concordia magazine: spring 2014

Concordia MagazineCONCORDIA COLLEGE, MOORHEAD MINNESOTA, USA SPRING 2014

Food Fight: Defending Our Global Food Supply

Page 2

Bucky’s Baseball Heaven

Page 20

Like bears to honey, children are drawn to trees and so were some Moorhead librarians. Concordia’s 3-D design class needed a large-scale project to design and implement.

The Moorhead Public Library wanted an interactive display for the children’s area. The pairing was perfect and the students were eager to have a project to create that was for children. The class, taught by instructor Chelsea Thorson, presented the library with three options. The fallen tree was selected and they set to work on the large-scale project.

The team constructed the tree with wood, cardboard, industrial Styrofoam recycled from furniture packing and a coating used for playground equipment.

John Amundson ’14, Mora, Minn., was one of the team leads. He says going from prototype to full scale was a thrilling experience where they had to consider many factors including safety, movability and durability. “It really got exciting when we got to see it life-size,” Amundson says.

The Moorhead Public Library unveiled the display at a community event where the Concordia students could talk about their work and children could dive right in and find their reading nook.

Mandi Dahlseng ’14, Moorhead, the other team leader, says all the extra work outside of class was worth it knowing the children would enjoy it. The class even put small fake animals in the trees for the children to discover.

“This gave us a real-world situation. I think having a community partner shows they support us and we get to give back to them,” Dahlseng says. “I’m hoping the children get to read in (the tree), play in it and make some fond memories at the library.” Photos: Sheldon Green

Creatinga Library Tree By Amy E. Kelly

CONTENTSConcordia MagazineCONCORDIA COLLEGE, MOORHEAD MINNESOTA, USA SPRING 2014

Food Fight: Defending Our Global Food Supply

Page 2

Bucky’s Baseball Heaven

Page 20

ONLINEWatch Dr. Richard Chapman discuss the benefits of

studying history

Hear longtime Cobber baseball coach Bucky Burgau talk about his career

Read full bios of retiring faculty, administrators

To see the online magazine, visit ConcordiaCollege.edu/magazine

IN EVERY ISSUE

24 CONCORDIA NEWS

29 ALUMNI

32 CLASS NOTES

COVERData reveals that health-related costs from foodborne illness in the United States are now more than $152 billion annually. Photo: iStock

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12

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STAFFEditor: Roger E. Degerman ‘84

Managing Editor: Erin Hemme Froslie ‘96

Online Communications Director: Amy J. Aasen ‘95

Media Relations Director: Amy E. Kelly ’95

Graphic Designers: Lori J. Steedsman, Briann Sandholm ‘06

Senior Writer/Photographer: Sheldon Green

Chief Copy Editor: Tracey J. Bostick

Online Communications Specialist: Gia Rassier ‘10

Online Content Editor: Eric Lillehaugen ‘11

Online Marketing Technical Specialist: Billy McDonald

Online Designer: Andrea Wagner ‘12

Project Coordinator: Kaylin Walker

Sports Information Director: Jim Cella

Media Relations Assistant: Kim Kappes

Print Shop: John Phelps, Becky Abele

FOR MORE INFORMATIONOffice of Communications and Marketing • (218) 299-3147Campus Info • (218) 299-4000ConcordiaCollege.edu

Correspondence concerning Concordia Magazine Volume 52, Number 2, should be addressed to: The Editor, Office of Communications and Marketing, Concordia College, 901 8th St. S., Moorhead, MN 56562 or [email protected]

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Concordia Magazine is published two times a year (spring and fall) by the Office of Communications and Marketing, Concordia College, 901 8th St. S., Moorhead, MN 56562.

© 2014 Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota 917228/44.1M/0514

FEATURES 2 FOOD FIGHT

8 WORLDLY VENTURES

12 EMPOWERING HER

14 INTRODUCING HIS HOLINESS: A JOURNEY OF RADICAL OPENNESS

16 HISTORY & HOPE

18 HELPING HANDS

20 BUCKY’S BASEBALL HEAVEN

28 CALLING ON YOUR SUPPORT

30 GATHERING CONCORDIA’S HISTORY

36 ALL WE KNEAD IS LOVE

By Amy E. Kelly

2 Concordia Magazine

Concordia Magazine 3

By Sheldon Green

Americans today enjoy a greater variety and availability of foods – fresh fruits and vegetables in winter, for instance – thanks to a global food supply network.

It is 1997 graduate Amy (Schroeder) Kircher’s job to see that this food supply is safe for consumers and poses no threat to the security of our country. It’s a big job.

Kircher, who has a doctorate in public health, is director of the National Center for Food Protection and Defense at the University of Minnesota. It’s one of 12 Department of Homeland Security Centers of Excellence. Other centers – all located at major universities – study subjects like responses to terrorism, animal disease defense, catastrophic event response or environment security.

Kircher leads and coordinates a consortium of experts throughout the United States who defend the food system through research and education. The main emphasis of her work includes identification and warning of food disruptions through data analysis.

“It’s a complicated task,” says Kircher. “Our food comes from a complex series of systems of global production and rapid transportation. Food grown in one place might be mixed with products from somewhere else, so following the supply chain is a challenge.”

Before coming to the University of Minnesota in 2011, Kircher held epidemiologist positions at NORAD – the U.S. Northern Command and with the Air Force where she worked on health informatics, biosurveillance and data analytics. She was part of the response effort in 2005 with Hurricane Katrina and 2009 with the H1N1 worldwide flu pandemic.

In her current role, Kircher watches for three basic threats to the nation’s food supply: terrorism, people who are motivated to make money by hurting the system, or disgruntled employees out to ruin a brand.

“I look to identify trends and patterns, and then warn of possible disruptions in the system,” she says.

Kircher’s research shows there is evidence of “bad actors” contaminating food. Plots have been uncovered to use food as a delivery mechanism for weapons of mass destruction, and economically motivated adulteration is a growing concern.

“These threats illuminate the need to stay ever vigilant, and be able to rapidly respond,” she says. “We can limit our exposure to terrorism or disaster by choosing not to fly or live near a nuclear power plant, but we can’t opt out of eating because food is necessary for survival.”From her office at the University

of Minnesota, Dr. Amy Kircher ‘97 leads outreach efforts and a team of researchers focused on addressing the vulnerability of the food system from intentional or catastrophic contamination.

Food FightDr. Amy Kircher '97 is on the front line

of defending our global food supply.

Kircher’s path to this prominent role began on her family’s 50-cow dairy farm near Glenwood, Minn., where she participated in all the activities small towns are known for – running for water carnival royalty, playing high school volleyball and basketball, singing in the choir. A favorite teacher helped her prepare a speech for a scholarship competition, and today she gratefully relies on that experience for the numerous presentations she must make to military, government and industry officials.

“If I know the material, I can speak with confidence to anybody,” she says.

Intent on becoming a doctor, Kircher grew frustrated by out-of-sequence science classes and labs at another college. While visiting friends at Concordia, she discovered she could stay on track academically with majors in biology and health.

After she transferred, her career sights were altered by events on campus.

One epiphany came after pausing to read Concordia’s mission statement carved into a rock near Lorentzsen Hall.

“It said to me, ‘take your talents and what you’ve learned, and go forth and serve.’ I liked that emphasis on going into the world to do good things,” says Kircher. “It spoke to me. It was really my personal orientation to Concordia because I missed freshman year.”

Another revelation came while listening to a talk by Dr. Michael Osterholm, then the Minnesota state epidemiologist, and a prominent public health scientist who has become a nationally recognized biosecurity expert.

“He has the ability to convey to an audience a problem, the concern and the appropriate action,” says Kircher. “I thought, ‘That’s it! That’s what I want to do.’ From Mike I found a new passion. Mike gets you excited about things and I now work with him.”

Kircher soon realized she could help many people

by working in the broader arena of public health. As a physician, she could only treat one patient at a time.

“Those experiences, and the influence of faculty who always were ready to listen and offer advice, were transformative for me,” she says. Kircher credits Dr. Larry Papenfuss, who taught health courses at the time, with opening new perspectives for her.

“Amy was my advisee and we formed a mentoring relationship,” says Papenfuss. “What set her apart was her ability to take on a rigorous academic load. Amy has a keenness of thought, and a sense of confidence and independence. She is assertive while also being open to being directed. She’s certainly among the brightest I’ve encountered.”

Papenfuss helped her land a summer internship at the University of New Mexico and recommended the master’s program in public health at the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse. Both were schools where Papenfuss had done his graduate work. Kircher completed her doctorate in public health at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.

