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Minnesota students — We need you at the Capitol!

dayatcapitolEvery spring, the Minnesota Private College Council sponsors Day at the Capitol. It is an opportunity for students to meet with their legislators to advocate for the Minnesota State Grant program. This program provides critical support, helping make higher education possible for one out of three Minnesota college students from low- and middle-income families. The state invested $120 million in aid in the most recent academic year, helping more than 88,000 students.

Legislators need to hear from you about the importance the State Grant program to your education. Without those funds, what would you do? Tell them! Continue reading “Minnesota students — We need you at the Capitol!”

Augsburg sends scholars to the Capitol

scholarsatcapitolOn Wednesday, Feb. 22, 39 students and their faculty advisors from 14 colleges will present findings of their research at the ninth annual Minnesota Private College Scholars at the Capitol event. This event gives Minnesota’s legislators and the governor an opportunity to learn about the importance of research to private college and university students. It also allows students to gain experience speaking about their research work to a public audience.

This year Augsburg College will be represented by two McNair program scholars:

Building an Infrastructure to Recognize an Image’s Evoked Emotion

Chue Xue Lee, computer science, with Prof. Shana Watters Continue reading “Augsburg sends scholars to the Capitol”

Representing Augsburg at our nation's Capitol

anthony_curThis spring during Undergraduate Research Week, Jeremy Anthony, a senior mathematics major, represented Augsburg College in the Council on Undergraduate Research Posters on the Hill event. This event held each year in Washington, D.C. showcases the research of 75 undergraduate students from colleges and universities across the country.

Anthony was one of 700 applicants who were selected to present his research at the Capitol. Mathematics professor John Zobitz, who was Anthony’s research adviser, said that the council chose projects that represented good examples of undergraduate research and also highlighted government support. Continue reading “Representing Augsburg at our nation's Capitol”

Getting around at the Capitol

capitolIf you want to get in front of the state’s lawmakers, especially during the legislative session, you’ve got to know your way around the system—and around the state Capitol building. Jay Benanav has no problem with either.

Last fall Benanav was hired as Augsburg’s Director of Government Relations, a role his illustrious career helped him fill easily. “One thing that helps me is that I have some credibility. I’ve known these people for more than 20 years.”

Since he completed law school in the late 70s, Benanav has been counsel to the Minnesota Senate, was a practicing attorney, was the deputy commissioner in the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, served as president of a private insurance agency, sat on the St. Paul city council, and manages a consulting agency that helps students and families get into college and avoid unmanageable debt. Continue reading “Getting around at the Capitol”

Augsburg scholars at the Capitol

postersThree Augsburg students participated in the Minnesota Private College’s 2008 Scholars Day at the Capitol last week. The poster session, held in the Capitol rotunda, highlighted the work of undergraduate students who contributed new knowledge to their fields or advanced their own creativity in exceptional ways. The Augsburg presentations were:

Kari Aanestad with English professor Dal Liddle — Ragnvald Aanestad and the Lutheran Sermon

Examines Ragnvald Aanestad’s attempts to interpret world events of the 1940s and 1950s to a small, traditional Lutheran congregation in the Midwest.

Chau Nguyen with business administration professor Steven Zitnick — Economic Impact of Vietnamese Businesses in Minnesota Continue reading “Augsburg scholars at the Capitol”