![\"Presidents-headshot\"](\"http:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/03\/Presidents-headshot.jpg\")
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I am writing these notes on commencement\u00a0weekend when we have just sent the final\u00a0graduates of Augsburg College into the world,\u00a0full of promise and aspiration\u2014as has been the\u00a0case for almost 150 years. As you will read in\u00a0this issue of Augsburg Now, the change of our\u00a0name to Augsburg University will become official\u00a0in September, and we will welcome the incoming\u00a0class on Labor Day weekend. We are busy\u00a0preparing for this exciting new era for Augsburg!<\/p>\n
For some, the name change may reflect\u00a0a break with Augsburg\u2019s past. For others,\u00a0perhaps this is a welcome acceptance of the\u00a0need to embrace the future. For the Augsburg\u00a0community, however, the change is a remarkable\u00a0opportunity to re-present Augsburg to the\u00a0world\u2014to tell a story that is about an abiding\u00a0mission and identity shaped by faith, and\u00a0academic and civic values, and at the same\u00a0time to point to innovative and urgently needed\u00a0responses to our dynamic environment. In\u00a0other words, this change is about the pivot\u00a0from \u201ceither\/or\u201d to \u201cboth\/and.\u201d This is about\u00a0embracing the best of past, present, and future.\u00a0This is about Augsburg University.<\/p>\n
The almost 1,000 Auggies who commenced into the world this spring reflect in their\u00a0achievements and aspirations the foundation for\u00a0embracing this change.<\/p>\n
Across undergraduate and graduate programs,\u00a0the Class of 2017 achieved academic excellence\u00a0of the highest order, excellence that defines a\u00a0university: national and international honors for\u00a0scholarship and service; exemplary undergraduate\u00a0research that equips students for graduate\u00a0work and professional opportunities; innovative\u00a0community building that strengthens democratic\u00a0engagement; and a commitment to equity in\u00a0education that promises to change the world.<\/p>\n
At the same time, our newest graduates\u00a0reflect the diversity that we expect in a\u00a0university\u2014diversity of ethnicity, thinking, life\u00a0experience, identity, and ability\u2014diversity not\u00a0for its own sake but for the promise of a more\u00a0robust, healthy, and just world. As I watched our\u00a0diverse graduates cross the stage, I could not\u00a0help but be filled with hope in our future leaders\u00a0who already have learned to navigate difference\u00a0in ways that unite rather than divide.<\/p>\n
In a final way, these newest Augsburg\u00a0graduates offer a perhaps countercultural\u00a0lesson about what makes for a great university.\u00a0Though some imagine a university as big and\u00a0bureaucratic and faceless, Augsburg has a\u00a0vision to be a new kind of student-centered,\u00a0urban university\u2014small to our students and\u00a0big for the world. The sense of community was\u00a0palpable in our commencement ceremonies as\u00a0graduates cheered each other and celebrated\u00a0the relationships they have forged at Augsburg,\u00a0lifelong relationships that engendered\u00a0achievement and success. And propelled by those\u00a0relationships, our graduates will indeed be \u201cbig\u00a0for the world,\u201d as they live Augsburg\u2019s mission as\u00a0\u201cinformed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical\u00a0thinkers, and responsible leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s to the power of \u201cboth\/and\u201d and the\u00a0promise of Augsburg University!<\/p>\n
Faithfully yours,<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
I am writing these notes on commencement\u00a0weekend when we have just sent the final\u00a0graduates of Augsburg College into the world,\u00a0full of promise and aspiration\u2014as has been the\u00a0case for almost 150 years. As you will read in\u00a0this issue of Augsburg Now, the change of our\u00a0name to Augsburg University will become official\u00a0in September, and we will welcome <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":297,"featured_media":5953,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,33],"tags":[83],"class_list":["post-7596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-around-the-quad","category-presidents-letter","tag-spring-summer-2017"],"wps_subtitle":"On the power of both\/and","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/297"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7596"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7596\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7598,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7596\/revisions\/7598"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}