Alumni Relations - NOW @ AUGSBURG
Save the Date for Homecoming 2009: Sept. 28 - Oct. 3
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Join fellow Augsburg alumni, students, and friends in a fun-filled week of Homecoming events and activities! Homecoming 2009 begins with a bang at the firework display following the student pep rally on Monday, Sept. 28. Additional events throughout the week include the Center for Counseling and Health Promotion’s Health Fair, Augsburg Associates’ Silent Auction and Luncheon, and the Athletic Hall of Fame Banquet.
Homecoming Convocation will start the weekend off right on the morning of Friday, Oct. 2, where we will recognize the First Decade, Spirit of Augsburg, and Distinguished Alumni Award winners. Don’t miss the opportunity to have lunch with Augsburg College President Paul Pribbenow at the Homecoming Convocation Luncheon that afternoon.
Our alumni who enjoy lifelong learning will want to sign up for one of a variety of Augsburg Experience sessions scheduled for Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Alumni authors are invited to participate in the alumni book signing and sale Friday afternoon. Friday evening we are bringing back the Welcome Back Banquet as an opportunity for alumni to return to campus and reconnect with former classmates.
This year’s annual Pre-Game Picnic in the Park on Saturday, Oct. 3 will include carnival booths operated by student groups and fun for the whole family. Following the picnic, the Augsburg football team will take on the Hamline University Pipers.
Back by popular demand is the Auggie Block Party! Following the football game, alumni, students and friends join together on 7th Street to enjoy food, entertainment, and camaraderie. We’ll boogie the evening away to the sounds of the ’50s through the music of today with an outdoor concert by the Rockin’ Hollywoods.
So, whether you attend a lecture by our first-rate faculty, celebrate a reunion, or join a walking tour of the beautiful and vibrant campus, Homecoming 2009 is a great time to reconnect with your alma mater. Keep checking the Homecoming 2009 website at www.augsburg.edu/homecoming for updates, including a complete schedule of events.
Upcoming Events
For complete information on events at Augsburg, visit inside.augsburg.edu.
Auggie “Eye Opener” Breakfast
Tuesday, July 14
7-8:30 a.m., Town and Country Club, St. Paul
Speaker: Mark Tranvik, PhD, director of the Lilly Endowment grant, Department of Religion, Augsburg College
Back by popular demand! Join fellow Auggie professionals for morning breakfast, networking, and professional development. Professor Tranvik will teach us how we can find personal meaning and inspiration — our “calling” — in our work world. Join us to hear him speak about “The Difference between a Calling and a Career.”
Thanks to all of you who attended, and thanks for your feedback on how we can make the Auggie Eye-Opener even better. Several of you suggested that we expand the breakfast to include a 30-minute networking opportunity from 7-7:30 a.m. So, arrive at 7:00 if you'd like to chat with other Auggie alums before breakfast, or at 7:30 to participate in the breakfast only.
RSVP by July 13, to 612-330-1085 or alumni@augsburg.edu.
Young Alumni Summer Series: Networking in Style
Thursday, July 23
5:30-7:30 p.m., The Living Room, W Hotel, 821 Marquette Ave., Mpls.
Join fellow Auggies for the “Networking in Style” young alumni event at this premier after-hours hot spot in downtown Minneapolis. Expand your network and reconnect with friends at this deluxe event. Complimentary appetizers and your first beverage are on us. This event is co-sponsored by the Augsburg MBA program.
RSVP by Thursday, July 16 at https://smaug.augsburg.edu/NetCommunity/SSLPage.aspx?pid=429 or 612-330-1085.
Alumni Reception at 7500 York
Tuesday, July 28
2–4 p.m., Social Room, 7500 York Ave, Edina, Minn.
Join fellow Augsburg alumni and friends on Tuesday, July 28 for an afternoon of camaraderie and connection. This event will feature Garry Hesser, Sabo Professor of Citizenship and Learning, presenting “Augsburg’s Ever-Renewing Resource: The City and our Neighborhood.”
