They both grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, and knew the family of Philando Castile, a Black man who was fatally shot by an officer during a 2016 traffic stop in nearby Falcon Heights.

“The interest in creating change started with Philando Castile. That was the initial gut punch,” Creighton said. “Flash forward to George Floyd in 2020, and it was like ripping off a Band-Aid to a wound that hasn’t healed. We decided we had to do something.”

Creighton, an accountant, and Frelix, who was in sales for Sony Electronics, left their stable day jobs in 2020. They teamed up with attorney Jazz Hampton, who is also an adjunct professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, and the three Black men launched a new company providing a technology-based solution to de-escalate traffic stops by police.

Timely launch

The motto says it all: “Drive with an attorney by your side.”

TurnSignl provides real-time, on-demand legal guidance from attorneys to drivers, all while drivers’ smartphone cameras record the interaction. The mission is to protect drivers’ civil rights, de-escalate roadside interactions with police, and ensure both civilians and officers return home safely at the end of the day.

As is true of many startups, the three co-founders wear multiple hats. Hampton serves as CEO and general counsel. Creighton is the chief financial officer and chief operating officer while Frelix is the chief revenue officer and chief technology officer.

When Daunte Wright was shot and killed by a police officer during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, in April, that only accelerated their pace to bring the app to market. “This has been an issue plaguing Black and brown communities,” Frelix said. “We’re thankful to have the ability and skill sets to get this off the ground.”

They introduced the TurnSignl app in May after they were able to leverage the public awareness of police stops ending tragically to raise more than $1 million to bring the app to market.

How TurnSignl works

Users open the app and immediately get connected to an attorney vetted by TurnSignl to guide them in order to de-escalate the encounter. Service launched in Minnesota and will be expanding to 10 states by the end of 2021. The founders also have created a foundation to provide service for those unable to pay for the app, which is available on the Apple and Google app stores. They expect the foundation to support 25% of the app’s user base.

While the app is intended for anyone, there is increasing attention to how Black drivers are treated by police.

Twin Cities NBC affiliate KARE 11 in May that new data shows that the majority of drivers pulled over this year by Minneapolis police for minor equipment violations are Black: Black drivers accounted for more than half of those stops despite making up only about 20% of the city’s residents, according to city data.

In St. Paul, Black drivers were almost four times more likely to be pulled over by police than white drivers, according to a Pioneer Press from 2016 to 2020. Asian, Latino, and Native American drivers were stopped at roughly the same rate as white drivers, the Pioneer Press reported.

The TurnSignl founders say their product is more than just an app. It’s a signal for change. “There’s no better opportunity to impact change than this moment, now,” Creighton said.

Defense attorney Taylor J. Rahm is one of the lawyers who has joined TurnSignl to be on call for motorists. “Anything we can do to make sure these situations are safe and that no one gets harmed is something I hope any lawyer would want to get involved with,” he said.

Sometimes, a motorist making sudden movements is interpreted as cause for alarm and can be construed by an officer as the driver going for a weapon or drugs, leading to potential conflict.

“With TurnSignl, you have a lawyer on the phone to help individuals know their rights but also importantly know how to handle the situation so nothing goes wrong,” Rahm said. “The benefit is that the officer knows that there’s an attorney on the phone telling the person, ‘This is what you should do during the stop.’”

The TurnSignl app has the potential to make traffic stops safer for police as well as motorists, said Mylan Masson, retired director of the Hennepin Technical College law enforcement program and a former Minneapolis Park Police officer. “Every traffic stop can be dangerous for police officers,” said the police training expert. The TurnSignal app “could give someone a calming sense that, ‘I’m not here alone.’”

Business owner Phil Steger offers the app as an employee benefit for his 14-person Brother Justus Whiskey Company in Minneapolis, believing TurnSignl’s attorneys can act as mediators to keep a traffic stop from escalating into danger.

“If you think you’ve been stopped unlawfully, most people don’t know that they still have to cooperate,” said Steger, who was previously an attorney for law firm Dorsey & Whitney. “You can still be taken to jail.”

A TurnSignl attorney can advise in real time: “Every defendant has the right, if they think they have been stopped unlawfully, to challenge the case in court later,” he said.

Business project for ‘the times we’re in’

As the TurnSignl founders prepared to launch the company, they turned to Augsburg’s MBA program to assist them in developing the business plan.

