Academic Departments Archives - Augsburg Now

Can a smartphone app de-escalate traffic stop encounters between drivers and police?

Gita Sitaramiah — Fri, 20 Aug 2021 16:58:46 +0000

Childhood friends and �� Master of Business Administration alumni Andre Creighton ’19 MBA and Mychal Frelix ’19 MBA understand the fear of driving while Black and being stopped by police.

They both grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, and knew the family of Philando Castile, a Black man who was fatally shot by an officer during a 2016 traffic stop in nearby Falcon Heights.

“The interest in creating change started with Philando Castile. That was the initial gut punch,” Creighton said. “Flash forward to George Floyd in 2020, and it was like ripping off a Band-Aid to a wound that hasn’t healed. We decided we had to do something.”

Creighton, an accountant, and Frelix, who was in sales for Sony Electronics, left their stable day jobs in 2020. They teamed up with attorney Jazz Hampton, who is also an adjunct professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, and the three Black men launched a new company providing a technology-based solution to de-escalate traffic stops by police.

Timely launch

The motto says it all: “Drive with an attorney by your side.”

TurnSignl provides real-time, on-demand legal guidance from attorneys to drivers, all while drivers’ smartphone cameras record the interaction. The mission is to protect drivers’ civil rights, de-escalate roadside interactions with police, and ensure both civilians and officers return home safely at the end of the day.

As is true of many startups, the three co-founders wear multiple hats. Hampton serves as CEO and general counsel. Creighton is the chief financial officer and chief operating officer while Frelix is the chief revenue officer and chief technology officer.

When Daunte Wright was shot and killed by a police officer during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, in April, that only accelerated their pace to bring the app to market. “This has been an issue plaguing Black and brown communities,” Frelix said. “We’re thankful to have the ability and skill sets to get this off the ground.”

They introduced the TurnSignl app in May after they were able to leverage the public awareness of police stops ending tragically to raise more than $1 million to bring the app to market.

Augsburg MBA alumni created an app to make traffic stops safer. (Photo by Courtney Perry)

How TurnSignl works

Users open the app and immediately get connected to an attorney vetted by TurnSignl to guide them in order to de-escalate the encounter. Service launched in Minnesota and will be expanding to 10 states by the end of 2021. The founders also have created a foundation to provide service for those unable to pay for the app, which is available on the Apple and Google app stores. They expect the foundation to support 25% of the app’s user base.

While the app is intended for anyone, there is increasing attention to how Black drivers are treated by police.

Twin Cities NBC affiliate KARE 11 in May that new data shows that the majority of drivers pulled over this year by Minneapolis police for minor equipment violations are Black: Black drivers accounted for more than half of those stops despite making up only about 20% of the city’s residents, according to city data.

In St. Paul, Black drivers were almost four times more likely to be pulled over by police than white drivers, according to a Pioneer Press from 2016 to 2020. Asian, Latino, and Native American drivers were stopped at roughly the same rate as white drivers, the Pioneer Press reported.

The TurnSignl founders say their product is more than just an app. It’s a signal for change. “There’s no better opportunity to impact change than this moment, now,” Creighton said.

Defense attorney Taylor J. Rahm is one of the lawyers who has joined TurnSignl to be on call for motorists. “Anything we can do to make sure these situations are safe and that no one gets harmed is something I hope any lawyer would want to get involved with,” he said.

Sometimes, a motorist making sudden movements is interpreted as cause for alarm and can be construed by an officer as the driver going for a weapon or drugs, leading to potential conflict.

“With TurnSignl, you have a lawyer on the phone to help individuals know their rights but also importantly know how to handle the situation so nothing goes wrong,” Rahm said. “The benefit is that the officer knows that there’s an attorney on the phone telling the person, ‘This is what you should do during the stop.’”

The TurnSignl app has the potential to make traffic stops safer for police as well as motorists, said Mylan Masson, retired director of the Hennepin Technical College law enforcement program and a former Minneapolis Park Police officer. “Every traffic stop can be dangerous for police officers,” said the police training expert. The TurnSignal app “could give someone a calming sense that, ‘I’m not here alone.’”

