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Augsburg University

Coordinates: 44°57′57″N 93°14′30″W / 44.9659°N 93.2416°W / 44.9659; -93.2416
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For the German university, see University of Augsburg.

Augsburg University
Augsburg University Seal
Former names
Augsburg Seminarium (1869–1873)
The Norwegian Danish Evangelical Lutheran Augsburg Seminary (1873–1892)
Augsburg Seminary (1892–1942)
Augsburg College and Theological Seminary (1942–1963)
Augsburg College (1963–2017)
MottoEducation for Service
TypePrivate university
Established1869; 155 years ago (1869)
Religious affiliation
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Academic affiliations
PresidentPaul C. Pribbenow
ProvostPaula O'Loughlin
Students3152
Location
Minneapolis
,
Minnesota
,
United States

44°57′57″N 93°14′30″W / 44.9659°N 93.2416°W / 44.9659; -93.2416
CampusUrban
ColorsMaroon and gray    [1]
NicknameAuggies
Sporting affiliations
NCAA Division III – MIAC
MascotEagle
Websitewww.augsburg.edu

Augsburg University is a private university in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It was founded in 1869 as a Norwegian-American Lutheran seminary known as Augsburg Seminarium. Today, the university enrolls approximately 2,400 undergraduate and 700 graduate students. Augsburg is known for its emphasis on service learning; engaged learning experiences are both an instructional strategy and a required part of a student's coursework.

History

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Norwegian Lutherans founded Augsburg as a seminary. It was named after the Augsburg Confession of 1530, the primary confession of faith presented by Lutherans in Augsburg, Germany, and contained in the Book of Concord of 1580. Augsburg Seminarium opened in September 1869, in Marshall, Wisconsin. Three years later, it moved to Minneapolis, changing its name to The Norwegian Danish Evangelical Lutheran Augsburg Seminary to reflect the name of the church body that sponsored the school. Undergraduate classes began in the fall of 1874, with the first class graduating in 1879. In 1892, the school's name was shortened to Augsburg Seminary. In 1893, reacting to what it deemed overly hierarchical elements in the Norwegian church, Augsburg leaders organized the "Friends of Augsburg", which by 1897 had coalesced to form a new Lutheran denomination, the Lutheran Free Church, a body that flourished for 70 years. During its early years the college and seminary served men only; women were first admitted in 1921. To further expand its mission, a high school level Augsburg Academy was provided on the campus. It closed in 1933.

Augsburg Seminary remained the school's name until 1942, when it was officially changed and expanded to Augsburg College and Theological Seminary, a name that had been informally used since the 1910s. When the Lutheran Free Church merged with the much larger American Lutheran Church (ALC) in 1963, Augsburg Seminary merged with the ALC's Luther Theological Seminary, later renamed Luther Seminary.[2] The name of the remaining undergraduate college became Augsburg College.[3] In 2017, the name of the school officially became Augsburg University.

August Weenaas was Augsburg's first president (1869–1876). Weenaas recruited two teachers from Norway—Sven Oftedal and Georg Sverdrup. These three men clearly articulated Augsburg's mission: to educate Norwegian Lutherans to minister to immigrants and to provide such "college" studies as would prepare students for theological study.

In 1874, they proposed a three-part plan: first, train ministerial candidates; second, prepare future theological students; third, educate the farmer, worker, and businessman. The statement stressed that a good education is also practical. Augsburg's next two presidents also emphatically rejected ivory tower concepts of education. This commitment to church and community has led to Augsburg's theme of over 130 years: Education for Service.

Hillary Clinton campaigning at Augsburg, two days before Super Tuesday 2008
Flags fly at Augsburg, during the 25th annual Nobel Peace Prize Forum (2013).

This seminarian focus began to change after World War I. In 1911, George Sverdrup Jr. became president. He worked to develop college departments with an appeal to a broader range of students than just those intending to be ministers. In 1937, Augsburg elected Bernhard Christensen, an erudite and scholarly teacher, to be president (1938–1962). His involvement in ecumenical and civic circles made Augsburg a more visible part of church and city life. After World War II, Augsburg leaders made vigorous efforts to expand and improve academic offerings. By mid-century, the undergraduate college had become a larger part of the institution than the seminary and received the most attention.

