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Seexeng Lee '97 explores Hmong identity through art

seexeng_leeGrowing up as a child, art was the only way I knew how to conceive images and meanings. I naturally found peace when I physically produced visual images to each of my father’s stories. With nothing but wooden sticks and a dirt floor as my canvas, my imagination went to work. My very first piece of art was an elephant. And from there as each story visually came alive in my imagination, so did the dirt canvas in my parent’s hut. I knew then I wanted to be an artist.

–Seexeng Lee, Hmong artist

To celebrate Asian Heritage Month, the Augsburg Asian Student Association has invited Seexeng Lee ’97 to share an exploration of the Hmong identity through his creative work. Lee is a nationally recognized artist and educator who currently teaches in the Minneapolis Public Schools. Continue reading “Seexeng Lee '97 explores Hmong identity through art”

Torstenson lecture looks at Barack Obama, Michael Jordan

torstensonThe Augsburg College Department of Sociology is proud to announce the third annual Torstenson Lecture in Sociology featuring Doug Hartmann, associate professor of sociology from the University of Minnesota. The lecture, entitled “Barack Obama, Michael Jordan, and the Complexities of Blackness in 21st Century American Culture,” will be held Wednesday, April 8 at 5 p.m. in the Arnold Atrium, Foss Center.

Douglas Hartmann (PhD University of California, San Diego, 1997) is professor and associate chair of sociology at the University of Minnesota. He is the author of Race, Culture, and the Revolt of the Black Athlete: The 1968 Olympic Protests and Their Aftermath (University of Chicago Press), and recently published an expanded second edition of Ethnicity and Race: Making Identities in a Changing World (Pine Forge Press, with Stephen Cornell). Continue reading “Torstenson lecture looks at Barack Obama, Michael Jordan”

"Urinetown: The Musical" explores corporate abuse of power

urinetownDue to an overwhelming response, tickets for Augsburg’s production of Urinetown: The Musical sold out the week before the show’s opening. Tickets may be available in the unclaimed ticket line prior to each performance. Call 612-330-1257 for information.

Director’s Notes

Since its opening in September 2001, Urinetown: The Musical has been produced in professional, educational, and community theatres all over the country. The Broadway production received Tony Awards for Best Director, Best Original Score, and Best Book of a Musical. Continue reading “"Urinetown: The Musical" explores corporate abuse of power”

Fulbright Scholar will teach in Malaysia

macaulay_fulbrightKatie Macaulay ’09 didn’t know much about the Fulbright Scholarship program last spring. She had heard about the program, but kind of dismissed it as a realistic possibility.

“I thought it was a scholarship of the Ivy League, I thought it was out of reach,” Macaulay said. “I’m a small town girl from Minnesota.”

But something happened one day last April when Macaulay was studying in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She hopped on her computer, logged in to Inside Augsburg to check her e-mail and stumbled across the story of how fellow Auggies Ashely Stoffers and Erin Olsen had been awarded Fulbright scholarships. Continue reading “Fulbright Scholar will teach in Malaysia”

Augsburg recognizes distinguished contributions to teaching and learning

ctl_awardsThe Center for Teaching and Learning annually recognizes exemplary work by faculty and staff in support of teaching and learning at Augsburg College. Up to three awards are available annually reflecting the breadth of contributions important for a quality liberal education. Each award carries a stipend of $1000, recognition and celebration.

Awards are based on evidence of student learning and student satisfaction provided by students, colleagues, and documentation. Awardees will be acknowledged at the Honors Convocation on Friday, Apr. 17 and at other events. Opportunities for winners to share ideas with the campus community will take place throughout the year following the award.

Mentoring/Advising Award – Susan Nash, Nursing (left) and Dale Pederson, Biology (center)

Sustained excellence is demonstrated through deep conversation about and attention to vocation, career and student success overall; students are guided through the processes leading to successful and timely graduation; students recognize the attention and care provided by the nominee.

Teaching Award – Tracy Bibelnieks, Mathematics (right)

Sustained excellence is demonstrated through syllabi, course materials and grading patterns reflecting effective teaching and learning; exemplary work in both content and pedagogy is supported by evidence from the department chair, colleagues and students.

