Professor Andy Aoki spoke with WCCO-TV about the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, known as ISIS, for the news station’s Good Question. Aoki, who teaches in the College’s political science department, explained to television viewers that ISIS is an extreme militant group that has been disavowed by Al Qaeda. He commented that this relatively young organization is rare, in part, because unlike most of history’s other horrific killers, this group isn’t trying to hide any of its actions. “It’s rare to find a group like this that’s not even embarrassed. Even the Nazis were denying some of the things they did. If you look at some of the most horrific killers the last 30 or 40 years, they’ve got to be in the top 5 so far,” he told viewers. Watch “Good Question: Who is ISIS.”
St. Paul Pioneer Press features Stephan Eirik Clark
Augsburg Assistant Professor Stephan Eirik Clark spoke with the St. Paul Pioneer Press about the surge of attention accompanying his new novel, “Sweetness #9,” and, in particular, its promotion on The Colbert Report television show.
The Pioneer Press article offers an overview of Clark’s debut novel and candid remarks regarding its writing and release. Read “St. Paul author finds sweet success after Colbert commendation” to learn more about “Sweetness #9.”
Dave Conrad: Communication strategies and change management
Augsburg College’s Dave Conrad, director of the Rochester MBA program, wrote in his most recent column for the Rochester Post-Bulletin about how communication strategies can help facilitate organizational transitions. Read “Communication is vital for change” for insight into how good leaders can communicate well and ease employees’ anxieties.
Nancy Steblay shares expertise on eyewitness identification
Psychology Prof. Nancy Steblay spoke with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about the reliability of eyewitness identification of criminal suspects. Steblay, who is a leading national expert on eyewitness identification, told the paper that the practice of showing a witness one photo at a time is more reliable than having witnesses look at an array of photos at once. Steblay said that a sequential process, “although it’s not perfect, it’s far superior – significantly superior – to the simultaneous procedure” because the witness is forced to compare the memory of the suspect to a single photo. The end result, she said, is a more absolute judgment. Read “New Pittsburgh public safety director spars with district attorney on eyewitness IDs.”
‘Colbert Bump’ creates media frenzy for Stephan Eirik Clark
Augsburg Assistant Professor Stephan Eirik Clark has faced a slew of media since his debut novel, Sweetness #9, received the “Colbert Bump” on The Colbert Report. Edan Lepucki, also a debut novelist, mentioned Clark’s book during her interview by Stephen Colbert on his television show. The “Colbert Bump” is part of Colbert’s effort to raise awareness of and interest in new novels as part of Colbert’s frustration with Amazon. Since receiving the bump, Clark has garnered significant media attention for his reaction to garnering the bump and Clark also has been referenced in many other articles about the episode. In many instances, Augsburg College also has been mentioned since Clark is a faculty member for the Master of Fine Arts program. A small sampling of the coverage includes:
- MinnPost.com – “The Colbert Bump” goes local
- The New York Times – Giving Another Debut Author the Colbert Bump
- Paste Magazine – Debut Author’s Novel Skyrockets to Bestseller…With Stephen Colbert’s Help
- Salon.com – “It was an out-of-body experience’: Stephan Eirik Clark on his novel getting the “Colbert Bump“
- Star Tribune
- St. Paul author Stephan Eirik Clark gets ‘Colbert bump’ for new novel
- Sweet, indeed. Stephan Eirik Clark’s ‘Sweetness #9’ gets a boost from ‘Colbert Bump’
- USA Today – Book Buzz: Colbert gives another Hachette author a lift
Stephan Eirik Clark gets ‘Colbert Bump’ on The Colbert Report
Augsburg Assistant Professor Stephan Eirik Clark’s book Sweetness #9 was mentioned on The Colbert Report as a debut novel that must be read. Stephen Colbert recently began a campaign to raise awareness of works by first-time novelists and that are published by independent booksellers. Clark’s book was singled out by author Edan Lepucki who was a guest on Colbert’s show. Clark teaches in Augsburg’s low-residency Master of Fine Arts program. Watch this segment of The Colbert Report to see Clark’s novel mentioned.
Andy Aoki answers WCCO ‘Good Question’
Political Science Professor Andy Aoki spoke to WCCO’s John Lauritsen about whether economic sanctions are a strategy that governments can use to change behavior by others. Aoki told the “Good Question” reporter that actions by the United States to freeze assets of some Russian defense companies and to block financing of that country’s banks and energy companies could create enough pain over the long run that Russia will change its behavior. Watch the WCCO “Good Question” interview to hear more of Aoki’s perspective on sanctions against Russia and other countries.
Dave Conrad: Good leaders focus on results
Augsburg College’s Dave Conrad, director of the Rochester MBA program, wrote in his most recent column for the Rochester Post-Bulletin about how good leaders should focus on results. Read “https://www.postbulletin.com/news/business/dave-conrad-good-leaders-focus-on-results-and-people/article_c9877a58-313f-527e-92ef-6d014a71da1d.html” href=”http://www.postbulletin.com/business/dave-conrad-good-leaders-focus-on-results-and-people/article_c9877a58-313f-527e-92ef-6d014a71da1d.html” target=”_blank”>Good Leaders Focus on Results” for insight into how good leaders can produce engaged employees.
Augsburg grad student on MPR News
Lorna “Emmy” Her Many Horses ’15, an Augsburg graduate student, was featured on MPR News for her work on translating the Star Spangled Banner to the Lakota and Dakota languages.
Her Many Horses, who grew up on a South Dakota Indian reservation and works for the Division of Indian Work, said reworking the national anthem was no easy task, “It was quite a process, figuring out what words we needed to make up,” she said.
To hear Her Many Horses’ rendition of the song visit the MPR news site.
Auggie named to leadership post for Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
Catherine Colsrud ’14 recently was named commissioner of administration for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. According to the Brainerd Dispatch, Colsrud, who holds a degree in business administration, will provide oversight of the commissioners of community development, health and human services, natural resources and environment. Read “Colsrud named commissioner of administration.”