News of Norway, issue 5, 1998
In the 50s, suburbanization hit most major central cities around the country. Factors like a housing shortage, interstate and highway projects and the introduction of tax exempt house mortgages prompted people to leave the cities for the suburbs. Minneapolis was no exception; The city's population peaked at 521,000 in 1950 and has declined ever since.
Augsburg, opened in Marshall, Wisconsin, in 1869. It was the first seminary founded by Norwegian immigrants and named after the confession of faith presented by Lutherans in Augsburg. Shortly after, in 1872, the school moved to Minneapolis. When people started migrating to the suburbs in the 50s, Augsburg and the other educational institutions stayed behind. "This means they have to attract a sense of obligation to the inner city," said William Frame, president at Augsburg since August 1997.
Frame has no Norwegian background. As far as he knows, he said, he is probably the first non-Norwegian president in the history of the college.
The suburbanization made commitments to service from surrounding schools even more important and necessary. But a commitment to its immediate communities as well as the church has been a theme with this four-year liberal arts college since the beginning.
"Augsburg is a framework of strong academics within the church," Frame said. "In that picture, diversity and service to the city operates."
Ministry is an important call of the school. It was out of Augsburg that the Lutheran Free Church emerged in the 1890s. Augsburg is now a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.
The ministry is inevitably linked to Augsburg's location and combined with the school's commitment to the surrounding community. The Augsburg Youth and family ministry is a vital part of this call and work. Over the years, it has also evolved into a major, only one of over 50 that students can choose from at Augsburg. In addition, students can create their own major through the Associated Colleges of the Twin Cities (ACTC) consortium.
This five-college exchange program (Augsburg College, Hamline University, Macalester College, The University of St. Thomas and The College of St. Catherine) allows students to take classes at any of the campuses without extra charge. Though faith plays a large role, Frame said that it is important to keep in mind that they are a college and not a church. We keep alive a reasonable dialogue between faith and reason, principally in the classroom, he explained.
Today, the sense of obligation assumed by Augsburg can be seen not only through projects in the community-outreach programs, violence prevention programs and so on-but within the campus itself, in the school's mission and in the vastly diverse student body.
At Augsburg, it's a mission to "develop future leaders of service to the world." The student body has a higher average age (27) than most other colleges. This is mostly due to Augsburg's weekend college. This program is for people who have families or who work but still are committed to getting an education. Out of a total student body of 2,866 (Fall 1997), 1,035 students were enrolled in the weekend college program.
Augsburg also offers programs for students with special needs. The Center for Learning and Adaptive Student Services (CLASS) program, officially added in 1989, works to educate college students with disabilities. It has evolved since Augsburg first became accessible to physically disabled students.
Today, the CLASS program serves nearly 200 students. The staff includes four licensed disabilities specialists and a physical disabilities specialist who meet individually with students to assist them with in both academic and practical matters. Equipment, textbooks and other aids are also available.
A skyway-tunnel-elevator system connects 10 of the campus's major buildings, which makes it easier to get around (for everybody) during those harsh Minnesota winters.
The STEP UP program is the school's latest addition. The program is designed for people with addictions, so they can pursue undergraduate degrees.
But the community is not the only gaining party. Students and the school learn from the community as well. "The city is a laboratory where life and policy can be tested," Frame said.
Augsburg is a liberal arts college where more systematic attention is paid to vocation-career, stewardship, ambition and calling. "It represents the current merger between liberal arts and professional mixing," Frame said. In regards to the school's heritage, Frame said, "The Norwegian root is unmistakable."
A Norwegian major is offered through the Modern Languages Department. Modern Language chair and associate professor of Norwegian Frankie Schackelford said that her biggest challenge is "vrangforestillinger" (misconceptions) among students, especially those who grew up in the Midwest.
Her experience is that what Norway represents for them is rose painting and the Hardanger fiddle. Schackelford has been at Augsburg since 1990. She has no Norwegian background and started studying Norwegian while getting her Ph. D. in Germanic.
"My task is to show Norway as a country where things are still divided among everybody," she said. She added that not being Norwegian, she can tell students this with a pride that isn't personal.
Augsburg also has a strong contingent of students coming over from Norway. In the fall, close to 50 Norwegian students will return or be in their first semester at Augsburg.
Frame said the school is pursuing these students more actively than they have in the past, and Frame has nothing but good things to say about the students.
"They add a contingent of remarkable collegiate and studious people," he said. As for the American students, Frame points to the principal of diversification. You put different people in touch with each other so each notices there are different ways of thinking and so on, he explained.
But what makes Augsburg a place to consider? Commitment to education, Frame said. "The principle goal is to get students ready for effective lives in modern society."
For more information,
Augsburg College
can be contacted at
2211 Riverside Avenue,
Minneapolis, MN 55454
Ph.: (612) 330-1000
Fax: (612) 330-1649
Also visit Augsburg College's homepage at www.augsburg.edu