AUGSBURG NOW BEYOND TOMORROW BEYOND BEFORE TODAY

FALL–WINTER 2019 | VOL. 82, NO. 1 Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Rebecca John ’13 MBA [email protected]

Associate Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Stephen Jendraszak [email protected]

Director of Marketing Laura Swanson Lindahl ’15 MBA NOTES FROM PRESIDENT PRIBBENOW [email protected] Director of Public Relations and Internal Communications On seeing and being seen Gita Sitaramiah [email protected]

Assistant Director of Marketing Creative We see you! “Each, Together” art project—part of an Denielle Stepka ’11 This summer, Assistant Professor Joaquin international initiative known as “Inside [email protected] Muñoz from our education department Out”—is featured in this issue of Augsburg greeted our incoming students with a Now (see page 16). More than 1,200 Senior Creative Associate, Design powerful message. He said that every one photographs are displayed on buildings Elizabeth Kästner [email protected] of them deserved an adult who loved them across campus: images of current students, unconditionally. He then looked out at our faculty, staff, and alumni alongside those of Marketing Copywriter remarkable students and told them that he historic figures likeBernhard Christensen ’22, John Weirick loved them. He said, “I see you,” and “I will Augsburg’s fifth president, who looks at me [email protected] do all I can to ensure that you are successful each day as I pull into my campus parking Communication and spot! Every time I look at those photographs, I at Augsburg and beyond.” Social Media Specialist Joaquin was speaking to students of color think about how they reflect our commitment Briana Alamilla ’17 and indigenous students in particular, but to seeing each other, to recognizing that our [email protected] this is our promise to all our students: “We various journeys to Augsburg and beyond see you” is at the center of Augsburg’s are part of a remarkable narrative that has Advancement Communications Specialist commitment to meet students where they are unfolded over the past 150 years. Kaia Chambers and walk alongside them as they pursue their Since our founding in 1869 and through [email protected] educational goals. What does it mean to say the decades that followed, our institution has that “we see you”? It means that your life grown and changed, yet our commitment to Web Manager Joe Mann experience, your vocational journey, your path our foundational promise has remained the [email protected] to Augsburg is important to us and will be same. We see you, we love you, and together taken seriously as we work together to ensure we will fulfill our abiding promise that Contributors your success. Augsburg is “small to our students and Kate H. Elliott It seems especially fitting as we launch our big for the world.” Jen Nagorski ’08 Lisa Renze-Rhodes 150th anniversary—our sesquicentennial— that we renew our promise to meet our Augsburg Now is published by Faithfully yours, students where they are, to see them in all of Augsburg University their astonishing and diverse life experiences, 2211 Riverside Avenue and to accompany them as they pursue an Minneapolis, MN 55454 Augsburg education. Opinions expressed in Augsburg Now Our promise to see our students is evident PAUL C. PRIBBENOW, PRESIDENT do not necessarily reflect official in all of our celebrations of our 150th university policy. anniversary. For example, the remarkable ISSN 1058-1545 AUGSBURG NOW Fall–Winter 2019

AUGSBURG’S LARGEST CLASS KICKS OFF ACADEMIC YEAR WITH VOLUNTEERING During Augsburg’s annual community engagement and service event—now known as City Engagement Day—first-year students volunteer at Twin Cities-based organizations at the start of the academic year. On September 3, more than 650 students in Augsburg T-shirts worked alongside faculty and staff. Some sites included community gardens and a river cleanup with the National Park Service. The Class of 2023 is Augsburg’s largest ever. See the back cover. PHOTO BY REBECCA SLATER

On the cover: Portraits of community 02 Around the quad 16 Face value members—past and present—create a tapestry of faces that celebrate, recognize, 08 Annual report to donors 22 Balancing the books and honor the individuals who have contributed to Augsburg University during the past 150 years. Read more on page 16. 10 A September to remember 26 Auggies connect All photos by Courtney Perry unless 12 Building on an early lead 28 Class notes otherwise indicated Send address corrections to 15 Honoring Auggies 32 In memoriam [email protected]. Send comments to [email protected]. AROUND THE QUAD PHOTOS BY SHAWN NIELSEN PHOTOS BY SHAWN

Augsburg launches President Paul Pribbenow named TRANSIT PASS FOR UNDERGRADUATES FUNDRAISER OF THE YEAR

Augsburg University now offers the Auggie Pass, a universal transit Augsburg University President Paul pass that gives undergraduate students unlimited rides on buses Pribbenow was named an Outstanding and light rail in a first-of-its-kind partnership between Metro Transit Fundraising Professional for his effective, and a Twin Cities university. creative, and inspiring leadership. Augsburg’s student government approved increasing the green The highest honor bestowed upon one of fee by $5 to $20 per semester to pay for the Auggie Pass in order its members, the award was presented by to reduce students’ out-of-pocket costs while improving their the Association of Fundraising Professionals chances of accepting jobs and internships that involve a commute. at the International Fundraising Conference Day Student Government is officially responsible for overseeing the in San Antonio this spring. “The impact green fee that supports sustainability efforts. of Paul Pribbenow on the organizations The Auggie Pass is valid throughout the school year and is paid he has served is only exceeded by the for from both the student green fee and university operating funds. impact he has had on the entire fundraising All traditional undergraduate students who pay the semester green profession,” said AFP President and fee are eligible for the pass at no additional cost. CEO Mike Geiger. “It is fair to say that “As someone who uses the bus every day, it’s great not to have fundraising—and how we look at ethics that financial burden,” saidSkye Ryge ’20, who advocated for the and philanthropy—would look differently pass. “It’s really economically advantageous to students who pay without the contributions of Paul. His work for school, like me, to not have to choose between textbooks and will serve as one of the cornerstones of the bus fare.” profession for years to come.”

2 AUGSBURG NOW OLDER OR QUIZ: YOUNGER THAN AUGSBURG?

In honor of Augsburg’s founding in 1869, the university is celebrating the past and the present with sesquicentennial events all year long. Think you know history? Test your knowledge: Identify whether each of the events below is older or younger than Augsburg.

The first recorded baseball MINNESOTA’S ONLY 1 game occurs. VARSITY WOMEN’S WRESTLING TEAM Abolitionists Frederick Douglass 2 and Harriet Tubman are born. Augsburg announced earlier this year the addition of a varsity women’s wrestling team. Leaders sign Norway’s constitution. This new team continues the pioneering tradition in women’s athletics 3 at Augsburg, which now has the only varsity women’s wrestling team in Abraham Lincoln serves as Minnesota. In 1995, Augsburg became the first college in the Midwest president of the United States. to sponsor a varsity women’s ice hockey team. Then, in 2014, Augsburg 4 became the first collegiate institution in Minnesota to sponsor a varsity Victor Hugo publishes the novel women’s lacrosse team. 5 “Les Misérables.” The women’s wrestling team is competing this academic year under head coach Max Mejia, who most recently served as women’s and Pharmacist John Pemberton invents developmental coach at the Sunkist Kids Regional Training Center in 6 Coca-Cola. Tempe, Arizona. Mejia, a 2015 graduate of Harvard University, has helped coach a The first automobile with an World Team Trials champion and another finalist; two senior national 7 internal combustion engine is

team members; a U.S. Open champion, finalist, and placewinner; and invented. 1807. Older; 7. 1886. Younger; 6.

four Arizona high school state champions. 1862. Older; 5. 1861–65. Older; 4. 1814. Older; 3. Answers: 1. Older; 1846. 2. Older; 1818 and 1822. 1822. and 1818 Older; 2. 1846. Older; 1. Answers:

German scholars and artists join RIVER SEMESTER Augsburg University’s third River Semester launched in August as part of a prestigious German initiative to explore the Mississippi River. “Mississippi. An Anthropocene River” is a German research project involving many communities and initiatives along the river with a focus on climate change. Joining Augsburg students are German travelers, including artists, authors, journalists, and scholars from the Max Planck Institute and the Goethe Institute. This year’s River Semester voyagers departed from Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota and, for 100 days, are paddling portions of the

Mississippi River to reach New Orleans. The students will earn 16 to GEFFRE PHOTO BY STEPHEN 19 credits.

