The collaboration is proving so effective that faculty mentors at the University of California-Riverside are calling for more Auggies. When Dixie Shafer, director of Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity (URGO), visited doctoral candidate Tom Lopez ’11, she heard in no uncertain terms from Lopez’s mentor and department of mechanical engineering faculty member Lorenzo Mangolini:

“I want more of your students. I want more Augsburg students. Your students know what they’re doing in the lab from day one.”

Over the past six years, several Augsburg graduates have landed at UC-Riverside with full funding to attend doctoral programs. The students have a team of Auggie advocates supporting them all the way. The team includes staff from TRIO/McNair Scholars; URGO; STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) Programs; and alumni who have walked a similar path.

The Riverside pipeline

Augsburg sociology alumni Matthew Dunn ’08,��Jenna Mead ’09, and Zach Sommer ’10 were among the first Auggies to blaze a trail to UC-Riverside. They were later joined by Lopez and doctoral candidate Justin Gyllen ’11, a computer scientist and physicist working on an educational technology project to help first-year engineering students improve their note-taking.

Now those Auggies have been joined by two more alumni from the physics and math departments: Gottlieb Uahengo ’13 and Amir Rose ’14.

Rose, one of five Augsburg McNair Scholars to attend UC-Riverside, credits that program’s role in his success. The McNair program is a two-year opportunity that helps prepare low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented students for graduate school. Rose, whose current research is focused on breeding sterile mosquitoes to eradicate populations of disease-spreading mosquitoes, also credits Augsburg physics professor David Murr ’92 for teaching him research skills and independent thinking.

Even current Augsburg students gain research experience at UC-Riverside. Last summer, chemistry student Oscar Martinez ’16 worked with Lopez and also traveled to Scripps Research Institute in Florida.

Circle of Support

Now that these Auggies are studying and researching in Riverside, Dr. Steve Larson ’72 says it’s his turn to help. Larson, a member of the Augsburg Board of Regents, has been in California since 1980.

Three years ago, Larson, chief executive officer and board chair for Riverside Medical Clinic and a generous supporter of the Norman and Evangeline Hagfors Center for Science, Business, and Religion, found out that there was not just one, but a group of Auggies in Riverside, and he invited them to dinner at his home. He has had them back every year, and has been joined by Augsburg College President Paul Pribbenow and Shafer.

“We all have something in common,” Larson said of his dinners with the Augsburg alumni and students. “Everyone appreciates what happens at Augsburg College.”

There’s a circle of involvement with the College, Larson explained, that begins as a student, continues as alumni go out into the world, and finally turns back to support student success and the future of the College. “This is my turn,” he said.

He is excited for how the Hagfors Center will continue to inspire high-caliber students and faculty to take their work to the next level.

“Keep those Auggies coming,” Larson said.

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The work, connections, and inspiration fostered and forged by Carlson led an anonymous donor to make a generous $165,000 lead gift to name a gathering space in the Norman and Evangeline Hagfors Center for Science, Business, and Religion in honor of Carlson and his wife, Lorraine. Augsburg College Regent Dennis Meyer ’78 and Beverly (Ranum) Meyer ’78 also were inspired by Carlson’s leadership and dedication to the College and decided to make a second gift. The couple’s most recent contribution of $25,000 will go to support the space named in honor of the Carlsons.

During his long tenure with Augsburg, Carlson helped countless students get their careers off the ground. “He never hesitated to pick up the phone to make a connection,” said Dennis.

One of Carlson’s introductions helped Bev make an important professional connection to launch her teaching career. “There were many faculty and staff members at Augsburg who provided career guidance and direction, but Jeroy stands out for us,” she said.

“I admire the connections Jeroy developed with alumni and his ability to make things happen,” Dennis said, noting that Carlson raised millions for the College. “When he called and asked for something, people gave because they had great respect for Jeroy, his love of Augsburg, and the people who contributed to its success.”

Donors are invited to make a gift to the Jeroy and Lorraine Carlson Atrium Lounge—a designated space in the Hagfors Center where the Augsburg community will gather, foster relationships, and build community.

Great progress already has been made for this $250,000 initiative, which will end on December 31. There is just $60,000 left to raise to name the space. Please join fellow Auggies touched by the Carlsons’ spirit of generosity and belief in Augsburg. Send your gift, marked “Jeroy Carlson Initiative,” to: Augsburg College, 2211 Riverside Avenue, CB 142, Minneapolis, MN 55454. For more information, contact Kim Stone at stonek@augsburg.edu or 612-330-1173.