Business owner Phil Steger offers the app as an employee benefit for his 14-person Brother Justus Whiskey Company in Minneapolis, believing TurnSignl’s attorneys can act as mediators to keep a traffic stop from escalating into danger.

“If you think you’ve been stopped unlawfully, most people don’t know that they still have to cooperate,” said Steger, who was previously an attorney for law firm Dorsey & Whitney. “You can still be taken to jail.”

A TurnSignl attorney can advise in real time: “Every defendant has the right, if they think they have been stopped unlawfully, to challenge the case in court later,” he said.

TurnSignl co-founders [L to R] Mychal Frelix ’19 MBA, attorney Jazz Hampton, and Andre Creighton ’19 MBA plan to expand the app’s services from Minnesota to 10 more states by the end of 2021.

Business project for ‘the times we’re in’

As the TurnSignl founders prepared to launch the company, they turned to Augsburg’s MBA program to assist them in developing the business plan.

“A key part of the Augsburg MBA experience is that we want students to have practical experience and apply critical thinking,” said George Dierberger, associate business professor and director of the MBA program.

Students in the MBA program grapple with real-world challenges faced by local businesses via a management consulting project, which supported TurnSignl’s launch. This is just one of the many MBA program experiences in which students collaborate on projects, case studies, presentations, and simulations.

The TurnSignl project represents Augsburg’s goals to be socially conscious, said Mike Heifner ’21 MBA, who worked on the pricing strategy of the TurnSignl business plan. “This was a good example of how capitalism could bring social value to society,” he said.

Augsburg graduate student Stephanie Oliver ’21 MBA hopes the TurnSignl app will open new conversations and foster a different way of thinking about how police and civilians interact during traffic stops.

“This project was my first choice because of the times we’re in,” she said.

Oliver’s role in the MBA group was to analyze the research and data about traffic stops nationally by race. What she found was a system with inconsistent reporting about race and traffic stops across states. What was clear was that even after accounting for those inconsistencies, the disparities were apparent in stops involving people of color.

One of the studies she reviewed was the , which analyzed data from nearly 100 million traffic stops and found significant racial disparities in policing and, in some cases, evidence that bias also played a role.

This didn’t surprise Oliver. Her husband is Black and was frequently pulled over when they first moved to their Twin Cities suburb years ago. Once, the police even questioned her then 5-year-old daughter about whether he was actually her father.

“I ask why I’m being pulled over when officers approach my vehicle, and they get angry at me,” Oliver said. “But I have a right to know why I’m pulled over.”

She worries about her two young Black sons but is optimistic that the TurnSignl app can start to change the dynamics during a police stop. “I know when my daughter goes to Augsburg this fall, I’m going to get this app for her.”

The TurnSignl app is available on the Apple and Google app stores.

Data on drivers and police traffic stops

Key findings from the national data research Stephanie Oliver ’21 MBA gathered for the TurnSignl business plan:

On average, legal intervention death rates for Black men, were 4.7 times higher than those of white men from 1979 to 1988, and 3.2 times higher from 1988 to 1997. (2002 American Journal of Public Health study)
Black men are 3 times more likely than other races to die from the use of police force. Oliver said this was particularly alarming as Black males make up only about 6% of the total U.S. population. (2016 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Vital Statistics Data 2010–14)
When driver race/ethnicity was visible, Black drivers were nearly 20% more likely to be the subject of a discretionary traffic stop than were white drivers. (2014 San Diego State University research)
Among males aged 10 years or older who were killed by police use of force, the mortality rate among non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic individuals was 2.8 and 1.7 times higher, respectively, than that among white individuals. (Racial/Ethnic Disparities in the Use of Lethal Force by U.S. Police 2010–14)
Search rates for whites are significantly lower, at around 18% of the traffic stops, while search rates for Blacks and Hispanics total about 82%. (Compiled from Stanford Open Policing Project data for Connecticut; Illinois; North Carolina; Rhode Island; South Carolina; Texas; Washington; and Wisconsin; and municipal police departments in Nashville, Tennessee; New Orleans; Philadelphia; Plano, Texas; San Diego; and San Francisco)

