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Global Food In A Farm-To-Table World

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Conversations On The Creative Economy

Increasingly, consumers seek out food grown with sustainable environmental practices and a connection to the farms and growers. According to the USDA, the number of farms that sold food at
roadside stands, farmers’ markets, pick-your-own farms, on farm stores, and community-supported agricultural arrangements increased 24 percent between 2002 and 2012. While many consumers purchase goods locally, there is still demand for food produced globally.

In this market, how are large agribusinesses adapting global food production to meet the demands of today’s consumers? And how are businesses succeeding in balancing social, cultural, and environmental responsibilities with a financial commitment to stakeholders, growth, and profit?

Join Chris Farrell from MPR as he interviews three leaders working on food security and sustainability:

Mike Robach, Cargill’s Vice President of Corporate Food Safety, Quality, and Regulatory Affairs
Jessica Hellmann, University of Minnesota’s Director of the Institute on the Environment
Dr. Ruth Petran, Ecolab Inc.’s Vice President for Food Safety and Public Health

Business leaders are invited to join Global Food In A Farm-To-Table World, a Conversation on the Creative Economy at Augsburg College, to consider the role businesses can play in caring for their community while taking care of business.

Date:  February 21, 2016

Time:  8–9:30 a.m.

Location:  Hoversten Chapel, Foss Center, Augsburg College

Get your complimentary ticket today.

Sponsored by Greater MSP and the Bush Foundation. Presented by the Strommen Center for Meaningful Work at Augsburg College in Association with Minnesota Public Radio

About the panelists

Jessica Hellman Jessica Hellmann is the director of the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota. As director, she provides overall strategic leadership for the Institute, an internationally recognized organization working to solve grand environmental challenges, while promoting interdisciplinaryresearch, teaching and leadership across the university, and engaging external partners andstakeholders. She is also the Russell M. and Elizabeth M. Bennett Chair in Excellence in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior in the College of Biological Sciences. Hellmann’s research focuses on global change ecology and climate adaptation. 

Ruth Petran

Dr. Ruth Petran is vice president, Food Safety and Public Health for Ecolab Inc., the global leader in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services that protect people and vital resources.In her current role, Dr. Petran provides technical expertise and consultation to internal and external customers on food safety and public health issues, by identifying and tracking emerging food safety trends and new control strategies. To be most impactful, these span the food supply chain from farm to manufacturing processes and to food service and retail. 

Mike Robach

Mike Robach is Vice President of Corporate Food Safety, Quality & Regulatory for Cargill based in Minneapolis. He joined Cargill in January of 2004 to lead the company’s corporate food safety and regulatory affairs programs. Since that time, he has increased the department’s scope to include animal health and quality assurance. He continues to refocus the department toward global efforts in line with Cargill’s vision of being the global leader in nourishing people. Mike has worked with the World Organization of Animal Health (OIE) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on harmonized animal health and food safety standards. He has worked closely with the USDA and FDA regarding food safety policy, HACCP, and regulatory reform based on science.

Living in Recovery – Working in a Culture of Alcohol

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Conversations on the Creative Economy

NOVEMBER 15, 2016 | 8-9:30 AM HOVERSTEN CHAPEL

This presentation is FREE and open to the public. GET TICKETS

Professionals in recovery often hide their recovery because of a stigma that their addiction makes them weak or untrustworthy. In reality, these professionals have proven strength and grit in the face of extreme adversity. This stigma creates barriers to career advancement and belonging. Professionals in recovery face an additional challenge when they work in careers where relationship-building among colleagues, business, and networking is often accompanied by alcohol or a “happy hour” environment.
More than 11% of full-time workers face alcohol-related issues in a given year, and employers incur a cost of approximately $1,700 a year for each employee with an untreated drug and alcohol addiction. Corporate leaders can support the health and well-being of their employees, and save money, by acknowledging the detrimental affects of a culture of alcohol within their organization. Supporting employees in recovery benefits employees as well as the companies who recognize the effects of a culture of alcohol in business.

 

Join Chris Farrell from MPR as he interviews leaders working on changing the culture of alcohol in business and eliminating the stigma faced by professionals in recovery.

 

PARKING: There are a limited number of permits for spots on surface lots at Augsburg College. Please register for the event to get a permit. A permit will be sent to you after you have registered. There is also street parking around Augsburg that is available to you.

 

Chris FarrellChris Farrell
Chris is senior economics contributor at Marketplace, American Public Media’s nationally syndicated public radio business and economic programs. He is economics commentator for Minnesota Public Radio and host of its series, Conversations on the Creative Economy. An award winning journalist, Chris is a columnist for Next Avenue and the Star Tribune and a contributor to the New York Times. His most recent book is Unretirement: How Baby Boomers are Changing the Way We Think About Work, Community and the Good Life.