FALL–WINTER 2019 3 AROUNDAROUND THETHE QUADQUAD

NEW AUGSBURG BOARD OF REGENTS MEMBERS

At its annual September meeting, the Augsburg Corporation elected four new members to the Board of Regents and re-elected three members. Upgraded training room Elected to their first term on the Augsburg Board of Regents: boosts athletes’ efficiency Augsburg’s athletic training room has moved to a larger, • Sylvia Bartley, senior global substantially upgraded space in Si Melby Hall. director, Medtronic Foundation In this new space, sports medicine support staff from on • Ellen Ewald, co-owner and and off campus—including team physicians, chiropractors, executive advisor at Tysvar LLC physical therapists, and dietitians—can work collaboratively and mobileAxept in Minneapolis with athletic trainers to better serve Augsburg’s more than • John O’Brien, president and chief 500 student-athletes from 22 varsity sports. Philanthropic executive officer of Educause; Sylvia Bartley gifts paid for the upgrades, with student-athletes gaining the former president of North benefit of more efficient scheduling. Hennepin Community College in “The ability to serve multiple teams at the same time in Minneapolis the larger space, with state-of-the-art equipment, will be the biggest advantage and benefit for the student-athlete,” said • John Schwartz ’67, retired hospital Missy Strauch, Augsburg’s head athletic trainer. administrator at Advocate Trinity Hospital in Chicago and former general manager of SmithKline Ellen Ewald Beecham Clinical Laboratories, Schaumburg, Illinois Augsburg hosts inaugural

Elected to a third term: HUMAN RIGHTS FORUM The Human Rights Forum at Augsburg University welcomed • Karen Durant ’81, retired vice about 800 students, thought leaders, global changemakers, John O’Brien president and controller of and activists this fall. In partnership with the Human Rights Tennant Company, Golden Valley, Foundation, which also produces the Oslo Freedom Forum, Minnesota the two-day event at Augsburg brought together participants • Matt Entenza, attorney in private from a variety of institutions and locations around the world. practice in St. Paul, Minnesota, The first day explored human rights issues in authoritarian and former Minnesota state regimes, and the second day focused on racial justice, representative indigenous rights, and environmental sustainability. John Schwartz ’67 • Jeff Nodland ’77, retired president and chief executive officer of KIK Custom Products 2019 Media Sponsor

See the full list of Board of Regents members Learn more at augsburg.edu/humanrightsforum. at augsburg.edu/about/leadership.

4 AUGSBURG NOW The Oren Gateway Center lobby and adjoining Nabo cafe were redesigned and OREN GATEWAY CENTER renovated during the summer, creating more inviting campus meeting spaces. The Nabo security gate was relocated to allow access to the bookstore and seating lobby renovation provides area beyond the cafe’s hours of operation. Key pieces of kitchen equipment also were upgraded. This project was funded by A’viands, Augsburg’s food service aesthetic convenience provider, as part of its most recent dining contract with the university.

Augsburg names inaugural Augsburg welcomes Sundquist Endowed Professor of Business Administration

This fall, Augsburg named Business Department Chair Jeanne Boeh the Sundquist Endowed Professor of Business Administration. The Forum on Workplace Inclusion has a new The Sundquist professorship supports business administration, home at Augsburg University. Previously based Augsburg’s largest academic department with the most undergraduate at the University of St. Thomas, the forum is the students on campus. Boeh, a professor of economics, has been teaching nation’s largest workplace diversity, equity, and at Augsburg since 1990 and often appears in media interviews and on inclusion conference designed for national and business panels using her talent for bringing complex business concepts global audiences. to life. The forum has served as a convening hub for “Jeanne Boeh will lead Augsburg’s efforts to attract top business those seeking to grow professional leadership and faculty, thanks to this generous endowment,” said Augsburg effective skills in the field of diversity, equity, and University President Paul Pribbenow. “She is known as a faculty inclusion by engaging people, advancing ideas, leader on campus and for her strong commitment to students as they and igniting change. prepare for careers in business.” “The Forum on Workplace Inclusion is excited to This endowed professorship is named for alumnus Dean Sundquist ’81, begin a new chapter at Augsburg University,” said an Augsburg Board of Regents member and chairman and CEO of Steve Humerickhouse, executive director of The Anoka, Minnesota-based Mate Precision Tooling. Sundquist and his Forum. “We look forward to the amazing things we wife, Amy, have made several major investments in Augsburg. can create with our new Auggie family.”

FALL–WINTER 2019 5 ARCHIVE PHOTO From disease to remedy: How nostalgia offers a psychological boost

A special vacation with family members you miss. That unforgettable meal at your favorite restaurant with your favorite person. The album you used to listen to nonstop during the ups and downs of high school. You’re happy you have those pleasant memories, but you’re also sad they’re over. You are experiencing nostalgia. Throwback TV shows, retro fashion, and reboots of toys, trinkets, and stories from decades ago have people wondering if American culture is at its peak in terms of nostalgia—and how long it can last. Bridget Robinson-Riegler is a professor of psychology at Augsburg University. Taking a moment between writing a cognitive psychology textbook, research, and teaching and learning with her students, she explores what psychology can tell us about nostalgia’s appeal.

What is nostalgia? How does it palpitation—things we would diagnose So, when we think about a time when Q: relate to memory? as post-traumatic stress disorder today. we were socially connected and at our Much of the early interest in nostalgia “personal best,” these feelings stretch out Nostalgia is a sentimental longing focused on how to stop these thoughts into our future, and we become hopeful A: for one’s past. The emotion is deeply because it was considered a disease and consequently feel better. social and bittersweet but predominantly and the resulting symptoms prevented positive. Nostalgic memories are individuals from performing at their How is nostalgia active in recollections of atypical life events (e.g., military best. society today? vacations) that involve close relationships Q: (e.g., family, friends) or events from How does nostalgia affect people Given the state of the world— childhood. We view these experiences with psychologically? A: climate change, ups and downs in rose-colored glasses so negative aspects Q: the economy, racist acts, problematic are often not remembered. We miss those Nostalgic remembering is government leadership—it is not surprising experiences and yearn to relive them. A: most likely to occur in times of that nostalgic thinking is common. loneliness, negative moods, or feelings of This type of societal distress can lead Where did the idea of meaninglessness. It is basically a coping to personal nostalgia and to collective Q: nostalgia originate? mechanism to deal with distress. Rather nostalgia in which people long for a time than being the problem (the disease, as when they viewed the world as a better The word “nostalgia” is a compound it was conceptualized when the term was place, even if it wasn’t. So there is a A: of two Greek words that essentially first coined), it is the way we cope (more resurgence of old TV shows, vinyl records, mean a sad mood originating from a like the remedy or cure). Even if we may throwback uniforms for athletic teams, desire to return to one’s native land. The feel bad and disconnected in our current retro clothes, and other products. We word was coined in the 17th century life, we can “relive” a time when we felt seek comfort with familiar products from by a medical student who was helping good and were not lonely. Reconstructing childhood or from a time when the world Swiss mercenaries working in France. memories and projecting ourselves into was viewed as “better” or “easier.” He observed symptoms of sadness, the future are interdependent cognitive loss of appetite, insomnia, cardiac processes that share a system in the brain. Visit augsburg.edu/now to read more about nostalgia.

6 AUGSBURG NOW 2019–20 CONVOCATION SERIES AROUNDAROUND THETHE QUADQUAD Augsburg University’s annual convocation series provides dedicated time during the academic year to hear from outstanding leaders and visionaries. In October, this year’s series kicked off with the Bernhard Munib Younan AWARDS AND HONORS M. Christensen Symposium featuring Munib Younan, retired bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan Best Regional Universities by and the Holy Land and former president of the Lutheran U.S. News & World Report: World Federation, and Hamdy El-Sawaf, founder and U.S. News & World Report again psychotherapist at the Family Counseling Center and imam named Augsburg one of the Best of Masjid Al-Iman in Regional Universities in the Midwest in COURTESY PHOTOS COURTESY Hamdy El-Sawaf Minneapolis. Through 2019. This year, Augsburg is No. 13, which makes it the top Minnesota school their presentations, each shared personal SAVE THE DATE: on the list. Augsburg is also ranked ninth experiences and religious perspectives Join us January 20, 2020 for undergraduate teaching, eighth in its on hope, reconciliation, and resiliency for the Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation. in the midst of suffering and struggles All convocation events are free and open to support for veterans, top in the state and that often are intensified by religious the public. Visit augsburg.edu/convo. sixth overall for innovation, and fourth convictions and differences. in promoting social mobility. Rankings are based on average first-year retention rates, graduation rates, class sizes, student-to-faculty ratios, and other information. PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT STUDIES PROGRAM Best in the Midwest by The Princeton moves to new Minneapolis location Review: The Princeton Review The physician assistant studies graduate program moved into a renovated, leased again named Augsburg one of the Best space in the Riverside Park Plaza building. in the Midwest for academic excellence The building’s location, at 701 25th Avenue South in Minneapolis, puts it this year. among the medical facilities of the University of Minnesota Medical Center 25 LGBTQ Friendly Colleges: College and the Masonic Children’s Hospital and just a short walk from the Augsburg Consensus, a new college review University campus. The program’s move in August came after four years at aggregator, recognized Augsburg in its Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. survey of 25 LGBTQ Friendly Colleges of The new space, which features an increased footprint for classroom and clinical 2019. College Consensus works to bring lab instruction, supports potential future departmental growth and allows the attention to schools that other ranking program faculty, students, and staff to engage with Minneapolis campus activities. publishers overlook. “The curriculum was redesigned to be more case-based and hands-on, and this new space will allow for a more creative and innovative learning environment,” Top Schools for Indigenous Americans: said Alicia Quella, the physician assistant studies program director and In 2019, the American Indian department chair. Science and Engineering Society’s Winds of Change magazine selected Augsburg as one of the Top 200 Schools for Indigenous American and Alaska Native students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math.

