AUGUSTANA
The
VOLUME 3 • ISSUE 1
THE MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF AUGUSTANA COLLEGE
Pioneers
Autumn 2012
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ast month, Americans, and South Dakotans especially, mourned the loss of U.S. Senator George McGovern, the prairie-bred history professor-turned senator-turned presidential candidate whose platform of peace changed a nation. For more than five decades, McGovern worked tirelessly to help our nation and the world toward a goal of social justice for all – regardless of the color of your skin, where you came from or how much money you had. Everyone, McGovern argued, deserved a chance to realize their dreams. History will most certainly remember him as a pioneer – a tenacious and spirited soul who never stopped fighting for what he believed was right. As I listened to Vice President Joe Biden speak at McGovern’s memorial service in Sioux Falls, I was moved as he described McGovern, a recipient of an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Augustana in 2000, as “a good man.” He said McGovern’s passion for peace and social responsibility were what inspired him to pursue a career in public service. The gentle WWII veteran from Mitchell, S.D., remained a friend and mentor to Biden until his dying day. It caused me to think about the importance of mentors – especially those who we revere as pioneers – the brave ones who have the courage to step forward and, despite the odds or opposition, try. They try for something big – something great. Something far beyond themselves that might just make tomorrow’s world better than today’s. Since her founding in 1860, our Augustana has seen many pioneers – men and women committed to passing on knowledge and skills, fostering faith and encouraging exploration and discovery in generations of young men and women who have gone on to serve the world in various capacities. In this issue of The Augustana, on the heels of announcing the most significant building project in our 152-year history, we pay tribute to some of our own pioneers, including the iconic Dr. Sven Froiland, professor of biology from 1946-1987, who not only championed the need for an increased emphasis on faculty and undergraduate research, but also served as a driving force behind the project to build the Gilbert Science Center (GSC), nearly 50 years ago in the mid-1960s. It makes me very proud to tell you that Augustana’s new $30 million science facility will be named in honor of Dr. Froiland. This issue will also introduce you to some modern-day pioneers who trace their roots back to Augustana, including Dr. Greg Schultz ‘74, a physician based in Sioux Falls but known around the nation for his efforts to develop new approaches to vascular care. You’ll also meet Dr. Carole Miserendino ‘79, vice president of patient care services and a chief nursing officer for Presence Health Resurrection Medical Center in Chicago.
She’s spent her career working to innovate and improve the field of nursing and, to this day, still counts Dr. Joyce Nelson ‘56, professor emerita of Nursing at Augustana, as one of her most treasured mentors. We’ll also tell you about researcher Dr. David Bader ’74; biologist-turned artist Domonique Venzant ’02; our own Dr. Susan Hasseler, senior vice president for academic affairs and dean of the College, and others. As I have said before, there’s a common thread that exists among all pioneers of science. They each believe, all the way, implicitly and unquestionably – that advances in science have the power to cure disease, improve health, enhance processes and even drive healthy economies. In addition to Froiland, this issue includes the names of iconic Augustana science scholars like Dr. Arlen Viste, Dr. Gil Blankespoor and Dr. Joyce Nelson. Those individuals, along with others such as Dr. J.D. Thompson, Dr. Roy Kintner, Dr. Milt Hanson, Dr. Larry Tieszen, Dr. VR Nelson and Dr. Margot Nelson, worked together to set the culture of discovery that continues today inside the labs and classrooms of the Gilbert Science Center. We are lucky enough to see the results of their hard work and exceptional dedication in our graduates – countless healthcare professionals, scientific and medical researchers, computer engineers and science educators all working to make a difference on this planet – all using their God-given gifts in service to others. Today, our natural science majors continue to increase in number. For the 2011-12 academic year, biology majors were up 42 percent; chemistry majors up 51 percent; and physics majors up 28 percent from five years prior. All this growth is occurring inside GSC – a building that has served us well for nearly 50 years but is becoming too small and too old to accommodate our students and the technological requirements required by today’s scientific research. Thanks to a transformational $20 million challenge gift from Sanford Health, combined with commitments from the Momentum Augustana Campaign, we are on our way to reach the $30 million we’ll need to complete the new facility. Phase two of the project features a $10 million renovation to the GSC facility. We’re close, but we’re not there yet. We need your support to make this dream a reality. I’m hopeful you’ll think prayerfully about ways you can support us as we work to raise the remaining funds necessary to complete this project and ensure that Augustana remains fertile soil for scientific exploration and discovery for the next 50 years and beyond. Yours for Augustana,
Rob Oliver President
CONTENTS
THE AUGUSTANA The Augustana is published three times per year for alumni and friends of Augustana College by the Office of Advancement. In 2010, the year of Augustana’s Sesquicentennial, the magazine was named The Augustana, in honor of the College’s first student newspaper, first published in 1908 in Canton, S.D. The Augustana, as it was then, contained essays, news items, humor pages and articles of general interest. It aimed to “develop a healthy school spirit, be a true exponent of school life, and be an interesting medium between the school and its friends.” It remained the official publication of the College until 1918. Send correspondence, name changes and address corrections to: The Augustana, 2001 S. Summit Ave., Sioux Falls, S.D. 57197. Telephone: 605-274-4904. Visit the magazine online at augie.edu/magazine. Find more news about Augustana at augie.edu. Editor: Kelly Sprecher Class Notes: Jenny Meiners, Mary Toso, ‘90 Contributors: Rob Oliver, president Bob Preloger, vice president for Advancement Bruce Conley, Sports Information T.J. Nelson, ‘05, Photography Allie Hjerpe ‘14, Photography Matt Addington ‘95, Photography Connect with Augustana! augie.edu/connect
DEPARTMENTS View from Summit Avenue
Notes from the Green In the Spotlight News from the Huddle Navy & Gold Alumni News
MISSION AND VISION Inspired by Lutheran scholarly tradition and the liberal arts, Augustana provides an education of enduring worth that challenges the intellect, fosters integrity and integrates faith with learning and service in a diverse world. Our vision: Augustana College aspires to become one of America’s premier church-related colleges. Augustana is an affirmative action, Title IX, equal opportunity institution. © Augustana College 2012
FEATURES 2. Honoring a Legend Following the largest gift in College history, Augustana’s new $30 million science facility will be named in honor of Dr. Sven Froiland, professor of biology. During his tenure from 1946 to 1987, he was the central figure in the design and construction of the Gilbert Science Center and was considered among many to be a visionary for science at Augustana. na 8. Dr. Trailblazer As the region’s first certified vascular surgeon, Dr. Greg Schultz, class of 1974, has dedicated his career to developing cuttingedge technology to extend lives, relieve pain and improve the quality of life for his patients. 22. Field of Dreams After playing baseball in the basement of Bergsaker Hall, Don Karras, class of 1976, dreamed of the day when Augustana might have first-class playing and practice facilities. Today, his dream is a reality. 30. Viking Days 2012 Celebrate Homecoming with a look back at the parade, the reunions, the game and more!
ON THE COVER: Dr. Sven Froiland, professor of biology at Augustana from 1946-1987, circa early 1960s.
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Following the largest gift in College history, Augustana’s new $30 million science facility will be named in honor of Dr. Sven Froiland, professor of biology. During his tenure at Augustana from 1946 to 1987, Froiland served as chair of the biology department and chair of the Natural Sciences Division. He was the central figure in the design and construction of the Gilbert Science Center and was considered among many to be a visionary for science at Augustana.
HONORING A
Legend
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strong science program is a must for college and university survival. This is more true today than ever before. We would be derelict in our duty if we permitted our science program to deteriorate for lack of vision and planning for
the future.
– Dr. Sven Froiland
“The Case for an Increased Emphasis on Research at Augustana.” March 1, 1964
This artist rendering shows what the new facility, to be named in honor of Augustana science icon Dr. Sven G. Froiland, could look like. Those are the powerful words written by Dr. Sven Froiland in his 1964 paper, “The Case for an Increased Emphasis on Research at Augustana.” Two years later in 1966, Froiland stood excited and proud at the dedication of the College’s new Gilbert Science Center. Built for $2.1 million, at the time the facility was considered to be among the region’s finest centers for undergraduate science
advanced courses in the natural sciences, along with flexible research laboratories to accommodate growing student-faculty research initiatives. The new building will be named in honor of Froiland, a man many consider to be among the iconic pioneers of scientific research during his four decades of service to Augustana. The new facility represents the first
bled and honored simply don’t do justice to how we’re feeling.” “Excited as we are, there is still much work to do,” Oliver said. “In order to make this vision a reality, we need our alumni and friends to think thoughtfully and prayerfully about ways they can support us as we work to raise the remaining funds necessary to complete this project.” News of the project comes at a
“The future of science at Augustana begins today.” – Rob Oliver, President and research. Today, Augustana is preparing to take Froiland’s vision to new heights. In September, the College announced plans to build a new, state-of-the-art science facility following the largest gift in College history. A $20 million challenge gift from Sanford Health, in conjunction with commitments from the Momentum Augustana Campaign, the most aggressive fundraising effort in the College’s 152-year history, will launch a new $30 million science facility featuring eco-friendly, modern classrooms and laboratories for basic and
phase of the project. The second phase involves a $10 million renovation of the Gilbert Science Center. “The future of science at Augustana begins today,” said Rob Oliver, president. “This transformational gift will enable us to achieve our vision of becoming a leading institution for scientific and biomedical exploration and discovery and will pave the way for our undergraduate research efforts to grow and thrive.” “Words cannot express our gratitude to Sanford Health and to the many supportive alumni and friends who have brought us to this point. Thankful, hum-
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critical time for Augustana. Students who are pursuing majors within the Natural Sciences have been steadily on the rise. For the 2011-2012 academic year, the College reported a 42 percent increase in biology majors from five years prior; a 51 percent increase in chemistry majors; and a 28 percent increase in physics majors. Of the students enrolled during the 2011- 2012 academic year, roughly 40 percent identified themselves as natural science majors, most of whom will pursue graduate and professional school training upon their graduation. At a recent meeting, the Augustana
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Board of Trustees voted unanimously to move forward on the project. “Now is the time. This endeavor paves the way for our strong programs to grow stronger and for our already extraordinary student outcomes to advance to new levels,” said Board Chair John Thomas. “This project will allow Augustana to combine the best of the liberal arts with the best of scientific research and discovery to create an even better learning environment for generations to come, particularly the doctors, nurses, teachers, engineers and scientists who will lead our world tomorrow.” The College’s undergraduate Summer Research Program is also growing. From May through August, 69 Augustana students were hard at work conducting scientific and biomedical research and/ or completing internships or volunteer positions at facilities throughout the U.S. as part of the Program, an initiative that places undergraduates in the field at laboratories, hospitals and study tanks throughout the U.S. The existing 85,550-square foot Gilbert Science Center is home to the Natural Science Division that includes the departments of biology, chemistry, physics, nursing, computer science and mathematics. The building was named in honor of Gerhard A. Gilbert, a South Dakota-based businessman who served as mayor of Watertown, S.D., from 1948-1954. With a new science facility, College officials say, Augustana has the potential to send even more graduates on to master’s and Ph.D. programs within the sciences, as well as to top-ranking medical schools. Over the last three years alone, Augustana graduates have enrolled at Duke, Princeton, Kansas, the University of South Dakota School of Medicine, South Dakota State University, Yale, Harvard, North Carolina, Mayo and Washington University, among others. About Dr. Sven Froiland Born in Astoria, S.D., in 1922, Froiland attended Clear Lake High School and graduated from South Dakota State University in 1942. He earned his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Colorado. Additional study included work at the University of Minnesota; a visiting scholar appointment at the University of Arizona; and work at the National Science Foundation Institutes at the Universities of Michigan, Indiana and North Carolina. He was awarded a honorary doctorate in the humanities from Luther College. Froiland entered the U.S. Army immediately upon graduating from SDSU in 1942. He served four years and was wounded in the second wave of the Normandy invasion in 1944 and was awarded a Purple Heart. He was honorably discharged from the Army at the rank of captain in 1946. Froiland began his teaching career at Augustana in 1946 as a biology instructor. He moved through the faculty ranks to full
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The Growth in Augustana Natural Science Majors Biology Majors:h 42% Chemistry Majors: h 51% Physics Majors: h 28% For the 2011-12 academic year; growth from five years prior.
professor in 1958 and served as chairman of the biology department for 17 years until 1970 and the Division of Natural Sciences for 20 years until 1976. He was also heavily involved in the Center for Western Studies, serving as its executive director on a part-time basis from 1976-1983 and fulltime from 1983-1987. During his academic career, Froiland was active in other positions, including the Research Association with the USDA Forest Service and served as director of the Black Hills Natural Sciences Field Station. He was recognized as South Dakota Conservation Educator of the Year in 1976, named to American Men of Science, Outstanding Educators of America, Who’s Who in American Education, Faculty-Administrator of the Year in 1976 and received the 125th
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Anniversary Award from Augustana College in 1986. He was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame in 1987 as an “Outstanding Educator.” Veteran and retired professors and administrators at Augustana always identify Froiland as the driving force behind biological research at the College and the construction of Gilbert Science Center. At the critical juncture when the decision to build a new science building was reached, President Lawrence Stavig, content that the funding for a new facility was secured and plans were approved, retired. His successor, Dr. Charles Balcer, also felt that being new precluded him from making decisions on the new building and assigned the final planning and supervision of the construction to Froiland. Froiland has been identified as one of the true giants who served Augustana with distinction. He influenced the lives of thousands of future physicians, nurses, researchers, educators and business leaders. Athletic coaches sought him out to meet with talented student-athletes who desired to pursue careers in medicine. His love for his family; hunting, fishing and the Black Hills; history; and Augustana were core to his being. His legacy lives on in the lives of those he taught; those with whom he served; and has been a major influence on those who teach and learn at Augustana today.
NOTES FROM THE GREEN
Philipp Named Chair of Nursing Department Dr. Janet Philipp, EdD, RN, has been named Chair of the Nursing Department. In her new role, Philipp provides executive leadership for the Department, which has a storied, 72year history of producing top-caliber nurses known for their excellence in patient care, leadership in health care institutions and nursing education, and a commitment to advancing the art and science of nursing through research. Dr. Philipp has more than three decades of experience in nursing education and higher education administration, including several recent appointments in executive positions. She has practiced and taught nursing throughout the United States and internationally and has worked extensively with vulnerable populations including the indigent in the U.S. and abroad, Native Americans and the homeless. Previously, she taught nursing at Morningside College and, most recently, was the Division Chair for Nursing, Occupational Therapy and the Doctoral Program in
Health and Leadership Education at the College of Saint Mary in Omaha, Neb. Dr. Philipp earned her doctorate in Higher Education Administration from the University of South Dakota, her master’s of science in Nursing from Creighton University, her BSN from the University of Dubuque, and her diploma in Nursing from Capital City School of Nursing in Washington, Dr. Janet D.C. Her Philipp areas of expertise and teaching include leadership and public health. Her most recent work is a chapter titled “Education for Learning and Democracy: Frameworks and Models” in the text “Education and Minorities” edited by C. Atkins. “With more than 30 years of experience, both in the practice of nursing and in the education of nurses, Dr. Philipp is well-suited to provide the thoughtful
and strategic vision and leadership Augustana will need as we navigate the changing landscape of health care and nursing education today,” said Dr. Susan Hasseler, senior vice president for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College. “Dr. Philipp is considered a thought leader among today’s nursing leaders and we are thrilled to have her on our team.” Dr. Philipp joins the Department at a key time. Earlier this fall, the College reported a 100 percent first-time pass rate for its 2012 nursing graduates who took the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), the examination for the licensing of registered nurses. The baccalaureate program is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education and is approved by the South Dakota Board of Nursing. Augustana is the region’s only four-year professional nursing program that is part of a comprehensive (liberal arts and professional) college.
Hugh Weber Named Director of Continuing Education Hugh Weber has been named Director of and a graduate of Swarthmore College and Continuing Education. In his new role, Weber George Washington University, Weber has is responsible for designing and develnearly 15 years of experience in oping continuing education workmessaging strategy, leadership shops, regional conferences and other consulting and community manageopportunities for lifelong learning in ment. He currently serves as owner the community. and executive curator for Storyline, a Currently, Augustana offers a number communications agency providing of continuing education and distance research, online management and learning courses that count for understrategic leadership and counsel. He graduate, graduate and teacher ceralso serves as founder, curator and tification/re-certification credit. The host of the OTA Sessions, a series Hugh Weber College also hosts conferences that of experiences and collaborations include the “Lighting the Way Autism focused on connecting creative cataConference,” an annual meeting on lysts and community change-makers Autism Spectrum Disorder in our communiin Minnesota, South Dakota and North Daties, the South Dakota ASL (American Sign kota. Previously, he was president and owner Language) Immersion event and the Midwest of CommonSense Connections, a technolConference on Deaf Education. ogy consulting firm for political campaigns, A native of northeastern South Dakota corporate clients and nonprofit groups.
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Math Professor Flies With The Blue Angels As a kid, Dr. Timothy Sorenson always wanted to be an astronaut. In July, he got a chance to experience the next best thing when he flew in a $28 million Blue Angels FA-18 as part of the U.S. Military’s K-I Rider Program. He was selected, officials say, because of his work to expose mathematics and physics majors to career opportunities in the military, law enforcement and government. His flight coincided with the Sioux Falls Airshow 2012, held July 21-22 on the campus of the South Dakota Air National Guard. A lover of aircraft and a frequent attendee of the annual OshKosh Experimental Aircraft Association air show at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wis., Sorenson, an assistant professor of mathematics, arrived at the South Dakota Air Base in Sioux Falls 90 minutes prior to take-off for a pre-flight briefing by Blue Angels Crew Chief Kyle Storm. During the overview, he learned about the aircraft and practiced techniques to avoid G-force intolerance. With a fresh “flat top” hair cut (in honor of the flight) Sorenson proudly wore a pair of 1956 aviator sunglasses owned by his late father-in-law, Chuck Hillstrom, prior to the flight.