 

Mike Sime
Mike Sime
Mike is the President/CEO and co-owner of Rapid Packaging and Berg Bag, a national distributor of packaging materials, shipping supplies and the packaging equipment headquartered in Minneapolis, MN. Rapid Packaging was the title sponsors for Special Olympics Minnesota Summer Games for 15 years and also supports many other local and national charities
Mike currently serves as Chairman of Augsburg College’s StepUP Program, is on the board of trustees for Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, SCSU Recovery Community, Protecting Me/Protecting You and Dalco Enterprises. He is the former chairman of The Johnson Institute.

 

William MoyersWilliam Moyers
William is a best-selling author and the Vice President of Public Affairs and Community Relations for the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. He is committed to eliminating barriers to recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs. From “carrying the message” about addiction, treatment and recovery, to public policy and philanthropy, Moyers brings a wealth of professional expertise and an intimate personal understanding to communities across the nation. He uses his own experiences to highlight the power of addiction and the power of recovery. Moyers is the author of Broken: My Story of Addiction and Redemption (2006), a memoir that became a New York Times best-seller and is now in its third printing. His book, Now What? An Insider’s Guide to Addiction and Recovery, was released October 2012 by Hazelden Publishing. Moyers has appeared on Larry King Live and Oprah and is a regular contributor to Good Morning America. As a former journalist for CNN, his work has been featured in the New York Times, USA Today and Newsweek.

 

 Warren LarsonWarren Larson

Warren is the Director of Public Affairs for Sanford Health in Bemidji.  Over the years, Larson partnered with many organizations to address health-related issues.  Larson co-founded the Beltrami Tobacco Education Awareness Movement (B-TEAM), Northern Dental Access Clinic, Celebrate Kindness Campaign, Beltrami Wellness Education for a Long Life (B-WELL), and the newly established Bemidji Face It TOGETHER Chapter.  Larson enjoys working with community partners to address health-related issues and is grateful for working in a community with incredibly talented individuals willing to take on important initiatives.

Larson is also an active member of numerous civic groups, and holds board-leadership positions with several local, regional, and state organizations.  Larson was named “Minnesota Rural Health Hero” by the Minnesota Department of Rural Health, “Trustee of the Year” by the Minnesota Hospital Association, and received the Louis Gorin Award for Outstanding Achievement in Rural Health by the National Rural Health Association.  In 2013, Larson was recognized as the National C-Change Champion from the National Commission on Cancer, an award given annually to one individual.  In 2016, Larson received the American Cancer Society’s St. George National Award in recognition for his distinguished service in achieving the American Cancer Society’s goals.

New MSP TechHire Scholars Program

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In Partnership with
Fairview Health Services and the City of Minneapolis

 

TechHire Scholars
Yonas Gebrekristos, Nicolas Adducci, Sara Mueller, Mohamed Sharif, Mohamed Safi Not pictured – Samira Jama

The City of Minneapolis and Fairview Health Services both identified the need to diversify the health information technology field. Funding from the City has enabled Fairview Health Services to partner with Augsburg College to create the MSP TechHire Scholars program. Augsburg students Yonas Gebrekristos, Nicolas Adducci, Sara Mueller, Mohamed Sharif, Mohamed Safi, and Samira Jama will start their semester long internships on September 19.

This partnership with Fairview and the City of Minneapolis will focus on increasing workforce diversity at Fairview and will provide access to IT jobs in the health sector to underrepresented students.

According to the Twin Cities Business Journal, 5,500 tech workers were hired in 2015 in Minnesota. Unfortunately, 20,000 openings went unfilled. With a high level of competition to hire employees with the necessarytechhire skills and education to fill tech positions and a limited amount of H1B visas to hire skilled workers from overseas, it is increasingly apparent that the Twin Cities must create new strategies for developing the future workforce. Collaborative partnerships between employers, government, and academic institutions will create a comprehensive strategy to ensure our region continues to be economically vibrant.

The Model
The pillars of the TechHire program have been carefully selected in response to the unique situation and challenge students of underrepresented communities face while in college and entering the workforce.

The pillars are:

Internship
Students are provided a paid internship by the host organization which introduces them to the Health IT field.fairview_brand_teal

Scholarship
A scholarship is provided to cover the cost of credits for the internship. Scholarships alleviate the financial burden students face by reducing the amount of student loan debt and/or the need for a paid work during the school year.

