Augsburg College

Augsburg College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was founded as Augsburg Seminary in 1869 as a Norwegian American Seminary. Its first class entered the fall of 1874. The college enrolls approximately 3000 undergraduate students and 800 graduate students. The school is known for its service learning where volunteering in the community is both an instructional strategy and a requirement of a student’s coursework. In 2010 Augsburg College was one of six higher education institutions in the nation to receive the 2010 Presidential Award for Community Service.

History

Augsburg was the first seminary founded by Norwegian Lutherans in America, named after the confession of faith presented by Lutherans in Augsburg, Germany, in 1530. Augsburg opened in September 1869, in Marshall, Wisconsin, and moved to Minneapolis in 1872. The first seminarians were enrolled in 1874, and the first graduation was in 1879.

August Weenaas was Augsburg’s first president (1869-1876). Professor Weenaas recruited two teachers from Norway—Sven Oftedal and Georg Sverdrup. These three men clearly articulate the direction of Augsburg: to educate Norwegian Lutherans to minister to immigrants and to provide such "college" studies that would prepare students for theological study.

In 1874 they proposed a three-part plan: first, train ministerial candidates; second, prepare future theological students; and third, educate the farmer, worker, and businessman. The statement stressed that a good education is also practical. Augsburg’s next two presidents also emphatically rejected ivory tower concepts of education. This commitment to church and community has been Augsburg’s theme for over 130 years. Education for Service.

This attitude began to change after World War I. In 1911, George Sverdrup, Jr. became president. He worked to develop college departments with an appeal to a broader range of students than just those intending to be ministers. In 1937, Augsburg elected Bernhard Christensen, an erudite and scholarly teacher, to be president (1938-1962). His involvement in ecumenical and civic circles made Augsburg a more visible part of church and city life. After World War II, Augsburg leaders made vigorous efforts to expand and improve academic offerings. Now the College was a larger part of the institution than the seminary and received the most attention.

As a result, Augsburg added departments essential to a liberal arts college, offering a modern college program based on general education requirements and elective majors. The seminary moved to Luther Theological Seminary (now Luther Seminary) in St. Paul in 1963 when the Lutheran Free Church merged with the American Lutheran Church. Augsburg continues to reflect the commitment and dedication of the founders who believed an Augsburg education should be preparation for service in community and church. Providing an education grounded in vocational calling, that provides students both the theoretical learning and the practical experience to succeed in a global, diverse world. ^[3]

Academics

Augsburg College is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. In the past 5 years, Augsburg students have earned honors including Rhodes Scholarships, Fulbright Scholarships and many other awards and grants. ^[4]

In 2010 Augsburg College was one of six higher education institutions in the nation to receive the 2010 Presidential Award for Community Service, the highest honor in the annual President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. ^[5]

U.S. News & World Report named Augsburg as one of the best colleges for service-learning, which includes 31 schools across the country where volunteering in the community is both an instructional strategy and a requirement of a student’s coursework. According to the U.S. News and World Report rankings, Augsburg College is 28th in its Regional University Midwest Ranking. ^[6]

The student-faculty ratio at Augsburg College is 16:1, and the school has 64.4 percent of its classes with fewer than 20 students. The most popular majors at Augsburg College include: Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services; Education; Health Professions and Related Programs; Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs; and Social Sciences. ^[7]

Academic Offerings

Augsburg strives to educate both traditional and non-traditional students, offering undergraduate degrees in over 50 major areas of study. The College also grants six graduate degrees:

• the Master of Arts in Education,
• the Master of Arts in Leadership,
• the Master in Business Administration,
• the Master of Social Work,
• the Master of Arts in Nursing, and
• the Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies, the state's only Physician Assistant training program.

Student Life

Augsburg’s student body totals approximately 3,800 students representing some 40 states, more than 40 foreign countries, and 24 tribal nations/reservations. The main campus newspaper is the Augsburg Echo with a circulation over 1000. The college is a nationally recognized leader in providing services to students with physical or learning disabilities, and to students in recovery through its acclaimed “StepUP Program”. StepUP is Augsburg's nationally acclaimed program for students in recovery from drug and alcohol abuse. The program provides a sober environment for about 60 students in the Oren Gateway Center (see below). The program has an excellent success rate: 84% abstinence over 538 people between 1997 and 2007.^[8]

This on-campus diversity is enhanced by Augsburg's location in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, the Twin Cities' most culturally diverse neighborhood. The largest concentration of Somali immigrants in the U.S. is located throughout the Augsburg neighborhood, and one of the largest urban Native American populations is within one mile. Augsburg is also located in the heart of a major theater center. The College has been designated as a Minnesota Indian Teacher Training Program site. The College's location also provides access for all of Augsburg's students to participate in community service, such as through Campus Kitchen, and internship experiences that not only enhance their classroom learning but also prepare them for life's work in a multi-cultural society.[edit]

Campus organizations

Augsburg students have opportunities for involvement in more than 50 clubs and organizations, including student academic societies, publications, Student Government, Augsburg Business Organization, Augsburg Asian Student Association, Campus Ministry, Augsburg College Pre-law Society, Pan-Afrikan and Pan-Asian Student Union, forensics, cheerleading, Amnesty International, Intertribal Student Union and the Hispanic/Latino Student Association.

The Echo

The Echo is the student-produced newspaper for the College.

The Echo consists of 12 pages divided into five sections: News, Opinions and Editorials, Sports, Arts and Entertainment, and Features. The paper is printed in black and white on tabloid-sized paper.^[9] The faculty advisor is Boyd Koehler.^[10]

In 2006, the Echo won Organization of the Year. The Echo is printed by Print Group Midwest on recycled paper.

