Mary Laurel True is honored for commitment to
service-learning
Mary Laurel True, associate director of the Center for Service, Work, and Learning and director of the Community Service-Learning Program was honored by Minnesota Campus Compact in April as a 2002 recipient of the Sister Pat Kowalski Leadership Award. The award is given to honor her commitment to building community-campus partnerships focusing on service-learning and civic engagement, and for success in creating the institutional change to build them.

Augsburg's Community Service-Learning Program, embedding service experiences into the curriculum, serves as a national model. Activities include courses with service-learning components; a city service projects day for all freshmen; tutoring children and adults in schools, literacy centers, and neighborhood organizations; community service scholarships; an annual community service week; and a student-run program that organizes events on campus for neighborhood children and projects for students. (See story in Augsburg Now, summer 2001 issue, or online at www.augsburg.edu/now/archives/summer01/service.html.

Minnesota Campus Compact is a coalition of 50 colleges and university presidents committed to strategic partnerships that strengthen communities and education for informed and active citizenship.

This award is named for Pat Kowalski, O.S.M., who served as director of community partnerships at the University of St. Thomas from 1992 until her death in 1999. It is given every two years and is co-sponsored by the Minnesota Private College Council, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, and the University of Minnesota.


Physician assistant students win national writing competition
Laura Carlson, Larry Nilsson, and Paul Talarico, students in the Physician Assistant Program, co-authored the winning paper in the J. Peter Nyquist Student Writing Competition, a national student physician assistant competition. The paper titled "Polypharmacy: A Prominent Yet Preventable Geriatric Problem," began as a collaborative writing assignment for a class, and after a little "tweaking" the students submitted it to the national contest where it received first place among the nearly 70 submissions from across the nation.

The paper discussed how polypharmacy, the use of many medications, is a problem in geriatric medicine. They also sited examples in which adverse effects have resulted from using too many medicines. The purpose of the paper was to increase awareness of the importance to re-evaluate a patient's profile before prescribing more medication.

"It's nice when one's hard work is recognized, and fun to collaborate on a paper with classmates," Talarico said. "It is even more rewarding to be recognized for our team effort. I'm proud to represent Augsburg College and its PA Program."

The students received cash prizes and funding to attend the American Academy of Physician Assistants semiannual meeting in Boston in May, where they presented their winning research project. All three students will graduate in August.

Augsburg Fund tops $750,000 record goal
Augsburg's annual fund topped its $750,000 goal for fiscal year 2002—the highest goal ever set for The Augsburg Fund.

Augsburg Fund gifts for the year ending on May 31 came to $801,341, a 33 percent increase over last year. Alumni gave nearly half of these gifts, increasing their percentage of participation over last year's 15 percent.

Part of this year's growth can be attributed to the success of the new Maroon & Silver Society, donors who pledge a four-year commitment at a leadership level. Approximately $350,000 has been given by the 150 charter members. Also to be credited is the student Phonathon team, who raised $134,000 in gifts and matching gifts.

"It is difficult to fully express our gratitude to the thousands of people who participated in The Augsburg Fund this year. Achieving this goal during such a difficult year for our nation shows the strong commitment so many people have to Augsburg and its mission," said John Knight, director of development.

Second Annual
International Photo Contest
Over 100 entries were submitted in the second annual photo contest for international and off-campus studies.

Winners were selected in three categories: scenic landscapes, local people in a cross-cultural setting, and Augsburg students in a host setting. All winning photos were displayed in Christensen Center.

To see all the winners, visit www.augsburg.edu/international/photocontest02.

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