Top Military Friendly School: Augsburg was again named a Military Friendly® School, a list compiled through extensive research and a free, data-driven survey of more than 10,000 Veterans Administration-approved schools nationwide.

FALL–WINTER 2019 7 2018–19 AUGSBURG UNIVERSITY You are a part of a large ANNUAL REPORT community of Augsburg donors. We are so grateful for the generosity of this community of TO DONORS people who support our mission.

AUGSBURG BY THE NUMBERS

ACADEMICS STUDENTS

16.2 average class size traditional undergraduate students U.S. states represented by the 2,005 38 undergraduate student body 13:1 student-to-faculty ratio of traditional undergraduate 76% first-year students live on campus countries represented by the + 44 50 undergraduate majors undergraduate student body of Augsburg undergraduates of traditional undergraduates 10 graduate degrees 27% are first-generation college students 97% receive some form of financial aid of traditional undergraduates Data from 2018–19 academic year 47% are students of color AUGSBURG DONORS ENSURE OPPORTUNITIES Parents: Alumni: Friend: Hazen and Kathy Graves Brian Anderson ’82 and Linda Giacomo • Hazen: Retired partner at Faegre Baker Daniels Leeann Rock ’81 • Retired clinical psychologist who studied at law firm • Brian: PhD in physics at the University of the State University of New York—Buffalo and • Kathy: Principal for communications and Minnesota, taught at Augsburg, joined Johns Michigan State University planning firm Parenteau Graves Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory • Priority: Equitable representation of women in • Priority: Support higher education institutions • Leeann: MD from the University of Minnesota, education and leadership, including in faculty that serve students with physical disabilities pathologist at Frederick Memorial Hospital roles, administration, and political offices • Priority: Expand students’ academic When Hazen and Kathy Graves toured Augsburg with opportunities and multidisciplinary efforts Linda Giacomo was the first in her family to attend their son, Sam Graves ’16, they found that it offered college. She empathizes with immigrant struggles, the unique assistance Sam needed as a young man Husband and wife Brian Anderson ’82 and recalling impoverished grandparents who left with cerebral palsy who uses a power wheelchair. “As Leeann Rock ’81 are donating $50,000 to endow southern Italy to become naturalized U.S. citizens and we learned more about the support Augsburg offers the Raymond E. and Margaret J. Anderson parents who could not afford their children’s college to students with various kinds of challenges, we Scholarship in honor of Brian’s parents’ legacy, as tuition despite holding four jobs combined. came to understand that Augsburg had been doing well as in honor of Brian’s brother, Augsburg Physics “Education is transformative in a way that gives this for a long time,” said Hazen. Professor Emeritus Stuart Anderson ’78. you so much power and choice. People should not Sam graduated with a degree in psychology. Brian’s father, the late Raymond E. Anderson, be denied that opportunity because they have no The idea of supporting Augsburg financially joined Augsburg in 1949 as a speech and money,” she said. occurred to both Hazen and Kathy independently, communications professor. Brian’s mother, the late Noting that women earn 26% less than men but and they decided to donate $50,000 to endow a Margaret J. Anderson, came to Augsburg in 1967 carry two-thirds of the nation’s college debt, Giacomo scholarship. “Access to higher education is a big and became library director. designated a $30,000 outright gift to the Augsburg issue,” Hazen said, “and we’re just doing our Endowing a scholarship is “a formal way of Women Engaged Scholarship as well as a generous little part.” maintaining our relationship with Augsburg while estate gift. ensuring more opportunities for students in the “To not be generous, to not share what you have future,” Brian said. with those in need, is heartbreaking,” she said. “In Find more donor stories at making these gifts to Augsburg, my heart is full.” augsburg.edu/giving.

AVERAGE GIFT SIZE ENDOWMENT MARKET VALUE $49.6 $48.1 May 31, 2019—$49,644,712 $43.9 $40.5 $39.4 $2,565 $38.3 $34.6 $33.3 $32.4 $31.5 NUMBER OF DONORS LAST YEAR $29.8 $28.2

$24.5 9,966 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

EXPENSES BY SOURCE REVENUE BY SOURCE 39% Salaries and benefits 79% Tuition 8% Room and board 34% Financial aid WHERE GIFTS ARE FROM 19% Operating expenses 6% Gifts and private 72.57% Individuals grants 3% Utilities and insurance 14.70% Corporations 3% Government grants 2% Debt services 12.73% Foundations 2% Endowment income 2% Student compensation 2% Other 1% Capital improvement GALA AT A GLANCE

• 1,000 Auggies attended the gala. • Thanks to our generous guests, we raised a total of $1.4 million in support of Augsburg’s mission. • Paul Mueller ’84 and Nancy (Mackey) Mueller ’85 issued a challenge and pledged to match every gift at the $1,000 level dollar for dollar up to $100,000.

1

A SEPTEMBER 2 TO REMEMBER SESQUICENTENNIAL GALA It wouldn’t be right to mark 150 years of Augsburg with a small affair—so we threw a huge, once-in-a-lifetime party. On Friday, September 27, Auggies of all kinds dressed up and headed to Renaissance Minneapolis Hotel—The Depot in downtown Minneapolis for the Sesquicentennial Gala, a night of dinner, dancing, revisiting the university’s history, and rallying 3 support to propel Augsburg into the next 150 years. 1) Gala attendees pose for a photo. 2) Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a guest speaker for the evening, takes a selfie with Augsburg Day Student Government leaders 10 AUGSBURG NOW Arianna Antone-Ramirez ’20 and Lucia Davila ’20. 3) Provost Karen Kaivola and students dance to live music. HOMECOMING 2019

Auggies continued the celebration Saturday, September 28, with a full day of Homecoming festivities, including Taste PHOTO BY LAUREN FALK of Augsburg, a chapel service, the football game, and the Augsburg Music Department Collage Concert. The classes of 1969, 1979, and 2009 celebrated milestone reunions.

Donte Collins ’18 embraces English Professor Doug Green.

“Auggie, you are called into the world. Into your wonder. Your why. To wrestle with reason. To spot the problem. And propose new parts. To walk toward your fears. To find the heart. We are Called. We are Auggies.” —from “We Are Auggies,” a spoken-word piece written and performed by Donte Collins ’18

Campaign Chair Paul Mueller ’84 joins President Paul Pribbenow on stage. BOB STACKE '71 PHOTO BY BOB STACKE

“Augsburg is astonishing. Which is really to say that the people of Augsburg are astonishing—Brilliant. Committed. Resilient. You might try to hide it or downplay it, but it is undeniably, unequivocally, tangibly bursting forth from everything you do. It has been nearly 15 years since I first stepped on campus. And, today, the world is noticing Augsburg, what it is, and does, and stands for. Not just in the Twin Cities, but nationally and internationally.” —from President Paul Pribbenow’s gala remarks

FALL–WINTER 2019 11 BUILDING ON BY KATE H. ELLIOTT AN EARLY LEAD Athletics secures NCAA grant to fund first-of-its-kind position supporting culture of inclusion

Hop, step, and jump. Hop, step, and jump. until fifth grade, when I performed in front of my peers and Training for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, Chris Dixon teachers at a district track meet,” he said. “For the first time, I could think of little else than the triple jump cadence. felt accepted and embraced, and from then on, my identity was Hop, step, and jump. Hop, step, and jump. as an athlete. I loved it, don’t get me wrong, but it was difficult Then at practice, hop, step, and crack—followed by intense to adjust once I left the arena.” pain, doctors, and confirmation that his Olympic dreams Dixon never had an African American teacher or coach other shattered along with his ankle. than a friend’s dad who, after selling insurance all day, Dixon spent the next few years figuring out who he was off volunteered for Dixon’s high school track and field team. the field—the place where athletic ability and subsequent “I had amazing coaches and teachers, but I never saw praise had become closely linked to his sense of identity. It was myself in those roles,” he said. These and other life a journey as difficult—if not more so—than his climb to peak experiences inform his outlook on this new role performance. During that dark, confusing time, he promised and emphasize the importance of his presence at himself: If I’m ever in a position to help others transition to life Augsburg, where he also teaches Introduction after sports, I will. to Kinesiology. Since July, Dixon has served as Augsburg University’s director “I am meeting student-athletes and talking of athletic diversity and inclusion and assistant coach for the with them about the challenges they face. I men’s and women’s track and field teams. He is eager to return to am working to be a presence on campus— the field as a coach, and he has a game plan to use the new role to break down stereotypes for some and to promote a culture of inclusion. This job is personal, Dixon said. to be a role model for others,” he said. “I was one of only a few African American kids in elementary “Alongside student-athletes and our athletics school. People would ask to touch my hair, and I felt different administration, I want to create or enhance academic resources, life-skills development, and networking opportunities.” Personal connections and consistent, centralized support are critical to the success of underrepresented student- athletes, Dixon said. “Augsburg is already ahead of the game. The student body is diverse, and there are many resources across campus that support inclusion. I plan to work with and build on what’s already there.”

