News of Norway, issue 3, 1998
The notion is that not just today but most every day is a great day to be an Augustana Viking. To this 4-year liberal arts college in the southeast corner of South Dakota, students from 23 different states and ten different countries have ventured this year to be part of the Viking spirit and get the "Augie advantage."
"The Augie advantage," said President Ralph H. Wagoner, "is the people!" According to Dr. Wagoner, president of Augustana since 1993, the people are the heart and soul of the school he and the students affectionately call Augie.
To the students, President Wagoner is known as Ralph, and he is certainly one of them and often among them. During occasional meals in the student cafeteria, Ralph can be seen with a cookie tray he picked up at the cake table, walking around serving his students cookies and jokes. At the beginning of the year, at Christmas time for Wagoner Wonderland, and in between, Ralph and his wife Susie open their home and arms to the students.
Augustana isn't just a place where people come together to have fun. It is also a place to get involved in over 60 student organizations and clubs or to play sports for the 13 different varsity teams; it is a place where people come to test their faith and inquire into the world of Liberal Arts. At Augustana, students can choose between 45 majors and 19 pre-professional and special concentration programs. The education program at Augustana is particularly strong. I came back to get my master's degree in Special Education here in part because I knew I would get an excellent education," said Norwegian exchange student Yngve K. Teigen.
Teigen first attended Augustana in 1995. For a little over ten years, Augustana has had an exchange program with Trondheim Teaching College. Teigen is one among many students who over the years have substituted a year at the teaching college with a year at Augustana.
Augie has two of the leading specialists within special education-the study of behavioral problems and social emotional problems-in Dr. Larry Brendtro and Dr. Steve Van Brockern, explained Teigen. He added that his two professors are leading advisors for institutions and people all over the world.
The other reason why Teigen left family and friends in Norway for Augustana, again, was because of the people. "I really enjoyed it here last time I was a student," he said. "It was a small but great environment."
Parallel with getting his master's degree, Teigen is also teaching the Norwegian language classes. At the moment, Augustana is only offering Introduction to Norwegian I and II. But change is imminent as a 3 year position has been secured through a fundraiser. The Norwegian Studies Association, a two year-old group comprised of individuals from off campus and on campus, has almost reached its first goal of raising $120,000, which will pay for the professorship. The second goal is to raise a $1 million endowment fund to sustain the position beyond the initial 3 years. The Norwegian government has supported the endowment with $10,000. The search for a professor to fill the position is in progress.
Augustana College traces its Norwegian roots back to 1860 when, due to a difference in the matter of doctrine, Professor Lars Paul Esbjorn and a group of followers left what is today known as Illinois State University and moved west. The school has been located in Sioux Falls since 1918 and is a selective, private, residential liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
According to President Wagoner, the college's Norwegian heritage is an indelible part of the school. Even though the Norwegian heritage doesn't mean as much to an 18 year-old today as it did in 1860, it does make a difference, he said. "I think it reminds us of who we were," President Wagoner explained. "It gives us an interesting touchstone."
As the Vikings are sailing into the new millennium, they are getting reacquainted with their roots. An audience with H.M. King Harald V while in Oslo for the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony three years ago, a visit to Augustana from the president of the Parliament, Kirsti Kolle Grøndahl and Ambassador Tom Vraalsen are among the latest grand events for President Wagoner and the Augie students. But even as they look back, President Wagoner keeps Augie on track for the future. "I am more concerned about what we can do at Augustana today to assist Norway in becoming the Norway of the future," he said. "The past is the past, is history."
Presently Augie has 26 Norwegian exchange students. This number has been fairly stable for the past years. Two are pursuing graduate studies in education. The others are getting their bachelor's degrees or participating in the one year exchange program with Trondheim Teaching College. President Wagoner said he would like to see the number of Norwegian exchange students increase and more of them choosing to stay long enough to graduate with a B.A. All of the Norwegian students this year received scholarships from the school equal to 30 percent of the tuition, totaling $130,572 in unfunded scholarships.
"I think they bring an international perspective, a more global view than many of our kids from the Upper Midwest have," President Wagoner said.
Out of the 1,691 students attending the college, 60 percent live in the campus' six dorms. Among those are most of the international students. This brings another dimension to student exchange as pointed out by Augustana's International Student Advisor Donn Grinager. "Friendships between students from two different countries have a lasting impact on both students," he said. "In my opinion, relations to heritage is important, but the person to person relationships, that is what educational exchange is all about."
This year's Norwegian contingency at Augustana get to be part of a piece of Viking history. On March 30, the ground was broken for a new social science building, the Madsen Social Science Center. It is named after Lou and Helen Madsen, who made a combined cash and multi-million dollar commitment to the facility. The new center is a building for the future, replacing barracks from the past. The H shaped military barracks were moved to the campus after World War II, intended to be a temporary solution to a facilities shortage.
Architecture Incorporated of Sioux Falls has designed the new building, scheduled to be finished in September 1999. The fund raiser for the building began in the winter of 1994, and four years later $34.2 million has been raised. "Augustana Renewal is dedicated to building upon the foundations of our inspired past," said President Wagoner in an orientation letter circulated to the students. "To the courageous men and women who began the Augustana dream, we reaffirm our commitment to Augustana and prepare for a new century of opportunity. With your help, those things we dream about tomorrow, can come true today."
But why should students travel to the edge of the plains to get an education? "I'd say they'd have fun," said Ralph. "I think fun intellectually, spiritually, socially. I think they would do some of their best growing here."