Spring Continuing Ed Workshops Special Education in Today’s Classroom: January 25-26 Integrating iPods/iPads for Students with Disabilities: January 25-26. Totally Language: February 8-9. All Things Hamlet: February 22-23. How Can I Use an iPad in My Classroom?: February 22-23. Why Do They Do That? What Can I Do About That?: March 1-2. All Things Macbeth: March 15-16. Autism and Asperger’s: March 22-23. History of Jazz in America: March 22-23. Visit www.augie.edu/workshops to learn more and register.
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Dr. Trailblazer As the region’s first certified vascular surgeon, Dr. Greg Schultz, class of 1974, has dedicated his career to developing cutting-edge technology to extend lives, relieve pain and improve the quality of life for patients here and around the world.
MaryAn n Sherm an ‘84, S ulmy an d Schult z.
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he was six years old with wide brown eyes, tan skin and black hair. Her smile took your breath away. Her name was Sulmy. And from afar, she looked like millions of other children in her home country of Honduras. But, she was different. Born with a severe congenital anomaly called imperforate anus, Sulmy needed an emergency colostomy as a newborn. With no access to advanced medical care, she’d been plagued by ongoing, uncontrolled soilage throughout her short life. Her friends were care-free – happily running, dancing and jumping. Sulmy still wore diapers and struggled with feelings of embarrassment and a fear of ridicule. Her grandfather was desperate to find a way to help her. What kind of life could she have, he wondered, if she had to continue living this way? He had to do something. As luck, or hope, or prayers would have it, about a year ago Sulmy’s grandfather learned of a group of American doctors and medical professionals in Honduras
The final surgery has been successful and Sulmy no longer feels embarrassed or shy. She is, wonderfully, just like any other six-year-old girl. Soon, she’ll return home to Honduras to re-join her family. The experience of helping Sulmy is something Schultz calls “amazing.” It is just one example of the many ways this class of 1974 graduate has worked to improve and extend human life through the practice of medicine. A Passion for Excellence The oldest of five kids, Schultz was the first in his family to attend college. He grew up in Madison, S.D., and chose Augustana, he says, because of his Lutheran/ Norwegian heritage and also because he “felt the warmth of the place” the first time he stepped on campus. He arrived in 1970 not knowing for sure what he wanted for a career but found himself influenced early on by iconic figures like Dr. Arlen Viste (chemistry), Dr. Lansing Prescott (biology), Dr. Leland Johnson (biology) and Dr. Sandra Looney
times just look at me like, ‘You’re kidding.’ He’s definitely not kidding. Today, thanks to advances in technology and his efforts to pioneer new procedures and methods of care, Schultz says only 1020 percent of his work involves standard open surgical procedures. “The majority of what we do is medicine and endovascular therapy and that’s very unique.” “In that vein, we’ve saved lives by repairing abdominal aneurysms by using stent grafts. We’ve avoided strokes by treating carotid arteries by using carotid stents in patients. We’ve prevented amputations by doing all we can do to open blocked arteries by using catheter-based technologies. We’ve decreased pain and discomfort in patients with venous disease by using minimally invasive treatment options to take care of the veins,” he said. “Vascular surgery is so exciting because it’s continuously evolving. What I do today is so much different than what I trained doing 25 years ago. That’s been very exciting.” Schultz and his team also have a strong commitment to research. Sanford Vascular
“If you want to succeed in anything, you have to be visionary – in terms of patient care and in terms of new technology. And most importantly, determining how that technology best serves patients.” – Dr. Greg Schultz, Class of 1974 on a medical mission trip. His pastor, who also served as the medical director at the clinic the American doctors were visiting, arranged for the grandfather and the doctors to meet. Could these doctors help his little Sulmy, the grandfather asked, after describing her condition. Two of the medical missionaries, Dr. Greg Schultz, a vascular physician and surgeon with Sanford Vascular Associates in Sioux Falls, and his Physician’s Assistant, MaryAnn Sherman, listened to the grandfather carefully. Schultz saw the pain in the old man’s eyes and the ache in his heart. He’d do anything for this little girl, the old man said. She’d been through so much already. He could barely think about the challenges her future would bring if she didn’t get help, soon. Schultz told the grandfather he would do everything he could do to try to make it better. He returned to Sioux Falls and began researching the condition. He consulted with colleagues and worked with Sanford Health to donate the cost of the care Sulmy would need. Several months later, Sulmy was flown to Sioux Falls and had the first of two operations to correct her condition. During her time here, she stayed with Sherman and her husband, Steve, both Augustana alumni from the class of 1984, who served as her foster parents.
(English). “Those people – they touched my life. They all did.” After graduating from Augustana with majors in biology and chemistry, he went on to the University of Minnesota Medical School. He did an internship in general surgery and completed his residency at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. He did vascular surgery training at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., followed by a fellowship in vascular surgery at Providence Medical Center in Seattle, Wash. He returned to Sioux Falls in 1986 as the first trained certified vascular surgeon in the region and has been providing vascular care since. Eight years ago, he added a partner, Dr. Pat Kelly. His practice has continued to grow and, today, Sanford Vascular Associates includes a team of physicians dedicated to providing state-ofthe-art vascular care, utilizing minimally invasive techniques. What that means, Schultz says, is simply this: “our focus has been on how to provide care without having major operations.” “People come in and they’re scared. They hear all the stories about how major surgeries have impacted people’s lives. So, when they come in and I can tell them, ‘You know what, we can do this minimally-invasively, with minimal pain and with minimal down time,’ and people some-
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Associates has been involved in nearly 30 national research studies as either principal investigator or co-investigator. The team has multiple publications to its credit and members of the practice have given talks about their approach to vascular care nationally and internationally. “Some say that a physician is a perpetual student,” he says. “That’s certainly served me well in my field of vascular surgery.” Schultz’s own work as a physician and surgeon, and his commitment to teaching tomorrow’s doctors, has been recognized as well. He has been a recipient of the “Best Doctors in America” award and the “America’s Top Surgeon” award. He received the “Outstanding Clinical Faculty Award” from the University of South Dakota School of Medicine and the “Clinical Teaching Award” from Sioux Falls Family Practice Residency. “In terms of what we’ve developed here – it’s been unbelievable – beyond my wildest expectations,” Schultz said. “I’m really proud of what we’ve done but, more importantly, I believe that the key to pioneering a program is to bring in people as good, or better, than you are. And I’ve done that here. That’s how you continue the tradition of care into the future. “It’s been a tremendous joy to bring this back to my home – to where I grew up. It’s been very humbling to take care of people I’ve known all my life.”
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Growing the Program “If you want to succeed in anything, you have to be visionary – in terms of patient care and in terms of new technology. And, most importantly, determining how that technology best serves patients.” For Schultz and his team, that vision involves looking beyond the city limits of Sioux Falls to the broader region. The group serves 17 outreach sites in South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota. “We live in a very geriatric-rich area. The reality is, many people grow up here, move away and build their careers, then come back here to retire. For elderly people, we’ve seen that either due to transportation difficulties, the cost of gas, or other issues, our patients need us to come to them. So we go. What we’ve seen is that they’re willing to be advised and evaluated in their own communities, come to Sioux Falls to be treated, then return to their hometowns.” “The bottom line is that many people would choose not to receive care [if it meant having to travel back and forth]. We’ve made a commitment to the region to go to them. That’s been important.” “I think we’ve really developed a worldclass program with Sanford,” Schultz says, citing passion, a willingness to work hard and a vision for patient care as the keys to the program’s success. “We couldn’t have done this without Sanford and their vision too. They’ve been incredibly supportive.” Dave Melemseter, class of 1984, an executive with W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc., a medical device manufacturer, calls Schultz one of a kind. “When I think of Greg, two words come to mind: outcomes and outreach. I’ve
worked for device manufacturers for 16 years and have traveled all over North America. I have the unique perspective of having been in community hospitals and in major academic centers. I can say with complete objectivity that this guy is truly,
“You give back because of the students who are going to come. You give back because of the community that Augustana is; because of the amazing faculty – all of those are reasons you give back,” Schultz said.
“You give back because of the students who are going to come. You give back because of the community that Augustana is; because of the amazing faculty – all of those are reasons why you give back.” – Dr. Greg Schultz, Class of 1974 on his $1 million commitment to the science project and future plans to commit another $1 million for an endowed faculty position. truly good. The service he provides is, in my mind, truly remarkable,” Melemseter said. Giving Back After more than 30 years in medicine, Schultz, 60, says he still feels an “indescribable” sense of gratification from providing care to his patients. Still an active researcher, the future of medicine and science is always on his mind – not far from the memories of when he first discovered a love for the disciplines during his time at Augustana. That combination of past and future, fueled by the importance of the present, prompted Schultz and his wife, Karen (Augustana class of 1975), to put forth a $1 million commitment to Augustana’s recently announced science project. The couple is also planning to commit another $1 million into an endowed faculty position within the Natural Sciences.
“I thought a lot about Dr. Lansing Prescott. It was really early on in his career when I took his bio-chemistry course. Then I went to medical school and took bio-chem. Only then did I realize how outstanding Lansing’s class was. Bio-chem was a breeze for me in medical school because of Lansing’s class. I learned later that his textbook had become the major textbook for bio-chemistry across the country. He could’ve gone and taught whereever he wanted to teach.” “So I asked him why he had stayed here at Augustana. He looked at me for a second, then said, ‘it’s the students. They’re phenomenal.’ “The students at Augustana are phenomenal. I was fortunate enough to be one of them years ago. The concentration of really good kids is so high at Augustana. So, yeah, we’re excited to be able to give back to this place – and to watch what the kids that come through here will do.”
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Center for Western Studies Named Repository for Blue Cloud Abbey-American Indian Culture Research Center (AICRC) Collection The Center for Western Studies (CWS) has been named the repository for more than 4,000 books, 40,000 photographs and various artifacts from the Blue Cloud Abbey-American Indian Culture Research Center (AICRC) collection, previously housed at the Benedictine monastery near Marvin, S.D. Founded in 1950 and once called “an oasis of spiritual peace and beauty in the midst of our overly busy and distracted world,” Blue Cloud Abbey officially closed on August 5. Named after Blue Cloud, an elder member of the Yankton Sioux Tribe, much of the Abbey’s work over its 62 years had been closely tied to local American Indians. One of its founding members, Father Stan Maudlin, founded the AICRC at the Abbey in 1967. “We feel confident in trusting the materials from the American Indian Culture Research Center will be respected in their new home at the Center for Western Studies,” wrote Abbot Denis Quinkert, OSB. “The mission of the Center for Western Studies and the mission of the AICRC are similar in that we are both committed to doing all we can to preserve and interpret the rich history and vibrant cultures of the Northern Plains. Not only can CWS offer display and archival space for these important pieces of history, we will also work in conjunction with Augustana’s Mikkelsen Library
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to catalog the collection using the latest library technology, ensuring its accessibility to researchers around the globe,” said Dr. Harry Thompson, executive director of the Center for Western Studies. “We are excited, honored and humbled to become the new home for the AICRC collection and we pledge to preserve and celebrate its precious capsules of history so that others may learn from them.” Thompson said the Center will place a portion of the AICRC artifacts on display in the near future. AICRC Director Colleen Cordell will soon return items to the Sisseton Wahpeton Tribal Historic Preservation Office that were given to Fr. Stan and the AICRC for safe keeping over the years. Sioux Falls businessman Jeff Parker, in cooperation with Matt Parker, owner of Parker Transfer and Storage, volunteered their professional assistance in moving the books, photographs, and artifacts to the Center for Western Studies. CWS is also exploring plans to expand its museum space. In the past year, it added a compact shelving system for a portion of its archives and shelving for three-dimensional artwork. CWS recently announced that its endowment now exceeds $7 million following an aggressive fundraising campaign that raised more than $1.5 million, including a $300,000 challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).
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The NEH grant will benefit the Center’s Archives and Library, Art Program and Educational Exhibits, Dakota Conference, Publications and the Fantle Building. For more than 20 years, until the death of Fr. Stan in 2006, Dr. Thompson worked with Fr. Stan to place his personal papers at the Center. In 2007, in collaboration with the Eastman Kodak Co. and Jeffrey Hayzlett (‘83), then Chief Business Development Officer at Kodak, CWS published “Impressions of Tribal Life,” a collection of images from glass-plate negatives in the AICRC collection already at CWS. The book featured essays on photographer Fr. Ambrose Mattingly by Thompson and on Benedictine mission work with tribal communities by Dr. Herbert Hoover, USD professor emeritus of history. CWS serves as a repository for more than 500 substantive collections and maintains a library in excess of 36,000 volumes on the American West. The Center also supports Augustana’s program in Northern Plains Studies. The Center holds an extensive art and artifact collection, and sponsors annual events such as the Boe Forum on Public Affairs, the Dakota Conference and the Artists of the Plains Art Show. With more than 70 books to its credit, such as “A New South Dakota History,” the Center publishes works of enduring value to the people of the Northern Plains.
Explore. Discover. Create.
Distinction
Augustana is listed among “America’s Top Colleges” by Forbes based on quality of teaching, career prospects, graduation rates and low student indebtedness.
The College is consistently named a “Best Midwestern College” by The Princeton Review for its “excellent academic programs” and other significant accomplishments.
For the third consecutive year, Augustana is ranked among the nation’s top baccalaureate colleges by Washington Monthly for its efforts to advance social mobility, research and service.
For the second year in a row, Augustana was admitted to the President’s Higher Education Honor Roll for engaging students and staff in meaningful service that achieves measurable results in the community.
This fall, U.S. News ranked Augustana No. 3 among “Best Regional Colleges in the Midwest.” The study also listed the College No. 2 in the Midwest among “Best Value Schools.”
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Great Professors; Great Accomplishments As Augustana opened the 2012-13 academic year, the College also welcomed the following new full-time faculty members: Dr. Lisa Baye, lab instructor/lab coordinator, biology. Dr. Baye holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of St. Thomas and a Ph.D. from the Medical College of Wisconsin, where she studied in the Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy. Kim Dobson, assistant professor, education. Ms. Dobson holds a bachelor’s degree from Augustana College and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Southwest Minnesota State University. Dr. Nathan Grau, assistant professor, physics. Specializing in nuclear and particle physics, Dr. Grau earned his bachelor’s degree from Millikin University and holds a Ph.D. from Iowa State University. Dr. Landon Karr, assistant professor, art and anthropology. Dr. Karr holds a bachelor’s degree from Augustana and a Ph.D. in archaeology from the University of Exeter. Dr. Lindsay Laurich, assistant professor, education. Dr. Laurich holds a bachelor’s degree from Saint Mary’s University, a master’s degree in developmental reading from the University of Iowa, and a Ph.D. in language, literacy and culture from the University of Iowa. Dr. Steve Schultz, assistant professor, chemistry. Dr. Schultz holds a bachelor’s degree from Carleton College and a Ph.D. in chemistry/ biochemistry from the California Institute of Technology. He completed his post-doctorate work at Yale University and received his M.P.A. in Public Affairs from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Leigh Vicens, assistant professor, philosophy. Dr. Vicens holds a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College, a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, a master’s of divinity degree from Virginia Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Dr. Seasson Vitiello, assistant professor, biology. Dr. Vitiello earned her bachelor’s degree from Nazareth College. She completed her Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, followed by a post-doctoral research fellowship there and at Sanford Research/USD. Dr. Emily Wanless, assistant professor, government and international affairs/political science. Dr. Wanless earned her bachelor’s degree from Clemson University (political science major) and her master’s degree in political science from the University of Montana. She holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Georgia.
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“Actualistic Research into Dynamic Impact and its Implications for Understanding Differential Bone Fragmentation and Survivorship” by Dr. Landon Karr (Anthropology) appears in the November edition of the Journal of Archaeological Science. A second article titled “Bone Degradation and Environment: Understanding, Assessing, and Conducting Archaeological Experiments Using Modern Animal Bones” will be published in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology.
Crespin, and Carrie Eaves) was selected as one of 10 articles for inclusion in Legislative Quarterly’s Virtual Issue on Congressional Elections.
Dr. Adrien Hannus (Anthropology) presented a lecture in the “Preservation Thursday Lecture Series” at the South Dakota Humanities Council and the Homestake Adams Research and Cultural Center in Deadwood, S.D. The lecture was entitled, “The Village on the Bluff: Research at the Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village Site.”
Dr. Pilar Cabrera (Modern Foreign Languages) was invited to deliver a paper at the symposium “Sexual and Cultural Politics in Virgilio’s Theater,” which took place within the First International Festival of Virgilio Piñera’s Theatre sponsored by the University of Miami in August.
