This section of the News and Media Services department site tracks stories in print and broadcast media that feature Auggie faculty, students, and staff. The area also is home to material developed for University-related programs, events, and more.
George Dierberger, associate professor of business administration and director of Augsburg University’s MBA program, has been appointed to serve as the inaugural Thomas ’72 and Karen Howe endowed professor for entrepreneurship.
“The intersection of Tom and Karen Howe’s personal experiences as entrepreneurs and George Dierberger’s professional commitment to educate students for entrepreneurial leadership make this new professorship a remarkable opportunity to celebrate the power of philanthropy to transform lives,” said Augsburg President Paul C. Pribbenow. “As the inaugural Howe Endowed Professor of Entrepreneurship, George is dedicated to integrating innovation across the university, ensuring that students in business, science, the arts, the humanities, and beyond, are equipped to be entrepreneurial leaders in their careers and communities.”
Dierberger spent 25 years in a variety of leadership positions at 3M, where he led multi-million dollar sales initiatives, started five new businesses, and implemented product launches ranging from high-tech laser pointers to government-regulated products. His teaching areas of expertise include innovation, entrepreneurship, leadership, organizational development, change management, international business and strategic management. He continues to consult for entrepreneurial organizations and oversees MBA field projects that include writing strategic plans for Fortune 500 companies, Mayo Clinic, entrepreneurs, and nonprofits. Dierberger was named a Fulbright Scholar in 2022, spending three months in residence at the Atlantic Technological University in Letterkenny, Ireland.
“Professor Dierberger’s impressive accomplishments and long-standing commitment to continuous innovation in our business program make him a natural fit for the Howe professorship,” said Paula O’Loughlin, provost and senior vice president for academic and student affairs. “His expertise and innovative spirit will take Augsburg’s investment in entrepreneurship to the next level across our curriculum.”
“Tom and Karen’s visionary gift and George’s entrepreneurial leadership will make a difference in the lives of countless students and those they serve for generations to come,” said Pribbenow.
This public history project combines archival research, oral histories, and the insights of scholars to engage and learn from local communities—with special attention to how people of color have experienced policing in the Twin Cities.
“The idea is that we as historians take our expertise and try to think about how we can do public-facing work that contributes to community conversations,” said Lansing. “That’s what “Overpoliced & Underprotected in MSP” is really all about. We’re interested in recovering, collecting, and sharing stories of unjust policing, as well as forms of community resistance to unjust policing, with the hope that it makes this contribution to the very important community conversations that are happening right now about public safety.”
“We’re fond of saying that history doesn’t repeat itself, it echoes,” said Williams, who is a professor of history and director of the Racial Justice Initiative at the University of St. Thomas. “What you’re seeing in something like the [George] Floyd murder, the inability to hold officers accountable, are the echoes of the past. If we go back and recover that history, we have a basis to talk about what real change would look like—not simply professionalization, but actual reform, and a move from policing to public safety.”
In addition to the project website and a documentary short produced last year with TPT, Lansing and Williams are working on an oral history project, planning public events, and continuing to gather community stories. The project will culminate in an archive held at a local institution.
The U.S. Department of State announced today that Augsburg University has been named a Fulbright Top-Producing Institution for U.S. Scholars. This designation recognizes the U.S. colleges and universities that had the highest number of applicants selected for the 2022–23 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program.
Each year, this elite program selects approximately 900 faculty members or administrators from across the country to lecture, conduct research, or pursue short- or long-term professional projects abroad.
In the 2022–23 academic year, Augsburg faculty members George Dierberger, associate professor of business administration, and Joseph Erickson, professor of education, were named Fulbright Scholars. Dierberger’s Fulbright took him to Letterkenny, Ireland, while Erickson is spending the spring in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
The Fulbright Program has been a cornerstone of international education and cultural exchange for the United States since 1946. The purpose of the program is to inspire, innovate, and contribute to finding solutions for communities and the world.
Fulbright alumni work to make a positive impact on their communities, sectors, and the world and have included 41 heads of state or government, 62 Nobel Laureates, 89 Pulitzer Prize winners, 78 MacArthur Fellows, and countless leaders and changemakers who carry forward the Fulbright mission of enhancing mutual understanding.
For more information about the Fulbright Program, visit https://fulbrightprogram.org/
This question has been at the heart of Professor John Zobitz’s career as a mathematician and data scientist. Now he’s working to help other faculty bring a social justice lens to mathematics and statistics education.
