divinity degree
from Luther Seminary last May;
she also received the A.E.
Hanson homiletic award in
preaching, which recognizes the
importance of preaching as
seminary graduates move into
the next chapter of their
ministries. The award was
established by the family of the
late Rev. Arthur E. Hanson
(1894–1966), former president
of the ELCA’s Northern
Minnesota District.
Megan Renze, Miami, recently
graduated cum laude from the
University of Miami School of
Law. She passed the bar
examination in Florida and is
now working as associate general
counsel for Banco Santander
International in Miami.
2000
Rev. Melissa G. (Moyle)
Pohlman, St. Paul, received a
master of divinity degree from
Luther Seminary last May.
2001
Jessica Norman married Eric
Hafemeyer in February 2004. Eric
is a carpenter and Jessica recently
ALUMNI PROFILE
Courtesy photo
Alumnus wins state technology award
by Beverly Deming
Mark Deming, a 1993 graduate of Augsburg, was honored in November as the inaugural recipient of
the statewide Minnesota TEKNE Award for Innovation in Teaching. Deming is the media specialist at
Orchard Lake Elementary School in Lakeville, Minn.
Each year the Minnesota High Tech Association, Minnesota Technology, Inc., Medical Alley, and
Minnesota Project Innovation recognize start-up and giant corporations in Minnesota for their
achievements in technology. This year a new category was added to recognize and honor educators for
their contributions and innovations in teaching. Its purpose is to recognize an educator who
demonstrates leadership in creating learning opportunities for students using innovative technology in
Minnesota’s classrooms.
The TEKNE Award has been described as the “Academy Award” of the technology industry in
Minnesota. Deming was one of three finalists from an overwhelming number of nominees for the new
category of Innovation in Teaching.
Deming has been a media specialist for nine years, the last four being at Orchard Lake Elementary. He
was nominated for his work in bringing the oldest elementary school in Lakeville up to the same level
of technology as Lakeville’s new schools. When faced with a space problem, Deming designed a
mobile computer lab to take to the classroom. He has taken time to help fellow educators make
adjustments in their classrooms using the technology available to them. Physical education teachers
are using Palm hand-helds instead of paper-laden clipboards to keep their records at hand. One fifthgrade teacher who was avoiding technology entirely credits Deming with bringing him around to
using the latest in technology.
WCCO News anchor Don Shelby
(right) presented Mark Deming ’93
(left) with the TEKNE Award for
Innovation in Teaching at the
Minnesota TEKNE Award ceremony
at the Minneapolis Convention
Center in November. Deming also
received a monetary award and
multimedia projection system for
Orchard Lake Elementary School,
where he is the media specialist.
Deming was also recognized for turning the school’s morning announcements into a student-run
multimedia show. Students now eagerly apply each spring for a position the following year on
The Morning Crew. A group of 10 fifth- and sixth-grade students meet Deming an hour before school starts most days to prepare the school’s
daily announcements, which include reviews of popular books and videos, music and graphics for the opening and closing credits, lunch
menus, and a Friday bloopers show. This by-kids-for-kids morning news show is considered a daily “must see.”
When asked by the awards committee why he gives his personal time to promoting technology, Deming stated that “It’s not just a job, this is
a lot of fun—I really enjoy it.”
Deming and his wife, Jean, reside in Farmington, Minn., with their 5-year-old son, Randall, and 1-year-old daughter, Jaela. A former
basketball player with the Auggies, Deming is also a ninth-grade basketball coach for the Farmington School District.
Beverly Deming, a student in Augsburg’s Rochester program, is also Mark Deming’s mother.
Winter/Spring 2005
41
Class Notes
received her J.D. degree from
William Mitchell College of Law.
The couple resides in Northfield,
Minn.
Stacy Waterman, Pinehurst,
N.C., graduated from West
Virginia University with a
master’s degree in counseling.
She is in her second year as a
middle school counselor in
Pinehurst. Stacy can be reached
at <stacywaterman@hotmail.
com>.
2003
Kristopher Freeman,
Minneapolis, was hired as an
account executive at City Pages,
a Twin Cities weekly newspaper,
after completing an internship in
its promotions department.
