Index

Public Safety and Facilities Announcements

Due to high COVID-19 Rates, Minnesota Health Officials Encourage Pre-Thanksgiving Testing

submitted by rjohn@augsburg.edu

This past week, Augsburg’s on-campus transmission rate again moved up to the moderate transmission range, and we continue to receive reports of positive COVID-19 cases and exposures to people with COVID-19.

Augsburg already is largely operating according to Minnesota Department of Health recommendations for moderate transmission levels. We continue to monitor the on-campus case rates to determine whether additional action will be needed. (See the COVID-19 status blog for a link to the MDH transmission level guidance.)

Your best protection, as always, is to avoid close contact by wearing masks and maintaining 6 feet of distance when gathering with others.

In addition, over the next two weeks, Augsburg is offering free, on-campus saliva testing in coordination with the State of Minnesota. State health officials have expanded testing across Minnesota in an effort to help people (particularly 18-to-35 year olds, who often don’t have symptoms and don’t even know they are infectious) to determine whether they have the virus before traveling or visiting family and friends at Thanksgiving.

Additional information and links are available in this week’s COVID-19 Status Blog.

Free Testing for COVID-19; Students get a Chance to Win AirPods

submitted by sitarami@augsburg.edu

There are two free state-sponsored opportunities to get tested for COVID-19 at Augsburg. Students who attend, present their student ID, and get tested will be entered in an AirPods giveaway. Faculty, staff, family members, and neighbors are invited as well.

November 11 at 10:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and November 18 from noon – 6 p.m. | Hoversten Chapel, Augsburg University

The state of Minnesota is sponsoring a pre-Thanksgiving testing at Augsburg University. This is a free saliva test. Results take a few days to arrive. To ensure an accurate test, do not eat, drink, smoke, or chew gum 30 minutes prior to testing. No insurance needed but, if you have it, bring your insurance card. This testing event is open to everyone, symptoms or no symptoms. Off-campus students also are eligible for the AirPods giveaway.

About Negative COVID-19 Test Results:

According to the CDC, if you receive a negative result from a COVID-19 test result, that means that you probably were not infected at the time the sample was collected. You should continue to take precautions against COVID-19, including washing your hands often, keeping 6 feet of distance between yourself and those you do not live with, and wearing a mask in public.

In addition, if you were in close contact with someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19, you need to stay home for 14 days after your last contact with that person, even if your test result is negative, the Minnesota Department of Health states. This is to avoid exposing others if your test result was a false negative. If you develop symptoms after your negative test result, you will need to get tested again.

Outbreak Planning

Teaching and Learning

Teaching Tip Tuesday: The Problem with “Learning Styles”

submitted by maherk@augsburg.edu

Are you an auditory or visual learner? Or maybe a multi-modal learner? Learning styles are a popular concept in education, but studies on both student self-reporting of preferred learning styles and the efficacy of teaching specifically to those preferred learning styles indicate that — surprisingly — neither actually results in improved student learning outcomes.

Teaching Tips are posted on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month. Find more resources at https://inside.augsburg.edu/ctl/.

The Problem with “Learning Styles”

Become a CTL Fellow

submitted by maherk@augsburg.edu

The Center for Teaching and Learning is seeking nominations for three CTL Fellows positions. Along with the CTL Director and the Faculty Development Committee, CTL Fellows play an active role in identifying, planning, and providing professional development opportunities focused on teaching and learning at Augsburg University. To support this work, CTL Fellows have access to dedicated professional development funds to further their own expertise in teaching and learning pedagogy and share that expertise with the Augsburg community.

CTL Fellows positions are open to all teaching faculty, including adjunct faculty. Applicants should have a strong interest in pedagogy, equity and inclusion, and professional development, but need not be experts in any of these areas. Terms are for 1.5 to 2 years, and new CTL Fellows will begin in January 2021. All meetings of the CTL Fellows will occur remotely via Zoom through May 2021.

The nomination process is simple! To nominate yourself (encouraged), please submit your name and a brief statement of why you would like to be a CTL Fellow to the e-mail address below. To nominate a colleague, please submit their name and a brief statement of why you are nominating them for this position. Please submit all nominations to ctl@augsburg.edu with the subject line “CTL Fellows” by Friday, November 13th at noon.

If you have any questions or would like to find out more about the CTL Fellows program, please contact Jennifer Bankers-Fulbright, CTL Director, at bankers@augsburg.edu.

