Augsburg University President Paul Pribbenow and Provost Paula O’Loughlin spoke to national media this week about Minnesota First Lady Gwen Walz’s work at Augsburg. Both were interviewed for a CNN feature about Minnesota’s First Lady in the lead-up to the 2024 Democratic National Convention, where Governor Tim Walz accepted the Democratic nomination for vice president Wednesday night.��

Read: (CNN)

Gwen Walz has held appointments at Augsburg as an instructor of education and a special assistant for strategic partnerships in the Office of the President since 2019. “[W]hat she will say all the time, is, ‘I’ll make it happen,’” said O’Loughlin. “She’s very cognizant of how things affect other people all the time.” 

On Thursday morning, Pribbenow appeared on CNN live to discuss Walz’s background, commitments, and connections to Augsburg.

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Last week, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Campus Compact announced the HUD + Higher Ed Engagement Network, a new collaboration to strengthen higher education community action. Augsburg President Paul C. Pribbenow was one of three college presidents named to a 30-member Think Tank of strategic leaders that will guide network activities.��

“Augsburg has long been engaged in vital place-making work with our neighbors, our students, and our employees,” said Pribbenow, who chairs the in Minneapolis. “It’s an honor to be able to share what we’ve learned about mutually sustaining partnerships in an urban setting where we have deep institutional roots.”

The Think Tank will collaborate with HUD leaders to develop and disseminate strategies for campuses to engage with HUD field offices and initiatives nationwide. Member institutions will put these plans into action at the local level, with the goal of building inclusive, sustainable, and thriving communities through increased civic and community engagement. Focus areas will include worker empowerment, maternal and infant health, eviction prevention, landlord outreach, housing security and access, broadband access and digital literacy, and cultural competency.��

“We are thrilled to partner with Campus Compact on this initiative,” said Michele Perez, HUD’s Assistant Deputy Secretary for Field Policy and Management, in . “This partnership will bolster HUD’s and the members of the Higher Ed Engagement Network’s ability to serve our most vulnerable populations through the higher education space. Together, we will leverage our strong connections in our respective industries to enable a just, equitable, and sustainable future.”

The HUD + Higher Engagement Network will be led by Campus Compact in partnership with the University Economic Development Association and two organizations with which Augsburg and President Pribbenow have been closely involved: the and the .��

Engaging as an anchor institution in Cedar-Riverside and at Augsburg sites around the world is a key strategy articulated in Augsburg150: The Sesquicentennial Plan.

Read more about Augsburg’s anchor institution commitments:

• “”—Star Tribune commentary by Paul Pribbenow and James Hereford (September 2021)
• “” by Jay Walljasper (PDF)

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Augsburg President Paul Pribbenow talks with the Star Tribune’s Randy Furst about how the Augsburg House — and much of South Minneapolis — were once governed by discriminatory housing policies. While the historical covenants are no longer legally binding, Augsburg is seeking a method to nullify the prohibition while still preserving the historical record, “so that we never lose sight of the actions that have segregated and repressed many,” Pribbenow said.

The findings about residential properties in South Minneapolis are part of the Mapping Prejudice project, led by a team of researchers from Augsburg and the University of Minnesota. For more information about the project, see . Go to the for information about other South Minneapolis homes, a perspective from a Minneapolis real estate lawyer, and an interactive map showing the growth of racially restrictive deeds across Minneapolis from 1910 to 1955.

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(MINNEAPOLIS)—Students across the nation who seek to live in recovery from substance use disorders will have greater opportunities for success thanks to the generosity of donors to the Augsburg College .

“This is a pivotal moment for students in recovery across the nation and how we serve them,” said Augsburg College President Paul C. Pribbenow. “We are poised to leverage our 20-year national reputation as the gold standard in collegiate recovery in enhanced ways: to encourage and shape how other colleges and universities throughout the nation support young people in championing lives of recovery, to work to effect policies and programs that will staunch the opioid epidemic gripping our nation, and to reduce the stigma associated with addiction so that young people can lead lives of meaning.”

The College appointed Patrice Salmeri to the donor-endowed position as Executive Director for Recovery Advancement of StepUP to bring to fruition the strategic priorities of the StepUP Advisory Board and College. In her new role, effective June 2017, Salmeri will work to:

• Reduce stigma associated with substance use disorder recovery by advising on and shaping policy issues among state and federal government agencies and offices, nonprofits and community organizations, and professional associations.
• Advise the Augsburg College president on issues and resources related to support for student recovery.
• Support and inspire other colleges and universities across the nation to provide recovery programs modeled after Augsburg’s successful, 20-year-old StepUP Program.
• Develop and pilot programs for students who have graduated from or left the StepUP Program but still have coursework to complete.
• Work with StepUP Program alumni to understand long-term positive effects of living in a recovery community during college and connect soon-to-graduate students with program alumni.

A search is underway to fill the position of Director of StepUP, previously held by Salmeri.