A plan—starting with breakfast As the sun rose on the second Thursday in October, Dixon greeted several tables of student-athletes seated in The Commons in Christensen Center. The young men Student-athletes attend a networking event hosted by Chris Dixon. of color connected with each other over breakfast before

12 AUGSBURG NOW hearing advice from Jareck Horton, district sales manager said Schuelke, a student in the Master of Arts in Education at PDC IDenticard, and Augsburg Football Assistant Coach program. “I came to Augsburg for the MAE program, but I was Keanon Cooper. Dixon plans to invite successful men of color pleasantly surprised to find how diverse the campus is, and it from a range of professions to these monthly networking is my absolute favorite part of my learning experience. socials, and he will hold similar events with other groups. “If we can move the needle toward a more diverse group of Alicia Schuelke ’20 MAE, graduate assistant coach for track leaders that better represent our country’s demographics, then BY KATE H. ELLIOTT and field, said she and other students are thrilled with Dixon’s students of color will begin to understand that the enthusiasm and vision for the role. sky’s the limit in terms of their own hopes, “In a world where, many times, the odds are stacked dreams, and aspirations.” against us, leaders of color provide hope and strength,”

“Alongside student-athletes and our athletics administration, I want to create or enhance academic resources, life-skills development, and networking opportunities.”

—CHRIS DIXON, DIRECTOR OF ATHLETIC DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

FALL–WINTER 2019 13 Position the result of Athletic Conference and then as an NCAA diversity grant assistant director. The experience, Anderson Diercks said, transformed Dixon’s position is largely made how she operates as a leader in a male- possible through a two-year NCAA dominated profession. More than a Ethnic Minorities and Women’s decade has passed, but she remains in Internship Grant, which provides contact with the mentor assigned to her financial assistance to member during the internship. institutions who create full-time, “These are critical opportunities for entry-level administrative positions women and minorities to enter into for people who identify as an ethnic leadership positions with tremendous minority and/or a woman, according personal and professional resources to federal guidelines. The grant also designed to equip them with the tools supports professional development and and outlook to navigate difficult roles,” formalized mentoring. said Anderson Diercks, who formerly Augsburg was one of only 20 served as chair of the NCAA Ethnic institutions and conference offices Minority and Women’s Internship selected to receive the grant this cycle, selection committee. “We are and it is the third award for Augsburg particularly excited about Coach Dixon’s in the past decade. The university first position because, to our knowledge, it is secured the Ethnic Minorities and the only role of its kind.” Women’s Internship Grant during the

2012 to 2014 cycle to fund Jennifer Augsburg is ‘ahead of the game’ Jacobs’ role as assistant director of NCAA compliance and assistant Ali Spungen, associate director of volleyball coach. In 2014, Augsburg Division III for the NCAA, said that received the NCAA’s Strategic Alliance about 130 positions have been Matching Grant, which funds full- awarded through diversity grants during time, mid- to senior-level athletics the past five years—that’s more than administration positions during a five- $36 million in funds for positions and year commitment. Jacobs’ role then professional development. Augsburg, evolved into assistant athletic director Spungen said, stands out as a leader in of external relations and diversity and the division, which is well positioned to inclusion, in addition to her role as meet the needs of diverse populations. assistant volleyball coach. She is “Division III allows student-athletes now head volleyball coach at to play the sports they love within Augustana University. departments also focused on their Augsburg’s Associate Athletic academics and social engagement,” Director Kelly Anderson Diercks said said Spungen, also a past grant the department is driven to advance recipient. “These positions empower diversity and inclusion. “Embracing leaders like Coach Dixon to thrive, and connecting students of all which inspires and encourages backgrounds and experiences is the students. Augsburg clearly cares for right thing to do, but it is also smart,” its student-athletes and is willing to she said. “More diverse teams are dedicate time and resources to ensure often stronger teams. They produce they are successful and well-rounded.” student-athletes who are better Dixon is ready and grateful to come prepared to excel in play and in life.” full-circle—to be the coach and teacher Anderson Diercks is a product of he never had and to prepare others for the NCAA’s diversity grants, first as an the transitions he never saw coming. intern for the Minnesota Intercollegiate AUGGIES 14 AUGSBURG NOW IN MEMORIAM Merton Strommen ’42 and Gladys Strommen ’46 ARCHIVE PHOTOS

Merton Strommen ’42 and Gladys Strommen ’46 were a part of a Lutheran Brotherhood, now known as Thrivent Financial. Gladys family legacy at Augsburg that has spanned generations. The served on the Board of Regents, co-founded the Augsburg Strommens have widely shared their gifts and talents with the Associates, and hosted many alumni gatherings in her homes in university, and their impact on the Augsburg community will be Minnesota and Florida. felt for many years to come. Through a generous gift, the family established the Clair Mert Strommen died September 2. Youth ministry was the core and Gladys Strommen Center for Meaningful Work in 2014 in of his life’s work—as campus pastor at Augsburg and founder of recognition of their personal commitment to create meaning and Search Institute, which has an international impact on youth work purpose in work and life. through research. Mert and his wife, Irene (Huglen) ’44, started the “Clair and Gladys Strommen are forever woven into the Youth and Family Institute at Augsburg and also created the David fabric of Augsburg through their commitment to lives filled with Strommen Endowed Fund for youth ministry. Mert also served on purpose and meaning,” said Lee George, executive director of the Augsburg’s Board of Regents, founded and directed the Augsburg Strommen Center. “Through the Strommen Center for Meaningful Centennial Singers, and was awarded Fellow status by the Work, Clair and Gladys’ legacy is realized in students who commit American Psychological Association for his pioneering research in themselves to exploring their values, passions, and skills and psychology and religion. understanding how they can be put to use in the world.” Gladys Boxrud Strommen passed away May 26. Gladys and The Strommens also commissioned a sculpture in front of husband, Clair ’46, who passed away in 2001, have served and Christensen Center and have two endowed funds: a scholarship supported Augsburg in many significant ways over their lives fund and a program fund for the Strommen Center. and created a lasting legacy through their work and dedication. As President Paul Pribbenow said in his campus announcement Gladys was a supportive partner to Clair in developing his career of Gladys’ passing, “Her loss is a big one, but her legacy will in business and leadership with Strommen & Associates and continue to be felt by generations of Auggies to come.”

FALL–WINTER 2019 15 Face

BY LISA RENZE-RHODES Value Dakota and Ojibwe. Norwegian and Irish. Art installations celebrate Somali and Ethiopian. individuals, expound on On and around the land that today houses Augsburg University’s Augsburg’s history, and Minneapolis campus, they celebrated births and mourned deaths. They spoke languages of love and laughter, stress and sorrow. They expand the boundaries built families, businesses, and dreams. They were here and many are gone, at once everywhere and of community. nowhere because in the blistering pace and abundant distractions of the human ecosystem we all inhabit, it’s natural that we forget who came before us. But what if—even for a moment—we turned our attention to who we were and who we are right now? To who worships next to us, or walks by us in the grocery, or shares an apartment wall?

“On This Spot” and “Each, Together” bring into focus the history of the campus and the surrounding neighborhood, and the people who are the Augsburg of yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

What would we discover if we intentionally took notice of who we are and where we’ve come from? This idea is at the core of new art and historical exhibits that cover collectively four city blocks on 12 of Augsburg’s building facades and 37 window panes around campus. As part of Augsburg’s sesquicentennial celebration, artists and designers at the university wanted to give the community a chance to reflect on their history and their people. So the works, dubbed respectively “On This Spot” and “Each, Together,” bring into focus the history of the campus and the surrounding neighborhood, and the people who are the Augsburg of yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

FALL–WINTER 2019 17 ‘Humans at the center’ “Each, Together,” the larger of the two projects, is a Group Action of the international “Inside Out: The People’s Art Project” initiative that launched in 2011 after a French street artist, known only as JR, won that year’s TED Prize. First awarded in 2005, the TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design) Prize has become synonymous with visionary thinking meant to spark change throughout the world. Winners of the award—including educators, artists, chefs, journalists, and even former President Bill Clinton—have used the $1 million prize to fuel specific community projects, like healthy food initiatives and educational innovations. The winning projects all have one thing in common: They are designed to make people engage in their communities. In the case of artist JR’s project, his vision was to create works that “shine a light on the unsung and give everyone the dignity they deserve.” And he hoped that beyond his capacity as one artist, people around the world would join in the celebration of others. To date, more than 260,000 people in 129 countries have participated in different versions of the project featuring faces displayed on billboards, buildings, sidewalks, and in digital collections. Augsburg is one of the latest communities to answer the call. “We saw that invitation, that there was a related, common ethos to what we have here at Augsburg, and that the project was similar to public works we’ve done here,” said Christopher Houltberg, Augsburg Photographers capture portraits at Augsburg events to use in associate professor of art and design. “It’s really about putting “Each, Together.” humans at the center.”

