{"id":36873,"date":"2013-03-19T12:44:59","date_gmt":"2013-03-19T12:44:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/?page_id=36873"},"modified":"2026-06-16T02:36:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T02:36:02","slug":"katieclark","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/faculty\/katieclark\/","title":{"rendered":"Clark, Katie"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Kathleen \u201cKatie\u201d Clark is the Director of the Sabo Center for Democracy and Citizenship<\/a> and the Executive Director of the Augsburg Health Commons<\/a>, where she leads the university\u2019s community and civic engagement initiatives. She began her leadership role at the Sabo Center in 2026 when Augsburg University expanded the Sabo Center to unify many of the university\u2019s signature community engagement initiatives, including the Minnesota Urban Debate League, Bonner Community Leaders Program, Campus Kitchen, Campus Cupboard, community-engaged learning, community relations, voter engagement efforts, the Community Garden, and the Health Commons. She has been promoted to a full professor and is a member of the Mission and Identity Division within the Office of the President. Katie came to Augsburg in 2009, where she has also served as the chair of the department of nursing and as the university’s chief nursing administrator. Across her work, Katie remains committed to building relationships on and off campus that advance health equity for all, foster civic agency, cultivate belonging, and create mission-centered learning opportunities.<\/p>\n

As the Executive Director of the Health Commons, Katie leads and oversees the Augsburg Health Commons, a network of health-focused drop-in centers that allow students to gain a deeper understanding of the social determinants of health and learn firsthand about issues that create otherness in healthcare systems. Each location represents a community-academic partnership developed in response to the expressed felt needs of community members and guided by a care model collectively developed by students and faculty. The Health Commons also represents Augsburg’s commitment to being of place and its rich history of community-engaged learning. Under her leadership, the Augsburg Health Commons expanded from a single site to five community-based locations serving individuals experiencing homelessness, social isolation, food insecurity, and interpersonal violence. The model integrates radical hospitality, relationship-centered care, and accompaniment while creating immersive learning experiences for students across disciplines. The Health Commons model has since been replicated by universities and organizations.<\/p>\n

Katie’s passion lies in engaging in the community and infusing the university’s mission into learning experiences. Her primary teaching responsibility is in the graduate nursing program, where she teaches courses focused on social justice, health inequities, and civic engagement. Her scholarship focuses on community-engaged pedagogy, structural inequities when seeking care, civic engagement, and accompaniment-based models of care. Her current scholarship focuses on fostering inclusive processes to facilitate end-of-life care planning for the unsheltered community.<\/p>\n

Before coming to Augsburg, Katie worked for eight years as an in-patient nurse in oncology, hematology, and the medical intensive care unit.\u00a0 She has traveled to 20 countries and participated in many local volunteer programs, including Bridge for Youth and Higher Ground.<\/p>\n

Education<\/h1>\n