Top image: Andre Creighton ’19 MBA (left) and Mychal Frelix ’19 MBA were motivated to leave their stable jobs in 2020 to focus on launching the TurnSignl app. (Photo by Courtney Perry)

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Augsburg then and now

John Weirick — Fri, 20 Aug 2021 16:55:41 +0000

For 152 years, Augsburg has both changed and remained the same. Though the Augsburg community looks much different outwardly—campus layout and buildings, student body demographics and style of clothing, technology and teaching methods—the Auggie spirit continues to inspire faculty and staff to cultivate a vibrant learning environment in which students can engage in meaningful hands-on experiences.

Enjoy these glimpses into the Augsburg of the past and the university of today.

Curated with Digital Archives and Research Services Librarian

An image of Augsburg’s campus and the Minneapolis skyline in 1967, stitched together from three frames of an aerial camera shot in a promotional film. (Archive photo)

Part of Augsburg’s campus—including Old Main, two residence halls, and the Norman and Evangeline Hagfors Center for Science, Business, and Religion—in 2018. (Photo by Courtney Perry)

Auggies shoot hoops in Old Main gymnasium, circa 1945. (Archive photo)

Augsburg women’s basketball plays against the College of Saint Benedict in Si Melby Hall, 2018. (Photo by Courtney Perry)

The Augsburg community poses in front of Old Main in 1931. (Archive photo)

The Class of 2023 gathers in front of Old Main in 2019. This fall, group photos are planned for the Class of 2024 and the Class of 2025. (Photo by Tom Roster)

The camera club in 1957 included [L to R] Jerry Matison ’59, Stan Quanbeck ’59, and James Nichols ’58. (Archive photo)

An Auggie wears virtual reality goggles in a new media class in 2019. (Courtesy photo)

Georg Sverdrup and Sven Oftedal, who each served as Augsburg’s president, speak at a gathering of students in the first Old Main building (which was demolished to build Science Hall and Sverdrup Hall), 1897. (Archive photo)

A procession in a chapel service January 24, 2020. (Photo by Courtney Perry)

Augsburg women’s track and field student-athletes prepare for a race in 1985. (Archive photo)

Augsburg women’s track and field student-athlete hits the track 2021. (Photo by Don Stoner)

Students work in a television studio, possibly in the basement of Memorial Hall, in 1976. (Archive photo)

Students at a video shoot in Foss Center in 2019. (Courtesy photo)

Students attend a Pan-Afrikan Student Union cookout in Murphy Square in 1998. (Archive photo)

Students attend a Multicultural Student Services event in the park to welcome students back to campus in 2019. (Photo by Courtney Perry)

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Meme stocks, Robinhood, and what to know about the stock market today

John Weirick — Fri, 20 Aug 2021 16:28:47 +0000

Marc McIntosh (Courtesy photo)

In early 2021, stocks of the companies AMC, BlackBerry, and GameStop made headlines—but not just for performing well. In a matter of days, some of these stock values increased by up to 30 times their previous price before a smartphone app called Robinhood restricted trading, angering some investors and propelling the situation into greater media attention. What happened, and what could that mean for people interested or invested in the stock market?

��’s Associate Professor of Business Marc McIntosh brings his financial expertise to help us understand some of these rapid changes and see the big picture of today’s stock market.

Q: What are “meme stocks,” and why have they become notable lately?

A: A meme stock is any stock that’s seen its price skyrocket due to excessive trading volume from retail investors, mostly fueled by people on social media (primarily Reddit, TikTok, and Twitter). There are a lot of reasons why meme stocks have been so popular. It’s partly pandemic-related, since some people had more time to gamble and speculate and may have extra money on hand due to government stimulus payments. Also, social media forums have made it a lot easier to follow trends. In the case of GameStop, the price had a tremendous run almost solely due to Reddit posts.