Professional Development
Many of the students enrolled in this program have little-to-no professional business experience. Nor do they have guidance on how to operate in a professional workspace. Augsburg College provides students enrolled in this program workshops on interpersonal communication, professional dress, dealing with conflict, and other topics young professionals face in the workplace.

Through current programs of a similar model 23 scholars have completed 24 separate internships; 80% of scholars have been employed in fields relevant to their degrees; students that participated in this program graduated with about $10,000 less in loan debt than the average Augsburg student.

If your organization is interested in diversifying your workforce and providing opportunities for young professionals, contact Lee George at 612-330-1629 or LGeorge@Augsburg.edu.

An Ethic of Stewardship

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President Pribbenow at Cargill

President Pribbenow gives keynote address at Cargill’s Ethics Week

Christopher Annand, Masters of Business Administration ’09 alum and Director of Global Ethics and Compliance at Cargill, created Cargill’s Ethics Week three years ago when he first joined the organization. Each year Christopher has grown the events and programs occurring throughout the week and this year invited President Pribbenow to give the keynote address to a global audience of Cargill employees.

Cargill Ethics Week is an employee celebration facilitated by the Global Ethics and Compliance department in the month of May. For a five day period, the company provides employees a series of events, communications and reflections around Cargill’s Guiding Principles, a set of seven principles that provides the foundation for the organization and its efforts across the world. In 2016, Ethics Week featured a kickoff podcast with the Chief Compliance Officer, Marcel Smits, a special Keynote Speaker address from Augsburg College President Paul Pribbenow and even a short cartoon featuring the animated versions of Cargill’s cargill postercompliance leaders. Although the week has concluded, Cargill employees are reminded of the Guiding Principles on a regular basis, and this summer will welcome an updated version of the Code of Conduct in 22 different languages.

President Pribbenow’s presentation, Promises to Keep: An Ethic of Stewardship, challenged the audience to understand when “remarkable gifts and pressing needs meet each other” and how to create abundance in the face of increasing demand for efficiency. Both Augsburg and Cargill are celebrating their 150th anniversary, have a global impact, address food sustainability, and work at being good stewards. Annand said “President Pribbenow’s remarks on the role of ethics and stewardship in business clearly resonated with Cargill employees who understand the responsibilities we have with our communities at home and across the globe. Augsburg and Cargill have rich legacies in service and it was a great honor to have President Pribbenow share his observations and reflections with employees in Minneapolis and over 20 other countries.”

Cargill has been a champion for Augsburg’s mission by previously supporting the American Indian Scholarship Fund and the Minnesota Urban Debate League. Augsburg is proud of the Auggie alumni who have found a purposeful career path at Cargill and are striving to be great stewards of their remarkable gifts.

If you are interested in how your company can partner with Augsburg College contact Lee George, Assistant Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at George2@Augsburg.edu.

President Pribbenow Honors 3M CFO Nick Gangestad ’86 with Inaugural Golden Bow Tie

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Last week, more than 50 Auggies gathered for lunch at the 3M campus in Maplewood. Despite sharing the same employer, some who had known each other had not made the connection of sharing an alma mater! President Pribbenow shared anecdotes from Augsburg’s history with 3M. During the 1970s, Augsburg’s business program hosted courses at 3M, and many Auggie alumni from this era are still employed there. Currently, more than 200 Augsburg alumni work for 3M.

Bow TieHolly Knutson ’03, MBA ’07, Auggie extraordinaire and member of the 3M finance department, worked with the Alumni Association to honor Nick Gangestad ’86 for his recent promotion as CFO. Pribbenow presented Gangestad with the inaugural Golden Bow Tie award:

The Golden Bow Tie Award is bestowed upon a leader within the Augsburg Community who exemplifies outstanding achievement, embodies the core values of an Augsburg education, and inspires great pride for all Auggies. Nick was also presented with a certificate and gold cufflinks in the shape of bow ties.

Nick Gangestad shared three core Augsburg philosophies at Augsburg that have impacted his life: faith, liberal arts, and a unique urban setting. As a student, Gangestad’s faith deepened, and he felt supported in that growth by Augsburg’s core Lutheran values. Liberal arts, the importance of entrepreneurship, and flexibility are also important to him. He attributes his liberal arts education to his ability to lead effectively at 3M. Coming from a small town in Iowa he had a distinct appreciation of Augsburg’s location in the city of Minneapolis.

The Augsburg Alumni Association can help you host your own workplace Augsburg Alumni event like this luncheon at 3M. To gather a group of Auggies at your workplace, please contact Amanda Scherer, assistant director of corporate and foundation relations at 612-330-1720 or scherera@augsburg.edu.