 

Meeting our neighbors to the south

chicagoWhile some of their friends and classmates learn about homelessness and hunger in Minneapolis, build homes in New Orleans, another group of Auggies is taking an “alternative” spring break and getting to know more about the people and the city of Chicago.

Students from ALAS (Allied Latina/o – Augsburg Students) organized their trip to explore Chicago’s Latina/o neighborhoods such as Pilsen on the west side. This neighborhood has long welcomed immigrant families and now houses the largest Latino/a population in the city. There, students are visiting cultural centers, meeting residents, and learning about community activism. Continue reading “Meeting our neighbors to the south”

Alternative spring break—homelessness and hunger

alt_spring_breakMarie Sager has different spring break plans than most Auggies. Instead of heading home for the week or taking a trip to a sunny beach, Sager will spend her time in Minneapolis participating in Augsburg’s third annual “Minneapolis Alternative Spring Break.”

But even this has changed for 2009.

“In the past, it was more of a chance to get to know Minneapolis,” Sager said. “This is the first year we have a theme.”

The theme this year is “Homelessness and Hunger,” and from March 16-18, participants can take part in one or all of the free events, including volunteer work, a dinner out and trip to the Science Museum of Minnesota, or even a tour of Simpson House. Alternative Spring Break is sponsored by the Center for Service, Work, and Learning, Campus Ministry, and LINK. Continue reading “Alternative spring break—homelessness and hunger”

Fulbright Scholar will teach in Indonesia

fulbright_suttonEmma Sutton ’09 always wanted to know more about people who were different from her neighbors. Growing up in a Caucasian, Irish Catholic neighborhood on Chicago’s south side, Sutton said she never had contact with people from other races. But her mother, a Chicago police officer, did.

“My mother is very opinionated,” she said. “so I was automatically driven to investigate for myself if the things she said were true.”

And investigate she did. Sutton’s quest to learn about others eventually brought her to Greece, Turkey, the British Virgin Islands, and to Tanzania. This August, she will begin a nine-month assistantship in Indonesia teaching English as a Fulbright Scholar. Continue reading “Fulbright Scholar will teach in Indonesia”

Helping a house feel like "home"

Photo courtesy Ahsle Neunsing. Pictured (L to R) Charlie Hugo, Ashle Neunsinger, Ryan Tapio, Mara Laub (front), Amanda Symes
Photo courtesy Ahsle Neunsing. Pictured (L to R) Charlie Hugo, Ashle Neunsinger, Ryan Tapio, Mara Laub (front), Amanda Symes

Five Augsburg students are helping turn a house into “home” for women and children at a shelter in Eagan, Minn. Through the month of March, the students are collecting clothing, bedding, personal care items, and toys and games for residents of Lewis House.

For their “Engaging Minneapolis” project in small group communication, the students chose to learn about resources available to abused women in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro. They found Lewis House, a shelter run by the Community Action Council of Scott and Dakota counties, and went there to meet Doreen Ulrich, the program director. Continue reading “Helping a house feel like "home"”

Meet the 2009 Peace Scholars

peace_scholarsAugsburg is proud to announce that Jessica Spanswick and Katia Iverson have been chosen as the 2009 Peace Scholars representing Augsburg College.

Spanswick [pictured left], a sophomore from Perham, Minn., is majoring in international relations with a minor in peace and global studies. Spanswick enjoys playing the alto saxophone in the Augsburg Concert Band and the Gospel Praise Jazz Ensemble, but her favorite activity is tutoring East African adults and children in the Cedar Riverside community. She is also actively involved in the Seward Montessori School, helping with a 4th and 5th grade class. The most meaningful college experience for Spanswick was studying abroad in Namibia and South Africa in the fall semester of 2008. Studying “Nation Building, Globalization, and Decolonizing the Mind” in Namibia inspired a passion in her for cross-cultural communication. She is planning to work abroad after graduating in Spring 2010, and hopes to return to Africa. Her goal is to one day work for the United Nations in a peacekeeping mission. Continue reading “Meet the 2009 Peace Scholars”