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Urban Debaters Tackle Economic Inequality Before State and Local Leaders

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The Minnesota Urban Debate League, a program of Augsburg University, is proud to present the 2023 Mayors Challenge: The Great Prosperity Debate at the American Swedish Institute from 5–8 p.m. on September 21. 

In this year’s debate, four students will split into two teams and debate issues related to the 2023–24 national policy debate topic of economic inequality. This topic engages students nationwide about the role of the U.S. federal government in fiscal redistribution, including policy proposals like a federal jobs guarantee, expanding Social Security, and providing basic income.

The debate will take place in front of a community of local education supporters, including special guests Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Governor Tim Walz, First Lady Gwen Walz, and a VIP panel of economic policy experts. 

Abdihafid Mohamed of Edison High School, Minneapolis, and Adai Truong of Central High School, Saint Paul, will argue the affirmative at the 11th annual Mayors Challenge event. They will face off against Lily St Dennis of Highland Park High School, Saint Paul, and Sabrena Thao of Tartan High School, Oakdale, arguing the negative. All are members of their schools’ debate teams, hosted by the Minnesota Urban Debate League. 

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison will receive the 2023 Champion of Change Award at the event. This award is given annually to a community changemaker who models courageous leadership and inspires students. Previous recipients include Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. 

Since 2012, the Mayors Challenge has brought together education advocates from across the Twin Cities to watch an empowering, informative showcase debate and invest in the future of urban debate. Debate has been shown to positively impact literacy, self-esteem, critical thinking, attendance, and test scores. Students who participate in debate develop the capacity to engage in civil disagreement and civil discourse, skills that are essential for citizenship in a multicultural democracy. 

Registration for the 2023 Mayors Challenge is available now.

About MNUDL

The Minnesota Urban Debate League is a program of Augsburg University that provides resources and programming to support competitive academic debate in Twin Cities high schools and middle schools. The mission of MNUDL is to empower students through competitive academic debate to become engaged learners, critical thinkers, and active global citizens who are effective advocates for themselves and their communities. Currently, MNUDL serves more than 1,000 students at 40 partner schools and has seen sustained growth in student participation since its inception in 2004, in programs including national topic policy debate, middle school debate, Spanish Debate League, East African Debate, Financial Literacy Leadership Debates, and MDAW Summer Speech & Debate Camp. 

For more information, contact: Minnesota Urban Debate League, Amy Cram Helwich, (612) 359-6467, cramhe@augsburg.edu.

Congratulations to Auggies Named to the 2023 Summer Semester Dean’s List

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University SealMore than 95 Augsburg University undergraduate students were named to the 2023 Summer Semester Dean’s List. The Augsburg University Dean’s List recognizes those full-time students who have achieved a grade point average of 3.50 or higher and those part-time students who have achieved a grade point average of 3.75 or higher in a given term.

View the 2023 Summer Semester Dean’s List.

Students who wish to notify their hometown newspapers of their achievement can do so at their discretion using a news announcement template.

Augsburg University Named Among Nation’s Most LGBTQ-Friendly

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White Auggie eagle on rainbow backgroundAugsburg University has been named one of the top 30 colleges and universities for LGBTQ+ students, according to Campus Pride, the leading national organization dedicated to building future LGBTQ and ally leaders and creating safer communities at colleges and universities. Augsburg is the only institution from Minnesota to receive Campus Pride’s Best of the Best recognition in 2023.

“Earning a spot on Campus Pride’s Best of the Best list recognizes an institution’s efforts to create a safe and welcoming campus for their LGBTQ+ students, staff and faculty,” said Campus Pride Founder, CEO and Executive Director Shane Mendez Windmeyer. “In the current climate, in which LGBTQ+ identities have become political talking points and laws are being weaponized against LGBTQ+ people, the commitment to creating campuses that welcome and protect LGBTQ+ students can not be taken for granted. The colleges and universities that made our list this year deserve this recognition for the efforts they have made and continue to make.”

Augsburg’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual (LGBTQIA+) Student Services office works to improve the campus environment for all students, staff, faculty, and visitors by developing and supporting inclusive understandings of gender and sexuality. Activities include:

  • Advising, advocacy, mentorship, and support for LGBTQIA+ -identified students;
  • Development of student knowledge and leadership skills;
  • Promoting awareness and visibility for the LGBTQIA+ community on campus;
  • Providing networking and social opportunities for the LGBTQIA+ and allied campus community;
  • Training students, staff, and faculty about gender and sexual equity to foster a welcoming and inclusive environment;
  • Advocating for change in policies, practices, and procedures across the campus to be more equitable to LGBTQIA individuals.