About Patrice Salmeri: The StepUP Program director since 2002, Salmeri has led StepUP Program growth from 30 students per year to over 100. Salmeri is recognized nationally as a leader and champion of recovery, is an expert on residential collegiate recovery, and is a sought-out national speaker on substance use disorder issues related to young people.

About Augsburg College and the StepUP Program: Augsburg’s StepUP Program, founded in 1997, helps students sustain their recovery, achieve academic success, and reach a level of thriving as a community. This successful program has been generously supported by donors who are alumni, parents and friends of Augsburg and who provide annual support through a gala and other donations and by creating endowed funds to support students.

Augsburg College offers more than 50 undergraduate majors and nine graduate degrees to nearly 3,600 students of diverse backgrounds at its campus in the vibrant center of the Twin Cities and its site in Rochester, Minn. Augsburg educates students to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders. 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.

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As the story explained, “Under President Paul C. Pribbenow‘s leadership, the college has more than tripled the percentage of minorities in the full undergraduate body. In 2006, there were 11 percent compared to 33 percent in 2016.” The traditional undergraduate graduating class of 2016 is comprised of more than 42 percent students of color — a record achievement for the institution.

Pribbenow said Augsburg has been committed to attracting and supporting students from minority populations for more than a decade and has partnered with college readiness programs to achieve its success.

The broadcast report also included an interview with Robert Harper ’16, an alumnus who described why he values his college experience and the diverse makeup of his graduating class.

Read and watch: on the KARE 11 website.

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Giffords was wounded severely during a 2011 shooting that resulted in six deaths. She and husband, Kelly, have announced similar coalitions in New Hampshire and Oregon during the past several months.

Augsburg College President Paul Pribbenow welcomed the event’s guests to campus and offered opening remarks at the press conference.

Media coverage of the event includes:

• Star Tribune –
• WCCO television –
• Minnesota Public Radio –
• Bring Me The News – Giffords visits Minnesota to launch coalition to help prevent gun violence
• KARE 11 television –
• KSTP television – Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Twin Cities Discussing Gun Control
• Christian Science Monitor –

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The event is designed to give high school students first-hand understanding of college life and medical careers. MinnPost quotes Augsburg College President Paul Pribbenow as saying,  “We want to give them a glimpse of what these careers look like, and something of a college experience that makes the possibility seem more real to them.”

In particular, Augsburg and its partners at the University of Minnesota Medical Center – Fairview focus on the many Somali students who live nearby with help from community organizations such as the the African Development Center and the West Bank Community Coalition.

Read “” on the MinnPost website.

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Read and watch his posts on the “On Campus” blog here:

•  – A few noteworthy and newsworthy items about Augsburg

•  – Meet President Paul C. Pribbenow and his passion for bow ties, commitment to Augsburg students, and vision for the College’s future

•  – Experiments in the organic chemistry class taught by Assistant Professor Michael Wentzel really shine — or, rather, glow

•  – Beatboxing Auggies Matthew Kukar and Connor Doebbert demonstrate their talents

•  – Friedrich takes in Velkommen Jul

•  – An overview of lunchtime in the Commons

•  – Norwegian traditions abound in special Daily Chapel service

• What an Augsburg apartment looks like – A peak inside Luther Hall

•  – The ins and outs of breakfast at Augsburg

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“In these volatile times in higher education, we are blessed to have Paul Pribbenow as our president,” said Paul S. Mueller, M.D., ’84 and chair of the Board of Regents. “We agree with the comprehensive review that shows that Paul brings exceptional intelligence, commitment, energy, and integrity to his work, and he continues to grow in effectiveness.”

In a letter to the Augsburg College community, Mueller also said that Pribbenow’s renewal was based upon multiple factors, including a comprehensive review that included input from more than 120 faculty, staff, administrators, alumni, partners, and community leaders, as well as Pribbenow’s response to the review and his accomplishments over the past several years.

Since joining Augsburg in 2006, Pribbenow has enhanced the College’s role as an active community partner in its urban setting. In that time, the College has achieved national recognition for its excellence in service learning, experiential education, and interfaith service. Pribbenow also has become a leader among the 26 colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), helping to articulate the gifts shaping and supporting Lutheran higher education in the 21st century. Pribbenow has led Augsburg College in the development of new mission and strategic vision statements that anchor the institution’s priorities and initiatives, shaping the College’s strategic plan, Augsburg 2019. He has advanced the College’s top priority—a state-of-the-art education center housing academic programs in science, business, and religion, among others—and has played key roles in cultivating donor relationships and in attaining the largest philanthropic gift in Augsburg College history.

The contract between the Augsburg College and Pribbenow runs through 2021. Pribbenow is the 10th president of Augsburg College, a private liberal arts college associated with the ELCA and located in Minneapolis, and is recognized as one of the country’s most engaging commentators and teachers on ethics, philanthropy, and American public life. .

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