This section of the News and Media Services department site tracks stories in print and broadcast media that feature Auggie faculty, students, and staff. The area also is home to material developed for University-related programs, events, and more.
In a January 22 opinion piece published in MinnPost, Augsburg University President Paul C. Pribbenow joined the presidents of 16 other private colleges in advocating for need-based financial aid for all Minnesota students. In it, the presidents argued for greater investment in the Minnesota State Grant program and financial aid fairness for low-income students regardless of where in the state they attend college.
“Public colleges alone cannot solve our social and economic challenges, nor should they be expected to do so,” they wrote. “Private nonprofit colleges serve these same public purposes. To meet its workforce development and social mobility goals, the state needs to increase financial investments in all students with demonstrated need and take full advantage of all of Minnesota’s educational assets—including its stellar private colleges.”
More than 1,000 Augsburg University undergraduate students were named to the 2024 Fall Semester Dean’s List. The Augsburg University Dean’s List recognizes those full-time students who have achieved a grade point average of 3.50 or higher and those part-time students who have achieved a grade point average of 3.75 or higher in a given term.
Amid an urgent need for more support personnel in K-12 schools, Augsburg University is piloting a new program to train the next generation of school social workers and school-based therapists.
“Lots of social work students want to work in education,” says Associate Professor Erin Sugrue, who chairs Augsburg’s social work department. But the requirement to complete at least one year-long internship in a school setting creates a structural hurdle for students who can’t afford to spend a year or more in an unpaid position. As a result, many internship placements in public schools go unfilled each year.
Augsburg’s new program, developed by Sugrue and led by Assistant Professor Christopher Thyberg, aims to support a cohort of students through the critical internship year and ultimately into careers in education. In its first year, 28 undergraduate and master’s social work students are interning as school social workers and school-based mental health providers. Participants receive a monthly living stipend and reimbursement for transportation and licensure expenses thanks to state grant funding.
In addition to financial support, the students gather multiple times a semester to build community and explore key issue areas in education. These sessions have tapped into the expertise of faculty colleagues in Augsburg’s education department, delving into topics like multilingual learners with Assistant Professor Yacoub Aljaffery and special education with Assistant Professor Sergio Madrid-Aranda during the fall semester. Sugrue hopes that this collaboration will lead to more formal partnerships between the education and social work programs in the future, including co-listed classes.
Augsburg participants in the initial cohort are completing internships in K–12 school districts throughout the metro area, including Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Robbinsdale, Rosemount–Apple Valley–Eagan, Champlin, Brooklyn Park, Anoka–Hennepin, Spring Lake Park, Hopkins, Columbia Heights, and charter schools. After graduation, they will be prepared to pursue careers as either school social workers or school-based mental health providers. Both play a key role in supporting students in K-12 settings.
“School social workers serve as the link between family, home, and school,” said Sugrue, who spent more than a decade as a school social worker herself. “They are concerned with students’ overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being.” Typically employees of the school district, school social workers triage many different issues that may arise in a day, including attendance, conflict resolution, and substance use.
School-based mental health providers focus more specifically on students’ mental health concerns. While they deliver counseling and other therapeutic services on-site at school, they are often employed by an outside agency and can bill insurance.
To date, Augsburg has received $411,000 to develop the new cohort model from the state Student Support Personnel Workforce Pipeline grant program, administered by the Minnesota Department of Education. The grant program aims to support students in completing accredited programs and becoming licensed school psychologists, school nurses, school counselors, and school social workers, and to increase the number of student support personnel providers who identify as people of color or Indigenous. A separate $125,000 grant from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development supports students in the program with a specific interest in becoming school-based mental health providers.
Augsburg University will offer its third annual Interfaith Symposium at 11 a.m. on Thursday, February 27, 2025, featuring visionary civil rights leader Valarie Kaur. The Interfaith Symposium is an annual invitation to students and community members to learn about religious, spiritual, and worldview diversity and connect with exceptional interfaith leaders. This event is free and open to the public.
Kaur’s keynote address, “Revolutionary Love Is the Call of Our Times,” will draw on her work to inspire and equip people to build beloved community through the Revolutionary Love Project she founded. Rooted in the belief that an ethic of love is essential to birthing a healthy, multi-racial democracy and a sustainable planet, the Revolutionary Love Project produces educational tools, training courses, artwork, films, music, and mass mobilizations to empower citizens from all walks of life to harness love as a force for justice.