Christina Markwood-Rod,
Wayzata, Minn., created an
exhibit in the St. Cloud State
University’s Archives and Special
Collections that uncovers the
intriguing tale of world traveler
and late SCSU adjunct professor
William Lindgren. The William
Marcellous Lindgren Interpretive
Exhibit, located in the Kalm
Family University Archives and
Special Collections on Miller
Center third floor, opened in
October 2004 and will remain
open through the 2004–05
academic year. Christina is a
graduate student in SCSU’s public
history program, and spent a year
processing Lindgren’s collection.
Orion Wisness married Erin
Dablow in August in Butte, Mont.
The couple resides in
Hackensack, Minn.
Heather Wessling married
Andrew Maki in October.
Heather is a Northwest Airlines
biller for Carlson Marketing
Group, a subsidiary of Carlson
Companies, Inc.
2004
Christina M. Boe married
Michael T. Anderson II in
October. The couple resides in
Roseville, Minn.
Rev. Linda (Brandvold)
McPeak is pursuing a master of
divinity at Luther Seminary in St.
Paul. She previously worked in a
variety of positions in Minnesota:
as a youth and family minister at
Cross of Peace Lutheran Church
in Shakopee, as church secretary
at Discovery United Methodist
Church in Chaska, as a benefits
specialist/administrator at
Andersen Consulting in
Minneapolis, and as a benefits
administrator for OTC/Power
Team SPX Corporation in
Owatonna.
Courtesy photo
GARRY HESSER HONORED IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
Augsburg professor Garry Hesser gathered with Augsburg alumni
and friends in December in Washington, D.C., for a special
celebration honoring his selection as 2004 Minnesota Professor of
the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of
Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of
Education (see p. 10 for more information). Pictured, L to R, are:
Sylvia and Martin Sabo ’59, Garry Hesser, William V. and Anne
Frame, Mark ’53 and Jean Raabe.
42
Glendine M. Soiseth (’04
MSW) received an M.A. in
pastoral care from Luther
Seminary last May. She plans to
pursue work at either a
Christian counseling agency or a
social service agency that will
provide the necessary
supervisory requirements to
allow her to become licensed for
independent counseling practice.
Births/Adoptions
Norm ’57 and Gayle
(Engedad) Matson ’57,
Chicago, Ill., are the proud
grandparents of grandson Lars
Engedad Matson, born in July
to Hans Engedad and Holly
Matson.
Jeannie (Shaughnessy) ’88
and Joseph Hodges, Alexandria,
Minn.—a daughter, Celia
Marie, in May. She joins older
sister Campbell. Jeannie is the
owner/president of Pathwise
Partners.
Nnamdi
Okoronkwo
’89 and his wife
in Minneapolis—
a son, Spencer
Ajah, in March
2004. Nnamdi is
associate corporate council to
Best Buy Company and practices
in the area of retail litigation.
Kelly (Moore)
’92 and David
Lozinski ’91,
Bloomington,
Minn.—a
daughter,
Elizabeth
“Libby” Grace, in January 2004.
Brent Anderson ’93 and his
wife, Marilyn, Burnsville,
Minn.—a daughter, Maizie
Margaret, in January 2004.
Michelle (Eaker) ’94 and Frank
Steever, Cranston, R.I.—a
daughter, Genevieve, in July.
Susan Irene
Forsmark ’95
and her
husband, Bill,
Minnetonka,
Minn.—a
daughter,
Abigail Rose, in January 2004.
She joins older brothers Reilly, 7,
and Cole, 3, and big sister Libby, 3.
Melanie
(Main)
Johnson ’95,
Fayetteville,
Ark.—a son,
Calvin
Jeramiya
Johnson III, in September.
Melanie is the office manager for
Sonstegard Foods of Arkansas
and can be contacted at
<melanie@sonstegard.com>.
Connie (Arndt)
’96 and Andy
Clausen, Blaine,
Minn.—a son,
Aaron Andrew,
in April 2004. He
joins older
brother Adam, 2. Connie is a
business analyst with the ELCA
Board of Pensions in Minneapolis.
