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President Pribbenow, Provost O鈥橪oughlin Interviewed by CNN About Gwen Walz

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CNN logo: stylized white text on a red background含羞草传媒 President Paul Pribbenow and Provost Paula O鈥橪oughlin spoke to national media this week about Minnesota First Lady Gwen Walz鈥檚 work at Augsburg. Both were interviewed for a CNN feature about Minnesota鈥檚 First Lady in the lead-up to the 2024 Democratic National Convention, where Governor Tim Walz accepted the Democratic nomination for vice president Wednesday night.听

Read: (CNN)

Gwen Walz has held appointments at Augsburg as an instructor of education and a special assistant for strategic partnerships in the Office of the President since 2019. 鈥淸W]hat she will say all the time, is, 鈥業鈥檒l make it happen,鈥欌�� said O鈥橪oughlin. 鈥淪he鈥檚 very cognizant of how things affect other people all the time.鈥澨�

On Thursday morning, Pribbenow appeared on CNN live to discuss Walz鈥檚 background, commitments, and connections to Augsburg.

含羞草传媒 Recognized for Supporting Transfer Students

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Circular emblem with "Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society," "Transfer Honor Roll," and "2024" text. Features a Phi Theta Kappa key.For a third consecutive year, 含羞草传媒 is one of 228 colleges and universities nationwide that have been named to the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society 2024 Transfer Honor Roll. Based on key metrics related to the support and success of transfer students, the Transfer Honor Roll recognizes excellence in the development and support of dynamic and innovative pathways for community college transfer students. Some of the metrics taken into consideration are cost and financial aid, campus life, admissions practices, and bachelor鈥檚 degree completion rates.

鈥淭he goal of most students attending community college is a bachelor鈥檚 degree, but few do because of financial barriers and the complexities of the transfer process,鈥� said Dr. Lynn Tincher-Ladner, President and CEO of Phi Theta Kappa. 鈥淲e are proud to recognize the exceptional colleges and universities that go above and beyond to create accessible pathways to bachelor鈥檚 degree completion for community college transfer students.鈥�

Learn more about Augsburg鈥檚 transfer admissions.

Chris Stedman 鈥�08 Talks Religious 鈥淣ones鈥� With MPR

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MPR News logoOn March 5, Chris Stedman 鈥�08 joined Minnesota Public Radio to talk about religious “nones”鈥攑eople who check the 鈥渘one鈥� box when asked about their religious affiliation. Stedman, who teaches in Augsburg鈥檚 Department of Religion and Philosophy, is working on a book that explores the cultural forces behind the rise in 鈥渘ones.鈥� His conversation with Cathy Wurzer was part of a new Minnesota Now series called 鈥淔aith in Minnesota.鈥�

鈥淚 don’t think it’s that religion is going away,鈥� Stedman said. 鈥淩ather I think there are these cultural forces that are pushing people out of religious institutions and institutions more broadly, as you say, things like consumerism that pushes us to think of ourselves as individual consumers rather than part of this larger whole, things like increasingly precarious employment, which makes it harder to participate regularly in things and makes us feel like religion or spirituality is something we have to do on our own time fitted in between all our other commitments and obligations if we have time to think about it at all.

鈥淪o to me, if people are worried about the decline of religious affiliation or participation, the biggest thing they can do honestly is to work toward a more equitable and just world where people have more time to consider life’s big questions, to get engaged with the world around them, and connect and participate and belong. And this is why I love teaching this religion class I teach at Augsburg because my main goal there is simply to help carve out space in my student’s busy, demanding lives to reflect on what matters to them and why and on their responsibility to the world around them, all the kinds of questions that religion at its best puts before people.鈥�

Auggie Basics Receives Grant Funding to Support Students

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Two maroon Augsburg banners in winter. The left banner is an Auggie the eagle graphic and the right says "We Are Called Auggies." Last week, the Minnesota Office of Higher Education awarded over $900,000 of Emergency Assistance for Postsecondary Students (EAPS) grant funding. As one of 10 Minnesota institutions to receive a grant, 含羞草传媒 will provide additional campus-run emergency assistance to students through .