As a result, Augsburg steadily added departments essential to a liberal arts college, offering a modern college program based on general education requirements and elective majors. Augsburg aims to reflect the commitment and dedication of its founders, who believed "an Augsburg education should be preparation for service in community and church" [by] "Providing an education grounded in vocational calling, that provides students both the theoretical learning and the practical experience to succeed in a global, diverse world."[4]

Church affiliations

[edit]
Church Years
Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America 1869–1870
Conference of the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America 1870–1890
United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America
also Friends of Augsburg 1893–1897 		1890–1897
Lutheran Free Church 1897–1963
American Lutheran Church 1963–1987
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 1988–present

Presidents

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Number Name Years Notes
1st August Weenaas 1869–1876
2nd Georg Sverdrup 1876–1907
3rd Sven Oftedal 1907–1911
4th George Sverdrup 1911–1937
Son of the second president
Henry N. Hendrickson 1937–1938
Acting
5th Bernhard M. Christensen 1938–1962
6th Leif S. Harbo 1962–1963
Interim
7th Oscar A. Anderson 1963–1980
8th Charles S. Anderson 1980–1997
Not related to the preceding president
9th William V. Frame 1997–2006
First non-Norwegian
10th Paul C. Pribbenow 2006–

[1]

Academics

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Augsburg University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.[5] The student-faculty ratio at Augsburg University is 14:1, and the average class size is 20 students. Augsburg offers undergraduate degrees in over 50 major areas of study. The university also grants eight graduate degrees, including an MBA program. Augsburg offers two doctoral degrees, the Doctor of Nursing Practice and Doctor of Clinical Psychology. Its most popular undergraduate majors[6] are:

  • Computer Science
  • Biology
  • Psychology
  • Marketing
  • Social Work

Rankings

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Augsburg University was one of six higher education institutions in the nation to receive the 2010 Presidential Award for Community Service, the highest honor in the annual President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll.[4][7] In 2013, U.S. News & World Report magazine named Augsburg one of the best colleges for service-learning, which includes 31 schools across the country where volunteering in the community is both an instructional strategy and a requirement of a student's coursework. According to the U.S. News & World Report 2013 rankings, Augsburg University was 23rd in its Regional University Midwest Ranking.[8] USN&WR also consistently ranks Augsburg as a Tier 1 institution for its Physician Assistant program. In 2013, Augsburg ranked #70 in the nation.[9] It shared the #70 rank with the University of Southern California, Western University of Health Sciences, and the University of New England.[10]

Campus

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Residence halls

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Oren Gateway Center
Urness Tower
  • Urness Hall is the first-year building. It has nine floors of traditional-style residence hall rooms (plus two other floors), with one coed floor. Each floor is led by a resident advisor (RA).
  • Mortensen Hall (known as Mort) is connected to the Urness Hall lobby and has 13 floors of apartment-style housing (eight apartments on every floor). It is the tallest building on campus. Mortensen Hall is named for Gerda Mortensen, Dean of Women at Augsburg University from 1923 to 1964.[11]
  • Anderson Hall is a four-story building with four different styles of housing: single-person suites, four-person apartments, eight-person townhomes (two floors), and 15-person floorhouses.
  • Martin Luther Residence Hall (also known as Luther Hall) was built in 1999 using state funding.[citation needed] It was originally named New Hall because there was no major contributor to name the hall for. It got its current name on October 1, 2007, when the completion of the Oren Gateway Center made the old name misleading.[12] Luther Hall has studios and two-bedroom and four-bedroom apartments. The apartments all consist of single- or double-person rooms and have a full kitchen.
  • The Oren Gateway Center is a substance-free residence hall and houses students in the StepUP program and other students who choose sober living. It has rooms for 106 students and also contains six classrooms and an art gallery.

Other buildings

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Augsburg's Old Main
Entrance to Lindell Library
  • Old Main is the oldest building on campus and still in use. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[13]
  • The Christensen Center contains admissions offices, the cafeteria, a coffee shop, computers, and an art gallery, It housed the bookstore until August 2007, after which the bookstore moved to the Oren Gateway Center. On March 28, 2008, a student lounge opened in the former bookstore space. It is connected by skyway to Urness Hall/Mortensen Hall.
  • Sverdrup Hall (formerly Sverdrup Library until the completion of Lindell Library in 1998) contains the Enrollment Center and Registrar's Office as well as several class rooms and computer labs on the upper level.
  • The James G. Lindell Library has four levels containing approximately 190,000 items. The second floor is home to the Gage Center for Student Success, which has offices for Academic Advising, the Center for Learning and Accessible Student Services (CLASS), and Augsburg's offices of the Federal TRIO Programs. The library is connected to Sverdrup Hall, the Oren Gateway Center, and the Hagfors Center for Business, Science, and Religion by skyway.
  • The Foss Center for Worship, Drama and Communication contains the chapel, a theater, and several classrooms.
  • Sverdrup Hall and Oftedal Memorial Hall contains offices for the college's professors.
  • The Norman and Evangeline Hagfors Center for Science, Business, and Religion is the newest building on campus and also the largest.