“A key part of the Augsburg MBA experience is that we want students to have practical experience and apply critical thinking,” said George Dierberger, associate business professor and director of the MBA program.

Students in the MBA program grapple with real-world challenges faced by local businesses via a management consulting project, which supported TurnSignl’s launch. This is just one of the many MBA program experiences in which students collaborate on projects, case studies, presentations, and simulations.

The TurnSignl project represents Augsburg’s goals to be socially conscious, said Mike Heifner ’21 MBA, who worked on the pricing strategy of the TurnSignl business plan. “This was a good example of how capitalism could bring social value to society,” he said.

Augsburg graduate student Stephanie Oliver ’21 MBA hopes the TurnSignl app will open new conversations and foster a different way of thinking about how police and civilians interact during traffic stops.

“This project was my first choice because of the times we’re in,” she said.

Oliver’s role in the MBA group was to analyze the research and data about traffic stops nationally by race. What she found was a system with inconsistent reporting about race and traffic stops across states. What was clear was that even after accounting for those inconsistencies, the disparities were apparent in stops involving people of color.

One of the studies she reviewed was the , which analyzed data from nearly 100 million traffic stops and found significant racial disparities in policing and, in some cases, evidence that bias also played a role.

This didn’t surprise Oliver. Her husband is Black and was frequently pulled over when they first moved to their Twin Cities suburb years ago. Once, the police even questioned her then 5-year-old daughter about whether he was actually her father.

“I ask why I’m being pulled over when officers approach my vehicle, and they get angry at me,” Oliver said. “But I have a right to know why I’m pulled over.”

She worries about her two young Black sons but is optimistic that the TurnSignl app can start to change the dynamics during a police stop. “I know when my daughter goes to Augsburg this fall, I’m going to get this app for her.”

The TurnSignl app is available on the Apple and Google app stores.

Data on drivers and police traffic stops

Key findings from the national data research Stephanie Oliver ’21 MBA gathered for the TurnSignl business plan:

• On average, legal intervention death rates for Black men, were 4.7 times higher than those of white men from 1979 to 1988, and 3.2 times higher from 1988 to 1997. (2002 American Journal of Public Health study)
• Black men are 3 times more likely than other races to die from the use of police force. Oliver said this was particularly alarming as Black males make up only about 6% of the total U.S. population. (2016 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Vital Statistics Data 2010–14)
• When driver race/ethnicity was visible, Black drivers were nearly 20% more likely to be the subject of a discretionary traffic stop than were white drivers. (2014 San Diego State University research)
• Among males aged 10 years or older who were killed by police use of force, the mortality rate among non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic individuals was 2.8 and 1.7 times higher, respectively, than that among white individuals. (Racial/Ethnic Disparities in the Use of Lethal Force by U.S. Police 2010–14)
• Search rates for whites are significantly lower, at around 18% of the traffic stops, while search rates for Blacks and Hispanics total about 82%. (Compiled from Stanford Open Policing Project data for Connecticut; Illinois; North Carolina; Rhode Island; South Carolina; Texas; Washington; and Wisconsin; and municipal police departments in Nashville, Tennessee; New Orleans; Philadelphia; Plano, Texas; San Diego; and San Francisco)

Top image: Andre Creighton ’19 MBA (left) and Mychal Frelix ’19 MBA were motivated to leave their stable jobs in 2020 to focus on launching the TurnSignl app. (Photo by Courtney Perry)

The post Can a smartphone app de-escalate traffic stop encounters between drivers and police? appeared first on Augsburg Now.

An image of Augsburg’s campus and the Minneapolis skyline in 1967, stitched together from three frames of an aerial camera shot in a promotional film. (Archive photo)

Part of Augsburg’s campus—including Old Main, two residence halls, and the Norman and Evangeline Hagfors Center for Science, Business, and Religion—in 2018. (Photo by Courtney Perry)

Auggies shoot hoops in Old Main gymnasium, circa 1945. (Archive photo)

Augsburg women’s basketball plays against the College of Saint Benedict in Si Melby Hall, 2018. (Photo by Courtney Perry)

The Augsburg community poses in front of Old Main in 1931. (Archive photo)

The Class of 2023 gathers in front of Old Main in 2019. This fall, group photos are planned for the Class of 2024 and the Class of 2025. (Photo by Tom Roster)

The camera club in 1957 included [L to R] Jerry Matison ’59, Stan Quanbeck ’59, and James Nichols ’58. (Archive photo)

