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Minnesota Public Radio previews River Semester program

MPRLogoAugsburg College’s new River Semester program was featured on Minnesota Public Radio’s On Campus blog. Sixteen Augsburg students, two faculty members, and two river commercial expedition personnel will travel from St. Paul to New Orleans during the fall semester, oftentimes camping on the banks of the Mississippi River and engaging with people who live and work along its path. Students will carry out river-related projects and study subject areas in the arts and sciences.

Read “How Augsburg is going all Mark Twain” on the MPR website.

Visit the River Semester site to find additional program details and event announcements.

Matthew Beckman contributes to Star Tribune commentary

Minneapolis Star TribuneMatthew Beckman, assistant professor of biology, joined his research collaborators Grant Two Bulls and Amy Myrbo in writing a commentary for the Star Tribune that voiced support for renaming Minneapolis’ Lake Calhoun. As the commentary noted, recent events have initiated a debate regarding whether the lake should return to its original name in the Dakota language: Mde Maka Ska.

Beckman, Two Bulls, and Myrbo conducted research during summer 2014 that involved taking a core sample of lake sediment and studying its pollen content as a way to examine the ecological record of an early-19th-century Dakota agricultural village on its shore. This geological study of the lake showed a long history of Native American natural resource stewardship that extended centuries before the arrival of surveyors backed by John C. Calhoun, the lake’s namesake.

Visit the Star Tribune website to read, “Mde Maka Ska: A Minnesota name for a Minnesota lake.”

David Lapakko wins Great American Think-Off

Screen Shot 2015-06-19 at 12.07.06 PMDavid Lapakko, associate professor of communication studies, was crowned “America’s Greatest Thinker” at the 23rd annual Great American Think-Off held in New York Mills, Minnesota, in mid-June.

This year’s debate question was, “Does Technology Free Us or Trap Us?” and Lapakko argued for the liberating qualities of technology as he took home the prize.

 

BringMeTheNews names David Lapakko among Great Thinkers

David Lapakko, associate professor of communication studies, has been named a finalist in the Great American Think-Off, an annual competition in which hundreds of thinkers from across the United States and around the world submit essay answers to a question posed by the New York Mills Regional Cultural Center, according to BringMeTheNews. Lapakko is a veteran of the competition and this year responded to the prompt, “Does Technology Free Us or Trap Us?”

New book by Bill Green earns Pioneer Press nod

logo-smallThe Pioneer Press featured “Degrees of Freedom,” a new book by Professor of History William “Bill” Green, shortly after its release from University of Minnesota Press. In the book, Green “draws a picture of black experience in a northern state and the nature of black discontent and action within a predominantly white society, revealing little-known historical characters among the black men and women who moved to Minnesota following passage of the 15th Amendment,” according to veteran journalist Mary Ann Grossmann.

Visit the Pioneer Press website to learn more.

Dave Conrad shares workplace advice in national publication

Screen Shot 2015-05-05 at 10.51.05 AMU.S. News & World Report recently published an article detailing common missteps among top employees, and one of the issues was identified by Augsburg’s own Dave Conrad, assistant director of the Augsburg College Master of Business Administration program at Rochester and associate professor in Rochester and Minneapolis.

Conrad noted that it can be detrimental for an employee to be overly negative, which potentially could signal that the employee isn’t right for the company.

Elise Marubbio discusses on-screen portrayal of American Indians

Elise Marubbio, associate professor of American Indian Studies, shed light on the history of American Indians in film in the wake of a social media frenzy regarding a group of American Indian actors who walked off the set of an Adam Sandler movie due to its portrayal of faulty stereotypes. Marubbio’s doctoral work in Cultural Studies focused on the issues of race in film and media, with particular attention to the representation of Native Americans in American popular culture and Hollywood cinema.

In the article, “Adam Sandler movie flap sparks debate over American Indian roles in media,” Marubbio explained that tribes of the Great Plains often are portrayed living in Monument Valley – the legendary site of many John Wayne-John Ford movies, which is located on the Arizona-Colorado border, largely on the Navajo reservation.

Visit the Capital Journal website to learn more.

Colin Irvine named Carroll College’s next VP of Academic Affairs and Dean of the College

Colin Irvine, associate professor of English, will be leaving Augsburg College at the end of the 2014-15 academic year to join Carroll College in Helena, Mont., as its next vice president of academic affairs and dean of the college. Irvine’s new role was announced by KTVH-TV in a story that discussed his work at Augsburg College and areas of expertise.

MPR features Midnimo program’s Aar Maanta residency

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The Cedar Cultural Center and several other Minneapolis organizations hosted popular London-based Somali singer Aar Maanta in early April as part of the Midnimo series, a two-year partnership with Augsburg College to build cross-cultural awareness, knowledge, and understanding of Somali culture through music.

The Minnesota Public Radio story “Aar Maanta is the voice of a new Somali generation” discussed the ways in which Aar Maanta’s music resonates with Minnesotans and rejuvenates the Somali music scene.

Kristin Anderson discusses new St. Paul ballpark in Star Tribune

Minneapolis Star TribuneKristin Anderson — a sports architecture expert, Augsburg College archivist, and art history professor — was quoted in a Star Tribune article on the architecture of the new CHS Field set to open in the Lowertown district of downtown St. Paul this spring. CHS Field is the future home of the St. Paul Saints minor league team, and its architecture features a sleek low-slung design comprised of black concrete and steel. The article presented a number of individuals’ opinions of the design, noting that the structure is a standout amongst its adjacent buildings.

“The immediate expectation was that it had to match the things around it — ye old ballpark — and I don’t think that’s necessary … The subtlety of the exterior allows the action of the place to shine,” Anderson said.

Read, “St. Paul Saints: Not your grandfather’s ballpark” on the Star Tribune website to learn more.