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The group cleaned, painted, and got the house ready to live in. John Hjelmeland ’70 and Paul Mikelson ’70 moved into the house in the fall of 1967.

By winter break, more Auggies moved into the house: John Harden ’69 and Phil Walen ’70 from Washburn High and Terry Nygaard ’70 from Columbia Heights.

The five roommates spent the remainder of their time at Augsburg in the house located where the Charles S. Anderson Music Hall now stands. While the friends all pursued different fields of study, their friendship remained as strong then as it does now.

After graduation, Mikelson married and left for a U.S. Army position in Germany, and Hjelmeland and Walen moved out of state. During that time, the group started to circulate a handwritten chain letter as a way to stay in touch. Each of the friends lived in a different city, and the group kept the letter in circulation for 10 years.

Eventually, all five Auggies returned to the Twin Cities and began to meet for monthly lunches. This past September, Walen passed away, but the remaining four friends continue to meet regularly.

“Augsburg was the place where we cemented our friendship and kept it going all these years,” Mikelson said.

While Walen was still alive, the five former roommates together bought a brick to commemorate their camaraderie and Augsburg’s place in it. The brick, which will be displayed as part of the new Hagfors Center, will be inscribed, simply, “2207 S. 7th St.”

There is still time to participate in the campaign for the Hagfors Center!

Buy a brick to honor a family member, a teacher, a friendship, or a relationship that defines Augsburg for you. Augsburg will inscribe a brick with your name or the name of someone you’d like to honor. Each brick will be incorporated into the building of the Hagfors Center, creating a lasting legacy for the future of Augsburg.

Foundation Brick (40 characters, 3 lines) = $250

Legacy Brick (80 characters, 6 lines) = $500

Learn more at or by calling 612-330-1085.

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During the fundraising campaign, several large philanthropic foundations and corporations joined forces in support of the Hagfors Center, including the Bush Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Eli Lilly and Company Foundation. The campaign also received support from 3M, Ameriprise Financial, General Mills, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo.

“We are honored that the College’s work to promote interdisciplinary studies through the Hagfors Center received generous funding from the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation,” said Heather Riddle, vice president for Institutional Advancement. “The Hagfors Center will support Augsburg in expanding research opportunities and will help shape student learning for 21st century realities.”

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With the campaign fundraising milestone achieved, the Augsburg College Board of Regents approved moving forward with the next stage of architectural and construction design for what will be the College’s state-of-the-art, signature academic building. Once that design work is completed, the Board will set a timeline for groundbreaking and construction.

The College already has begun the planning and preparation necessary to make the new building a reality. Examples of this collaborative effort include the following:

• A Board-designated project leadership team is selecting an architect who will work with the College to verify that the building meets the needs of academic programs in order to create detailed interior and exterior drawings.
• Augsburg readied the future site of the building by razing two existing houses on 21st Avenue South.
• Faculty members are using grant funds to design new, interdisciplinary courses and to revise existing classes to better integrate the science, business, and religion subject areas.

The post Onward. appeared first on Augsburg Now.

But I also realize that these achievements are made possible by an increasingly clear vision of our future that says we will be “a new kind of student-centered urban university, small to our students and big for the world.” And the fruit of our labors is made possible by our common efforts to live into this vision and our shared commitment to an Augsburg education that equips our students for lives of meaning, purpose, and significance in and for the world. That is what truly excites me about Augsburg’s future—a persuasive vision that proclaims our desire to be a college that is student-ready!

What do I mean by student-ready? I mean that we are turning 21st century higher education on its head by not focusing on whether students are “college-ready.” You’ve probably read and heard that phrase many times. Demanding that students are college-ready allows lots of smart people to claim that the responsibility belongs elsewhere when it comes to ensuring that students show up on our campuses prepared by someone else for what we think a higher education should look like. If students aren’t able to read or speak English as well as we would like, if their math skills are lacking, if they don’t participate in class like we once did, if they demand more of us because of difficult personal circumstances or diverse learning and leading styles, then they are not ready for college. In other words, if they don’t learn and behave like us, they are not college-ready.

So here comes Augsburg offering a different—even countercultural—vision of what higher education is all about today. And it is a vision grounded in our faith and academic heritage. It is a vision that claims we are called to be ready for students with the diverse gifts and experiences they bring to our campus, gifts and experiences that demand changes in how we engage them, teach them, and learn from them. It doesn’t mean that we lower our standards—that is the too-easy retort to our vision. It means that we define and claim even higher standards of academic excellence and achievement, of teaching and learning, of civic engagement and community life—standards shaped not by measures imposed from without, but by a collaborative and democratic measure borne of our shared experience and engagement.

