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.
College students have paddled nearly 600 miles from St. Paul to St. Louis en route to New Orleans
WHAT
After nine weeks living, studying and traveling on the Mississippi River in a flotilla of 24-foot voyageur canoes and paddling nearly 600 miles, a group of Augsburg College students is slated to land on at the Gateway Arch at 1 p.m., Saturday. The students, who departed St. Paul on Sept. 1 as part of their semester-long journey to the Gulf of Mexico, will land in St. Louis just as the city is discussing the grade of D+ given on the Mississippi River Basin “report card” by a consortium of environmental organizations and as the city celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Gateway Arch.
WHEN
1 p.m., Saturday
WHERE
Gateway Arch, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, 100 Washington Ave., St. Louis 63102
ABOUT THE RIVER SEMESTER
The students participating in this semester-long learning program will earn as many as 16 credits in biology, environmental studies, health and physical education, and political science. During the trip, students will:
Conduct a field research project on a topic such as water pollution, the Clean Water Act, sustainable agriculture in the watershed, political organizing around environmental issues, race relations and social justice, or urban riverfront revitalization.
Explore the history, literature, food, music and culture of the Mississippi River.
Gain skills tailored to meet the needs of partner organizations, including businesses, graduate schools, nonprofits and government agencies.
Attend town hall meetings and meet with environmental organizations along the river.
Hear from guest lecturers about invasive carp, habitat restoration, authors Mark Twain and William Faulkner, ancient river civilizations, American Indian communities and their fight for justice, and the Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico.
An overview of the trip can be found on the River Semester website at augsburg.edu/river
ABOUT AUGSBURG COLLEGE
Augsburg College, a private liberal arts college in Minneapolis, offered the River Semester in partnership with Wilderness Inquiry, a nonprofit and inclusive travel provider that specializes in experiential programming and outdoor travel for people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities. Augsburg College offers more than 50 undergraduate majors and nine graduate degrees to nearly 3,600 students of diverse backgrounds at its campuses located in the vibrant center of the Twin Cities and in Rochester. Augsburg College educates students to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders. The Augsburg experience is supported by an engaged community committed to intentional diversity in its life and work. 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.
The Star Tribune recently published an article covering a field day held in north Minneapolis by the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation in partnership with Minneapolis Jeep Dealers. The event paired roughly 50 young athletes with coaches and players from Augsburg College’s baseball team as well as athletes from the University of Minnesota. Minnesota Twins mascot TC Bear also participated, at one point serving as a soccer goalie.
According to the article, the Maryland-based Ripken Foundation develops youth programs and partners with cities to create parks in distressed communities. Augsburg baseball head coach Keith Bateman is quoted as saying of the young participants in the multi-sport event, “They might not remember some of the stuff we say, but hopefully they remember when they think back [and say] man, I really had a good time. I want to do that when I get older.”
Augsburg College students have paddled nearly 600 miles since Sept. 1
(MINNEAPOLIS) – After nine weeks living, studying and traveling on the Mississippi River in 24-foot voyageur canoes and paddling nearly 600 miles, a group of Augsburg College students is slated to land on Saturday at the St. Louis Gateway Arch.
The students, who departed St. Paul on Sept. 1 as part of their semester-long journey to the Gulf of Mexico, will land in St. Louis just as that city is discussing the grade of D+ given on the Mississippi River Basin “report card” by a consortium of environmental organizations and as the city celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Gateway Arch.
“Students on this trip are seeing and learning first-hand some of the reasons communities along the river are grappling with a watershed grade of D+. The river is used for many purposes and this puts a strain on the ecosystem, the infrastructure, and recreation,” said Joe Underhill, associate professor of political science and creator of this high-impact learning program.
“We have students who, for their individual class projects throughout the trip, are taking water quality samples, looking at chemical concentrations in the river, water treatment and light pollution. Paddling and camping along the river, we have observed first-hand problems with water quality, runoff from farms and factories, and current state of the locks and bridges along the way. This is part of a complex set of political considerations around how to balance all these competing interests on the nation’s iconic river.”
Business newspaper Finance and Commerce recently published an article covering Augsburg College’s successful private funding campaign and future plans for building the Norman and Evangeline Hagfors Center for Science, Business, and Religion. The article states that the Center will more than double the school’s capacity for physics majors as well as provide new facilities for their biology, business, chemistry, computer science, math, psychology, and religion departments.
The article states that Augsburg hopes to begin construction in May and complete the building in time for spring semester classes in 2018. Currently, the building’s design is being developed. While preliminary drawings have been made available on the college’s website, a final design has yet to be approved by the school’s board. The building will be built on Seventh Street South between 20th and 21st avenues.
Community reactions to the proposed project have been positive, though the article indicates that issues such as traffic flow and pedestrian access have been raised as concerns. The article quotes Minneapolis City Council member Cam Gordon, whose ward includes Augsburg College, as saying, “Generally speaking, people are supportive.”
Pioneer Public Television and the Chippewa County Historical Society have announced that they will co-sponsor a reading, book signing, and discussion with Michael J. Lansing, associate professor of history at Augsburg College. Lansing will read from his new book “Insurgent Democracy: The Nonpartisan League in North American Politics.”
