Eleanor and John Yackel first became acquainted with Augsburg through the Center for Global Education and Experience (CGEE). They took a trip to Nicaragua with the CGEE founder and first director, Professor , and loved the connections they made with Auggie students through travel. When they returned from their trip, they discussed ways to stay connected with students, stay connected with Augsburg, and ways to encourage travel in higher learning.
鈥淓leanor had the heart for sharing with others,鈥� says John. 鈥淪he was the driving force in guiding our philanthropic interests and goals.鈥�
In 1998, Eleanor and John established the first of many endowed scholarships to support students engaging in educational experiences through CGEE. Both believe that higher education serves a purpose greater than just getting a job and making money. Higher education is where students discover their passions and commit to social justice and service to the world.
So when John heard about the Critical Race and Ethnicity Studies Scholarship initiative this fall, he knew Eleanor would have wanted to help.
鈥淢y first reaction when hearing about the Students of Color crowdfunding campaign was, 鈥極h I like that!鈥� It鈥檚 timely and necessary right now. Eleanor and I believed in Augsburg. Augsburg is a shining example of an institution that really cares. Their acceptance for all goes way back. Augsburg reaches out to those who are typically ignored. Their focus on their urban neighbors, reaching out to students of color, as well as students in recovery and students with disabilities. Racial and social justice was always important to my wife especially, which is why I鈥檓 offering $50,000 as a matching challenge for the Critical Race and Ethnicity Studies Scholarship initiative in her honor.鈥�
John is calling on the Augsburg community to support students through the new Critical Race and Ethnicity Studies program. You may give online by clicking , or you can contact Ilse Rolf 鈥�93 in our Institutional Advancement office at 612-330-1512 or rolfi@augsburg.edu.
Approximately 4 out of every 10 college students are experiencing food聽insecurity聽because of Covid-19.聽Augsburg Women Engaged (AWE),聽together with Campus Cupboard,聽is sponsoring a week-long fundraiser to support these students. Augsburg’s Campus Cupboard (CC) provides food to Augsburg students by making deliveries both on-campus and off-campus. They estimate serving up to 75 students per week this fall semester.聽CC聽partners with Loaves and Fishes to purchase high quality food.聽Did you know a聽20-pound grocery bag for an Augsburg student costs $2.60?聽A聽donation of聽$104 will聽provide grocery bags for up to 40 Augsburg students!
Augsburg is gearing up for this year鈥檚 Give to the Max Day! This year鈥檚 goal is to have 1,869 Augsburg donors participate during Give to the Max Day, which would make it our largest giving day ever!
Becky Bjella Nodland 鈥�79 was once a young person yearning to put her passion for music into practice but lacking the means to do so. Being able to face and overcome that challenge changed her life, just as she hopes the endowed music scholarship that she and her husband, Jeffrey Nodland 鈥�77, are donating will change other young lives.
Jeff spent the first 17 years of his career in various management positions with the Valspar Corporation, which transferred the young family out of Minnesota in 1982. He recently retired as the president and CEO of KIK Custom Products (CIP), one of North America鈥檚 largest manufacturers of national-brand consumer products, such as Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, and L鈥橭real. Although the Nodlands have lived in The Woodlands, Texas, since 2001, Jeff joined the Augsburg Board of Regents in 2010 and is happy to once again be involved with their alma mater.
While Jay Brizel 鈥�87 sat at the defense table in a Florida courtroom in 2019, helping to keep defendant Jimmy Rodgers off death row, he was wearing an Augsburg lapel pin. Years earlier, while serving with the U.S. Army in Desert Shield and Desert Storm, he wore an Augsburg t-shirt under his chemical suit. His college days may be long gone, but his relationship with his alma mater is here to stay.