With a background as a landscaper and urban farmer and training from the Permaculture Research Institute, Wells brings both traditional groundskeeping expertise and knowledge of native plants and soil health to Augsburg. He also came to campus with a network that has flourished during his time on the job, contributing resources that include labor, funding, and advice on sustainable landscapes.

Assistant Groundskeeper Blair Myers-Leehy is a key member of that network of contributors. He acts as a mechanic, manages the mowing, and collects the garbage on campus. Student workers are also vital to groundskeeping, but due to the extreme temperatures that can accompany Minnesota weather, they can be hard to find. Wells said that Associate Professor Joe Underhill “has been a huge support. He’s helped me find students who are interested in the outdoors.”

The support Wells receives goes far beyond his team. His mentor, Stefan Meyer, whom he met at the Permaculture Research Institute, came to campus to help design the garden beds and choose native plants. Several organizations have provided assistance through grants and other forms of financial assistance, including grant funding for native plants from the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization; significantly discounted trees from Tree Trust; and funding for an electric vehicle, electric mower, and other electric landscaping equipment from Augsburg’s Environmental Stewardship Committee. “Our electric vehicle has been a huge help,” Wells said. “If we didn’t have that, there’d be times when the students would just be walking around with tools.”

As a member of the Sabo Center Engagement Council, Wells also had the opportunity to work with the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute, which offered several workshops, many on native plants. “I learned a lot from them,” he said. “A lot of students showed up, and staff and faculty.”

Since he joined Augsburg, Wells has overseen the installation of many native plants in beds that were once devoted to annuals, saving the university money and, once the annuals were established, reducing reliance on watering. They’re also more resistant to rabbits.

“I heard a lot from students that they wanted more fruit trees, edible landscapes, as far as plants go,” Wells said. “I think about rabbits a lot when I’m planting. My first year, I didn’t think rabbits would be that big of a deal, but they took out a lot of plants and even the bark around trees. That was a big problem.” Besides planting natives, he finds that including marigolds in the landscaping and spraying plants with Neem oil and hot pepper also help.

Despite the challenges he faces, from finding resources to protecting plants from rabbits, Wells finds the work well worth it. Not only does he get to be outside, but he gets to share his love of the outdoors with students. “I like training them, showing them, teaching them about plants,” he said. “I’ll teach them whatever they want, and that’s fun.”

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A dozen Augsburg student-musicians traveled this year to Peru, where they performed alongside Peruvian musicians in two concerts, sharing their knowledge with and learning from their fellow musicians.

Rafael Rodriguez, Augsburg’s orchestra conductor and jazz program director, and Emma Moonier, music therapy instructor, led the May trip, which included students in the university’s music programs as well as non-music majors. All the students were instrumentalists in Augsburg’s orchestra or concert band.

First, the group participated in three rehearsals and a concert with youth who are involved in Orquestando, a program of Peru’s Ministry of Education that pursues social justice through music by offering schools of music in under-resourced areas.

The performance was held in the Ministry of Culture’s Auditorio Los Incas. “That’s a big deal,” Rodriguez said. He compared the opportunity for the Orquestando members, accompanied by Augsburg students, to having a youth orchestra from Minneapolis perform for the U.S. Secretary of Education.

The Augsburg musicians also participated in a concert band workshop with students from three Peruvian private schools, which culminated in a performance on the same day as the Orquestando concert.

Rodriguez noted that although the Orquestando youth participants and the private school students differed in their access to resources, the Augsburg students found that these two groups had more in common than they expected. Both experiences put their participants in an environment where they had to depend on each other to meet high expectations.

The trip was not only for students to perform music. Moonier and a music therapy student spent part of the trip working with the Psychology Department at the University of Piura, where Moonier has an agreement to present and perform outreach related to music therapy.

While in Peru, the students also had the opportunity to visit Cusco and Machu Picchu.

Rodriguez travels with Augsburg student musicians annually, providing them with a new frame of reference and perspective on their world. “The purpose of these trips is service,” Rodriguez said, “and to have students participate as a part of local groups.”

Top image: Augsburg music students pose in Lima, Peru (Courtesy photo)

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As a comprehensive campaign, Great Returns: We’re All In strengthens Augsburg and supports current and future students in numerous ways. So far, donors have contributed more than $26 million toward creating or strengthening 139 endowed scholarship funds and establishing five endowed professorships. More than $10 million has been raised for the StepUP® Collegiate program Growth Endowment, which provides ongoing support for Augsburg’s recovery program.

Benefactors have also contributed more than $16 million to the Augsburg Fund, which allocates unrestricted, discretionary dollars to improve the student experience through academic programs, technologies, student aid, and more. “These have been a tough couple years for all of us,” said President Paul Pribbenow. “But the hardships of these years only remind us that the core of Augsburg to educate students as stewards of an inclusive democracy is all the more important and all the more critical.”