An Auggie wears virtual reality goggles in a new media class in 2019. (Courtesy photo)

Georg Sverdrup and Sven Oftedal, who each served as Augsburg’s president, speak at a gathering of students in the first Old Main building (which was demolished to build Science Hall and Sverdrup Hall), 1897. (Archive photo)

A procession in a chapel service January 24, 2020. (Photo by Courtney Perry)

Augsburg women’s track and field student-athletes prepare for a race in 1985. (Archive photo)

Augsburg women’s track and field student-athlete hits the track 2021. (Photo by Don Stoner)

Students work in a television studio, possibly in the basement of Memorial Hall, in 1976. (Archive photo)

Students at a video shoot in Foss Center in 2019. (Courtesy photo)

Students attend a Pan-Afrikan Student Union cookout in Murphy Square in 1998. (Archive photo)

Students attend a Multicultural Student Services event in the park to welcome students back to campus in 2019. (Photo by Courtney Perry)

The post Augsburg then and now appeared first on Augsburg Now.

The sounds of service

“The intent, when it started, was to help out on campus where they needed help,” said Eunice Dietrich ’65. “The original Associates were spouses of faculty members and other women who had an ear to what was going on.”

Dietrich, a former Associates board chair who earned a degree in home economics at Augsburg, said assistance was needed across all facets of campus life. From stuffing envelopes for alumni and donor mailings to setting up a “nice meeting space” for the university’s Board of Regents when they gathered, the Associates saw needs and then filled those voids.

But it didn’t take long for the work to morph from occasional events to addressing a situation requiring a sound solution.

“The Associates came out of the Lutheran tradition of ‘We’ll do anything for service,’” said Jerelyn Cobb ’63. So in the 1980s, when an idea began to circulate about bringing an organ to campus, the Associates orchestrated a plan.

“In those days, people still didn’t have a lot of money, but they could give us donations of goods,” Cobb said.

That’s how Trash and Treasure Sales began. Dishes, linens, and other household items were packed into boxes and readied for sale. Sporting goods and games were brought in. And furs, jewelry, and even gowns from the Dayton’s department store’s prestigious Oval Room were cleaned, pressed, and readied for a chance at a new life.

The items were enough to fill a semitrailer, then eventually two.

“Every Wednesday night, I’d have people come over, and we’d sort everything,” Cobb said. “All the dishes in one box, all the clothes in another, the sporting goods in another corner.”

Then when the date of the sale neared, items were transferred from the trucks to the site of the sale.

“The football team would come, and for two blocks we would line up next to each other and pass boxes into the gymnasium.”

The first sale raised $600, Cobb recalled. The next year: $4,000. Then $10,000, $15,000, and $28,000.

When everything was done and counted, the Trash and Treasure Sales netted a quarter of a million dollars. And Augsburg got its organ.

(Archive photo)

Projects funded or supported by Augsburg Associates

• Trash and Treasure Sales
• Welcome party for the 2011 visit of Their Majesties King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway
• Velkommen Jul buffets and boutique sales
• Norwegian coffee at Taste of Augsburg Homecoming events
• Christensen Center’s welcome desk construction
• Foss Center’s Green Room renovation
• Christensen Center’s Augsburg Room and Marshall Room renovations
• Lindell Library’s special collections room creation
• Hoversten Chapel’s Dobson pipe organ purchase
• Christensen Scholars program funding
• Various scholarships

President Paul Pribbenow (center) talks with King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway during their visit to campus in 2011. (Archive photo)

Welcome king, queen, and Christmas

Norwegian words echoed off the walls of classrooms and hallways when Augsburg was founded, so there was little surprise, though great delight, when King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway visited campus in 2011. The Associates were there to mark the day with special care—while wearing traditional Norwegian bunads, the proud folk outfits worn by men, women, and children on such occasions of cultural significance.

But before Their Majesties graced the campus, the Associates had already begun making sure the heritage of the school’s founders was celebrated and remembered.

Velkommen Jul, an annual celebration welcoming the seasons of Advent and Christmas, took hold with attendees donning thick, gorgeous Norwegian sweaters and sampling delicious traditional foods including krumkake cookies. The celebration has become a loved tradition in the Augsburg community, even among students who don’t necessarily have Scandinavian heritage.

Money raised at Velkommen Jul and through estate sales and other efforts ultimately went to fund scholarships as well as the Christensen Scholars, a cohort of students who explore theology, faith, and vocation while engaging in community-based learning experiences.