And, come to find out, when you take the path of being student-ready, when you quit measuring by someone else’s standards, you begin to witness to a way of being in the world as educated people that others want to embrace. And students and faculty win major recognition, your campaigns are successful, and you are positioned to lead in the 21st century.

Wow, that is exciting and inspiring. I give thanks every day for a community that embraces this vision of a college that is student-ready and student-centered. A college that is faithful and relevant. Our college—Augsburg College!

—Paul C. Pribbenow, President

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To honor his legacy, the majority of Ericksen’s gift will be designated to the Center for Science, Business, and Religion. Part of this gift will honor Ericksen’s faith and be directed to Christ Auditorium, the 80-seat classroom at the heart of the new building. In tribute to his love of music, a renovation to Sateren Auditorium and its lobby also will be named for Ericksen.

His gift was one of the largest estate gifts in Augsburg’s history. 

Remembering Auggies

These “In memoriam” listings include notifications received before May 20.

Ingeborg C. Garborg ’38, Grand Marais, Minnesota, age 94, on January 20.

Bernice A. (Westman) Giguere ’39, Columbia Heights, Minnesota, age 97, on April 26.

Karl I. Krohn ’41, Memphis, Tennessee, age 95, on February 7.

Thelma (Sydnes) Monson ’41, San Diego, age 95, on April 27.

Philip “Phil” W. Rowberg, Sr. ’41, Chico, California, age 95, on March 24.

Marion M. (Myrvik) Buska ’46, St. Louis Park, Minnesota, age 90, on January 18.

Willard “Bud” W. Glade ’49, Dows, Iowa, age 94, on March 1.

Georgette F. (Lanes) Ario ’50, Minneapolis, age 86, on January 17.

Irving R. Burling ’50, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, age 87, on April 16.

Bernice A. (Larson) Howell ’50, Beltsville, Maryland, age 89, on January 30.

Euna G. Nelson ’50, Evansville, Minnesota, age 86, on March 18.

Kerman J. Benson ’51, Victoria, Minnesota, age 85, on January 13.

John “Al” A. Johnson ’51, Maplewood, Minnesota, age 88, on January 7.

Raymond V. Trochmann ’51, Ulen, Minnesota, age 93, on March 29.

Elmer H. Hanson ’52, Elk Mound, Wisconsin, age 90, on February 24.

Karl D. Puterbaugh ’52, Eagan, Minnesota, age 86, on March 22.

Berton R. Hushagen ’53, Fergus Falls, Minnesota, age 87, on February 16.

Harold E. Peterson ’53, Bella Vista, Arkansas, age 89, on April 1.

Gloria M. (Parizek) Thorpe ’53, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, age 84, on May 5.

Lloyd A. Nelson ’54, Willmar, Minnesota, age 91, on January 27.

James S. Carlson ’55, Richfield, Minnesota, age 88, on October 12.

Lyle I. Hunter ’55, Cathedral City, California, age 85, on September 27.

Eileen M. (Wirkkunen) Thompson ’55, Astoria, Oregon, age 81, on January 23.

Laurayne R. (Helgerson) Solberg ’56, Stoughton, Wisconsin, age 91, on October 20.

Dennis H. Erickson ’58, Rochester, Minnesota, age 85, on March 10.

Lorents J. Flak ’58, Santa Rosa, California, age 83, on March 8.

Jon W. Matala ’58, Carver, Minnesota, age 78, on March 15.

Ronald “Ron” J. Stave ’58, Minneapolis, age 83, on March 7.

Nancy Bauman ’59, Rochester, Minnesota, age 78, on April 10.

James “Jim” A. Noble ’60, Grand Blanc, Michigan, age 76, on January 25.

Darwin G. Thorbeck ’60, Charleston, South Carolina, age 76, on January 26.

James F. Redeske ’61, Golden Valley, Minnesota, age 75, on February 16.

Kay L. (Hanenburg) Madson ’62, Minneapolis, age 74, on January 21.

Paul R. Engwall ’64, Lakeville, Minnesota, age 75, on May 14.

Wayne E. Myrvik ’64, Fergus Falls, Minnesota, age 72, on February 7.

Gary E. Utoft ’64, Owatonna, Minnesota, age 72, on February 23.

Kathryn “Kathy” A. (Lundby) Young ’64, Williamsburg, Virginia, age 72, on March 9.

Lowell H. Asplund ’65, Butterfield, Minnesota, age 73, on February 6.

Anita M. (Gransee) Christopherson ’65, Belle Plaine, Minnesota, age 71, on April 28.