Papenfuss believes that Concordia opened a wider world for Kircher and gave her the belief that she could do whatever she set her mind to.

“You recognize that it started at Concordia with the benefits of the liberal arts,” he says. “Today Amy’s career crosses boundaries because of her background in biology, public health, nutrition and political science.”

There were formative Cobber moments, too. During a pickup basketball game in Olson Forum, she met Jon Kircher ’97, a history and business major from Olivia, Minn. In the spring of their senior year, Jon proposed to Amy under the campanile. They are now the parents of two boys and a girl. Jon Kircher has worked at Wells Fargo since graduating and is a vice president and senior private banker at the St. Paul bank.


Globalizing the CheeseburgerThe cheeseburger is a staple of fast food restaurants. Dozens of ingredients are used

to bake and preserve the buns, make sauces, and supply condiments. The ingredients in a typical burger can come from as many as 80 countries. Beef can come from 10 countries, wheat from as many as 15, and sauce and condiment ingredients from more than 50 countries.


Wheat Gluten

AustraliaBelgiumCanadaChinaCzech RepublicFranceGermanyKazakhstanLithuaniaNetherlandsPolandRussiaSwitzerlandThailandU.K.

Beef

AustraliaCanadaChileCosta RicaHondurasJapanMexicoNicaraguaNew ZealandUruguay

Garlic Powder

BrazilCanadaChinaGermanyIndiaIsraelJapanSouth KoreaMexico

Tomatoes

BelgiumCanadaColombiaCosta RicaDominican RepublicGuatemalaIsraelMoroccoMexicoNetherlandsNew ZealandPolandSpain

Source: National Center for Food Protection and Defense; United States International Trade Commission


Within days of accepting her first professional job with the Air Force as an epidemiologist, Kircher was on a base in San Antonio. It could well have been a world away.

“Public health work I knew,” says Kircher. “But working for the military was completely unknown to me. I’d worked in systems before, but the military was a new culture.”

She called her dad after her first day on the job and asked him to explain military structure and rank. And for the first six months, her boss, a colonel, translated the meaning of each acronym she encountered.

“What a gift that was,” says Kircher. “He was so careful and thorough, he wanted me to understand everything. It gave me a sense of how precise things need to be in a big organization like the military.”

Kircher worked in preventive medicine, doing data analysis and providing accurate information to the decision makers, like doctors, so they could take better care of people.

“I’m very proud of my years working for the Air Force,” she says. “I have an incredible appreciation for what the men and women of this country volunteer for to protect our freedom.”

In 2003 she joined NORAD – the Northern Command, rotating between offices at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., and the famous nuclear bunker excavated from solid granite at Sheyenne Mountain.

“We were always ‘on’ there. Whether it was a training exercise or an event, we were constantly responding to the unexpected. It was something new every day. I never envisioned I’d ever be doing this,” Kircher says. “It’s an exciting place to be.”

When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Kircher was on the medical watch desk with three phones ringing simultaneously, suddenly in a real-time, crisis operation.

“In a situation like that, you do what’s necessary to save lives,” she says. “You remember your training, ask for help, and you respond. The military moves and functions as a team. It knows how to work. The military style is to believe you’re doing the right thing, with the right people, at the right time, to save lives and protect our homeland.”

Kircher sent in medics to set up field hospitals, helped locate special helicopters fitted to transport at-risk babies in incubators, and even moved a school of dolphins to safety one day.

“Believe it or not, there’s a way to do that,” she says. Kircher often has had to reach back and utilize her communication skills. She recalls

supporting a four-star admiral during a video teleconference about responding to a pandemic. When then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld kept asking questions the admiral couldn’t answer, the admiral told Rumsfeld, “My epidemiologist is right here, let’s ask Amy.”

And so Kircher stepped up to brief the defense secretary. She also spent 20 minutes with President George W. Bush when he toured the command

center after Hurricane Rita.“He wanted to know about bird flu, which was a question I wasn’t anticipating,” says

Kircher. “He was very curious about how many infections had been reported. You could see he felt very comfortable being in a secure command area. He was easy to talk to.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 76 million new cases of food-related illness (resulting in 5,000 deaths) occur in the United States each year. Data reveals that health-related costs from foodborne illness in the U.S. are now more than $152 billion annually.

“That is completely unacceptable,” she says.

Surprising Sources of U.S. Food Imports

• Sage – Albania• Juices – Azerbaijan• Pastry – Bosnia/Herzegovina• Honey – Cambodia• Gums – Chad• Fruit juice – Georgia• Cocoa beans – Haiti• Juices – Iran• Wheat gluten – Kazakhstan• Fruit/nut prep. – Lebanon• Honey – Mongolia• Rice – Pakistan• Tea – Sri Lanka• Gums – Sudan• Olive oil – Syria• Sesame seeds – Venezuela• Coffee – Yemen• Sugar – Zimbabwe

ImportsPepper is among a list of ingredients that are transported in bulk, making them more susceptible to tampering and contamination.

Source: National Center for Food Protection and Defense; USDA Foreign Agricultural Service


Consider the cheeseburger, a staple of fast food restaurants. Dozens of ingredients are used to bake and preserve the buns, make sauces, and supply condiments. The ingredients in a typical burger can come from as many as 80 countries. Beef can come from 10 countries, wheat from as many as 15, and sauce and condiment ingredients from more than 50 countries.

With that one example, monitoring such a complex food system is a daunting task. The solution involves prediction through data analysis, timely intervention and education.

“We understand the food supply networks,” says Kircher. “We assess risks and close gaps where we find them. We study, predict, inspect and pull things out of commerce so they don’t enter the supply system. We also provide awareness of what to look for. We make strides every day to be better.”

The most troublesome items are huge batches of ingredients, anything mixed or blended or that is transported in bulk like honey, olive oil and spices – especially pepper. Mislabeled fish or substituted species is a continual problem. High value items like infant formula are showing up as substandard or contaminated.

One suspect supplier has been China, a high-volume producer of low-cost products. But Kircher is encouraged by recent admissions by Chinese officials that the country has a cultural problem of producing fake or adulterated products. Fearing that worldwide consumers will reject their products, Chinese officials have signed an agreement with the U.S. to more closely regulate their manufacture and supply networks.

“The Chinese know they have a pervasive problem and they are taking visible measures toward changing their culture,” says Kircher. “It’s a promising step in the right direction.”

Kircher knows it’s hard for individual consumers to know where food comes from because others must do their jobs before products ever appear on grocery shelves. But she offers some common sense advice: Buy brands you know, buy where you know food is grown (bananas don’t grow in Canada), and pay the right amount for food – if it’s too cheap, it might not be real.

Personally, Kircher avoids sprouts (“they can never be clean enough”) and she doesn’t like raw oysters.

The bigger fear is using food as a weapon. It doesn’t take a large dose of toxic material to affect a large number of people. Twelve countries have reported contamination events since 2008 from agents like arsenic, cyanide, rat poison, and various herbicides, insecticides and pesticides.

Documents seized by CIA agents in Afghanistan indicate interest by Al-Qaeda in food terrorism by using small amounts of easily transported cyanide salts to contaminate food and water supplies.

An example of how food is monitored comes from Thailand, the world’s number one exporter of shrimp. In 2011, most of the country flooded and the year’s shrimp harvest was lost. Importers expected to see a decrease in shrimp availability, but it never happened. Adulterated shrimp from somewhere else entered the global market, and Homeland Security promptly warned regulators and food companies.

Kircher’s task is to analyze this complex information, probe suspected threats by known “bad actors” and worry about potential casualties.

“Then at the end of day, I go home, make dinner and be a mom,” she says. “You have to be able to separate home life from work life, or these worries will absolutely consume you.” Photos: Sheldon Green

Total CostRank State ($ millions)

The United States 152,3691. California 18,6132. Texas 11,3173. New York 10,3754. Florida 9,7995. Pennsylvania 6,7166. Illinois 6,4877. Ohio 5,8438. Michigan 4,9589. Georgia 4,72110. New Jersey 4,59521. Minnesota 2,54646. South Dakota 40550. North Dakota 312

Health-related costs from foodborne illness in the United States

The total cost of foodborne illness is the sum of medical costs, quality of life losses (including lost productivity), and lost life expectancy.

Robert Scharff, 2010The Produce Safety Proiect at Georgetown Universityproducesafetyproject.org

Costs

By Erin Hemme Froslie

Had she gone to college in Kenya, Gaya Shivega ’15 was destined to be an engineer.Instead, she received a scholarship designed to help East African women achieve an

American education. That opportunity led her to Concordia, a place she was drawn to through personal interactions, photos and videos.

