Staff are nominated by their colleagues for this award and recognized for their professional accomplishments as well as their dedication to their work and to serving the students, faculty, and staff.

Congratulations to all staff who were recognized. Pictured here are: [back] Ron Kurpiers, library services; Stephen Geffre, marketing and communication; Cory Snyder, student financial services; Dan Hoisington, information technology; President Pribbenow; [front] Debra Meyer, enrollment management; and Jennifer Simon, American Indian student services.

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Editor’s Note: On Tuesday afternoon, the Cedar-Riverside and Seward neighborhood will be filled with first-year Auggies, faculty members, staff members, and members of President Pribbenow’s Cabinet. Why is service important?

In his latest blog post, President Pribbenow addresses that question. A copy of the blog post is below. Find “Paul’s Blog” on the Augsburg College President’s .

Education and service

On Tuesday, the Augsburg community will honor its historic commitment to “Education for Service” as we participate in our long-standing “City Service Day.” On that day, more than 500 Auggies—students, faculty and staff—will fan out across the Twin Cities to be of service to our neighbors. It is a wonderful spectacle as we don our colorful t-shirts and work with our hands—painting, tending gardens, packing school supplies, doing whatever is asked of us at one of 25 sites where our volunteer efforts will illustrate our deep belief that education and service are inextricably bound together.

But this is more than a show of voluntarism (as impressive as it is!), this is a powerful way in which we begin to model for our students what it means that learning and service go together, a relationship that is central to their Augsburg education and experience.

So what is it that we believe “City Service Day” teaches us?

First, it is the important value of mutuality. If service is simply our meeting the needs of others, then we have missed a critical point. When we engage in service, we are entering into a relationship that is premised on shared needs and aspirations. Tending the garden of the Korean elders who live in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood is not simply about getting rid of weeds, it is about our shared commitments to adequate and nutritious food. It is about the herbs grown there to help heal. It is about the peace and calm that we find in a garden in the midst of a busy city.

Second, it is the importance of engaging those who are different than we are and learning from them. In the city, we encounter strangers from all walks of life and backgrounds. As we meet and work with them in these service projects, we are introduced to their cultures, experiences and values. We learn about what it means to live in a homeless shelter or what it is like to be an immigrant in a new land. We learn how important it is to be open to learning from the many and diverse experiences we share with our neighbors who are negotiating their lives with us in the city.

Finally, it is the value of self-reflection. Our service projects include time during and after the experience for all of us to consider how I felt, how my values were affirmed or challenged, what I learned about myself as I engaged in serving my neighbor. Here is the heart of a liberal arts education—the life well-examined. Here is where education and service are bound up together, offering us the tools we need to live as informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers and responsible leaders.

All of these important lessons—and a lot of fun as well!

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Projects included a team cleaning up debris along the Mississippi River and others planting a border and building a path in the community garden. There were five painting projects involving 45 faculty, staff, and students working in Marketing and Communication, Event and Conference Planning, Murphy Place, Lindell Library, and the tunnel beneath Christensen Center.

Tim Dougherty of the Center for Service, Work, and Learning, led projects in the community garden. Half of his crew — including President Pribbenow and his family — planted a border around the garden. Donations included day lilies and other plants from biology professor Ralph Butkowski’s yard, various perennials from Augsburg for Adults recruiter Judy Johnson, and annual flowers procured through Augsburg’s membership in the Minnesota Green Program (through the Minnesota Horticultural Society).

The other half of Dougherty’s team began building a stone path that will lead to both the labyrinth and the garden from the sidewalk on 20th Avenue. Dougherty said, “We couldn’t have gotten very far on this project without the leadership of Bruce Rowe and his summer grounds crew. Those folks are impressive!”

A group of 12 staff members (shown above with their haul) cleaned up a half acre of land along the Mississippi River. Staff member Matt Rumpza said, “Not only did we clean up our river edge, but I also met some great people.” Augsburg is a steward of a section of the river gorge through the Friends of the Mississippi River initiative.

Members of the marketing and communication department worked with Mike Magler and a team of painters to freshen up the walls of the tunnel. The Augsburg paint crew later added a maroon stripe to the walls and painted the handrails. Soon, signs will be added to the floor and walls.

At the annual staff picnic following the beautification projects, Augsburg College President Paul C. Pribbenow praised the campus community. “We at Augsburg are always mindful of caring for and helping our neighbors,” he said, “but we must remember that we are neighbors to each other. This day has demonstrated our commitment to making our campus a beautiful place.”

Pribbenow also offered thanks to the Staff Senate and Cherie Christ, who initially proposed the project as a staff service project and community-building experience. Christ said she hopes the efforts generated a sense of ownership in our workspaces and illustrated the importance of giving back to our internal as well as our external communities.