Dr. Lindsay Twa (Art) delivered a lecture titled “Art for Art’s Sake is a Luxury and a Lie: The Art of African Americans in an Era of Lynching” at Dakota State University as a part of a memorial exhibition on the lynching of Emmett Till. Dr. Seasson Vitiello (Biology) and Augustana students Heidi Nelson and Bethany Ahlers presented a poster entitled “Differential Gene Expression in a Yeast Model of Cystinosis: A Functional Genomics Study” at the Upper Midwest Clinical Genetics Conference in September. Dr. Daniel Howard (Biology) was awarded a US National Science Foundation Research Starter Grant for $50,000 to support his collaborative research in New Zealand. The proposal, titled “The Evolution of Vibrational Communication in Island Endemics: the Function, Fitness Implications, Ontogeny, and Phylogeny of Seismic Signaling in the New Zealand Deinacrida (giant weta)” includes funding for equipment, travel and support for Augustana undergraduate research students who will be traveling with Howard to New Zealand again this January to collect data for the research project. Shelly Gardner (Business Administration) and Sharon Gray (Computer Science) both earned their Sloan Consortium Online Teaching Certificate, the culminating credential of a sequence of courses focusing on excellent practice in online and blended course environments. Dr. Mike Nitz (Communication Studies) received a grant from the Norwegian government to study their coverage of our presidential election, continuation of research in 2004 and 2008. Dr. Karen Mahan (Education) was honored as the student of the year for Abraham S. Fischler School for Education at Nova Southeastern University. Christa Gunderson and Marlee Dyce (Education) attended the VRSII Symposium on Civility and Leadership in Salt Lake City, Utah. An article authored by Dr. Emily Wanless (Government and International Affairs/Political science) titled “Constituency Congruency and Candidate Competition in U.S. House Elections,” (co-authored with Dr. Jamie Carson, Dr. Michael
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Dr. Sherry Barkley (HPER) co-authored “Diabetes Medications: Guidelines for Exercise Safety” in the July-Sept issue of ACSM’s Certified News. Barkley also presented a poster titled “Evaluation of a Simple Intervention to Increase SelfEfficacy in Cardiac Rehab Participants” at the Nurse Research and Evidence Based Practice Conference sponsored by Sanford Health.
Dr. Lisa Babcock (Psychology) presented on “older adults can use distributed retrieval practice to learn names, but get little benefit from three retrievals” at the national convention of the Association for Psychological Science. Dr. Olivia Lima (Psychology) also presented at the Association for Psychological Science on “scaffolding with definitions and participation to improve preschoolers’ storybook word learning” and on “repeated storybook reading with elaboration shapes children’s behaviors.” Dr. Casey Trainor (Psychology) co-authored a chapter for the book “Sleep and CombatRelated Post-traumatic Stress Disorders.” The chapter title was “Genetics of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Sleep Disturbance.” Dr. Drew Alton (Physics) was awarded a $61,606 grant by the National Science Foundation in association with a larger collaborative project, “Collaborative Research: R & D Toward DarkSide-G2, a Second-Generation Direct Search for Dark Matter”. Dr. Ann Pederson (Religion) presented “A Christian Theology of Embodiment and the Imago Dei: Techno-Sapiens in Techno-Nature” for the International Society of Science and Religion. Her article “A Traveler’s Manifesto for Navigating the Creation,” will be published in the fall issue of Intersections, an ELCA publication. Dr. Chris Croghan (Religion) had an essay titled “A Theological ‘Who’, Not a Philosophical ‘What:’” Luther’s Exposition of Abraham and the Sacrifice of Isaac” accepted for publication in the internationally renowned journal Neue Zeitschrift für Systematische Theologie und Religionsphilosphie. The essay was co-authored with Sarah Stenson, associate director of the Luther House of Study. “Interdisciplinary Education in Palliative Care: Impact on Attitudes of Students in Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Social Work, and Chaplaincy” by Dr. Susan Schrader (Sociology) and Dr. Pamela Schroeder (Nursing) and others appears in the Fall issue of South Dakota Medicine. Schrader also presented her qualitative research titled “NonGrands and GrandDogs: The Experience of Grandchildlessness” at the Midwest Sociological Society meeting .
NEWS FROM THE HUDDLE
Preloger Named VP for Advancement
Mosaic Designed by Scott Parsons Unveiled at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport A floor mosaic designed by Augustana’s Scott Parsons ‘87, associate professor of art, was unveiled in October at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP). The 1,800-squarefoot floor mosaic, located in the Terminal 2-Humphrey, is made of epoxy terrazzo and was installed by Grazzini Brothers and Company. It features a brightly-colored mosaic that, Parsons says, reflects Minnesota’s landscape and history and the movement of people through time
and space as part of the larger human journey. “As airline passengers and visitors pass through this terminal, I want them to connect their own travels and adventures in Minnesota and beyond to this larger movement of history and discovery,” Parsons said. “The story of humanity is one of a great journey: in a sense, we are all travelers. We locate ourselves in the stories that evoke our comings and goings, affirmed by the imagery which guides us in our discoveries of
what might lay ahead and in our returning home,” Parsons said. The mosaic was produced as part of MSP’s Arts and Culture Program, administered through a partnership between the Airport Foundation MSP and the Metropolitan Airports Commission, a non-profit organization that operates the Travelers Assistance program, engages in airport beautification projects and works to enhance the overall experience of travelers.
SAVE THE DATE! The Augustana Library Associates will present “A Winter’s Tale: The License of Ink” at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 3, at the Mikkelsen Library. Call 605.274.4921 to reserve tickets.
Upcoming Thought Leader Forums:
The Augustana Summer Music Camp is set for June 9-14. Designed for grades 9-12, the camp will feature residential and nonresidential programs. For more information, contact Dr. Paul Nesheim at 605.274.5402.
Thursday, March 7: “Beyond Bin Laden: The Future of Global Terrorism,” featuring Dr. Jarret Brachman ‘00, NDSU research fellow and former director of research for the Combating Terrorism Center, West Point (USMA).
Thursday, Feb. 21: “Building the World’s Leading Airline: An Insider’s View,” featuring Mark Bergsrud ‘85, senior VP of marketing, United Airlines.
Tickets at www.augietickets.com
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Bob Preloger has been named Vice President for Advancement. In his new role, Preloger is responsible for the College’s fund raising and alumni initiatives, in addition to oversight for marketing and communications. He most recently served as Vice President for Marketing and Communications. “With more than three decades of experience in higher education, Bob is Bob well-suited to lead our Preloger Advancement team,” said Rob Oliver, president. “His knowledge and understanding of marketing, communications and enrollment strategies, combined with his commitment to and belief in this institution will be invaluable as we work to create an Augustana like never before.” Preloger joined Augustana in 1993 as Vice President for Enrollment. In 2004, he joined The Lawlor Group, a Minneapolis-based higher education marketing firm. He was named Vice President for Augustana’s Marketing and Communications department in 2006. Prior to Augustana, he served as Associate Dean for Enrollment for North Dakota State University and as Vice President for University Relations for Concordia University Chicago. He earned his B.A. and M.A. from Concordia University Chicago.
NSF Grant Funds High-Intensity Laser Augustana is part of the multi-institutional team that recently received a Major Research Instrumentation grant from the National Science Foundation. The $692,927 award funds a high-intensity tunable femtosecond laser to be located in the J.R. Macdonald Laboratory at Kansas State University. Collaborating institutions in addition to Augustana and Kansas State include the University of Kansas and Louisiana State University. Scientifically, the new laser system allows researchers to probe and control the inner workings of atoms and molecules. The infrared (1400-2200 nm) laser pulses produced with the new system will have durations of 10-14 femtoseconds, or only a few cycles of the electric field and faster than the vibrations and rotations of molecules. Augustana students make multiple trips each year to use the laser facilities at KSU as part of a collaboration dating back to 2004. As part of this work, more than 20 Augustana students have co-authored scientific articles in major peer-reviewed journals. The new laser system extends these opportunities. 13
SERVANT OF CARE
As a chief nursing officer for the largest Catholic healthcare system in the state of Illinois, Dr. Carole Miserendino, class of 1979, is committed to helping others get through ‘the tough stuff.’
A
t the tender age of nine, Dr. Carole Miserendino was already a practicing nurse. Clad in a make-shift nursing cap sewn by her older sister, she cared for her father, a World War II veteran, as he battled colon cancer in the family’s home in Lombard, Ill., a suburb of Chicago. The disease was relentless, ravaging his body for three long years before it eventually metastasized in his bones. He died when she was 12. That early experience of tending to her father solidified Miserendino’s desire to care for others in need and created the foundation for a career in nursing that has spanned the better part of three decades. “I always wanted to be a nurse. It allows me to be of service to other people, particularly at the bedside. It’s a chance to serve people’s physical, psychological and social needs.” Her Parents’ Dream Miserendino says her parents’ one wish was for their four children to attend college. It was a dream her father never had the chance to realize. After returning home from the war, he tried to attend college with hopes of becoming an engineer. But,
resonates with me. Of all of my alma maters, that’s what keeps Augie closest to my heart.” Miserendino also remembered Nelson and other Nursing faculty members stressing the importance of continued education. “They’d say, ‘Don’t let this be your end point in terms of your education.’ I took that to heart.” The Right Places at the Right Times Looking back on her career, Miserendino credits a series of mentors who identified her talents and led her to identify new opportunities. “I didn’t necessarily have a driven plan that said, ‘by this time I’ll be here.’ In many cases, I was at the right place at the right time. People saw my talents and pulled me along to where I needed to be. After graduating from Augustana in 1979, she took a nursing position in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Loyola University Medical Center. After a year, she entered Loyola University’s Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing to obtain her master’s degree, taking advantage of the organization’s tuition reimbursement program.
At the same time, her position with the University of Illinois was growing. She served as the assistant director of nursing and was eventually named chief nursing officer, a position she held until 2000. She went on to serve for some of the nation’s top consulting organizations, before joining the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, a 20-facility healthcare system. As vice president for interval nursing operations, she was responsible for providing clinical operations analysis, supporting infrastructure development for patient care services and serving as interim CNO as needed. She also oversaw much of the organization’s international nursing work, including the nursing functions of the Center’s hospital in Dublin, Ireland. The job required 100 percent travel and Miserendino, who was commuting from Pittsburgh to Illinois, says the time away from home was challenging. She made six trips to Dublin in six months. “I enjoyed the people and I enjoyed the work but 100 percent travel was tough.” Again, she says, she found herself led to a new opportunity. She currently serves as vice president of patient care services and chief nursing
“I see my role as one that serves people – patients and others. How do we make life easier for people?” – Dr. Carole Miserendino, Class of 1979 with a growing family to feed and clothe, his college plans were put on the backburner. He eventually made his career as a telephone installer. As the youngest in the family, Miserendino was set on making sure her parents’ dream was realized. Her determination led her to Augustana in the fall of 1975. As a nursing major, she counts Dr. Joyce Nelson, professor emerita of Nursing, among her most treasured mentors. “Joyce was just so special. She was a great lecturer. She’d come out with these phrases that, to this day, I still remember. ‘Start with people where they are and the situation as it is … then go from there,’ she’d say. She’d tell stories. And, she gave you stuff that would stick with you … not just for class, but for life. She was not only preparing you to be a good public health nurse, she was also preparing you to be a good person – to be a good leader going forward.” “She often talked about ‘bucket filling’ and ‘bucket emptying’ experiences. She’d tell us that, as nurses, we’d need to balance that. If our patients were drained, we’d need to find a way to help fill their buckets ... to replenish them. Joyce – and all of the nursing faculty then – they were teaching us far more than just nursing. They were preparing us for life. That still
After earning her master’s degree while working full time and completing her courses part time, she took a nursing manager position at a community hospital, overseeing the nursery with a component of her role assigned to the pediatrics unit. It was a rewarding experience, she says, especially the opportunity to work with families. “I have a certain degree of empathy. I think a lot about how ‘this could happen to me – I could be going through this, too.’ I remember the families of those kids that I took care of. They touched me. They were lovely people. On the night shift, we didn’t have open visitation so, oftentimes, parents weren’t there at night. Sometimes we were the surrogate parents to help kids get to sleep, give them hugs, make them comfortable.” She went on to become a clinical nurse specialist for the University of Illinois Hospital, where she used her critical thinking skills to problem solve, improve care processes and provide education to patients and staff. In 1994, after attending a conference on the challenges facing public health, she felt a calling to change course. She made the decision to pursue her doctorate in public health, health policy and administration.
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officer for Presence Health Resurrection Medical Center, a division of Presence Health Resurrection Health Care, the second largest healthcare system in Illinois and the largest Catholic healthcare system in the state. Every day, she says, she is reminded of why she chose a career in nursing and the important role nurses play in helping those in need. “I see my role as one that serves people – patients and others. How do we make life easier for people? How can we help them get through the tough stuff? Physicians are great – they know a lot, but they only get snippets of time with patients. As a nurse, you get more time to build a relationship and help people through whatever they’re struggling with.” “Among the best parts of my job is working with our staff – the care providers. I love when I hear stories from grateful patients about all of the people who touched their episode of care and created a positive experience. To be able to celebrate that, that’s the best. We’re here to help people and families through care processes and to make a difference in their lives. I love to celebrate success and acknowledge those who make a difference.”
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Accidental
the
RESEARCHER
Dr. David Bader, class of 1974, didn’t plan on a career in cardiovascular research. But a ruptured appendix and gentle guidance from Augustana science faculty members helped steer him down a path that has included service at some of America’s top medical research institutions.
Any scientist will tell you that the delicate maze of lines that curve and twist around our fingertips create an intricate pattern unique to every one of us – a signature stamp that stands the test of time. It doesn’t matter who we meet, where we travel, what we experience – those circular lines of who we really are remain unchanged. Dr. David Bader likes to say that dust from the rich soil of his hometown of Slayton, Minn., is still lodged deep within the circular swirls of his fingertips and still rests lovingly wedged underneath his fingernails. He’s worked for some of America’s premier medical research institutions – iconic giants like the University of Michigan, Cornell and Vanderbilt Universities – but he’s never forgotten where his roots are and he never underestimates the important role his Augustana biology professors played in helping him get to where he is today. Bader the Student One of four children, Bader’s father was a country doctor. He came to Augustana in 1970 planning to major in political science with hopes of one day going on to law school.
working road construction. About a year later, he was in Sioux Falls and decided to pay a visit to Augustana to see his former professors. “I ran in to [Professor of Biology] Dr. Leland Johnson. He asked me what I was doing and I told him I was working construction. He told me to think seriously about going to grad school.” Bader thought about it. He remembered with fondness a research project he’d worked on with his classmate John Sellevold titled “The Biology of Wintering Organisms.” He decided to give it a try and applied to graduate school at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. “There was a guy there – Dr. John Oberpiller – he was a really, really smart guy working in cardiovascular research. He allowed me to work on this really, really good project.” After UND, he completed his post-doctoral studies at the University of Michigan. He completed another post-doc at SUNYBrooklyn in New York City, then took a position teaching medical school and doing research at Cornell University, eventually rising to the rank of professor.
Bader the Researcher More than 17 years ago, while still at Cornell, Bader was recruited to an endowed chair at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., home of the largest repository of human DNA in the world. Today, at age 60, he serves as professor of medicine, professor of cell and developmental biology, holds the Gladys Parkinson Stahlman Chair in Cardiovascular Research and is chair of the institution’s Medical School admissions committee. He serves on the BRIN Advisory Board and has served as chair on committees for the National Institute of Health and the American Heart Association. He and his wife, Cathy, are the parents to John (Augustana class of 2008) and Will. “My whole career, I’ve studied heart development and regeneration. At its core, my research tries to understand the genetic basis of heart development and disease. We’ve made significant discoveries of genes that are important to heart and blood vessel development. ” He says he’s proud that his research, fueled by his own curiosity and training, has a direct impact on human health. “I’m just curious. Back in the day I
“To be a scientist you need to be patient and curious and observant.” – Dr. David Bader, Class of 1974 His plans changed quickly after he suffered a ruptured appendix during his freshman year. While in the hospital, he received a visit from Biology Professor Dr. Gil Blankenspoor. The visit made an impression on him. After taking time over J-Term to catch up on the work he had missed while sick, he changed his major to biology. “I just liked biology; I thought it was really fun. What’s interesting is that I thought biology would be really tough. It was the opposite. I understood all the equations.” And, he was curious. “Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always been curious. I remember being six or seven years old and being in my backyard. The charcoal grill was on. I put a can with dirt in it on the coals. My dad asked me what I was doing. I said, ‘I just want to know what happens when you put dirt on fire.’ I’m curious about everything. I don’t have an ‘off’ switch. I like nature. Evolution and nature are really interesting to me – from human behavior to molecules – this constant struggle that is life. Action and reaction – that’s life. That’s fascinating to me.” After getting good grades and graduating in 1974, he was still uncertain about his future. He’d thought about becoming a doctor and made what he calls a “half-hearted effort” to apply to med school but, he didn’t get in. “I would have gone, had I gotten in but, given who I think I am, the world and I are better off with what did transpire,” he said. So, he went home to Minnesota and began
“I wanted to go to graduate school because I liked college/university life. I like being around people who are always questioning things. I like the excitement of academics. I like the idea of doing … producing.” As a native of Minnesota and a graduate of a small, Lutheran liberal arts college in South Dakota, Bader admits he was an anomaly among his Ivy League colleagues. “Yeah, I stuck out – I was the only one who wasn’t from an Ivy League school. Yet, I’ve learned that these so-called ‘geographically challenged’ areas like the Dakotas or Minnesota are anything but challenged. I got a great education in my small town and got a great education at Augustana. I was never challenged as hard as I was in those settings. They set me up for what I was able to go ahead and do.” “My teachers inspired me but they also trained me well. After I started grad school I somehow got accepted into the Embryology course at Murine Biological Laboratories at Woods Hole, Mass. This was and remains the most prestigious and competitive class on Developmental Biology in the world. There were about 20 students and I was scared to death. Then, a funny thing happened. I realized that no student had a better understanding of the fundamentals of development than I did. My professors at Augustana inspired me but they also trained me. That training was the foundation for my career in science.”
