{"id":56729,"date":"2025-09-16T15:37:20","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T15:37:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/ccv\/?page_id=56729"},"modified":"2025-09-16T15:54:51","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T15:54:51","slug":"about-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/ccv\/about-2\/","title":{"rendered":"About"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our Vision<\/span><\/h2>\n

Every member of the Augsburg University community will live fulfilling and consequential lives\u2014rooted in a deep understanding of how they are uniquely inspired, equipped, and empowered to partner with others in the shared work of creating lives and communities that thrive.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our Mission<\/span><\/h2>\n

At the Christensen Center for Vocation, we believe every person deserves to thrive\u2014a common thread woven through our stories, our struggles, and our joys. We accompany students, faculty, and staff as they listen deeply to their lives, ask courageous questions, and step boldly into the work of mutual thriving. Through high-impact learning, storytelling, mentorship, and community, we cultivate the imagination and practices that lead to more just, sustainable, and thriving lives and communities.<\/span><\/p>\n

OUR STORY<\/span><\/h2>\n
\"\"
Bernhard M. Christensen
President, 1938-1962<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Christensen Center for Vocation was established in memory of Bernhard H. Christensen (1901-1984) who served as Augsburg\u2019s president from 1938 to 1962. He was born in Wisconsin, the son of Danish immigrant parents. He graduated from Augsburg University in 1922 and Augsburg Seminary in 1925. Following his seminary work Christensen continued his education at Princeton Seminary, the University of Berlin, and the University of Goettingen in Germany. In 1935, he married Gracia Gunderson of Brooklyn, New York. They had five children, and she would eventually teach English at Augsburg.<\/span><\/p>\n

Christensen was a gifted leader who led Augsburg through a time of significant change. He was also a theologian who sought to avoid both a reactive fundamentalism and a theological liberalism that was cut loose from the tradition. Christensen was ecumenical in outlook while being deeply rooted in his own heritage. Above all, he hoped \u201c\u2026the church of Luther\u2014glorying in \u2018the freedom of the Christian\u2019 and made strong through faith in a living Christ\u2014may yet speak the deciding word.\u201d[1]<\/span><\/p>\n

The Christensen Center for Vocation has found guidance in discerning its work through the five lessons attributed to Bernhard H. Christensen.<\/span><\/p>\n