“I wanted to go somewhere where people cared, and I felt that from the moment I applied,” Shivega says. “I’ve never regretted my decision.”

This summer the biology major will start applying to U.S. medical schools. After she receives her medical degree, she plans to return to Kenya. It’s a different path than she would’ve followed had she remained in her home country, where testing had placed her in an engineering program.

“Coming to the U.S. and Concordia gave me an opportunity to explore different options,” she says. “It has helped me figure out what I want to do.”

Worldly Ventures



The United States has always been a major draw for international students. Students want to improve their English skills and tap into traditions of innovation and creativity deeply embedded in America’s higher education system. Some want an experience away from home – and an understanding of another culture – that may help them stand out in a competitive global job market.

For those reasons and more, the number of students seeking an education abroad is increasing. Changing economics and political landscapes, plus technological innovations make the world closer. And a rising middle class in places like China means that more families have the money to pay for an international education.

In 2012-13, the number of international students in the U.S. rose to almost 820,000, a 7 percent increase over the previous year and an increase of nearly 40 percent in the past decade, according to the latest Open Doors report published by the Institute of International Education.

During this time, the largest increase in new international student enrollment was at the undergraduate academic level, which grew by 12 percent. While Chinese undergraduates have driven the overall growth, institutions also have reported increases from Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Iraq and Vietnam.

New OpportunitiesThese trends present new possibilities for Concordia, which has deep global traditions

and has identified opportunities to build upon those.This spring, Concordia joined a national campaign to double the number of American

students who study abroad by the end of the decade. For its part in the International Education Coalition’s Generation Study Abroad initiative, the college has committed to increase its number of undergraduate students who study abroad from 43 percent to 75 percent.

The college’s strategic plan also calls for increasing the number of international students to represent 8 percent of the undergraduate student body – two times the current rate.

“Attracting these students is a serious part of the enrollment equation and a huge opportunity,” says Dr. Per Anderson, associate dean for Global Learning. “And we’re good at offering what these students want and need.”

As he recruits international students, Don Buegel finds there are three things that draw them to Concordia: its high academic quality, its reasonable costs and its safe and welcoming atmosphere. Another part is word of mouth – siblings or grads who work abroad and are willing to spread the word.

“We’ve been lucky to have alumni attend college fairs who have helped us,” Buegel says.Ben Wagner ’14 finished high school in France when he decided to participate in a

student exchange program that placed him in Oregon. He enjoyed the experience but returned to France where he studied at a private business school for a year.

Then he decided he wanted more freedom in directing his undergraduate education. He applied for an international scholarship and started applying to schools, including Concordia.

“The student-teacher relationship is closer here than in France,” Wagner says. “You also get to choose your own classes.”

By attending Concordia, he also was able to play on a college football team as a kicker. The experience introduced him to friendships and an understanding of culture that otherwise wouldn’t have happened.

He’ll graduate in December with a business-marketing major.

Gaya Shivega ’15

Ben Wagner ’14

Home country: Kenya

Major: Biology

Campus involvement: Residence life, peer mentor, research

Future plans: Medical school

Home country: France

Majors: Business-marketing and communication

Campus involvement: Football, international student ambassador

Future plans: MBA or job in business sector


English OutreachReaching out to more international students is a natural progression for Concordia,

which is already recognized for its commitment to global education and accelerated language learning.

For several summers, the college and Concordia Language Villages have offered Collegetown, an accelerated English-learning program designed for students who intend to study at an American college. The program not only focuses on English language proficiency but also prepares students for college-level study.

This summer, the program will be expanded to two monthlong, credit-bearing sessions. The first session will largely serve international students seeking intensive English preparation. If they wish, they can continue their study during August, where they will join degree-seeking students who will attend Concordia or another institution.

Students who continue at Concordia will have a reduced course load the first semester to better negotiate the challenges of the first year of college. During the entire first year, these students will work closely with English Language Learning and Intercultural Affairs staff through cocurricular involvements, including tutorial learning and weekend programming at the Bemidji, Minn., campus of Concordia Language Villages.

Because higher education systems differ around the world, and even within the U.S., all international students can benefit from a transitional program that stresses language proficiency, academic skills and cultural understanding.

“It ensures that every student gets off to a good start,” Anderson says.It also is an opportunity to tap into the growing arena of international students who

are seeking short-term intensive English programs. The governments of several countries offer scholarships for students to pursue such experiences. For example, Concordia will accept students from the Brazil Scientific Mobility Program in 2015.

Regardless of how they come to campus and how long they stay, international students are a valuable addition. They bring a richness of experiences and customs to classrooms and residential life. In essence, they bring the world to a campus tucked in the central Plains.

“International students globalize our campus by their very presence,” says Christine Schulze, vice president for Concordia Language Villages. “They bring so much to the conversation, especially when they add their personal experiences to global topics woven into course curricula. It helps all students expand their horizons and go beyond preconceived notions of what life might be like in another part of the world.”

ArgentinaAustralia

BrazilBurundiCanadaChina

Czech RepublicEthiopiaFinlandFrance

GermanyGhana

Hong KongIndiaIran

Japan

JordanKenya

LuzemborgMyanamar

NigeriaNorway

PeruRepublic of Korea

RwandaSomaliaSri LankaSwedenTanzaniaVietnam

Zimbabwe

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS BRING SO MUCH TO THE

CONVERSATION, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY ADD THEIR

PERSONAL EXPERIENCES TO GLOBAL TOPICS ...

Home Countries of Concordia’s International Students

Concordia is expanding its Collegetown program to ease transitions for international students.

Power of ChoiceShu-Min “Alice” Chang ’13, a Taiwan native, was introduced to Concordia after

attending Oak Grove Lutheran High School in Fargo, N.D. While there, she started studying piano under Dr. Jay Hershberger. After graduating high school, she wanted to continue.

She was drawn to Concordia for both its musical rigor and the experiences she could have outside the classroom.

Immersed in music, she was assistant concertmaster in the Concordia College Symphonia. She played oboe and piano for The Concordia Orchestra and accompanied choirs at the Christmas Concerts. She also gave a piano recital each year.

“I think as a musician, there are a lot more opportunities here than back home. The education system in Asia doesn’t give students time for extracurricular activities and that’s the nicest thing about studying in the U.S.,” Chang says.

At Concordia she encountered mentors and peers who encouraged her professionalism and confidence with her piano playing. That support was important as she began working toward her master’s degree in piano performance at the University of Iowa. She intends to pursue a doctorate.

In addition to the diversity they bring to campus, international students also serve as a role model to domestic students. They’ve taken a big step by pursuing education away from their home countries.

“These are students who have taken a risk and stepped out of their comfort zone,” says Anderson. “They’ve stretched themselves in ways we want all of our students to do.”

Sudhir Selvaraj ’11 recently returned to campus for a staged reading by current students of his play, “We All Live in Bhopal.” Seeing the effort put into his production, which marks the world’s worst industrial disaster that happened in 1984, reminded Selvaraj why Concordia is so special.

“I have so much gratitude for what people here have done and continue to do for me,” he says.

The native of Bangalore, India, decided to attend Concordia after meeting faculty who worked with his father, dean of a Concordia study abroad program in his hometown.

“Coming to Concordia meant getting to be part of the U.S. we don’t see represented in the media often,” he says. “As students here, we get to live it and learn from it.”

In addition to courses, he was involved with student government, LeadNow, the international student organization, residence life and student ambassador programs.

These experiences also started him on a path of learning and encouraged him to look for connections and solutions, he says. Those are skills he learned both in the classroom and outside of it.

Now he’s pursuing his master’s degree in international relations at King’s College London. He dreams of one day working in the international news and media industry.

While international students once viewed their U.S.-based education as leading to a potential career away from their home countries, the students of today are much more inclined to return home to embrace the global opportunities that have arisen at a rapid rate in other parts of the world, Schulze says. These decisions reflect a world that has become closer, more interconnected.

“Studying abroad is an enriching experience,” she says. “It’s a way to build global networks and those cross-cultural skills that are necessary for the way business is done in the 21st century.” Photos: Sheldon Green

Shu-Min Chang ’13

Sudhir Selvaraj ’11


Home country: Taiwan

Major: Music

Campus involvement: Orchestra, piano

Post-graduation: Master’s degree at University of Iowa

Home country: India

Majors: Political science, global studies

Campus involvement: Student government, residence life, student ambassador, LeadNow

Post-graduation: Master’s degree at King’s College London


Empowering

HerA Concordia student studies business in India,

an experience that challenged his view of

gender equality and empowerment

By Matt Gantz

While in India, Concordia students worked with Mallamma Yalawar,

founder of Sabala, an organization devoted to empowering rural

women. She’s also president of a women’s cooperative bank.