That, said Augsburg University President Paul Pribbenow, is a lasting legacy for the organization: “Over many years, the Augsburg Associates have been faithful and generous supporters of Augsburg. Through their tireless efforts, the Associates have raised scholarship funds and have helped countless students pursue an Augsburg education.

Augsburg Associates roll lefse, a traditional Norwegian potato flatbread, for Velkommen Jul in 2011. (Archive photo)

“The annual Velkommen Jul celebrations, graciously hosted by the Associates, highlighted our Norwegian roots, even as they welcomed new generations of diverse students, faculty, and staff. Personally, I am deeply grateful for the members of the Associates who have supported me and my family over the past 15 years as we worked together to advance Augsburg’s mission,” Pribbenow said.

Though the time of the Associates’ dugnad has come to a close, some of the group’s members are continuing their volunteerism with another group: Augsburg Women Engaged. Since it was formed by a group of Auggie women in 2009, AWE has strengthened connections in the Augsburg community and encouraged philanthropy to keep the university’s hands-on education accessible to a broad range of students. These overlapping commitments shared by AWE and the Augsburg Associates demonstrate the deep-seated commitment to service that is so emblematic of Auggies of all stripes.

For the women doing the work, the Associates were more than a service organization—they were family.

“You give and you get, you feel good about what you’ve done. You don’t start out for that reason, but oftentimes when you’re volunteering, you get more out of it than what you give,” Dietrich said. “These women were so dedicated and did this work with such joy.”

Anne Frame (left), the late spouse of Augsburg’s ninth president, Bill Frame, was also a member of the Augsburg Associates. Read more about Anne’s life and work. (Archive photo)

Augsburg Associates oversee food and drinks at Velkommen Jul in 1992. (Archive photo)

DID YOU KNOW?

• The Augsburg Associates have raised about $400,000 through their group initiatives.
• Members of the Augsburg Associates and their spouses have given more than $50 million to the university as a whole.
• Within their 600-person membership, there were 38 households that were members of the Sven Oftedal Society, a group of some of Augsburg’s most generous donors.

The post The Scandinavian work ethic that inspired the Augsburg Associates’ decades of service appeared first on Augsburg Now.

In 2016, first-year student Olivia House ’20 kneeled during the national anthem before one of her first Auggie soccer matches. She was alone—the only Black person on the team, and the only person kneeling on either side of the field. For four years, House continued to kneel as a respectful gesture to highlight pervasive racial injustice. Fans and opposing players ridiculed her, she was the first on the bus after away games, and teammates unintentionally bruised her with microaggressions: “You’d look so pretty if you straightened your hair.” “So-and-so acts way Blacker than you.” “I always forget you’re Black.”

“Even though I was vocal and open about what I stood for, my teammates didn’t see even half of who I was. I left so much of my identity at the door because there would be too many questions, too many things I’d have to explain about my identity and community,” said House, a designer and art director for a creative agency in Chicago. “Having to code switch from diverse classrooms and social advocacy groups to being the lone Black person on the team was exhausting.”

Augsburg is among the most diverse private colleges in the Midwest—with students of color making up the majority of the last four incoming undergraduate first-year classes. On campus, House said she found her vocation: “to demonstrate the power of design to communicate stories and create a platform for voices who haven’t been heard.” And yet, her experience demonstrated more work is needed, even at the most equity-minded of institutions, and particularly in athletics, where 71% of student-athletes are white, according to a 2020 Augsburg internal survey.

“Me simply stepping onto a soccer field as the only Black player is political in and of itself, without me saying a single word,” she said. “Had I ‘just played the game’ and ‘kept politics off the field,’ I would have perpetuated the myth that athletes’ sole purpose is to entertain. You can’t ask us to put all of our lives on display except for our thoughts and opinions. It doesn’t work like that.”

Since House’s first year, the women’s soccer team has welcomed other student-athletes of color, and multiple soccer players and coaches have begun kneeling during the national anthem as matters of diversity and justice have remained prominent in conversations both on campus and across the United States.

Augsburg Women’s Soccer Head Coach Michael Navarre watched House address a crowd on the quad in September 2020 as a speaker at Augsburg Bold, a series of presentations for students to hear about important topics for the broader community. After House detailed a summer of racial justice protests and rubber bullets, of murals and oral history projects, Navarre commended House as the spark that ignited the team and inspired other student-athletes to take a stand.

