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Professor William Green Featured in Star Tribune Column About Facing Racism

William Green
William Green

How can Minnesotans face the truth about racism, past and present?  Columnist Myron Medcalf explored that subject recently in the Star Tribune and interviewed Augsburg History Professor William Green.

Green said reading a wide range of material about Black history is the key to knowing the steps that have led to this critical moment.  Many Minnesotans were surprised that George Floyd could happen here in part because so many hadn’t grappled with the state’s true history of race relations. “Some people throw their hands up and say, ‘What am I supposed to do?’ ” Green said. “The conclusion is they do nothing. But that’s not the solution.”

Read the full article at the Star Tribune website.

Mill City Times interviews Professor Joseph Underhill about River Semester

Joe UnderhillMill City Times recently interviewed Augsburg Professor Joseph Underhill about River Semester. Underhill teaches courses in Environmental Politics, International Relations, and Political Methodology, and regularly takes students off campus for experiential and interdisciplinary learning. An experiential education is a hallmark of an Augsburg education and Undehill has been key to helping Augsburg live it out. He has directed the International Relations Program and Model United Nations programs at Augsburg since 1998 and taken students to New Zealand, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Egypt, and Tanzania.

For the past fifteen years, Underhill has taken students out on the Mississippi River to study the impact of human activity on the river ecosystem. Students in the program earn a full semester of college credits with a customized curriculum focused on environmental justice and social change in the Mississippi Joe Underhillwatershed. The River Semester is a regular part of the programming offered by Augsburg University’s Center for Global Education and Experience (CGEE).

Read the interview at the Mill City Times website.

For more details about River Semester, visit the River Semester site.

WCCO Report: Augsburg’s Bridget Robinson-Riegler on the Psychology of Voting

WCCO logoAugsburg Psychology Professor Bridget Robinson-Riegler was recently featured on WCCO to discuss the psychology of voting and how can we filter out false claims, conspiracies, misinformation, and lies.

“I don’t think that we do,” said Robinson-Riegler about filtering out false claims.

“So even if it’s inaccurate, there’s research that’s shown the more we hear it regardless of even if we know it’s true or not, the more likely we are to have it influence our behavior,” she said.

Watch the full report at WCCO’s website.

Amanda Vetsch ‘17 Honored at Viterbo University’s Distinguished Alumni awards

Amanda HeadshotAs part of Viterbo University’s annual Viterbo Days alumni weekend, the university honors eight alumni at the Distinguished Alumni awards. This year, Amanda Vetsch ‘17, a graduate theology student at Luther Seminary and Riverside Innovation Hub coordinator at the Christensen Center for Vocation at Augsburg University, was awarded the Rising Professional Award.

Amanda joined the Riverside Innovation Hub team in August of 2018 as an Innovation Coach, where she works alongside faith communities as they discern how to show up as a Public Church in a way that is simultaneously authentic to the gospel call for justice, mercy, and most appropriate to their own geographic contexts.

 

Read the award announcement at WXOW’s website.

Allen Burton Award goes to Augsburg faculty member Carol Enke

Carol receiving her awardAugsburg University faculty member Carol Enke won the 2020 Allen Burton Award. The award is given to elementary, secondary, or higher education teachers by the Minnesota Developmental Adapted Physical Education Leadership Committee to honor and recognize outstanding efforts and contributions given to students with disabilities in the area of developmental adaptive physical education.

Enke received the award in recognition of her 20 years of work and dedication to hosting Sports Extravaganza at Augsburg. Sports Extravaganza is an annual one-day event that brings children with physical, cognitive, and learning disabilities to campus to play games and compete in activities such as bowling, soccer, relay races, and dancing. It gives Augsburg students the opportunity both to apply what they’ve learned in the classroom and to work with students with disabilities. Enke co-founded the event in 1999 and has directed it ever since.