Suffice it to say, I grew up with a very strong mother, one who molded me into the professionally driven and – hopefully – helpful person I am today. This is one reason my experiences while recently studying in India were so powerful.

Fall semester of 2013 was intended to further my business acumen through the Global Business in India program initiated by Concordia. The program is a conglomerate of applied experiences, including internships with NGOs and corporations, as well as academic stints focused on social entrepreneurship.

As a corollary, however, my time interacting with rural and urban Indians alike compelled me to contrast my learned values with a society that is just now establishing equal rights between genders, with men still typically maintaining prominent societal and familial roles. It is critical to note that while inequality is a global issue, this semester abroad allowed me to view the problem through the lens of another culture.


Global polls and studies note that despite social and economic progress, India has a long way to go in terms of gender equality. A Thomson Reuters Foundation poll revealed in 2011 that women there may make it to top political positions, but females are still at risk of practices such as infanticide or human trafficking.

I witnessed fragments of these contradictions – from arranged marriages and financially crippling dowries to female independence and career aspirations. It is clear that Indian women are taking on larger professional responsibilities, no longer inherently restricted to the choice of housekeeping and childbearing. And yet, in many ways cultural values and notions of yore are still in play.

It’s odd, to say the least, to witness this gradual shift in person. I worked in this revolution’s vanguard while interning with Sabala, a nongovernment organization devoted to empowering rural women through fair wages, banking and education. Their newfound confidence was beautiful.

While speaking with one of Sabala’s sanghas, a women’s handicraft-making collective, I heard what lives were like for the women just years before receiving their coveted embroidery jobs. If a police officer walked through their streets, the women would lock themselves in their kitchens – the thinking here being that since an officer was out, a criminal must be on the loose. Looking me in the eyes and chuckling as they spoke, these women now have a previously unimagined sense of independence.

Transitioning into a corporate setting, where flip flops and tan slacks effortlessly passed for business casual, I discovered a similar yet radically different group of progressive women. My day-to-day projects at Thomson Reuters in Bangalore were overseen by a female programmer. Nearly a dozen individuals, many of them male, reported to her. One day, she joyously informed me she would be away at the end of the week – a conference for women in technology, she said, the corners of her lips slanting upward. Her perseverance in corporate culture and a male-dominated profession provides much hope for the future of India. Likewise, the respect shown by her male co-workers is an admirable move for the whole country.

But old mindsets still tend to permeate overarching communities in this country, especially in the more rural regions. Acid attacks on women occur but are declining, and law enforcement is finally cracking down on instances of abduction and brutal rape. It’s difficult to not consider this

when a Bangalorian friend sends me a message at the end of her birthday celebrations claiming her day was only slightly ruined because two men, stalkers, followed her home from the party.

Even with these intrusions, I had many interactions with empowered Indian women. What was most striking, though, was that although they had begun to think of themselves as equals to males, their actions still illustrated lingering shards of a patriarchal society. I was waited on, past the point of generous hospitality; I was referred to as “sir” even after continuously insisting “Matt” was perfectly acceptable. Some of this interaction can definitely be attributed to the fact that I was a guest in their homes and country, but I noticed similar encounters between local women and men constantly. I was so ready to accept these women as equals, but extremely hospitable Indian nature combined with past norms prevented them from truly considering us all on par.

During one of my final nights in India, I meandered back to my apartment after parting with friends at a bus stop. Near my compound’s entryway, I passed by an Indian couple that was roughly my age, and the female was clearly in distress. From a distance, I turned around to watch the exchange. They stood in the middle of the street, just past my complex’s wall. The woman, irate by now, threw up her arms. She seemed so intensely mad at her male counterpart that, if given the opportunity, she would abandon him in the street right there.

But she couldn’t. It was nearly midnight and she was standing in the middle of Bangalore, a city of millions in a country of more than a billion with too many recent scars on its record of female treatment. As in other cities across the world, traveling alone hours after shops and restaurants were closed was not encouraged. Perhaps the woman recognized all of this, resulting in her begrudgingly continuing her walk with the man.

I have thought about this scene many times since I returned to the U.S. As I stared from under the safety of my apartment building’s shadow, it served as an all-too-vivid reminder that while many strides toward equality have been made in the past 20 years, both in the U.S. and in this beautiful country, in much broader terms there is still work to be done. ■

Photos: Jacob Olson ‘14

Matt Gantz ‘14, Eagan, Minn., studied business-finance at Concordia’s Offutt School of Business. He was part of the inaugural Global Business in India program. He will be working at Deloitte Consulting.

I HAD MANY INTERACTIONS WITH EMPOWERED INDIAN WOMEN. WHAT WAS MOST STRIKING,

THOUGH, WAS THAT ALTHOUGH THEY HAD BEGUN TO THINK OF THEMSELVES AS EQUALS TO MALES,

THEIR ACTIONS STILL ILLUSTRATED LINGERING SHARDS OF A PATRIARCHAL SOCIETY.

A J O U R N E Y OF R A D I C A L O P E N N E S S

As she stood on stage at the Nobel Peace Prize Forum, Anastasia Young ’14 had a lot of people on her mind. Not the least of which, the keynote speaker who was waiting in the wings. She had been chosen to introduce one of the world’s best-known advocates for peace, His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Though she stood at the podium by herself, she knew she hadn’t gotten there alone and had she not been open to change, it wouldn’t have come to be.

Young, of Butte, Mont., came to Concordia believing she’d continue her lifelong passion to play hockey and earn a degree that would get her into medical school. But in the 11th hour, she decided after spending much of her life on an ice rink, she wasn’t trying out for the team. Young was in uncharted territory.

“I’d think, who are you if you are not a hockey player? I really started questioning and I started to find my faith again,” Young says.

Searching for a fresh start, Young got involved with campus ministry. She took Religion 100 with Dr. Michelle Lelwica, who Young says let her explore her questions about various religions and encouraged her to study abroad in India.

“It was in India that I saw people come together across lines of differences, to make a difference in their communities,” Young says.

One experience that awed Young was when two people, a Muslim woman and a Hindu woman, came together after an explosion to create a community hospital that provided free health care to their whole community. The cooperation led her to think in terms of commonality.

“What I remember of that conversation when I suggested she consider going to India was really sensing the depth of Anastasia’s desire to make the world a better place,”

I n t r o d u c i n g

His Holiness


By Amy E. Kelly

Lelwica says. “Of course a lot of Concordia students share that desire, but for Anastasia, the dream of helping to heal the world – of putting her intellectual understanding and her spiritual values into action – was something that couldn’t wait.”

She returned to campus and connected with Dr. Jacqueline Bussie, who had been hired while Young was in India, to start a new program, the Forum on Faith and Life, which included interfaith dialogue. Young’s heart and mind were drawn to interfaith work, so she applied and was accepted as an Interfaith Scholar to assist with that type of work at the college. Young, a nursing and religion major, also read the Dalai Lama’s book “Toward a True Kinship of Faiths” for an interfaith leadership course with Bussie.

“Her reading of this book and her role as a Concordia Interfaith Scholar were both driving forces behind her applying to be a Peace Scholar, because the theme for the Peace Scholars program last year was interreligious conflict and understanding,” Bussie says.

The Peace Scholars program selects two students from each of six colleges with Norwegian-American roots to study issues regarding conflict, war and peace. The Peace Scholars were chosen for leadership roles at the Nobel Peace Prize Forum, which leads us back to introducing the Dalai Lama. Young had rehearsed her words dozens of times during the weeks preceding the event, memorizing the text. She’d been briefed by the organizers that she should read her introduction and then step back for the Dalai Lama to take the podium – no handshakes or bows. She believed she was ready for anything that could happen.

“I got through my first sentence … and there is an audible buzz in the crowd,” Young says as she tries to hold back laughter to tell the story. “I can hear something happening on my right side, so I think, I’m just going to take a little glance, and I look and His Holiness has sneaked onto the stage and was standing right there.”

Once Young saw the Dalai Lama, the crowd erupted with laughter. After the room calmed, Young finished her

introduction with the honored guest standing nearby. At her conclusion, he bowed.