SOCIAL MEDIA Spotlight Responses edited for length and clarity. My former college roommate had eagle eyes today and found me! —ERICA HULS ’01

Hey, look who I found! #AugsburgFamous —SETH RUETER

Look ma I made it!!!!! @AugsburgU wahooo!!!! #sesquicentennial —APRIL JOHNSON ’18

18 AUGSBURG NOW So a team that included a curator, nine photographers, and three designers—Houltberg, Maggie Royce ’15, and Indra Ramassamy ’18—worked for several months between “... I often think we just need a bigger dose Fall 2018 and Summer 2019. The photographers attended of Augsburg. We need to realize that offering between 15 and 20 campus events, all working to capture as many faces as possible to best tell the Augsburg story. that ladder of opportunity to someone else “The way we went about it was really organic,” Houltberg makes all of us able to climb higher. We are said. “We started going to events around campus in Fall 2018 and then in the springtime, trying to get to as many different better together.” ones as possible. There’s a really big holiday event called Advent Vespers, and a lot of alumni come to that.” —R.T. Rybak, former Minneapolis mayor All told, the group took more than 900 photos and gathered about 300 additional images of historic Auggies. “It’s very democratic; everyone is given the same amount of space,” Houltberg said. “From our president, Paul Pribbenow, to “Augsburg is a shining example of the very best parts of people who work on our janitorial staff, to our students, to our Minneapolis’ history. The university represents opening doors to former mayor, R.T. Rybak. people with strange names like Johnson or Anderson or Rybak, “As we were defining the parameters [of the ‘Each, Together’ and keeping those doors open for people with names that come project] it was a fun surprise for us to see who self-identified as from Africa, Asia, and places across the globe. part of Augsburg.” “When I get down about what’s fracturing our deeply divided country and world today, I often think we just need a bigger Bigger dose of Augsburg dose of Augsburg. We need to realize that offering that ladder R.T. Rybak, current president of the Minneapolis Foundation, of opportunity to someone else makes all of us able to climb was the mayor of Minneapolis from 2002 to 2014. He said it higher. We are better together.” would be impossible to think of the growth and development of Houltberg said the “together” ideal is at the heart of the exhibit. the city without considering the role Augsburg has played in “As individuals we are showing up, and collectively we can do that history. something greater than what we can do on our own,” he said. “I “I’ve conservatively said 1,000 times in public speeches loved seeing the portraits blocked together, seeing people stop and that the neighborhood where Augsburg is, is our Ellis Island. take selfies. There are people who say, ‘I recognize who that is!’” One wave after the other washes in and the next wave builds on top, and it’s something that no one wave could have created in Forward facing, historic reflections isolation,” Rybak said. Kristin Anderson, a co-creator of these projects as well as a That’s most certainly the story of the Cedar-Riverside professor of art history and Augsburg archivist, said she’s only neighborhood that surrounds Augsburg and the story of heard good things about the exhibit. Minneapolis as a whole. “I have seen emails and tweets—sometimes emotional—with people responding to the wall as a whole, as well as to their individual images,” Anderson said. The community is responding to the historical revisit that “On This Spot” installations provide, too, she said. That exhibit features enormous panels that share Augsburg moments that photographers captured decades ago. The campus life of yesteryear includes images of young bobby soxer women from the 1940s in saddle shoes and flowing skirts in contrast with men wearing formal suits while tramping across a snow- covered campus.

I’m so proud to be part of the @insideoutproject at @augsburguniversity in honor of the Sesquicentennial! —NIK LINDE ’15

FALL–WINTER 2019 19 “It has been a fun way to bring some old photographs to life For Marti, “Each, Together” perfectly sums up her experience and to show how the campus is layered on the site. Those ‘lost’ at Augsburg. buildings displayed on the walls of the current buildings help “My career is an intersection of what I love to do with the to connect us to our past, reminding us of the imagination and opportunity to serve,” said Marti, an attorney in Atlanta. “To commitment of our predecessors,” Anderson said. think critically, to be socially and community-minded—all of the The two exhibits are being admired by community members things I exercise in my life were supported and further developed who see the campus regularly and by those who keep up with at Augsburg.” Augsburg from a distance. Houltberg said it’s difficult not to consider the greater impact Killa (Martinez Aleman) Marti ’08 came to Augsburg from her that art, especially a work like “Each, Together,” has. home in Honduras. Marti said she brought her own values with “Having a group of artists, designers, and photographers come her when she enrolled, “but Augsburg put them to work. The together to make something this beautiful and to see it up and Auggie community showed me that I wasn’t crazy to want a fully functioning is pretty great,” he said. career with meaning.” “It has created a tangible thread between all of us, which transcends 150 years and all our history,” said Ramassamy, who worked with the team to design “Each, Together.” “We live in a visual world yet we can be unaware of each “Those ‘lost’ buildings displayed on the walls other,” she said. “This project is making us aware of one another, making us pay attention, making us curious about the of the current buildings help to connect us to person in the portrait above or to the left or right of us.” our past, reminding us of the imagination and “I love watching people who are walking down the streets looking at the portraits,” Houltberg said. “There’s an element of commitment of our predecessors.” surprise to it that’s really fantastic. Sometimes the tendency is —Kristin Anderson, university archivist to put people in big groups. But if you look at these portraits, look at the eyes, and look at the humans who are represented here, you see just how wide a spectrum of humans we are. Anytime we can show the humans and not the institution, we win.”

“On This Spot” installations show how Augsburg’s landscape, architecture, and people have changed in the past 150 years.

20 AUGSBURG NOW BY THE NUMBERS A crew works to install a portion of the 1,246 portraits Each, Together that make up “Each, Together.”

302 HISTORICAL

143 STAFF 1,246 PORTRAITS 103 ALUMNI 517 STUDENTS 12,710 92 9 10 building facades SQUARE FEET FACULTY photographers 29 COMMUNITY 60 designers INCOMING 3 1 MEMBERS curator FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS

BY THE NUMBERS 2 3,475 1 building facade SQUARE FEET curator On This Spot installations

window designers 37 panes 3

Members of the university’s faculty and staff launched a number of special projects, including “Each, Together” and “On This Spot,” to commemorate Augsburg’s anniversary year. Catch a glimpse of the Augsburg of yesteryear, thanks to “On This Spot” See other sesquicentennial projects at augsburg.edu/150. displays on window panes around campus.

FALL–WINTER 2019 21 Mary Taris ’04 is a graduate of Augsburg’s Adult Undergraduate program, which was ranked ninth in Best Colleges’ 50 Top Colleges for Older Students. Balancing the booksBY KATE H. ELLIOTT

Augsburg alumna starts a publishing company, creates the diverse book list she wished she had

oung Mary Taris ’04 was so Now 55, the retired teacher is driven to change Ythankful to be a girl. The Minneapolis that narrative. Last August, at the historic James Public Housing Authority required children of J. Hill Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, Taris stood in different genders to have separate bedrooms, so front of family and friends to voice her dream, Strive while her brothers had to share a room, Taris had Publishing, into existence. The startup—based out her own. Through reading, her bedroom walls grew of her Twin Cities home—supports emerging authors into a mythical grove where she’d encounter a of picture books and young adult novels that are prince or sit for tea with Frog and Toad. culturally relevant, contemporary, and relatable to “I escaped into books. Or maybe,” she said, “I kids of all shades, abilities, and experiences. disappeared in them.” Books gave her the life she “Everyone has a story, and those stories build longed for, but those beloved tales were someone bridges to connect us all,” said Taris, a graduate of else’s story. She was 20 before she read a book with Augsburg University’s Adult Undergraduate program, black characters. a flexible degree program that pairs on-campus