As a civil rights leader, lawyer, award-winning filmmaker, and educator, Kaur has led visionary campaigns to tell untold stories and change policy on issues ranging from hate crimes to digital freedom. A daughter of Punjabi Sikh farmers in California, she lifts up her vision for America in her acclaimed TED Talk and #1 LA Times bestseller, “See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love.” She is also the author of “Sage Warrior” and a children’s book, “World of Wonder.”
“Valarie’s message of revolutionary love is critically important at this time,” said Najeeba Syeed, El-Hibri Endowed Chair and executive director of Interfaith at Augsburg. “In particular, I look forward to the ideas she will offer our students to address social justice issues that impact their daily lives through coalition building strategies that she has used throughout her own career as a human rights lawyer and activist.”
Following the keynote address, a luncheon and panel discussion will take place at 12 p.m., featuring conversation with Ted Chen, vice president for equity, culture, and learning, Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies; Tamara Gray, founder and chief spirituality officer, Rabata; and Anantanand Rambachan, professor emeritus of religion, St. Olaf College. A limited number of seats will be available for $35. Sign up for the luncheon waiting list through the event registration link.
About Interfaith at Augsburg
Situated in a neighborhood home to numerous immigrant communities and with an increasingly diverse student body, Augsburg University is uniquely positioned to facilitate building bridges in a polarized world. Augsburg’s commitment to interfaith engagement is central to its mission, identified as a key outcome of its strategic plan, and rooted in its Lutheran theological heritage. Through interfaith education and intentional opportunities to strengthen interreligious communication, understanding, and relationships, Augsburg’s Interfaith Institute advances peacebuilding on campus, in the community, and beyond. Learn more at augsburg.edu/interfaith.
Najeeba Syeed, El-Hibri Endowed Chair and executive director of the Interfaith Institute at Augsburg University, was interviewed by national media about the devastating fires in Southern California, which have destroyed at least a dozen houses of worship in the Los Angeles area.
In a January 11 interview with Religion News Service, Syeed called attention to the long history of interfaith cooperation in Altadena, CA, where religious leaders have banded together to support victims of the fires even as they mourn the loss of sacred spaces.
“They’re helping their own communities, but they’re also stepping up and stepping beyond and helping each other,” she said. “That’s part of the story—faith communities, even when they are damaged, still show up for the broader community.”
Religion News Service published a January 16 column by Syeed highlighting the ways that local youth have led volunteer recovery efforts across faiths, ethnicities, and languages. “[Our teens’] continued service and their steady moral compass make me excited to see the world they will run,” she wrote. “A world in which we don’t need a litmus test on your beliefs before we offer care, where your story is important to share no matter which income bracket you come from. A world in which the measure of our humanity is how much we show up for each other with an embodied empathy that asks, “What do you need, dear friend, who I may not know? Let me be there for you.””
Syeed was also interviewed for a January 17 Sojourners article about calls from local leaders to focus on equity and justice in rebuilding. In it, she lifted up the long-standing interfaith connections in Pasadena and Altadena. “People knew each other in the neighborhood and worked together before the fires,” she said. “What you’re seeing now is an outpouring of those relationships.”
Augsburg University has transitioned to a new academic structure to prepare students for successful careers, meaningful lives, and active citizenship in an integrated, constantly evolving world.
As of the 2024–25 school year, Augsburg’s academic programs are organized into five schools focused on the arts, business, health, humanities and social sciences, and natural sciences. Each school is led by a faculty director. Previously, the academic programs were grouped into two large divisions focused on professional studies and liberal arts and sciences.
“This is an exciting new chapter in Augsburg’s long tradition of academic excellence and our evolution as a student-centered university,” said Augsburg President Paul C. Pribbenow. “The five-school model leverages our unique strengths while creating new ways for students, faculty, and staff to collaborate and build community.”
The move to a schools-based model is designed to foster collaboration, encourage innovation, and facilitate interdisciplinary exchange. It does not change the curriculum, the admissions process, or degrees granted by Augsburg, nor does it involve any changes to campus facilities at this time.