“In my head I thought, well now I know I need to bow,” Young says, “and we bowed and our foreheads touched and there was like this burst of joy inside me. It was amazing to have this very human interaction, when my introduction focused on the humanness that he desires in this whole world.”

After his speech, Young and Tenzin Yeshi Paichang, an Augsburg student who played the young Dalai Lama in the movie “Kundun,” presented His Holiness with scarves, which he blessed and gave back to them. After the event, Young says audience members wanted to meet her and tell her how much the unexpected laughter during her introduction had touched them.

“It really made me think about how our interactions with one another matter,” Young says. “When we witness joy, we can feel joy ourselves.”

Now Young is searching for where joy will lead her next. She is hoping to do more with the Nansen Center for Peace and Dialogue in Norway, where she worked as a Peace Scholar. She also hopes to find more intersections for nursing and interfaith work, but she is open to what the journey brings.

“I have what Dr. Bussie likes to call a radical openness,” Young says. “Sometimes it feels like I need to do just one – go into nursing and then eventually come back to interfaith work or peace building – or pursue interfaith work and dialogue in the world and come back to nursing later. I haven’t given up hope that I can still bring those two things together in my next move after Concordia.”

And wherever her path leads, she is bound to pick up mentors, friends and joy-filled people on her journey.

“When I was up on stage thinking about this incredible experience,” Young says, “my heart was filled with joy knowing that I didn’t get here by myself. There are so many people who have influenced me and they were also there with me.” Photos: Stephen Geffre for Nobel Peace Prize Forum/Sheldon Green

IT WAS IN INDIA THAT I SAW PEOPLE COME

TOGETHER ACROSS LINES OF DIFFERENCES, TO MAKE

A DIFFERENCE IN THEIR COMMUNITIES


HISTORY&HOPE

Nationally, homelessness is on the rise. Locally, students in one Concordia history class are rising up to meet the challenge

of fighting it.

By Gia Rassier


For the students in Dr. Richard Chapman’s “Religion, Philanthropy, and American Culture” course, class consisted of a lot more than reading and talking about homelessness. Students got a firsthand look at the challenges of addressing it.

As part of their classroom experience, students volunteered through the FM Sheltering Churches project. They toured local shelters and spoke with leaders of nonprofits. They spent time learning, seeing and ultimately feeling the problem, which is exactly what Chapman wants for his students.

Though Chapman is committed to the idea of responsible engagement, he believes students must first have a knowledge of the histories that have shaped its culture, identity and social structure.

“Like everything, homelessness and hunger have a history,” Chapman says. “It is essential that students realize that though language, terminology and appearances change, these are challenges our society has faced for a very long time.”

FM Sheltering Churches builds a partnership between area shelters and churches in the Fargo-Moorhead metro area. As homelessness grows in the region, the organization seeks ways to provide warmth in existing facilities while working toward permanent solutions.

Every week during the winter, a different church serves as the overflow shelter facility. Chapman required each of his students to volunteer for at least one overnight shift with the program. Students checked in visitors, kept coffee hot and simply were present, providing a warm smile and a listening ear to those who needed it.

Chapman believes the element of experiential learning is critical to developing students’ understanding of how they relate and, eventually, respond to the world around them.

“Students can read about homelessness in books or online, learn all the data and stats and figures – but it won’t hit them in the stomach, in the heart, in the soul,” Chapman says. “We have to feel this stuff, otherwise it stands no chance of transforming our worldviews, of changing our fundamental perceptions of our place in the world.”

The class piqued the interest of Jordan Elton ‘14, Apple Valley, Minn., who now wants to be more involved with nonprofit work.

“It would have been really easy for us to simply read how philanthropy has changed and developed in America over time,” Elton says. “But taking it out of the classroom brings energy to the material and gets me excited not only for class, but also prepares me for post-graduation.”

Matthew Dahl ‘14, Dilworth, Minn., has lived in Fargo-Moorhead his entire life, yet hands-on volunteer experience, backed by knowledge learned in class, offered him a new perspective.

“I strongly believe that becoming educated on a subject is the first step that needs to be taken in order to solve an issue at hand,” Dahl says. “We are exploring the issue of homelessness as a whole … discovering how relief programs work, what programs are in our area, and how we can participate in those programs.”

For Elton, her experience volunteering helped put a face to statistics and provided inspiration to work even harder to find answers.

“We are the legs to the solution,” Elton says. “We can’t continue to exist in a functional community while ignoring those who are looking for support. We need to engage ourselves to care for our neighbors.” Photo: Gia Rassier

KNO

WLED

GE +

EXPERIENCE =



Concordia classrooms are places where students begin to see a wider world. They often discover unknown talents after influential teachers steer them toward their potential.

Corey Horien ’12 is one of those students. Faculty mentors helped him envision a future in medical research after they noted his ability early on and nurtured him along the way.

This fall he enters medical school to become an M.D.-Ph.D., a combination of physician and research scientist. His goal is to perform medically relevant research to benefit patients in his specialty.

“I’m leaning toward neuroscience or infectious diseases,” he says. “Both fields are seeing exciting advances being made every day, and there is so much left to learn at the molecular level in both fields that will ultimately benefit patients. I can’t wait to get started.”

Horien has spent the last year as a sponsored researcher in the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology at Oxford University in England. There he is continuing a study he began at Concordia aimed at understanding bacteria associated with meningitis, the inflammation of the membranes that surround the brain. The disease is a serious health problem in many parts of the world.

Oxford is a long way from the hockey rinks of Thief River Falls, Minn., where Horien started skating at age 6. After high school, Horien continued his hockey odyssey in Alaska. He played center for the Fairbanks Ice Dogs in the North American Hockey League for one year. During that time, he also worked at Carlile trucking, which was featured on the television show “Ice Road Truckers” on the History channel.

“Playing hockey in Alaska and living on my own were tremendous experiences for a young guy, and I benefitted immensely from them,” says Horien. “I met many amazing people through hockey.”

By Sheldon Green

HandsHelping


With a collegiate team near his hometown, Horien says he came to Concordia for hockey, but he quickly became interested in science and pursuing a career in medicine. He played one season of hockey before switching his focus to academics.

Hockey coach Chris Howe remembers Horien as a very solid player and a fine young man.

“We developed a great friendship,” says Howe. “Corey stayed in touch with the program and would have been a player who contributed on the ice if he would have chosen to stay with hockey. But he saw an opportunity to take his real game to a new level.”

One of Horien’s most influential experiences in college was assisting biology professor Dr. Ellen Aho’s research on genes encoding a particular bacterial protein called pilin. Pilin proteins make up hair-like fibers that help bacteria attach to the human respiratory tract, which is the first step of a meningitis infection.

During the summers of 2011 and 2012, he also conducted research with Dr. Charles Grose in his virology laboratory at the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital. Dr. Julie Rutherford, associate professor of biology, arranged the internship.

Rutherford explains that Grose was renewing family ties to Concordia and offered one spot “if we had an ambitious student with two or three years of biology background, and Corey’s name was the first one that came to mind.”

Grose considers Concordia a special place. He is related to I.F. Grose, the first president of the college. Grose has

endowed a lectureship honoring his great uncle in his field of study, classical studies. Each fall the endowment enables a leading classics scholar to come to campus for a public lecture and meetings with students.

Grose researches varicella-zoster virus infections. One example is chicken pox that can lead to shingles in older adults. Grose’s appreciation of Horien’s abilities quickly became evident, and Grose asked him to collaborate on a paper about their research that was published in a peer-reviewed pediatric neurology journal.

Horien’s success at landing top research experiences while still an undergraduate is directly related to his enthusiasm for learning.

“Corey came extremely well-prepared,” says Grose. “It was immediately obvious that he wanted to do advanced training in medicine. Corey is a perfect example of what can happen when a student takes advantage of everything Concordia offers.”

At the Oxford laboratory, Horien participated in functional analysis to understand how pilin proteins made by bacteria that do not cause disease compare to the proteins produced by pathogens.

“Working at Oxford was a wonderful experience, and I’m extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to live abroad and conduct research at a world-class institution,” says Horien.

Rutherford says Horien’s humble and respectful nature makes for a productive teacher-student relationship.

“He has a child-like sense of awe at everything, and that wonder breeds an insatiable craving for knowledge,” she says. “Corey never stops questioning, always wanting to learn more and understand better. I believe the mentoring relationship that grew between Dr. Grose and Corey will continue long into the future.” Photos: Sheldon Green/Submitted

After working with fellow students in Dr. Ellen Aho’s

biology lab, Corey Horien ’12 (far left and above) was invited to join the host research team at Oxford University to find a

vaccine to fight meningitis. He spent this year amid Oxford’s

fabled Gothic architecture.


