Many Augsburg faculty are also dedicated public scholars, whose work reaches beyond the academy to shape conversations in the public square. Two recent faculty books hold broad appeal for children and parents.   

Matt Maruggi, associate professor of religion and previous co-director of Augsburg’s Interfaith Scholars program, is the co-author of “.” The book aims to make the world’s major faiths accessible to kids ages 8–12, sharing the complexities of different religious traditions in language young people can understand. Maruggi calls it a “gorgeous, content-heavy picture book,” with sections on Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, as well as Native American traditions, Sikhism, Taosim, shamanism, secular humanism, interfaith families, and interfaith cooperation. 

Maruggi and his co-authors Sonja Hagander and Megan Borgert-Spaniol interviewed children from different traditions about the most meaningful aspects of their faith traditions. The book highlights their perspectives as well as famous individuals (like Dorothy Day and Muhammad Ali) and organizations (like Sewa International and Bread for the World) whose religious convictions are visible in public life. 

Christina Erickson, professor of social work and environmental studies, is the author of “,” a deep dive into the long-accepted practice of hitting children for learning and obedience. “Spanked” explores the historical roots, cultural supports, and social dynamics of spanking—a practice that is illegal in 62 countries, but still widely accepted here in the U.S. Erickson, who also chairs Augsburg’s social work department, comes to this topic as a social worker, a researcher, and a parent herself. In the book, she traces more than a century of research into spanking outcomes to critically assess the common narrative: “I was spanked, and I turned out fine.” 

Erickson was featured by columnist Laura Yuen in a recent The book gives parents, health care providers, educators, social workers, faith leaders, and anyone interested in power and family dynamics a platform to respectfully discuss what spanking communicates to children.

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(MINNEAPOLIS) — A grant of more than $445,000 was awarded by Lilly Endowment Inc., in a highly competitive grant process, to Augsburg College’s Youth Theology Institute. The award means the Youth Theology Institute can, among other things, develop a fellowship program for youth ministers, including from multicultural and ethnic-specific congregations, and expand participation in the program among youths, congregations, and synods.

“This grant supports Augsburg’s continued commitment to intentional diversity and to modeling what it means to be a Lutheran college of the 21st century, located in the heart of one of the nation’s most diverse zip codes,” said Augsburg College President Paul Pribbenow.

“It equips young people with theological and vocational skills and helps them learn what it means to practice their faith, with its commitments to education, radical hospitality and serving your neighbor.”

The Lilly grant will allow the Augsburg College Youth Theology Institute, now in its 13th year, to:

• Develop a cohort of youth ministers from regional churches and synods, including multicultural and ethnic-specific congregations, interested in enhancing their youth ministry skills.
• Increase the number of participants from 20 in 2016 to 40 by 2019 while also strengthening relationships with attendees and their families, their pastors and churches, through ongoing opportunities following the one-week institute.
• Create a mentor program to allow college-age students to help high school students develop practices and skills for theological reflection.
• Increase connections to the four synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America that form Augsburg’s governing structure.
• Continue to provide scholarships to attend Augsburg College of $1,000 per student, per year, for as many as four years.

The next Youth Theology Institute is June 19-24, 2016, at Augsburg College. It will be directed by Jeremy Myers, associate professor of religion in youth and family ministry.

About Augsburg College: Augsburg College offers more than 50 undergraduate majors and nine graduate degrees to nearly 3,600 students of diverse backgrounds at its campuses located in the vibrant center of the Twin Cities and in Rochester. Augsburg College educates students to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders. The Augsburg experience is supported by an engaged community 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.

About Lilly Endowment Inc.: Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by three members of the Lilly family – J.K. Lilly Sr. and sons J.K. Jr. and Eli – through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly & Company. The Endowment exists to support the causes of religion, education and community development. Lilly Endowment’s religion grantmaking is designed to deepen and enrich the religious lives of American Christians. It does this largely through initiatives to enhance and sustain the quality of ministry in American congregations and parishes.

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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.

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Winter faculty-led programs were:

History of Cuban Music in Cuba with Professor Bob Stacke, Music

Students experienced the fascinating culture of Cuba and its history, politics, and religion by exploring the way Cuban music has contributed to Afro-Caribbean music as a whole. Students also explored how music is used as a means of expressing cultural difference and social realities.