FALL–WINTER 2019 23 classes with online coursework enroll in Augsburg’s elementary to understand the classroom as Taris calls them, and he in a dozen undergraduate education program. Juggling a life-giving space where you says he is indebted to “Miss majors. “Too often, authors work and family, it took Taris can listen and let people tell Mary” for her guidance and conform to narrow industry eight years to graduate, their stories,” she said. “As encouragement. Peters’ book— standards driven by profit, but I but she walked across the a teacher, I struggled to find the first in a fantasy series— refuse.” At Strive, Taris and her commencement stage and into diverse texts.” sold out within months. The team work to create pathways the classroom where she taught Taris also struggled when 35-year-old stands out, Taris for writers and artists from all a range of grades and subjects administrators brought speakers said, because he is a black man backgrounds to write about (mostly English) for 15 years. and books that reinforced who loves and lives the arts like their own experiences and a “I became the first person in cultural stereotypes and few others. wider array of identities. my family to earn a college limited experiences rather than “Plenty of black men are degree,” she said. “It had been providing real cultural and deeply connected to their Publishing stories that my dream since childhood.” ethnic diversity. “I wish they artistic side, but society doesn’t represent and connect Augsburg left a mark on would have, instead, given kids celebrate that expression,” Taris Taris, as classes exposed her diverse books or brought in added. “Our sons are not all Strive Publishing has released to inequities in education and local authors who looked like basketball and hip hop. Ricardo three titles by local African literature. Taris reframed those the students.” defies that stereotype, and his American authors, and several inequities as opportunities. work will lead others to do the more books are in the works Now, years later, Barbara West, same.” with upcoming launch dates. Celebrating voices that director of student teacher Peters had been dreaming up Taris’ efforts have been featured defy stereotypes placement at Augsburg, stories since he filled stapled- nationally and celebrated Taris launched Strive in 2016 recalled Taris’ embrace of together notebook paper locally, with invitations to while teaching full time, but story-filled, relevant learning. with “Transformers” stickers. conduct workshops at schools, three years later, she took early While student-teaching, Taris Publishing a book remained partner with established retirement to dedicate herself invited a Japanese friend to talk his dream, but it wouldn’t have publishing companies, and fully to the publishing company. with students who were reading happened without Taris. co-sponsor the inaugural African Taris remains an educator, a novel about a Japanese girl “I had been working on American Voices in Children’s though, as a mentor to young during World War II. On her this series for nine years and Literature Contest in partnership authors and as an advocate lunch hour, Taris met with likely would have sat on it with Free Spirit Publishing. for change. She challenges eighth-graders to advise on a forever,” said Peters, who “Strive is more than a communities, schools, and student-produced newsletter. works as a reading instructor company; it’s a mindset,” she publishing houses to invite new She sought to incorporate at Kumon Math and Reading said. “I was a runaway teen titles that can find their way diverse voices and stories into Center of Maple Grove. “But mom who finished high school onto more readers’ nightstands. the curriculum. Mary presented me with this while striving to raise a son Ricardo Peters is among “Augsburg taught me to opportunity, she believed in me, and work for a better life.” Strive’s “founding authors,” as consider the whole child and and I am eternally grateful.” That determination led her to

Strive Publishing’s Book List “Under a Cloven Sky” and “Red’s Adventures: The Egg “Who Can I Be?” by “A Wild Nature Embraced” Pie” by Donna Gingery Arielle Grant by Ricardo Peters The hilarious first book in Created by Strive’s founding Books one and two in the a picture book series for illustrator, this is a story of young adult fantasy series, children, this story follows a girl who sees her potential “The Scorched Heavens,” in the precocious Red, who through the example of women which the fate of two nations grows up in Alabama under in her community. rests on the city’s young the watchful eye of her princess and her protector. grandmother. “Isaiah’s Sunglasses” “Story to Story: A Strive Short by Linda Miller Story Series,” Volume 1 A short, rhythmic story for This collaborative book children about family, hope, project aims to celebrate and acceptance, and learning empower emerging authors about different types of people. and illustrators. Representation in literature on the rise but has ‘a long way to go’

The Cooperative Children’s Book Center researched and compiled statistics about the number of children’s books and young adult literature published by and about people of color, American Indians, and those of First Nations. “Every year, we see amazing books by and about people of color and first/native nations. There just aren’t enough of them,” CCBC Director Kathleen Horning reflected in the ongoing study’s abstract. “The more books there are, especially Mary Taris ’04 with two of her children, Jermaine Taris and LaToya Taris-James, who both work with books created by authors and illustrators of color, Strive Publishing. the more opportunities librarians, teachers, parents, and other adults have of finding outstanding books for young readers and listeners Making stories more accessible Through Strive, her mother is that reflect dimensions of their lives and give a runs in the family making those connections on a broader broader understanding of who we are as a nation.” scale, said Taris-James, who hasn’t This sentiment is shared among the fallen far from the tree. Along with a authors who work with Taris. Her friend, Taris-James created a social children are equally inspired by her, 1985 impact initiative known as Rooftop so much so that they joined the Strive (or RFTP) that uses storytelling to team. Her oldest son, Jermaine Taris, 2,500 engage communities in dialogue is a book illustrator. Her 16-year-old Children’s books published in the United States around difficult, often polarizing, daughter, Grace Taris-Allen, serves issues. Mother and daughter are both as “quality control,” happily reading 0.72% driven to make stories of all kinds more manuscripts; and her eldest daughter, Children’s books written or illustrated accessible and communal. by black people LaToya Taris-James, assists with “I felt called to create Strive, and to marketing and social media. be honest, it’s been difficult to wear so “My mom makes things happen,” 2018 many hats and break through,” Taris said Taris-James, a student leadership said. “Where I have come to see the program coordinator for Augsburg’s 3,312 greatest need is for a safe space for Sabo Center for Democracy and Children’s books published in the United States all people to tell their stories, whether Citizenship. “She is resourceful and they get published or not. I’m working passionate, with a unique way of 17.8% with PopUp Think Tank to gather ideas connecting with and inspiring others. By or about Asian Pacific people for how Strive can make the greatest “When I was 12, she introduced impact, and it’s feeling more like a me to ‘Things Fall Apart’ by Chinua 17.5% social enterprise than trying to operate Achebe. It was the first piece of African By or about black people as a traditional publishing house. literature I had read on my own, and Whatever Strive looks like in a year— it shaped my view of black people 12.8% or five years—I know it will be moving By or about Latinx people across the African diaspora and helped the dial.” connect me with my heritage.” 1.6% By or about American Indians/First Nations

FALL–WINTER 2019 25 AUGGIES CONNECT

Create inclusive and engaging experiences for fellow Auggies

Serve on Augsburg’s Alumni Board ARCHIVE PHOTO The Alumni Board is New video available: MARTIN SABO ’59 the governing body of Video of an interview with late Congressman Martin Sabo, the Augsburg Alumni whose rise to politics was supported by Augsburg University Association. The board students, will be available later this year at the Sabo Center exists to guide the Office for Democracy and Citizenship website, augsburg.edu/sabo, of Alumni and Constituent thanks to an Augsburg Sesquicentennial Project award that Relations in serving the

COURTESY PHOTO COURTESY paid for an updated video description and closed captioning. valued alumni, parents, and One year after graduating from Augsburg, Sabo —then 22— friends who make up the Auggie community. was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives. All alumni are welcome and encouraged to join the During his tenure, he became the first member of the Alumni Board. See the job description and apply at Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party to serve as Speaker augsburg.edu/alumni under “Leadership Boards,” or of the House, and he went on to the U.S. House of contact Katie (Koch) Code ’01 at [email protected]. Representatives, retiring in 2007. Sabo died in 2016. COURTESY PHOTO COURTESY

More than 150 enthusiastic Sesquicentennial Stewards have Augsburg’s first committed to help plan Augsburg’s inaugural All-School Reunion. Volunteers are the heart of this sesquicentennial ALL-SCHOOL REUNION year of events, and this work is not only more fun but is strengthened by their participation and input. Volunteers Mark your calendar for the All-School Reunion assist with the All-School Reunion’s schedule, entertainment, during Homecoming: September 26, 2020. venues, and marketing.

Visit augsburg.edu/150.

26 AUGSBURG NOW YOU CHIMED IN: In honor of Augsburg’s 150th SESQUICENTENNIAL anniversary, three trips hosted FAVORITE by expert faculty guides will FACULTY HERITAGE TRIPS celebrate the university’s IN FOCUS heritage in Germany and Norway. Augsburg Now staff asked the university’s Facebook followers for NORWAY ARTS AND CULTURE their most memorable professors. May 8–18, 2020 Here are a few of their responses, $4,800 edited for length and clarity. Hosted by Theater Professor Darcey Engen ’88 and “Mary Lowe—I had a lot of memorable professors, most of them Luverne Seifert ’85 dear to me, but she and I worked so closely together in my last years of National Theater, Norway my degree that I cannot think of Augsburg without thinking of her. She is a wonderful, insightful, funny mentor who held me accountable and GERMANY helped me reach heights I wouldn’t have dreamed of initially.” —TIMOTHY PAUL BISHOP JR. ’18 July 15–26, 2020 $5,300 “Kristin Anderson—I wouldn’t be where I am in my career without Hosted by Religion Department her! She taught me how to think critically about the built environment, ask faculty Lori Brandt Hale and the hard questions, and think about all of my research from the standpoint of Hans Wiersma race, class, and gender. She’s one of the smartest women I’ve ever known.” Oberammergau, Germany —KACIE LUCCHINI BUTCHER ’13 NIDAROS PILGRIMAGE “Oh, do I have to choose? Matthew Maruggi in the Religion August 4–13, 2020 Department—he completely changed how I looked at religion, opened my $3,300 mind to new perspectives, and taught me the meaning of ‘vocation.’” —GINA MARIE GAINOUS ’15 Hosted by Vice President for Mission and Identity Sonja Hagander COURTESY PHOTOS COURTESY “Merilee Klemp ’75—So many lessons learned from her, both Nidaros Cathedral, Norway music and life. It’s impossible to forget those in your life who have taught, pushed, encouraged, and mentored as well as she does. She’s an incredible human being with such a kind, wonderful soul. Thank you for everything!” Learn more at augsburg.edu/alumni/travel or contact —JENNIFER SCHMITT ’04 Katie (Koch) Code ’01 at [email protected].

