The Augsburg Alumni Association is looking for volunteers to serve on the board of directors. All alumni are welcomed and encouraged to apply. The Alumni board is a governing body of the Alumni Association. The board exists to guide the Office of Alumni and Constituent Relations of Augsburg College in serving the valued alumni, parents and friends of the College by providing resources and opportunities to engage alumni with the college and each other through consistent communication, inclusive programming, and intentional relationship building. To apply or find out more, contact Sara Schlipp-Riedel ’06 at schlipp@augsburg.edu.
State Grant Advocacy Day at the Capitol
Augsburg College had 1,054 State Grant recipients on campus this past academic year — more than 34 percent of all Augsburg undergraduates. In total, the college received more than $3.4 million in State Grant awards made to Augsburg students.
The impact of those funds on students, a high percentage of whom come from low-income households or are first-generation college students, cannot be overstated.
Yeng Vang ’14 says the state grant program helped him attend Augsburg. “I wouldn’t be here if not for grants and scholarships. Things like the State Grant allow you the opportunity to go to college, opening the door to future possibilities.”
This spring, students are heading to the Capitol again to advocate for the State Grant program and meet with their respective representatives. STEP-UP, EAST, financial aid, Multicultural Students Services and Athletics are partnering to recruit and train students before the big day. Students will embark to the Capitol on February 25 for a day that begins with grassroots organizing training, led by members of the Minnesota Private College Council, and ends with a reception at Augsburg College with affiliated representatives and student leaders.
Students – Please register here for Day at the Capitol, February 25, 2015.
Help us advocate for the State Grant program! Sign up for alerts at http://mnstudentaid.org/. If you are interested in volunteering as a Advocacy Champion, e-mail Amanda Scherer, assistant director of corporate and government relations, at scherera@augsburg.edu.
Wells Fargo makes $100,000 gift to the CSBR at Augsburg College
In recognition of Augsburg College’s leadership in closing the higher education disparity gap for students of color in Minnesota, Wells Fargo has made a gift of $100,000 to the campaign to build the Center for Science, Business, and Religion (CSBR).
Wells Fargo joins several other corporations (including U.S. Bank, 3M, and General Mills) in supporting the CSBR.
In a statement, Dave Kvamme, CEO of Wells Fargo Minnesota, expressed admiration for Augsburg’s commitment to partnering with College Access programs like College Possible to help recruit, support, and retain first-generation and low-income students. Continue reading “Wells Fargo makes $100,000 gift to the CSBR at Augsburg College”
Hollenbeck is Nurse of the Year at Children’s
With two sisters and a mother as strong role models, Lani (Langanki) Hollenbeck ’77, MAN ’11 wasn’t surprised by the rewards of working with fragile newborns and their families. But, drawn into nursing after having already earned her B.S. at Augsburg in Social Work, she discovered that combining the two areas allowed her to expand her worldview practice by looking at new ways of supporting those families at a crucial time—in the midst of challenging healthcare situations.
In her work as a staff nurse at the Minneapolis-based Infant Care Center of Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, she supports parents as they nurture their newborn infants. Recently named 2014 Nurse of the Year by March of Dimes neonatal, Children’s Hospitals and Clinics, and Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine, Hollenbeck knows it is hard for parents when births don’t go as planned or babies arrive too early, and she has always felt drawn to help them and their tiny babies. She believes these little ones deserve nurses who are committed to supporting their little bodies and souls for survival, growth, and development. Continue reading “Hollenbeck is Nurse of the Year at Children’s”
Running the Good Race
In fifth-grade gym class, when Meghan (Armstrong) Peyton ’14 MAL completed the Presidential Physical Fitness test along with her classmates, she came in first in the required mile event, beating all the boys. When her teacher asked if she had ever considered doing cross-country running, she said she had not, but it got her thinking. In seventh grade she joined her first cross-country team.
She continued running throughout high school, where she turned in four All-State performances in cross-country and seven All-State performances in track and field. She is the only Oregonian to have won state titles as a high school prep athlete in the 1,500-meter and the 3,000-meter events for three consecutive years. As a college student at the University of Iowa, she was a four-time NCAA Division I All-American and two-time Big Ten Champion. She still holds the school record for the 1,500-meter run (4:17:41).
Though she says it took a few years to move beyond the joy of competition and actually fall in love with the sport, she is now busy making a career of it. Continue reading “Running the Good Race”
The Faces Behind the Phone Call: Meet Your Augsburg Fund Callers
Have you gotten a phone call from The Augsburg Fund Phonathon callers this year? Maybe you enjoy hearing from them, maybe you’ve blocked them, but we know them as 16 busy students who do great work on behalf of the College, five days a week. Their goal is to raise $85,000, and are halfway there at the midpoint in our fiscal year. At the year’s end, we’d like to pay tribute to the work they do. They have talked with 1,800 alumni from calling 41,438 alumni. On Give to the Max Day, they talked with or left messages for more than 1,500 people in 12 hours. (The results paid off for the College and The Augsburg Fund. See our story on Give to the Max Day if you haven’t already heard the good news.)