Trekking the Mountains in Mexico with Professor Tony Clapp, Health and Physical Education [pictured here at the top of the Sleeping Lady’s Knee: Iztaccihuatl ˜16,737 ft.]

This program combined a local immersion experience in a Mexican community with an outdoor adventure like no other. Students learned firsthand how our bodies respond to high altitude and monitored the physiological changes they went through when reaching the summit of two peaks in the Sierra Madres.

Vocation & Christian Faith in El Salvador with Professor Matt Maruggi, Religion

This program focused on the concept of vocation in the context of poverty and political injustice. Students examine how Christian theology has been used both to justify oppression, support social justice movements, and offer hope for a peaceful and just social order. We will also reflect on our own sense of vocation in relation to our learning experiences in El Salvador and at Augsburg.

Augsburg student Natalya Brown participated in the El Salvador program. Upon her return, she shared the following:

“I think that if you were to ask anyone that went to El Salvador over break, they would say this experience was extremely humbling. There are many families in El Salvador that are living off of one dollar a day to provide for their entire family and students here complain about the food in the cafeteria. Through this experience, I have become SO much more grateful for what I have and more aware of what others do may not. You may here about people living in bad conditions but when you see it for yourself, it makes it that much more real.

While listening to people that have survived the civil war, one can sense how strong their love and faith is to God. Everyone that we met with thanked God that they were alive and able to share their story with us, instead of asking why God let it happen. It was a very rewarding trip, and it fit in perfectly with the class I would recommend this program to not just students studying religion, but to students with various interests.”

Zack Sommer, a senior who participated in the Mexico program, said, “Trekking the mountains in Mexico was a powerful experience mentally, physically, and spiritually. My perceptions of what it means to be a global citizen have been elevated and the challenges of this trip brought the members of our group together in a way that we understood and appreciated each other.”

Apply by Feb. 1 for Summer Faculty-Led Programs

now, so they are easier to complete than ever! Also, students may come into the Augsburg Abroad office for advising and to find out more about summer programs: teaching English in Thailand, engaging in a business simulation in Germany, building a dam in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula, or experiencing internationally renowned theater in Scotland!

International Management: Germany May 12-June 10, 2012

BUS 465 or FIN 460 1 credit AugExperience Int. Bus & CCS Elective

Explore cutting-edge international business in its cultural context with a two-week immersion in Germany plus a two-week exchange program with German students in Minneapolis. Faculty: Marc McIntosh

Education & Culture: Thailand May 5-28, 2012

ENL 291/391 1 credit AugExperience Humanities LAF

Interact with the people of the Northern Hill tribes, explore Buddhist temples, and experience English-language teaching in a southern village. Faculty: Kathryn Swanson

Political & Civic Engagement: Egypt May 19-June 5, 2012

HIS 195 & POL 160/461 2 credits AugExperience Humanities LAF (HIS 195) SBS LAF (POL 160 only) or POL/IR/PGS Elective

Examine the political movements in the Middle East and explore how grassroots civic engagement plays a role in modern Egypt, while you visit ancient sites and ride a camel! Faculty: Mohamed Sallam & Joseph Underhill

International Theater: Scotland August 7-20, 2012

THR 299 or 495 1 credit AugExperience Fine Arts LAF (299 only), THR or Film Elective

Experience an exhilarating collection of theatrical productions from all over the globe at the world renowned Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Faculty: Darcey Engen

Hoversten Peace Program: El Salvador June 1-9, 2012

AugExperience (Non-credit)

Join with other Augsburg students as well as faculty and staff to develop a strong learning community together, as you learn about peace and global issues in El Salvador.

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“How was your trip,” people ask me. “I hope you had a good time,” they say.  This past semester spent studying abroad in southern Africa with 14 other university students was so much more than just a “trip” or a “good time.” It was a life-changing set of experiences. Homestays, speakers, traveling, classes, and conversations all took me and others to new places and perspectives on spiritual, geographical, and personal levels. It all began with ten days in Johannesburg, South Africa, where we had orientation and first met, then continued on to Windhoek, Namibia, where we studied politics, religion, history, and the “development process,” and ended with a week in Cape Town, South Africa, where it was difficult to finally say goodbye.

