Wednesday, April 25, 2018

submitted by dupont@augsburg.edu

Apply to be an AugSem Student Leader! We are looking for students who want to be peer mentors for first-year students in their AugSem class. Student Leaders work closely with faculty and students to ensure first-year students have a smooth transition to college. Applications can be found on Inside Augsburg under On-Campus Student Jobs.

submitted by tensen@augsburg.edu

Here’s your chance to see how your colleagues are employing various learning technologies in their teaching and research. CTL will supply sandwiches so you can munch as you stroll the exhibits where the faculty listed below will provide brief demos of ways they are using Moodle and other learning technologies to enhance their teaching and scholarship. [This session is part of CTL’s “4 Days in May.”]
Stu Anderson (Google Forms for peer review)
Nishesh Chalise (Screencasting)
Katie Clark (VoiceThread)
Carol Enke (Rubrics & Grading guides)
Jenny Hanson (Moodle quizzing)
Diane Pike (Vocaroo for grading)
Ana Ribeiro (Moodle Lesson)
Kaycee Rogers (annotated video)
John Schmit (Moodle grading guides)
Liaila Tajibaeva (ArcGIS for research)
James Vela-McConnel (Moodle course design)

submitted by tensen@augsburg.edu

As we approach the end of the term, ensuring the accuracy of your Moodle Gradebook becomes even more important than usual. Please be advised that by default, only non-empty grades in the Moodle Gradebook are aggregated, so if a student hasn’t submit work, entering a zero (or other minimum score) will ensure their missing work is reflected in their course total. If students have not submitted an assignment, instructors need to insert a 0 (rather than leaving the place blank) to affect the final grade. There is a quick way to add zeros for all students who haven’t already been given a grade for a particular activity–see http://go.augsburg.edu/bulkzero

submitted by berggg@augsburg.edu

We are excited to announce that junior biology major Holly Kundel has been recognized as a 2018 Goldwater Scholar. Kundel, who is also pursuing minors in environmental studies and mathematics, has been involved with research at Augsburg since the summer after her first year when she worked with Dr. Emily Schilling on a project related to the Canada Darner dragonfly. She is also a member of Tri-Beta, the Augsburg Honors Program, and Campus Ministry.

The Goldwater Scholarship will provide tuition assistance for Kundel’s senior year of undergraduate study and set her apart in her future graduate school applications. She aspires to earn a PhD in environmental biology, focusing specifically freshwater ecosystems and the impact of climate change on these systems, including pollution prevention and ecosystem restoration. “I believe that research on freshwater ecosystems is important because freshwater is a limited resource, and it is a resource that humans and other animals rely on for survival,” writes Kundel.

1280 of the top STEM undergraduates from around the country applied, and only 211 were awarded scholarships. Congratulations to Holly on this prestigious recognition!

submitted by pippert@augsburg.edu

Jessica Nathanson Scholarly Writing Retreat
Wednesday, May 16 – Friday, May 18, 2018
Dunrovin Christian Brothers Retreat Center

Located on 50 scenic acres of national park in Marine on Saint Croix, Dunrovin’s beautiful wooded grounds are a peaceful, yet professional, setting for group meetings, private getaways, youth or adult groups, and day or overnight retreats.

Do you wish you had uninterrupted time to write / work on scholarship? If so, you will want to take advantage of the annual Jessica Nathanson Scholarly Writing Retreat. Jess established a tradition of allowing faculty and academic staff time away from campus to focus entirely on scholarship. There is no schedule for this retreat – it is simply time and space to work on scholarship. The Provost and the Center for Teaching and Learning will cover the cost of the retreat. We ask that you commit to being present on all three days of the event. Our time begins at 1:00 pm on Wednesday and ends at 1:00 pm on Friday. Space is limited to full-time faculty members.

Questions? Please contact the Center for Teaching and Learning ctl@augsburg.edu
Or visit our website: http://inside.augsburg.edu/ctl/

RSVP

submitted by berggg@augsburg.edu

7 Augsburg seniors were named Fulbright Semi-Finalists this year! 5 were granted an award and 1 named an Alternate.

Kaylee Gueltzow (English Secondary Education & German): Kaylee will be an ETA in Germany where she also plans to organize a book club to spark conversation about the U.S.

Lyle Nyberg (Biology, Chemistry, & Mathematics): Lyle was named an Alternate to Zambia. Lyle applied to do research on malaria transmission at the Southern and Central Africa International Center of Excellence for Malaria Research.

Maddy Oswood (Spanish & Mathematics): Maddy will be an ETA in Spain where she also hopes to start an after-school art club where students can learn about both American and Spanish art.

Jubilee Prosser (Biology): Jubilee will be conducting public health research investigating the barriers to a sense of ownership of at-home water purification technologies in Kenya. She also plans to volunteer at the Maua Methodist Hospital in hygiene and water education for kids.

