As of fall 2025, news and media updates have been integrated with the Augsburg Now alumni publication. This site archives news stories from before September 16, 2025. Please visit augsburg.edu/now or select "Augsburg Now" from the left navigation for current news.
Augsburg University will host a virtual commencement ceremony to celebrate the Class of 2020.
The virtual commencement ceremony consists of a prerecorded ceremony that will be streamed online. There are two viewing times when graduates, families, and friends can watch and chat together in real time.
Friday, May 29, 2020, 7 p.m. Central.
Sunday, May 31, 2020, 2 p.m. Central.
You can follow the celebration through the hashtag #AuggieGrad on all social media platforms, where students will be sharing images of their virtual celebration.
As soon as it’s safe to have large gatherings, an in-person commencement ceremony will be planned for the Class of 2020 with the more familiar traditions of commencement.
The in-person commencement ceremony, previously scheduled for May 4 at U.S. Bank Stadium, was canceled given the COVID-19 pandemic.
Augsburg University is complying with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s Stay at Home Order, and other executive orders, by permitting only critical employees and certain resident students who fall within four categories inside campus buildings.
Augsburg’s residence halls remain open for only those students who do not have alternative living arrangements, including international students; students who have insecure housing; students whose home is not safe; and students who need to stay on campus for health reasons. All other students have been asked to move off campus. Augsburg will provide a prorated housing credit for certain students who have moved off campus and remains flexible in scheduling time, if needed, for students to return to campus to collect their belongings.
Augsburg has taken other steps in an effort to limit exposure to and potential spread of COVID-19. Students who remain on campus retain fob access only to their residence hall and the Christensen Center for dining purposes. Otherwise, students’ general fob access to other campus buildings has been turned off. Students remaining on campus have been informed that they are not allowed to bring any guests—including those currently living in other Augsburg buildings—into their residence halls. The only exception to the no guest policy is for individuals assisting with a pre-arranged move out.
Students remaining on campus who violate university policies, including those regarding social distancing and no guests, may be subject to discipline, including being asked to leave campus to protect Augsburg from community spread.
Augsburg has operated under a modified operations plan since March 18, which was the start of the university’s spring break week. Classes remain online for the remainder of the spring semester, ending Friday, May 1.
During modified operations, employees (including faculty, staff, and student workers) whose roles are deemed critical to university operations retain access to campus buildings for work purposes only. All staff, faculty and students must wear cloth face masks in any common areas while on Augsburg property, based on Minnesota Department of Health guidelines updated in April.
Visit the Outbreak Planning website for more information regarding Augsburg’s operations during the pandemic.
The Playwrights’ Center and Augsburg University announce an exciting new partnership to offer accredited courses taught by the nation’s leading playwrights, the Broadway World reported. Through online courses, students will connect with peers across the country and will be taught by leading professional playwrights who are actively working in the field. The course offerings will be guided by Augsburg University’s Theater Department in conjunction with the Playwrights’ Center. Registration and accreditation will go through Augsburg’s Center for Global Education and Experience .
“With these courses, students will learn with and from writers at the top of their field, seeing what it takes to have pieces published and performed-and, perhaps most important of all, seeing that this is possible,” said Patrick Mulvihill, Augsburg’s assistant provost for global education and experience, in a Broadway World interview.
The two first courses, Playwriting and Themes in Playwriting, are now open for registration at Augsburg University for fall 2020. Details on the program and the courses can be found at the Playwrights’ Center website.
WCCO sought input from Jeanne Boeh, professor of economics at Augsburg University, on the U.S. economy during the current COVID-19 global pandemic. Boeh explained that we’re going through an “economic shock.” Boeh also said more people nationally are concerned about the financial implications than they are about the actual illness because of the low death rate.
An Augsburg University task force is tracking the COVID-19 outbreak and following the advice of the Minnesota Department of Health. See the Updates page for the most recent posts.
The university is checking the Minnesota Department of Health for updates. An Augsburg task force is monitoring recommendations from the MDH and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The MDH isn’t yet recommending that events or extracurricular activities be canceled. The CDC offers detailed information for travelers.
Meanwhile, Augsburg encourages students, staff, and faculty to follow the MDH recommendations to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water, stay home when you have a fever, and cover your cough. If you are sick with fever and cough, call your health care provider first and follow recommendations from the MDH.
Augsburg History Professor Bill Green is the winner of the 2020 Hognander Minnesota History Award for his book “The Children of Lincoln: White Paternalism and the Limits of Black Opportunity in Minnesota, 1860-1876”. The book reveals a pattern of racial paternalism in Minnesota after Emancipation.
According to the Pioneer Press, Hognander Award judges said Green’s book was chosen “based on its significance to Minnesota’s history, and its contribution to the broader panorama of race relations and the context of Reconstruction in American history.”
