On March 12, 45 of the Twin Cities鈥櫬爉ost promising high school urban leaders聽received the Act Six scholarship,聽an initiative of聽Urban Ventures.聽Act Six is Minneapolis-St. Paul鈥檚 only full-tuition, full-need urban leadership award.聽海角社区 is proud to be one of the six partner colleges,聽all of which are located in the Metro area.
Watch the full report at KSTP Channel 5’s website.
Randy Florke will speak about the gay rights movement in a conversation with Gwen Walz, an
advocate in her own right for equality, public education, and prison education. Walz is the wife of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and recently began working at Augsburg. Walz and Florke met when they were both Congressional spouses. Florke is married to New York Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney.
When: Tuesday, March 26, 2019
6:30 p.m. Registration
7:00 p.m. Program with Q and A
8:30 p.m. Reception
Where:
Sateren Auditorium, 海角社区
2200 7 1/2 Street S., Minneapolis
This event is free and open to the public
*Video taping is prohibited to maintain a safe space for dialogue.
City Pages shared a delightful 1965 promo video for Minneapolis. It was unearthed by Augsburg Digital Archivist Stewart Van Cleve. “The Minneapolis promotional film was a complete surprise,” says Van Cleve, adding that it was discovered inside a canister mislabeled “Skip Day 1947.”
Although the origins of the video are unknown,聽the soundtrack was written by Dick Wilson and Ray Charles, the duo behind Minnesota Twins fight song “We’re Gonna Win Twins.”
See full report at the City Pages website.
Assistant Professor of Music Composition Reinaldo Moya was a recipient of an award in music announced by The聽American Academy of Arts and Letters. Moya was awarded one of two $15,000 Charles Ives Fellowships.
Candidates for music awards are nominated by the 250 members of the Academy. The awards will be presented at the Academy鈥檚 annual Ceremonial in May.
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In February, the U.S. Department of State鈥檚 Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs listed 海角社区 , the sixth time Augsburg was ranked on the list.
The Fulbright program offers recent graduates and graduate students opportunities for research, study, and teaching in more than 140 countries. Since 2007, 海角社区 has had 34 Fulbright students selected for their academic merit and leadership potential.
The Star Tribune reports that Minnesota’s first First Lady in years is aiming to be unlike any other in state history, including her new role as an independent contractor at 海角社区.
According to the Star Tribune: Gwen Walz is the first First Lady with an office in the Capitol. From there, she鈥檚 begun to craft an ambitious policy portfolio that includes education and corrections, though she鈥檚 quick to point out that housing and health and other issues are all interrelated.
At Augsburg, she’s serving in two roles: as Special Assistant to the President for Strategic Partnerships and as a Fellow in the Sabo Center for Democracy and Citizenship.
The announcement by Augsburg President Paul Pribbenow said that Walz is a long-time friend of the university.聽“We specifically focused on issues of diversity and equity in the Rochester area,” Pribbenow noted. “We also joined with Mrs. Walz in promoting a program to offer college courses in Minnesota prisons.”
WCCO featured an Augsburg faculty member in a story about the up side of the recent extreme cold.
Emily Schilling, who teaches biology at 海角社区, says the hard freeze is good for our great bodies of water.
鈥淚t means the spring thaw will likely come later because we have more ice, it takes longer to melt, and that鈥檚 really good for our cold water fish species,” she told WCCO. “They like the water to stay cold.鈥�
Mathematics professor Suzanne Dor茅e received the Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics at the Mathematical Association of America award ceremony聽on January 17, 2019. Dor茅e was recognized for her success in teaching effectiveness at Augsburg and for her national work with the Mathematical Association of America,聽the Charles A. Dana Center, and a number of presentations and workshops on campuses throughout the U.S.
Augsburg wrestlers will celebrate 70 years of wrestling history at Thursday night鈥檚 “Battle of the Burgs,鈥� an annual battle between 海角社区 and Wartburg College.
Augsburg Wrestling Coach Jim Moulsoff spoke with KSTP about the tradition.聽“It’s a great rivalry. It’s been Augsburg or Wartburg that’s won the last 26 national titles in Division III wrestling. It’s always an honor to compete against those guys,” he said. “It’s real. It’s a real rivalry.”