“At the time, we felt as though we were supporting Olivia and our other players of color, but it wasn’t until the killing of George Floyd—just a few miles from Augsburg—that we truly began the difficult work that needed to be done,” said Navarre, who has led the women’s soccer team for 23 seasons. “That self-reflection and education illuminated how much more we could have been for Olivia and others, and how much more we are now because of her. Our team is driven to be leaders for social justice advocacy and action.”

‘An age of athletic activism’

Days after the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, Navarre asked the women’s soccer players to connect virtually each week to discuss topics and resources shared on what has become an 11-page document of articles, podcasts, self-assessments, and videos to spur awareness, community engagement, and education.

Midfielder designed a Black Lives Matter patch, and the team collaborated to design a warm-up shirt that read “Auggies against injustice.” The team supported several fundraisers and donation drives in honor of Floyd and Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old biracial Black man who was fatally shot by police during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. led a collection of personal items and clothing for neighbors who frequent Augsburg’s Health Commons locations, which are nursing-led drop-in centers that offer resources and support.

, women’s soccer volunteer assistant coach and human resources assistant, said the team took to social media as a way to educate and advocate for others. “Instagram, in particular, was a way for our players and our program to demonstrate our alliance to diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Greathouse said. “For example, we have student-athletes personally impacted by the unrest in Myanmar and Colombia, and we wanted our shirts, statements, and discussions to address issues of injustice around the globe.

“I have learned more in the last two years about my own privilege than I have in my lifetime. It’s not enough for individuals to view diversity merely as racial diversity. We are doing ourselves and our students a disservice if we do not first educate ourselves about intersectionality,” Greathouse said, referring to the study of intersecting identities and dimensions of social relationships.

Across the Athletics Department, teams created T-shirts, facilitated discussions, visited memorials, and engaged in community activism. Augsburg Athletics partnered with Augsburg Day Student Government to hold a town hall featuring the voices of student-athletes of color and other members of the Augsburg community. , the university’s first director of athletic diversity and inclusion, facilitated this and other discussions and opportunities for community engagement.

“When I arrived in 2019, I knew my position was an important one, but little did I know just how vital it would be to help our student-athletes, coaches, and staff process, learn, grow, and begin to heal—together,” said Dixon, who also serves as assistant coach for the men’s and women’s track and field teams. “We are in an age of athletic activism, and Augsburg is invested in this work to bring awareness and take a stand. We empower our students, coaches, and staff to have difficult conversations and use their status as leaders to advance causes that matter.”

‘We can’t wait for the tide to shift’

To focus the department’s efforts and conversations, formed a Diversity and Inclusion Task Force in Fall 2020. The group of coaches and staff works closely with university administration and student-athlete advisory groups. Major initiatives include rewording of the national anthem introduction, offering training sessions, and developing a self-reported race survey of Augsburg student-athletes that revealed 71% of student-athletes are white, 12% are Black, 8% are Latinx, 5% are multiracial, and 4% are Asian. Results from a similar survey of coaches and staff are pending.

“We didn’t need surveys to point out that we lack diversity in athletics, but we wanted to get a self-reported baseline to assess how our students perceive themselves and the department,” Dixon said. “This work is personal to me as a Black father the same age as George Floyd when he died. Athletics has always been a battleground for people to advance causes. We reach audiences who might not be exposed to these issues otherwise, both in the locker room and in the stands.”

Dixon said that, although it’s difficult to turn inward and recognize gaps, Auggies are eager to learn and adopt best practices in recruiting and building inclusive team cultures. “We celebrate diversity efforts at the national and international levels of these sports, but we can’t wait for the tide to shift. We are striving to be more present in diverse neighborhoods and partner with programs that introduce these sports to people with a range of backgrounds.”

In Fall 2020, the women’s hockey team gathered at George Floyd Square, where 38th Street and Chicago Avenue intersect in Minneapolis. The 24 student-athletes, coaches, and staff walked around in silence as they took in the flowers, pictures, and artwork that , women’s hockey head coach, described as “a mix of pain, sorrow, and inspiration.”

“Our players were shocked at the long lists of African Americans killed by police, going back 20 years. We huddled and listened to each other, and the athletes’ perspectives were so powerful,” McAteer said.

The team also gathered on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January. Alongside McAteer, Assistant Coach shared information she learned during a diversity, equity, and inclusion training.