Resources from Google Drive Workshops

submitted by maherk@augsburg.edu

In case you missed the E-Learning Team’s presentations on Google Drive, you can find links to the recordings and slides from both the Basics and Advanced workshops below. Note that the document containing the links to these resources can only be viewed with an Augsburg email address.

Resources from the Google Drive Workshops

URGO Summer Research Info Sessions 11/18 and 11/19

submitted by tengwalm@augsburg.edu

11/18 at 5pm via Zoom
https://augsburg.zoom.us/j/95809327949?pwd=SERLUVpyY1FGMFVnb3dqcFBhMDZWUT09

11/19 at 5pm via Zoom
https://augsburg.zoom.us/j/91973769239?pwd=SGRTTUpudVVsY29lY0J6d0wxdkVhQT09

Hear from past researchers and get the scoop on writing a strong application and how to find a faculty mentor!
The URGO Summer Research Program is an 11-week, on-campus program where undergraduate students are funded to conduct research or creative activities under the guidance of a faculty mentor they choose.
If you have any questions regarding the program or cannot make it to an info session and would like to learn more, please contact urgo@augsburg.edu.

“Take 2” minutes for a Tech Teaching Tip from Phyllis Kapetanakis

submitted by maherk@augsburg.edu

“Take 2” is a new weekly series of 2-minute videos by Augsburg Faculty sharing a remote learning teaching tip. In this episode, Phyllis Kapetanakis (Business Administration) shares how she uses Zoom reports to take attendance and how to clip/edit Zoom recordings to make additional learning resources.

“Take 2”: Phyllis Kapetanakis on Zoom attendance and clipping Zoom recordings

WST 305: Introduction to Queer Studies

submitted by green@augsburg.edu

Introduction to Queer Studies (WST 305)
Spring 2021
Tu & Th 9:40-11:20am

In WST 305—the only Augsburg course devoted exclusively to queer studies—we will raise and address, though obviously not settle, these issues:

• How are sexual and gender norms constructed historically and culturally?

• How do sexual and gender norms, culturally and historically understood, affect LGBTQIA+, cisgender, and heterosexual people’s development and self-perceptions?

• How do past, recent, and developing definitions and theories of human sex, gender, and sexuality generated by LGBTQIA+ persons and communities present alternatives to dominant cisgender & heterosexual traditions?

We apply theories to current, historical, and cultural concerns. We will make use of virtual cultural, artistic, and speaker events related to our topic.

Though the course is designed for upper-level students, there are a variety of possible prerequisites that qualify students to participate with our permission. Please contact either Prof. Doug Green (green@augsburg.edu) or Prof. Mary Lowe (lowe@augsburg.edu) if you are interested in the course and/or have questions about it, especially regarding prerequisites.

We hope you’ll join us for Introduction to Queer Studies this Spring!

General Announcements

Nominate Aspiring Community Leaders: Paid Two-Year Fellowship

submitted by hermansb@augsburg.edu

Nomination Deadline: ASAP
Application Deadline November 15, 2020

Lead For Minnesota’s (LFMN) flagship program is a paid two-year high impact fellowship for leaders ages 21-30 to serve their hometowns, particularly in neighborhoods and communities where the narrative of success has meant leaving and never coming back.

Each Fellow works full-time alongside dynamic community leaders, local government and non-profit leaders to address critical challenges and recruit other young leaders to return to and remain in the community, and will receive ongoing support and training from LFMN to ensure they are critical contributors on priority projects from the start.

The summer before their fellowship begins, all Fellows receive 4 weeks of graduate level public administration, leadership, and equity training from leading institutions like the University of Minnesota and the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics, while also joining other Fellows for retreats throughout the course of the two years.

Nominations: Professors, peers, and colleagues are invited to nominate outstanding candidates in their community. Nominees will be contacted by Lead For Minnesota regarding next steps.

Read more about Lead for Minnesota here: https://www.leadforminnesota.org/

Nomination Form

Add a Global Course to your Spring Schedule

submitted by leess8@augsburg.edu

Looking for a dynamic and engaging course this spring? Want to hear from people all over the world to deepen your knowledge of international perspectives? If yes, we encourage you to register for an online course taught by CGEE staff this spring!