Bucky Burgau has covered all the bases – from batboy to ballplayer to bench boss. Completing his 36th and final season as head coach of the Cobbers, his decades of diamond gems include more than 700 wins.

But Burgau’s brilliant career isn’t simply about longevity and lofty stats. His legacy is grounded in the tough but tender ways he taught the game and mentored his players.

“I came to Concordia from a junior college where the coach ran around yelling and screaming,” says Chris Coste ’95, who will succeed Burgau next season after spending five seasons as his assistant. “To go from a scenario where the coach was pretty rough to having Bucky, who was more of a father figure to everyone, was like baseball heaven.”

This, however, is not to suggest that Burgau is soft. To the contrary, he is a no-nonsense coach who demands discipline and a dedicated work ethic. Burgau’s approach to the game was greatly influenced by his relationship with his father and their days on the diamond together in Perham, Minn.

By the time he was 3 years old, Burgau was shagging bats and playing catch with the guys on his dad’s amateur baseball team. He fell in love with the game from the first crack of the bat. Like his dad, he became a solid player in his own right – a salty second baseman who simply couldn’t get enough of the game. In fact, as a teenager, he once played Babe Ruth, legion and amateur ball all in the same summer.

Burgau had the thrill – and the challenge – of playing with and for his father. He didn’t receive any preferential treatment from his dad, who was not about to go easy on him.

“He really brought a toughness to the game that maybe he saw I didn’t have,” says Burgau. “If he threw me batting practice, for example, and I bailed out on a curve ball, the next pitch would be right between my shoulder blades.”

Playing side by side with his dad was less intimidating and far more rewarding. In 1966, as a 16-year-old, Burgau and his dad helped Perham win the state amateur championship.

By Roger E. Degerman

Bucky’sBASEBALL HEAVEN


“I played second, my dad played first, and my uncle Stub played third,” Burgau says. “In the title matchup, I fielded a ground ball and threw it to my dad for the final out of the game.”

That memory stands as a signature highlight of Burgau’s relationship with his dad. A year following the title, Burgau graduated from Perham High School and continued his baseball career at Fergus Falls (Minn.) Community College before moving on to North Dakota State University.

While he was playing college ball, he also made his debut as a coach – guiding the Perham Legion team from 1968-72. In Burgau’s senior season at NDSU in 1972, he played for Concordia Athletic Hall-of-Famer Arlo Brunsberg ’62. He returned to NDSU in 1973 as a grad assistant before becoming head coach of the Bison from 1974-77.

Game ChangersBut even as Burgau relished exciting new opportunities in

his young coaching career, family troubles weighed heavy on his heart. “My parents separated and my dad moved several states away,” he says. More than just the physical distance, the move also created a difficult disconnect in

their father-son relationship.It was during this tough time

that Burgau began a promising new chapter in his life. In summer 1973, Burgau became coach of the Moorhead Blues Legion team, a post he would hold for 27 seasons.

One of the players on his inaugural Blues team was Kris Gulsvig ’77. Gulsvig may have been a good ballplayer, but it was his older sister, Penny (Gulsvig) Burgau ’75, who made the biggest impression on the young coach. The two met that summer, and before long they were dating and planning their own field of dreams.

The Burgaus married in 1975, and it didn’t take long for Bucky to form a deep bond with his father-in-law and Concordia coaching legend, the late Sonny Gulsvig ’50. “Sonny was a real father figure for me when I needed one badly in my life,” Burgau says. “I’ll be forever indebted to him for that.”

“Bucky and my dad had a very strong and unique relationship,” says Penny. “They shared a belief that family and faith are a priority. Of course, they believed that winning ball games is pretty important, too.”

Golden OpportunityAt Gulsvig’s encouragement, Burgau got his foot in the

door at Concordia by successfully pursuing the position of equipment manager in 1977 – paving the way to become coach Al Rice’s baseball assistant that same year.

Just two years later, Burgau became Concordia’s head baseball coach. Gulsvig shared the dugout with him as his assistant for the first eight seasons. “Sonny was a very important factor in my first eight years at Concordia,” Burgau says. “He was a great coach who knew how to motivate. He led me through all the new challenges of college coaching.”

Burgau and Gulsvig loved to talk strategy, even though they didn’t agree on everything. For example, when Burgau wanted to bunt, Gulsvig quickly batted down the idea. “He hated it,” Burgau says. “He used to tell me, ‘you only get 21 outs in a game, doggone it! Use them!’”

But win or lose, they always stuck together – sort of. “If we won, I was his son-in-law,” Burgau says. “If we lost, I was the guy who married his daughter.”

Gulsvig wasn’t Burgau’s only mentor in the early days. Burgau says he also benefited from the relationships he built with longtime MIAC coaching greats Jim Dimick of St. Olaf and Max Molock of St. Mary’s University of Minnesota, Winona.

“For some reason, they saw a glimmer of light in me,” says Burgau. “They taught me a lot about baseball, coaching and how coaches should have good relationships. The respect those guys showed me really helped get me going.”

Wins, Losses and What Really MattersBurgau kept going and the wins kept coming. His teams

racked up at least 15 wins in 31 of his first 35 seasons, on his way to more than 700 career victories. Knocking on the door of 400 conference victories, Burgau is the winningest coach in MIAC history. During that time he has helped develop some great talent, including six league MVPs, seven All-Americans and dozens of All-Conference honorees.

One of those All-Americans, former pitching star Dr. Howard Berglund ’84, is among Burgau’s biggest fans. As Berglund shared in an April 2014 letter to The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, Burgau offered inspiring instruction for thriving between and beyond the white lines of

Bucky Burgau is thrilled to hand over the head coaching reins to Chris Coste ’95, whom he says “has all the attributes of a good coach.”

Building relationships with his players and inspiring them to

be “keepers of the game” are priorities that define Bucky Burgau’s coaching legacy.


the ballfield: “He teaches the importance of personal preparation, competing hard, supporting your teammates and playing by the rules. We learned that how you play is just as important as the outcome of the game and that faith and family trump sports success any day.”

Coste concurs. The former three-time league MVP, All-American and World Series champion with the Philadelphia Phillies says Burgau is the model of integrity as he balances his competitive fire to win with pursuit of higher priorities. “He realizes that the game of life is way bigger than the game of baseball. Even though he may lose some sleep over a loss, he knows that 10 to 15 years from now they are going to remember their experience as a whole – not the wins and losses.”

Burgau hopes he leaves his players with the right impressions. “I hope they felt they had fun playing baseball here in a very competitive way,” he says. “We played the game the right way and we always respected our opponents. Our goal was to be good keepers of the game – to leave it a little better than we found it. And I’d like to think we did that.”

Being “keepers of the game” includes being a great student of the game and Burgau has been just that. During his Moorhead Blues days, he says he learned a lot by sharing strategy with his longtime coaching rival, Jerry Harter ’60. At Concordia, he closely studies the moves of his MIAC coaching foes. And for the past 14 summers, he has broadened his baseball intelligence serving as Doug Simunic’s assistant with the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks minor league team.

“When you are in the game a long time and you’re around good coaches and people, you learn from them,” says Burgau. “It’s just like going to class; my class just happens to be the baseball field and the dugout.”

His Field ForeverBurgau is eager to apply his lifetime of baseball lessons

to support Coste in his transition to head coaching. He doesn’t expect that much will really change next year, given their cohesive chemistry.

“Chris and I have a good feel for each other and how the game should be played,” he says. “Chris has all the attributes of a good coach – now he just has to pull everything together. I just want to be there for him and lend a calming hand like Sonny did for me.”

Burgau isn’t sure how many seasons he will stay on as Coste’s assistant. It sounds as though he has plenty of innings left in him. “I’m feeling good; I’m throwing batting practice like I did 30 years ago,” he says.

Regardless of when Burgau decides to hang up his coaching cleats for good, he will be forever remembered for his contributions to Cobber baseball. In his honor, Concordia’s diamond was renamed Bucky Burgau Field on May 5.

Burgau was especially thrilled to share the moment with Penny, their two daughters, Jennifer (Burgau) Schwantz ’00 and Rachel (Burgau) Bergeson ’05, their four young grandchildren and other family members.

