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.
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”.
Steve Humerickhouse, executive director of The Forum on Workplace Inclusion®, spoke with the Star Tribune’s Gail Rosenblum about how the Twin Cities is becoming one of the largest hubs for workplace diversity and inclusion.
Augsburg University became home to the Forum on Workplace Inclusion on July 1. The Forum is the nation’s largest workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion conference designed for a national and global audience.
Humerickhouse shared some of The Forum’s resources in the article: “We hold a breakfast series three times a year and offer a series of 10 webinars attended by upward of 500 diversity and inclusion experts from around the world. We also create 24 original podcasts each year and blog out articles on social media. The conference is our flagship event, bringing in global speakers from Australia to England to South Africa.
The Forum’s 32nd annual conference is March 10 –12 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. 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.
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.
Renee Most joined Augsburg University’s StepUP® Program for students in recovery from substance abuse as its new director in fall 2019, bringing her own experience as an alumna of StepUP and her 15 plus years of clinical work in the field of addiction related issues.
“I am honored to bring my previous experience in the field of recovery to the StepUP community and to continue to strengthen this program,” she said. “My personal experience as a student in the StepUP program made clear to me the power of collegiate recovery programs.”
Renee, who attended Augsburg in 2001-2002, is available for media interviews and has expertise in collegiate recovery and many related subjects, including the opioid crisis, youth binge drinking, and eating disorders. To arrange an interview, contact: Gita Sitaramiah, director of public relations and internal communications, 612-330-1476.
Renee has dedicated her career to the field of recovery, serving individuals at:
Kodiak Recovery, where she served as Executive Director
The Emily Program, as a Clinical Relations Specialist
Assistance in Recovery, as an Interventionist and Clinical Case Manager
South Washington County Schools, as a Chemical Health Prevention Specialist
Hazelden Betty Ford, as a Chemical Dependency Counselor
Renee holds a bachelor’s degree from St. Catherine’s University, is a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor (LADC) and earned a master’s degree in addiction studies from Hazelden Graduate School.
The Augsburg University StepUP Program is one of the oldest and largest residential collegiate recovery programs in the United States. The program, unique in addressing both mental health and addiction recovery, strives to help students achieve academic success, and thrive in a community of accountability and support. StepUP students fully engage in the Augsburg experience, including study abroad, varsity athletics, student government, and research, while living on campus.
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.
Augsburg University honored the calling of Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, January 20 by hosting the 32nd annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Convocation.
The presentation “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?” was presented by this year’s speaker, John S. Wright, Professor Emeritus of English and African American and African Studies at the University of Minnesota. Wright helped lead the student movement that founded the University of Minnesota’s Department of African American and African Studies, which he chaired for three terms, and its Martin Luther King, Jr. Program, which he administered from 1970-1973. He also built a major in Afro-American and African Studies at Carleton College, where he taught from 1973-1983. The convocation, open to the public, included student performances.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (January 20, 2020) — The Augsburg University Music Department presents “Tienda,” a new chamber opera by Augsburg faculty member Reinaldo Moya and Caitlin Vincent on Friday, February 21 at 7 p.m., and Saturday, February 22 at 7 p.m.
This unique performance presented as a part of Augsburg’s Sesquicentennial Celebration will feature a partially-staged opera by Reinaldo Moya with words by Caitlin Vincent. The cast of singers includes mezzo soprano Jill Morgan, as well as Dominic Aragon (-baritone), Matthew Valverde (tenor), Mario Ángel Pérez (tenor), and Bergen Baker (soprano). The production will also feature The Augsburg Choir and the Augsburg Orchestra. The stage director is Doug Scholz-Carlson.
The opera tells the story of Luis Garzón, a Mexican musician who immigrated to Minneapolis in 1886 and opened a small Mexican grocery store, or tienda, in St. Paul in the 1920s. While Luis had married an American woman and was fully integrated into Minnesotan society, his store served as a community hub for the newest arrivals from Mexico, many of whom had fled the Mexican Revolution and now toiled on the sugar beet farms of rural Minnesota. “Tienda” explores the immigrant experience: what must be left behind—and what cannot be forgotten—on the journey to a new home. This world premiere performance of “Tienda” is one of the highlights of Moya’s two-year residency with the Schubert Club.
For Moya, Luis’s story has personal meaning. “I had wanted to write an immigration opera for some time,” said Moya. “When my librettist, Caitlin Vincent, and I started doing research for this project, we came across a human interest story of an immigrant’s journey to and life in the United States. Luis’s story resonated with me because we both came to the U.S. as young men and remained here for a long time. We are both musicians, and we both feel a strong pull towards our home culture while simultaneously seeing the promise of the American dream, even when it fails so many.”
Moya also sees the strong connection between the issues immigrants faced in the early 20th century, and the struggles they still face today. “Luis’s story is also one that is still very relevant in today’s political climate. We might think of these immigration issues as relatively new, but “Tienda” shows that we as a country have had a long history of reckoning with our heritage as an immigrant country.”
Tickets for “Tienda” include two options: An Immersive Seating* option for $20, and Balcony Seating for free. Tickets are required and available for purchase online at augsburg.edu/tickets. All Seating is general admission.
* Immersive theater seating includes samples of Mexican food and beverage to accompany the opera
About Reinaldo Moya Reinaldo Moya is a graduate of Venezuela’s El Sistema music education system. Through El Sistema, he had access to musical training from an early age and was a founding member of the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra touring throughout Europe, North and South America. A graduate of The Juilliard School and a participant in the prestigious John Duffy Composers Institute and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Conce Composers Institute, Moya now lives in Northfield, and is Associate Professor of Composition at Augsburg University. Moya is the recipient of the 2015 McKnight Composers Fellowship, the Van Lier Fellowship from Meet the Composer and the Aaron Copland Award from the Copland House.
About Caitlin Vincent Caitlin Vincent is an American librettist and lyricist whose writing has been praised as “nuanced and honest” (DC Theatre Scene), “intriguing” (The Baltimore Sun), and “luminous” (The Huffington Post). Her opera “Better Gods,” with composer Luna Pearl Woolf, premiered in January 2016 at the Kennedy Center as part of Washington National Opera’s American Opera Initiative. In 2017, Vincent and composer Douglas Buchanan won the prestigious Sackler Music Composition Prize to fund a new opera about Bessie Coleman, the first African-American female aviator, and Miriam “Ma” Ferguson, the first female governor of Texas, for a premiere in 2019. Other recent commissions include “Nullipara” with composer D. J. Sparr for the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble and “Little Black Book” with composer Susan LaBarr for Carnegie Hall. A classically-trained soprano, Vincent graduated cum laude from Harvard University and holds a Master of Music degree from the Peabody Conservatory and a PhD from Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia.
About Augsburg University 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.
The Star Tribune reported that the Cedar Cultural Center is partnering with Augsburg University and KFAI on January 11 to raise money for the victims of the tragic November 27 fire in one of the nearby apartment towers. Augsburg duo Tatum Mildred and Tessa Waite are part of the lineup of performers.