Endowed funds can support specific scholarships, professorships, or specific programs. The university draws from these investments every year, currently at a rate of 4.5%, which ensures a steady stream of funding that allows Augsburg to build programs and make multi-year commitments.
A university with generous endowments is able to offer financial aid and learning opportunities that better prepare students to pursue their callings.

These are just a few of the ways Augsburg’s alumni and friends have demonstrated that they are “all in” to ensure a vibrant future for ���߲���Ƶ. Campaign gifts can enhance the student experience by providing funds for hands-on research opportunities, study abroad experiences, or improvements to the facilities where Auggies study, research, live, eat, relax, and train. After celebrating Augsburg’s sesquicentennial in 2019 and 2020, Augsburg’s community—“faculty, staff, students, alumni, parents, friends, all who care deeply about this place”—are setting the university up to thrive for another 150 years, said Pribbenow.

Great Returns: We’re All In is also the theme of the All-School Reunion to be held during Homecoming on Friday, October 6–Sunday, October 8. Co-chaired by Jeff Nodland ’77 and Becky Bjella-Nodland ’79, the celebration will include a gathering of Auggie affinity groups and an award ceremony for the Distinguished Alumni Awards in the Hagfors Center.

The weekend will also include the traditional Taste of Augsburg, a home football game against St. John’s University, a celebration of 50 years of Augsburg women’s intercollegiate athletics and Title IX, and the dedications of the renovated Si Melby women’s locker room (funded by a donation from Patricia Piepenburg ’69), and the updated Si Melby weight room, dedicated to Donny Wichmann ’89.

Learn more about Great Returns: We’re All In and donate to Augsburg’s future.

Top image: Great Returns: We’re All In waterdrop. The water drop sculptures were given to the first 150 benefactors who chose to invest in an endowed scholarship during the Great Returns campaign.
(Photo by Courtney Perry)

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Through the fellowship, students grow their networks, connect with BIPOC mentors, strengthen their leadership skills, and benefit from a supportive, motivating cohort. Fellows receive up to $5,000 for tuition and $500 for books each year and participate in a national conference about racial and social justice.

In 2021–22, 10 Augsburg juniors participated in the fellowship. Eight of those students will continue to participate as seniors. The two open slots, one of which was vacated by a student who graduated early, will be filled by seniors on a waiting list for the initial cohort. Ten new juniors will also join the program.

Four Augsburg staff members support the fellows: Joanne Reeck, vice president for equity and inclusion; Chris Dixon, athletic diversity and inclusion director; Kate Gray, career services and alumni connections manager for the Strommen Center for Meaningful Work; and Kezia Burrows, Pan-Afrikan Student Services program manager.

Students formed meaningful connections with the mentors and each other over the course of the program’s first year. By the end of the year, student fellows described their relationships with one another as familial. The initial cohort’s mentors included the vice president of a bank, a nurse practitioner, an assistant principal, a retired judge who founded a nonprofit, and Augsburg’s university pastor. Alumni and community members who are interested in mentoring can email inclusion@augsburg.edu.

To apply for a fellowship for the 2023–24 school year or learn more, visit the Sankofa Circle Fellowship web page or email inclusion@augsburg.edu.

Top image: Sankofa fellows visited the YMCA Equity Innovation Center in March 2022. (Courtesy photo)

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The Augsburg/Twin Cities Global Harmony Choir began in Fall 2020 as a campus-community partnership to celebrate diverse voices and global choral works. Led by Kristina Boerger, the John N. Schwartz professor of choral leadership and conducting, this new choral project is in partnership with , a nonprofit that works with international musicians who educate and provide performance opportunities for musicians in diverse styles of traditional vocal harmony.

“Augsburg designed the professorship I hold to globalize our choral traditions,” Boerger said. This partnership with Village Harmony is one way she answers that charge—and it became possible because of the pandemic.

Before COVID-19, Village Harmony’s educational offerings were only available through travel to the countries where the musicians they work with live. During the pandemic, the organization began connecting people with instructors from around the world via video conferencing. That approach has continued, even as choirs have returned to in-person practices and performances.

As its name implies, the Augsburg/Twin Cities Global Harmony Choir includes voices on and off campus. During its first year, about 12 community members joined more than 60 students on Zoom from their homes and dorm rooms each Wednesday evening. During the 2021-22 school year, the choir held in-person practices, while continuing to connect with their instructors virtually, on Fridays. The choir returned to Wednesday practice times in the fall.

During the practices, the international musicians guide choir members through each song, explaining challenging notes, such as microtones, or techniques, such as the Balkan smile, often without the aid of sheet music. The choir has learned songs from Cuba, South Africa, Ukraine, Bosnia, the Republic of Georgia, Corsica, Nigeria, Iran, Russia, Sweden, and Quebec, as well as Appalachian and Black Gospel music from the United States.