“Ultimately, a schools-based model better aligns Augsburg’s organizational structure with who we are, how we work today, and how we want to work in the future,” said Paula O’Loughlin, provost and senior vice president for academic and student affairs. “The schools serve as smaller academic neighborhoods where students have closer ties with peers and mentors, greater support for career exploration, and a deeper sense of belonging—all of which empowers them to succeed in their professional lives and as leaders in their communities.”
John N. Schwartz ’67 School of the Arts
The John N. Schwartz ’67 School of the Arts (Christopher Houltberg, director) houses the narrative, performing, and visual arts at Augsburg. Drawing together Augsburg’s strength across the arts, the Schwartz School is home to 10 undergraduate majors, two graduate programs, five performing ensembles, three art galleries, multiple annual theater productions, and the Design & Agency trans-disciplinary design studio. With linkages throughout the vibrant Twin Cities arts community and an intentional focus on building collaborative skills, Schwartz School students graduate with ready-made professional networks and enhanced job opportunities across diverse creative fields.
School of Business
The School of Business (Jeanne Boeh, director) cultivates experiential learning, innovation, and entrepreneurship to equip students for successful careers. Close ties with the corporate community provide a wealth of practical expertise and career opportunities for students at the undergraduate and graduate level. The school offers 12 undergraduate majors, two graduate programs, and signature hands-on learning experiences like the Augsburg Entrepreneurship Cup and the Innovation Scholars program.
School of Health
The School of Health (Vanessa Bester, director) unites the strengths of Augsburg’s nationally accredited nursing, physician assistant, clinical psychology, and social work programs to develop graduates who meet the diverse health and wellness needs of local and global communities. Students prepare to practice in a range of professional environments through community-based experiential learning with an emphasis on social justice, clinical excellence, and inter-professional collaboration. With two undergraduate majors and seven graduate programs, the School of Health builds on Augsburg’s strength as a regional leader in healthcare education and workforce development.
School of Humanities and Social Sciences
The School of Humanities and Social Sciences (Lori Brandt Hale, director) advances Augsburg’s rich tradition of liberal arts education to equip students for full participation in a diverse and complex world. The School of Humanities and Social Sciences carries the heart of Augsburg’s mission-based commitments to cultural awareness and engagement with community into the curriculum through 36 undergraduate majors, two graduate programs, and a host of experiential learning opportunities on campus, in the neighborhood, and around the world. Graduates pursue careers in law, primary and secondary education, higher education, government, non-profit agencies, public policy, religious leadership, publishing, and more.
School of Natural Sciences
TheSchool of Natural Sciences (Ben Stottrup, director) prepares students to excel in STEM-related fields and graduate education. State-of-the-art classrooms, equipment, and labs in the Hagfors Center for Science, Business, and Religion facilitate interdisciplinary learning in 14 undergraduate majors and across the curriculum. The School of Natural Sciences is a hub for student research through programs like PRISM Scholars, TRIO McNair Scholars, and Zyzzogeton, Augsburg’s annual student research symposium. Working closely with natural sciences faculty, students develop a growth mindset and explore professional opportunities, preparing for careers that exist today and those that will be created in the future.
On a chilly December afternoon, 14 business and graphic design students brought the heat in Augsburg’s signature entrepreneurship challenge.
At stake? Reputation, impact, connections—and $30,000 in cash prizes.
The second annual Augsburg Entrepreneurship Cup—better known on campus as the Auggie Cup—engaged three teams of students in a “Shark Tank”-style competition judged by local business leaders. Their challenge was to design and pitch a business and marketing plan for a promising new industrial or medical technology.
“One of our basic tenets at Augsburg is that experiential learning leads to critical thinking skills,” said George Dierberger, the Thomas ’72 and Karen Howe Professor for Entrepreneurship and chair of Augsburg’s business administration and economics department. “That’s what the Auggie Cup is all about.”
Each team of three or four undergraduates was led by an MBA student coach and assigned to a startup firm with a product on the cusp of commercialization. Ideas were solicited from BETA, a nonprofit early stage accelerator for Minnesota-based technology startups, as well as Augsburg’s Business Advisory Council. This year’s projects included AcQtrac’s non-invasive device to monitor cardiovascular health among pediatric patients, SmartAuger’s portable ground-penetrating radar system, and CorRen Medical’s proprietary ultrasound technology to detect and treat peripheral artery disease.