While we had many good times and experienced incredible travel, we were also challenged to think in new ways and challenged to wrestle with our own identities in regards to race, class, gender, nationality, and religion, among other things. We learned about apartheid and its legacy; we saw the legacy every day. We learned about education struggles, the wealth gap, HIV and AIDS, gender issues, Christianity’s role in society, and “western” imposition. We learned about Owambo culture during rural homestays as well as how to pound mahangu (a millet used to make porridge) and cook over the fire. I left Namibia and South Africa with more questions than I had upon arrival.

As is true of most people who study abroad, the experiences further molded my character and changed some of my ideas and understandings. It is the little things that stick out most to me now that I am back home. For example, the majority of Namibians and South Africans I met were very welcoming and always took time to have a conversation. The moment I entered customs at the airport in D.C. I knew I was back in the U.S., where interactions tend to be much more formal and fast-paced than what I’d been experiencing the past few months. The welcoming atmosphere and appreciation of time are aspects I hope to incorporate more of in my own life here.

As far as change goes, I am much more aware of considering my “role” in places. What did it mean for me to study in Namibia? What does it mean for me to have had those experiences and now be back in Minnesota? I don’t necessarily have answers for those questions, but I do know that it is important to continue to process them.

My perceptions of southern Africa also changed. Africa, at least from most U.S. media and mainstream society standpoints, is seen as this homogenous continent with poverty and “Lion King” wildlife and scenery. But each country and city and individual person is different from the next. In Namibia alone there are several different ethnic groups, and everything from the capital city Windhoek to deserts, oceans, mountains, and a rich wildlife. I am grateful that many of my preconceived ideas were dismantled and replaced by real life—real people with real stories, and first hand images of Namibia.

This gaining sense of reality is what has truly made a difference to my education. It is one thing to learn in a classroom about being open to others, but quite another to learn from others in their context. The people I met both through the program and otherwise will influence my take on life for years to come. Perhaps it is in the journey home that the journey abroad truly sinks in.

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This is how Austin Smith ’14, a religion and computational philosophy major from White Bear Lake, Minn., spent part of his summer. Smith was accepted to the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion’s one-week course titled “Science and Religion in Dialogue in 2011.”

The course, held at St. Edmund’s College in Cambridge, covered topics at the intersection of science and religion and featured internationally renowned speakers in areas including astrophysics, theology, neurology, nuclear science, biology, and ethics.

“It was a whirlwind; there is no other way to describe it,” Smith said. Each day consisted of four one-hour lectures followed by a question and answer session with all of that day’s lecturers. During the Q&A sessions and the two daily breaks for tea, Smith said all of the lecturers would often be present. “There we had a lot more opportunity to connect with them and to be able to pick their brains.”

Smith learned about the program while doing online research for graduate school programs in philosophy and science. He found the summer course at the Faraday Institute and decided to apply. “When I saw the institutions where the professors came from, I was really excited.”

One of Smith’s favorite speakers was Ian Hutchinson, professor of nuclear science and engineering at MIT. Hutchinson discussed “scientism,” the notion that science is the only avenue to true knowledge. “He said science is not the be-all and end-all,” Smith said. “It was a very interesting talk to start the week and set the tone.”

Smith especially enjoyed hearing the lecturers speak succinctly and passionately about their areas of expertise. “Ian Hutchinson spoke about an area where he’s done a lot of examination, thought, and reflection, and was able to boil it down into a 1-hour talk. It’s fascinating to hear passionate people talk about what they are passionate about.”

Perhaps most importantly, the course reinforced Smith’s notion that that we are never done learning, an important idea for a young man who would like to return to Augsburg one day as a professor. “I sat next to a gentleman who had been a science teacher in England for 40-some years, but he was there every day asking questions and taking notes and trying to learn something. It was encouraging to see that the pursuit of knowledge is not just for the young,” he said.

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My name is Lynne Lorenzen, and I retired from Augsburg College after teaching here for one year part-time and twenty-two years full time. Over these years I have taught many classes in the religion department including introductory courses in theology and Bible, plus upper division courses in religion and politics with Andy Aoki and feminism and Christianity in the Women’s Studies program. I also chaired the religion department for six years and was director of the women’s studies program for three years.

I was the regional director for the Upper Midwest region of the American Academy of Religion for six years serving on the national board of directors and the finance and membership committees. As a teaching theologian of the ELCA, I served on the Lutheran Orthodox dialogue and on the first sexuality task force.

I am currently working with a former student who is an ELCA pastor and has asked me to teach process theology in her setting. Such ongoing connections are great fun and will keep me busy in retirement.