“We recognized we are two white women, and it was not easy or comfortable, but that is the reason why we should be doing this,” McAteer said. “We need to make these types of discussions more natural and ongoing. Avoiding talk and action because it’s not natural or easy is a big part of the problem. We’re not trying to lecture or convince but share information we’ve learned in a meaningful way.”

McAteer said players have begun kneeling for the national anthem, sharing information on social media, and educating family members and friends. The team routinely partners with the DinoMights, an organization that mentors Minneapolis youth through hockey.

Women’s hockey forward said this year changed her. “I’ve learned that I need to make my voice heard in the community because making change takes every single one of us,” she added. “I’ve learned what it means to be ‘not racist’ versus ‘anti-racist.’ Staying silent only hurts marginalized groups even more, so it’s important to have these tough conversations and speak out against racial injustice.”

Women’s lacrosse has been equally engaged. Teammates wore rainbow jerseys in support of a transgender player, who helped lead a discussion about transgender issues and terms. Augsburg Women’s Lacrosse Head Coach Kathryn Knippenberg said the team is working to be more than performative allies. “If one of my athletes feels called to protest but doesn’t have a ride, I will pick them up or find them a ride. If they want to kneel or don’t want to kneel, they know they have my support,” she said.

“Yes, we are here to win, but we are also here to equip student-athletes with valuable life skills, to prepare them for conversations and experiences they are facing and will continue to face.”

—Kathryn Knippenberg

“We want them to live out Augsburg’s mission to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders who are engaged in meaningful, transformative work.”

Allowing vs. actively supporting

All Augsburg teams agreed to adopt new wording to introduce the national anthem before each contest: “Augsburg University Athletics would like to recognize that the American experience has not been the same for everyone under the flag. As we continue the fight for equality and justice for all, we now invite you to respectfully express yourself for the playing of our national anthem.”

“It’s not easy getting an entire department and body of student-athletes to agree on wording, but it was an important initiative of our Diversity and Inclusion Task Force,” Dixon said. “By having these words in front of the national anthem, we are acknowledging that we—as a university—actively support people in how they want to express themselves. There’s a difference between this statement and simply ‘allowing’ people to kneel or whatever.”

Coaches and staff are expected to complete the Augsburg Diversity and Inclusion certificate program, which requires 18 credits of specified training and encourages additional training for advanced standing each year. In 2020, coaches and staff completed the NCAA Division III’s LGBTQ OneTeam Program, which stresses the importance of LGBTQ inclusion in college athletics and provides an overview of common LGBTQ terms, definitions, and concepts. The peer-driven educational program, which Dixon facilitated, also shares best practices to ensure all individuals may participate in an athletics climate of respect and inclusion, regardless of gender expression, gender identity, or sexual orientation.

“Social justice issues are incredibly important to us in the Athletics Department, and when our student-athletes are actively engaged in educating themselves about the current and historical context of what is happening and they are attempting to use their platform as student-athletes to create awareness and positive change, I feel incredibly proud of them,” said Kelly Anderson Diercks, who served as associate athletic director and director of compliance until July 2021. “Our student-athletes bring many identities and intersectionalities to Augsburg and their respective teams. To be the best we can be, we need to be able to show up fully as our true selves. This means we need to have spaces to talk about all those identities and intersectionalities and how the events facing our world play out differently for us all.”

Recognition of these different identities and experiences led to Dixon’s position; Augsburg hired him as part of a 2019 NCAA Ethnic Minorities and Women’s Internship Grant, which the university also received in 2012. In 2014 and 2021, the department received the NCAA Strategic Alliance Matching Grant, which also supports the hiring and mentorship of ethnic minorities and women in athletic leadership positions.

Alicia Schuelke ’20 MAE, former assistant coach for men’s track and field, said students are thrilled with Dixon’s enthusiasm and vision for the role.

“In a world where, many times, the odds are stacked against us, leaders of color provide hope and strength,” said Schuelke, a physical education teacher at Columbia Academy Middle School in Columbia Heights, Minnesota. “I came to Augsburg for the MAE program, but I was pleasantly surprised to find how diverse the campus is, and it is my absolute favorite part of my learning experience.

“If we can move the needle toward a more diverse group of leaders that better represent our country’s demographics, then students of color will begin to understand that the sky’s the limit in terms of their own hopes, dreams, and aspirations.”

House said she is encouraged by the department’s work to advance equity and inclusion. She appreciates the university’s willingness to be vulnerable and invite her and other people of color to share their experiences during this raw, unsettling time. But like any athlete knows, one must dedicate lots of hours and effort to see results.