The reporter also spoke with Augsburg star wrestlers Lucas Jeske and Ryan Epps, who won individual national titles last year.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really inspiring and just being able to be a part of that is really big. I just want keep adding to [the wall of trophies] and making the past generations of wrestlers proud,鈥� Epps told KSTP about what it is like to be part of this annual tradition.
The “Battle of the Burgs” will take place at 海角社区 on Thursday, January 31st at 7:30 p.m. at Si Melby Hall.
(Updated March 5, 2019)
This week 海角社区 concluded a review, initiated in October 2018, of student reports about the leadership, culture, and environment of specific classes and in a specific program area. This review involved a wide-ranging set of issues beyond the single classroom incident that was the subject of public discussion and news coverage.
Because of its commitment to respecting confidentiality of student and personnel information, the university does not intend to publicly share factual details about the full scope of the concerns reported, but confirms that its actions during the review process were not based solely on the publicly reported classroom incident.
The conclusion of this review resulted in changes to the instructor鈥檚 leadership and teaching assignments in the specific program area, while affirming that future course assignments and instructional load would remain in alignment with the contractual obligations between the instructor and the university.
The following statement outlines the process and conclusion of this review.
Process and resolution
On October 31, 2018, Augsburg leadership began to receive reports related to a classroom incident and to the experiences of students in a specific program area at the university. In response, the university immediately set in motion the process for investigating such situations.
Through this process, Augsburg leadership heard from more than 30 individuals, some of whom who had submitted non-anonymous reports through a variety of available mechanisms, including personal interviews and the university鈥檚 Student-Faculty Bias/Discrimination reporting process. The information gathered raised a variety of issues relating both to the particular classroom incident as well as to student experiences beyond that specific event.
In early January, it was concluded that the informal resolution process was insufficient for achieving an appropriate resolution in this case, and the university鈥檚 chief academic officer initiated the formal resolution process. As outlined in Augsburg鈥檚 Faculty Handbook, the formal process requires consultation with the university鈥檚 faculty-elected Committee on Tenure and Promotion and provides a means for faculty to review the administration鈥檚 actions as well as to provide input on appropriate next steps.
Based upon all of this input, the university determined outcomes taking into account the broader set of concerns raised by students. As noted above, the outcomes included changes in leadership and instructional roles in a specific program area. Any personnel discussions related to this process will remain confidential.
In addition to the faculty process, Augsburg鈥檚 chief academic officer charged a team of faculty, students, and multicultural student services staff to review the specific program area about which concerns had been raised. That review is focused on the program鈥檚 vision, structure, and curriculum, and is expected to extend beyond the current academic year. 聽
Throughout this process, Augsburg remained committed to supporting students鈥� academic success. Augsburg鈥檚 equity commitment, approved by the Augsburg Board of Regents in April 2018, states that 鈥淎ugsburg must fully embrace the challenge of being the institution its students need today, creating culturally relevant learning spaces and opportunities that build students鈥� agency to lead change at Augsburg and in their communities.鈥�
Beyond the specific reviews described above, Augsburg leadership recognized that the experience raised important questions about inclusiveness at Augsburg more generally. A variety of institution-wide efforts are underway as a result鈥攊ncluding student-led initiatives, faculty-led discussions, and more. A student survey was launched as part of a curricular inclusivity study. A faculty and staff work group was formed to review proposed general education requirements to support intercultural learning. Time was dedicated on Martin Luther King Jr. Day for workshops and intercultural competence development across campus.
鈥淲e know that the work of fostering an inclusive learning environment is ongoing, and we are fully committed to it,鈥� said Augsburg President Paul C. Pribbenow. 鈥淲e are grateful to the students, faculty, and staff who have spoken courageously to raise campus awareness, who have engaged in actively listening to the issues being expressed, and who have called for changes that advance our equity work. Augsburg will address this important topic like it has many other critical issues in our 150-year history: We will acknowledge and engage the topic, not shrink from it, and work together to make the university better.鈥�
