Every day we use and benefit from resources we all share—elements of “the commons” such as water, land, technology, public parks, and even culture. How society creates, uses, and manages the commons will be the theme of The Festival of the Commons, held October 7-8 at Augsburg College.
Elinor Ostrom, the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Economics, will be the keynote speaker. This professor of political science at Indiana University won the 2009 Nobel for research that demonstrates the worldwide importance of the commons.
She found that—counter to conventional wisdom—people could collaborate to use and manage natural resources, intellectual property, and other shared resources. Her work runs counter to current ideas about common property management, regulation, and privatization. Continue reading “Festival of the Commons slated October 7-8 at Augsburg College”
This week Augsburg will host the Festival of the Commons featuring Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrom on “Constructing Common Property Regimes.”
By Wendi Wheeler ’06
When Mai Choua Thao ’11, a senior studying business administration and accounting, was accepted into Augsburg’s Scholastic Connections program, she was hoping to connect on many levels with her mentor. But she said that Cindy Peterson, director of the program, had a tough time finding someone for Thao to work with. Then Peterson approached Jenny Yang, a counselor in the financial aid office at Augsburg. Though Yang is not an alum of Augsburg as most of the Scholastic Connections mentors are, she was a perfect fit for Thao.
The 2011 Bernhard M. Christensen Symposium, which will be held Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 26-27, will feature Walter Brueggeman, professor emeritus at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia, and United Church of Christ minister. Brueggemann’s work focuses on the relationship between the Hebrew Scriptures and Christian faith. His 58 books, hundreds of sermons, and worldwide lecture events have deeply influenced contemporary theology and biblical exegesis. Brueggemann’s books include The Prophetic Imagination, Praying the Psalms, Theology of the Old Testament, and numerous commentaries on the Hebrew canon.
The StepUP program at Augsburg College began in 1997 in response to prompting by students who found it difficult to live on a college campus while in recovery. Since then, more than 500 students have participated in the program. The Augsburg College StepUPprogram is the largest, most successful recovery community on a college campus in the U.S. It provides a life-changing experience that allows students to thrive in a community of accountability and support where they can achieve academic success and build life-long friendships. 
Since the College’s early days, Augsburg has been welcoming students from around the world to live and learn. Some come for a semester or one year, such as the students from our 
At Tuesday’s opening convocation, Day student body president Houa Lor ’13 challenged students to practice three art forms—habits in the art of learning that can help students succeed. An excerpt from his speech follows:
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