As of fall 2025, news and media updates have been integrated with the Augsburg Now alumni publication. This site archives news stories from before September 16, 2025. Please visit augsburg.edu/now or select "Augsburg Now" from the left navigation for current news.
Augsburg College student and registered nurse聽Shannon Schuler ’17聽was awarded the 2016 Charlotte McGuire Scholarship at the annual conference of the American Holistic Nurses Association held聽May 31-June 5. The Charlotte McGuire Scholarship Program was named in honor of the AHNA founder and is intended to recognize and celebrate individuals who are聽dedicated to practicing holistic nursing at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Schuler is pursuing a bachelor of science in nursing and is聽focusing on caring science, transcultural nursing and holistic approaches to nursing. She also is studying to become a master in reiki and a graduate from the Professional Yoga Therapy Institute in how to apply yoga philosophies and practices in the professional medical environment.
As a local dentist, Augsburg College alumnus聽Dr. Pat Patel ’75 served the small communities of Clarkfield and Cottonwood, Minnesota, for decades. The Advocate Tribune of Granite Falls and Clarkfield recently published a story detailing Patel’s career and the unusual way he’s leaving his business upon his retirement. Instead of selling his dental practice property, Patel opted to donate his assets to the city of Clarkfield so that they could be awarded as an incentive for young dentists seeking to start their own practices in the area.
According to the article, Patel did not want Clarkfield to be without a dentist after his retirement and sought a way to “give back to the community that he spread his roots in.”
Read, “Dr. Patel retires with an abundance of smiles” on the Advocate Tribune site.
Links and tunnels help make Augsburg’s campus more accessible.
A recent South Washington County Bulletin article featured聽incoming Augsburg College student Mark Lukitsch‘s聽accomplishments and high school experience. The story聽describes Lukitsch as one of Park High School’s most well-known students. He has congenital muscular dystrophy, which the article said “limits his fine-motor skills but not his ambition.”
Lukitsch聽was influential in creating positive changes to a local stadium’s wheelchair-accessible seating options, and he chose to continue his education at Augsburg College, in part, because of the urban campus features tunnels, above-ground links, and a wheelchair-friendly layout that make it聽more accessible. He plans to pursue a communication studies degree and will continue to study alongside Avery, his service dog who can open classroom doors and perform other tasks that allow him to live more independently.
Read “Park High School graduate profile: Mark Lukitsch ready to move forward” on the Bulletin website.
(MINNEAPOLIS) 鈥� The 28th annual Nobel Peace Prize Forum, an international peace congress, is June 6-8 in Bloomington, Minnesota. Kailash Satyarthi, who was awarded the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize for his work liberating more than 80,000 children from slavery in his home country of India, will present each day of the Forum.
Satyarthi will share his work to eliminate child slavery and child trafficking. To date, he and his organization Bachpan Bachao Andolan (Save the Childrem Movement) have rescued more than 85,000 children in India from slavery and exploitation, enrolled the children in school, and pioneered India’s first child-protection laws.
鈥淲e鈥檙e so honored to welcome Kailash Satyarthi to the Forum to share insights and experiences from his life鈥檚 work, and to do so at the center of a network of peace builders who are working to ensure more widespread and lasting success on these vital efforts to improve quality of life and opportunity for people around the world,鈥� said Gina Torry, executive director of the Forum.
鈥淚t is through an embrace of innovation, collaboration, dialogue and the moral daring exhibited by leaders such as Kailash Satyarthi that we can identify and address peace and security implications of 鈥� and connections among 鈥� human trafficking, migration, refugees and climate change.鈥�
2014 Nobel Peace Prize Winner聽Kailash Satyarthi will聽address issues of child slavery; peace and security implications of human trafficking, migration, refugees and climate change
(MINNEAPOLIS) 鈥� The 28th annual Nobel Peace Prize Forum will host Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Kailash Satyarthi from June 6-8. Satyarthi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for his work liberating more than 80,000 children from slavery in his home country of India. In addition to sharing his work to eliminate child slavery, Satyarthi will identify and address at the Forum peace and security implications of 鈥� and connections among 鈥� human trafficking, migration, refugees and climate change.