Augsburg Athletics is putting in the work.

Top image: (Photo by Warren Ryan)

The post The Auggies who refuse to ‘keep politics off the field’ appeared first on Augsburg Now.

In early 2021, stocks of the companies AMC, BlackBerry, and GameStop made headlines—but not just for performing well. In a matter of days, some of these stock values increased by up to 30 times their previous price before a smartphone app called Robinhood restricted trading, angering some investors and propelling the situation into greater media attention. What happened, and what could that mean for people interested or invested in the stock market?

Augsburg University’s Associate Professor of Business Marc McIntosh brings his financial expertise to help us understand some of these rapid changes and see the big picture of today’s stock market.

Q: What are “meme stocks,” and why have they become notable lately?

A: A meme stock is any stock that’s seen its price skyrocket due to excessive trading volume from retail investors, mostly fueled by people on social media (primarily Reddit, TikTok, and Twitter). There are a lot of reasons why meme stocks have been so popular. It’s partly pandemic-related, since some people had more time to gamble and speculate and may have extra money on hand due to government stimulus payments. Also, social media forums have made it a lot easier to follow trends. In the case of GameStop, the price had a tremendous run almost solely due to Reddit posts.

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Q: What can we learn from what happened with AMC, BlackBerry, and GameStop stocks? What does that tell us about the stock market and how people are interacting with it?

A: It’s important to distinguish between gambling and investing. The vast majority of people buying these stocks are gambling that their price will go up based on rumors and social media posts, which can be very dangerous. It’s really the equivalent of going to the racetrack and betting on horses or going to Las Vegas to play the slot machines. Investors, however, do much more research based on the fundamental financials of the company and assess the potential of the company based on either their analysis or input from a trusted, professional financial advisor. In other words, it’s OK to invest in a meme stock, but make sure you’ve done your due diligence on the company’s growth prospects. For example, does GameStop really have cutting edge technology, or is its business model antiquated?

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Q: Are tools like the investing app Robinhood (which offers no-fee stock trading) just a trend or an indication of a new direction for the world of investing?

A: Robinhood is here to stay. The good news is that the app is extremely user-friendly, and the average investor can now make money in the stock market in ways that, until recently, were only available to institutions like pension funds and mutual funds. There has been a democratization in stock market investing. The bad news is that there are now lots of ways to lose money in the stock market if you or your financial advisor don’t have finance. Finally, the ugly part is that not only are gains magnified in a short period of time but losses are as well. If used wisely, Robinhood can be a tremendous way to build wealth through stock market investing.

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Q: What are reliable principles or tactics for people just beginning to get involved in the stock market?

A: Many famous investors such as Warren Buffett and John Bogle have argued convincingly that it’s very difficult to pick stocks that will outperform the overall market. In fact, there are several academic studies that prove that it’s almost impossible for the average mutual fund manager to “beat” the overall market. So, the sensible strategy is to put long-term savings into a broad-based market index fund. Many retirement plans have fund options indexed to the S&P 500 or the total stock market.

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Q: What should Augsburg Now readers keep in mind about the stock market today and in the near future?

A: First: On average, investing in the S&P has delivered returns higher than 10% since 1929. This dwarfs the returns you get by putting money in a savings account or investing in high-quality bonds. For the long haul, it’s important to have this return to retire comfortably. Second: The time people spend in retirement is getting longer as life spans have expanded due to health care improvements, so people need a huge nest egg to live comfortably—possibly into their 90s. Third: Due to the magic of compounding and starting earlier in one’s life, achieving this nest egg can be relatively simple. If average 25-year-olds invest $2,000 in the stock market a year (such as in an index fund that achieves 10% average returns), they could have more than $1 million when they retire at age 65. Wow!

The post Meme stocks, Robinhood, and what to know about the stock market today appeared first on Augsburg Now.

As we enter a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and plan for our return to campus for our 152nd academic year at Augsburg, I am often asked what we have learned during the past 16 months that will be part of a “new normal” for our community.

Certainly there is much that we have learned about the use of technology for teaching and learning, and for doing our administrative work—technology that will be an abiding and effective tool for the ways we work into the future. We also have learned important lessons about public health and not taking for granted our individual and common well-being. And then there are lessons about the fragility of our economic lives and the need to be laser-focused on our mission as we make decisions about revenue and expenses.