Two LGBTQIA+ student organizations, Queer Pride Alliance and Queer Indigenous People of Color, host a number of events for the Augsburg community throughout the year. At the annual Lavender Celebration, graduating LGBTQIA+ and ally students are honored with a rainbow cord to wear at commencement, and the community recognizes outstanding individuals for their work and contributions for queer and trans students at Augsburg.

Campus Pride’s 2023 Best of the Best LGBTQ-friendly list includes 30 four-year public and private colleges and universities from around the country. Each institution achieved 5 out of 5 stars and the highest percentage scores on the Campus Pride Index (CPI), the premier national benchmarking tool measuring LGBTQ-friendly policies, programs, and practices on college and university campuses. The Campus Pride Index rates colleges and universities based on self-reporting of LGBTQ-friendly policies, programs and practices, such as non-discrimination statements inclusive of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression, gender affirming health care, LGBTQ+ peer mentorship programs, campus safety training on sexual orientation and gender identity, LGBTQ-specific major and course offerings, and the presence of LGBTQ & ally student and faculty organizations. The full Campus Pride 2023 Best of the Best list is available online at CampusPride.org/BestoftheBest.

Learn more about programming and support resources available through Augsburg’s LGBTQIA+ Student Services.

Continuing Ed Series Equips Teachers to Support Students’ Mental Health

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Teachers play an increasingly critical role in supporting mental health needs among children and youth. A new set of continuing education courses from Augsburg University aims to ensure that they have the resources and training to do so in a transformative and culturally responsive way.

The Certificate in Supporting Student Mental Health for K-12 Teachers, offered by Augsburg’s Center for Adult and Continuing Education, provides K-12 educators an equity-based approach to mental health, trauma, and social-emotional learning. Each self-paced, online, on-demand course meets state continuing education requirements for maintaining licensure.

The three modules can be taken individually (4 hours each) or altogether (12 hours total). Teachers who complete all three courses will receive the Supporting Student Mental Health for K-12 Teachers certificate.

  • Understanding Mental Health and Suicide Prevention provides an overview of the history of mental health care; signs and symptoms of mental illness in children and adolescents; how to recognize and minimize mental illness stigma; and resources available for teachers, students, families, and caregivers focused on recovery and suicide prevention.
  • Trauma-Informed Practices for K-12 Classrooms helps teachers build a foundation to create a safe learning space for students who have experienced chronic stress and trauma; recognize the symptoms of trauma and its relationship to mental illness; and promote healing in the classroom.
  • Transformative Social and Emotional Learning guides participants through a social and emotional learning framework that is rooted in equity, identity, belonging, and community justice. It is designed to help teachers move beyond teaching and modeling competencies to a place of reflective practice that focuses on examining educational conditions.

The series honors the legacy of the late Claudia Murray, a sophomore psychology major and midfielder on the Augsburg women’s soccer team who passed away unexpectedly in 2022. Generous support from the Murray family will provide a 50% discount to the first 100 participants.

“We were offered a beautiful opportunity with this gift and we aimed to create enriching courses by collaborating with both on and off campus experts,” said Jennifer Diaz, associate professor and chair of Augsburg’s Department of Education. “We are excited about what the courses have to offer educators working to value and meet students where they are across their diverse and complex lived experiences.”

Drawing on Augsburg’s outstanding faculty and centers of expertise, the Center for Adult and Continuing Education offers a growing number of live, online, and on-demand courses. For more information or to register, visit the CACE website.

Augsburg Health Commons Bring Drop-In Care to New Locations

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PA faculty member Vanessa Bester is seated on a stool providing foot care at a Health Commons location.The Augsburg Health Commons is expanding to bring its proven model of accompaniment-based care to more neighbors through new partnerships and locations.

Late last year, an agreement with M Health Fairview and Redeemer Center for Life formalized a partnership at the Living Room in the Harrison neighborhood of north Minneapolis, where a drop-in site based on the Health Commons model had operated since 2012. Following a disruption of in-person services during the COVID-19 pandemic, the site was re-opened in October 2022 under the leadership of Augsburg Physician Assistant Program Director Vanessa Bester.  

This summer, the first Health Commons in St. Paul opened in the Conway Community Center through a partnership with M Health Fairview, the Sanneh Foundation, and the East Side Health & Well-Being Collaborative. Health Commons Executive Director Katie Clark and Augsburg Board of Regents Chair Dennis Meyer will join St. Paul community leaders on August 16 for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Health Commons East. 

These new locations join long-standing Health Commons sites at Central Lutheran Church in downtown Minneapolis and in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. 

“Our nursing and physician assistant faculty, along with our students, are committed to the vision of a drop-in center that focuses on the needs of the communities we serve to address health inequities and other deep-rooted issues faced when seeking care,” said Augsburg President Paul C. Pribbenow. “Augsburg is especially pleased to extend our efforts to the East Side St. Paul neighborhood.”