With a $50,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, Zobitz and colleagues from Concordia College–Moorhead, Winona State University, and Anoka-Ramsey Community College will convene an inaugural three-day conference for math instructors this summer.
The Mathematics and Data for Social Justice Summer Seminar aims to help faculty at two- and four-year colleges teach math in context, using examples such as credit risk modeling or differential impacts from climate change to illustrate core concepts.
From a teaching standpoint, this means seeking out appropriate data sets, exploring local issues, and developing greater capacity to manage classroom conversations about social justice. Seminar facilitators include Gizen Karaali and Lily Khadjavi, editors of “Mathematics for Social Justice: Resources for the College Classroom,” to which Zobitz was a contributing author.
After this summer’s gathering, the organizers aim to develop a community of practice that will provide ongoing collaboration and peer support as faculty work to make their teaching more culturally relevant and responsive. They will also share lessons and curricular resources with other institutions through the Mathematical Association of America’s regional conference.
“Our goal is to enact change in the classroom by starting at the instructor level,” said Zobitz. “But we also hope that this seminar will serve as a model for professional development aimed at advancing equity in STEM fields.”
The last in-person Forum on Workplace Inclusion® conference ended just 24 hours before Minnesota declared a peacetime emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, after two years online, it’s back in-person.
The nation’s premier workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion conference returns to Minneapolis for its 35th anniversary, with a parallel virtual option for global audiences and those who can’t attend in person. “Combining Forces(x): Fueling Our Collective Capacity for Change” will take place March 27-29, 2023, at the Hilton Minneapolis. Registration is open now, including discounted group rates and team meeting packages.
“What happens in society affects the workplace, and what happens in the workplace affects society,” said Steven Humerickhouse, Executive Director of The Forum. “Emerging from the pandemic and racial trauma of the past several years, more leaders and organizations than ever have discovered the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion to their employees, to society, and to their bottom lines.”
Drawing more than 1,000 participants in past years, The Forum’s annual conference is designed to meet people where they are in their DEI development, from beginners to advanced practitioners. Attendees include leaders and managers of diverse workforces; HR and talent acquisition, management, and development practitioners; DEI practitioners; organizational development/effectiveness leaders; and students, teachers, researchers, and scholars.
This year’s conference will open with a 35th anniversary celebration with musical performances at Orchestra Hall. The event will feature Eric Jolly, Saint Paul and Minnesota Foundation President and CEO, in conversation with Duchesne Drew, MPR president; Michelle Miller Burns, Minnesota Orchestra CEO; and Paul Pribbenow, Augsburg University president.
More than 90 breakout sessions over three days will tackle topics like religious literacy and inclusion, mitigating organizational biases, why many DEI practitioners are fighting fatigue, and using data to amplify anti-racist practices at work. Other highlights include off-site immersive learning experiences around the Twin Cities, collaborative cross-industry “think tanks” facilitated by innovation expert Ramon Vullings, and popular DEI coaching sessions.
“All of us who lead organizations dedicated to equity and inclusion have benefited from The Forum’s outstanding programming—both at this annual conference and in its innovative ongoing efforts to offer the best thinking and strategies for living out our DEI commitments,” said Augsburg University’s Paul Pribbenow. This conference marks The Forum’s fourth year in residence at Augsburg.
About The Forum on Workplace Inclusion
For 35 years, The Forum on Workplace Inclusion has served as a convening hub for those seeking to grow professional leadership and effectiveness skills in the field of DEI by engaging people, advancing ideas, and igniting change. It is hosted at Augsburg University located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The annual conference is HRCI and SHRM Continuing Education Credit (CEU) eligible. For rates, registration, and full conference information, visit forumworkplaceinclusion.org/2023-conference.
About Augsburg
Augsburg University offers more than 50 undergraduate majors and 11 graduate degrees to approximately 3,200 students of diverse backgrounds at its campus in the vibrant center of the Twin Cities and nearby Rochester, Minnesota, location. Augsburg educates students to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders. An Augsburg education is defined by excellence in the liberal arts and professional studies, guided by the faith and values of the Lutheran church, and shaped by its urban and global settings. To learn more, visit Augsburg.edu/about.
Media Contact
Rachel Farris
For media kit, visit forumworkplaceinclusion.org/press/
More than 870 Augsburg University undergraduate students were named to the 2022 Fall 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.