Blair Stewig (Biology): Blair will be conducting research on colorectal cancer at the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Poland and will also shadow physicians and volunteer at the Maria Skłodowska Curie Memorial Cancer Centre.

Abby Tetzlaff (English): Abby will be an ETA in Germany. She currently teaches an English Language Learning class with MN Literacy Council’s Open Door, and in Germany she hopes to initiate an English-language conversation table open to older students and adults.

Jossel Franco (History): Jossel was named a Semi-Finalist for an ETA to Bulgaria. Though she will not be doing a Fulbright, Jossel received the Puente Cultural Services and Teaching Abroad Grant to teach English in Ecuador. She will be doing TEFL training, working at the CEDEI language institute, and volunteering as an English tutor.

If you are interested in Fulbright, contact urgo@augsburg.edu.

submitted by berggg@augsburg.edu

Applying to graduate school this fall or fall 2019? Most masters and doctoral programs, as well as some health professional schools, require the Graduate Records Examination (GRE) for admission. GRE Prep is offered this summer on campus through the Office of Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity. You’ll learn the most effective ways tackle the Verbal, Quantitative, and Analytical Writing sections on the GRE.

The course meets Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:30-8 PM for four and a half weeks (May 14th – June 18th). The cost is only $125, which includes the official GRE test-prep book and a 6-month subscription to the online study tool, Magoosh; this is a fraction of the cost when compared to similar classroom GRE prep courses offered by Kaplan or the Princeton Review who charge over $1,000.

New this year, students can also earn a full-refund scholarship! Those who attend 9 of the 10 classes (including the final practice test), will receive a full refund for the course!

Students, Alum who graduated from Augsburg, and staff are also welcome to register.

Register now at the URGO website: http://www.augsburg.edu/urgo/grad/gre-prep/

Questions? Contact the URGO Office at urgo@augsburg.edu or x1446

submitted by berggg@augsburg.edu

Wednesday, May 2
11 am
103 Hagfors Center

URGO is hosting a personal statement workshop for pre-health applicants with Naty Lopez, Ph.D., Assistant Dean for Admissions and Diversity at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry. Dr. Lopez is a nurse and counselor by training. She completed her doctoral studies in health professions education at the University of Pennsylvania. Please contact Catherina Kipper at kipper@augsburg.edu to RSVP.

submitted by berggg@augsburg.edu

Sophomore Abdulkadir Sharif, who is double majoring in International Relations and Politics and is a TRIO/SSS Promise Scholar, just received the prestigious Boren Award Scholarship under the African Flagship Initiative Program. Through this award, Abdul will spend 8 weeks this summer with a cohort of learners studying Swahili at the University of Florida, followed by 4 months of intensive Swahili language study and cultural immersion in Tanzania. All of his expenses are paid and he will earn 24 credits.

Boren is established to teach American students less commonly taught languages and cultures in world regions critical to U.S. interests, and underrepresented in study abroad. After graduation, Abdul will spend at least one year of paid employment in the federal government. He would like to work for the U.S. State Department. Boren recipients receive Schedule A hiring authority, which gives them preference when applying to federal positions.
Boren Scholarships can be for a 6 months to a year of study abroad or can be an 8-week summer study abroad if you are a STEM major.
To discuss making an application for a Boren Award Scholarship, please contact one of our Boren Campus Representatives: Andrea Dvorak, Assistant Director of Off-Campus Study, Center for Global Education and Experience @ dvorak@augsburg.edu or Dixie Shafer, Director of Undergraduate and Graduate Opportunity (URGO) @ shafer@augsburg.edu.

submitted by pippert@augsburg.edu

CTL is happy to announce that Jennifer Bankers-Fulbright and Beliza Torres Narvaez have been selected to serve two-year terms as CTL Faculty Fellows. They will join current CTL Fellows Dan Albert, Jennifer Diaz Joaquin, Munoz, Bonnie Tensen, and John Zobitz in supporting the work of faculty and staff.

We would also like to thank outgoing CTL Fellows, Nishesh Chalise and Mary Lowe for their outstanding contributions to Augsburg.

submitted by obrienk@augsburg.edu

As the advising office for graduate school applications, each year URGO records the names of students and alumni who have been accepted to graduate school programs.

If you are a student who has been accepted or a faculty/staff member who knows of a student’s acceptance that you are able to share, please send that information to urgo@augsburg.edu.

submitted by swanson@augsburg.edu

If you are working to meet deadlines before the end of the term, today is the day! Hours on Wednesday:

Wednesday – 11:10 – 1:40; 3:30 – 6; 6:30 – 9 PM.

The WL will reopen for May and for SS on Tuesday, May 1. Hours are Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 5 – 7:30. Tutors will also read online submissions during these hours for students who are not able to be on campus.

Questions: Contact K. Swanson