Students have kept the classroom exciting by asking questions that would not have necessarily occurred to me. Many times these questions come out of a different religious tradition or none at all. Since the ideas and stories are fresh for these students, they do not assume to know or understand what they are about and thus they provoke different questions for them. Seeing the familiar stories and ideas from such different perspectives keeps the classroom alive and current with what is happening in the world.

Teaching world religions for the past several years has also broadened my own understanding of how religious traditions work in various cultures and it is always helpful to have students from a variety of religious traditions to share their own stories of their cultures and religious traditions and how they are interacting with American culture which is dominated by Christianity. I have learned to greatly value the perspectives of all of my students, even if we disagree with each other. They each consider their own tradition to be good news for them. These encounters have embodied Diana Eck’s dialog among religious traditions that needs to occur if we are to have peace in our world.

I will continue to be active in the process group that meets in the Twin Cities and to teach process theology and world religions occasionally. I intend to focus more on religion and politics by becoming more active politically than has been possible while teaching full time. I am concerned that we are losing our sense of the common good and not caring for those in need, nor are we adequately preparing students for college work in our public schools, and we are neglecting our environment that sustains all of us.

Thank you for the opportunity to be part of the lives of so many wonderful students and colleagues.

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During the January “winterim” break, several Augsburg students traveled with Religion professor Bev Stratton to Central America for REL 480: Vocation and the Christian Faith: El Salvador. First-year Katelyn Danelski reflects below on the group’s experiences.

We met with several speakers and visited different places, such as churches, a university, and a rural community, in hopes of learning more about their culture, history, and people. We primarily learned about their civil war (1979-1992) and about the roles faith and identity play in the midst of social injustice, oppression, and conflict.

Upon arriving in the country, we settled in at a guesthouse owned by a woman who fought as a guerrilla during the war. The next day we visited a church where Archbishop Oscar Romero was assassinated in 1980. Romero was made Archbishop in 1977 in hopes that he wouldn’t do much; the Catholic Church at the time didn’t want involvement with war or with the people, and Romero was the perfect man for their agenda.

Though he was what the Church wanted at first, he became increasingly involved with the people and underwent a personal transformation, becoming a leader and a voice for the people. He once said, “If they kill me I will arise in the Salvadoran people.” And arise he has. Junior Katie Gessell remarked, “For me, this experience finally brought me back to my faith…Seeing how little the Salvadoran people have along with everything they have been through, and then seeing how much faith they still had in God was incredible.”

In addition to learning about Romero, we also heard from speakers who experienced the civil war. One day we visited Suchitoto and took boats to an area where a massacre had taken place. A man who had endured the massacre spoke to us about his experiences as a child during the war, losing his family at age 9 in the massacre; he recalled memories with startling clarity.

Afterward, a woman who had also shared her experiences asked us to stand in a circle. She prayed and then told us to hug one another and say, “No more war.” She began to tear up and the whole experience was profoundly moving. Though there can be no justification for the atrocity these people went through, some redemption may be found in the impact their stories have on others. Junior Hayley Thomas responded, “Their stories were extremely powerful and the passion they had for their country and their work really inspired me to make a difference with my own life.”

Outside of hearing intense personal stories, we also visited places of national interest, such as the U.S. Embassy and the National Assembly building. We heard from deputies from the ARENA and FMLN political parities. It was shocking to learn that the U.S. supplied the corrupt Salvadoran government with $1.5 million per day for 12 years during their civil war, leading to a longer war and many more civilian deaths.

Senior Adam Jacobsen commented on how remarkable it was that the people were so open to us, as Americans, in spite of this. He said, “They really understood that our government’s decisions at the time were not our own.” Most of the people we met were compassionately able to make a distinction between the American government and the American people.

On one of our last nights in the country, in the rural area of Nueva Esperanza (New Hope), a group of young people who call themselves “Mercy” came and performed traditional Central American folk songs. Everyone’s faces lit up with joy, and some children from the community came over to listen, as well as another American group that was visiting the country. The next evening we brought piñatas to the kids and played with them. Music and play brought people together.

These experiences serve as a testimony to what all of us hopefully learned from this trip; people are people, and no matter creed, religion, or race, we are all united by a common thread of humanity. As the Salvadoran poet Roque Dalton once wrote, “…my veins don’t end in me.”

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