Augsburg’s Health Commons sites are health-focused drop-in centers led and organized by nursing and physician assistant faculty members, Augsburg students, volunteers, and community members. Developed by Augsburg nursing faculty in the early 1990s, the Health Commons model is founded on principles of hospitality and relationship development that leads to transcultural understanding and health benefits for all participants. 

The people who come to the Health Commons are from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, and many are unhoused or marginally housed. Health concerns might include nutrition, medication, stress management, respiratory conditions, injuries, skin problems, and chronic disease such as diabetes and hypertension. Everyone is welcome, and all services are provided free of charge, without proof of need or time constraints. 

Augsburg’s PA program has taken on a growing role as new partnerships and locations have developed. The PA program has led the expansion of services at the Cedar-Riverside Health Commons, connecting with community members providing foot care, a need across many marginalized communities. 

“The PA program is humbled and honored to bring the model of accompaniment-based care into our curriculum and medical practice. Faculty, staff and students are able to build connections, meet people where they are at in their health journey, and learn how health inequities are impacting the people we care for every day. The Harrison neighborhood, Cedar-Riverside, Central Lutheran, and now East St. Paul are the paradigm of what providing health and care should look like in every community,” said Bester. 

To learn more, volunteer, or support the Health Commons, visit augsburg.edu/healthcommons.

Augsburg University Statement on Supreme Court Decision to Strike Down Race-Conscious Admissions

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Three students walk under leafy trees on the Augsburg campus towards a maroon banner that reads "Augsburg University"The Augsburg community is committed to intentional diversity in our life and work. This commitment aligns with our use of holistic application review and our direct admissions approach, launched in fall 2022. Because direct admissions does not consider race as a factor, Augsburg’s current admissions processes are unlikely to be affected by the SFFA v. Harvard/UNC ruling—despite potentially far-reaching impacts for higher education.

Augsburg’s experience with direct admissions may serve as a useful case study on alternative strategies to lower barriers for historically underrepresented and marginalized student populations following this decision. 

Media contact: Rachel Farris, farrisr@augsburg.edu

Augsburg Receives 2023 Eduventures Innovation Award

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A woman and two men stand in front of a brick wall. The man in the middle is holding a plaque and smiling.Augsburg was among three universities recently honored for making bold moves to improve access, equity, and inclusion in higher education. Encoura, an educational data science and research organization,​ announced the winners of the annual Innovation Awards Program at Eduventures Summit 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. 

Augsburg was recognized for the Augsburg Applies to You enrollment management approach, implemented in Fall 2022. This multi-pronged initiative seeks to create a more equitable and sustainable college admissions system through direct admissions, student success coaching, and inclusive academic belonging.

“Augsburg Applies to You aims to lower barriers, foster a culture of belonging, and ultimately change systems to address historically rooted inequities in higher education,” said Augsburg President Paul Pribbenow. “I want to recognize the courage and commitment of our strategic enrollment management division staff, every one of whom took ownership of the project and contributed to its successful launch this year.” 

Now in its seventh year, the Eduventures Innovation Awards Program honors organizations and teams that are shaping the future of higher education. Eduventures received a record number of submissions that showcased innovative and transformative projects this year. Entries are designed to identify higher education institutions that have demonstrated significant innovations when developing and deploying programs that impact enrollment, student experience, or outcomes. 

“More than ever, global society relies on innovation to help evolve humanity and make our lives more productive, healthy, and equitable,” said Cara Quackenbush, Encoura’s executive vice president of research. “We are thrilled to be honoring the institutions that have created new, actionable, and innovative programs that are changing the landscape for higher education and their shared commitment of serving their student bodies and the larger community.”

Read the full announcement from Encoura or learn more about Augsburg Applies to You.

Great Returns Campaign Exceeds Goal

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White text on maroon background reads "Great Returns," with smaller orange text beneath that reads, "We're All In"Today Augsburg University announced the close of its Great Returns: We’re All In comprehensive fundraising campaign. The largest campaign in Augsburg’s history, Great Returns raised over $128.8 million, surpassing the campaign goal of $125 million.

“I have had the privilege of meeting many Auggies during my time as chair of this campaign and it’s evident how much people love Augsburg,” said Regent Emeritus and campaign chair Paul Mueller ’84, MD. “The investments made by Great Returns benefactors will yield transformational results for Augbsurg students and faculty for generations to come.”

Nearly 15,000 alumni and friends of the university made more than 55,000 gifts over the course of the campaign. Campaign priorities included endowed funds for scholarships, teaching and programs; campus improvements; athletics; and unrestricted operating support to provide flexibility in responding to students’ needs in an ever-evolving higher education landscape.