E.B. White wrote that the role of the artist is to “see things whole.” These three words underlie a leadership philosophy that cultivates whole leaders and thriving organizations to positively impact the common good. Following a generous gift in 2022, Augsburg University has established an institutional home to support and extend this practice: the Reell Office of Seeing Things Whole.
First developed in the early 1990s, Seeing Things Whole is a three-fold model that helps individuals and organizations think about their lives as a set of relationships among three key dimensions—identity, purpose, and stewardship. The Reell Office of Seeing Things Whole connects Augsburg’s mission of educating students as responsible stewards and thoughtful leaders to the way organizations engage in meaningful, purpose-driven work in the world.
“The three dimensions of Seeing Things Whole align well with Augsburg’s commitment to educate for lives of service,” said Tom Morgan, professor of leadership studies, who introduced Seeing Things Whole to Augsburg in 2016, integrating it into the Master of Arts and Leadership and Master of Business Administration programs.
“No matter what the chosen discipline or professional aspiration, learning is best grounded in clarity regarding one’s values (their Identity), thoughtful consideration of who it is they desire to serve (their Purpose), and an abiding sense of how one’s resources are acquired and are being cared for (their Stewardship).”
Seeing Things Whole offers a disciplined process to support leaders who seek greater connection between their organizational values and the challenge of navigating today’s accelerating changes in the workplace.
“I feel energized to support leaders’ ability to think critically about the unique times in which we find ourselves while remaining deeply rooted to the values that support them to thrive,” said Keri Clifton, program director.
The Reell Office of Seeing Things Whole encourages individuals and organizations to participate in Whole Leader Roundtables, where attendees work collaboratively to understand all dimensions of a given problem, explore tensions, and work toward achieving an effective resolution for all stakeholders and across multiple bottom lines. Monthly roundtables are free and open to the public. Register now to attend the next roundtable on March 8.
Teams and organizations can apply the three-fold model to a wide variety of challenges, including strategic planning, strategic decision-making, succession planning, governance, and developing organizational mission, vision, and values. At the individual level, Seeing Things Whole offers a pathway to creating stronger connections between one’s values, sense of purpose, and leadership action. Individuals can begin exploring Seeing Things Whole as a tool for growth by completing the Whole Leader Profile at no cost.
To learn more, sign up for a roundtable, or start a conversation about how the three-fold model can positively impact your work or organization, contact the Reell Office of Seeing Things Whole.
For 30 years, the Augsburg Health Commons have advanced a model of nursing practice rooted in accompaniment, social justice, and transcultural nursing practice. In early January, the program received a $50,000 Health Equity Innovation Fund grant from AARP and the Center to Champion Nursing in America, a joint initiative of AARP Foundation, AARP, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, to deepen and expand this work.
“We are moved beyond words to be selected for this opportunity,” said Katie Clark, associate professor of nursing and executive director of the Health Commons. “These funds will not only help relieve some of the suffering people are forced to endure in the immediate term, but will also help cultivate ideas and solutions for the long term in caring for people who experience marginalization.”
The first Augsburg Health Commons drop-in center opened at Central Lutheran Church in downtown Minneapolis in 1992. Most people seeking care at the Central location live without a permanent residence or are marginally housed. In 2011, a second location in Cedar-Riverside opened in response to a need for accessible, no-cost health care services identified by members of the East African immigrant community located near Augsburg’s campus. Both locations center community voices and are led and organized by nursing faculty members, nursing and physician assistant volunteers, students, and community members.
The people who come to the Health Commons are from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. Everyone is welcome, and all services are provided free of charge. Health concerns might include nutrition, medication, stress management, respiratory conditions, injuries, skin problems, and chronic disease such as diabetes and hypertension. Frequently, people experiencing these problems come to Health Commons locations for their easy access, supportive environment, and assistance with connecting to other health care resources.
Going forward, the Health Equity Innovation Fund grant project will focus on three interconnected goals.
Continuing and expanding care for marginalized communities.
Deepening the focus on health equity, systemic racism, and structural inequities in nursing education.
Disseminating knowledge to influence the nursing profession towards greater inclusiveness.
The Health Commons will continue providing opportunities for the most marginalized communities of Minneapolis to live healthier lives as they are cared for in local context. In addition to existing sites at Central Lutheran Church and Cedar Riverside and work with local encampments, the grant will allow staff and volunteers to explore new partnerships at other locations, including in North Minneapolis in collaboration with Augsburg’s physician assistant program.