Auggie Basics is a series of programs designed to support the academic, social, and emotional aspects of students鈥� lives. Assistance includes books, food, housing, emergency funding, support services, technology, transportation, and more. The main goal for both EAPS funding and Auggie Basics is to ensure students don鈥檛 have to leave college in order to pay for unforeseen expenses.听

The EAPS funding is expected to help an additional 1,400 students at awarded institutions. Augsburg Dean of Students Michael Grewe says, 鈥�Our office typically receives hundreds of student requests for emergency funding each year, and this grant will provide aid to students for important resources.”

New York Times Quotes Professor Michael Lansing on Historic All-Female St. Paul City Council

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New York Times wordmarkMichael Lansing, professor and chair of history at 含羞草传媒, was quoted in a January 10 New York Times article about the swearing-in of St. Paul鈥檚 first all-female city council. For the first time, all seven city council members are women; they are also younger and more racially diverse than any council in St. Paul’s history.听

Lansing, an active public historian, spoke to the Times about demographic shifts in recent decades that helped lay the groundwork for this historic election. The election of seven women to city council is 鈥渁 turning point for St. Paul,鈥� he told the Times.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e all under 40, they come from these different backgrounds, they鈥檙e probably going to be in politics for a while,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hat do they do? What can they change? How do they see things differently?鈥�

‘Humble Listening’: Najeeba Syeed Featured on Interfaith America Podcast

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Najeeba Syeed is wearing a pink heaadscarf, round gold earrings, and a purple shirt while posing against a blue and purple background.Najeeba Syeed, El-Hibri Endowed Chair and executive director of the Interfaith Institute at 含羞草传媒, was a recent guest on the with I鈥檓 Eboo Patel. The conversation explored the ethics and future of interfaith work amid deep divides across religious communities, the impact of global wars and crises on religious communities, and the role of institutions in promoting interfaith understanding through open-mindedness and deep listening.听

Towards the end of the podcast, Professor Syeed reflected on fostering constructive interfaith conversations in the classroom and on campus:

鈥淭o me, the confidence that I have in being Muslim and the teachings and the capacity is not impinged upon by being present for people of other faiths,” she said. “I can walk into a space and I have a deep belief that I鈥檓 there because of the calling of being a Muslim. It isn鈥檛 a threat to me to show up and exhibit rahma or which is compassion. It comes from the root word Rahmah, the same in Hebrew around the idea of the womb to express compassion for others because it isn鈥檛 a threat to my own interpretation of who I am. 鈥� It鈥檚 a position of strength and not a position of deficiency.”

鈥淭hat to me is a spiritual lesson that interfaith can bring to so many of the dialogues that we鈥檙e trying to have on our campus, is that maybe the position of strength is actually doing this humble listening.”

“The position of strength doesn鈥檛 mean that we move to a diluted, common understanding of the world where we all accept one interpretation, a universal theology, or one diluted version. Maybe the strength is that we listen to each other.鈥�听

鈥業t Was Just Simple,鈥� Elsy-Marbeli Cruz-Parra 鈥�27 Tells Forbes About Direct Admissions

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ForbesForbes is the latest major media organization to highlight Augsburg鈥檚 leadership in coverage of the growing trend of direct admissions nationally. First-year biology major Elsy-Marbeli Cruz-Parra 鈥�27 was interviewed for a Forbes 鈥榙aily cover鈥� feature in late October.听

鈥淏y the end of October of 2022, based on her high school grades alone, she had been automatically admitted to 47 two-year or four-year colleges in Minnesota. 鈥淚t was relieving,鈥� says Cruz-Parra, the first in her family to attend college,鈥� wrote reporter Emma Whitford.听听

鈥淐ruz was one of the lucky 7,340 students tapped to participate in the first year of Minnesota鈥檚 state-run direct admissions pilot program. 鈥淗earing from other seniors who weren鈥檛 in the direct admissions program, they were like 鈥榊ou have that? God, I have to write essays and get recommendations鈥� 鈥� It was just simple. I had all my top colleges already there.鈥� She鈥檚 now a freshman at 含羞草传媒, nine miles from her hometown of Richfield, following a pre-med track with a major in biology. She chose Augsburg because of its small class sizes, its location (she鈥檚 commuting), and because she received a $30,000 a year scholarship to attend.