Q: What can we learn from what happened with AMC, BlackBerry, and GameStop stocks? What does that tell us about the stock market and how people are interacting with it?

A: It’s important to distinguish between gambling and investing. The vast majority of people buying these stocks are gambling that their price will go up based on rumors and social media posts, which can be very dangerous. It’s really the equivalent of going to the racetrack and betting on horses or going to Las Vegas to play the slot machines. Investors, however, do much more research based on the fundamental financials of the company and assess the potential of the company based on either their analysis or input from a trusted, professional financial advisor. In other words, it’s OK to invest in a meme stock, but make sure you’ve done your due diligence on the company’s growth prospects. For example, does GameStop really have cutting edge technology, or is its business model antiquated?

Q: Are tools like the investing app Robinhood (which offers no-fee stock trading) just a trend or an indication of a new direction for the world of investing?

A: Robinhood is here to stay. The good news is that the app is extremely user-friendly, and the average investor can now make money in the stock market in ways that, until recently, were only available to institutions like pension funds and mutual funds. There has been a democratization in stock market investing. The bad news is that there are now lots of ways to lose money in the stock market if you or your financial advisor don’t have finance. Finally, the ugly part is that not only are gains magnified in a short period of time but losses are as well. If used wisely, Robinhood can be a tremendous way to build wealth through stock market investing.

Q: What are reliable principles or tactics for people just beginning to get involved in the stock market?

A: Many famous investors such as Warren Buffett and John Bogle have argued convincingly that it’s very difficult to pick stocks that will outperform the overall market. In fact, there are several academic studies that prove that it’s almost impossible for the average mutual fund manager to “beat” the overall market. So, the sensible strategy is to put long-term savings into a broad-based market index fund. Many retirement plans have fund options indexed to the S&P 500 or the total stock market.

Q: What should Augsburg Now readers keep in mind about the stock market today and in the near future?

A: First: On average, investing in the S&P has delivered returns higher than 10% since 1929. This dwarfs the returns you get by putting money in a savings account or investing in high-quality bonds. For the long haul, it’s important to have this return to retire comfortably. Second: The time people spend in retirement is getting longer as life spans have expanded due to health care improvements, so people need a huge nest egg to live comfortably—possibly into their 90s. Third: Due to the magic of compounding and starting earlier in one’s life, achieving this nest egg can be relatively simple. If average 25-year-olds invest $2,000 in the stock market a year (such as in an index fund that achieves 10% average returns), they could have more than $1 million when they retire at age 65. Wow!

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Augsburg to launch Critical Race and Ethnicity Studies department, major

Gita Sitaramiah — Fri, 20 Aug 2021 16:23:59 +0000

�� is developing a new Critical Race and Ethnicity Studies Department.

The new department aligns with Augsburg’s mission and responds to a proposal developed by a group of students, faculty, and staff that was presented to the administration and approved by the faculty this year. A group of students, led by Black women, made similar (as-yet unrealized) demands after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.

The department aims to meet the needs of today’s students with culturally relevant courses and pedagogy that both centers and equips them to think critically about their experience in the world. It will advance the university’s public mission through connections with the community.

This year, the plan is to hire three new faculty in Pan-African, Latinx, and Asian American studies. Once they’re hired, Augsburg will review next steps, as well as how other departments can connect their own courses and faculty to the new department.

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Augsburg students earn Fulbright awards

norland — Fri, 20 Aug 2021 16:19:46 +0000

This year, three Augsburg students earned Fulbright awards, and one has been named a Fulbright alternate candidate.

Citlaly Escobar ’21 and Ciashia Shiongyaj ’21 both won Fulbright English Teaching Assistantships to Taiwan. Shamsa Ahmed ’21 won a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to South Korea.

Taiwana Shambley ’21, an alternate Fulbright English Teaching Assistant candidate, will teach English in Laos if additional funding becomes available.