Two walking tours are available on campus this year: “Augsburg Nooks and Take a limited-edition Crannies” and “Augsburg Campus: Past and Present.” Led by Kristin Anderson, university archivist, each tour lasts one hour and is limited to 20 people. The tours move through indoor and outdoor spaces to learn about the evolution of the campus CAMPUS TOUR from 1872 to the present. The Nooks and Crannies tour includes a visit to the old chapel and gymnasium in Old Main, the Old Main attic, an Art Deco filling station, and other little-known spots of interest. Augsburg Campus: Past and Present Augsburg Nooks and Crannies • Wednesday, April 8 • Wednesday, April 15 • Wednesday, April 22 • Wednesday, April 29 • Tuesday, May 5 • Wednesday, May 6

Save your spot on a tour. RSVP required: [email protected] or 612-330-1104.

FALL–WINTER 2019 27 ALUMNI CLASS NOTES

Jim Holden ’61 wrote a new Andrew Altenburg ’87 joined 1961 book called “Heron Thieves, 1987 KPMG in a senior associate 1999 a Bat Out of Hell, and Other Flyfishing role in May 2019. He previously worked The first NCAA Stories, Essays, and Poems.” Holden as an events manager for The Bank of Division III player has been a fly fisherman for more than Tokyo for three years. As a freelance event to be selected in 40 years, and the book highlights his planner, his clients included MNG, Louis the first round of experiences on trout streams. Vuitton, Colgate-Palmolive, and The Carlyle the NBA Draft, Group. From 2005 to 2015, he produced Devean George ’99 Dwight Olson ’65 presented and emceed 470 bingo events, which was inducted into 1965 President Paul Pribbenow a raised $250,000 for dozens of LGBTQIA+ the Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame. George copy of his book “Northern Lights: The organizations. He also is a wedding led the Auggies to two Minnesota Beauty of the Forgotten Scandinavian officiant and cartoonist, posting his work Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Enamel Artisans” for Augsburg’s at jumpingforjoy.net. He lives with his championships and berths in the NCAA library in celebration of the university’s partner, Matthew, and their parrot, Lulu, Division III national playoffs, earning sesquicentennial. on Manhattan’s Upper West Side in New conference MVP honors both times. He York City. finished his college career with 2,258 Cheri (Kraskin) Best ’69, career points and 868 career rebounds, 1969 Pam (Fredrickson) Gunderson ’69, Minasie both second in school history, and a 23.5 Sue Kelly ’69, Linda (Stewart) Miller ’69, Theophilos ’87 points-per-game average, the best in school Margi Ness ’69, and Anna (Stivland) received the history. George has played with three NBA Olsen ’69 celebrated the 50th anniversary of Distinguished teams and works to develop affordable their graduation from Augsburg with a trip to Athletic Service housing in North Minneapolis. Boulder, Colorado, in May. Award in honor of his decades-long Augsburg Athletic David Colacci ’73 and partner support of Hall of Fame 1973 Susan Ericksen, both classically Augsburg’s inductee Scott trained theater professionals, were featured student-athletes and coaches. A custodian Hvistendahl ’99 in a Star Tribune news story that detailed in Augsburg’s athletic facilities, Theophilos was Augsburg their success as audiobook narrators. The has grown close to many people in Auggie baseball’s starting couple records their audiobook narrations in athletics including the men’s hockey team. centerfielder as their St. Louis Park, Minnesota, home. They He came to Augsburg as a student in 1983 well an All- have each narrated more than 500 titles. from Ethiopia and had not been able to American wide return to his home for more than 30 years. receiver on the football team. He was the In 2017, after the death of his mother, the first player to break the NCAA career 1978 men’s hockey team raised more than receiving yardage record held by NFL This year, $7,500 to fund a trip for Theophilos to see legend Jerry Rice, finishing his career with Augsburg’s his family, who now live in Norway. 285 receptions for 4,696 yards. He now Excellence In stands 14th in NCAA all-divisions history in Coaching Award Tanya Schwartz ’93 was named career receiving yardage. Hvistendahl was recognized Ken 1993 the seventh police chief of named Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Novak Jr. ’78. Burnsville and is the first woman to hold Conference Player of the Year, twice earned Novak led high the post. Schwartz has been with the police CoSIDA Academic All-America honors, school boys basketball teams at Blaine and department for 23 years, beginning as a and won the Gagliardi Trophy for his Hopkins to 17 state tournaments, the most patrol sergeant and then serving as detective performance in academics, athletics, of any boys basketball coach in Minnesota sergeant and captain. and community service. history. After winning three consecutive state titles and seven in a 10-year span (2002– Lori Higgins ’94, ’12 MAL Qiuxia (Xia) Welch ’99 and Kevin Welch, 11), Novak was named ESPN RISE National 1994 became president of Augsburg’s co-founders and owners of Boom Island Coach of the Year. He was inducted into the Alumni Board. She currently serves on Brewing, hosted Augsburg’s first “beer Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association several boards including the Minnesota choir” in the spring. The couple started Hall of Fame in 2013, and in 2019 he was Amateur Sports Commission. She joined the their company in 2011 focusing on inducted into the second class of the Alumni Board in 2016 because of her deep Belgian-style beers, and they recently Minnesota High School Basketball Hall connection to the university and support of relocated the business to a new space in of Fame. its mission. Minnetonka, Minnesota.

28 AUGSBURG NOW AUGGIE Crescent Cove, a hospice Dual sport 2002 home for children founded athlete Kristen by Katie Lindenfelser ’02, was featured Lideen ’04 was SNAPSHOTS in a New York Times story. Lindenfelser, inducted into the executive director and an Augsburg- the Augsburg trained music therapist, opened the Athletic Hall of St. Louis Park, Minnesota, care facility Fame. As in 2018. Crescent Cove offers respite softball and hospice care to children and is the shortstop, only facility of its kind in the Midwest. Lideen was the lone Auggie to hit better than .400 in their career (.444). Her 38 Kristen Opalinski ’03 career doubles remain a school record, 2003 began a new professional while her 18 doubles and 89 total bases chapter as the manager for Ecumenical in 2003 are both single-season school and Inter-Religious Relations for records. In soccer, Lideen played as a the Evangelical Lutheran Church in sweeper for an Auggie defense that America. This role includes managing recorded a 1.04 goals-against-average in communications, providing staffing for her four seasons. Lideen earned EIR committees and events, extending All-MIAC Honorable Mention honors Christina Olstad ’00, ’05 MSW began her new hospitality to ecumenical and inter- three times as a soccer athlete and role as dean of students at the University of religious partners at the Lutheran earned All-MIAC first-team honors four Wisconsin—Madison in July. Olstad previously Center in Chicago, and serving as the times as a softball player. was the interim assistant vice president for ELCA representative at various EIR student affairs, housing, and residence life at meetings held both domestically and Greg May ’08 was hired Towson University in Maryland. She has worked internationally. This is a new position 2008 by the University of in higher education administration for nearly designed to meet the needs of the ever- Minnesota’s hockey program as the two decades, beginning with her time changing ecumenical and inter-religious new director of hockey operations. at Augsburg. landscape and the expansion of the May spent the previous three years as church’s ecumenical and inter-religious the hockey head coach and associate commitments. Opalinski also serves as a athletic director at the Blake School writer for Living Lutheran Magazine. in Minneapolis. While playing hockey during his time at Augsburg, he was a Max Langaard ’04 was MIAC All-Conference honoree. 2004 featured on “Good Morning America,” where he shared Caitlin (Hozeny) Lienard his journey as a teacher and also 2009 ’09, ’16 MSW passed her his time as a mentor and coach at a Licensed Independent Clinical Social nonprofit called Playworks in Oakland, Worker exam in April. California. Playworks helps schools and youth organizations create a place on The late Donny Wichmann ’89—a three-time the playground for every child to feel Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference included, be active, and build valuable champion, a national tournament All-American, social and emotional skills. Langaard and a longtime assistant coach who was a part also received NBA Finals tickets from of 10 NCAA Division III national championship the television show. teams with the Auggies—was inducted into the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Hall of Fame in August.

Adam Langer ’12 and wife, Alyssa, Augsburg Men’s Wrestling Co-Head Denielle (Johnson) Stepka ’11 and Timothy welcomed their first child, Addison, in Coach Tony Valek ’12, ’14 MAL and wife, Stepka welcomed a daughter, Halle Jo Jean, November 2018. Kassi (Goranowski) Valek, welcomed a on September 30. son, Hudson Ricke, in June. FALL–WINTER 2019 29 Tyler Heaps ’13, manager of analytics and research for U.S. ALUMNI CLASS NOTES Soccer, was on the staff of the USA national women’s soccer team that celebrated a World Cup Championship victory in July. Heaps, who helped play a part in the team’s seven-game win series to clinch the title, said it was “one of the most Carlson Inc. announced the challenging and rewarding appointment of Richard “Rick” experiences” of his life. Heaps’ Bobby Rose ’16 married fiancée, Amber, in Cottage Gage ’96 as its non-executive work in data analysis and use Grove, Minnesota, in May. chair of the board in August. of video coverage enhances Gage is the founder and skills on the field and helps former CEO of YourMLSSearch. athletes better prepare for their com, a director of the World competition. Childhood Foundation, and Mara (Breczinski) Barrozo ’14 and Read more of this story at is on the board of the Carlson Enrico Barrozo ’14 welcomed a augsburg.edu/alumni/blog. Family Foundation, where daughter, Ryna, in June. he has served for more than 20 years.