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thought, ‘maybe I’ll use my curiosity to find things that might impact human health.’ You have to juxtapose curiosity with careful observation and protocol. If you want to determine what a specific gene’s function is, you might have to work for months or years to get the background you need to do the right experiment. To be a scientist you need to be patient and curious and observant. It’s art, too. It’s the idea that you’re creating an experimental model so that you can discover something – so that you’ll be able to see something that no one else saw before. You have to go through all this training to position yourself to where you can use your curiosity. I’m still curious – I’m getting old, but I’m still curious,” he says, laughing. “I had a wonderful childhood with loving parents and three beautiful sisters. I am also very fortunate to have classmates from kindergarten who have been life-long friends. I also got a great education at Augustana. I was as well-trained to do biomedical research as anyone – as any of my colleagues from any other institution. Yes, my innate curiosity and my work ethic were important, but beyond that technical aspect, the fact is my professors took the time to help me.” “I’m also so grateful to all the students, researchers and post-docs who have worked with me over the years – many of whom have their own labs now.” Today, he calls himself happily content. “I still love my job. I still love science, still love teaching, still love being at a university. And I’m not fat, yet,” he says, laughing.
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At the 17th Boe Forum on Public Affairs, former statesman and head of Google Ideas Jared Cohen shared how “21st Century Statecraft” and advances in technology are changing the world.
USING
TECHNOLOGY CHANGE TO DRIVE
In today’s world, where 4.2 billion people own a toothbrush but 5.2 billion own a mobile phone, technology and the virtual world it brings with it permeates every aspect of foreign policy, from revolutions to dealing with terrorism to traditional ‘statecraft.’ That was the message delivered by Jared Cohen, former advisor to Secretaries of State Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton, author, member of the Council on Foreign Relations and director of the “think/do tank,” Google Ideas, earlier this month at the Center for Western Studies’ Boe Forum on Public Affairs. More than 2,000 people filled the Elmen Center to hear Cohen, dubbed by The Washington Post and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government as one of six “Top American Leaders,” discuss “U.S. Foreign Policy and the Technological Revolution.” At 30 years old – yes, just 30 – Cohen is the youngest among an elite list of past Boe Forum speakers including Gen. Colin Powell, President of the former Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Vice President Al Gore, former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former President of Ireland Mary Robinson and other world leaders, all of whom were chosen to bring and discuss issues of current global concern to the region. The Forum was established in 1995 through an endowment by the late South Dakota Governor and Federal Judge Nils Boe and his sisters, Borghild and Lois. Don’t let Cohen’s age fool you. In the six years since he earned his master’s degree from Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar, Cohen’s already lived what some might say is a lifetime’s worth of experiences. He first gained national recognition in 2009, two years before the now-famous Arab Spring, a season that saw millions take to Twitter as a way to communicate and organize plans for political and social revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and other countries, while on assignment in Iran. On the ground in Tehran, Cohen witnessed intense post-2009 election protests boiling over first-hand. As a member of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s State Department Policy Team, he urged his friend Jack Dorsey, co-founder and chairman of Twitter, to postpone routinely scheduled maintenance of Twitter.com until after the election protests. The social media site, Cohen argued, was the only outlet Iranians had to voice what was truly happening in their country. His support of the medium and his outreach to Dorsey were included on CNN’s “Top 10 Internet Moments of the Decade,” along with the launch of Facebook and the introduction of the iPhone. It also led to the Obama administration’s endorsement and use of “21st Century Statecraft,” defined as using technology to advance U.S. interests abroad. In 2010, he left the State Department to become the head of Google Ideas, a think/do tank that convenes unorthodox
stakeholders, commissions research, and seeds initiatives to explore the role that technology can play in tackling some of the toughest human challenges. As a student, and during his career, Cohen has conducted research in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan, and Africa. As part of his research, he has interviewed members of Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, and the Taliban. He is the author of “Children of Jihad” and “One Hundred Days of Silence.” In Sioux Falls, as he spoke to a crowd that spanned the generations, Cohen explained how technology intersects with policy and geo-politics. “Iran is just one example where the smartphone was a gateway to freedoms and liberties people didn’t have,” he said. “[Iranians] were using technology to organize and do things they weren’t allowed to do per their government.” Cohen predicted that technology will help spur more revolutions in the future. “They’ll happen faster and they’ll be easier to start. Technology doesn’t start revolutions. It just makes it easier for them to spread. What used to be born in private is now born in public.” To that end, he also stressed that revolutions in the future will be harder to finish. “Over time, you’ll have to ‘back-fill’ the celebrity activists with leadership skills. In the past, people were leaders before they became celebrities. Now, people are celebrities then leaders.” Cohen, who was in Egypt at the time of the 2011 revolution, joked that he had something in common with members of the Augustana Band who were also trapped in the country at the same time while on a performance tour. “We were both stranded in Egypt and our mothers were worried about us,” he said. Today, Cohen calls Egypt a failed state, arguing that the mid-east revolutions haven’t produced new leaders. “The Arab Spring still has many cycles to play out before we can say it was successful.” He said the future of terrorism keeps him up at night as he thinks about the vulnerabilities of the physical and cyber world. For the most part though, he tries to remain optimistic. “In economic terms, I’d say I’m short on terrorists thriving in the new digital age and I’m long on terrorists suffering in the new digital world. Terrorists of the future have to opt in to technology in order to be relevant.” He shared how a Navy SEAL friend was working in Pakistan to hunt an illusive terrorist. Once the terrorist called a relative in Afghanistan to RSVP to a family wedding, the military traced the call. “The reality is, they’ll leave a digital trail. Even terrorists make mistakes.” In the future, Cohen said governments need to expect that the number of virtual citizens will out-number physical citizens because people can have more than one virtual identity. He predicts “massive turbulence” for governments who are trying to make sense
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of it all and make out “what’s noise” and “what’s real.” That turbulence, Cohen said, will lead to governments attempting to replicate the laws of the physical world in the cyber world. “I believe the Internet will Balkanize,” he said. “Through filtering, the Internet will look different in every country. States will band together to edit the web. The cyber alliances that will form around collective editing may look different than alliances in the physical world.” That could lead to big changes for Internet-based commerce. “How will an entrepreneur from South Dakota open an Internet business in China? Will he need to apply for a Chinese Visa,” Cohen asked. During his visit, Cohen also took time to talk with journalism students from Augustana and area high schools where he encouraged them to “follow things you’re interested in.” He used his own story as an example, explaining that he went to college intent on becoming an anthropologist. As a student, he spent a semester in Kenya “herding sheep and listening to old people and found out I was a terrible anthropologist.” He says he hitchhiked to Rwanda, not knowing a great deal about the genocide that had decimated countless families a decade earlier. He took a cab to the Congo and snuck across the border via a banana truck in order to learn the history firsthand from the people who’d lived it. “You can’t really plan for these types of things that chart the course of your life,” he told the students. “It’s OK to not have it all planned out.” He told students that while social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are paving the way for unprecedented connectivity, they’re also enabling users to create digital timelines and histories. He stressed the need for users to remain vigilant about their privacy. People today are publishing everything they do from the time they’re a sonogram inside their mothers’ bellies, Cohen said. “Parents should talk to their kids about privacy and security before they talk to them about safe sex,” he said, predicting the future potential for “casualties of social media,” especially for public figures. “Technology,” he explained, “doesn’t fix bad behavior. It’s a tool. Humans determine what they use the tool for. We can’t use technology as an excuse for not being good people.” “We’re going to proliferate content about ourselves. We’re going to meet far more people virtually than we will physically. What that means is that online identity becomes more and more important. Our online identity is shaped not only by content we put out about ourselves but also by content others put out about us. It means that who we are online becomes a management task. Managing and curating who we are online becomes sort of the seminal task of our time.”
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Dr. Susan Hasseler shares her thoughts on her first four months as Augustana’s new senior vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college.
Meet the
DEAN
Q. What excites you most about your role here? A. The Academic Affairs Office often compares our role to that of trainmasters in a busy railway station. We are constantly working with division and department chairs, 250 full and part-time faculty, and directors of multiple programs, centers and institutes to not only avoid collisions but to provide a coherent and meaningful educational journey for every student who chooses Augustana as their college destination. I am lucky to have a great leadership team who makes this complicated task possible. The infinite number of opportunities to learn and explore in this complex world excites me. The dual role of Dean of the College – with its focus on providing support and accountability to faculty, staff and students as we try to truly live the College mission – and Vice President of Academic Affairs, with its focus on making connections with partners on- and off-campus, excites me. The challenge of combining a firm grounding in a rich faith and educational tradition with new and innovative approaches to doing higher education excites me. The presence of a group of talented, committed and energetic colleagues and students excites me. There is so much to build on and so much to be done. I can’t imagine a job I would enjoy more right now. Q. What are your impressions of the College after your first few months on the job? A. When I was greeting faculty and staff as they returned to campus this fall, many of them asked, “How was your summer?” I found myself frequently responding to that question with the statement, “It was wonderful.” I realized after saying this a few times that this wasn’t simply a social pleasantry, it was an accurate description of how I felt about my first few months at Augustana and how I continue to feel about the College. It is a place full of opportunities for wonder – used both as a noun and a verb! Of course, when you take on a new position in a new institution, you wonder about so many things connected with the place and the people in it. I continue to learn more about the deeply held beliefs and values of this place every day. I’ve had some vivid opportunities to experience an unexpected state of wonder in the past few months, including hearing amazingly
articulate student presentations about the life cycle of the burying beetle and the potentially healing properties of cruciferous vegetables as part of our extensive student-faculty summer research program; learning about Lakota culture through art exhibitions and speakers at the Center for Western Studies; seeing magnificent stained glass windows and mosaic floors created by one of our many talented Art Department faculty; hearing our Augustana Choir sing in Chapel with precision and beauty after only three weeks of rehearsals; being treated to lunch by our Augustana Student Association leadership team and hearing their plans and goals for the coming year; standing in our state-ofthe-art stadium cheering for the football team, who is part of a group of studentathletes who have been recognized in multiple venues for their academic achievement; traveling to Mitchell, S.D., to see the fascinating archeological site being excavated by faculty and students from our Anthropology program; welcoming new international students who will be enriching the learning experience for all of us; and engaging in rigorous debates about ways to do our work better with my leadership team, department chairs, and faculty. Just like our students, I’ve been brought into new worlds of art and culture, have seen research into the cycles of life and death, have witnessed examples of transformative leadership and have engaged in challenging conversations about how we can make our mission real. I know I am in the company of passionate thinkers and learners. My impression after four months on the job? Augustana is a wonderful place and I am delighted to be here. Q. Any major goals or initiatives planned for the future? A. One of the most important goals of higher education is to engage all the participants (students, staff and faculty) in ever-widening circles of exploration that broaden their perspectives and prepare them to serve wherever they are called to live. We need to constantly review our educational programs to make sure we are providing the most powerful learning experiences we can to accomplish this goal. The new science facilities planning process is providing an excellent opportunity for us to make our educational program even better as we design new spaces to support teaching, facultystudent research and other innovative programs in the natural and health
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sciences. Another major initiative that is engaging faculty, staff and students from across the campus is a complete review of the General Education Plan, the framework for the broad liberal arts education that provides a foundation for specialized study in our 52 majors. In addition to reshaping many of the disciplinary and interdisciplinary “areas” from which our students select courses, faculty, student services staff, and students are working together to design an integrated first-year experience that pulls together knowledge from multiple disciplines while connecting new students with peer and adult mentors who will help them successfully navigate the college experience. The growing number of international students who choose to study at Augustana and the increasing involvement of our North American students in study abroad experiences is providing us with great opportunities to think about how we integrate global perspectives throughout the whole curriculum. A growing and dynamic local community is providing more and more opportunities for internships and other community-based learning that we need to explore and develop. My goal is to provide the encouragement, support and resources for this wonderful group of faculty, staff and students to design powerful learning experiences like the ones I’ve just described and envision even more possibilities as we create an Augustana like never before. Q. Despite the challenges that continue to face the economy, Augustana continues to thrive with high job placement rates, national recognition and major capital improvements planned, just to name a few. Coming from the “outside,” can you put a finger on what makes this place so successful? A. Augie’s most powerful resource is its people, of course. Energized, talented, and hard-working students and the dedicated families who make it possible for them to be here; creative faculty who embody the true teacher-scholar model; leaders who keep an eye on the future while enjoying the present; fascinating alumni who stay closely connected while serving all over the world. I believe Augustana continues to thrive because it is made up of people deeply committed to living out our mission in daily life – a mission that is built on a rich tradition but lives in the present and seeks to shape the future.
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NAVY & GOLD
Field of Dreams After playing baseball in the basement of Bergsaker Hall, Don Karras, class of 1976, dreamed of the day when Augustana might have first-class playing and practice facilities. Today, his dream is a reality.
D
on Karras, class of 1976, grew to love baseball as a kid, watching his favorite player, the great Roger Maris, on TV. From the crack of the bat, to the the green of the outfield, to the feel of a worn leather glove, to Karras, the game had it all. When Karras came to Augustana in the early 1970s, the College’s Baseball program was growing. The facilities to support it, on the other hand, were not. “I remember playing ball in the basement of Bergsaker Hall,” Karras says, laughing. After graduating, he watched with interest as Viking baseball continued to evolve. In 1993, Ronken Field, the first on-campus baseball diamond, was dedicated following an estate gift from Maurus and Anna Ronken. Then, in 2011, Lee “Goldy” Goldammer made a lead gift to the College’s “Step Up to the Plate” field renovation project to provide a synthetic turf surface for the infield of the venue. Inspired by the momentum, Karras and his wife, Donna, decided to make a naming gift to renovate the existing baseball stadium on campus earlier this year. Work began on the project this spring. In October, Karras visited the soon-to-be-complete Karras Park at Ronken Field, a state-of-the-art facility that features a new grandstand, press box, dugouts, suite, back stop and netting system. In addition, Augustana was recently awarded a grant in the amount of $84,700 from Major League Baseball’s Baseball Tomorrow Fund (BTF). The grant will provide funding for the purchase and installation of Musco Lighting equipment at Ronken Baseball Field at Karras Park. Standing on the field for the first time this fall, Karras’ joy and excitement was palpable. It’s a far cry from the basement of Bergsaker, he said, with a laugh. Karras, a business administration and economics major at Augustana, went on to earn a master’s of business administration degree and law degree from the University of South Dakota in 1980 and 1981, respectively. A native of Sioux Falls, Karras pulled double duty in athletics and the arts while a student at Augustana. He was on the baseball team in 1973 and 1975 and was a member of The Augustana Choir from 1972 to 1976 during semesters in which he wasn’t playing baseball. Karras served as vice president of Newmont Mining Corporation from 1992 until his retirement in 2006. He is currently active in men’s senior baseball in Colorado and South Dakota. He resides in Denver, Colo., and Keystone, S.D., with his wife, Donna. They have two sons, Dane and Dillon, Augustana class of 2010.
Viking Athletics
Hall of
Fame CLASS OF 2012
In addition to inducting new members into the Athletic Hall of Fame, members of Augustana’s 1982 women’s tennis team were also recognized for the 30th anniversary of their North Central Conference championship at this year’s Hall of Fame banquet, held Friday, Oct. 5, during Viking Days. Led by Karen Bernard and Maria Bell, the Vikings swept the doubles competition and won three singles matches to capture the NCC title with 43 points. ABOVE: (Left to right) Coach Sandy Jerstad, Karen Swanson, Maria Bell, Becky Hatch, Karlee Greblin, Dawn Herrick, Brenda Pederson, Cindy Ballentine and Karen Bernard. Not pictured: Jan Johnson and Sarah Rowen.
The new inductees of the 2012 Class of the Augustana Athletic Hall of Fame were honored on Friday, Oct. 5, during Viking Days 2012. Lee Pulse, Class of 1994 A native of Kimball, S.D., Pulse excelled in football and wrestling at Augustana, achieving All-America status as a somewhat undersized heavyweight on the mat, and becoming a school record holder on the gridiron. During the 1992 season he was named the North Central Conference defensive player of the week after recording a dozen tackles, two quarterback sacks, and a fumble recovery in a 20-7 win over the University of North Dakota. Augustana did not win a game in 1991, but Pulse played a role in a resurgent 1992 campaign that saw the Vikings go 8-3 and finish third in the NCC. He was credited with 54 tackles, including a team-leading 10 for loss, and earned honorable mention on the all-conference team. In 1993, Pulse logged 44 tackles in a 4-7 season and tied the individual game record with three sacks against North Dakota State University. That season he served as a team captain. He was named to the Academic All-NCC football team and was a second team all-conference choice. On the mat, he compiled a 70-39 career record. From 1992-1994, he became a threetime All-America with fourth, second, and third place finishes at the national tournament. Following the 1992 season, he was named the Vikings’ most valuable wrestler. Today, Pulse is the co-owner of Kimball Clark LLC, Central Dakota Guide Services LLC, Original Kimball Popcornball LLC, and PHO Properties/Parkway Campground. Brian Wolf , Class of 1982 Wolf holds the school record for most points scored in the decathlon (7,111). He claimed back-to-back NCC decathlon crowns in 1981 and 1982. He won the 400 intermediate hurdles at the 1982 NCC meet in 52.79 seconds and in 1981 with a time of 52.89. He qualified for the 1981and 1982 NCAA meets in the decathlon and 400 intermediate hurdles scoring points in both events, both years. In 1985, he placed fifth at the National Indoor Pentathlon Championships. He went on to set the American record for the fastest single run in US bobsled history and was the national bobsled two-man champion in 1987. A volunteer fireman for four years, he won five gold medals at the 1996 World Fire Fighter Games. At age 50, he completed an Ironman Triathlon. Away from sports, Wolf writes a column for the Herald Journal called “Insider Financial.” He teaches an insurance ethics course at Kaplan Professional Schools and is the author of “Please Pass the Memories.”