Green, a former Minneapolis Public Schools superintendent, is a second-time winner of this award. In 2016, he was awarded for his book “Degrees of Freedom: The Origins of Civil Rights in Minnesota, 1865-1912.
Augsburg Psychology Professor Nancy Steblay was quoted in a Star Tribune article about a bill for stronger eyewitness ID practices in Minnesota. Steblay is a leader in the research of eyewitness identification in the United States. Star Tribune reported that in recent years, a growing body of research has driven federal law enforcement agencies to change their practices on what makes a sound eyewitness identification.
“The bill represents a consensus of what makes sound science among experts in the field, vetted by the National Academy of Sciences. The rules are also practical for law enforcement to implement” Steblay told the Star Tribune. “The combination of good science and a practice that works makes these very powerful recommendations”.
Augsburg’s Professor of Economics Jeanne Boeh talks to WCCO about the economic impact of the Coronavirus outbreak in China.
Parts of Apple’s products are made in China, where many of the employees aren’t at work because of the outbreak, and that pushes back the production schedule.
“Companies are already ramping up for next Christmas. And some of those prototypes and those kinds of things happen in China right now, and so if those don’t happen, that pushes back the schedule all the way until next Christmas,” Boeh told WCCO. “Many workers in China are going without a paycheck right now, which will affect how much money they spend.”
Augsburg University, the new home of The Forum on Workplace Inclusion, has been on a journey during the past decade to become an institution that embraces diversity, works at inclusion, and seeks equity. It is a journey with lessons for other higher education institutions, as well as other organizations.
On March 11, Augsburg’s President Paul Pribbenow will share the story of Augsburg’s journey with its many concrete implications for policy and practice, including efforts to make higher education more accessible to diverse students, internal work to build intercultural competencies, and governance strategies that position Augsburg as a thought and practice leader in the DEI space.
The session from 9:45 a.m. to 11:15 a.m., March 11 is called Hospitality is Not Enough: An Institutional Journey From Diversity to Inclusion to Equity.
Media are invited to attend.
To RSVP, contact: Gita Sitaramiah, Director of PR and Internal Communications, 612-330-1476.
About Augsburg Augsburg University, celebrating its 150th anniversary, offers more than 50 undergraduate majors and 11 graduate degrees to 3,400 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. Learn more at Augsburg.edu.
About The Forum
For 32 years, The Forum has served as a convening hub for those seeking to grow professional leadership and effectiveness skills in the field of diversity, equity, and inclusion by engaging people, advancing ideas, and igniting change. The annual conference is HRCI and SHRM Continuing Education Credit (CEU) eligible. For rates, registration, or more information, visit ForumWorkplaceInclusion.org
The Forum on Workplace Inclusion® (The Forum) at Augsburg University has opened registration for its 32nd annual conference “Facing Forward.” The Forum’s annual conference will take place on March 10, 11, and 12 at the Minneapolis Convention Center in downtown Minneapolis, MN. Discounted “early bird” rates, group rates, and team meeting packages are now available.
The 32nd annual conference focuses on equipping the workforce and workplaces with the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) skills needed to sustain businesses into a forward-facing future that is innovative on both local and global levels.
“The Forum provides learning and development opportunities from nuts and bolts tactics to straight from the headlines hot button issues,” said Steve Humerickhouse, The Forum’s executive director.
“The Forum audience is broad macrocosm of people interested in diversity, equity, and inclusion; it is equally valuable for HR and diversity practitioners as well as any professional in the workplace,” he said.
The Forum on Workplace Inclusion annual conference is the nation’s largest – and one of the world’s largest – workplace DEI conferences designed for national and global audiences.
“Augsburg University is one of the most diverse private colleges in the Midwest and proud to partner with The Forum to help expand diversity, equity, and inclusion skills, so our students can fully participate and succeed in the workforce,” said Paul Pribbenow, Augsburg’s president.
The annual conference features more than 96 sessions, three featured general sessions, more than 180 presenters and speakers from around the world, and our innovative 40,000 sq. ft. Marketplace of Ideasexhibitor space.
Also returning is the popular DEI Coaching Centerwhere leading DEI professionals provide outcome-focused coaching attendees can apply when returning to the workplace. Space is limited. Early registration is encouraged.
Media contact: Gita Sitaramiah Director of PR and Internal Communications Augsburg University 612-330-1476
About The Forum For 32 years, The Forum has served as a convening hub for those seeking to grow professional leadership and effectiveness skills in the field of diversity, equity, and inclusion by engaging people, advancing ideas, and igniting change.
The annual conference is HRCI and SHRM Continuing Education Credit (CEU) eligible.
About Augsburg Augsburg University, celebrating its 150th anniversary, offers more than 50 undergraduate majors and 11 graduate degrees to 3,400 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. Learn more at Augsburg.edu.