Future expansion

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Several new facilities are planned, including a residence hall to replace the Science Hall and a parking ramp.[14][15]

Student life

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Augsburg's student body totals approximately 3,800 students from 40 states, more than 40 foreign countries, and 24 tribal nations/reservations. The college is involved in providing services to students with physical or learning disabilities. StepUP is Augsburg's program for students in recovery from drug and alcohol abuse. The program provides a sober environment for about 60 students in the Oren Gateway Center. It claims an excellent success rate: 84% abstinence over 538 people between 1997 and 2007.[16]

The on-campus diversity is enhanced by Augsburg's location in Cedar-Riverside, the Twin Cities' most culturally diverse neighborhood, which has the nation's largest concentration of Somali immigrants. One of the largest urban Native American populations is within one mile. Augsburg is also in the heart of a major theater center. The university has been designated as a Minnesota Indian Teacher Training Program site. Augsburg maintains a relationship with the United International College, in southern China.[17]

Campus organizations

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Augsburg students have opportunities for involvement in more than 50 clubs and organizations, including student academic societies, publications, student government, Augsburg Business Organization, Augsburg Asian Student Association, Campus Ministry, Augsburg University Pre-law Society, Pan-Afrikan and Pan-Asian Student Union, forensics, cheer-leading, Amnesty International, Intertribal Student Union and the Hispanic/Latino Student Association.

There are no fraternities or sororities on campus, although some students participate in nearby University of Minnesota Greek Life.

The Echo

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The Augsburg University Echo
TypeStudent newspaper
Owner(s)Augsburg University
PublisherPrint Group Midwest
Staff writersappx. 20
Founded1898
LanguageEnglish
HeadquartersChristensen Center 1G
Augsburg University
731 21st Ave. S. CB 148
Minneapolis, MN 55454
Circulation1000
ISSN0004-7945
OCLC number1518618
Websitehttps://archives.augsburg.edu/islandora/object/AUGrepository:echo

The Echo is Augsburg's student-produced newspaper. It consists of twelve pages divided into five sections: News, Opinions, Sports, Arts and Culture, and Features. The paper is printed in black and white on tabloid-sized recycled paper.[18]

KAUG

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KAUG is Augsburg's student radio station, based in the Auggies' Nest in the basement of Christensen Center. KAUG streams 24 hours a day online through its website[19] and can be heard on the airwaves on 91.7 FM within two miles of the campus. KAUG provides a venue for a number of DJs, who play several genres of music and talk radio.

Marginalized Voices in Film and Media

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Originally known as "Women in Film", Marginalized Voices in Film and Media (MVFM) is a student group dedicated to the advancement of women and other minorities in the film and television industry. The group discusses the depiction of minorities on the screen and their roles behind the camera.[20]

Queer Pride Alliance

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Known as "Queer and Straight In Unity" (QSU) until 2014, and originally incorporated as "BAGLS" in 1988, Queer Pride Alliance (QPA) is Augsburg's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual support group.[21][22] After the hostile campus environment towards LGBTQIA individuals culminated in several anti-LGBTQIA incidents in 2003, students occupied administrative offices to protest the university's lack of action. In response, Augsburg established the GLBTQIA Student Services office (today known as the LGBTQIA Student Services office), which became the primary point of contact and support for QSU and the LGBTQIA student body.[23] QPA is advised by the director of the LGBTQIA Student Services office, which jointly provides the campus community with workshops, performances, weekly group meetings, and speakers, as well as exposing students to the wider Midwestern LGBTQIA rights movement by sponsoring retreats and trips to conferences.[24] Today, Augsburg is certified Reconciling in Christ by ReconcilingWorks, which means that in accordance with its theological values, it welcomes and actively affirms "all people in regard to their gender expression, gender identity, and sexual orientation".[25]

... we affirm the following: that people of all sexual orientations and gender identities share the worth that comes from being unique individuals created by God; that people of all sexual orientations and gender identities are welcome with the Augsburg community; and that as members of this community, people of all sexual orientations and gender identities are expected and encouraged to share in the common life of this university.

— Augsburg University Reconciling in Christ Statement[25]

Notable alumni

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Former NBA player Devean George '99

Athletics

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The Augsburg Auggies are a member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). Augsburg University participates in NCAA Division III Athletics. The wrestling team has won fifteen NCAA Division III National team wrestling champions: 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2015, 2018, 2023, and 2024. The men's hockey team had won 3 NAIA national ice hockey championships in 1978, 1981 and 1982.