Aaron was baptized by his
grandfather, the Rev. Charles
Arndt ’63, pastor of First
Lutheran Church in Cushing, Wis.
Tracy (Holloway) ’97 and
Thane Drier ’99, Eau Claire,
Wis.—a son, Tristan Thane, in
September. Tracy is a CPA for
Chippewa Valley Technical
College and Thane is a
pharmacist for the Marshfield
Clinic Regional Cancer Center.
Matt Topp ’03
and his wife,
Trisha, South St.
Paul—a daughter,
Emma Marie, in
January 2004.
Also welcoming
Emma are proud grandparents
Gary and Carol (Watson) Topp
’76; Carole can be contacted at
<carolet4@excite.com>.
Winter/Spring 2005
In Memoriam
Gertrude Hognander ’36, longtime activist, dies
ertrude (Lund)
Hognander ’36, a
longtime activist for world
peace and higher education,
died January 13 in her Edina
home after suffering a stroke.
She was 89.
“She had this way about
her that allowed her to gain
the confidence of those around
her, without ever aspiring to
lead them,” her son, O.C.
“Joe” Hognander, Jr., told Sun
Current newspapers. “That’s
why I believe she was so
successful at a time when
women were not always
embraced in leadership roles.”
Born in Marinette, Wis.,
Gertrude was raised in a
church background that
included music and
educational instruction. In the
late 1930s, she honed her
musical talents (which
included the gift of perfect
pitch, an inheritance from her
father, Augsburg alumnus Rev.
L.R. Lund) at Augsburg and
later at Rockford College in
Illinois, where she received a
bachelor’s degree in music. She
directed several church choirs
in Michigan and then in
Minnesota, often adding her
talents as pianist and organist.
During the late 1940s and
early 1950s she was the
accompanist to citywide
ecumenical events at the
Minneapolis Armory.
Outside of church,
Gertrude also actively applied
her leadership skills to
community and state
organizations, serving as
president of the St. Louis Park
Woman’s Club, the
Minneapolis branch of the
American Association of
University Women, and the
United Nations Association of
Minnesota. She was also one of
three members of the St. Louis
Park Charter Commission, and
served on many boards
including the Minnesota
International Center,
Hennepin County American
Cancer Society, Minnesota
Board of Correctional Services,
Abbott Hospital Auxiliary, and
Hennepin County Mental
Health Association.
Augsburg recognized
Gertrude’s commitment to
church and community with
the Distinguished Alumni
Award in 1973. She was also
honored with the Minnesota
Distinguished Service Award
and the WCCO “Good
Neighbor” Award.
Gertrude and her family
generously established the
Anna Manger, Augsburg’s
first female instructor, dies
Anna (Gjesdahl)
Manger, who
died in January
just days shy of
her 104th
birthday, was
hired by
Augsburg as its first female
instructor, teaching higher
algebra and geometry. Even after
marrying and leaving the College
in 1925, Manger continued to be
involved with Augsburg,
volunteering her time in the
Augsburg Associates and other
groups to help raise money. Both
of her daughters, Elizabeth
Anderson ’53 and Margery
Torgerson ’47, are Augsburg
alumnae who enjoyed becoming
part of the community where
their mother had taught.
Lutheran missionary Malvin
Rossing ’30 dies
The Rev. Malvin Rossing ’30 died
of natural causes in January in
Viroqua, Wis.; he was 96.
Rossing spent three decades as a
Lutheran missionary in
Madagascar, starting in 1937,
when he, his wife Anna, and
toddler daughter Gertrude
boarded a freighter in France and
headed to the island in the
Indian Ocean. He believed that
education would eliminate
poverty, and his main job was as
director of a teacher-training
school. He retired from
missionary service in 1967 and
served as a minister in Viroqua
and in Houston, Minn., and
retired from pastoral service in
the mid-1980s. His wife, Anna,
preceded him in death in 2003.
He is survived by four children:
Elizabeth, Gertrude, Martha, and
Melvin ’66; nine grandchildren,
and five great-grandchildren.
