Something special happens when three things come together.
- Science, business, and religion.
- An artist, a group of engaged Augsburg women, and dedicated financial resources.
At least that鈥檚 what Lisa Svac Hawks 鈥�85 thinks.
The idea that art will bring lasting inspiration to the new Hagfors Center for Science, Business, and Religion motivated Lisa to make the lead gift to help fund one of the two large-scale murals planned for the Center. She and the members of AWE (Augsburg Women Engaged)聽have set a goal to secure the $150,000 required to fully fund one of the planned stairwell murals.
In designing the new building, HGA’s architects and a team of college leaders set forth a central principle for it: to ensure it considered the neighborhood. The Center must express and reflect the importance of community and hospitality, values that live at the heart of Augsburg鈥檚 mission. The Center鈥檚 two external stairwells will serve as both beacons and open arms to the community.
These same ideas attracted Lisa and other members of AWE to explore what it would take to support the artist鈥檚 installation of one stairwell mural. AWE was founded on the idea that women want to connect and serve in different ways.
鈥淲omen think about connection and the social and collaborative nature of learning and living,鈥� says Lisa. “What better way to express those principles than through a mural that is all about connection?鈥� The resulting mural design is titled 鈥淓mergence.鈥� It incorporates the image of a monarch butterfly along with references to symbiosis, textile traditions, geometry, faith, home, prayer and identity.
Sponsored by Augsburg Women Engaged (AWE).
Muralist Greta McClain, the artist selected by the Augsburg Art and Identity committee, which is working to bring art into the Center, looked deeply into the challenge of combining three disciplines in one building. In shaping the design for her two stairwell murals she asked, “Do those “conflicting/disparate” ideas, all housed together, stand as a reflection of our community, Cedar Riverside? Are they a dynamic social experiment, and a view our very human experience?鈥�
In McClain鈥檚 words, 鈥淭he collaboration between space and artist, community and construction, can take many forms depending on the project. Inevitably it includes a close collaboration between me as artist, and those closest to the project. Together we gather history, ideas, and images. These conversations are the key to the development of a site/content specific work for the finished mural.鈥�
The murals she鈥檚 designed explore ideas such as collective intelligence and symbiotic intelligence. She鈥檚 asking, 鈥淗ow may we show that the more we come into contact with different ideas and fields, the greater our global brain becomes?鈥�
McClain鈥檚 ideas align with the question Lisa Hawks is asking at United Healthcare, where she serves as vice president, external communications. She is always asking her colleagues: in what ways are we shaping the future leaders we need to address the challenges ahead?
“When I learned about the way Augsburg is bringing three disciplines together under one roof, I knew this was something distinctive and powerful. The learning that will take place in the new Hagfors Center will measurably contribute to shaping greater leaders for tomorrow.”
Coming to Augsburg as a student she found herself immersed in the values her parents taught her, especially humility. Trained as an athlete, she found the聽values she acquired on the playing field influenced her聽leadership style.聽鈥淲e assemble a team to pursue a聽common goal. Then we聽ask ourselves, are we leading with integrity; are we being respectful? We are equals and have so much to learn聽from one another.鈥澛燬he found at Augsburg a聽鈥榩illar of faith鈥� where she聽could explore ways to live into the motto 鈥榯hrough truth to聽freedom. ”
It did not surprise her how attracted she was to making a gift in support of the mural. “Art has a special way of helping us experience what it聽means to come together in a new way. Art helps us visualize new futures. It helps us connect to big concepts and to engage emotionally with them so we can see ourselves in big ideas,鈥� she said.
It鈥檚 especially fitting for AWE to want to support this mural. As Lisa put it,鈥淎s a group of women, we believe that聽art connects the heart and head. By funding this mural as a聽permanent beacon in the Hagfors Center, we invite everyone to connect our heads and our hearts, so our hands can get to the good work.”
Lisa and other members of AWE will be working out the details for securing the funding for the mural. The AWE-Inspired Philanthropy Council is now inviting Auggie women to join them in sponsoring “Emergence.”聽They鈥檙e working聽with Donna McLean (mclean@augsburg.edu) and Martha Truax (truaxm@augsburg.edu) of Advancement to launch their fundraising plan and reach their goal of $150,000 in gifts and pledges by聽December 31, 2016. AWE successfully completed its first fundraising project when 70 women came together raising $130,000 to sponsor a student study lounge in the new Hagfors Center.
Lisa has continued to be a loyal and generous donor, participating in fundraising campaigns since she graduated.聽Because of her love for baseball, she sponsored the baseball coach’s office in the Kennedy Center. Lisa聽continues to give annually, for which she is recognized in the Maroon and Silver Society, for donors who give $1,000 or more each year to The Augsburg Fund.聽She is also recognized in the聽Sven Oftedal Society聽for her commitment to support Augsburg from her estate.
“I set a goal for myself.聽I want to make enough money so I can give back. I am consciously positioning myself to be more generous. Attending Augsburg聽was a seminal turning point in my life. It really changed the path of my life. And I am forever grateful.”