The Star Tribune featured Augsburg’s annual City Service Day, an opportunity in which members of the College community venture off campus to complete service work in Minneapolis neighborhoods. The publication showed a student working at Stones Throw Urban farm, one of nearly two dozen community sites where Auggies assisted with cleaning, painting, gardening, and more. View the image on the Star Tribune site.
Rod Greder talks with Star Tribune about content marketing
Instructor Rod Greder spoke with the Star Tribune’s Neal St. Anthony for a business section story about content marketing, or the practice of promoting sales through storytelling. Greder, who is an instructor in the Business-MIS program, told St. Anthony that content marketing is growing in its use and sophistication. “The basic concept is not new but evolving with technology to work better with search engines,” Greder said in the article which also was picked up by Bloomberg News. “It is being used most to generate leads and initiate conversations with prospects and then used for conversion to customer as the prospect views the company as a credible, knowledgeable source on the topic. Content often is sent to the prospect [via e-mail] and then the [customer] develops enough trust to sample the company’s product or service.” Read “Marketing trends: Selling by storytelling.”
Star Tribune reviews ‘Sweetness #9’ by Stephan Eirik Clark
Stephan Eirik Clark’s debut novel, Sweetness #9, was described as a “lively and funny debut novel” by Mark Athitakis in a Star Tribune book review. Athitakis went on to say that while the book’s premise is esoteric, Clark convincingly argues that food may be the last truly mass culture we have. Clark is an assistant professor in the English department and a member of the faculty for the Master of Fine Arts program. Read “Review: ‘Sweetness #9,’ by Stephan Eirik Clark.”
Augsburg College receives grant from Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation
The nonprofit Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation has awarded Augsburg College $150,000 to fund paid internships during the 2014-15 school year.
As one of 10 Minnesota colleges to receive a grant award from Great Lakes, Augsburg will use newly available funds to convert previously unpaid internships into paid placements that support learning on and off campus.
The grant award garnered media coverage in the Star Tribune article, “Giving beat: Great Lakes Higher Ed gives $5.2 million for internship grants,” and the Inside Philanthropy story, “Graduating Is Not Enough: How This Funder Is Backing Student Career Readiness.”
‘Colbert Bump’ creates media frenzy for Stephan Eirik Clark

Augsburg Assistant Professor Stephan Eirik Clark has faced a slew of media since his debut novel, Sweetness #9, received the “Colbert Bump” on The Colbert Report. Edan Lepucki, also a debut novelist, mentioned Clark’s book during her interview by Stephen Colbert on his television show. The “Colbert Bump” is part of Colbert’s effort to raise awareness of and interest in new novels as part of Colbert’s frustration with Amazon. Since receiving the bump, Clark has garnered significant media attention for his reaction to garnering the bump and Clark also has been referenced in many other articles about the episode. In many instances, Augsburg College also has been mentioned since Clark is a faculty member for the Master of Fine Arts program. A small sampling of the coverage includes:
- MinnPost.com – “The Colbert Bump” goes local
- The New York Times – Giving Another Debut Author the Colbert Bump
- Paste Magazine – Debut Author’s Novel Skyrockets to Bestseller…With Stephen Colbert’s Help
- Salon.com – “It was an out-of-body experience’: Stephan Eirik Clark on his novel getting the “Colbert Bump“
- Star Tribune
- St. Paul author Stephan Eirik Clark gets ‘Colbert bump’ for new novel
- Sweet, indeed. Stephan Eirik Clark’s ‘Sweetness #9’ gets a boost from ‘Colbert Bump’
- USA Today – Book Buzz: Colbert gives another Hachette author a lift
Star Tribune list of books includes Stephan Clark’s Sweetness No. 9
A recent listing of upcoming books to be published appeared in the Star Tribune. Augsburg College’s Stephan Eirik Clark’s book, Sweetness No. 9, was included in the column. Clark, assistant professor for the Master of Fine Arts program and for English, was a finalist for a Minnesota Book Award for his collection of stories titled “Vladimir’s Mustache.” See the full list of upcoming books in “Chris Monroe picture book to be published in fall.”
Star Tribune writes about hiring of new Chief Financial Officer, Vice President for Finance and Administration
The Star Tribune included the hiring of Beth Reissenweber, Augsburg College’s new Chief Financial Officer and Vice President for Finance and Administration, in its weekly Business People column. The column chronicles new hires and promotions at leading Minnesota organizations.
Star Tribune features Amineh Safi ’14
Star Tribune columnist Gail Rosenblum featured Augsburg College student Amineh Safi ’14 in a recent story examining news coverage of Muslims. In the column, Safi described findings from her research on the portrayal of Muslims in the media and her experiences with diversity in college. Safi’s research opportunity was offered through the McNair Scholars program at Augsburg and conducted under the mentorship of Diane Pike, sociology professor, who also was quoted in the column. Read “Time to look at news coverage of Muslims” on the Star Tribune website.
Jacquie Berglund ’87 and Finnegans pioneer ‘reverse’ food truck
Augsburg alumna Jacquie Berglund ’87, CEO of Finnegans charitable beer company, was quoted in a Star Tribune story on the business’s latest endeavor: a reverse food truck. According to the Star Tribune, Finnegans’ will drive its new vehicle to locations around the Twin Cities to collect nonperishable food items and monetary donations. All donations go back to Finnegans’ community fund, which channels the food to local food shelves and uses monetary donations to buy fresh produce from local farms. Learn more in “Finnegans’ food truck collects food, money for local food shelves.”
‘Peer Gynt’ a Star Tribune ‘Stage Spot’
The Star Tribune included Augsburg College’s production of “Peer Gynt,” which runs April 10 through 13 at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, in its “Stage Spot” news column. The play marks the first time that the College has partnered with the University of Minnesota to deliver an innovative production that breaks rules and boundaries. Read more on the Star Tribune’s website.