Pick’s lecture, “I want to, I can: Development Programs Step-by-Step Using the Human Capabilities Approach,” will focus on the Yo quiero, yo puedo (I want to, I can) development programs, which have reached more than 19 million people in Mexico and another 14 countries, most of them in Latin America.

She was chosen as the Batalden Seminar speaker based upon her insight as an academic and an activist.

“Susan Pick exemplifies Augsburg’s mission of becoming an engaged citizen in a global context, and she will assist students in thinking about their own vocations,” said Matt Maruggi, assistant professor of religion and the Batalden Faculty Scholar in Applied Ethics. “She is a professor and is directly involved in work with society’s poor and vulnerable. The Yo quiero, yo puedo programs have helped more than 19 million people worldwide.”

The lecture will demonstrate, through testimonies, how people have been improved the quality of their lives by making specific behavior changes. Pick also will share how individuals have become agents of change in their communities in four areas: education, health, citizenship, and productivity.

Following the Convocation, Pick will join students for a luncheon and will also be speaking in classes in a broad range of disciplines including women’s studies, social work, and political science.

About Susan E. Pick

Susan Pick is the founder and president of the Mexican Institute for Family and Population Research (IMIFAP). She developed the Framework for Enabling Empowerment (FrEE), which emphasizes the importance of personal agency in academic performance, participatory citizenship, health promotion, poverty reduction, and sustainable community development.

Pick’s work has been featured in television, radio, print, and web media in Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, and the United States. She is the author of more than 500 publications including scientific articles, children’s books, training manuals, and textbooks. Pick holds bachelor’s and doctoral degrees in social psychology from the University of London.

The Batalden Seminar in Applied Ethics

The annual Batalden Seminar is funded by the Batalden Applied Ethics Fund, established by Abner and Martha Batalden, Paul and LaVonne Batalden, and Stephen and Sandra Batalden. The fund brings national and international authorities in the field of ethics to Augsburg College to discuss questions of applied ethics within spiritual and practical dimensions.

Convocation Hashtags

Share your convocation experience using social media. The hashtag for the Batalden Seminar in Applied Ethics with Susan E. Pick is #Batalden.

Consider:

–How are you an engaged citizen through your study at Augsburg? How can you be engaged with the people of your community in your future career?

–What behavior changes can you make that would improve your life and the lives of others in your community?

The Augsburg College Convocation Series

Augsburg’s of speakers explores the impact that an individual can have in a global population of 6.7 billion people. Presentations touch on topics in the arts, humanities, and sciences.

Each session offers an opportunity to hear from leaders in their areas of expertise. David Weitz, Harvard University professor of physics and applied physics, will discuss the “Physics of Food” and the “Magic of Microfluids” at the Sverdrup Visiting Scientist Lectures to be held Monday, April 8 and Tuesday, April 9.

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A group of students from Augsburg College traveled this year to Egypt to explore the impact of grassroots civic engagement and the challenges modern Egypt faces in the wake of its largely youth-led 2011 revolution.

The trip, led by Joe Underhill, associate professor and chair of political science, and Mohamed Sallam, director of Pan-Afrikan Student Services, was the first opportunity for some students to travel outside the United States. The cultural differences between the U.S. and Egypt were especially pronounced for these individuals, who during post-trip presentations discussed Egyptians’ impressive hospitality while also recalling the humor of trying to learn a barter system only after purchasing over-priced merchandise.

For Sallam, examining the difference between contemporary Egypt and the country he recalls from his youth was equally interesting. Sallam’s family moved to the United States from Egypt before he was born, but as a child he regularly visited the nation. He is fluent in Arabic, which helped he and Underhill organize the trip.

“I was always aware of the changes that were taking place from year to year,” Sallam said. “However, what made this time different was the excitement that the people we encountered expressed about the growing public discourse around social problems and politics. For me, those experiences were the most outstanding.”

Trip fosters critical thinking and civic engagement, helps develop of global citizens

Egypt’s political changes have been an axis through which several Augsburg programs, lectures, and travel experiences have connected. This year Augsburg offered students a course through which student delegates represented Egypt at the organization’s conference in New York City. The College also hosted the Batalden Symposium on Applied Ethics, and the convocation presentation featured founders of the Engaging and Empowering Egyptian Youth (EYouth) project. The three EYouth members who visited the College delivered a lecture on their experiences as protesters, presented observations on the process of political change, and participated in additional forums and workshops.

When Augsburg’s study abroad participants visited Egypt, they met with the EYouth students who had traveled to the Twin Cities. The groups continued the dialogue that began on Augsburg’s campus, identifying and discussing complex societal issues as well as the common threads that unite young people, such as hopes for the future and post-graduation goals. The students challenged preconceptions regarding each other’s culture, and the Augsburg students benefited from candid discussions that focused on the Egyptians’ civic participation and contribution to social change.