The Fulbright Program was created to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the program.

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Recently published Auggies, Spring–Summer 2021

Amanda Symes '09, '15 MFA — Fri, 20 Aug 2021 13:56:50 +0000

Augsburg alumni, faculty, and students have published literature and earned the public’s attention during the past year.

Lowell “A.L. Shane” Ziemann ’60—“Alex, Hank & Hawk: Cowboys, Gunmen & Road Agents: A Novel of the American West”
David Nash ’06—“The Man in the Pines,” a novel and soundtrack
Joshua Phillip Johnson ’17 MFA—“The Forever Sea,” a novel
Robby Steltz ’18 MFA—“Nellie,” a short play that earned second place in the Virginia State One Acts competition
Khadijo “JoJo” Abdi ’19 MFA—One of the main authors that participated in the first Somali Community Book Fair in Burnsville, Minnesota
Tracy Ross ’19 MFA—“James Dean and the Beautiful Machine,” a book of poetry
Kristine Joseph ’20 MFA—“Simply Because We Are Human,” a memoir
Cole Williams ’22 MFA—Poems published in “Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine” and “Sh!t Men Say to Me: A Poetry Anthology in Response to Toxic Masculinity”
Faculty member Anika Fajardo—“What if a Fish,” a novel that won the Minnesota Book Award for Middle Grade Literature
“Murphy Square 1975–2020: A Sesquicentennial Sampler of Literature by Augsburg Students”—Professor Emeritus Doug Green said, “More than 40 recent students from 2016 through 2019 served as co-editors, haggling over selections drawn from the entire digital archive of Murphy Square [Augsburg’s student-created literary and visual arts journal]. Megan Johnson ’19 designed the volume.”

and submit your alumni news.

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Augsburg’s in-house epidemiologist guides Auggies through the COVID-19 pandemic

John Weirick — Mon, 22 Feb 2021 20:19:10 +0000

Associate Professor Alicia Quella (Photo by Courtney Perry)

Remember those days of uncertainty in March 2020, when we had more questions than answers, and before most of us used terms like “coronavirus” and “social distancing”?

The United States saw an increase in COVID-19 infections, and some states—including Minnesota—applied stay-at-home orders to mitigate the spread. Weeks before that inflection point, �� administrators, faculty, and staff convened a COVID-19 task force.

Not all educational institutions have an epidemiologist on staff, but Augsburg is fortunate. One of the task force’s principal leaders is Alicia Quella, associate professor and director of Augsburg’s physician assistant program. As an educator with a PhD in epidemiology and experience in public health settings around the world, her expertise has proved invaluable for the university’s grasp of the evolving global crisis and Augsburg’s response to maintain the health and safety of community members.

Between fielding student questions about the coronavirus, volunteering at COVID-19 testing sites, and ensuring the Augsburg community can trace contacts and reduce transmission on campus, Quella shared some perspectives on her work and where we go from here.

Q: How have you been involved in Augsburg’s outbreak planning and COVID-19 response?

A: I serve on the pandemic task force, a university-wide team of people that assembled after it was apparent that COVID-19 would significantly affect institutions of higher education across the United States. We collaborate regularly with epidemiologists from the Minnesota Department of Health to implement public health guidelines for campuses. We started to meet daily to coordinate issues involving classrooms and labs, athletics, residence halls, dining services, facilities, and global education. We started a COVID-19 Response Team, which comprises staff and faculty across campus who implement health protocols and support students and personnel who have illness, have COVID-19, or have been exposed to it.

Neither rain nor SNOW can keep ‘s Dr. Alicia Quella from working the walk-up/drive-up COVID-19 testing location Cedar Riverside Clinic

— R.John (@raccajohn)

Q: What were your first thoughts when you heard about COVID-19 and considered its implications for the Augsburg community?

