Augsburg College is honored to announce that it has received an unrestricted $10 million philanthropic gift from a 1965 alumnus.

The donor’s generous contribution will support a new academic building that will house a number of the College’s academic programs including biology, business, chemistry, computer science, math, physics, psychology, and religion.

“This tremendous gift will make possible our continued commitment to academic excellence, to the hands-on learning that is one of the hallmarks of the College, and to the continued best-use of our 23-acre campus,” said Augsburg College President Paul C. Pribbenow. “Augsburg is a 143-year-old anchor institution in the heart of Minneapolis’ Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. This gift puts Augsburg on the path of being a college for the 21st century, and one that continues to deliver academic excellence in the liberal arts and professional studies.”

“Augsburg College has found many ways to innovate and evolve since I was a student—while at the same time maintaining the core values that were so appealing to me,” said Augsburg College Regent Steve Wehrenberg ’78, chief executive officer of Campbell Mithun. “This gift will ensure the College remains a caring, inspiring, and delightful place for students of all kinds to learn and grow.”

New building fund exceeds $23 million

The $10 million gift brings to more than $23 million the total funds for the new building. The Augsburg College Board of Regents will continue to monitor progress on the campaign and the College’s cash position and debt capacity to determine when to set a date for groundbreaking on the first stage of the building. The total cost of the building is estimated at more than $60 million.

“In May 2012, the Regents set calendar year 2014 as a target for beginning construction, a goal they believe is feasible, especially given the excitement this lead gift will engender with other prospective donors,” Pribbenow said.

The donor, who asked to remain anonymous, is a long-time supporter of the College and graduated with bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and business administration.

Augsburg College is set in a vibrant neighborhood at the heart of the Twin Cities, and offers more than 50 undergraduate majors and nine graduate degrees to nearly 4,000 students of diverse backgrounds. Augsburg College educates students to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders. The Augsburg experience is supported by an engaged community that is committed to intentional diversity in its life and work. An Augsburg education is defined by excellence in the liberal arts and professional studies, guided by the faith and values of the Lutheran church, and shaped by its urban and global settings.

The post $10 million gift to Augsburg College will launch new academic building appeared first on News and Media.

Travelers EDGE (Empowering Dreams for Graduation and Employment), seeks to increase the pipeline of underrepresented students to college, help them to graduate, and build awareness of careers in the insurance and financial services industry. This year was Augsburg’s second year as the recipient of a Travelers EDGE grant.

Travelers EDGE scholars are graduates of a high school in the St. Paul Public School District and full-time undergraduate students enrolled in the Day program at Augsburg. Students must remain in good academic standing with a minimum GPA of 2.5, demonstrate financial need, and express an interest in exploring careers in business, financial services, economics, computer science and related fields.

While in the program, students work with career coaches, communicate with a professional mentor at Travelers, and participate in financial literacy programming. Augsburg is one of 12 colleges in the U.S. participating in the Travelers EDGE program.

The post Three Travelers EDGE scholars to intern in summer appeared first on News and Media.

They attended the Midwest Instruction and Computing Symposium held April 17-18 at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. The team of senior Erik Johnson (right) and junior Eric Howe (left) won the programming competition and was awarded $250 for themselves and $250 for the department.

Augsburg entered two teams of programmers in the 28-team competition. Teams were given 3 hours to solve 9 problems using computer programs. They wrote code and submitted it to judges who then ran the code to see if it produced the correct output. The teams were evaluated first on how many problems they solved and then on the amount of time they used to complete the tasks.

In a down-to-the-wire finish, Johnson and Howe solved five problems, the same number as another team. At first, it appeared that the other team had won, but Johnson and Howe believed one of their problems was judged incorrectly. They appealed the judges’ decision, and won.

Johnson and Howe, who were coached by computer science instructor Erik Steinmetz, placed third last year and set a goal to win this year. To prepare for the competition, they practiced nearly every Monday night this semester using problems from previous competitions.

“These guys did a very good job,” Steinmetz said. “They worked hard and certainly came through in the end to win.”

Steinmetz said participation in a conference like this looks good on a student’s resume, whether he or she is applying for a job or to a graduate program. At this particular conference, students can also submit scholarly papers for presentation, a unique opportunity for undergraduate students.

Because of a strong connection to the natural sciences at Augsburg, Steinmetz said Augsburg’s computer science students are fortunate to have the opportunity to conduct research and have their name appear as an author on published papers. “That shows employers and grad schools that they have done more than taking classes,” he added.

Also at the symposium, Steinmetz and assistant professor Shana Watters presented a poster and chaired a panel discussion on “Introductory Computer Science Courses that Include Non-majoring and Undeclared Students.”

The Midwest Instruction and Computing Symposium is a regional conference dedicated to providing higher education participants an educational experience focused on the integration of computer-based technology in the teaching and learning processes of all disciplines and the incorporation of the study of this technology in the curriculum.

The post Computer science students win big in the Black Hills appeared first on News and Media.