Augsburg College President Paul Pribbenow was one of the聽high-profile Minnesotans recently included on a full-page ad in the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper that denounced anti-Muslim bigotry as “un-Minnesotan.”
Others who added their support to the campaign聽include Gov. Mark Dayton, U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, and the CEOs of prominent Minnesota businesses such as Best Buy, General Mills, and Cargill.
The ad was a joint effort between Democratic U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison and John Taft, CEO of RBC Wealth Management. It states that although Minnesotans, “may be a soft-spoken bunch, we know better than to be silent or still in the face of bigotry shown to Muslims. Our fellow Minnesotans.”
Several media outlets have reported on the ad, including:
NBC affiliate KARE 11 recently aired an interview with Augsburg College student Olivia Maccoux ’18, who will undergo brain surgery this week — her 121st procedure. Maccoux suffers from a condition called hydrocephalus, which causes excess fluid to pool around her聽brain.
“I trust my neurosurgeon, obviously with my life,” she said. Maccoux went on to explain聽that the upcoming procedure will replace an infected shunt.聽Maccoux has made the Dean’s List every semester that she has attended Augsburg, an accomplishment she intends to repeat this semester despite the surgery.
“I am going to try to do classes from the hospital when I can Skype into classes,” she said.
Augsburg College alumna and KARE 11 news anchor Diana Pierce ’15 MAL will deliver a keynote address at聽Mentor Morning, an聽event to introduce young women to some of central Minnesota’s most powerful women leaders. Mentor Morning includes general networking opportunities and Pierce’s speech, which will focus on the importance of finding and working with mentors.
Pierce recently completed her master’s degree in leadership at聽Augsburg and believes mentoring is key to help develop upcoming leaders, according to a recent St. Cloud Times story on Mentor Morning.
“You’re always going to be in a position of leadership or being lead,” Pierce said in the article. “So the more tools you have in your tool kit the better off you are.”
Minnesota’s first-ever Somali Debate Initiative got underway on May 27 when middle- and high-school students from Minneapolis and St. Paul schools discussed the topic of remittances to Somalia. The initiative, part of the College’s successful Minnesota Urban Debate League, was developed in partnership with members of the Somali community. Learn more about the program in the KARE 11 story, , and聽that features MnUDL staff members Amy Cram-Helwich, executive director of MNUDL, Awale Osman ’15, community outreach intern,聽and students.
Augsburg College garnered media attention for its stellar achievement on Give to the Max Day 2014. The College raised about聽$434,000 and allowing the College to reach its goal of coming in first place among all Minnesota colleges and universities. Augsburg placed second overall among all Minnesota nonprofits. Learn about, read, and watch聽some of the news coverage below:
KARE 11: President Paul C. Pribbenow appeared on live television on the morning of November 13 to discuss with reporters the value of Give to the Max Day. He was accompanied by Auggie Eagle.
Star Tribune: 鈥淢innesotans dig deeper than ever on Give to the Max Day鈥
Augsburg College聽and the League of Women Voters Minnesota hosted a Secretary of State debate on Oct. 28.
Candidates Bob Hellend, Bob Odden, Dan Severson, and Steve Simon faced off on such issues as voter identification and improved Secretary of State business services. Augsburg received聽several media mentions聽as the venue for the occasion.
To learn more on the debate, visit the聽following links:
MinnPost – The Secretary of State debate showed precisely why the race may be very close
MPR – Hear the Secretary of State debate
The Uptake – Video Replay: Final MN Secretary of State debate before election
Phil Adamo, associate professor of history and director of Medieval Studies at Augsburg College, was a guest on KARE 11 on Halloween to talk about the origins of the holiday. Adamo shared with Diana Pierce and viewers how Halloween started as a Celtic festival that celebrated the final harvest and eventually was incorporated into Christian traditions to lure non-Christians into the Church. He also discussed the origins of the bonfire, jack-o-lanterns, and Halloween candy.
Augsburg College alumna Kuoth Wiel ’13, a star in the feature film 鈥淭he Good Lie,鈥 has garnered聽a plethora of media coverage. The film, which was released聽in Minnesota Oct. 17,聽has been well received and is generating聽Oscar buzz.聽 Augsburg has received several media mentions thanks to Wiel since she was a student at the College聽when she auditioned聽for the role.
The film brings to life a fictional yet strikingly accurate story of the ‘Lost Boys’ of Sudan. Born in a refugee camp in Ethiopia to Sudanese parents herself, it’s no surprise Wiel found it important to help tell this story. Being a part of the film聽“…validated all the struggles we had went through,” Wiel said in an MPR news interview.
Wiel has been traveling around the U.S. promoting the film since its September debut at the Toronto Film Festival. The film, along with Wiel聽and her cast mates, have聽been featured and covered by media outlets ranging聽from Minneapolis’ Star Tribune to Rolling Stone magazine.
Below is a list of聽some of the聽local and national media coverage on Wiel:
Bring Me the News聽–聽“Augsburg grad’s tragic past informs role in Hollywood movie”
Entertainment Weekly聽鈥撀“Behind聽the Scenes with the Sudanese stars of ‘The Good Lie'”
Huffington Post聽鈥撀“It’s been a long road to the big screen for the Sudanese stars of “‘The Good Lie'”
Kare 11聽鈥撀犫淎ugsburg grad lands role with Reese Witherspoon鈥
MPR聽鈥撀“‘The Good Lie鈥 treads close to Sudanese refugee life, Minnesota actress says鈥
People聽鈥撀“Meet the real-life ‘Lost Boys’ of Sudan in ‘The Good Lie'”
Pioneer Press聽鈥撀犫’The Good Lie鈥 wisely leaves story to the refugees鈥
Rolling Stone聽鈥撀“This Reese Witherspoon drama about the lost boys (and girls) of Sudan is earnest to a fault, but you won’t leave unmoved”
Star Tribune聽–聽“Sudanese refugees weather culture shock in ‘Good Lie'”
Augsburg College alumna Jenni Lilledahl ’87 helped co-found聽Gilda’s Club Twin Cities, a new space where people living with cancer and their families can find social, emotional, and psychological support. Lilledahl serves as chair of the organization’s Board of Directors and also is the owner of Brave New Workshop, a Twin Cities-based comedy theater.聽Watch Lilledahl discuss Gilda’s Club on聽KARE 11 News.