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Auggies abroad in the summer

summer_abroadThough the semester program classes have ended at Augsburg for this academic year, students and faculty are still on the move. Starting on the day after last weekend’s commencement ceremony, groups of Auggies departed both to share their musical talents and to study abroad.

The Augsburg Choir

On May 6, the Augsburg Choir, under the direction of Peter Hendrickson ’76, departed for a 12-day tour of the Midwest. With stops in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington state, the Choir will perform nine concerts and have opportunities to connect with potential Auggies and their families as well as alumni and friends of the College. Continue reading “Auggies abroad in the summer”

Professors Lowe and Vela-McConnell honored for distinguished contributions

ctl_awardsCongratulations to the recipients of the 2012 Distinguished Teaching and Learning Awards. These awards, the result of nominations by full-time faculty and staff members, recognize individuals who have made exemplary contributions to creating an engaging academic learning environment through teaching, scholarship, and mentoring and advising. This year’s recipients of the Distinguished Contributions to Teaching and Learning Awards are:

Mary Lowe, associate professor of religion, for Excellence in Teaching Continue reading “Professors Lowe and Vela-McConnell honored for distinguished contributions”

Augsburg launches MFA in creative writing

mfaAugsburg College celebrated its new Master of Fine Arts in creative writing with a reading by Stephan Clark from his newly published book Vladimir’s Mustache and Other Stories. Clark is an assistant professor of English and a member of the MFA faculty.

In 2013, the MFA will offer four genres: fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and screenwriting. A fifth genre, playwriting, will be added in 2014.  A national book prize and concentrations in publishing, teaching and translation will also begin that year.

“An Augsburg MFA leverages our distinguished faculty and the strength of our undergraduate programs while delivering things no other program in Minnesota or the surrounding states offers, including a book prize, a screenwriting track, and low-residency programming for all four of our genres,” said Augsburg College President Paul C. Pribbenow. “The program and its format show the ability of our school to meet marketplace demand and to use technology to increase accessibility and contain costs.” Continue reading “Augsburg launches MFA in creative writing”

Building more links between Minnesota and China

mpccuicThe links between Minnesotan and Chinese private colleges grew this week at the Joint Faculty Professional Development Institute, which met at Augsburg College from June 19-23. The institute is a product of two years of planning between the China Consortium members of the Minnesota Private College Council (MPCC), United International College (UIC) in Zhuhai, China, and Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) in Hong Kong. Continue reading “Building more links between Minnesota and China”

Four honored for distinguished teaching, advising, scholarship

ctl_awardsCongratulations to the recipients of the 2011 Distinguished Teaching and Learning Awards. These awards, the result of nominations by full-time faculty and staff members, recognize individuals who have made exemplary contributions to creating an engaging academic learning environment through teaching, scholarship, and mentoring and advising. This year’s recipients of the Distinguished Contributions to Teaching and Learning Awards are:

For Excellence in Teaching—Timothy Pippert [left], associate professor of sociology (who will deliver the address at opening convocation in September 2011)

For Excellence in Mentoring and Advising—Cass Dalglish [middle left], professor of English, and Cheryl Leuning [right], professor of nursing

For Excellence in Scholarship—Nancy Steblay [middle right], professor of psychology

Continue reading “Four honored for distinguished teaching, advising, scholarship”

Emma Sutton checks in from Indonesia

sutton_checkinWow! I wish I could say that 3 days in everything has been perfect but unfortunately we just experienced an earthquake, a whopping 7.4. I was sitting up in my room on the 7th floor as the building started to shake and the walls cracked. I ran out into the hall and the program director was staying in the room right next to me and we took shelter in a doorway of the hall until it was over and then we ran down the stairwell, there was some girl flopping down the stairs in stiletto heels that I really wanted to run over so I could go faster. There was no major damage at the hotel or anywhere else, or at least it hasn’t been reported yet. Continue reading “Emma Sutton checks in from Indonesia”

Meet Sarah and Joe, campus ministry interns

ministry_internsWhen Sarah Ruch and Joe Midthun applied for their internship placements, neither expected to find themselves on a college campus. Sarah and Joe are students from Luther Seminary who are working this year with the campus ministry department at Augsburg. As interns, Sarah and Joe have been planning and presiding over chapel services, preaching, and teaching.

Sarah is originally from Fremont, Neb. and has a BA in English from Midland Lutheran College. She is married (her husband is also a student at Luther) and has two young children. Sarah wanted to complete her internship in the Twin Cities to stay with her family. Though she likes working at Augsburg, she said it’s not what she expected. “Working at a college is relational ministry,” she said. “Augsburg is a congregation but in a different setting.” Continue reading “Meet Sarah and Joe, campus ministry interns”

Two Auggies receive Fulbright scholarships

fulbright_olsen fulbright_stofferAugsburg seniors Ashley Stoffers and Erin Olsen have been awarded the esteemed Fulbright scholarship. The scholarships, administered by The Institute of International Education, provide fellowships for students to study, research, and/or teach abroad. Stoffers will be located in Korea, and Olsen will teach in Venezuela.

Dixie Shafer, Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity, guided the students through the grueling application process and encouraged Stoffers and Olsen to strive toward serving their community and world.”It was a long application process that involved writing a personal statement, writing a statement of proposed study, getting letters of recommendation, being evaluated by language evaluators, and an interview,” said Stoffers. Continue reading “Two Auggies receive Fulbright scholarships”

Teachers open doors to students and one another

teacher“From my second year of teaching, my classroom has been a public place–to current and new teachers, to district official, politicians, and parents,” says Augsburg alumna Jacki Brickman, ’97.

She adds: “Teachers are at their best in their classrooms facilitating learning, and when teachers open their doors to one another and make their classrooms a public place, we are able lead and teach at the same time. Both the teacher observing and the teacher being observed can grow in their practices if they engage in reflective conversation after this shared experience.”

Teachers in Jacki Brickman’s school meet regularly in study groups to share their practices and strategies in order to help each other grow.” Continue reading “Teachers open doors to students and one another”