“What this means to me and my family is unbelievable humbleness,” says Burgau. “To have a name on something here at Concordia is just mind-boggling to me. I’m still having trouble coming to grips with it a little bit because I’m not sure it’s deserving – I’m just a baseball coach.” Photos: Sheldon Green

Ishaug Receives Flaat Award for Support Staff

Bill Ishaug, campus events supervisor, received the Ole and Lucy Flaat Distinguished Service Award for Support Staff.

In his role, Ishaug is responsible for setting up more than 2,000 events annually. He is known for his attention to detail, high standards, hard work and can-do attitude.

The Ole and Lucy Flaat Distinguished Service Award for Support Staff recognizes excellence in long-term service to the college by a member of the support staff. The recipient must be both outstanding in their professional role and a person who is committed to the mission and goals of Concordia College.

NEWS


Lund Lands Fulbright

Elsa Lund ’14, Seattle, received a Fulbright Scholarship for the English Teaching Assistantship Program in Germany starting this fall.

The vocal performance major’s acceptance of this award comes exactly 30 years after her mother received the same scholarship.

Lund will spend a year teaching English at a school in the region of Saxony in eastern Germany. She also can take classes and voice lessons at a university nearby and will have opportunities to travel.

With aspirations to become a voice teacher and performer, Lund is excited for the opportunity to gain teaching experience as well as valuable language skills.

“This will help me a lot since German is one of the languages I’ll need to teach my (music) students,” she says.

The Fulbright program provides 8,000 grants annually for graduate study, advanced research and classroom teaching.

National Success for Speech, DebateConcordia College speech and debate teams both competed at national

tournaments this year. Concordia speech competitors placed 19th in the overall school competition at

the American Forensic Association’s National Individual Events tournament hosted in April by Arizona State University.

The Concordia debate team of Emily Bosch ‘14, Yankton, S.D., and Tyler Snelling ’15, Omaha, Neb., placed 31st at the National Debate Tournament hosted by Indiana University.

Additionally, Bosch was named a Summa Cum Laude National Debate Scholar and Snelling a Magna Cum Laude National Debate Scholar by the Cross Examination Debate Association. Bosch was also named to the organization’s All-American team, one of only 30 students in the nation to receive this honor.

At the national speech tournament, Colin Sullivan ’14, Baxter, Minn., advanced to the semifinal round, placing him among the top 12 competitors in the nation.

Other Concordia students who qualified for the national speech tournament were Joe Anderson ’14, Albany, Ore.; Jeff Miller ’14, Fergus Fall, Minn.; Catherine Bruns ’15, Shakopee, Minn.; Cristy Dougherty ’15, St. Francis, Minn.; Krysta Hovendon ’15, Rosemount, Minn.; George Kueppers ’15, Spicer, Minn.; Quinn Marony ’15, Kalispell, Mont.; Erica Flooding ’17, Eagan, Minn.; Torie Jones ’17, Bowden, N.D.; Faith Mauriala ’17, Isanti, Minn.; Taylor McMillin ’17, Roseau, Minn.; Joey Ness ’17 Horace, N.D.; and Cameron Wintersteen ’17, Moorhead.

Book Examines Science, TheologyThe Rev. Dr. Ernest Simmons, religion

professor, had his latest book, “The Entangled Trinity: Quantum Physics and Theology,” published in February.

Simmons examines how current scientific understanding of the natural world might contribute to our understanding of the relationship between God and the world through the Trinity.

“Science can help us to understand that God and the world are entangled in a Trinitarian manner,” Simmons says. “God influences the world and the world influences God as we find disclosed in the Incarnation.”

Simmons’ previous book examined Lutheran higher education and the central questions of keeping the dialogue on faith and learning alive on campuses. He has also written in professional journals about ways religion and science can be related.

Photo: Bobby Person Photography

Common Cause Creates Common MissionTables were piled with washcloths, toothpaste, soap and lotion as youth from local faith communities packed toiletry kits for people

who are homeless. The event, held on campus in March, filled two community needs – basic hygiene products for people in need and opportunities for faith communities to share a common goal, compassion.

Better Together Interfaith Alliance, a Concordia student group dedicated to cultivating interfaith relationships, organized the service project after community faith leaders identified a need to bring students together.

“This puts a human face on other faiths,” says Dr. David Myers, executive director of the Center for Interfaith Projects in Fargo, N.D. “It tends to reduce prejudices when people meet face to face.”

Elbow to elbow, nearly 100 people of Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Baha’i and no religious tradition formed an assembly line to create 400 toiletry kits for others.

High-Impact Learning in the Everglades

Sixteen students explored conservation and activism in the Florida Everglades during spring break. This year marks the third High Impact Leadership Trip (HILT) to take students off campus in an effort to drive responsible engagement in the world.

“The HILT program aims at helping students to develop as active citizens and leaders,” says Dr. Ken Foster, faculty advisor. “The trips are designed to enable students both to learn about the issue and explore how people are working to address the issue.”

From volunteering with the National Park Service to remove invasive species from trails to learning how oxidation influences soil levels, students immersed themselves by digging into environmental issues with implications not just in the Everglades but back home as well.

The HILT program develops student leaders by placing sole responsibility for planning, coordinating and leading the trip on the students themselves.

NEWS


National Book Awards at ConcordiaAuthors-in-residence Rachel Kushner and Wendy Lower were on

campus in March as part of the ninth annual National Book Awards at Concordia.

Kushner was a finalist for her novel “The Flamethrowers,” an exploration of the life of a young female artist and the darker connections between art, artifice and politics.

Lower was a finalist for her nonfiction book “Hitler’s Furies: German Women in the Nazi Killing Fields,” which provides a chilling account of female brutality by German women during World War II and a look at the nature of evil.

Lynn Neary, a National Public Radio arts correspondent and a frequent guest host on “Morning Edition,” “Weekend Edition” and “Talk of the Nation,” hosted the featured Readings and Conversation event with the authors.

Concordia Earns Re-AccreditationFollowing a multi-year, comprehensive self-study process and a site visit from the

Higher Learning Commission in November 2013, Concordia earned the maximum 10-year re-accreditation, with no follow-up action required.

The evaluation team from the Higher Learning Commission praised the college for the clarity and integrity of its mission, the liveliness and insight of its students, and the deep commitment to Concordia evident among the faculty, staff and regents.

“I am delighted by the strong affirmation from our HLC colleagues,” President William Craft says. “I am particularly pleased by their recognition of the integrity of Concordia; we live our mission through the learning and achievement of our students, who go out to become responsibly engaged in the world.”

The evaluation team praised Concordia’s focus on consistency of mission and the strength of the faculty and its commitment to the institution:

“Concordia’s mission of educating the whole person, whole life, whole world is in clear evidence at the institution, in its curriculum, classroom and in the large number of students who study abroad each year. Faculty are competent, committed, and current, involved in scholarship with students and in advising.”

The team was especially taken by Concordia’s comprehensive approach to assessment resulting in the administration of a robust slate of instruments, annual reports, dissemination activities and documented outcomes. They also noted the significant attention and resources in maintaining the integrity of the college’s educational programs and the environments and support services essential to improving student learning.

Cobbers Selected as Ambassadors to Parliament of World’s Religions

Two students and one alumna from Concordia are among 36 individuals from around the world selected by the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions to serve as ambassadors to the parliament.

Kristi Del Vecchio ’13, Anastasia Young ’14, Butte, Mont., and Robyn Adams ’16, Littleton, Colo., join representatives from countries including Sri Lanka, Russia, Nepal, Mexico and the U.S.

The role of the ambassador is a select opportunity, open to leaders who are involved and invested in the interfaith movement in their local communities.

The Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions was created to cultivate harmony among the world’s religious and spiritual communities and foster their engagement with the world and its guiding institutions in order to achieve a just, peaceful and sustainable world.

NEWS


Del Vecchio Young Adams

Class of 2014 CommencementConcordia presented 582 bachelor’s degrees and 14 Master of Education degrees

during its Commencement May 4.Darrell Ehrlick ’98, editor of The Billings (Mont.) Gazette, spoke at the ceremony.After earning his bachelor’s degree from Concordia, Ehrlick studied divinity and

literary journalism at Emory University and Bennington College. But these weren’t his passions, he said. Journalism was. Before becoming editor of the Gazette, he served as editor of papers in Wyoming and Minnesota.

“My wish for you is simple,” he told the graduates. “Know the difference between dreams and passions. Follow your passions because they will lead you beyond your dreams.”

Siri Manning ‘14, Breckenridge, Minn., gave the student response. She recalled “shattering moments” she had at Concordia – the professors who had challenged and pushed her, the experiences that caused her to re-examine her beliefs and knowledge.

