Late last year in Oslo, Augsburg President Paul Pribbenow conferred upon King Harald V of Norway the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.

“We are deeply grateful for Your Majesty’s abiding support of Augsburg University and our sister Norwegian-American colleges and universities throughout the more than three decades of your reign,” Pribbenow said in his ceremonial remarks. “We share both a common heritage and profound commitments to peacemaking and global citizenship.”

His Majesty King Harald V of Norway acceded to the throne January 17, 1991. The king and his wife, Queen Sonja, visited Augsburg in 2011. This recognition—originally scheduled for 2020 but delayed by the pandemic—was part of Augsburg’s sesquicentennial anniversary celebration.

Top image: An Augsburg student participating in the Norway Hub wears a Norwegian flag while walking through campus. (Photo by Courtney Perry)

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In the fall, 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 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 placemaking work with our neighbors, our students, and our employees,” said Pribbenow, who also chairs . “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 announcing the program. “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.”

Top image: Downtown Minneapolis as seen from Augsburg’s campus (Photo by Mark Chamberlain)

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, Augsburg’s provost and senior vice president of academic and student affairs, will retire at the end of 2021–22 academic year. Since Kaivola joined Augsburg in 2013, her leadership of the faculty has consistently reflected unwavering commitments to teaching and learning. In late 2019, Kaivola stepped into an expanded role overseeing both academic affairs and student affairs, seeking new alignments and centering both on a holistic view of student learning and development. A committee chaired by Tim Pippert, Joel Torstenson endowed professor of sociology, is in the midst of a national search to identify her successor.

At its October meeting, the Augsburg University Board of Regents approved faculty emeritus status for Milo Schield, professor of business administration; regent emerita status for Ann Ashton-Piper, who retired from the board after 12 years of service; and staff emeriti status for long-serving employees Nancy Guilbeault, James Trelstad-Porter, and Mary Laurel True.

At its February meeting, the board approved faculty emerita status for Laura Boisen, professor of social work; and staff emeriti status for Dianne Detloff, Ann Garvey, and Mark Lester.

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Workplaces have struggled during the past year to navigate a digital, distanced work environment brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, social protests centered around racism and the unjust deaths of Black people at the hands of police have also brought greater attention to overwhelming disparities in economics, education, health care, housing, and public safety.

This year, the forum asks: What will it take to start a workplace revolution that moves us from talk to action?

Learn more and register to attend at .

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Among the many faculty-led projects in development to celebrate Augsburg’s 150th anniversary is a new work of musical theater about the university community, past and present, to be performed in spring 2020. Members of the community are invited to take part in every step of the process, from creating material to performing in the production.

Sonja Thompson, assistant professor of music and university organist, is leading the project. Malick Ceesay ’17, company manager at the Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis, has signed on as stage director, and Aaron Gabriel ’99 is composing music and lyrics for the production. The Augsburg Music-Theater Club is also contributing to stage direction, musical direction, and choreography, as well as performing in the cast. Leah Cooper of Wonderlust Productions is writing the play based on the stories of real Auggies that gathered in story circles.

[Web extra]: Audition dates have not been set, but alumni and friends of Augsburg interested in performing or otherwise being a part of the production can learn more at .

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Thinking from a student perspective, she understands the intense obligations today’s students face and, with her colleagues, implemented a series of changes to make it possible for students from all backgrounds and enrolled in any major to participate in Augsburg’s theatrical productions despite family or work commitments.

As a faculty member, Engen observed that faculty in the arts sometimes struggled to receive appropriate credit for their artistic and scholarly work, so she advocated for revisions to promotion and tenure guidelines to address the issue.

Now, she’s been asked to call on those twin perspectives in a new leadership role: helping to guide the commemoration of Augsburg’s sesquicentennial during the 2019–20 academic year. In a recent interview, Engen shared her views on the university’s 150th anniversary, the important contributions faculty will make in commemorating the occasion, and what makes Augsburg unique in American higher education. “One of the things I love about Augsburg is that we are more like the real world than other colleges and universities. The needs of the real world around us are present in everything we do.”

You are a co-chair of the sesquicentennial committee. What do you hope this milestone will do for Augsburg? 

I hope that it gives us a moment in time to understand our past, mark where we are now, and look forward. It’s an opportunity for us to appreciate those who came before us, what we’re doing in the present, and those who will inevitably follow after us.

What does this occasion mean to you as both an alumna and a faculty member?

In our costume shop, there are boxes and boxes that say things like “summer hats.” Those labels were handwritten by my professor, Ailene Cole, the former chair of the theater department, before she retired in her 80s. When I’m in the costume shop and see her handwriting, I’m reminded of her and what she did for me and all her students. That inspires me to do the same for my students. As a former chair myself, now, I am part of a legacy, which gives me a lot of satisfaction. I’m aware that all of us, chairs and faculty, are so privileged to be able to create an atmosphere where our students can thrive as artists. I keep the past with me as I try to carve out paths for the future with my students.