These courses are taught by Augsburg CGEE faculty from Mexico, Central America, and Southern Africa and will also bring in a variety of guest speakers and unique voices from around the globe using our community connections in those countries. Several courses also fulfill LAF graduation requirements.

Courses for spring 2021 semester include:
COMMUNICATION, FILM, & NEW MEDIA
COM 329-X: Intercultural Communication (Fulfills Augsburg Experience Requirement)

CROSS-CULTURAL STUDIES
CCS 495: Cross-cultural Perspectives: Feminisms in the Americas

HISTORY
HIS 156: The Crisis in Nicaragua: U.S. Destabilization or a Democratic Movement? (Fulfills LAF Humanities)
HIS 195/387: Apartheid, Mandela, and Post-Apartheid in Southern Africa (Fulfills LAF Humanities)
HIS 195/387: Mexican History, Cultures and Cosmovision (Fulfills LAF Humanities)

POLITICAL SCIENCE
POL 353: Political and Social Change in Namibia (fulfills LAF Social Sciences)

RELIGION
RLN 100-C: Religion, Vocation and the Search for Meaning I (fulfills Search for Meaning I)
RLN 409-B: Virtual Immersion: Topics: Faith, Vocation, & Social Change (fulfills Augsburg experience, Search for Meaning II OR Humanities LAF)
RLN 480-A: Virtual Immersion: Vocation and the Christian Faith (fulfills Augsburg Experience, and keystone)

SPANISH
SPA 112-F: Beginning Spanish II (fulfills Modern Language I)
SPA 212-A: Intermediate Spanish II (fulfills Modern Language II)

All of these courses will be available in records and registration, per your usual registration (https://terra.augsburg.edu/recreg/Pages/frmCourseSearch.aspx)

List of Global Courses, Descriptions, and Schedules

Changes to Strommen’s Virtual Resume and Cover Letter Drop-In Hours

submitted by grayk2@augsburg.edu

The Strommen Career & Internship Center has adjusted their virtual drop-in hours for the remainder of the Fall 2020 Semester. Starting Tuesday, November 10th – Friday, December 11th, our Career Peer Advisors will be available to review resume and cover letters via Zoom the following days/times:

Tuesdays & Thursdays 11:00am-4:00pm
Wednesdays 11:00am-1:30pm
Fridays 11:00am-3:30pm

Zoom meeting link and updated hours can be found on our Strommen Community Moodle Site.

Strommen Community Moodle Site

Minneapolis Moment Theatre Project

submitted by lewisgg@augsburg.edu

Do you have something to say in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd? Do you have questions about how we exist in the Twin Cities after the killings of Philando Castile, Jamar Clark, Brian Quinones, Terrance Franklin, Alfred Abuka Sanders, Cordale Handy, Phil Quinn, Tycel Nelson, Isak Aden, Fong Lee, and others? Do you have concerns about the United States after the deaths of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Freddie Gray, Botham Jean, and more?

Make your voice heard! Join the Minneapolis Moment!

The Minneapolis Moment is a one-minute play project attempting to continue dialogue rooted in the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the resulting uprisings in a time of pandemic and divisive federal elections. We’ll borrow the model of the Every 28 Hours Plays to create, select, and perform one-minute plays over Zoom or other video media to share with the Augsburg and Minneapolis communities.

The Minneapolis Moment will engage student, staff, and faculty in order to perform selected one-minute plays from the Every 28 Hours Plays and to write and perform new one-minute plays based on experiences since the murder of George Floyd. The goal is to facilitate critical dialogue and reflection by providing multiple viewpoints and multiple experiences.

The design of the project allows participants to start working in December 2020 and continue into the spring semester of 2021 with three or four performances building on each other and able to be broadcast virtually to be in alignment with essential health measures to protect against the pandemic. The idea is to have three or four performances with several one-minute plays and then ultimately to collect and edit them into one larger video. Participants can be involved in only one writing and performance cycle or in them all—it will be up to them. All Augsburg students, staff, and faculty will be welcome to participate.

Read more about this project here!

Event Announcements

Thinking of Graduate School at Augsburg?

submitted by assal@augsburg.edu

Are you thinking of graduate school at Augsburg? Do you know what kinds of graduate level programs we offer? Would you like to know more about what our graduate programs require? If you have answered any of these questions, come and swing by our table in the Christensen Center on this Wednesday November 11th from 10:00-12:00 PM to meet our Graduate Admissions team. We can provide you with information on next steps!