But perhaps the most important and striking lesson we learned during the pandemic is that all of the work we have done the past few years to chart a strategic path for Augsburg—work that culminated in the creation in Fall 2019 of Augsburg150: The Sesquicentennial Plan—provided us with a framework for both navigating through these unprecedented times and for pursuing a sustainable future for our university. In other words, our planning deliberations, grounded in Augsburg’s mission to educate students to be “informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders,” got it right as we named our highest aspirations and our strategic priorities.

In particular, I am proud of the vision we cast for our future, which says that “As a new kind of urban, student-centered university, we are educating Auggies as stewards of an inclusive democracy, engaged in their communities and uniquely equipped to navigate the complex issues of our time.”

Consider the claims we make in this vision statement: to embrace our urban setting, to keep students at the center of our lives, to pursue democratic engagement, and to equip our students to take on the most complex problems we all face. And we honored those claims as we lived through the pandemic: responding to the many needs of our students and neighbors as we kept each other safe and healthy; focusing on the flexibility our students required as they pursued their education primarily online; working together as a community of faculty, staff, and students to navigate an uncharted path; and leaning into the incredibly complex issues raised by the pandemic so that we might all learn from them.

As I begin my 16th year as Augsburg’s 10th president, I am so proud of our community and excited about the future we will create together. It may not be normal, but it will be grounded as always in our mission and vision. Enjoy this issue of Augsburg Now with its engaging stories that make my case for Augsburg’s future.

Faithfully yours,

Paul C. Pribbenow, President

The post Notes from President Pribbenow: On the “new normal” appeared first on Augsburg Now.

On Monday, May 3, Augsburg University celebrated commencement virtually with the release of a prerecorded video ceremony. The event included remarks from several presenters and personalized slides for graduates displaying photos and messages that the students submitted. The viewers posted comments to the videostream as they watched the event, and students took to social media to share their graduation posts using the hashtag #AuggieGrad.

On Tuesday, June 8, Augsburg held an in-person commencement for the classes of 2020 and 2021 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Because the 2020 commencement ceremony was virtual in alignment with public health guidelines designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19, many graduates from the Class of 2020 opted to participate in the 2021 in-person ceremony, where attendees were asked to wear face masks and stay physically distanced from guests of different households.

Visit to find video recordings of Augsburg’s virtual and in-person events.

Did you know?

The traditional undergraduate Class of 2021 is Augsburg’s most diverse graduating class with 45.6% Indigenous students and students of color, an increase of more than 20% over the past three years.

The post Augsburg celebrates graduates with virtual and in-person commencement ceremonies appeared first on Augsburg Now.

The new department aligns with Augsburg’s mission and responds to a proposal developed by a group of students, faculty, and staff that was presented to the administration and approved by the faculty this year. A group of students, led by Black women, made similar (as-yet unrealized) demands after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.

The department aims to meet the needs of today’s students with culturally relevant courses and pedagogy that both centers and equips them to think critically about their experience in the world. It will advance the university’s public mission through connections with the community.

This year, the plan is to hire three new faculty in Pan-African, Latinx, and Asian American studies. Once they’re hired, Augsburg will review next steps, as well as how other departments can connect their own courses and faculty to the new department.

The post Augsburg to launch Critical Race and Ethnicity Studies department, major appeared first on Augsburg Now.

“In an era when five- or six-year presidencies are common in higher education, President Pribbenow’s long-term leadership of the university has enabled Augsburg to achieve remarkable things,” said Matt Entenza, chair of Augsburg’s Board of Regents. “The university has become one of the most diverse private institutions in the Midwest during his tenure and has welcomed record-breaking first-year classes in the past two years. The university is fortunate to continue to have Paul’s transformational leadership through 2027.”

Pribbenow is recognized as a leading figure among the nation’s higher education private institutions and is an engaging teacher on ethics, philanthropy, and American public life.

Learn more about Pribbenow’s work and presidency at .

The post Board of Regents approves President Pribbenow’s contract through 2027 appeared first on Augsburg Now.

Citlaly Escobar ’21 and Ciashia Shiongyaj ’21 both won Fulbright English Teaching Assistantships to Taiwan. Shamsa Ahmed ’21 won a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to South Korea.

Taiwana Shambley ’21, an alternate Fulbright English Teaching Assistant candidate, will teach English in Laos if additional funding becomes available.

The Fulbright Program was created to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the program.

The post Augsburg students earn Fulbright awards appeared first on Augsburg Now.