Sara Yager Junkermeier, Class of 1999 As the undisputed leader of the 1997-98 women’s basketball team, Yager started all 27 games and led the team in scoring (16.6) and rebounding (9.7). She shot 53 percent from the field and 74 percent from the free-throw line. She was named to the Daktronics Division II All-Region second team. In her four seasons, the Vikings went 70-39 and advanced to the NCAA postseason in 1996-97. She never experienced a losing season with the Vikings. Yager is the 12th leading scorer in Augustana women’s basketball history with 1,309 points. She is tied for second place for most field goals in a game (16). She is third in career rebounds (885) and third in blocked shots (149). She is tied for third for most blocks in a game (8). She was named to the All-Academic NCC team in 1998. Today, she teaches seventh grade health/ physical education at Fairmont junior/senior high school in Fairmont, Minn. Ole Odney Award: Erika Paladino-Hazlett, Class of 1997 Paladino-Hazlett became Sioux Falls Lincoln’s head volleyball coach at age 21. During her tenure, she took the Patriots to 12 consecutive state tournament appearances. Her teams won three state championships and were runners-up twice. Her won-loss record with the Patriots is 277-145. She was a driving force in switching the South Dakota volleyball season from summer to fall, putting the state on equal footing with programs throughout the nation. Paladino-Hazlett played four years at Augustana College. She helped the Vikings to a pair of North Central Conference championships, and was named NCC defensive player of the year in 1996. She was an Academic All-Conference choice and graduated magna cum laude. During her tenure at Lincoln, she was named Greater Dakota Conference coach of the year in 2000, 2003, and 2011. She was chosen Lincoln coach of the year in 2000, 2007, and 2010. She was named the 2011 South Dakota High School Coaches Association volleyball coach of the year. Today, she is the supervisor of specialized programs for the Sioux Falls School District. Lefty Olson Award Jeff McCarron, Class of 1975 In 1972, McCarron was a member of the University of Minnesota’s Big Ten Conference championship men’s basketball team. He then transferred to Augustana, where he played for Mel Klein in 1973-74 and 1974-75. He helped the Vikings to a 36-18 record in two seasons, including a 19-5 showing in North Central Conference play. The 1974-75 team was the NCC runner-up and four of the play-
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ers are in the Augustana Athletic Hall of Fame. McCarron began working in basketball camps in 1976 and created Pacesetter Sports in 1980. He has been a basketball camp clinician and the director of all Pacesetter activities for the past 32 years. Since starting Pacesetter, McCarron has helped provide over 3,500 programs for more than 250,000 young athletes. He has also been the publisher of Minnesota Basketball News since 1994. Honored Coach: Ted Kessinger, Class of 1963 Kessinger served as an assistant football coach for 12 years at Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., and at Augustana College in Sioux Falls. In 1976, he accepted the head coaching post at Bethany College in Kansas. He compiled a 219-57-1 record In 28 seasons at Bethany. His teams won or shared 16 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) titles, and he was named conference coach of the year 11 times. The Swedes were ranked in the final NAIA top 25 poll 20 times and made 13 NAIA playoff appearances during his tenure. Almost 400 of his players earned all-KCAC honors, 43 received NAIA All-America recognition, and 49 were NAIA Scholar Athletes. When he retired in 2003, Kessinger was the winningest active coach in victories and winning percentage in the NAIA. In 1979, he received the Ole Odney Award from Augustana College (S.D.) He was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. In 2010, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Milt and Clara Harvey Award: Lee and Karen Larsen Lee ’68 and Karen ‘67 Larsen began their association with Augustana as students. Lee played football and Karen played in the band. The Larsens have been Athletic Club/ Booster Club members since 1978. They have generously supported the annual Athletic Club Auction as contributors and volunteers, and Lee serves on the Athletic Club board of directors. Financial contributions to capital projects include the Elmen Center, the Elmen Center Enhancement Project, and Kirkeby-Over Stadium. The Larsens funded the student/athlete banners that hang in the Sanford Practice Gym, and the keepsake softball/baseball bats for the participants who have set records in those sports. In 2002, Lee spearheaded the WEBS Weight Room effort as part of the Elmen Center Enhancement project.
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Ask anyone and you’ll hear the same story: Larry Borgum was navy and gold from head to toe. *** This summer, Augustana said goodbye to one of its most beloved figures and one of its most loyal fans .
Remembering
Borgie
L
arry Borgum ‘61, a longtime and beloved Athletics and Financial Aid administrator for Augustana, died on Monday, Aug. 6, in Sioux Falls. He was 73. Borgum joined Augustana in 1967 and served in various roles during his tenure, supporting Athletic Services, Sports Information, the Athletic Business Office and Financial Aid. Before he retired in 2009, he served as associate director of Financial Aid and manager of Athletics Statistics. “Augustana has lost one of its truly unique characters. Borgie, as all who knew him well called him, was Augustana Vikings loyal – navy and gold from head to toe,” said Director of
went – when Augustana won, they were great but, when the Vikings lost, Borgie said they were rotten. A loyal Viking, that Borgie!” “Athletes who got their ankles taped in the 50s and 60s by Larry are still recovering today. And Borgie’s spirit is still floating in the clouds above the Edith Mortenson Center on campus, which in the 70s and 80s was the old gym and affectionately dubbed ‘The BorgieDome’ in honor of Larry. I’m certain memories of the time Larry miraculously ran the College’s athletic transportation system are still vivid in the minds of numerous student-athletes.” “Through all the fun memories of
Others remember him fondly, as well. “Borgie impacted my days at Augie as he was someone I could turn to for guidance in times when I needed it. I cherish the many valuable discussions I had with him while I was a student, and we know there was not a more loyal Viking fan than Borgie,” said Lee Pulse, class of 1994. “Larry Borgum exemplified loyalty, honor and tradition, qualities that are rarely seen today and are only taught by example,” said Erika Paladino-Hazlett, class of 1997. Borgum was a member of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, the Sports Information Director’s Association, the
“Larry Borgum exemplified loyalty, honor and tradition, qualities that are rarely seen today and are only taught by example.” – Erika Paladino-Hazlett, Class of 1997 Athletics Bill Gross. “From his student-manager days at the College in the late 50s/early 60s, to his time as everything from trainer, sports information director, athletic department business manager, admissions representative and financial aid associate, Borgie was Mr. Augie. He knew the school like the back of his hand.” “Over the years, Larry attended a multitude of athletic, musical and social events at the College. He loved to smile and laugh and tell stories. Borgie also had lots of friendly advice for the coaches on who they should be playing. And as far as the officials
Borgie, one thing stands out. Larry truly loved Augustana, its traditions and its people. Borgie gave his heart and soul to Augustana College and he had a positive impact on countless young people. So when all is said and done, there is just one thing to say: thank you, Lord, for blessing Augustana College with Larry Borgum,” Gross said. A native of Rapid City, S.D., Borgum graduated from Augustana in 1961, majoring in math and psychology. Prior to joining Augustana, he taught and coached at schools in Garretson and Lennox.
South Dakota Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, Augustana Fellows, the Heritage Club and the Augustana Athletic Club. He was awarded the “Augie Pride” award for exceptional service to the College in 2001. In 1984, he was inducted into the North Central Conference Hall of Fame. In 1994, he was awarded the Lefty Olson Award for significant lifetime service or achievement in athletics or athletic administration. The Larry Borgum Scholarship Fund at Augustana has been established to honor Borgum’s memory.
REGIONAL CHAMPIONS!
Bottom row, left to right: Nathan Hauge, Shane McCallum, Harald Karbo, TJ Gleason, Pal Yak, Ryan Evans, Travis Beniak. Top row, left to right: Coach Tracy Hellman, Maddy Jourgenson, Kaitlyn Yoerg, Kristin Brondbo, Kyle Blakeslee, Leah Black, Molly Kokes, Runa Falch, Gabi Swoboda, Graduate Assistant Dan Allen.
On Saturday, Nov. 3, Augustana men’s and women’s cross country swept the Central Region meet with both teams placing their top five individual runners 12th or higher to win the region championships. This marks the first region title for the women’s team and the second for the men. Augustana’s men last won the region title in 1991. In October, after the Viking swept the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championships for the fourth straight year, Head Coach Tracy Hellman earned NSIC coach of the year for both the men’s and women’s teams.
NEWS FROM THE HUDDLE
Augustana Ranked Among Top NCAA Schools for Academic, Athletic Success Augustana ranks high in both academics and athletics in the 10th annual NCSA Athletic Recruiting Collegiate Power Rankings. Augustana is ranked fourth among NCAA Division II schools and 28th amongst 1,066 active NCAA member schools. The NCSA Athletic Recruiting power rankings assess the academic and athletic standards of all NCAA athletic programs across the country. The rankings were developed to help prospective student-athletes and their families evaluate the particular strengths of the top colleges and universities at the Division I, II and III levels. Augustana is the only school listed in the overall top 100 from South Dakota or North Dakota.
Fewer than six percent of colleges and universities earned a spot in the NCSA top 100 for 2012, Augustana is in this elite class. The Collegiate Power Rankings from NCSA Athletic Recruiting are calculated for each college and university by averaging studentathlete graduation rates, academic rankings provided by U.S. News and World Report and the strength of athletic departments as determined by the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup. Last year, Augustana won its second straight Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference/U.S. Bank All-Sports Award and was No. 4 in the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup standings. Augustana finished third
in 2010-11 and 11th in 2009-10. The NSIC announces All-Academic recipients following the fall, winter, and spring seasons, and 142 Augustana studentathletes were honored in 2011-12. In addition, Augustana had three academic All-America honorees last year, including Cody Lensing who was awarded the Dr. William Britton Scholar-Athlete Award for Academic Excellence from the NSIC. Lensing was also awarded the Elite 89 award for wrestling, which is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating in the finals site for each of the NCAA’S 89 championships.
2012 Grad Commissioned as U.S. Air Force Officer When class of 2012 graduate Lynae Fisher was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force earlier this fall, she became Augustana’s first Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program graduate to be commissioned as an Air Force officer. Lynae In doing so, she followed in the Fisher footsteps of her mom, U.S. Air Force Reserve Major General (Ret.) Linda Hemminger Fisher, Augustana class of 1974, who served in the Air Force Reserve for 33 years as a nurse, commander, and deputy joint staff surgeon. Lynae’s father, the Honorable Martin Fisher, is also an Augustana alumnus and a member of the class of 1974. Fisher, an Exercise Science and Fitness Management major from Adair, Iowa, joined ROTC as a sophomore, the first year the Air Force ROTC Detachment 780 from South Dakota State University (SDSU) offered the
cross-town program to Augustana. The program, offered at more than 1,000 colleges and universities nationwide, is designed to prepare participants to become Air Force officers. Courses for the program, which include classroom and lab work, are held once or twice a week at SDSU. In addition to classes, extra activities, and leadership positions within the detachment, she was required to be in Brookings several times a week. As an ROTC student, Fisher also participated in training sessions in Alabama and Mississippi. Following her commissioning, Fisher reported to California for six months to train for her new role as a Space and Missile Operations Officer. Her permanent assignment will be at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Mont., where she’ll serve for the next four years.
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Education of Deaf and Hard of Hearing (EDHH) Program Approved for Expansion Following two national panels and 25 years of research, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights is calling for improved education for deaf students in order to meet their unique communication and related needs. And, beginning this fall, Augustana students majoring in the Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing will be one giant step closer to meeting that national charge. Following a recent vote of approval by the South Dakota Department of Education, Augustana’s existing K-12 Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (EDHH) Program will expand to a Birth through Age 21 Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program. Augustana continues to be the only Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing program in the region. Dr. Monica Soukup, associate professor of Education; Julie Simko, professor and certification officer; and Dr. Sharon Andrews, associate professor of Education, collaborated to write the proposal, which had the full endorsement of Augustana’s Education Department. “Over the last 30 years, there’s been a shift from educating Deaf and Hard of Hearing students in self-contained classrooms to inclusive settings within general education schools. Therefore, teachers of the Deaf must be prepared to work with students who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing in various educational placements,” said Soukup. “In addition, universal newborn screening, innovations in assistive listening devices, and early intervention services have created a demand for teachers of the Deaf to be prepared to work with infants and toddlers who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing. As a result, the curriculum in college programs training teachers of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing must include content and experiences that enhance the development of knowledge and skills for serving Deaf and Hard of Hearing children ages birth to 21 who are using the newest listening technology and receiving services in a variety of settings.” According to Soukup, the change will benefit the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community. It will also improve the certification process for Augustana’s EDHH graduates. “[Even before this change, Augustana had] been incorporating the [birth-21] information and experiences into our coursework,” she said. “This change will make the certification processes easier for graduates.” In addition, Augustana was recently reaccredited by the Council on Education of the Deaf (CED).
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VIKING DAYS 2012
In celebration of the 84th annual Viking Days, Augustana found itself “Going for the Blue And Gold� at Coronation, the reunions, the parade, Varieties, the game and the Blue & Gold Gala!
Seniors Dylan West, Farmington, Minn., and Sanna Horsley , Sioux Falls, S.D., were crowned King and Queen of Viking Days 2012 during the “Opening Ceremonies and Coronation Show” at the Elmen Center. Joining West and Horsley as members of the Royal Court were seniors Maren Engel, Owasso, Okla.; Kayla Gerlach, Stickney, S.D.; Coral Hanson, Andover, Minn.; Kelly Wong, Custer, S.D.; Paul Berndt, Mankato, Minn.; Adam Jorde, McLean, Va.; Gentry Pletts, Chanhassen, Minn.; and Thad Titze, Watertown, S.D.
ABOVE: Members of the Augustana Percussion Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. John Pennington, performed “Stick Schtick” at Viking Varieties. BELOW: Dr. Paul Nesheim directs The Augustana Choir, Angelus and the Collegiate Chorale in “The National Anthem” before the homecoming football game at Kirkeby-Over Stadium.
ABOVE: Dr. Sandra Looney ‘62 shared “A Viking Chronicle: Your Stories and Mine” at the Thought Leader Forum on Friday. BELOW: Thousands filled Kirkeby-Over Stadium as the Vikings lost to Minnesota State.
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ABOVE: Senior New Student Orientation (NSO) leaders Sara Weinreis (left) and Erin Schoenbeck served warm breakfast during the parade. BELOW: Nearly 200 students, community members, faculty and staff registered for the inaugural Langskip 5K, which looped around campus twice from Grange Avenue to 28th Street to Summit Avenue. The race, organized by the Augustana Running Club, finished on Morstad Field and raised $500 for Special Olympics South Dakota.
ABOVE: Peder Malchow ‘91, Heather (Stevens) Malchow ‘91 and their daughters, Adrienne Malchow, class of 2015, and Claudia Malchow, enjoyed the parade outside Stavig Hall. BELOW: Michelle (Wolfhoff) Connor ‘87 and Mary (Hey) DeMarce ‘87 lead a game of Augustana trivia at the 1987 class reunion at CJ Callaway’s.
ABOVE LEFT: Aaron Beukelman ‘97, Liz (Enstad) Wimmer ‘97 and Paul Krueger ‘97 caugh up at the 1997 class reunion. ABOVE RIGHT: Melissa Berkland ‘02, Becca (Anderson) Warren ‘02, Jennifer (Flo) Severson ‘02 and Crystal (Peterson) Johnson ‘02 at the Class of 2002 10-year reunion.
BELOW: Dr. Gene Hoyme ‘72 talks with Corrine (Mikkelson) Granske ‘72 and Greg Ganske at the Class of 1972 40-year reunion.
CLASS OF 1962 50-YEAR REUNION: ROW 1: Bob McKay, Ruth (Beatty) O’Neal, Howard Bich, Reuben Peterson, Gary Brendtro, David L. Bonthuis. ROW 2: Ardella (Olson) Huston, Martha (Rogness) Vetter, Kathy (Stoneall) Hibbert, Virginia (Schmidt) Odney, Rachel (Olson) Burggraaf, Marlene (Hage) Pruitt, Nadine (Merritt) Larson, Kathy (Naiman) Rolfing, Norma (McLane) Haan, Mary (McLane) Plender, Jean (Sunde) Peterson, Kalley (Georgopoulos) Johnson, Carol (Nelsen) Miedema. ROW 3: Mary (Oines) Bauer, Linda (Bethune) Ritchie, Judy (Blegen) Blomquist, John Blomquist, Phyllis (Munson) Olson, Roger Stordahl, Sandra (Olsen) Looney, Roberta (Peirce) Trooien, Sylvia (Ruesink) Ferguson, Mary Ann (Niedringhaus) Lund, Marilyn (Ching) Abraham, Evelyn (Kinney) Burkouse, Janell (Jucht) Beck, Joan (Gullickson) Halverson, Mary (Kelly) Brendtro. ROW 4: Caryl (Pederson) Funk, Tandra (Bottger) Wright, R. David Nelson, John Aasan, Art Montgomery, Dorothea (Olsen) Bukont, Bill Rathburn, Bill Fedde, Eva (Holtan) Partridge, Terry Kullbom, John Buckstead. ROW 5: Glenn Wika, Paul Redlinger, Kent Rolfing, Jerry Knutson, Herman VanLier, Paul Olson, Gary Earl, Ron Halverson, Dale Larson, Larry Brendtro, Phil Miedema, Bruce Williams, Bob Abraham. VIEW MORE CLASS REUNION PHOTOS at www.facebook.com/AugustanaAlumni.