Congratulations to Auggies named to the Summer Semester Dean’s List

University SealMore than 100 Augsburg University undergraduate students were named to the 2020 Summer Semester Dean’s List. The Augsburg University Dean’s List recognizes those full-time students who have achieved a grade point average of 3.50 or higher and those part-time students who have achieved a grade point average of 3.75 or higher in a given term.

View the 2020 Summer Semester Dean’s List.

Students who wish to notify their hometown newspapers of their achievement can do so at their discretion using a news announcement template.

Augsburg President Delivers Hot Lunches on Annual City Engagement Day

President Paul delivering hot lunchesDuring Augsburg’s annual City Engagement Day, first-year students traditionally go in groups to work in the community to launch their Augsburg education. Students, faculty, and staff this year, because of the pandemic, were encouraged to engage individually with their local communities in ways that are meaningful to them personally.

Augsburg President Paul Pribbenow delivered hot lunches to people experiencing homelessness.

“This annual City Engagement Day, I had the humbling opportunity to provide meals and clothing alongside community partners to the people experiencing homelessness and surviving the pandemic in encampments,” Pribbenow said. “We are called, as Auggies, to be caring neighbors.”

The Sabo Center compiled a list of local opportunities for Fall 2020 for those looking for a place to engage.

About Augsburg
Augsburg University, celebrating its 150th anniversary, offers more than 50 undergraduate majors and 11 graduate degrees to 3,400 students of diverse backgrounds at its campus in the vibrant center of the Twin Cities and nearby Rochester, Minnesota, location. Augsburg educates students to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders. An Augsburg education is defined by excellence in the liberal arts and professional studies, guided by the faith and values of the Lutheran church, and shaped by its urban and global settings. Learn more at Augsburg.edu.

Kare 11 Report: Professor of Economics Jeanne Boeh Discusses COVID-19 Economic Impact

Kare 11 logoKare 11 spoke with health and economy experts about the hidden costs of fighting COVID-19 and the long-term effects that might stick around for years. A Hennepin Healthcare pediatrician expressed her concern about mental health, addiction, and child abuse. Economists such as Augsburg Professor of Economics Jeanne Boeh are concerned about the financial fallout that may linger on for years.

Boeh explained that many of the jobs that were lost may never come back and many of the businesses that closed may be gone forever.

“Gaps between lower, middle, and upper class may get even wider in the coming years,” Boeh told Kare 11. “People who can work from home, their lives may have actually gotten better. There are no transportation costs. They’re still getting paid.” But she said people who were involved in restaurants and nursing might be adversely affected.

Watch the full report on the Kare 11 website.

MSNBC interviews international student Jonas Bergmann about ICE deportation plans

Student Jonas on MSNBCAugsburg international student Jonas Bergmann was interviewed by MSNBC to share his reaction to plans to deport international students taking an online course load in the fall. Bergmann is an international student from Denmark and is part of an Augsburg team that helps international students have a smooth transition to university life in the United States.

Bergmann, who’s majoring in clinical psychology and gender studies, wondered why now, though the administration soon after this interview dropped the deportation plan. Augsburg plans a mix of on-campus and alternative format classes.

Watch the full interview at the MSNBC website.

Augsburg’s EAST Program Director Audrey Lensmire interviewed by Sahan Journal about the program’s work to increase East African educators

EAST scholarsAs Minnesota gains its first Somali public school principals, an Augsburg University program is actively helping to increase East African educators here.

Located in Minneapolis’ largely Somali Cedar–Riverside neighborhood, Augsburg’s East African Student to Teacher (EAST) program is committed to recruiting, retaining, and licensing highly qualified East African students who wish to become K-12 teachers. EAST covers tuition costs towards initial licensure.

“In a relatively short time, we’ve been able to multiply the number of educators of East African descent in the state of Minnesota from a handful to a bit of a larger handful,” EAST Program Director Audrey Lensmire told the Sahan Journal. Lensmire is an associate professor in the education department.

 

Read the full article at the Sahan Journal website.

Learn more about Augsburg’s EAST program.