Read the full piece in Forbes:

鈥楢 Smoother Ramp and Transition to College鈥�: Star Tribune Highlights Direct Admissions

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Star Tribune logoAugsburg featured prominently in a recent article in the Star Tribune about direct admission in Minnesota. In addition to participating in the state of Minnesota鈥檚 direct admission pilot last fall, Augsburg became one of the first schools to move to direct admissions for all applicants (including through the Common App and Augsburg鈥檚 own application). Unlike many schools that still require traditional, multi-step applications, Augsburg鈥檚 application can be completed in under 10 minutes.听

Stephanie Ruckel, director of enrollment systems and analytics, spoke to reporter Liz Navratil about the impact of the direct admissions approach, which launched in Fall 2022 as part of the Augsburg Applies to You platform.听

鈥淚t’s not a mad dash to the finish line,” she said. “It’s just a smoother ramp and transition to college.鈥�

According to the Star Tribune, 鈥淩uckel estimated that the change freed up about 1,300 hours of admissions counselors’ time, making it easier for them to answer questions about financial aid, visit high schools or help students with disabilities develop plans for the new semester.”

MPR Interviews Religion Instructor Chris Stedman 鈥�08 About Award-Winning Podcast and Britney Spears

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MPR News logoChris Stedman 鈥�08 joined MPR’s Cathy Wurzer on Minnesota Now on October 25 to discuss his podcast, 鈥淯nread,鈥� and its connection to Britney Spears, who recently released a new memoir. 鈥淯nread,鈥� which was named one of the best podcasts of 2021 by Vulture and the Guardian, among others, is a four-part series that explores friendship and grief following the death of a close friend of Stedman鈥檚.听

鈥淎s I was processing his death and trying to make sense of what happened, I found myself thinking so much about why he loved Britney and the resonances that he felt with her and her story, which ultimately is what led me to make Unread,鈥� says Stedman in the interview with MPR. 鈥淎nd really, that’s one of the sort of things that I explore in that podcast in addition to this Britney-related mystery that he left for me when he died, which was kind of what started my exploration is just, why is it that so many people who seem to struggle in life in some way, as he did, see themselves reflected in the experiences of Britney?鈥�

Stedman teaches in Augsburg鈥檚 Department of Religion and Philosophy. In addition to 鈥淯nread,鈥� he is the author of 鈥淚RL: Finding Realness, Meaning, and Belonging in Our Digital Lives鈥� and 鈥淔aitheist: How an Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious.鈥� For the 2023鈥�24 academic year, he is also serving as the Augsburg Interfaith Institute鈥檚 inaugural research fellow.听

Newsweek Profiles Minnesota Urban Debate League

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Red Newsweek logoNewsweek covered the Minnesota Urban Debate League鈥檚 11th annual Mayors Challenge event in Minneapolis this week. The coverage is part of , a partnership with the National Association of Urban Debate Leagues to illustrate the ways in which debate strengthens the skills young people need to promote civil discourse in a multicultural democracy.

The Mayors Challenge is an annual event at which exceptional high school debaters show off their skills and engage with local and state political leaders before a crowd of supporters. MNUDL, a program of 含羞草传媒, provides resources and programming to support competitive academic debate for more than 1,000 students at 40 partner schools in the Twin Cities.

鈥淎fter the event, Abdihafid Mohamed was glowing,鈥� wrote reporter Lauren Giella. 鈥淣ot only did he feel the adrenaline rush of speaking in front of 200 people, but he also achieved his goal of meeting new people and making connections. Even though his side lost the debate, he said he felt like a “famous celebrity.” He was overwhelmed with people congratulating him on a job well done and exchanging cards, emails and LinkedIns.

鈥淭he highlight of the program, he said, was talking face to face with Mayor Frey. Sharing the stage with Frey, Attorney General Ellison, the governor and the first lady made Mohamed feel like he could one day be a leader in his community.

鈥�”Being part of this [MNUDL], seeing them all, means that we’re not far from each other,” he said. “I have the opportunity and possibility to be in their shoes.”鈥