ABOVE: Mary (Harum) Hart ‘72 returned to campus to celebrate her 40th class reunion.
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BELOW: Hall of Fame inductee Lee Pulse ‘94 and his family bundled up to cruise the parade route.
e ABOVE: Five alumni received achievement awards for outstanding contributions to their fields of endeavor and for exemplifying the College’s values, including Christian faith, excellence, the liberal arts, community and service at the 2012 Blue and Gold Gala. FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Courtland Nelson, ‘72, director of the Parks and Recreation Division of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, was recognized for his commitment to the environment; Julie Clark ‘00, motivational speaker and founder/CEO of the Inspirational Coffee Club, received the Augustana Horizon Award, an honor recognizing the rising career of a young graduate (less than 15 years after graduation); retired vascular surgeon Dr. Bill Fedde ‘62 was honored for his career in medicine.; adjunct professor of English at Washington State Community College Dr. Frieda Misch Owen ‘51 was recognized for her commitment to education in the state of West Virginia; Professor of English at Augustana Dr. Sandra Olsen Looney ‘62 was honored for her efforts to expose students to a global perspective by leading study abroad courses all over the world; and Dr. Bob Van Demark ‘72 was recognized for his work in orthopedic surgery and for his efforts to teach tomorrow’s doctors at the University of South Dakota School of Medicine. BELOW: Rob Harum ‘49 and Leland Lillehaug ‘51 visit during the Honor Guard banquet on Friday, Oct. 5.
BELOW: Winston the dog, Suzie O’Meara Hernes ‘97 (Alumni Council vice president), Corey Halstenson ‘96 (Alumni Council president) and Taylor Halstenson lead the Alumni Council Association during the parade.
ABOVE: Sue (Borgmann) Thoele ‘82, Kay (Tesdahl) Maffitt ‘82, Kathy (Konstant) Hoskins ‘82 and Sheryl (Nelson) Mielke ‘82 took in the parade. BELOW: Alison (Ceynowa) Breuer ‘06 and her little Viking, Brynna Breuer, stayed warm during the parade Saturday.
Biologist-
Turned-Artist
Domonique Venzant, class of 2002, planned on a career in medicine or biology research. Then he met Augustana artist-in-residence Gerry Punt.
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omonique Venzant is proof that even the best laid plans are no match for the power of a heart awakened. In 2002, Venzant was a senior biology major intent on pursuing a career in medicine or biology field research. On the final stretch of his senior year, he took an elective ceramics class from Gerry Punt, assistant professor of art and Augustana’s Artist in Residence, during his last semester. Maybe, he figured, the course would be a breeze – an easy way to rack up three more credits. It was, Venzant found out early on, anything but easy. The course ended up changing his life. “You know, I always knew I wanted to work with people. I was good at biology; I had good aptitude, but I wasn’t passionate about it. Then I took this ceramics class and, well, it was mindopening. I had no idea you could use
Venzant and his piece, “Necessary Imbalance.”
am I?” “Who are you?” “Who are we?” Another example of his efforts to create dialogue through art shows in his piece, “Necessary Imbalance.” At its face, the piece looks like a large scale or balance – one end holds a collection of white globes fused together; the other holds a singular brown globe. “This piece really shows the power of one – our unique ability to leverage,” Venzant says. “The center isn’t set – it allows the scale to balance at different points,” he explains, showing how the arm can balance at different points on the fulcrum. “Science tells us that stem cells have the ability to become any other thing. The reality is that human beings can do the same thing. I hope this leads viewers to the conclusion that relationships are really important. We can work to take good care of them or, we can do nothing.”
“I had no idea you could use this ‘stuff’ to talk about all things – to engage people in dialogue.” – Domonique Venzant, Class of 2002 this ‘stuff’ to talk about all things – to engage people in dialogue. I thought ceramics was just about playing with dirt. I found it to be the most difficult class I’d ever taken.” He experienced, he said, a powerful awakening – one that changed the direction of his life. After graduating in 2002, he became an apprentice in ceramics under Richard Bresnahan at the Saint John’s Pottery Studio and then completed a second apprenticeship under Simon Levin at Mill Creek Pottery. He then went on to earn an M.F.A. in ceramics and sculpture from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He currently serves as a full-time instructor of ceramics and sculpture at the Minneapolis Community and Technical College. An exhibition of his work, entitled “Sine Qua Non” was held at Augustana’s Eide/Dalrymple Gallery earlier this fall. “‘Sine Qua Non’ is Latin for ‘without which, not,’” Venzant says. “There are essential qualities and characteristics that give identity to a thing, to a place, to a person. Without eyes or lips, we wouldn’t be able to identify a face. Each piece in this exhibit illustrates human interactions – the relationships between individuals and the larger whole.”
One example is his newest work, entitled “One and the Same: Onlookers.” It features masks of 49 faces – some tall and skinny; others round and plump; long noses, short noses, wide noses; all with their eyes closed; all with varied imperfections – a dimpled chin, a gashed cheek, a droopy eyelid. They are the faces of Venzant’s students. He formed the masks in plaster, then filled them with clay. “The masks all have their eyes closed. Together, they ask the viewer to think about how we see each other – to think about how we see relationships – and to ask, ‘are we present’ in our relationships?” One painting on display is a clear throw-back to his biology training. To the untrained eye, it looks like brown squiggles on a blue canvas. But to a biologist it is, without question, a karyotype – the set of 23 chromosomes that are, as Venzant says, “a roadmap for what all people are – under our skin, under our bones, under our blood. That’s our genetic map – it’s what we all have in common.” His carefully crafted shapes and spaces ask his audience to contemplate the relationship of individual parts to the whole as a means to invoke simple questions with complex answers: “Who
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Finding Himself Prior to taking Punt’s class, Venzant says he never considered himself an artist. The process to becoming one didn’t take long. Punt remembers watching Venzant realize both the power of art and the passion he felt for it. He saw it begin to happen, Punt says, on the first day of class. “That first day, he asked questions most students don’t even know are questions after three semesters,” Punt said, smiling at the memory. “It was really something to watch him discover the relationships between himself and the materials and to discover the significance found in the layers of things.” “[Through art] he really did find another way to communicate – and learned how to understand who he was in the process,” Punt said. “That’s what happens with artists. We don’t ‘make’ things just to communicate, we do it to deepen our understanding of ourselves and our relationships with others.” “He’s really brilliant – he’s got this great way of connecting his artwork with the history of being human and with time and space.”
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ALUMNI NEWS
1972 Alumnus Gives $250,000 to Science Project In August, Augustana announced the receipt of a $250,000 naming gift in support of its planned science project. The “Paul Mohrman Family Lab” inside the new facility will focus on ecological research, an initiative alumnus Paul Mohrman, class of 1972, and his wife, Julie, hold close to their hearts. “The reality is, we have finite resources. We need to tell our children about the importance of conservaPaul tion and recycling. Mohrman We need to be good stewards of our environment. It starts with our young people,” Mohrman said in an interview from his home in Jacksonville, Fla. In addition to their gift to the science project, the Mohrmans also donated 29 bronze sculptures by noted artist C.A. Pardell, valued at approximately $50,000, to the Center for Western Studies. ‘I was looking for an Opportunity’ A native of Dell Rapids, S.D., and mathematics major at Augustana, Mohrman spent his career in corporate development for LiftPower Inc., a Florida-based forklift equipment distributorship owned by the Mohrman family. After retiring in 2009, he began working for South Atlantic Systems Group Inc (SASG), an affiliate of LiftPower. He remembers Augustana as a place where his professors knew him, engaged with him and supported him in his academic endeavors. “One of my professors once pulled me aside and said, ‘Paul, I understand you work in the food service, washing dishes. You’ve done a good job in math. We’re wondering if you’d like to work for us next year in the math department.’ I was floored,” Mohrman said. “That experience is symbolic of Augustana for me. Augustana allowed me to feel how it feels when someone gives you their time. That carried through in my life.” He took the professor up on the offer and served as a mathematics tutor while a student. After graduation, he went to law school before deciding to join the family business in 1974. In addition to the logarithms and algorithms of mathematics, Mohrman
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said above all, his time at Augustana taught him how to think critically, reason and analyze. “I was the only guy in my law school interview who was a math major. [The legal scholars] asked me why I thought a math major would prepare me for a law degree. I told them that because of my math major, I had learned logic, reasoning and problem solving. Immediately, I saw that I’d answered their question well. That’s what Augustana does for its students. Regardless of your subject matter – you learn how to break down problems and solve them, one piece at a time.” After his retirement, Mohrman said he was looking for an opportunity to give back. “Throughout my career, I tried to do it right along the way and set aside money for a rainy day. The reality is you retire, you have a party and, after the party’s over, you look around and say ‘I made it – I’ll be OK.’” “In my case, I felt other things could use my help. I was looking for an opportunity. I’d never done anything like that before,” he said. “When the science project came up and I remembered how many classes I took inside the Gilbert Science Center, I just knew. I saw the opportunity for the environmental lab. That’s near and dear to my heart.” Mohrman said he hopes his gift will inspire other Augustana alumni to support the project as well. “The hope is that everything happening [with the new science center project] is from many grads who have chipped in based on their experiences at Augustana. I hope to see a lot of plaques [in the new facility],” he said. “Sometimes it’s easier to turn around when you’re retired to see what you can give than when you’re working. When you come to retire, hopefully you can look around and see what’s there.” Looking ahead, Mohrman said he is enjoying retirement. He’s planning a few trips and will continue his work as a Sergeant at Arms for his local Rotary Club, where he has served for the last 30 years. “I’m proud to be a Rotarian. To sit down with a group of morally and ethically conscious people and give back every week, and to learn from them – that’s really shaped me as an adult,” he said.
The AUGUSTANA
Visit www.augielink.com for daily updates and photos.
THE
2010s
CLASS OF 2012 Katie Anderson is teaching 1st grade in Arizona.
Mark Buyck is teaching 4th grade at Reede Gray Elementary School in Redwood Falls, Minn. Matt Cook is an actor/director with the Dakota Players. Tyler Coverdale started law school at the University of Iowa in August 2012. Katie Erdahl is working as an athletic trainer at Sanford in Sioux Falls. Megan Erspamer spent two weeks in London in July volunteering to help athletes from the United States prepare for participation in the 2012 Olympics. Lynae Fisher was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force on Sept. 5, 2012. Jennifer Johnson is an e-business associate at Lifetouch in Minneapolis, Minn. Isaac Krueger is an admission counselor at Augustana College. Lindsay Plathe is the owner of her own business, Lindsay Plathe Marketing Consulting. Hannah Miller is teaching 4th grade at Hawthorne Elementary School in Sioux Falls. She was a speaker at this year’s TEDxSiouxFalls. Jamie Plagman is attending veterinary school at Iowa State University. Calie Roggatz is an admissions counselor at Augustana College. Haley Tranby is a registered nurse at Avera McKennan in Sioux Falls. Derek True and Kalli Heupel were married on June 30, 2012 and live in Omaha, Neb. Sawyer Vanden Heuvel is the online branch manager at Frontier Bank in Sioux Falls. CLASS OF 2011 Jenni Wilkes married Nate Allison on April 21, 2012. The couple lives in Mankato, Minn. Lauren Beaumont is a clinical research coordinator at Creighton University. Robin Bennett is a deaf educator at the Elkton School District. Hannah Drewes lives in El Paso, Texas, where she is a full-time volunteer with the Border Servant Corps. She has been placed with a community outreach organization that works with inner-city youth and families. Eric Ellingworth is teaching 9th grade civics and coaching varsity football at Hastings High School in Hastings, Minn. Jenny Lockhart works as the index page coordinator for the Argus Leader. She was recently recognized through the company’s VITaL program (Volunteerism, Innovation, Teamwork and Leadership) for her positive attitude.
Catherine Martin is teaching 8th grade algebra and pre-algebra at South Middle School in Liberal, Kan. Kayla Meyerhoff is a special education teacher in the Sioux Falls School District. Micah Nordin and Channing Smith ‘10 were married on July 7, 2012. He is a social studies teacher with the Sioux Falls School District. Tonya Olson is a library assistant at the Yankton Community Library. Maren Peterson is the senior project coordinator at United Planet, a non-profit organization that coordinates international volunteer programs, in Boston, Mass. Kacia (Erickson) Satchithanandam and her husband, Gines, welcomed a baby girl, Cyra Yael, on April 5, 2012. Natalie Ronning and Michael Todt ‘10 were married on Sept. 2, 2012. They live in Ithaca, N.Y. CLASS OF 2010 Melissa Ulbricht married Jacob Ackermann on June 4, 2011. On May 12, 2012, they welcomed Alivia Ann to their family. They live near Lakefield, Minn., where Melissa is a resource nurse at the Sanford Worthington Medical Center.
ON THE ROAD: Alumni Events in Your Area November 15 (Rapid City): “Higher Education Today and Updates from Augustana,” Thought Leader Forum featuring Augustana President Rob Oliver, 6:30 p.m., The Journey Museum. December 9 (Chicago): Wine Tasting Event at Bin 36, 339 N. Dearborn St., in Chicago. December 18 (Rapid City): For the first time ever, Augustana proudly presents Christmas Vespers in Rapid City. Re-live a Christmas tradition, meet Dr. Paul Nesheim, the new director of The Augustana Choir, and join us! 7:30 p.m., Calvary Lutheran Church. Tickets at www.augietickets.com. January 17 (Dallas): Dallas Cowboys Stadium Tour and Reception.
Amanda Leisten married Ben Wermers on Oct. 6, 2012. Drew Markhardt is an assistant athletic trainer at Metro State University in Denver.
Learn more and register at www.augielink.com/events.
THE
2000s
CLASS OF 2009 Dane Bloch is the regional field director for the South Dakota Republican Party.
CLASS OF 2008 Mike Billeter and his wife, Lindsie, are on a year-long journey, walking across the United States. Their journey, Storming Jericho, can be followed at www.stormingjericho.org.
Bart Johnson graduated from the University of Minnesota Dental School and has joined his father in the family practice, Johnson Family Dental Care in Marshall, Minn. Ben Nelson married Katie Johnson ‘10 on May 12, 2012. They live in Rochester, N.Y. Ben is a urology resident at the University of Rochester. Jacob Pole and Mallory (Larsen) ’07 welcomed Hudson John to their family on Jan. 13, 2012.
Emma (Abbott) Callahan and husband, Josh, welcomed baby girl Athena Ameila-Jean on Oct. 1, 2012.
Jason and Stephanie Rinne were married on July 21, 2012. He is an assistant athletic trainer and HPER instructor at Augustana College.
Sara (Eiesland) Gillis and her husband, Jordan, welcomed son Lionel Conner to their family on June 6, 2012.
Christie (Schneider) and Stuart Ness ‘06 welcomed son Travis Wayne on March 24, 2012.
Elizabeth Kunkel is a teen program specialist at CommonBond Communities, a nonprofit provider of affordable housing with on-site services. Lisa (Hoegh) Lunning is the head volleyball
Luke Tatge is the Dell Rapids Tribune editor. He was recently recognized through the company’s VITaL program (Volunteerism, Innovation, Teamwork and Leadership) for his leadership and knowledge of the community.
Laura Hibma is the proposal coordinator at ACDI/VOCA (Agricultural Cooperative Development International/Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance) in Washington, D.C.
Brianna (Erickson) Koopman has begun the Doctor of Nursing Practice – Family Nurse Practitioner program at Rush University in Chicago, Ill.
Michael Todt and Natalie Ronning ‘11 were married on Sept. 2, 2012. They live in Ithaca, N.Y.
Ben Ronning is working in PR/marketing and communications at Greenstart, a company to help start-up entrepreneurs.
Ben Hasche is a treasury operations analyst at Midland National Life Insurance Company in Sioux Falls.
Amanda Kjelden is an admission counselor at Augustana College.
Channing Smith and Micah Nordin ‘11 were married on July 7, 2012. She is a registered nurse at Avera McKennan Hospital, Sioux Falls.
Annaliese Pepin graduated from the physical therapy program at Des Moines University in May 2012.
Rebecca Ogren married Aaron Glade on May 26, 2012.
Jenni (Simmons) Jervik is serving as youth pastor at Celebrate Community Church in Sioux Falls.
Sarah Oetken is a school librarian in Sioux Falls.
Joe Nordin is a financial representative with Northwestern Mutual.
Ashley Holst married Devin Christianson on April 28, 2012. She is a registrar at Sanford Health in Sioux Falls and a graduate student in the health services administration program at the University of South Dakota.
Kendra Gottsleben has published her first book: “Live, Laugh, Lemonade: A Journey of Choosing to Beat the Odds.”
Kristin Johannsen married Clint Whitley in June 2012. She works for Valley View Hospital as the athletic trainer for Basalt High School. They live in Glenwood Springs, Colo.
Nolan Miller is an agriculture business banker for Wells Fargo in the Mitchell, S.D., area and will be relocated later this year within the South Dakota region.
Nick Bryant recently moved to Denver where he is the director of client strategy at Spyder Trap Online Marketing.
Julie Ailts is teaching first grade in her hometown of Worthington, Minn. An article about her dream to be a teacher was featured in the Worthington Daily Globe.