A: When news of a novel coronavirus was circulating in China, I was immediately concerned because I had studied the epidemiology of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV-1) during my doctoral work through the University of Iowa Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases. In 2003, SARS quickly spread to 29 countries, so I knew that this would be a major issue in the United States.

Q: At this stage in the COVID-19 pandemic, what are the most important things for the public to understand and do?

A: To reach herd immunity [when a significant portion of a community is immune to a disease and thereby makes spread unlikely] we all need to continue to ‘bubble’ and limit the number of close contacts, wear face masks, socially distance, and get vaccinated.

I also encourage the students and my patients to be creative and find ways to keep active and engaged—start a new hobby, do something outdoors, and reach out to relatives and friends who may be isolated right now.

Q: What do you see in the post-COVID-19 world?

A: Colleges and universities have seen a rapid diffusion of innovation in how they are using technology to deliver curriculum, participate in athletics, and maintain operations. This energy and innovation will have to continue to promote widespread vaccine uptake. Vaccine hesitancy is an issue, especially in communities of color that have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 because of structural racism. Augsburg will need to make this a top priority moving forward.

Q: What’s a memorable moment of the past year that made an impact on you?

A: As an epidemiologist and a physician assistant, I’ve had the opportunity to continue to see patients and work with Augsburg students, staff, and faculty. I recently received the COVID-19 vaccine and have felt humbled and honored to now be able to continue to work more safely in the community.

Top image: Associate Professor Alicia Quella’s experience as an epidemiologist has helped maintain the health and safety of the Augsburg community. (Photo by Courtney Perry)

Read more Augsburg stories on COVID-19.

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Playwrights’ Center partners with Augsburg to offer courses with leading playwrights

John Weirick — Mon, 22 Feb 2021 20:15:33 +0000

The Playwrights’ Center and �� announced a new partnership to offer accredited courses taught by the nation’s leading playwrights. Through online courses, students connect with peers and faculty members from across the United States. The courses, offered through Augsburg’s Center for Global Education and Experience, are guided by Augsburg’s Theater Department in conjunction with the .

“With these courses, students will learn with and from writers at the top of their field, seeing what it takes to have pieces published and performed,” said Patrick Mulvihill, Augsburg’s assistant provost for global education and experience, in an interview with .

Top image: An Augsburg student tours the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis. (Photo by Stephen Geffre)

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Faculty members William Green and Timothy Pippert assume new professorships

John Weirick — Mon, 22 Feb 2021 20:08:26 +0000

Professor of History William Green was named the inaugural M. Anita Gay Hawthorne Professor of Critical Race and Ethnicity Studies, effective September 1, 2020. The position was created on the recommendation of a working group of students, faculty, and staff who developed a vision for a new academic department in critical race and ethnicity studies at ��.

Professor of Sociology Timothy Pippert was named the inaugural holder of the Joel Torstenson Endowed Professorship, effective September 1, 2020. This professorship is made possible through the generosity of Mark Johnson ’75, who also supports the university’s Torstenson Scholars program.

Top image: Professor Timothy Pippert teaches a sociology class in Hagfors Center. (Photos by Courtney Perry)

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Augsburg launches the Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship

norland — Mon, 22 Feb 2021 20:07:14 +0000

This fall, �� launched the Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, which advances education and support for Augsburg students and alumni in the disciplines of innovation, entrepreneurship, and leadership.

The center’s focus is on the practice and psychology of innovation and entrepreneurship. Cory Erickson, an instructor in Augsburg’s Master of Business Administration program, leads the center.

The center provides practical educational material for Augsburg students and alumni through a variety of events and activities. These opportunities include:

a speaker series
cooperative projects between student teams and local companies
support for students who are building organizations that impact social causes through innovation and entrepreneurship
support for student entrepreneurs
the creation of student teams drawn from the science and business departments to solve problems for new startups
student contests offering awards and potential funding for new ventures
research and scholarship through a think tank
the promotion of internships for students in the for-profit, nonprofit, and government sectors.

Top image: Instructor Cory Erickson leads the Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship. (Photo by Courtney Perry)

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