Letter from Dean Chris Kimball
Exploring arts at Augsburg

Arts are enriching. It's said that arts are what make us truly human, that from them we find means to express emotion.

Whatever is said about fine arts, the stories and profiles in this issue offer you a glimpse of their role and importance at Augsburg. Students who study and participate in music, theatre, and art have the many and marvelous resources of a rich, artistic urban environment at their doorstep. Augsburg students study with professional actors and musicians, visit world-class museums, and enjoy internships with professional arts organizations. Students who are not majoring in the arts are welcomed and encouraged to explore their talents and express creativity in many ways.

The arts truly educate for a lifetime. Students involved in a theatre production carry the experience of that play with them for the rest of their lives, much in the same way that students who play in orchestra during college feel more connected to a symphony orchestra when attending concerts. The vocabulary of the arts enriches our lives in innumerable ways great and small, giving us appreciation and understanding for new language, image, and sound.

Ours is not a cloistered faculty, and everyone who teaches here in fine arts is also out in the community engaged in professional performance or exhibition. This enables them to provide the kind of mentoring that helps students develop their talents and makes the real-world connections they need, while encouraging and supporting their development.

As the nature of an Augsburg education becomes more inter-disciplinary, students experience arts integrated into many of their courses and activities. And, our new multimedia computer lab will be a place for students to stretch their imagination, to explore the latest technology across the arts, and to equip themselves to meet new marketplace demands.

Studying the arts is also integral to "Exploring Our Gifts," Augsburg's program funded by the Lilly Endowment to encourage exploration of vocation. A new course, Art, Religion, and Vocation, will help students understand and appreciate the qualities of creativity, sensitivity, and awareness that arts can help develop and that will aid them in searching for an understanding of vocation.

So, I invite you to take your Augsburg Now to a comfortable spot, turn on some music, and enjoy reading about arts at Augsburg, while perhaps reminiscing about your own moments on stage, in the choir, or at an easel.

—Christopher W. Kimball
Vice President for Academic and Learning Services and Dean of the College

Letter from the editor
Welcome to this first theme issue of the Augsburg Now. From time to time, we will present an in-depth view of a particular area of Augsburg College and its education. In this issue, you'll explore the fine arts at Augsburg, as we open up to you the world of music, art, and theatre at the College.