Katie Johnson married Ben Nelson on May 12, 2012. They live in Rochester, N.Y. Katie is a registered nurse in labor and delivery at Highland Hospital.
coach at Lincoln High School in Sioux Falls. She also teaches 4th grade at Pettigrew Elementary.
The AUGUSTANA
Jennifer (Sandquist) and Mark Stavenger ‘06 welcomed their daughter Ella Ann on July 27, 2012. The family resides in Sioux Falls. Jennalee Millman and Lee Taylor were married on June 30, 2012. Jennalee is a 5th grade teacher in the Sioux Falls School District.
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ALUMNI NEWS CLASS OF 2007 Jeremy Aylward is the financial specialist for the Department of Nursing at the University of South Dakota’s School of Health Sciences. Alicia Kurkowski married Tom Frelich on July 14, 2012. She is a licensed agent at Esurance Insurance Company. Naomi Gades married David Atenasio in June 2011. Naomi is a senior library technician at Miami University’s Wertz Art and Architecture Library. Jenny Keiser married John Hanssen on June 23, 2012. Nicole Harrison and Mitch Weber ‘06 were married on Aug. 11, 2012. Nicole graduated with her doctorate in physical therapy degree from the University of South Dakota in 2010. She is currently a physical therapist at the outpatient orthopedic clinic in Omaha. Chris Koopman is a business analyst at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Ill. Leigh Willers married Alex McCoy this year. They welcomed son Jack William to their family on Oct. 16, 2012. Julia Lonn married Warren Odgers on June 8, 2012. They live in Lincoln, Neb. Julia is an 8th grade teacher at Norris Middle School in Firth, Neb.
associate at Eide Bailly. Dr. Landon Karr is an assistant professor of art and anthropology at Augustana College. Jeri Light is the acquisitions library assistant at Augustana’s Mikkelsen Library. She is also pursuing her masters of library and information science degree through a distance education program at the University of Alabama. Dave Medema and his wife, Cassie, are co-owners of Funky Fresh. The company has recently designed new Sioux Falls park logos. Carla Wormington married Brad Messerli last year. Stuart Ness and Christie (Schneider) ‘08 welcomed son Travis Wayne on March 24, 2012. Danielle (Jacobs) Paulsen and her husband Ryan welcomed their son Carson Douglas to their family on May 22, 2011. Mark Stavenger and Jennifer (Sandquist) ‘08 welcomed their daughter Ella Ann to the family on July 27, 2012. Mitch Weber and Nicole Harrison ‘07 were married on Aug. 11, 2012. Mitch graduated in 2011 with a doctor of medicine degree from Sanford Medical School at the University of South Dakota. He is a resident physician at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Mallory (Larsen) and Jacob Pole ‘08 welcomed Hudson John to their family on Jan. 13, 2012.
CLASS OF 2005 Amanda (Conrad) Berg and husband, Josh, welcomed son Asher Charles on Aug. 7, 2012.
Cassandra Sauter has earned her master of divinity from Luther Seminary and is now serving as the associate pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Sparta, Wis.
Bryan Conner and Rebecca (Breitag) welcomed baby boy Caleb Marcus on Aug. 17, 2012.
Julianne (Minar) Sherer is a financial aid counselor at Rush University in Chicago. Ashlee Wendt started law school at the University of South Dakota in August 2012. Rachel Wiener is in a master’s program at Creighton University working on a neonatal nurse practitioner degree. Jessica Paumen and Benjamin Zierke recently married. Jessica is a clinical pharmacist. Ben is the executive director of the Republican Party of Minnesota. CLASS OF 2006 Christie (Koehler) and Josh Aberson welcomed baby boy Collin Fredric to their family on Aug. 31, 2012. Karen Vavricek married Ned Bagniewski on July 28, 2012. Danielle Delfania received tenure as a 5th-8th grade orchestra teacher in the Fulton City School District in Fulton, N.Y. She is also the founder of Roses for Breast Cancer which raises money for the American Cancer Society by selling items made from duct tape. Cara (Wynia) Flemig and husband, Ernie, welcomed Adelyn Carmeen to their family on June 4, 2012. Erik Gilbertson is a senior forensic & valuation
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Fenecia (Homan) Foster and husband, Dan, welcomed daughter Naomi Lynn on Aug. 14, 2012. Erin Johnson graduated with a Master of Business Communication degree from the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, Minn. Jill Adams married Aaron Johnson on Oct. 6, 2012. She is a victim/family advocate for Ralston House in Arvada, Colo. Angela (Husman) and husband James Krueger ‘04 welcomed William Harold on Oct. 1, 2012. Kelly (Larson) Mroczek and husband, Phillip, welcomed Emika May on June 21, 2012. Meghan (Buyske) Schulte resides in Helena, Mont. with her husband and two children. She works as an office manager at a private firm in Helena. Darcy Westermann is a bilingual school social worker at Richfield Public Schools in Minnesota. CLASS OF 2004 Kyna (Lang) Englehart and husband, Dillon, welcomed son Benjamin to their family in July 2011. The family lives in Harrisburg, S.D. Nikki (Nolz) Escobin and husband, Ryan, welcomed their son, Zavier Lawrence, on June 4, 2011.
The AUGUSTANA
Amanda Fenolio graduated from the University of St. Thomas School of Law in St. Paul, Minn. Lindsey Hibma and Reuben Wyatt were married on June 1, 2012, in Palmer, Alaska. Lisa (Haehn) Holton and husband, James, welcomed Charlie Blake on July 2, 2012. Erin (Speidel) Kang teaches K-12 music at Oldham-Ramona School District in South Dakota. Leah (Swanson) Khan graduated from her pediatric residency program in June 2012 and began a new job as a pediatrician at Park Nicolett Clinics in Chanhassen, Minn. James Krueger and wife Angela (Husman) ‘05 welcomed William Harold Krueger on Oct. 1, 2012. Laura Kunkel is an instructor/clinical coordinator of athletic training education at Texas Wesleyan University. She is also the chair of student leadership development for the Southwest Athletic Trainers Association. Sarah Madden Woods and husband, Robert, welcomed baby boy Dylan David on March 19, 2012. Ana Olivier has earned her masters of library science degree from University of WisconsinMilwaukee. Jessica (Sherard) Pickett is the new senior services executive director for the city of Mitchell. Elizabeth (Cruse) Tickle and her husband, Jeff, welcomed Kaiya Elizabeth on April 11, 2012, in St. Paul. They reside in Lakeville, Minn. David Wolter won the top prize in the animation category for his short film, “Eyrie,” at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences 39th Annual Student Academy Awards. He has started a Kickstarter project to finance a limited edition print run of his award-winning animated short, “Eyrie,” on DVD. Kari Worlein married Nic Brunsting on Aug. 4, 2012. CLASS OF 2003 Tresse (Klumper) Evenson is the assistant director of financial aid at Augustana College. Heidi (Bratland) and Nathan Golz welcomed Genevieve Leigh to their family on Aug. 7, 2012. Travis Joyal is a partner in Page Communications out of Kansas City, Mo. Michael Khan has been promoted to client relations manager at NEI Global Relocation. Shannon (Brantley) McCutcheon and husband, Justin, welcomed Elisa Grace to their family on July 31, 2012. Stacie Rust is now working as a real estate broker with Century 21 Advantage out of Sioux Falls. Dr. James Saloum and wife Amber have moved back to Sioux Falls where he will be joining Anesthesiology Associates.
Payne, Foutz Join Augustana Advancement Team Jackie (Ohme) Payne has been named director of development.
Katie Knutson Foutz, class of 2000, has been named assistant director of annual giving and alumni relations.
Payne has more than 15 years of experience in higher education, executive relationship management and sales. She attended Augustana from 1993 to 1995 and earned her degree from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn.
In her new role, Foutz works closely with Alumni Relations and the Augustana Fund and specializes in working with young alumni.
Jackie Most recently, she served as an account executive Payne for Midcontinent Communications. She spent a decade with Wells Fargo Education Financial Services and also worked as an admission counselor for Concordia.
CLASS OF 2002 Becky (Jensen) Eldridge and husband, Tom, welcomed Reese Elizabeth on March 21, 2012.
Sculpture Park’s resident artist and writes the Franconia Blog. Jarret Brachman, former CIA Analyst, was featured in the June 5 broadcast of Public Radio International’s “The World.”
Kristin (Piel) Hill and her family have moved to Sheridan, Wyo. where Kristin does freelance editing and designs/sells custom invitations and announcements.
Ann (Puthoff) Gooley and husband, David, welcomed Aria Marie into their family on April 19, 2012. The family currently lives in Colorado Springs, Colo.
April Bobbie married David Willman June, 2 2012. They live near Mitchell, S.D. where she is a pediatrician with Avera Medical Group Pediatrics.
Laura (Neary) Flattem and husband, Eric, welcomed daughter Marielle Elise to their family on Dec. 23, 2010.
Jeff Oakland was featured in a recent Sioux Falls Woman magazine highlighting his use of vision therapy. He is an optometrist at Dakota Vision in Sioux Falls. Andrea (Meyer) Schmidt and husband Brian welcomed daughter Ella Margaret Jan. 10, 2012. CLASS OF 2001 Jillian Brown married Dave Klein Aug. 25, 2012. Nick Kloos is a sales executive at Barrett Moving and Storage in Minneapolis, Minn. Sarah Mismash was inducted into the Elk River High School Sports Hall of Fame. Charles O’Hara and Emily Winterton ‘00 welcomed their son Zachary Charles on Jan. 14, 2012. Rev. Megan Rohrer and Dr. Alisa Walz-Flannigan celebrate the birth of Graham Gilbert Flannigan Rohrer and welcome him into their family. Michelle (Scott) Van Wyhe has earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from South Dakota State University. Matt Weigel is a board certified orthopedic clinical specialist. Jeff Weller and wife, Mandy, welcomed son Jaxton Jeffrey on Oct. 31, 2011. CLASS OF 2000 Bridget Beck was the featured artist on www. local-artist-interviews.com. She is Franconia
Sarah Wayne is the assistant director of international admissions at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Ind. Emily Winterton and Charles O’Hara ’01 welcomed son Zachary Charles on Jan. 14, 2012.
THE
Katie Knutson Foutz
Prior to joining the College, she worked as a reporter and editor for Sun-Times Media in Chicago.
Jeremy Haugen and his wife, Sadie welcomed a little girl, Piper Ann on Aug. 25, 2012.
Analise Flinn married Jonathan Martin in Napa Valley, Calif. on April 15, 2012.
As a student at Augustana, Foutz served as editor for the Mirror, the student-run weekly newspaper.
CLASS OF 1999 Pam (Keegan) Gohl is the assistant athletic director for compliance/ senior women’s administrator at the University of Sioux Falls.
1990s
Rebecca (Aden) Grev and husband Chad Grev ’96 welcomed a son, Jody Michael, on July 18, 2012. Rachel (Crowson) Kloos’s passion for environmental issues, especially water cleanliness and conservation, was recently highlighted in Poet’s Vital Magazine Online. Britt (Bjorge) Krizmanich and husband Michael Krizmanich welcomed Maja Bjorge, their 4th child, on Aug. 6, 2012. Sarah (Axvig) Nelson and husband Matt Nelson welcomed new son Charles Richard “Charlie” on May 11, 2012. CLASS OF 1998 Derek Allmendinger is a brewer with the Surly Brewing Company after obtaining his degree in brewing science in 2009. He lives in New Ulm, Minn. with his wife Carolyn. Brad Christopherson is a lead financial analyst with Value Consulting Group in Minneapolis, Minn. Dr. Thayne Munce, as the associate director of the National Institute for Athletic Health &
The AUGUSTANA
Performance, has worked with Sanford Health to launch Sanford SCORE, an innovative new sports assessment for basketball players. Matt Wills is an assistant professor of health informatics at Indiana University East. He completed his doctorate from Dakota State University this past spring. CLASS OF 1997 Laura Eiesland is the executive assistant at Lutheran Outdoors of South Dakota. Brenda (Becker) Frevik is a school social worker at the Flandreau Indian School. Kristen (Thomas) Zeller and husband Kevin welcomed their second son, Owen Isaac, on Aug. 6, 2012. Kristen is on the surgery faculty of Wake Forest Medical School as a pediatric surgeon. CLASS OF 1996 Chad Grev and wife Rebecca (Aden) Grev ‘99 welcomed son Jody Michael on July 18, 2012. CLASS OF 1995 Eric Barlow and Gretchen Borgum ’94 welcomed Andrew Eric Jay Barlow to the world on Oct. 17, 2012. Karla Payne married Darren McCabe on Sept. 2, 2012. Lela Olson is the principal of Highland School in Crookston, Minn. Derald Wilcox, 61, died May 20, 2012, in Brandon, S.D. CLASS OF 1994 Gretchen Borgum and Eric Barlow ‘95 welcomed Andrew Eric Jay Barlow to the world on Oct. 17, 2012. Jennifer Gerrietts-Masters joined the Creative Co-op in Sioux Falls as a copywriter. Mike Jewett is the assistant basketball coach at South Dakota State University for the 201213 season. Brent Loken is a Ph.D student at Simon Fraser University. He co-founded NGO, Ethical Expeditions and recently rediscovered the extremely rare and thought-to-be extinct Miller’s grizzled langur monkey.
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ALUMNI NEWS Heidi (Larson) Meyer is the assistant principal at Prairie Elementary in Worthington, Minn. Becky Moen married Edward Dozois on July 7, 2012. She also published her first book, “Down and Inside: The Mostly True Story of a Girl’s Life in the Minors.” CLASS OF 1993 Dana (Nielsen) Honner has been inducted to the South Dakota High School Basketball Hall of Fame. CLASS OF 1992 James Dresbach and his wife Patricia welcomed their son, William Joseph, on April 30, 2012. Joe Triggs-Smith is employed as an itinerant teacher for the deaf and hard-of-hearing for Lake County Schools in the state of Florida. Dr. Joe von Fischer was promoted to associate professor with tenure as of July 1, 2012. Joe is a member of the biology department and the graduate degree program in ecology at Colorado State University. Diane Ishmael, 41, died on July 25, 2012, in Ossian, Iowa. CLASS OF 1991 Bruce Gardner has graduated with an MBA from Mount Mercy University in May 2012. CLASS OF 1990 David Granholm and wife, Katrina welcomed daughter Elizabeth Claire on April 23, 2012. CLASS OF 1988 David Abraham married Cynthia Scott on Sept. 29, 2012. He has been operating a hotel in Elk Point, S.D., for more than eight years. Richard Schriever is running for the South Dakota Senate seat in District 6. Class of 1986 Stephani (Schmidt) Long was named one of Consulting magazine’s top 25 consultants in the nation for 2012.
THE
1980s
Todd Sagmoe is the vice president of individual life pricing for TIAA-CREF in Charlotte, N.C. CLASS OF 1985 Kevin Houle will be directing “Arsenic and Old Lace” as the inaugural production of Lakeshore
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Players 60th anniversary season in White Bear Lake, Minn.
David Tryggestad, 58, died on Oct. 5, 2012, in Greeley, Colo.
CLASS OF 1984 Debra (Redepenning) Kinnunen is a special education teacher at Irene-Wakonda Public School.
CLASS OF 1975 Terryl (Rumbolz) Cadwell completed her masters degree and became the first woman federal probation officer, as well as the first woman chief probation officer in the state of South Dakota.
CLASS OF 1968 Joel Gaalswyk, 65, died on May 31, 2012, in Spring Green, Wisc.
Chris (Sandvig) Dummermuth was inducted into the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame in the summer of 2012.
Emaline (Vaught) Roorda retired from her position with Catholic Charities ND as legal guardian on July 1, 2012.
Lynn (Nichols) Swee, 50, died on June 19, 2012, in Sioux Falls. Kay (Tieszen) Weeldreyer, 50, died on Sept. 6, 2012, in Marion, S.D. CLASS OF 1983 Bernice Pfliger, 83, died on Aug. 26, 2012, in Sioux Falls. Amy (Jackson) Protexter is the vice president of marketing at Education 2020 in Scottsdale, Ariz. CLASS OF 1982 Rev. Steve Carmany celebrated his 25th anniversary as a pastor with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. CLASS OF 1980 Gloria (Rymerson) Johnson, 89, died May 20, 2012, in Sioux Falls. CLASS OF 1979 Heidi Radmacher Kvanli received a Doctor of Ministry degree in Congregational Mission and Leadership from Luther Seminary in May 2012.
THE
1970s
CLASS OF 1978 Paul Berg, 55, died on Aug. 31, 2012, in Garretson, S.D. Donald Isaacson, 72, died on Aug. 9, 2012, in Sioux Falls. Bob Sittig was recently named South Dakota Superintendent of the Year by the South Dakota School Superintendents Association. Paula (Wiese) Strom is a supervising teacher at Benton County Sunshine School in Rogers, Ark. Joel Wudel married Rev. Kari Sansgaard on June 9, 2012. CLASS OF 1977 Sandra (Anderson) was married in July 2008 to Mark Winter. She currently owns an alterations business in Sioux Falls. CLASS OF 1976 Dale Babcock, 65, died May 13, 2012, in Sioux Falls. David Eitland is the development and gift planning director at Grand Traverse Pavilions in Traverse City, Mich.