We share an office with them, and their bright energy helps buoy our spirits on quiet winter nights and exciting days like Give to the Max Day. Whether or not you’re in the mood for a call from Augsburg, these callers demonstrate tireless energy and positivity year round. In addition to school work, their work here serves current and future students at Augsburg. If you haven’t received a call from one of our student callers, and would still like to make a gift to The Augsburg Fund this year, visit augsburg.edu/giving or call: 612-330-1179. Next time you receive a call, you have a 3/16 chance of knowing a little bit about who they are, and from where they’re calling. So if you see a call from Augsburg, pick it up because it is a current student—and they genuinely love talking with alumni.
Continue reading “The Faces Behind the Phone Call: Meet Your Augsburg Fund Callers”
Meet a Super Velkommen Jul Volunteer
You might know Lee (Dyrud) Furman ’61 from her time teaching in the social work department at Augsburg, or you might recognize her as one of the delightful Augsburg Associates dressed up in a bunad or traditional Norwegian costume at Velkommen Jul each year. She’s also the recipient of an Augsburg Distinguished Alumni Award in 1989. Furman is among the many fantastic Associates volunteers you will see if you stop by campus on Friday, Dec. 5. Velkommen Jul begins with chapel service at 10:40 a.m. and moves to the Christensen Center from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Furman fondly remembers the beautiful singing and enthusiasm of chapel, and the fellow alums she has known through the years. She has been a part of the Augsburg Associates for approximately 12 years, since she moved back to Minneapolis for the first time since college. She still remembers going to Velkommen Jul when she was a student. “It was quite splendid. I was very much in awe,” she says. Continue reading “Meet a Super Velkommen Jul Volunteer”
You Gave to the Max, and We’re So Grateful
Give to the Max Day was Nov. 13, and we’re still beaming with pride. We came in #1 for giving among all MN colleges and universities again this year, but we’re even more proud to say that 1,300 Auggies near and far—including students, alumni, parents, friends, faculty, and staff—donated more than $432,000 to support The Augsburg Fund and 34 excellent Auggie projects. If you supported Augsburg on Give to the Max Day this year, we thank you for your generosity. Please enjoy our sincere, campus-wide appreciation for the good work we all did together.
At 94, Stan Nelson Wins Gold Medal
Stanford Nelson ’43, Andover, Minn., isn’t about to abandon his love of competing in sports anytime soon, even at age 94! This summer, he won a gold medal at the Minnesota Senior Olympics, shooting a 47 in the golf competition. In July 2015, he will compete in the 95-99 age group at the National Senior State Games, to be held in Bloomington, Minn. (The top three in each age category compete in the Nationals.) Participants aged 90 and over play three rounds of 9 holes, while all other age groups play three 18-hole rounds. Nelson’s caddie at the Olympics was his daughter, Cheryl Nelson King ’70, of Eden Prairie, Minn.
As an Augsburg student, Nelson was a four-year letter-winner in football, basketball, baseball, and golf. In football he was named all-MIAC and served as team captain in 1942; in 1943, he was selected as an Honor Athlete. Continue reading “At 94, Stan Nelson Wins Gold Medal”
The Education that Keeps on Giving
As John S. Baudhuin ’70 reflects on his student years, he finds that he is increasingly grateful for what (and how) he learned more than 40 years ago—more now than ever before. This was reinforced when a friend and fellow retiree recently said he was a little jealous that Baudhuin was enjoying such a wide variety of interests in retirement—fishing, sports, opera, reading, writing, and so on. It occurred to Baudhuin that Augsburg had opened up many of these interests to him, once again solidifying his belief that a good liberal arts education doesn’t just teach someone stuff; rather, it teaches us “how to think about stuff and to find stuff interesting.” It doesn’t answer a lot of questions, but instead gives us better questions to ask. He was impressed that some professors would even give credit for wrong answers if there was evidence of having employed a careful thought process.
Seeking solid information for various papers taught persistence and resourcefulness, says Baudhuin, who once trekked to the U of M to explore its 10-story library in order to validate a single factoid for a paper. Such skills later served him well as an addiction professional, who more than once encountered a patient whose first interview was “less than truthful.” A recovering alcoholic himself, Baudhuin celebrates more than 42 years of sobriety and is “more than thrilled” to see that Augsburg has become a national leader for students in recovery with StepUP®. Years into his recovery, he was invited back to campus to teach some classes, and to consult regarding cases. He is pleased to report that the “students in recovery” concept has inspired a similar program in his home state, Florida. Continue reading “The Education that Keeps on Giving”