AUGGIE SNAPSHOTS

Hayley (Thomas) Ball ’12 and Emerson Ball ’14, ’19 MSW welcomed a Two rural Osakis, Minnesota, churches—with roots dating daughter, Zara, on March 13. back to the early days in the state’s history—are thriving with the help of their new intentional interim pastor John Douglas Hopper ’68. Hopper, who lives in Delano, Minnesota, and spends weekends at Salem and Sauk Valley Lutheran churches. He began a one-year pastorate on October 21, 2018.

Jessica Barker ’97, Amy (Bowar) Mellinger ’97, Tara (Cesaretti) McLeod ’97, Christa Winkelman ’97, and Jane (Ruth) Zirbes ’97 gathered for their annual girls’ trip in Las Vegas. Since their days at Augsburg, they’ve planned yearly trips and remained close friends.

30 AUGSBURG NOW Ross Murray ’00, ’09 MBA received the Living Loehe SUBMIT A CLASS NOTE Award at Wartburg Seminary’s Tell us about the news in your life—your new job, move, commencement in May. The marriage, and milestones. Visit augsburg.edu/now to award was given in recognition submit your announcements. of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, the 10th anniversary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s steps toward inclusion for LGBTQIA+-identified people, and his calling as a deacon to engage in LGBTQIA+ advocacy in the Kristy Millering ’06 became church and the world. Murray is Stephanie Putzier ’16 MBA serves the new director of finance at the senior director of education Minnesota Women of Today at Winona Area Public Schools. and training at GLAAD Media the state level as the internal vice Millering began this role after Institute and is the founding president, a position in which she eight years in finance at Mayo director of The Naming Project. oversees the organization’s internal Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, programming. Putzier received the Read more of this story at most recently as a senior internal auditor. She also worked as an Programing Award of Excellence for augsburg.edu/alumni/blog. Amber (Stransky) Caswell ’07 and husband, accountant for McNeilus Truck her commitment and efforts. She Tavid, welcomed a daughter, Olivia Sandra and Manufacturing and owned has been an active member of the Donna, in June. organization since 2002. her own dance studio.

Mary Christine Kane ’94 released her first book of poems, “between K. Marshall Williams Sr. ’78 received the Herschel the stars where you H. Hobbs Award for Distinguished Denominational are lost.” Kane also Service from Oklahoma Baptist University. Williams, works in marketing and who has served as pastor of Nazarene Baptist Church in volunteers for the arts and Philadelphia for more than 35 years, accepted the award animal rescue initiatives. Her poetry and nonfiction on June 10 during the Southern Baptist Convention’s Jason Oare ’05 and wife, Erin, works have appeared in journals and anthologies annual meeting in Birmingham, Alabama. welcomed a daughter, Remedy including Bluestem; The Buffalo Anthology, Right Faith, in April. Here, Right Now; Ponder Review; and Sleet.

FALL–WINTER 2019 31 Gladys I. (Boxrud) Gladys H. I. (Vigen) Edean A. Berglund ’73, Strommen ’46, Edina, Hallstrom ’56, Thief River Lacey, Washington, Minnesota, age 93, Falls, Minnesota, age age 67, on April 11. on May 27. 87, on March 27. Nancy J. (Thompson) Omar N. Gjerness ’47, Sylva M. (Dahl) Kubicek ’56, Peterson ’75, Minneapolis, Fergus Falls, Minnesota, Lake Crystal, Minnesota, age 65, on May 27. age 97, on July 19. age 83, on March 18. IN MEMORIAM Bonnie M. Goetzke ’76, Prudence V. (Hokanson) Mary J. (Christiansen) Memphis, Tennessee, Nystuen ’47, Lakeville, Meyer ’56, Miami, age 65, on April 19. Minnesota, age 93, age 84, on April 7. Pamela S. Slette ’76, on July 3. Marvin L. Dooley ’59, Albert Lea, Minnesota, Barbara (Ekse) Carlson ’48, Eagle Grove, Iowa, age 65, on June 21. Minneapolis, age 92, age 95, on July 20. Marcia G. (Thompson) on April 1. James A. Hanson ’59, Turcotte ’78, Chanhassen, Catherine A. (Mork) Dodge Center, Minnesota, Minnesota, age 97, on Kordahl ’48, Fertile, age 88, on July 6. July 19. Minnesota, age 96, Donald E. Jorenby ’59, Michael J. Riley ’84, on June 28. Woodbury, Minnesota, Brainerd, Minnesota, Lorraine W. (Weltzin) age 81, on March 19. age 58, on July 25. Peterson ’49, Hastings, Bonnie J. (Martinson) Donald D. Wichmann ’89, Minnesota, age 94, Storley ’59, Minneapolis, Minneapolis, age 53, on on May 28. age 81, on March 31. July 16. Sheldon L. Torgerson ’49, Arden S. Flaten ’60, Thad D. Firchau ’92, Minneapolis, age 92, Hastings, Minnesota, Mankato, Minnesota, on May 26. age 82, on May 4. age 48, on March 23. Gordon N. Berntson ’50, Marlin B. Aadland ’62, Marna R. Brown ’93, Fargo, North Dakota, Delta, British Columbia, Fergus Falls, Minnesota, age 93, on April 25. age 82, on May 30. age 49, on March 28. Wayne H. Wickoren ’50, Jerome C. Barney ’62, Theresa D. (Holt) Fargo, North Dakota, Fergus Falls, Minnesota, Wimann ’94, Baraboo, age 92, on July 7. age 81, on July 9. Wisconsin, age 60, Elizabeth A. Becken ’51, on May 7. LeRoy E. Lee ’63, Solon Shoreview, Minnesota, Springs, Wisconsin, Mary S. (Wozniak) age 90, on June 3. age 79, on March 25. Sergeant ’99, Kansas Harriet M. (Haller) City, Kansas, age 61, Gerald A. Carlson ’64, Brown ’52, Hastings, on May 25. Pine, Arizona, age 78, Minnesota, age 89, on June 19. Mauris N. De Silva ’00, on May 11. Jackson, New Jersey, Lennore A. (Bylund) Evonne L. (Emerson) age 46, on July 31. Bevis ’66, Minneapolis, Johnson ’52, Faribault, age 75, on July 28. Robin A. Olsen ’01, Minnesota, age 88, St. Paul, Minnesota, on March 9. Verland E. Kruse ’66, age 48, on April 28. Stillwater, Minnesota, Duane L. Addison ’53, age 83, on March 23. Amanda J. Kelley ’09, Minneapolis, age 88, Ave Maria, Florida, on April 18. Richard E. Andersen ’68, age 38, on May 25. Phoenix, age 73, on Robert L. Lindquist ’53, June 2. Patrick J. Inman ’11, Worthington, Minnesota, Rochester, Minnesota, age 87, on April 28. Russell K. Jones ’69, age 41, on July 9. Mercer, Maine, age 71, Arthur V. Rimmereid ’53, on May 9. Matthew C. Blackburn ’15, St. Paul, Minnesota, Plymouth, Minnesota, age 87, on June 24. Raymond J. Wesley ’69, age 36, on August 19. Maple Grove, Minnesota, Jeannine L. (Torstenson) age 77, on July 27. Blanchard ’54, Fresno, California, age 86, Daniel L. Knak ’72, The “In memoriam” listings on March 6. Hastings, Minnesota, in this publication include age 69, on July 19. notifications received Oliver K. Vick ’54, before September 1. Lancaster, Wisconsin, age 88, on March 22. 32 AUGSBURG NOW Augsburg community – 1931 ARCHIVE PHOTOS

CALLING ALL

AUGGIES—AND WE MEAN ALL. 1970 1975 2004

Join this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to celebrate with ALL-SCHOOL REUNION every class, SEPTEMBER 26, 2020 every degree program, MINNEAPOLIS every decade, Follow updates at everyone in the Augsburg community. augsburg.edu/150. TURN THE PAGE to see the Class of 2023. Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Twin Cities, MN 2211 Riverside Avenue Permit No. 2031 Minneapolis, MN 55454 PHOTO BY TOM ROSTER

Augsburg enrolls historic first-year class A record-setting 636 undergraduate first-year students started at Augsburg University this fall. The Class of 2023 marks the third year in a row in which a majority are students of color. All told, the university now has 2,159 students in the traditional undergraduate program, which is also a record for Augsburg.