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.
Midwest Home Magazine featured a Q & A with Kristin Anderson, professor of art history and Augsburg University archivist, about her presentation, “Residential Architecture of the 1950s and 60s,” which focuses on ordinary homes from the period. Anderson developed the presentation after she encountered strong interest in her continuing education class for real estate agents from people outside the real estate industry. The tremendous work of StepUP has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, KSMP Fox 9, and the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Housing prices are going up, and so are the number of evictions in the Twin Cities. Evictions are specially affecting some of the most disadvantaged populations. Matthew Demond, professor at Princeton University, spoke at Augsburg University about his Pulitzer prize-winning book, “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City”. In this book, he follows eight families in Milwaukee and documents their struggle to keep a roof over their heads. “Oftentimes evictions aren’t a condition of poverty, they’re a cause of it. In the Midwest, with cold winters, evictions spike in the summer because many people who struggle to pay for housing expenses pay their landlords in the winter, when utilities companies are banned from shutting off the gas, and switch to paying the utility company in the summer”, Desmond explained to a packed house at Augsburg University. He identified processed meat, canned food, and carbohydrates as the three primary sectors in this new diet. Lansing touched on some factors that affected the change of diets, declaring that intensive marketing campaigns convinced consumers to believe industrial food was better for their lifestyle. Cheap railroad transportation and the negotiations made by mass producers allowed them to sell at a cheaper price than local makers. In the early 20th century, more people began to move from rural to urban areas, which reduced the opportunity to farm their own food, making industrial food more reliable, explains Lansing. “The Surprising Promise of Bicycling Study in America” is a study conducted by Jay Wallasper, Senior Fellow at Project for Public Spaces and an Urban-Writer-in-Residence at Augsburg University. In the study, Wallasper and Melissa Blamer focus on advocacy, along with information useful to the cycling industry, such as the growth of bike share and infrastructure, the untapped demographic potential, and the deepening influence of grassroots advocacy. The study’s findings explain the impact that infrastructure for cycling has on the future growth potential, as well as the health benefits to bicycling, and the economic worth of cycling for transport. See full story at the Cycling Industry News site. In recognition of his work promoting civic engagement and non-violence, Augsburg scholar Harry Boyte has been awarded the Spirit of Gandhi Award. Boyte, the senior scholar in public work philosophy with the Augsburg Sabo Center for Democracy and Citizenship, describes the spiritual, moral, and psychological aspects of non-violence in his Huffington Post article on the new nonviolence movement. The Spirit of Gandhi Award is given in celebration of Nonviolence Day, a globally-observed day on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, at the Minnesota State Capitol. Joseph Underhill, program director of the Nobel Peace Prize Forum talks with the Star Tribune’s John Rash about how ICAN’s award “fits very squarely within the mandate and framework of the Nobel Peace Prize as outlined in the will of Alfred Nobel, given its emphasis on disarmament, peace conferences and promotion of fraternity among nations.” Geneva-based International Coalition to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) was awarded the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize for “its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its groundbreaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons.” Weapons are “seen as an ongoing concern,” but that the Nobel committee was clearly “signaling concern about the current risks of nuclear conflict given the level of tension and the rhetoric around the Korean Peninsula and the leadership in both the U.S. and North Korea” adds Underhill, who is also an associate professor of political science at Augsburg University, where the Nobel Peace Prize Forum took place last month. Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, retired Naval Captain and NASA Astronaut Mark Kelly, spoke at the Nobel Peace Prize Forum on Augsburg’s campus in September. Following a failed attempt on Giffords’ life in 2011, Giffords and Kelly formed the “Americans for Responsible Solutions”, an organization centered around reducing gun violence. Citing loopholes in current U.S. gun laws, the organization supports legislation for common sense gun laws and reform. Listen to the replay of their Peace Prize Forum talk, rebroadcast by MPR News. Augsburg University Professor and Political Science Chair Andrew Aoki joined KSTP’s Tom Hauser on the weekly news segment, Political Insider to discuss President Donald J. Trump’s September address to the United Nations. Aoki also discussed local political dynamics between the Minnesota State Legislature and Governor Mark Dayton in the interview. This fall’s Nobel Peace Prize Forum showcased the innovative “Hex House,” a pop-up emergency shelter created to help respond to refugee and natural disaster housing crises. As part of Augsburg University’s continued commitment to social justice and technology, this six-sided, 510 square-foot prototype was constructed and on display at Murphy Square throughout the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize Forum. The tiny houses can be packed in a kit, shipped flat, and assembled with tools and instructions, much like an IKEA design. See the stories at Finance & Commerce and KARE 11. Midwest Home talks with Professor Kristin Anderson about “ordinary” mid-century homes
National recognition for Augsburg’s StepUP recovery program
Nationally, it is estimated that 30 percent of college students are battling substance-use disorders. Colleges and universities are asking what role they can play in helping their students stay sober. Augsburg’s StepUP program is a national leader in the field, with substance-free dorms and counselors available on site. For 20 years, StepUP has welcomed students in recovery, and continues to support those fighting addiction and seeking their degree.Matthew Demond speaks at Augsburg about his Pulitzer prize-winning book, “Evicted.”
History Professor Michael Lansing Discusses the Beginnings of Processed Food in America
In a conversation with radio host Frank Stasio, Michael Lansing, history professor and chair of the history department at Augsburg University, explores the beginnings of processed food in America. Lansing takes a step back to the 1870’s, the root of the industrial food take off in the diet of Americans. Study by Jay Wallasper Predicts Market Growth in the Cycling Industry
Augsburg senior scholar receives Spirit of Ghandi Award
Joseph Underhill in Support of ICAN’s 2017 Nobel Peace Prize Recognition
Nobel Peace Prize Forum welcomes Gabrielle Giffords, Mark Kelly, and gun violence debate
Professor Andy Aoki discusses international and local politics on KSTP’s Political Insider
Hex Houses for Hurricane Victims and Refugees