The Augsburg hockey team was selected by the United States Amateur Hockey Association to represent the United States at the 1928 Winter Olympics. However, the American Olympic Committee, led by Douglas MacArthur, refused to certify the team due to the lack of Olympic trials.[27] As a result, the United States did not have an Olympic hockey team in 1928.[28]

  • Men's varsity sports (9): baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, ice hockey, soccer, track & field, wrestling
  • Women's varsity sports (11): basketball, cross country, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, track & field, volleyball, wrestling
Edor Nelson Field at Augsburg

Conference championships

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MIAC Championships
Season Sport Number of championships Year
Fall football, men's 2 1928c, 1997
Fall soccer, women's 3 2014, 2017, 2019
Fall soccer, men's 4 1973, 1974, 1975, 1980
Fall golf, men's 1 1995, 2015
Winter hockey, men's 8 1928, 1977c, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981c, 1982, 1998c, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Winter hockey, women's 2 1999c, 2000c
Winter basketball, men's 13 1927, 1946c, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1975c, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1998, 1999
Winter wrestling,* men's 31 1961, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
Spring baseball, men's 10 1931, 1943, 1947, 1948, 1959c, 1961, 1963, 1973, 1975, 1987
Spring softball, women's 3 1982, 1983, 1984
Spring tennis, men's 3 1948 doubles, 1951 single, 1968 doubles
Total 77
  • "c" indicates co-champions.
  • *As of 2003, wrestling is no longer a MIAC-sponsored sport.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ "Augsburg College: Marketing and Communication". May 27, 2010. Archived from the original on May 27, 2010.
  2. ^ The 1950s and 1960s had a flurry of mergers between smaller Lutheran denominations, thus their seminaries followed suit: "Luther Seminary" was chosen as the name after a second merger with neighboring Northwestern Theological Seminary of the former Lutheran Church in America, of Saint Paul.
  3. ^ "Augsburg University - Augsburg Now". augsburg.edu. May 30, 2017.
  4. ^ a b "History - About Augsburg College | Augsburg College". Augsburg.edu. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  5. ^ "Statement of Accreditation Status: Augsburg University". Directory of Institutions. The Higher Learning Commission. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
  6. ^ "Fast Facts". About Augsburg University. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  7. ^ "Inside Augsburg". Augnet.augsburg.edu. May 13, 2011. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  8. ^ "Augsburg College - Best College - US News". February 17, 2011. Archived from the original on February 17, 2011.
  9. ^ "Augsburg College". Grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  10. ^ "Physician Assistant". Grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  11. ^ Chrislock, Carl H. "From Fjord to Freeway." Augsburg College, 1969, p. 228.
  12. ^ "New Hall Receives New Name". Augsburg College. October 1, 2007.
  13. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  14. ^ "Center for Science, Business, and Religion update". Augsburg College. March 30, 2008.
  15. ^ "Mid-Term Report to the Board of Regents: Center for Science, Business & Religion" (PDF). Augsburg College. March 14, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 11, 2008.
  16. ^ Augsburg College. "Outcomes of The StepUP Program". Archived from the original on March 5, 2008. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
  17. ^ On August 26, 2014, students from Augsburg University went to Beijing Normal University-Hong Kong Baptist University's United International College (UIC; simplified Chinese: 联合国际学院; traditional Chinese: 聯合國際學院), known as "Peking University in the South", located in the Xiangzhou District, Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, southern China as interns. "welcomes 20 international interns aboard". UIC.edu.hk. Archived from the original on November 18, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  18. ^ "Augsburg University Echo". Web.augsburg.edu. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  19. ^ "Augsburg College: KAUG Radio". April 4, 2003. Archived from the original on April 4, 2003.
  20. ^ "Student Organization Details - Campus Activities and Orientation | Augsburg College". Augsburg.edu. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  21. ^ "Augsburg College Queer Pride Alliance - Timeline". Facebook. October 11, 2016. Archived from the original on February 26, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  22. ^ "Student Organization Details - Campus Activities and Orientation | Augsburg College". Augsburg.edu. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  23. ^ Swan, Wallace. Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Civil Rights: A Public Policy Agenda for Uniting a Divided America. CRC Press, 2015, p. 282.
  24. ^ "Queer Pride Alliance - LGBTQIA Student Services | Augsburg College". Augsburg.edu. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  25. ^ a b "Reconciling in Christ Statement - LGBTQIA Student Services | Augsburg College". Augsburg.edu. July 19, 2009. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  26. ^ "Susan L. Allen | Jacobson Law Group". www.thejacobsonlawgroup.com. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  27. ^ "Absence of Trials Bars Augsburg Six". The New York Times. January 20, 1928.
  28. ^ "Hockey Body Opens Campaign to Boom Sport So U.S. Will Enter College Six in Olympics". The New York Times. November 10, 1930.

References

[edit]
  • Chrislock, Carl H. "From Fjord to Freeway: 100 years, Augsburg College" (Minneapolis: Augsburg College 1969)
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