Campaign highlights include:

  • Creation of the John N. Schwartz ’67 School of the Arts, an interdisciplinary hub for the visual and performing arts
  • More than 150 gifts of $25,000 and above to endowed scholarships
  • Six new endowed professorships and chairs in music, interfaith studies, business, entrepreneurial studies, and sociology
  • Improvements to athletics facilities, including the Donny Wichmann ’89 Weight Room and Patricia Piepenburg ’69 Women’s Locker Room
  • Gifts totaling over $10 million to endow the StepUP® collegiate recovery program
  • $6.1 million raised to support diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives
  • $1.6 million raised for the President’s Strategic Fund

“We are humbled and grateful for the extraordinary show of support for Augsburg’s mission and vision from the thousands of alumni and friends who participated in the campaign,” said Augsburg President Paul C. Pribbenow. “These investments will transform the lives of our students, who go on to lead and serve in their communities and throughout the world. From all of us at Augsburg: thank you.”

Congratulations to Auggies Named to the 2023 Spring Semester Dean’s List

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University SealMore than 855 Augsburg University undergraduate students were named to the 2023 Spring Semester Dean’s List. The Augsburg University Dean’s List recognizes those full-time students who have achieved a grade point average of 3.50 or higher and those part-time students who have achieved a grade point average of 3.75 or higher in a given term.

View the 2023 Spring Semester Dean’s List.

Students who wish to notify their hometown newspapers of their achievement can do so at their discretion using a news announcement template.

Augsburg University Names Rachel Bergman the Inaugural Sateren Professor of Music

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Rachel Bergman has curly, shoulder-length brown hair. She is wearing wire-frame glasses and a burgundy short-sleeved shirt.Following a national search, Rachel Bergman has been named the inaugural Leland B. Sateren ’35 Professor and Endowed Chair of Music at Augsburg University.

The Augsburg Music Department focuses on music-making as an act of healing, an act of global citizenship, and an act of anti-racism. The Sateren chair works to advance the department’s commitments to inclusion, access, equity, and belonging. In this role, Bergman will serve as a local and national spokesperson for the department’s distinctive programs and learning opportunities.

“The Sateren chair honors Augsburg’s long tradition of musical excellence,” said President Paul C. Pribbenow. “Dr. Bergman’s appointment builds on this legacy as we celebrate the rich diversity of our students’ musical gifts, experiences, interests, and expressions. We are delighted to welcome her to Augsburg and the Schwartz School of the Arts.”

Regent John Schwartz ’67, who established the endowed chair in memory of renowned Augsburg choral conductor and composer Leland Sateren ’35, noted that Bergman joins Augsburg at an exciting time. “The university is poised to move into a new era of interdisciplinary curriculum in the arts with energetic and creative faculty like Dr. Bergman leading the way.”

An active flutist and advocate of new music, Bergman currently serves as director of academic initiatives and arts outreach at Sheridan College in northern Wyoming. Her previous roles at Sheridan College include dean of visual and performing arts and dean of online learning. She has also served as associate professor of music theory and director of graduate studies for the School of Music at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, and as a flute instructor at the Skidmore Summer Flute Institute in Saratoga Springs, New York.

“I am thrilled to be joining Augsburg University this fall,” said Bergman. “I’m particularly excited about serving in a liberal arts institution with a focus on students and community. I truly believe that music should be accessible to all, and I look forward to working with the Music Department to strengthen the role of music throughout the university and with our neighbors.”

In addition to teaching, Bergman researches, promotes, and performs contemporary works for flute in solo and chamber settings. Her academic research focuses on the works of Viktor Ullmann, a Jewish, Austro-Hungarian composer who was killed in the Holocaust. A past president of the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic and a member of Assisi Performing Arts (Italy), Bergman has presented papers and lecture-recitals both nationally and internationally. She holds a doctorate in music theory from Yale University and a bachelor of arts in music and mathematics from Skidmore college.

“Dr. Bergman’s lifelong commitment to meeting students where they are, along with her track record as a dynamic leader, effective administrator, and tenured professor at a large research university, make her a stellar addition to our faculty,” said Paula O’Loughlin, provost and senior vice president for academic and student affairs.

“Rachel Bergman’s vision for music at Augsburg aligns with the trajectory of our talented music faculty,” said Ryan Haaland, dean of arts and sciences. “She brings a wealth of experience as an educator and leader that will serve our students and campus well.”

Augsburg offers a variety of bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music, with specializations in music business, music education, and music therapy, plus choral and instrumental ensembles that are open to all students.

Learn more at Augsburg.edu/music.