Neil C. Sideen ’65, Howard Lake, Minnesota, age 71, on March 6.

Karen L. (Torkelson) Leverentz ’66, Stillwater, Minnesota, age 70, on February 7.

Richard “Rick” A. Niles ’67, Minnetonka, Minnesota, age 69, on March 6.

Mary M. (Dolan) Peterson ’67, Parkers Prairie, Minnesota, age 69, on March 25.

Russell E. Ilstrup ’68, Buffalo, Minnesota, age 70, on March 21.

Ronald A. Nilsson ’68, Wheaton, Illinois, age 69, on January 9.

Nancy E. Stevens ’68, Plymouth, Minnesota, age 68, on December 29.

Ronald L. Danckwart ’72, Lake City, Minnesota, age 64, on February 25.

James E. Ericksen ’72, Edina, Minnesota, age 68, on January 27.

Alan C. Kelsey ’73, St. Paul, age 63, on January 19.

Ronald “Ron” A. Hart ’75, Coon Rapids, Minnesota, age 62, on March 9.

Magdalen A. (Ardolf) Miller ’75, Silver Lake, Minnesota, age 91, on January 20.

Robert “Bob” A. Roberge ’77, Rochester, Minnesota, age 60, on March 7.

Eunice C. (Holmes) Johnson ’80, White Bear Lake, Minnesota, age 84, on February 28.

Lori L. (Johnson) Rosenkvist ’81, St. Paul, age 55, on March 25.

Timothy J. Beck ’83, St. Paul, age 53, on March 30.

Jeffrey T. Miller ’94, Plymouth, Minnesota, age 52, on January 29.

Alfred “Al” A. Drears ’11, St. Paul, age 51, on March 24.

Max D. Bassinson ’17, Minneapolis, age 23, on March 7.

Professor Emeritus Jerry Gerasimo, Menomonie, Wisconsin, age 84, on April 4.

Longtime staff member Irene Steenson, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, age 102, on April 18.

For news of a death, printed notice is required, e.g., an obituary, funeral notice, or program from a memorial service. Send your news items by mail to: Augsburg Now Class Notes, Augsburg College, CB 146, 2211 Riverside Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55454, or email alumni@augsburg.edu. You can also submit news at .

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James E. Ericksen ’72, whose life was marked by his commitment to faith and passion for the arts, passed away in January at age 68, leaving Augsburg an unexpected and extraordinary bequest of more than $5 million.

To honor his legacy, the majority of Ericksen’s gift will be designated to the Center for Science, Business, and Religion. Part of this gift will honor Ericksen’s faith and be directed to Christ Auditorium, the 80-seat classroom at the heart of the new building. In tribute to his love of music, a renovation to Sateren Auditorium and its lobby also will be named for Ericksen.

His gift was one of the largest estate gifts in Augsburg’s history.

“We wish so much that we could have thanked him during his lifetime,” said Heather Riddle, vice president of Institutional Advancement.

Ericksen graduated from Minnehaha Academy in Minneapolis in 1964 and enrolled at Augsburg College that fall. While still a student, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Germany. Ericksen returned to Augsburg College after his service, finished his business administration degree with an emphasis in accounting, and graduated with the 139-member class of 1972.

A history minor, Ericksen later told Augsburg staff that Carl Chrislock, remembered as one of Minnesota’s preeminent U.S. historians and a professor emeritus of history at the College, was one of Ericksen’s favorites. He returned to Augsburg College several times over the years to attend concerts, particularly those for which his piano instructors served as accompanists.

A loyal public servant

After starting his career at Polaris, Ericksen worked as an auditor for the State of Minnesota Department of Revenue for 31 years before retiring in 2009. Along the way, he invested wisely and lived carefully.

“Nobody knew much about him, including his family,” said his cousin, Robert Quick. But they knew he loved history, travel, and classical music—especially symphonies.

In mid-life, Ericksen began piano lessons at MacPhail Center for Music, where he studied with Victoria and Dan Sabo for many years. Friend and piano instructor Janet Holdorf described Ericksen as “so sincere and ardent in his appreciation of music making.” He didn’t consider himself much of a musician, but he enjoyed learning and playing. His home was equipped with a large sound system and filled with carefully cared-for albums, many of them the symphonies he loved so much.

Ericksen traveled often, venturing to France, Italy, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere. He took long driving trips, eventually visiting nearly all 50 of the United States and taking time to explore each destination’s history. When he was at home in the Twin Cities, he attended Bible study at Mount Olivet Lutheran Church in Minneapolis.

In his will, Ericksen remembered many family members, friends, and organizations dear to him.

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