Over the course of the fall semester, three teams developed and refined a plan to pitch their products to investors, culminating in a competition on December 6. Members of the Business Advisory Council judged each hour-long presentation on the students’ assessment of the market opportunity and competitive environment, the marketing plan and original graphic arts elements, a rigorous financial analysis, and the overall quality of the presentation. More than 120 guests—business leaders, alumni, students’ families, and Augsburg faculty and staff—attended the evening reception and awards ceremony.
The AcQtrac Medical team placed first, with students Jim Schewe, Salma Gelle, Adela Leville, and Kat Chaney sharing a $15,000 prize. The SmartAuger team of Luke Peters, Jakob Mohrlok, Manny Weiss, Nolan Mehle, and Destiny Azonwu won the $10,000 second prize, and the CorRen Medical team of Patrick McMonagle, Danny Ho, Char Waver, Pachia Vang, and Anthonella Laurens took third place and $5,000. The cash prizes were made possible by generous supporters of Augsburg’s business, innovation, and entrepreneurship programs, including Mike Nathan and Sara Armstrong, Tom ’72 and Karen Howe, Big Stone Capital Group, Modulate Capital, Bill Urseth ’71, and Blaze Credit Union.
“This year’s Auggie Cup was an incredible event full of synergy and teamwork,” said Dierberger. “Our MBA, undergrad business, and graphic design students all did a stellar job at presenting their ideas to the panel of judges and we are grateful they could be rewarded in a real way for their significant efforts.”
While the Auggie Cup is targeted towards business, entrepreneurship, and graphic design students, plans are underway for a campus-wide competition this spring. Students from any academic discipline will be invited to deliver a 2–3 minute pitch, with the potential for the winning ideas to become full Auggie Cup projects next fall.
An international group of scholars has issued a statement denouncing the misuse of the legacy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer in support of political violence and Christian nationalism in the U.S. Augsburg faculty member Lori Brandt Hale, an internationally recognized Bonhoeffer scholar, co-authored the statement alongside several members of the International Bonhoeffer Society, where she serves as president of the English Language Section. Brandt Hale was interviewed by Religion News Service about the project.
Bonhoeffer, a German theologian and anti-Nazi dissident, was executed by the Nazi regime in 1945 for his participation in a conspiracy against Hitler.
“Any attempt to invoke Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his resistance against Hitler as a reason to engage in political violence in our contemporary context must be strongly opposed,” the statement reads. “Dietrich Bonhoeffer himself provides the best defense against these misuses of his life and work. He did not ask, “how far will you go?” He did not ask, “is this a Bonhoeffer moment?” Bonhoeffer’s life was defined by the question, “Who is Christ for us today?” With this question, Bonhoeffer teaches us that Christ is to be found in the presence and suffering of the neighbor, whether across the street or across the border. With this question, he has inspired Christians and non-Christians around the world to work for a society based on solidarity and humanity.”
The statement has been co-signed by prominent scholars and church leaders in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, including Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop emeritus, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and former president, Lutheran World Federation; Susan C. Johnson, national bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada; Karen Georgia Thompson, general minister and president/CEO, United Church of Christ; Konrad Raiser, general secretary emeritus, World Council of Churches; Kirsten Fehrs, acting chair, Council of the Protestant Church in Germany; Christian Krieger, president, Conference of European Churches; and Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury.
Following the release of the statement, 86 of the 100 living descendants of the Bonhoeffer siblings published an open letter, echoing the scholars’ concerns. It is the family’s first public statement about Dietrich Bonhoeffer since 1945.
Professor Brandt Hale specializes in Bonhoeffer’s life and legacy in her research, teaching, and public scholarship. She is the co-author, with Stephen Haynes, of “Bonhoeffer for Armchair Theologians” (Westminster John Knox, 2009) and the co-editor, with W. David Hall, of “Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Theology, and Political Resistance” (Lexington Books, 2020). She was a keynote panelist at “Democracy and Discipleship—Lessons from Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Polarized Times,” a two-day conference hosted at Augsburg in July 2024. Professor Brandt Hale currently also serves as the director of Augsburg’s school of humanities and social sciences and teaches in the department of religion and philosophy.