Wesley Sideen, Class of 1958
‘class agent,’ dies
Wesley Sideen,
dedicated class
agent for
Augsburg’s Class
of 1958, died in
January; he was
69. A lifelong St.
Paul resident, Sideen was a retired
English and social studies
teacher—he spent all but one of
his 38 years in teaching at Hazel
Park Middle School. Following
retirement, he worked at Byerly’s
grocery store. He was an active
member of East Park Lions Club
and current Lion’s district
governor. He is survived by his
wife, Carol Ann; four children:
David, Diane, Daniel, and Denise
’94; and four grandchildren.
G
Winter/Spring 2005
Orville C. and Gertrude O.
Hognander Family Fund at
Augsburg in the 1990s to
recognize exceptional music
performance and achievement.
The scholarship is based on
merit, specifically to provide
encouragement to outstanding
music students.
Gertrude was preceded in
death by her husband, Orville
Hognander, Sr., in 1997. She is
survived by her son, Joe.
Matthew Woodford, PA
student, dies in car accident
Matthew
Woodford, a
student in
Augsburg’s
Physician
Assistant
Program, and his
unborn son, Logan, died in
December 2004 as the result of a
car accident in Baldwin, Wis. His
wife, Lora, and daughter,
Madalyn, were also injured in the
accident. Woodford, 27, worked at
Methodist Hospital as a
phlebotomist, and entered the
Augsburg PA Program in 2002.
The PA Program is pleased to
announce the creation of the
Matthew Woodford Memorial
Scholarship in honor and in
memory of Woodford, to be
awarded annually to a third-year
Augsburg PA student.
43
AUGGIE
THOUGHTS
Auggie Thoughts
Ted and Fern Hanwick, 1909-2005
‘A perfect ending’ to a shared life
I
n what was described by their pastor as
“a script that only God could write,”
Professor Emeritus and a pioneer of
Augsburg’s physics department Theodore
“Ted” Hanwick and his wife of 64 years,
Fern, died within 19 hours of each other
on March 2 and 3, each at age 95.
The story of their life together was
recounted at their memorial service and
also in a Star Tribune front-page column
by Nick Coleman, titled “Lifetime of
Love Endures to a Couple’s Dying Day.”
Hanwick was chair of the physics
department at Rutgers University when
he was recruited in 1956 by thenpresident Bernhard Christensen to start a
physics major at Augsburg. Hanwick has
said that he heard the voice of God tell
him that the small liberal arts college in
the Midwest was the place where he
should be, despite the prestige and salary
he would leave behind.
“He firmly, honestly believed that
God called him here,” said Rev. Howard
“Skip” Reeves, a close family friend and
pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church,
where the Hanwicks had been active
members.
by Betsey Norgard
Hanwick developed a major in
physics and launched a number of
new courses, including astronomy.
His daughter, Linda (Hanwick)
Putnam ’64, tells of his love for
astronomy and how he made
telescopes at home, grinding the
lenses himself. When an Augsburg
graduate offered to provide a
telescope for an astronomy course
at Augsburg, Putnam says that her
father—who was “always looking
for a good deal”—needed housing
for the telescope and found a
place in Minnesota that sold silo
domes. The “silo” was donated to
Augsburg and became an unlikely
addition to a city campus.
Hanwick retired in 1978, but has
remained connected to the Augsburg
community. Ted and Fern were last on
campus at Homecoming 2003 for a
science alumni gathering.
Both of their children are Augsburg
alumni—Linda (Hanwick) Putnam ’64
and Theodore Hanwick, Jr. ’66.
Physics professors Ken Erickson ’62
and Stu Anderson ’78, were both
Physics professor emeritus Ted Hanwick and his wife, Fern, last visited campus for a science
alumni gathering in 2003.
44
Hanwick’s students in the department—
Erickson studied during Hanwick’s early
years at Augsburg, while Anderson was
one of his last students. In 1976, the
Physics Department established a
scholarship in Hanwick’s name to honor
his 20th anniversary at Augsburg.