Professor Hesser has been teaching sociology and metro-urban studies at Augsburg for 32 years. A pioneer in experiential education, he is recognized nationally for his teaching and leadership. His honors include being named the 2004 Carnegie-CASE Minnesota Professor of the Year, the 2002 Distinguished Sociologist of MN, the 2007 Distinguished Alumnus Award by his alma mater and serving as a visiting professor at the Humphrey Institute (2007-2009).
The event will be held in the Social Room at 7500 York. Refreshments will be served.
RSVP by Friday, July 24 to alumni@augsburg.edu or 612-330-1085.
Augsburg Night at the Races
Thursday, August 6
5:30 p.m., Canterbury Park, 1100 Canterbury Rd., Shakopee, Minn.
Augsburg alumni, families, and friends are invited to join President Paul Pribbenow for our annual Augsburg Night at Canterbury Park as special guests of Curt Sampson, Canterbury Park owner and former member of the Augsburg Board of Regents.
Guests will receive free admission and a complimentary buffet. Fun for all ages; enjoy the exciting horse races, including one specifically for Augsburg!
RSVP for this fun family evening at Canterbury Park at rsvp@augsburg.edu or 612-330-1104.
Alumni Travel
Discover Italian Treasures
November 2-12, 2009
Be inspired and enriched traveling with Augsburg alumni and friends to Italy, November 2-12. Hosted by art professor Kristin Anderson, this exploration of Italian art, history, culture, and cuisine begins in Northern Italy, in Venice and Padua. Travel continues along the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea to the historic port town of Ravenna to see magnificent Byzantine mosaics. Arrive into Tuscany and then into Florence, the city that gave birth to the Renaissance, for a two-night visit. Travel among the beauty of medieval hill towns and surrounding vineyards and olive groves into the Umbria Region with an overnight stay in one of those hills towns, Orvieto. The tour ends in the Eternal City of Rome where a tapestry of art, architecture, history, and culture woven over thousands of years makes it one of the founding cities of Western Civilization. A day excursion to the archeological site of Pompeii is part of the stay in Rome.
The cost of the tour is $2990 from the Twin Cities, plus gratuities and airport taxes; the estimated group size is 26. Take advantage of an opportune time, as the U.S. dollar is stronger and crowds are thinner than in past years.
For the itinerary and details, contact the Office of Alumni Relations at 612-330-1085 or alumni@augsburg.edu.
Professor Kristin Anderson is an experienced tour organizer and host and looks forward to a return to Italy to share her love and knowledge of art with alumni and friends. She has taught courses in the history of art at Augsburg College since 1984, including specialized courses on medieval art, and women and art.
Alumni Spotlight
Submit a class note about the news in your life, your new job, move, marriage, births, etc. – and don't forget to send photos. You could be featured online, in Augsburg Now, and maybe a spotlight here!
Jim Damiani ’88 got his start in real estate by rehabbing old apartment buildings while still in college here at Augsburg. Now Damiani, a senior vice president at Minnetonka-based Welsh Co., has more than 1,500 commercial real estate transactions under his belt—deals that total more than eight million square feet.
Damiani is a community-minded business person and sees first hand how his work directly impacts people’s lives. Recently one of his clients faced a three-person layoff, the first in the company’s history. Damiani helped the company re-imagine their rental space needs, giving up 40% of their rental space. This act saved the company enough money to maintain the jobs, even during this difficult economic time.
Damiani attributes his success not only to the education he received at Augsburg, but also to his social experiences while on and off campus. As a freshman he had fellow students from Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, and the Netherlands on his floor in Urness. He was also fortunate to meet his wife, Brenda (Bauerly) Damiani ’88, on his first day during move-in. She is currently the coordinator of gifted services for Robbinsdale Area Schools.
Currently, Damiani’s philanthropy includes volunteering his time and talent as a member of the Augsburg College MBA Advisory Board and financially supporting A-Club, the Augsburg annual fund, and the Kennedy Center addition.
He also generously volunteers his time at Osseo High School through the STRIVE program, which helps students improve their GPA to better ready them for life.
The Damianis’ children—Calina, 12; Justin, 14; and Jake, 16—also enjoy having their dad coach them in some of their sports teams.