KAUG

KAUG is Augsburg's student radio station, based in the Auggies' Nest in the basement of Christensen Center. KAUG streams 24 hours-a-day online through their website^[11] and can be heard on the airwaves on 91.7 FM within a 2-mile radius of the campus.

KAUG provides a venue for a number of DJs, which play several genres of music and talk radio. The organization prides itself in giving students a medium to let their voices be heard and in giving students hands-on experience in the studio.

Buildings and facilities

Residence halls

• Urness Hall ( Known as Urness the furness )is the Freshman dorm building. It has 9 floors of dorm rooms (plus two other floors) and is coed by floor. Each floor is led by a Resident Advisor.
• Mortensen Hall (known as Mort) is connected to the Urness lobby and has 13 floors of apartment style housing (eight apartments on every floor). It is the tallest building on the campus. Mortensen Hall is named for Gerda Mortensen, Dean of Women at Augsburg College between 1923 and 1964.^[12]
• Anderson Hall is a four story building with four different styles of housing available. These include single person suites, four person apartments, eight person townhomes (two floors), and 15 person floorhouses.
• Martin Luther Residence Hall (also known as Luther Hall and formerly known as New Hall until October 1, 2007) was built in 1999 from state funding (because of this there was no major contributor to name the hall after). As it is no longer the newest building with the completion of Oren (see below), the old name of New Hall is misleading.^[13] Luther Hall has studios, two bedroom and four bedroom apartments. The apartments all consist of single or double person rooms and have a full kitchen.
• The Oren Gateway Center is a dry dorm and houses students in the Step-Up program as well as other students who choose sober living and has rooms for 106 students.

Other buildings

• Old Main is the oldest building on campus and is still in use today. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. [1]
• The Christensen Center contains admissions offices, the cafeteria, a coffee shop, computers, an art gallery, and until August 2007, the bookstore (after which the bookstore moved to the Oren Gateway Center). On March 28, 2008, a student lounge opened in the former bookstore space. It is connected by skyway to Urness Hall/Mortensen Hall.
• Sverdrup Hall (formerly known as Sverdrup Library until the completion of the Lindell Library in 1998) contains the Enrollment Center and Registrar's Office as well as several class rooms and computer labs on the upper level.
• The James G. Lindell Library has four levels containing approximately 190,000 items. With the new addition of a computer lab, Academic Advising will soon relocate from Sverdrup to Lindell before 2012.^[14] The library is connected to Sverdrup Hall and the Oren Gateway Center by skyway.
• The Oren Gateway Center is the newest building on campus and has six classrooms, an art gallery, and housing for 106 students.^[15]
• The Foss, Lobeck, Miles, Center for Worship, Drama, Communication contains the chapel, a theater, and several classrooms.
• The Sverdrup and Oftedal Memorial Hall contains offices for the college's professors.

Future expansion

Several new facilities are currently planned, including the Center for Science, Business, and Religion, a new residence hall to replace Urness Hall, a parking ramp, and other buildings.^[16][17]

Mission

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.^[18]

Presidents of Augsburg

Church affiliation

Notable alumni

• Peter Agre, M.D. ’70, 2003 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry and faculty member at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
• Jill Billings, Wisconsin State Assembly
• Rev. Mark Hanson, ’71, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
• Rev. Herbert W. Chilstrom, ’54, Retired (and the first) Presiding Bishop of the ELCA.
• Martin Sabo, ’59, former U.S. Representative.
• Janet Letnes Martin and Suzann (Johnson) Nelson, ’68, authors and winners of a Minnesota Book Award.
• Paul Mikelson, ’70, President and CEO, Lyngblomsten Care Center.
• Richard Green, ’59 (Deceased) Minneapolis and New York City school superintendent.
• Syl Jones, ’71, playwright, author and newspaper columnist.
• Gene Hugoson, ’67, Minnesota Commissioner of Agriculture.
• Devean George, ’99, Professional Basketball, Golden State Warriors. (NBA Champion with the LA Lakers)
• Lute Olson, basketball coach at University of Iowa and Arizona, coached Arizona to a national championship.
• Nathan Johnson, Professional mixed martial artist currently fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championships in the lightweight division.
• Anne Panning, '88, writer, winner of 2006 Flannery O'Connor Award for Super America
• Marcus LeVesseur, '07 4-time Wrestling National Champion (2003–05, 2007), 4-time Minnesota State High School Wrestling Champion (1998–2001). LeVesseur is the first Division III wrestler with four national titles. He is only the second college wrestler ever to finish his career unbeaten and untied, with a 155–0 career record (Cael Sanderson was the first). LeVesseur is currently competing in Mixed Martial Arts.

Athletics

The Augsburg Auggies are a member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). Augsburg College participates in NCAA Division III Athletics. The wrestling team has won eleven NCAA Division III National team wrestling champions: 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2007 and 2010. The men's hockey team had won 3 NAIA national ice hockey championships in 1978, 1981 and 1982.

• Men's Varsity Sports (9): baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, ice hockey, soccer, track & field, wrestling
• Women's Varsity Sports (9): basketball, cross country, golf, ice hockey, soccer, softball, swimming, track & field, volleyball

Conference championships

• c co champions
• *Wrestling is no longer a MIAC sponsor sport
• Auggies athletics webpage
• Auggie football records

Notes

References

• Chrislock, Carl H. "From Fjord to Freeway: 100 years, Augsburg College" (Minneapolis: Augsburg College 1969)

External links

• Augsburg College
• Augsburg College Alumni site
• Augsburg College "Homemade"
• Access to Excellence Campaign
• Inside Augsburg
• Augsburg College Echo