“He had such a passion for this
place,” says Reeves. “When you mention
Augsburg, even in his later years, his face
would brighten up, and he’d smile. … He
wore Augsburg—he was Augsburg to a
lot of people.”
Reeves describes Ted Hanwick as “a
blend of intelligence and humility.” Fern
Hanwick, Reeves says, was “pure grace.”
For a number of years, until she was 90,
she directed Calvary Lutheran’s program
for women prisoners in the Hennepin
County workhouse.
Their life together was a storybook
romance. They met in New York City,
were attracted from the first moment,
and became engaged in three weeks.
Since then, they’ve been inseparable.
The circumstance of their death just
19 hours apart—Ted died in his sleep on
March 2 and Fern died peacefully while
visiting with friends the next afternoon—
was described by Coleman in his column
as “a love story with a perfect ending.”
Granddaughter Christine Hanwick, in
speaking at the memorial service, said
that she thought her grandfather must
have wanted to go on ahead and “check
things out to make sure it was OK.”
Winter/Spring 2005
CCalendar
ALENDAR
Music
Exhibits
For music information, call 612-330-1265
For gallery information, call 612-330-1524
April 27
Chamber Music Recital & High Tea
4 p.m.—Sateren Auditorium
April 30
Augsburg Jazz Ensemble Concert
7 p.m.—Hoversten Chapel
May 1
Augsburg Concert Band Concert
April 8–May 8
3 p.m.—Hoversten Chapel
Juried All-Student Art Exhibition
May 8–18
Augsburg Concert Band Norway Tour
• Baccalaureate Service
10 a.m.—Hoversten Chapel
• Commencement Brunch
11 a.m.—Christensen Center
• Commencement Ceremony
Featured speaker: Parker Palmer,
bestselling author, lecturer, teacher,
and activist
1:30 p.m.—Melby Hall
Seating begins at 12:30 p.m.; tickets
required
• Commencement Reception
3 p.m.—Murphy Park
Gage Family Art Gallery, Lindell Library
April 8–May 20
Senior Art Exhibition
Theatre
Christensen Center Art Gallery
For ticket information, call 612-330-1257
Seminars,
Lectures, and
Films
February 23–May 19
Augsburg Native American Film
Series 2005
April 15–24
Our Country’s Good
By Timberlake Wertenbaker
Directed by Darcey Engen
April 15, 16, 21, 22, and 23 at 7 p.m.;
April 17 and 24 at 2 p.m.
Tjornhom-Nelson Theater
April 29
Senior Acting Recitals
7 p.m.—Tjornhom-Nelson Theater
May 4
Stage Direction Class Recital
6:30 p.m.—Tjornhom-Nelson Theater
In collaboration with Independent
Indigenous Film Minneapolis; various
dates and times. For schedule
information, call 612-330-1523, e-mail
<marubbio@augsburg.edu>, or visit
<www.augsburg.edu/ais/filmseries>
Other Events
May 6–7
Commencement Weekend
May 6
• Honors Convocation
4:30 p.m.—Hoversten Chapel
• Commencement Dinner
6 p.m.—Christensen Center
• Commencement Concert
7:30 p.m.—Hoversten Chapel
May 7
• Eucharist Service
8:30 a.m.—Hoversten Chapel
May 16
Second Annual Healthcare Conference:
“Building Minnesota’s Healthcare
Workforce Through Diversity”
A collaborative conference sponsored by
Augsburg, Minnesota Hospital
Association, Fairview Health Services,
and United Health Foundation
8 a.m.–5 p.m.—Melby Hall
For information, call 612-330-1171,
e-mail <croyle@augsburg.edu>, or visit
<www.augsburg.edu/healthcare>
June 16
Graduate Programs Discovery Evening
Gathering for prospective graduate
programs students; includes dinner
buffet and break-out sessions
5:30–8:30 p.m.—Christensen Center
For information, call 612-330-1150 or
e-mail <parkp@augsburg.edu>
June 27
42nd Annual Clair Strommen A-Club
Golf Tournament
See p. 36 for more information
See the alumni calendar on p. 36 for additional events
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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... Show more
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
Permit No. 2031
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