In a guest commentary published by the Minnesota Star Tribune, Augsburg President Paul Pribbenow argued that urban colleges and universities are uniquely positioned to cultivate an inclusive democracy.
“What does it look like for higher education to be place-based, to settle into urban settings and be good neighbors, and to believe that our academic missions compel us to both educate students and care about the world into which they will graduate?” he wrote. “… It’s not simply a matter of sending individual students out into the city. One-way engagement is not sustainable. Instead, place-making work only succeeds if it is grounded in mutual benefit with community partners.”
Augsburg University announced today that Athletic Director Jeff Swenson ’79 will step down at the end of May 2025. A six-time national wrestling coach of the year, Swenson led the Augsburg athletic program through a period of unprecedented growth, improvement and athletic success while prioritizing equity, inclusion, and academic excellence.
“It’s hard to overstate Jeff Swenson’s impact on intercollegiate athletics at Augsburg over the past five decades,” said Augsburg President Paul C. Pribbenow. “It can’t be measured solely in statistics or even championships, impressive as those numbers may be. Jeff’s true legacy is the generations of student-athletes who found identity, purpose, and belonging through athletics under his leadership.”
Swenson has been a vital part of the Augsburg community since 1975. As a student-athlete, he was a standout wrestler, winning an individual national championship in 1979. He joined the Augsburg athletics staff after graduating and was named men’s wrestling head coach in 1980. In 25 seasons as head coach (1980–84 and 1986–2007), Swenson led the Auggies to a record 10 NCAA Division III national championships and 20 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference team titles. He was named MIAC Coach of the Year 13 times and NWCA National Coach of the Year six times. In 2002, Wrestling USA Magazine named Swenson National College Coach of the Year.
Swenson also served as an assistant football coach for 10 seasons and director of the alumni office before moving into athletics administration in 2001 and becoming athletic director in 2007. During his tenure, Augsburg’s student-athletes have consistently performed at the highest level in and out of the classroom, earning a 3.17 average GPA in 2023–24. Since 2001, 42 Auggies have received Academic All-American honors from College Sports Communicators, considered the highest academic award in college athletics.
Over that same period, Augsburg teams won 32 MIAC team championships, received 83 berths in MIAC postseason playoffs with nine playoff titles, and appeared in NCAA Division III national tournaments 18 times. Augsburg was the first university in Minnesota to add women’s lacrosse as a varsity sport (in 2012), and is the only four-year college in the state to currently offer women’s wrestling.
“As we celebrate 100 years of Augsburg athletics, and having been a part of athletics here for nearly 50 years, counting my undergraduate years, my family and I felt that the time was right to make a transition,” Swenson said. “I’m looking forward to helping Augsburg transition to the next athletic administrative team, and finishing up our fundraising for the men’s locker room project and other university priorities. I’m excited to watch Augsburg University and our athletic program continue to improve, grow, and prosper in the future.”
Under Swenson’s leadership, Augsburg invested in significant upgrades to athletics facilities, including the completion of new classroom, locker room, fitness center, and wrestling center facilities in the Kennedy Center; the completion a new sports medicine center and renovation of the women’s locker room in Si Melby Hall; new turf and dome at Edor Nelson Field; and updates to the Augsburg Ice Arena. From mentoring young coaches to strengthening alumni connections, Swenson also made it a priority to invest in people, strengthening the community of support for Augsburg student-athletes long past graduation.
“Jeff embodies integrity, honesty, and sportsmanship—all values we hope to instill in our student-athletes as they develop into engaged citizens and leaders in their communities. We are grateful beyond words for his extraordinary commitment and faithful service to Augsburg,” said Pribbenow.
“My goal has always been to provide the best possible experience for our student-athletes and to improve one percent each day in everything we do. I hope we’ve accomplished that in the areas I’ve had the opportunity to be part of at Augsburg during the last five decades,” said Swenson.
Following his transition next May, Swenson will assume a special assistant role in Augsburg’s Office of the President. A national search for his successor will commence in early 2025.
In a January 22 opinion piece published in MinnPost, Augsburg University President Paul C. Pribbenow joined the presidents of 16 other private colleges in advocating for need-based financial aid for all Minnesota students. In it, the presidents argued for greater investment in the Minnesota State Grant program and financial aid fairness for low-income students regardless of where in the state they attend college.