According to the announcement, Lansing’s book gives a historical account of the Nonpartisan League, a political movement active from 1915 to 1920 as a means of limiting corporate influence in politics in favor of an empowered citizenship. Lansing argues that the League’s success and collapse offer valuable lessons that are applicable to popular movements in modern politics.
The event will take place on November 19 at the Montevideo Chippewa County Public Library.
Minnetonka’s Lakeshore Weekly News recently published an article detailing the accomplishments of Augsburg Excellence in Coaching Award winner Brad Anderson ’88. Anderson received the honor in recognition of his outstanding success as a high school football coach in Wayzata, where he has been the head coach for 17 seasons. The article states that Anderson has a .802 winning percentage with a record of 150-37. Four of his former players have gone on to careers in the NFL, according to the article.
Read: Wayzata’s Coach Anderson receives Augsburg Excellence in Coaching Award on Lakeshore Weekly News.
In his most recent article for the Huffington Post, Harry Boyte, senior scholar in Augsburg College’s Sabo Center for Democracy and Citizenship, argues in favor of a relationship-based model for engaging students in democratic society.
Boyte refers to the “organizing” versus “mobilizing” model pioneered by civil rights leaders such as Ella Baker and Bob Moses. In this view of activism, mobilizing is goal-driven and short-lived, while organizing is relationship-driven and sustains engagement over time. Boyte draws a parallel between these different types of activism and educational approaches that focus either on outcomes–such as test scores–or personal growth and agency.
Rachel Kruzel, head of the Augsburg College CLASS Office’s Groves Technology Lab, recently wrote an article for HigherEd Tech Decisions that discusses how Augsburg is embracing technologies that help students with learning disabilities. In the article, “How Augsburg College Helps Students Disabilities Take Better Notes with Technology,” Kruzel states that Augsburg has begun offering a software package that helps students record and organize audio of their lectures in lieu of traditional written notes, which can be difficult for students with dyslexia or ADHD.
Kruzel shares that about 5 percent of students at Augsburg have some type of learning disability. She hopes that this technology will help students perform at a level that more accurately reflects their capacity.
“These students’ level of intelligence may be above average, but because they struggle with the traditional college notetaking format, they may fail to reach their potential,” she writes.
MinnPost recently included an interview with Lars Christiansen, associate professor of sociology at Augsburg College, in an article examining the importance of civic engagement in city planning. The article cites ongoing controversies such as the proposed soccer stadium in St. Paul as indicative of a problematic lack of both transparency and residential participation in public processes. Earlier this year, Christiansen published an article in the Journal of Education Planning and Research detailing his study of the St. Paul Friendly Streets Initiative and its public process for a bike lane project.
Moving beyond public processes that merely pay lip service to community inclusion takes time, according to Christiansen. The MinnPost article quotes him as saying, “The community organizing approach to public engagement [that I prefer] takes a lot longer. Like any other community organizing, it involves trust building, relationship building, and lengthy listening. It’s really aiming for co-creation.”
In the article, Christiansen stresses that one important aspect of processes that successfully engage the public in city planning projects is timing. The earlier that planners can involve the public and establish communication with them about a project, the more likely it is that their involvement and communication will see a project through to completion. “The holy grail is the notion of inclusion. How do you do it for the whole duration of the project?” Christiansen says in the article.
An article published by the Association of American Colleges & Universities commented on the successes Augsburg College’s Center for Global Education and Experience has had in serving students of diverse backgrounds as they travel to locations around the globe. The article, titled “Global Learning: Key to Making Excellence Inclusive,” described why global experiences are recognized as an essential dimension of a liberal education and how a variety of institutions support increased student participation.
In particular, the article noted that Augsburg maintains permanent centers for global learning in Mexico, Nicaragua, and Namibia. The centers have deep-rooted connections to local communities, and staff members understand the diverse needs of the Augsburg students.
“For example, Augsburg has arranged culturally appropriate homestay placements for single parents who needed assistance with childcare, safe home environments for LGBTQ students, sober homestays for students in recovery (in addition to connecting students in Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous programs with sponsors), and access to mosques for Muslim students. This commitment to creating environments for student success is a hallmark of Augsburg’s study abroad programs,” the article said.
Visit the AAC&U website to read the story in its entirety.
After nine weeks living, studying and traveling on the Mississippi River in a flotilla of 24-foot voyageur canoes and paddling nearly 600 miles, a group of Augsburg College students is slated to land on at the Gateway Arch at 1 p.m., Saturday. The students, who departed St. Paul on Sept. 1 as part of their semester-long journey to the Gulf of Mexico, will land in St. Louis just as the city is discussing the grade of D+ given on the Mississippi River Basin “report card” by a consortium of environmental organizations and as the city celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Gateway Arch.
An article published by the Association of American Colleges & Universities commented on the successes Augsburg College’s Center for Global Education and Experience has had in serving students of diverse backgrounds as they travel to locations around the globe. The article, titled “Global Learning: Key to Making Excellence Inclusive,” described why global experiences are recognized as an essential dimension of a liberal education and how a variety of institutions support increased student participation.