bing pixel
  1. Home
  2. Category: Faculty

Harry Boyte examines public spaces and democracy

Posted on

Huffington-PostIn his latest Huffington Post article, Harry Boyte, Augsburg’s Sabo Senior Fellow, discusses the need for public spaces in higher education.

The idea, Boyte says, is that public spaces on college campuses can be used for discussions and demonstrations allowing for more political and democratic expression, therefore bridging the gap between “private” and “public” worlds.

“Public spaces allow for expressions of higher education’s best democratic values — free exchange of ideas, thoughtful discussion, appeal to evidence and respect for different perspectives,” Boyte said.

To read the “Universities, public spaces and the democratic way of life” article, visit the Huffington Post news site.

Augsburg wrestling’s record win draws media attention

Posted on

In mid-March, Augsburg College won its 12th NCAA Division III wrestling championship and took home a number of awards from the National Wrestling Coaches Association.

Head coach Jim Moulsoff was named Division III National Coach of the Year and Division III Rookie Coach of the Year. Tony Valek ’12 was named Assistant Coach of the Year, and Mike Fuenffinger ’15 won his second national title and the Outstanding Wrestler honor. Eric Hensel ’16 won Most Falls in Least Time, and Donny Longendyke ’15 earned his first national title.

Media coverage of Augsburg’s NCAA Championship win includes the following:

  • The Daily News – “Moulsoff puts Augsburg back on top”
  • KSTP – “Augsburg wrestling wins D-III Championship”
  • NCAA video recap – “Augsburg wins the 2015 DIII Wrestling Championship”
  • Star Tribune – “NCAA wrestling: St. Cloud State, Augsburg win national titles”
  • White Bear Press – “Longendyke pins down national title”
  • Jordan Independent – “Valek named DIII assistant wrestling coach of the year”

Augsburg College recognized for Muslim student organization

Posted on

Augsburg College was mentioned in the Minneapolis Star Tribune as part of an article about Muslim student associations that boast women in leadership roles.

Augsburg’s Muslim Student Association, led by Muna Mohamed ’16, aims to promote unity among Muslim students and to raise awareness within the Augsburg community about the culture, history, and language of the Muslim community.

To learn more about Augsburg’s Muslim Student Association and similar organizations at other campuses, visit the Star Tribune news site.

EAST program scholars talk with Minnesota Public Radio

Posted on

MPRLogoMinnesota Public Radio’s Tim Post profiled Augsburg College’s East African Student to Teacher (EAST) program, which works to recruit and train teachers of East African descent in an effort to help close the K-12 achievement gap.

The program, directed by Audrey Lensmire, assistant professor of education, told Post that by “having more teachers of color in our K-12 system, their professional voice will be shared by their colleagues.”

Post spoke with two current EAST scholars, Abdiasis Hirsi and Asma Ibrahim. Hirsi, who teaches at Wellstone International High School, was born in Somalia and raised in Kenya. He shared with Post that when he was only 19, Hirsi helped start a school in Nairobi to teach English to Somali refugees. Ibrahim, who shared with Post that she was born in Pakistan to Somali refugees, said she had a difficult time as a student in connecting with her teachers in Owatonna. She hopes to become a teacher to help students who are like her become comfortable enough to learn.

EAST is funded by the Collaborative Urban Educator Program and received $390,000 for two school years including 2013-14 to 2014-15. Additional funding is now being sought from the Minnesota State Legislature. State Sen. Kari Dziedzic has introduced a bill to nearly double funding over the next two years.

Listen or read “East African teachers connect with younger versions of themselves” on the website of MPR News. Learn more about the EAST program.

Matt Beckman adviser to award-winning high-school researcher at Breck School

Posted on

AmInEngSocAssistant Professor of  Biology Matt Beckman spoke with the Star Tribune about the work he is doing as an adviser to a Breck School senior doing research on 200-year-old pollen samples.

Grant Two Bulls, a member of the Oglala-Lakota tribe, won the American Indian Science and Engineering Society’s competition through his work and which is providing a look at the lives of his ancestors when they lived near Lake Calhoun.

“Here’s a high school senior doing pretty high-level research and then taking that data and speaking to national audiences about it in a really impressive way,” Beckman said to Kim McGuire, a reporter at the Star Tribune.

Read about the partnership between Beckman and Breck School in “Breck student’s science project is an award-winning mix of American Indian history and science.”

Learn about another Breck School student, Taylor McCanna, who was coached by David Murr, physics professor. McCanna took second place in one of the most prestigious international science fairs for her work with Murr.

Harry Boyte talks special education and civil rights

Posted on

Huffington-PostIn his latest Huffington Post article, Harry Boyte, Augsburg’s Sabo Senior Fellow, discussed special education and how it has become part of a “new” civil rights movement.

In the article, Boyte says that Augsburg College is a school that has gotten it right.

“The Augsburg special education program, dedicated to changing the entire special education profession from an approach which seeks to fix “problem kids” to an empowering pedagogy called Public Achievement which develops their public skills, is an outstanding example,” Boyte wrote in the article.

Read “The march is not over yet: a different education for the 21st century,” on the Huffington Post news site.

Dave Conrad discusses when to let an employee go

Posted on

PostBulletinDave Conrad, assistant director of the Rochester MBA program, wrote in his latest column for the Rochester Post-Bulletin about the ins and outs of firing an employee.

Conrad suggests a checklist, of sorts, to weigh the options when deciding whether or not to dismiss an employee.

“Because terminating someone is such a big decision, it helps to have an unemotional and objective way to measure the impact of the decision,” Conrad said.

To read the article, visit the Post-Bulletin news site.

Bridget Robinson-Riegler named among top psychology professors

Posted on

robinsonBridget Robinson-Riegler, cognitive psychology professor at Augsburg College, was included on a list of 10 “must-take” psychology professors in the Twin Cities.

Robinson-Riegler began her teaching career at Augsburg in 1994. Students describe her as firm-yet-fair, kind, and intelligent. She said she is thankful to have been a part of the list and that she draws her inspiration from students.

“I am so grateful to the Augsburg students who inspire me and remind [me] every day how truly lucky I am,” Robinson-Riegler said.

Robinson-Riegler is skilled at making complex psychology concepts comprehensible for a general audience. She recently contributed to one of WCCO’s “Good Question” segments about memory in the human brain.

Harry Boyte discusses importance of civic agency

Posted on

Huffington-PostHarry Boyte, senior fellow in the Sabo Center for Democracy and Citizenship, in his latest Huffington Post article talked about the importance of civic studies within schools.

In 1991, Boyte helped start Public Achievement, an “interdisciplinary action-oriented field focused on agency and citizens as co-creators,” to encourage the practice of self-organized civic action among students.

Read “Civic Agency and Executive Function: An Emerging Conversation” on the Huffington Post site.