Julee Ann (Frakes) Woldt, 59, died on June 17, 2012, in Kansas City, Mo. CLASS OF 1974 John Vander Woude, 58, died on July 10, 2012, in Sioux Falls. CLASS OF 1973 Walter Anderson, 61, died on July 7, 2012, in Chicago, Ill. Steven Grell was recently appointed to the foundation board of directors for Lutheran Services in Iowa, one of Iowa’s largest human services agencies. CLASS OF 1972 Roberta Hegland, 62, died on Sept. 7, 2012, in San Diego. Dr. Gene Hoyme received the 2012 Excellence Award from the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS). Birdie (Degner) Olson and Ken Olson ’70 served as coordinators for Bega Kwa Bega in Iringa from July - August 2012. The organization hosts between 200-300 visitors from the St. Paul Area Synod and others as they come to visit their partner congregations. CLASS OF 1971 Ronald Hoiberg, 63, died on Aug. 14, 2012, in Chicago, Ill. Dr. Michael Houk was presented with the South Dakota Dental Association’s Humanitarian Award. CLASS OF 1970 Ken Olson and Birdie (Degner) Olson ‘72 served as coordinators for Bega Kwa Bega in Iringa from July - August 2012. The organization hosts between 200-300 visitors from the St. Paul Area Synod and others as they come to visit their partner congregations.
The AUGUSTANA
THE
1960s
CLASS OF 1969 Marcella (Garlick) Everett, 64, died on July 23, 2012.
Dennis Hegg, 66, died on June 23, 2012, in Sioux Falls.
CLASS OF 1967 Mary Ellen (Franzen) Dahl Siegfried, 66, died on July 18, 2012, in The Villages, Fla. Jim Knutson, 66, died on Aug. 11, 2011, in Hot Springs, S.D. CLASS OF 1966 Catherine (Carpender) DeCourcy’s five-year-old Bay Gelding, Coconino Slim, won the cash prize at this year’s Minnesota Classic Championship. Robert “Al” Larson, 68, died on June 6, 2012, in Sioux Falls. Curvin O’Rielly, Jr. , 70, died Aug. 3, 2012, in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Jim Sorensen was named the national golf coach of the year by the National High School Athletic Coaches Association. CLASS OF 1965 Virginia Bartels, 69, died on Aug. 14, 2012, in Omaha, Neb. Gerald Knudson, 68, died on July 4, 2012, in New Buffalo, Mich. CLASS OF 1964 Carole (Peterson) Gilbertson was recently selected to serve on the Board of Directors of the Stockton Symphony Association. She was also elected to the OLLI Advisory Board of Lifelong Learning at the University of the Pacific. Carole and her husband, Philip Gilbertson ‘65, live in Stockton, Calif. Elna (Questad) Oltman died on May 27, 2012, in Omaha, Neb. Mary (Eitreim) Simko, 70, died on Aug. 2, 2012, in Sioux Falls. Dr. Loren Tschetter has received the National Cancer Institute’s 2012 Harry Hynes Award for excellence in research within the Community Clinical Oncology Program (CCOP) Network.
CLASS OF 1963 Vera (Ronning) Blais, 90, died on April 6, 2012, in Sioux Falls.
Eugene “Gene” Moser, 77 of Madison, S.D., died on May 31, 2012.
CLASS OF 1961 Rev. Ralph Ablin, 73, died on Aug. 13, 2012, in Seguin, Texas.
CLASS OF 1955 Raymond Shermoe, 89, died on July 29, 2012, in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Larry “Borgie” Borgum, 73, died on Aug. 6, 2012, in Sioux Falls. Paul Hildring, 73, died on Sept. 20, 2012, in Sioux Falls. Carol (Hill) Holmes, 72, died on June 9, 2012, in Phoenix, Ariz. LaVonne (Poulsen) Polzien, 72, died June 21, 2012, in Sioux Falls. Class of 1960 Mona Lee (Larson) Trimble, 74, died Aug. 15, 2012, in Alcester, S.D. Donald Wackerbarth, 74, died on Sept. 14, 2012, in Blair, Neb.
THE CLASS OF 1959 Dr. Bob Berdahl recently received the 2012 Clark Kerr Award from the University of CaliforniaBerkeley for his commitment to higher education and academic leadership.
1950s
Leon Cook, 75, died on May 8, 2012, in Richardson, Texas. Dr. Gordon Iseminger has been teaching history at the University of North Dakota for 50 years and is the longest serving professor on campus. Sylvia (Wika) Mears-Davis, 74, died June 23, 2012, in Sioux Falls. Lee Tallakson has been part of the Minnesota Boys State volunteer staff for 19 years. He was included in an article in the Marshall Independent newspaper about family traditions at Boys State. CLASS OF 1958 Richard Gunnarson, 76, died on July 31, 2012, in Sioux Falls. Bob Lehr, 89, died on May 9, 2012, in Omaha, Neb. Rev. Roy Satre celebrated his 50th year of ordination in the ELCA on June 10, 2012. Dennis Tippett, 80, died on Aug. 7, 2012, in Rapid City, S.D. Class of 1957 Doris (Schulz) Hanson, 77, died Aug. 25, 2012, in Vermillion, S.D. Class of 1956 Dwayne Gulick, 78, died on Aug. 22, 2012, in Tampa, Fla.
CLASS OF 1954 Raimonds Norgello, 87, died on Dec. 5, 2011, in Louisville, Ky. CLASS OF 1953 Kenneth Kinnunen, 84, died on May 14, 2012. Arlyss (Engen) Peterson, 80, died on July 23, 2012, in Sioux Falls.
Rev. Raymond Melheim, 92, died on Sept. 27, 2012, in Jamestown, N.D. Bob Schmidt, 88, died Aug. 27, 2012, in Sioux Falls. CLASS OF 1948 Donna (Lorentson) Jensen, 84, died on Sept. 3, 2012, in Bismarck, N.D. Hannah (Olsen) Saville, 87, died June 18, 2012, in Carson, Calif. CLASS OF 1947 Mary (Tommeraasen) Severson, 87, died Aug. 1, 2012, in Bismarck, N.D.
Kirstine “Stina” Stjernholm, 81, died on May 23, 2012, in Pueblo, Colo.
CLASS OF 1946 Henrietta (Maurstad) Mongerson, 87, died May 19, 2012, in Southampton, N.Y.
CLASS OF 1952 Delores (Schoon) Boen, 81, died on June 17, 2012, in Sioux Falls.
CLASS OF 1945 Betty (Aggergaard) Downey, 89, died on Aug. 29, 2012.
Rodney Dickey, 85, died on March 1, 2012, in Minneapolis, Minn.
John Zimmer, 89, died on Sept. 15, 2012, in Marion, S.D.
Dr. Robert C. Steensma, professor emeritus of English at the University of Utah and National Advisory Council member for Augustana’s Center for Western Studies, is the co-designer of the new Lutheran monument on the Walk of Pioneer Faiths in Salt Lake City’s “This Is the Place” Park. Luther Wigdahl, 82, died on Sept. 25, 2012, in Isanti, Minn. CLASS OF 1951 Verna Berg, 82, longtime secretary to various Augustana College presidents, died Aug. 10, 2012, in Milbank, S.D. Jacqueline (Stegner) Tidemann, 83, died on Sept. 10, 2012, in New Hope, Minn. CLASS OF 1950 Robert Ellingson, 83, died on Sept. 30, 2012. Rev. Wilfred Hanson, 87, died on Aug. 6, 2012, in Bismarck, S.D. Joy (Bishop) Mehlhaff, 83, died on May 21, 2012. Adam John “Jack” Mueller, 89, died on May 24, 2012, in Lincoln, Neb. Rev. Verlyn Smith, 85, died on Aug. 31, 2012, in Arden Hills, Minn.
THE
1940s
Class of 1949 Verdys (Brown) Hoy, 88, died on May 5, 2012.
CLASS OF 1944 Marlys (Ormseth) Ingvoldstad, 90, died on Sept. 24, 2012, in Orlando, Fla. CLASS OF 1943 James Berg, 91, died on July 19, 2012, in Hot Springs, S.D. Orville “Gus” Jenter, 91, died on Sept. 6, 2012, in Sioux Falls. CLASS OF 1942 Alice Bowen, 91, died on Aug. 17, 2012, in Sioux Falls. Austin Kilian, 91, died on April 26, 2012, in Palm Desert, Calif. Marguerite Young and Lyle Young celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. Marge has published a book, “Dearest Marguerite: Letters from a Soldier to the Wife He Left Behind.” Everett Zellers, 93, died on June 11, 2012, in Blaine, Minn. CLASS OF 1940 Harriet (Solheim) Lovseth, 100, died June 21, 2012, in Sioux Falls.
THE
1930s Falls.
Class of 1939 Edith (Hugill) Muecke, 95, died on Oct. 14, 2012, in Sioux
CLASS OF 1937 Fryda (Gudmundson) Johnson, 98, died on July 20, 2012, in Plano, Texas. CLASS OF 1935 Magda Severson, 99, died on March 2, 2012, in Britton, S.D. CLASS OF 1934 Opal (Sederstrom) Dixon, 100, died July 4, 2012, in Sioux Falls.
IN MEMORIAM Dr. John VanderWoude Jr., Augustana class of 1974 and a member of the Board since 2002, died on July 10, 2012, following a recurring battle with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. He was 58. Gerald (Jerry) Knudson, Augustana class of 1965 and a member of the Board from 2005-2010, died on July 4, 2012, in Michigan City, Ind. He was 68. Rev. Dale Skatrud of Edina, Minn., 82, died Oct. 9, 2012. Rev. Skatrud served on the Board from 1985-1997. Verna Berg ‘51, died Aug. 10, in Milbank, S.D. She was 82. She served as secretary to various Augustana presidents. She retired in 1992, after 41 years of service. Rev. Sheldon Tostengard of Roseville, Minn., 76, died April 29, 2012. Rev. Tostengard taught in the religion department. Dr. Ruth Sparhawk of Irvine, Calif., 89, died July 24, 2012. Dr. Sparhawk taught in the physical education department. Robert C. Wilson of Sioux Falls, 85, died June 5, 2012. He served Augustana as a grounds foreman. Al Toering of Sioux Falls, 68, died Sept.18, 2012. He worked in Augustana’s maintenance department. Pearl Lewin of Sioux Falls, 79, died Sept.18, 2012. She was a custodian in Bergsaker. Earl Overgard of Sioux Falls, 76, died Sept. 24, 2012. He worked as a security guard from 1989-2007.
CLASS OF 1938 Betty (Skillman) Gilbertson, 96, died on April 3, 2012.
The AUGUSTANA
43
We are pleased to welcome the following alumni legacies to the Augustana class of 2016: Wendy Andersen, Lake Benton, Minn., daughter of Robert and Patty (Larsen) ‘75 Andersen. Jacob Anderson, Springfield, Minn., son of Lynn and Nancy (Haase) ’86 Anderson. Mackenzie Bartel, Mantorville, Minn., daughter of David ’89 and Michelle Bartel. Jacob Bartscher, Alexandria, S.D., son of Devon ’90 and Ann (Erickson) ’89 Bartscher. Carly Bauer, Hemet, Calif., daughter of Jack and Carrie (Darr) ’86 Bauer. Matthew Bell, Sioux Falls, son of Douglas ’80 and Gaye (Duininck) ’82 Bell. Brianne Bernard, Owatonna, Minn., daughter of William and Catherine (Qualseth) ‘81 Bernard. Elliot Blue, Sioux Falls, son of Daniel ’81 and Rebecca (Johnson) ’81 Blue. Lindsay Boehmer, Sioux Falls, daughter of Curt and Renae (Olson) ’91 Boehmer. Samantha Borson, Silverdale, Wash., daughter of Luke ’86 and Karen Borson. Anna Bruflat, Sioux Falls, daughter of Paul ’82 and Julie Bruflat. Kaitlin Carlon, Council Bluffs, Iowa, daughter of Roger and Diane (Davis) ‘82 Carlon. Katie Connor, Le Mars, Iowa, daughter of Paul and Michelle (Wolthoff) ‘87 Connor. Erik Friestad, Sioux Falls, son of Larry and Candice (Pederson) ’79 Friestad. Nakia Fritz, Red Wing, Minn., daughter of Randy and Kari (Melemseter) ’82 Fritz. Nick Goeman, Sioux Falls, son of Daniel ’87 and Michelle Goeman. Courtney Graanstra, Sioux Falls, daughter of Mike and Madonna (Waybright) ’90 Graanstra. Katie Grevlos, Sioux Falls, daughter of Mike ’87 and Lisa (Wiehl) ’87 Grevlos. Bryan Halverson, Rochester, Minn., son of Douglas and Janelle (Severtson) ’84 Halverson. Dayton Halverson, Rochester, Minn., son of Douglas and Janelle (Severtson) ’84 Halverson. Alex Hannemann, Sioux Falls, son of Scott ’83 and Jane (Peterson) ‘95 Hannemann. Lydia Hanson, Andover, Minn., daughter of Ann (Hollander) ’85 Hanson-Hobot. Chris Harner, Sioux Falls, son of Janet Nash ’84. Peyton Hecht, Sioux Falls, daughter of Mark ’84 and Carmen (Smith) ’91 Hecht.
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Zach Huisken, Chandler, Minn., son of Kurt and Dianne (Tinklenberg) ’85 Huisken. Courtney Iverson, Rapid City, S.D., daughter of Dan and Denise (Droll) ‘90 Iverson. Carryn Kennedy, Boulder, Colo., daughter of Kevin and Julie (Ihrke) ‘81 Kennedy. Carly Klaassen, Little Rock, Iowa, daughter of Darwin ‘88 and Sheila (Heronemus) ‘89 Klaassen. Claire Konold, Owatonna, Minn., daughter of Kurt ’85 and Monica (Opland) ‘83 Konold. Jackson Line, Orono, Minn., son of Timothy ’82 and Lorie Line. Jake Mahowald, Sioux Falls, son of Ben ’84 and Kari (Johnson) ’83 Mahowald. Alex Matson, Sioux Falls, son of Craig ’82 and Jill Matson. Marty Minihan, Brandon,S.D., son of Timothy and Valerie (Larson) ‘89 Minihan. Brandon Mohr, Sioux Falls, son of Bryan ’91 and Lisa Mohr. Joshua Myroniuk, Apple Valley, Minn., Borys Jr. and Michele (Kruse) ‘85 Myroniuk. Kirsten Olson, Luverne, Minn., daughter of David ’83 and Patti Olson. Sarah Petereit, Rapid City, S.D., daughter of Daniel ’85 and Jean Petereit. Jonah Peters, Sioux Falls, son of John ’76 and Debra (Pollock) ’80 Peters. Carly Peterson, Sioux Falls, daughter of Jon ’89 and Rochelle Peterson. Will Reynolds, Sioux Falls, son of William and Peggy (Blankenfeld) ’80 Reynolds. Michelle Ritter, Andover, Minn., daughter of Timothy and Cynthia (Werner) ‘80 Reynolds. Nicole Rozeboom, Hull, Iowa, daughter of Rick and Michelle (Franken) ‘86 Rozeboom. Grant Sherman, Sioux Falls, son of Steve ’84 and Mary Ann (Hedin) ’84 Sherman. Cole Sivertson, Sioux Falls, son of Steven ’80 and Connie (Overgard) ‘96 Sivertson. Sarah Stevens, Leawood, Kan., daughter of Jeffrey ‘88 and Rebecca (Rutledge) ‘87 Stevens. Kirsten Titze, Watertown, S.D., daughter of Blair and Nancy (Oviatt) ’83 Titze. Daniel Van Holland, Rolfe, Iowa, son of Jeffrey and Rebecca (Tolvstad) ‘86 Ives. Nick Versteeg, Canton, S.D., son of Donald ’84 and Nancy Versteeg. Jessika Wager, Gettysburg, S.D., daughter of Edward and Carma (Manfull) ’85 Wager. Mallory Wencil, Sioux Falls, daughter of Cary ’78 and Catherine (Sneen) ’80 Wencil. Lauren Yares, Woodbury, Minn., daughter of James ’83 and Margaret Yares.
Transfers: Abbie Blank-Libra, Sioux Falls, daughter of Ross ‘92 and Janet Blank-Libra. Ashley Brekke, Sioux Falls, daughter of Michael ’90 and Lori Brekke. Katie Corey, Vacaville, Calif., daughter of Kristin (Iseminger) Corey ’86. Trisha Siebenahler, Pipestone, Minn., daughter of Lyle and Nancy (Croegaert) ’81 Siebenahler.
Viking Voyage to Greece
Travel the World with Augustana! Alumni and friends are invited to join Augustana faculty members Dr. David O’Hara and Dr. Rocki Wentzel on a trip of a lifetime to Greece. The tour is scheduled to depart June 4 and return June 16 at a price of $3,995 (not including airfare to/from Greece). A deposit of $500 is due by Feb. 15 with full payment due April 15. A full itinerary is available at www.augie.edu/travel. Please contact Mary Toso, director of Alumni Relations, to express your interest. mary.toso@augie.edu or 605.274.5530.
Vikings for Life.
Students for a short time. Alumni for a lifetime. Today’s students Go Viking. A gift today secures the future for tomorrow’s Vikings. We need your support. Participate today.
AUGUSTANA FUND
augielink.com/give
NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
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PERMIT NO. 5 SIOUX FALLS, SD
Make plans to join us for ...
Christmas at Augustana Christmas Vespers “Light of My Soul”
Featuring Augustana’s choirs and orchestra
The Augustana Bands’
Christmas Extravaganza
Friday, Nov. 30: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1: 3:00 p.m.
Featuring the Brass Choir, the Augustana Band and the Augustana College/Community Band
Saturday, Dec. 1: 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 6: 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 2: 3:00 p.m.
Washington Pavilion, Sioux Falls
Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, Sioux Falls
Tuesday, Dec. 18: 7:30 p.m. Calvary Lutheran Church, Rapid City
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