Jake Slegers ‘93
Jake Slegers was a non-traditional student in his late 20s who had worked with his brother to keep the family farm in Tyler, Minn. running after the death of their father. For him, coming to the Twin Cities had been an intimidating venture. After earning his associate’s degree from Normandale in 1991, where he was named one of 20 students on the First All-American Academic Team, Slegers came to Augsburg on a Dean's Scholarship. Here he excelled in his studies and graduated summa cum laude with a major in communication and a minor in international relations.
Today, Slegers is the executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Slovak Republic. How did this farm boy from a small western Minnesota town of 1,200 people end up in Bratislava, the capital and cultural center of Slovakia, thousands of miles from Augsburg College?
To fully immerse himself in Eastern European culture after graduation, Slegers elected to teach English to high school students overseas and pursued an opportunity to work in Slovakia. After teaching for two years, he applied and was offered a position with Radio Slovakia International covering business news and current events.
Through working in radio there, he had the opportunity to meet many of the country’s leaders, including the current prime minister. Slegers was also able to meet both Lech Walesa in Poland and Vaclav Havel, former president of the Czech Republic, while traveling there. Slegers presented Havel with the short book he wrote about the politician and playwright.
While at Radio Slovakia International, Slegers was given the opportunity to work with the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in the Slovak Republic. AmCham was hiring a deputy director, and since Slegers was well positioned for the role, he was offered the job. He later became interim executive director before being named executive director.
The American Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1993 in Bratislava as an independent and self-supporting organization, entirely dependent on contributions from its members. Today, it serves as one of the most active foreign chambers of commerce in the country.
As a leading voice of foreign business in Slovakia, AmCham provides a wide range of contacts and networking. It is also a great source of information about the business climate in Slovakia. In addition, AmCham serves as an advocate to the Slovak government for Slovak and international business. AmCham also organizes numerous regularly scheduled events throughout the year, including monthly Roundtable Lunches, Business Breakfasts, and Business Cocktails. By attending these events, members have opportunities to meet, speak with, and ask questions of many business and government leaders.
Recently, Slegers initiated and led a delegation, consisting of Slovakia’s minister of education and three Slovak university presidents, to the United States, which included a visit to Minneapolis. It was focused, among other things, on business/academic cooperation and how Slovakia might benefit from the highly developed and varied educational institutions in Minnesota, and included a visit to Governor Pawlenty in his office. The visit has already resulted in potential cooperation between Augsburg and the Slovak Ministry of Education.
Slegers is returning to the Twin Cities at the end of July for follow up from the minister's visit and continued fostering of ties between Minnesota and his adopted home of Slovakia.
Around Augsburg
For current news about Augsburg, visit inside.augsburg.edu.
June Commencement 2009
On June 28, weekend and graduate students celebrated their commencement with families and friends. A total of 451 students were eligible to graduate: 167 weekend undergraduates, 10 hospital partner nursing students, 51 Rochester students, and 223 master’s degree students—10 in education, 24 in leadership, 11 in nursing, 139 in business, and 39 in social work. The Physician Assistant program students participated in the May commencement with day undergraduates. MORE >
West Bank Farmers Market—Tuesdays at Augsburg
The new West Bank Farmers Market makes it easy to eat healthy and support local farmers this summer. Augsburg and the Brian Coyle Community Center are partnering to sponsor a farmers market in two locations on Tuesdays through early October. Several Hmong farm families will sell their vegetables at Brian Coyle Center on Tuesday mornings, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and at Augsburg on Tuesday afternoons in front of Foss Center, from 2 to 5 p.m.
President Pribbenow in China
President Pribbenow traveled to China on June 30 with a group of graduate social work students. Professor Tiong Tan led the week-long course, which studied social services and organizations in the cities of Zuhai, Beijing, and Hong Kong. In Zuhai, they visited United International College (UIC), Augsburg’s partner college, where philosophy professor Bruce Reichenbach will be teaching this fall.
Thirteen students from UIC arrived at Augsburg on July 1 to spend a month in Minneapolis taking a summer class at Augsburg participating in a Minnesota history and culture program.
Augsburg professor named “Father of the Year”
English professor Colin Irvine’s second-grade son, Caleb, was one of 23,000 students in Minnesota who wrote essays nominating their fathers as “Father of the Year,” in a contest sponsored by the National Center for Fathering and the Minnesota Twins. MORE >