“Our students learned about civic engagement, which is a key part of Augsburg’s mission statement,” Underhill said. “We exposed them to people who are living civil duties to the extreme. It doesn’t get much more influential than putting your life on the line for a revolution.”

In post-revolution Egypt, civic engagement gives people a renewed sense of ownership in their country, according to Sallam. “Previously most private citizens were excluded from participating in public political life,” he said. Now, “people use their creativity and talents to make their lives and the lives of other Egyptians more meaningful.”

In addition to learning about Egyptian politics, the Augsburg students researched environmental sustainability, Muslim-Christian relations, and the effects of tourism, among other topics. Trip participants met with representatives from more than a dozen youth activism, economic development and environmental organizations that work to improve Egypt in its present time of political and societal transition. These visits expanded the knowledge students previously gained in the Augsburg classroom.

Underhill and Sallam partnered with the College’s award-winning to offer the trip. “Nurturing personal and professional connections makes our program meaningful and sustainable,” said Sallam. He and Underhill used their academic expertise, skills, backgrounds, and networks of international contacts to enrich students’ travel experiences by granting them access to unique and infrequently visited destinations.

Read about Augsburg alumna

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The first of these opportunities is the Batalden Symposium on Applied Ethics which will feature three members of the EYouth (Engaging and Empowering Egyptian Youth) project. The lecture on Monday, Feb. 13 at 10 a.m., is free and open to the public.

Said Joe Underhill, professor of political science and adviser for Augsburg’s Model UN course, “We are hoping these events will provide students with a rich and inter-related set of learning experiences that will inspire and empower our students to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders.”

Opportunities for community and student engagement include the following:

Feb. 13-16:  The Batalden Symposium on Applied Ethics featuring Alaa Abd El-Rahman, Nada Yehia, and Noor Hafez of the EYouth project

Convocation lecture: Monday, Feb. 13, 10 a.m., Hoversten Chapel, Foss Center

Workshop: Feb. 13, 1:30-4:30, East Commons, Christensen Center

Interfaith dialogue on political action: Feb. 13, 7:30 p.m., Trinity Lutheran Building (corner of Riverside and 20th Ave S)

The convocation presentation by Mr. El-Rahman, Ms. Hafez, and Ms. Yehia will describe their experiences as part of the protests and observations about the process of youth-led political change in Egypt. In addition to the convocation, the speakers will work with Augsburg students on projects of common interest (such as collaboration on a public opinion survey for youth on civic engagement), a town hall forum and interfaith dialogue on social change, and a workshop on youth leadership development.

Mar. 1-3 Nobel Peace Prize Forum

Events and workshops related to youth empowerment and social change (including in Egypt, Somalia, India, and in the Twin Cities). Featured speakers and performers include former South African president F. W. de Klerk, human rights activist Naomi Tutu, and rapper Dessa. The Forum includes tracks in business, arts and music, education, and global studies. Learn more at the .

The Model UN Course at Augsburg 

This year delegates will represent Egypt at the Model UN Conference in New York City in May. They will also meet with the Egyptian Mission to the UN and Council on Foreign Relations expert Ed Husain.

May 19-June 11: Youth Movements and Social Change in Egypt

In this summer study abroad course, Augsburg students will meet with the Egyptians from the EYouth Movement to continue building the partnerships and collaborative relationships around youth empowerment. Students will also study the revolution and sustainable development in Egypt. Deadline to sign up for this seminar is February 10.

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Realism and the New Realities” at the annual Batalden Seminar in Applied Ethics. The series of events, to be held, Feb. 28 – March 1, is part of the 2007-2008  Convocation Series “Many Voices Bold Vision.”

Dr. Robin Lovin is a Cary Maguire University professor of Ethics at Southern Methodist University. He joined the SMU faculty in July 1994 and served as dean of Perkins School of Theology from 1994-2002. From 1991-1994, Lovin was dean at the Theological School of Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. His teaching career includes service as an instructor at Candler School of Theology of Emory University and 13 years as a faculty member at the Divinity School of the University of Chicago. He is a graduate of Northwestern University (B.A.) and Harvard University (B.D. and Ph.D). He is an ordained minister of The United Methodist Church.

The Convocation is free and open to the public. The 2007-2008 Augsburg

Convocation Series is the eighth annual series incorporating long-standing

endowed and special programs of Augsburg College. For more information

about the Augsburg Convocation series visit:

Schedule of Events

Thursday, Feb. 28, 7:30 p.m.

“Creating Global Order: A Niebuhrian View of New Realities”

Hoversten Chapel, Foss Center

Friday, Feb. 29, 10 a.m.

“Global Order and Global Warming: Thinking with Niebuhr about Politics”

Hoversten Chapel, Foss Center

Saturday, March 1, noon

Mini-Convocation, “Faith and Politics: A Niebuhrian Perspective”

Minneapolis Room, Christensen Center

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