We look forward to seeing you soon!
gradinfo@augsburg.edu

If you do not feel comfortable joining us on campus, please register for our virtual zoom room, from 1-2 PM on the same day. Register here: https://augsburg.zoom.us/j/95488753251?pwd=VzdnbEk0MGdqeldwbVBFeHk2SzhXQT09

Augsburg Graduate Studies

Focused Conversation on Teaching and Learning: Next Week

submitted by wegenke@augsburg.edu

What We’ve Learned about Teaching and Learning
Monday, November 16
2-3 p.m.
Join Deans Monica Devers and Ryan Haaland for a discussion about what we’ve learned about this semester about teaching and learning during a pandemic.

To view the Focused Conversation schedule and access the live-stream link, visit the All Hands page (log in required).

All Hands Page

Chapel: Jenn Luong, Pastoral Intern

submitted by dames@augsburg.edu

Please join us in Hoversten Chapel or by live streaming for chapel today at 11:30 am to hear Pastoral Intern Jenn Luong preach. Chapel is live streamed via Zoom https://augsburg.zoom.us/j/95460363994?pwd=S1lSdks0T1cvcm96ZDNTRTlmYndUUT09.
The bulletin for today is available online. http://web.augsburg.edu/campusministry/Daily_Chapel_Bulletins/2020-21_Bulletins/2020-11-10_Chapel_bulletin.pdf
Chapel services are saved on the Campus Ministry YouTube channel. To find the link for chapel videos, please visit the Campus Ministry calendar.

Campus Ministry Calendar

Chris Stedman: What Can We Learn About Being Human from Life Online?

submitted by dames@augsburg.edu

Date: November 10, 2020
Time: 4:00 – 5:00 pm
Format: Zoom Webinar – to register see Zoom webinar link below
For much of history, humans have grappled with questions of meaning and belonging within institutions like churches and civic groups. Today, especially in the time of social distancing and online learning, more and more people are moving their search for connection and significance into digital space. The work of being human — exploring life’s big questions, finding a sense of identity and context, and connecting with others — increasingly happens on the internet. How is this changing our understanding of who we are? Join Augsburg University alum and current adjunct professor in Augsburg’s Department of Religion and Philosophy Chris Stedman for a conversation about his new book IRL: Finding Realness, Meaning, and Belonging in Our Digital Lives (out October 20, 2020), what it means to be “real” in the age of Twitter and TikTok, and what we can learn from the novel ways of being and belonging that are emerging online.
The lecture will feature a presentation by Chris Stedman followed by a time of Q & A. This is a free event, open to students, staff and faculty. Registration required at webinar link provided. After registering, participants will receive a link to connect to the event.
Chris Stedman is a Minneapolis-based writer, speaker, teacher, and community organizer. He is the author of IRL: Finding Realness, Meaning, and Belonging in Our Digital Lives (2020) and Faitheist: How an Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious (2012). Chris has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, and PBS.
Previously the founding director of the Yale Humanist Community and a fellow at Yale University, Chris also served as a humanist chaplain at Harvard University. He currently teaches in the Department of Religion and Philosophy at Augsburg and serves as the Network of ELCA Colleges and Universities’ 2020-21 visiting lecturer.

Register in advance for this webinar:

Student Play Auditions Nov. 17 and 18

submitted by lewisgg@augsburg.edu

Augsburg Theater Department Virtual Auditions. All students welcome.

Tuesday, November 17 from 4-8
Wednesday, November 18 from 4-8

The Augsburg theater department will be hosting auditions for the winter play, Two Men and a Woman in a House. This production is a student run piece, written by a 2020 Augsburg graduate and directed, designed and performed by Augsburg students.
You do not need to be a theater major to audition or be cast in any of Augsburg Theater productions. Everyone is welcome. Further information is provided in the link below.

Click here for audition information!

TODAY: Music Therapy Meeting

submitted by frederil@augsburg.edu

ASMTA is hosting an informational meeting for music therapy students. It will consist of an overview of planned events and a Q and A session. ASMTA is also looking for feedback from students for desired resources and activities. This will be over Zoom on November 10th from 7-8pm. Email frederil@augsburg.edu to receive the Zoom link or save it below. We hope to see you there!

https://augsburg.zoom.us/j/99698370701

Keeping Track of Auggies

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Classifieds

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