Boerger said choir participants have been overwhelmingly positive about their experience. She noted that one community member said that participation got them through the isolation of the pandemic. A student, speaking about the sense of connection the music fostered, told Boerger, “This is why I came to Augsburg.”

Choir members talk about the experience and perform a global medley of tunes in the video of the . Check out the list of upcoming in-person choir concerts and learn more about the group at the Choral Studies website. For questions or to inquire about joining the choir, please contact Professor Boerger at boerger@augsburg.edu.

Top image: Augsburg students perform at 2019 homecoming concert. (Photo by Bob Stacke)

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In this context, Augsburg defines “American Indian” as an enrolled member of a federally recognized American Indian tribe, Alaskan Native Village, or Canadian First Nation; a direct descendant of a parent or grandparent who is an enrolled member of the above; or a direct descendant of a tribally verified member of the above.

Unlike programs in many public institutions, Augsburg’s program does not limit eligibility to American Indian students who live in the state. In addition, the Augsburg American Indian Recognition Full Tuition Program provides access for both full-time undergraduate students as well as adult learners in any of the university’s degree completion bachelor’s programs. This new program will begin in the Fall 2022 semester for both new and continuing eligible students.

“One of our commitments at Augsburg is to bring an equity lens to affordability,” said Augsburg President Paul Pribbenow. “This program is one step toward recognizing the profound contributions American Indian students and their communities make to the university and within higher education more broadly.”

Regent Eric Jolly described the program as “groundbreaking among private universities nationwide.” He added, “At the same time, it is absolutely in line with Augsburg’s long-standing commitments to intentional diversity and inclusive excellence. I hope this is just the first of many institutions designing creative and equitable paths to education for native and First Nations people.”

Students who apply for the program do not need to be enrolled as an American Indian tribal member, establish residence on trust land, or be Minnesota residents.

Through this program, Augsburg seeks to support and promote American Indians within the Augsburg community.

“My mom and dad told me my whole life, you’re going to college. It was a ‘where’ and not an ‘if.’ What I needed from a school—the main thing that was going to make or break it—was if I could afford it,” said Reuben Kitto Stately ’22, a student from both the Red Lake Nation and Santee Sioux Nation. “But the culture of the campus, the way the Native students support each other, was also a big selling point. This part of the south side of Minneapolis is the most concentrated urban Native population in the whole country.”

“The systemic injustices that have limited access to higher education for many American Indian students need structural solutions,” said Vice President for Equity and Inclusion Joanne Reeck. “This program is one step that we as an institution can take.”

Learn more about the American Indian Recognition Full Tuition Program.

Top image: Reuben Kitto Stately ’22 is an Augsburg student from both the Red Lake Nation and Santee Sioux Nation. (Photo by Courtney Perry)

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Interfaith at Augsburg: An Institute to Promote Interreligious Leadership was established in 2019 as part of Augsburg’s commitment to interfaith learning and leadership. The newly endowed position will allow the university to hire a strategic leader and distinguished scholar to provide direction for the institute and serve as a member of the faculty. The El-Hibri chair will serve as a national ambassador for the interfaith movement and will partner with campus leaders as a change agent for interreligious learning and living.

The El-Hibris’ gift will help to fulfill one of the goals of Augsburg150, the university’s sesquicentennial strategic plan, to advance the public purposes of an Augsburg education by enhancing interfaith leadership on campus and throughout the nation.

“We live in a world that is religiously diverse, and allowing religions to thrive is a step in the right direction,” said Fuad El-Hibri. “But it is not enough. Interfaith dialogue, learning from one another, and engaging together in meaningful work is what it’s truly all about. The timing now is critical, and we hope this is just the beginning.”

“We have a unique opportunity to build an interfaith learning community that will be a model for all of higher education,” said President Paul Pribbenow. “The combination of Augsburg’s interreligious student body, with Fuad and Nancy’s support and counsel, will create the sort of academic and community leadership the world needs today.”

Top image: [L to R] Nancy and Fuad El-Hibri (Courtesy photo)

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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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The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s Toxicity Reduction program awarded Michael Wentzel, associate professor of chemistry, a grant of nearly $15,000. The grant will be used in a two-year project to develop green chemistry as a unifying theme throughout Augsburg’s chemistry curriculum. While a number of green chemistry principles are woven into the curriculum, this work will coalesce these principles into a clear message across multiple courses, including courses taken by non-majors. Chemistry majors will end their studies with a new capstone course on green chemistry and toxicology.

In addition, David Hanson, assistant professor of chemistry, is now in his third year of a four-year project funded by a $384,080 grant from the National Science Foundation (Award Number 1761638). Hanson is studying the formation and growth of new particles in the atmosphere. The results of his experiments are expected to lead to improved accuracy in predicting the influence of new particle formation on climate, health, and visibility.

Top image: Associate Professor Michael Wentzel in a science lab in the Norman and Evangeline Hagfors Center for Science, Business, and Religion in 2018. (Photo by Courtney Perry)

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