PRIMARY LAUREATE聽PHOTO OPPORTUNITY: JUNE 6
9 a.m.: Video 鈥� Kailash Satyarthi, 2014 Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech
9:15 a.m.: Welcome, Gina Torry, executive director of the Nobel Peace Prize Forum
9:20 a.m.: Introduction of Kailash Satyarthi by Asle Toje, research director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute
9:30 a.m.: Address 鈥� Kailash Satyarthi
9:45 a.m.: Global Question and Answer with Kailash Satyarthi
11 a.m.: Coffee Break
Satyarthi also will speak on June 7 and June 8. A detailed schedule of events is available on the Nobel Peace Prize Forum website.
A recent report airing on KARE 11 television noted that, “Augsburg College is located in the heart of Minneapolis in one of the most diverse zip codes in the city.” And, the College’s graduating class reflects that diversity.
As the story explained, “Under President Paul C. Pribbenow‘s leadership, the college has more than tripled the percentage of minorities in the full undergraduate body. In 2006, there were 11 percent compared to 33 percent in 2016.” The traditional undergraduate graduating class of 2016 is comprised of more than 42 percent students of color — a record achievement for the institution.
Pribbenow said聽Augsburg has been committed to attracting and supporting students from minority populations for more than a decade and has partnered with college readiness programs to achieve its success.
The broadcast report also included an interview with Robert Harper ’16, an alumnus who described why he values his college experience and the diverse makeup of his graduating class.
The Star Tribune recently covered聽the start of construction on the Norman and Evangeline Hagfors Center for Science, Business, and Religion — Augsburg College’s much anticipated聽interdisciplinary academic building scheduled to聽open in January 2018. The article notes that the capital campaign for this building project was the most successful in the College’s history and so far has generated聽$54 million, which is eight times more than Augsburg has ever raised.
The story also acknowledges the generosity of the building’s lead donors, describing聽Norm Hagfor’s career success聽and the decades-long connection the Hagfors family developed with Augsburg.
Read聽Augsburg College starts construction on business-science-religion complex on the Star Tribune website.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune recently included a statement by Sam Graves ’16 in an article covering a large donation to the PACER Center, which specializes in creating technology designed for children and young adults with special needs. The $1 million donation was given by the Otto Bremer Trust.
Graves, a recent Augsburg College graduate who lives with cerebral palsy, credits the Center’s library of software and adaptive devices as part of his educational success. “Without technology, I wouldn鈥檛 be able to be independent,” he said.
Graves graduated with honors April 30 and was awarded the first-ever Youth Leadership Award by the Otto Bremer Trust later that evening.
The Kansas City Star recently included the Augsburg Choir’s upcoming tour stop at Immanuel Lutheran Church in an article detailing their classical music recommendations. The article describes the ensemble as “one of the finest Lutheran choirs in the country.”
Read the article on the Kansas City Star site. For more information on future choir performances, visit the Augsburg Choir Tour site.
The Hastings Star Gazette newspaper recently interviewed Abby Schultz ’17, a聽member of the Augsburg Choir who at the Xcel Energy Center last month. In addition to singing in the choir, Schultz also serves as its manager.
“It鈥檚 an experience I will always remember, not only because I got to perform with Barry Manilow, but as the choir manager I got to be interviewed by KARE 11 and FOX 9,” Schultz said. “I鈥檓 glad it happened when I was in the choir, for sure.”
The article also notes that Schultz will be performing with a mixed choir in Italy this summer. “I don鈥檛 know when I鈥檒l get another opportunity to do this,” she said of the trip.
Read Hastings鈥� Abby Schultz performed with Barry Manilow, Augsburg College Choir on the Hastings Star Gazette site.
A recent report airing on KARE 11 television noted that, “Augsburg College is located in the heart of Minneapolis in one of the most diverse zip codes in the city.” And, the College’s graduating class reflects that diversity.
The Star Tribune recently covered聽the start of construction on the Norman and Evangeline Hagfors Center for Science, Business, and Religion — Augsburg College’s much anticipated聽interdisciplinary academic building scheduled to聽open in January 2018. The article notes that the capital campaign for this building project was the most successful in the College’s history and so far has generated聽$54 million, which is eight times more than Augsburg has ever raised.