How are faculty members going to be involved in marking this significant moment in the life of the institution?

I’m very grateful that we were able to make resources available for faculty to create scholarly projects that reflect sesquicentennial themes. The support opens the door for these scholarly projects, whether they be permanent works or ephemeral experiences, to be installed or occur during our yearlong celebration. They will honor and mark the 150th anniversary and also give faculty the opportunity to expand the good work they do, which is ultimately to support our students.

I understand that the number of proposals for faculty sesquicentennial projects exceeded your expectations. What does that enthusiasm say to you?

It was amazing to get all the proposals for such thoughtful projects. It goes to show you that we faculty members all have in us, no matter how busy our days can sometimes be, a great love for this institution.

What kinds of projects are faculty members working on, and what are they trying to achieve?

There’s so much incredible work being done, but I’ll offer a few examples to give you an idea of the scope of the effort.

, assistant professor of music, is working on an original musical—with original music—about Augsburg, embracing both the rocky and exceptional moments in our history. Her team is interviewing as many people as possible and conducting story circles where students, staff, alumni, and friends can share their Augsburg experiences to inform the production.

, assistant professor of computer science, is building an app for exploring Augsburg’s campus now and at various points in history via augmented or virtual reality. The idea is that if you’re on campus, you can look around through your phone and see what a particular part of campus looked like at another time. And if you’re not here, you can virtually explore those same environments. We’re hoping to create online experiences that capture as much of the art and activity and scholarship happening on campus that year as possible.

As Augsburg prepares to commemorate 150 years, what stands out for you?

I’ve toured a lot of colleges; I’ve taught at two other universities. One of the things I love about Augsburg is that we are more like the real world than other colleges and universities. The needs of the real world around us are present in everything we do.

Augsburg’s plans to celebrate the sesquicentennial are developing, and updates will be posted at .

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Best Regional Universities: U.S. News & World Report again named Augsburg among the best universities in the Midwest. Rankings are based on factors including average first- year retention rates, graduation rates, class sizes, student-to-faculty ratios, acceptance rates, and more.

Recognition for being student-centered: For the second year in a row, The Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education ranked Augsburg No. 2 in Minnesota for student engagement in the learning process in their ranking of U.S. colleges and universities. The student engagement score is based largely on results of a student survey that addresses how challenging classes are, whether they foster critical thinking and prompt students to make connections to the real world, and how much interaction the students have with faculty and other students.

Top 25 LGBTQ-friendly Colleges & Universities: Augsburg was named to Campus Pride’s list of the top 25 LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities in 2017. Campus Pride is the leading national organization for creating safer, more LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities.

Top 50 nationally for contribution to the public good: Augsburg was the No. 2 institution in Minnesota named by Washington Monthly in its 2017 Master’s Universities rankings. The list rates schools based upon their contribution to the public good in three categories: social mobility, research, and service.

Top 25 schools for service-learning: Augsburg has been named one of U.S. News & World Report’s 2018 Top 25 Colleges and Universities for Service Learning. The sole Minnesota school on this list, Augsburg requires volunteering in the community as an instructional strategy. Schools garnering recognition were nominated by fellow institutions, college and university presidents or deans, and chief academic officers.

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Fifteen years before Augsburg moved in next door, Edward Murphy donated land
for the first city park in Minneapolis—what is now Murphy Square. For years prior, the parcel had been used as a cow pasture.

1937: 80 Years Ago

Augsburg elected an erudite and scholarly teacher, Bernhard Christensen ’22, ’25, to be president. He led the institution for nearly 25 years, during which time Augsburg made vigorous efforts to expand and enhance academic offerings.

1967: 50 Years Ago

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel played for more than 3,000 people in Si Melby Hall on Nov. 10, 1967. According to an Augsburg Echo review, the lengthiest applause was reserved for the song, “To Emily, Wherever I Might Find Her.” The same year saw the openings of Urness Hall and the Christensen Center, with the Marshall Room at the time serving as a faculty lounge to the resentment of the Echo’s editorial board.

1977: 40 Years Ago

Construction began on what is now the Charles S. Anderson Music Hall, which would open a year later, bringing the entire music department under one roof for the first time in 100 years.

1987: 30 Years Ago

Augsburg began offering its first graduate degree program, the Master of Arts in Leadership. Augsburg now offers nine post baccalaureate programs and set an enrollment record this fall with 1,035 master’s students.

2007: 10 Years Ago

In 2007, Oren Gateway Center opened, connecting Riverside Avenue with the James G. Lindell Library, which opened a decade earlier. OGC will lose the distinction of being Augsburg’s newest building when the Norman and Evangeline Hagfors Center for Science, Business, and Religion is completed in late 2017.

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