Visit www.augsburg.edu/homecoming for more information and to get registered.
Auggies from near and far are called back to campus for one week each year to celebrate what it means to be an Auggie. From September 22 to 28, alumni, parents, and friends of Augsburg will gather for a fun-filled week of events and celebration. New events along with traditional favorites make this one of the best times to visit campus all year.
I am pleased to announce that Pastor Sonja Hagander has been appointed as the Lead 
Pastor and Director of Campus Ministry, effective June 1, 2013. Pastor Hagander, who first joined the Augsburg community in 1998, assumes the duties previously held by Pastor Dave Wold, who retired at the end of May after 30 years as Augsburg’s campus pastor.
Pastor Sonja received her B.A. from Concordia College, her M.Div. from Luther Seminary, and an M.Sc. in Comparative Literature from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. She has served as Pastor-Theologian at the Center of Theological Inquiry, Princeton University, a competitive program focused on the ordained ministry as a theological vocation and the church as a theological community. She also has served as Chaplain and emcee to the ELCA Youth Ministry Extravaganza Conference which hosts more than 1,000 pastors and youth leaders.
At Augsburg, Pastor Sonja created and sustained the Urban Plunge and has been especially active on and off campus leading a variety of interfaith initiatives, including the Interfaith Scholars and the Interfaith Bridge Building events, bringing youth on campus and into the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood around faith and service.
Pastor Sonja is in the process of forming the campus ministry staff for 2013-14. An associate pastor will be appointed later this summer.
I look forward to working closely with Pastor Sonja and other campus leaders during the coming year as we explore the vision and direction of our campus ministry programs for the years ahead. We believe that Augsburg is uniquely positioned to model what campus ministry looks like in the 21st century – centered in our Lutheran faith and firmly committed to serving our diverse students, campus community, and neighbors.
Paul C. Pribbenow
President
Augsburg College has graduated more than 16,500 students since 1869, many of whom have ascended to the top of their respective fields. Recognizing the essential role career mentoring plays in higher education, Augsburg provides an opportunity for alumni, parent professionals, and friends of the college to be involved as mentors in the lives and success of Auggie students. While advising focuses on skills needed for academic success, career mentoring focuses on the important human relationships and resources needed for professional success.
The Augsburg Builds Connections (ABC) mentoring program is one of many ways which Augsburg parents, alumni, and friends of the college are able to give back to the college by supporting our current students. This volunteer driven program is designed to connect students with mentors who will provide them with the guidance, networking opportunities, and resources required to complete the complex puzzle. The flexible nature of the program lets both the student and mentor to connect via email, phone, skype, or face-to-face meetings.
If you wish to learn more about the Augsburg Builds Connections program or other volunteer programs please contact David “DJ” Hamm, Volunteer and Alumni Engagement Manager, via email at hammd@augsburg.edu or by phone at 612-330-1329.
Augsburg NOW Magazine is now available for your iPad. Get the enhanced, interactive version. Search “Augsburg Now” on the App Store.
Devean George ’99, former NBA player, was recently featured in the Star Tribune to highlight his project to bring a sense of hope to the north Minneapolis intersection of Golden Valley Road and Penn Avenue. Read more here.
On Saturday, August 31st, Augsburg will welcome the largest first year class…ever! 
Beginning at 7:00 a.m. and finishing about 3:00 p.m., new Auggies will be moving into Urness Hall and because of the large size, some will move into Mortensen and Anderson as well. Come visit with the students and their families as they line up in their cars, vans and trucks all along 21st Avenue South. Food and beverages are provided all day for our new Auggies (playing car hop is always fun)! It’s a great way to welcome new students. Questions? Contact Sally Daniels Herron ’79 at herron@augsburg.edu.
On July 12, chemistry alumni spanning more than a half century of graduating classes, met on the Augsburg campus. They renewed friendships and swapped stories with favorite chemistry faculty including emeriti Arlin Gyberg and John Holum and current chemistry department chair Dr. Sandra Olmsted ’69. They toured Science Hall with outstanding science faculty and learned first-hand of impressive research by Augsburg science students in chemistry, biology and physics.
Following the tour the group gathered in the Marshall Room to learn from a distinguished faculty panel representing the Center for Science Business and Religion (CSBR) related disciplines: Drs. Vivian Feng ( chemistry) Benjamin Stottrup (physics) Matthew Beckman (biology), Dale Pederson ’70 (biology chair), Jeanne Boeh (economics), and Phil Quanbeck (religion).
The faculty articulated what a CSBR would mean for Augsburg student learning, laboratory and research experience. A lively conversation about teaching at the interface of science, business and religion ensued. Chemistry alumni joined in sharing their own experiences of Augsburg’s rich legacy over several decades. Specifically the intellectual freedom to explore all these ways of understanding the world where our Lutheran heritage is a real but not required foundation.
There was a strong sense from alumni that a CSBR would serve to enhance these continued curricular and co-curricular conversations which have always been at the heart of Augsburg’s tradition.
Ruth Johnson ’74, MD
Augsburg will again this year have a booth in the Education Building at the Minnesota State Fair! Come by and see us any day from Thursday, August 22-Monday, September 2. Come pick up an Auggie button, leave a note for a faculty or staff member and best of all, by wearing any Auggie gear at the Fair, we will have a coupon for a complimentary lunch at Nabo, our neighborhood cafe in the Oren Gateway Center.
Save the Date – Sateren Concert
A group of choir alumni is planning a special Choral Concert in honor of Leland B. Sateren 
on what would have been his 100th birthday on Sunday, October 13, 2013, at 4:00 p.m., at Normandale Lutheran Church in Edina, MN. This celebration will honor the legacy of “Doc.”
Please hold the weekend of October 12-13, 2013, for rehearsal, reunion, and concert. The Augsburg Choir alumni are invited to sing or to attend the concert; the concert itself is open to the public. Alums will have time to reunite with long-time friends from Augsburg and the larger choral music community. If you have questions, email sateren100@gmail.com.
Buffie Blesi ’
90, MAL ’97 is on a mission. For the last five years she has been coaching small businesses as an AdviCoach franchises and along the way she has learned a few things about what makes them tick and what holds them back. And through this experience, she realized that the conversations surrounding small business were not telling the real story – that the challenges these small businesses faced were bigger than taxes, access to capital and regulation. She also realized that millions of dollars and thousands of hours of effort were being dedicated by non-profits, government organization, chambers and the like to help them be successful, but no one was working together.
Thus was born AccelerateMN, a collaboration of businesses and community leaders committed to Come Together, Work Together and Stay Together. AccelerateMN believes that we can significantly improve our economy and get more Minnesotans hired by concentrating on education and the commitment of each business to take small steps that lead to hiring just one person. On August 14, Augsburg will be the host the keystone event the 2nd Annual AccelerateMN Let’s Get Growing 2013 Small Business Conference.
This commitment to small business growth and support of Augsburg includes her own organization. More than half of Blesi’s team are Auggies: Denielle Johnson ’11- Marketing and Administrative Support Coordinator, Ward C.Schendel ’74- Business Coach and Zebo Tursunova’13– intern working on AccelerateMN. They are a very diverse team engaging in our small business community by bringing together business partners, community leaders, and business owners by facilitating conversations, providing opportunities to share knowledge and ideas, and encourage small businesses to provi
de job opportunities.
Come support your fellow Auggies at AccelerateMN as they continue the College’s missions of educating to “be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders.”