By providing paid research and practice internships for graduate nursing students, the grant will also support the educational mission of the Health Commons. Students in Augsburg’s BSN, Master’s, and DNP programs will continue to learn to decode systems of oppression that are embedded within systems and social norms, and to promote health equity by connecting with others through shared humanity. The project will fund dissemination of research by Augsburg faculty and students through conferences and publishing. In so doing, it aims to create pathways for developing inclusiveness within the nursing profession, both in practice and in the academy.
“Our Augsburg nursing faculty are excited to be able to dig deeper into naming systemic and structural racism in partnership with people with lived experience in an effort to begin creating needed change in healthcare and the discipline of nursing,” said Clark.
Augsburg Health Commons is one of 16 organizations nationally to receive a Health Equity Innovations Fund award for 2022. The awards through the AARP Center for Health Equity through NursingSM and the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action, an initiative of AARP Foundation, AARP, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, are for projects offering promising solutions aimed at eliminating structural inequities, particularly structural racism, within the nursing profession, health systems, or community, and for projects that help improve access to care and services for those most disproportionately impacted by health disparities. Projects also support the advancement of one or more of the recommendations in the National Academy of Medicine report, “The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity.”
On January 21, the Augsburg Art Galleries will open a new exhibition featuring nine local, Black women and femme designers. TO ILLUMINATE ABUNDANCE, curated by Olivia House ’20 and Silent Fox ’18 of 13.4 Collective, explores what it means to live a life full of love, freedom, and light.
TO ILLUMINATE ABUNDANCE brings together nine Black designers at various stages in their careers. House and Fox invited contributing graphic designers to reflect on and illuminate a text, quote, or lyric that helps imagine what it could look like to move forward and towards more; to help envision what life is like when it feels full. The exhibition features work by Ashley Koudou, Kelsi Sharp, Leeya Rose Jackson, Marcia Rowe ’22, Olivia Anizor, Sabrina Peitz, and Terresa Moses, as well as House and Fox.
“This show is meant to express what our world should be: a world in which Black femmes are able to live a life without pain or suffering; a life full of light,” said House.
An opening reception for TO ILLUMINATE ABUNDANCE will take place on Saturday, January 21. The curators and artists of the show will gather for an artist talk on Thursday, February 2 at the Hagfors Center to contextualize their work and their view of the exhibition within a broader landscape of making, community, politics, and futurism. This event is featured as part of The Great Northern festival, happening January 25–February 5 around the Twin Cities metro area. The Great Northern celebrates Minnesota’s cold, creative winters through 10 days of diverse programming that invigorate mind and body.
The exhibition runs through March 24 in Augsburg’s Gage and Christensen galleries.
In 1997, Augsburg University was one of just four colleges and universities with a formal collegiate recovery program. Today, StepUP® at Augsburg University is one of the oldest and largest residential collegiate recovery programs in the United States accompanied with sober living. More than 700 students have graduated from the program, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2022.
The Phoenix Spirit recently published a piece by Nell Hurley, recruitment and outreach coordinator for StepUP, tracing the program’s history and impact.
“StepUP is so much more than a sober dorm,” Jon Stentz, one of StepUP’s Licensed Alcohol and Drug counselors, told Hurley. “It’s the connection and the community that students find here that makes all the difference. It’s been said that connection is the opposite of addiction. The StepUP connection is where the magic is. Our students support each other and hold each other accountable. They’re all in this together, both the college journey and the recovery journey.”
StepUP offers a robust program of support and accountability that includes clinical support, random drug testing, weekly meetings, recovery service opportunities, and optional but regular social outings like rock climbing, camping trips, and game nights.
George Dierberger, associate professor of business administration and director of Augsburg University’s MBA program, has been appointed to serve as the inaugural Thomas ’72 and Karen Howe endowed professor for entrepreneurship. 
Professor Michael Lansing recently appeared on 
The U.S. Department of State announced today that Augsburg University has been named a Fulbright Top-Producing Institution for U.S. Scholars. This designation recognizes the U.S. colleges and universities that had the highest number of applicants selected for the 2022–23 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program.
The last in-person Forum on Workplace Inclusion® conference ended just 24 hours before Minnesota declared a peacetime emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, after two years online, it’s back in-person.
On January 21, the Augsburg Art Galleries will open a new exhibition featuring nine local, Black women and femme designers. 