Christ said, “One of the best parts of the day, for me personally, was the opportunity to work with students on a different level. My work doesn’t always allow me to do this, and it was fun just getting to know the students.”

Special thanks to the Campus Beautification Committee: David Draus, Lisa Roe, Cherie Christ, Tim Dougherty, and Tom Morgan.

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Chief Information Officer Leif Anderson provided highlights of the group’s activities:

• Met with a non-profit that works on behalf of the poor living in Managua’s city dump, and then we visited the area just outside the dump.
• Visited a neighborhood community center in an area where many CGE students do home-stay visits
• Drove by a tent city where farm workers who were poisoned by agricultural chemicals from American companies are squatting in protest
• Went to the national cathedral, the former presidential palace, and the Sandinista monument (Sandino looking out over Managua)
• Visited leading Nicaraguan economist Nestor Avendaño at his home. Avendaño studied at Yale and returned to Nicaragua, where he has been economic advisor to each president.
• Received different viewpoints on the free-trade agreements. One from the head of a farmer’s cooperative, who outlined the difficulties in the agreements. The other with ProNicaragua, an agency aimed at attracting foreign investors to locate business in Nicaragua.
• Attended a concert of the national symphony, playing at the community center in celebration of the center’s 25th year. The orchestra performed with a choir of kids from the neighborhood.

Augsburg has maintained a study site in Nicaragua since 1984. In 2007, the Center for Global Education celebrated its 25th year of providing “cross-cultural educational opportunities in order to foster critical analysis of local and global conditions so that personal and systemic change takes place leading to a more just and sustainable world.”

To see what the Augsburg group is doing in Nicaragua, check out Leif Anderson’s photo journal at:

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On Tuesday, Nov. 6, President Pribbenow delivered a lecture, “Joining a College: Liberal Arts as Civic Education,” at United International College (UIC) in Zhuhai, China. He traveled to China with College of St. Scholastica president Larry Goodwin and Minnesota Private College Council (MPCC) president David Laird. The purpose of this MPCC-sponsored visit was to attend and speak at the inaugural MPCC/UIC Presidential Lecture Series.

Hosting the MPCC group in Zhuhai was Edmund Kwok, UIC vice chancellor, and Hong Kong Baptist University president and vice chancellor C. F. Ng, who also delivered an address. Last year, an educational partnership was launched between MPCC and UIC, the first fully-sanctioned liberal arts college to be created in China in more than 50 years. UIC itself is a partnership between Beijing Normal University and Hong Kong Baptist University.

The UIC partnership offers opportunities for Augsburg student, staff, and faculty exchanges, and provides a unique experience in learning about China from the perspectives of the liberal arts. Already in the past several months, Augsburg has hosted visits from Kwok and a group of students who spent time on four MPCC campuses to experience American culture.

To learn more about President Pribbenow’s visit to China, go to .

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While the center bears Powell’s name, the idea for the facility comes from Urban Ventures Leadership Foundation, a Minneapolis-based economic development corporation.

Stephen Geffre, Augsburg photographer, compiled the 48’ x 12’ mural using three Augsburg basketball legends as models. Devean George, who now plays for the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks; Lute Olson, the head basketball coach for the University of Arizona; and Dan Anderson, who played for the New York Nets and currently serves on the board of regents. The mural also conveys the importance of academics by showing a variety of students hard at work in an urban setting.

The Colin Powell Youth Leadership Center is being built in partnership with the Cristo Rey Jesuit High School founded and sponsored by the Society of Jesus (a Roman Catholic order more commonly known as the Jesuits). The school will serve low-income families of any faith or culture who desire a religiously supportive, Christian value-centered education for their children.

“We are building relationships between our kids and Augsburg,” says Art Erickson, Urban Ventures director. “We want our kids to graduate from colleges and universities as transformed people who are self sustaining instead of on welfare. We want kids in the city to be self sustaining and to be leaders who give back to their community.”

If you are interested in volunteering with Urban Ventures, please contact Jenifer Seigle at 612-638-1001.

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The CROP Walk is a Church World Service event that raises funds for international development and sustainable agriculture projects as well as for local organizations.

This year, Minneapolis CROP walk sought to revitalize the walk’s popularity, so the Church World Service asked Augsburg to assist. Answering the call, President Pribbenow lent his name and his words to this year’s walk. His reason? CROP walks were a cherished memory from his childhood.

“I was asked to be the honorary co-chair for the Twin Cities CROP walk, and I couldn’t be happier being associated with an important event on behalf of a great cause,” says President Pribbenow. “I urge all Augsburg students, faculty and staff to consider joining me and my family on the CROP walk on Sept. 30. It will be fun, and we’ll even get a bit of exercise!”

You can register online for the walk and to begin your efforts at fundraising. For more information, contact Tim Dougherty at doughert@augsburg.edu or at x1208, or visit .

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