“Many of you were shattered at Concordia, yet changed for the better,” she said. “I will never be the same again.”

Learn more about what’s next for 2014 graduates at ConcordiaCollege.edu/sentforth

Jodock Receives Honorary Degree

Concordia College bestowed the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, upon Dr. Darrell H. Jodock at Commencement.

Jodock is an active scholar and emeriti member of the faculty of Gustavus Adolphus College where he served for 12 years, retiring in 2011 as the Drell and Adeline Bernhardson Distinguished Professor of Religion. Prior to his tenure at Gustavus, he taught at Muhlenberg College and Luther Theological Seminary. He also served for two years as a parish pastor.

Jodock specializes in the area of Lutheran studies, with interests in Christian-Jewish relations, the history of Christian thought and 19th century theology.

Orchestra Tours Holy LandThe Concordia Orchestra toured the Holy Land in

mid-May. The ensemble tours domestically every fall and internationally every four years. The orchestra is under the direction of Foster Beyers.

This year’s tour included performances in the cities of Bethlehem, I’billin, Ramallah and Jerusalem. The program repertoire included works by Rossini, de Falla and Copland.

Featured faculty soloist on the tour was Dr. Leigh Wakefield, associate professor of music, performing the Mozart “Clarinet Concerto in A-Major.”

Retirees Honored at Faculty, Administrators Banquet

Several longtime faculty and administrators retired this year. They have a combined total of 342 years of service to the college.

They are Dr. Elaine Ackerman, Assessment, five years; Bruce Anderson, Offutt School of Business, 13 years; Madelyn Burchill, German, 19 years; Dr. Polly Fassinger, Institutional Research, 27 years; Thomas Kley, Facilities Management, 25 years; Debra Lee Ross, Dining Services, 24 years; Dr. James Legler, Offutt School of Business, 14 years; Mary Melroe, Advancement, 27 years; Duane Mickelson, art, 35 years; Dr. Viann Pederson de Castañeda, Spanish and Hispanic studies, 27 years; Phyllis Ramstad, Institutional Research, 45 years; Barbara Schramm, music, seven years; Dr. Alexander Sze, ITS, 34 years; and Dr. David Worth, music, 40 years.

For more in-depth biographies and accomplishments of these individuals, visit ConcordiaCollege.edu/magazine

NEWS


Presiding ELCA Bishop Visits CampusThe Rev. Elizabeth Eaton issued a challenge when she delivered the

homily during a Concordia chapel service in April.“We have to change things up wherever we go,” she said. The presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

visited Concordia as part of a tour that brought her to the neighboring Northwestern Minnesota and Eastern North Dakota synods.

It was her first visit to the area since she was installed as head of the ELCA in February.

The ELCA can be a place where there is room and a place to question, she said.

What matters is that Christ is crucified and was raised from the dead. This is what frees people to live their lives without fear, she said.

“I want Lutherans to live as if the Resurrection actually happened,” she said.

Creating Big ReactionsThe American Chemical Society recognized

Dr. Graeme Wyllie with the volunteer of the year award for the Red River Valley local section. Wyllie, an assistant professor of chemistry, was one of 65 volunteers from across the country honored by the ACS Committee of Community Activities.

One of the Wyllie’s long-standing outreach programs is the Concordia Science Academy. It provides a hands-on opportunity for elementary students to do science experiments with college students to elevate their interest and understanding of science.

“It’s important because science should not be seen as some remote untouchable discipline which only a select few can do,” Wyllie says. “We can go out, get these kids involved and there is a moment in the workshop where you can say ‘you’re doing science’ and they get really excited about it.”

In addition to schools, Wyllie and his students have paired with local libraries to do science programming and have developed a new program, “Great Chemistry for Teens,” which uses science to investigate and solve real-world problems.

Concordia Joins Campaign to Increase Study Abroad

Concordia has joined a national campaign to double the number of American students who study abroad by the end of the decade.

For its part in the International Education Coalition’s Generation Study Abroad initiative, the college has committed to increasing the percentage of its undergraduate students who study abroad from 43 percent to 75 percent. This is a goal from its strategic plan.

More than 150 higher education institutions from 41 states have already signed the Generation Study Abroad Commitment to increase the number of U.S. students who gain international experiences through academic study abroad programs, as well as internships, service-learning and noncredit educational experiences.

“Our participation is part of a larger institutional commitment to making experiential, discovery-centered learning fundamental for all Concordia students,” says Dr. Per Anderson, Concordia’s associate dean for Global Learning, “because the world needs experts and leaders who can address complex problems in a borderless, diverse and interdependent world.”


Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.“Hi. This is Kjerstin calling on behalf of the Concordia

Annual Fund. Can I take a moment of your time?”For alumni of the college, it’s an annual tradition – one that

some look forward to more than others. For the students on the other end of the line, it’s a chance to connect with generations of Cobbers.

This year, 40 students made calls through the Phonathon program. Working two or three shifts a week, these students raised $249,718 for the college’s Annual Fund, money that supports student scholarships and programs.

Emily Sell, assistant director of the Annual Fund and Phonathon, says student involvement in securing gifts for the college is absolutely essential.

“It’s great to get students on the phone with donors because they have a stake in it,” says Sell. “Most of the donors prefer to hear from the students because they are really the reason that they choose to give to Concordia.”

Anna Spencer ‘14, Atwater Minn., agrees. She majored in psychology and sociology and is a four-year Phonathon veteran.

“When you talk to students, you understand what’s going on now and what needs we have,” says Spencer.

Chris Brunhuber ‘15, Backus, Minn., believes that sharing a student’s personal experience creates an even stronger connection with alumni who want to see how their donations are making a difference. In Brunhuber’s case, that means connecting with alumni who took advantage of travel abroad opportunities.

Brunhuber tells of an alumna who has become a mentor through their shared passion for travel and French culture.

Working out of France, she has encouraged Brunhuber to follow his passions and visit the country.

And these connections aren’t uncommon. Most Phonathon students have stories to tell about unexpected relationships that have grown from their calls to the college’s alumni.

In one case, a Phonathon caller arranged for an alumna’s book to be sold in the Cobber Bookstore and even scheduled a book signing with the author. Another student writes regularly to an alumna she met through one of her Phonathon calls. Her pen pal recently sent her a selection from her book club.

Perhaps the most memorable of these stories came from Spencer’s experience with a particularly spirited alumnus.

“He wanted me to sing the school fight song,” Spencer says. “So I did. Belted it out right in the middle of the Advancement Office.”

That alumnus went on to sing Spencer’s praises in an email to her supervisor. Spencer later used the email as a reference, which she insists led her to lock in an offer for a summer job.

In many cases, donors are giving more than they realize when the college comes calling. While fundraising remains the Annual Fund’s top priority, the benefit of student involvement in the gift process goes beyond dollars and cents.

“We aren’t just calling for donations,” Sell says. “That’s a big part of it, but it’s as much about building and maintaining relationships.” Photo: Sheldon Green

By Eric Lillehaugen

SupportCalling

To learn more, visit ConcordiaCollege.edu/giving or contact the Concordia Advancement Office at (800) 699-9896.

on your

Harvest Memories With Your Cobber Family

Join the Family Weekend Celebration, “Harvesting Memories, One Crop at a Time,” at Concordia Sept. 26-28. Chair Kayla Bones ’15, Watertown, S.D., and the Family Weekend Committee have been working hard on this year’s events and are excited for all ages to “harvest” memories with us.

Festivities include Friday Fun Night, brunch, Family College, Family Expo, a football game vs. St. Olaf, an ice cream social, a Showcase talent show and All-Campus Worship. Registration and ticket information will be mailed to parents in July and will be available online. Come be part of our Cobber Family!

ALUMNI

Saberi, Sommer Receive Sent Forth Awards

Journalist Roxana Saberi ’97 and actor Rich Sommer ’00 are the recipients of the 2014 Sent Forth Award, which recognizes service to Concordia’s mission by young alumni.

Saberi is an author, journalist, inspirational speaker and human rights advocate best known for her reporting and imprisonment in Iran during 2009. After worldwide attention was given to her plight, Saberi was released and she wrote of her experiences in the book “Between Two Worlds: My Life and Captivity in Iran.” She has worked with Reporters Without Borders, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, and United4Iran.

She received the NCAA Award of Valor for demonstrating uncommon bravery and courage in the face of grave personal danger. At Concordia, Saberi played soccer and graduated summa cum laude. Saberi has a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Northwestern University and a second master’s in international relations from the University of Cambridge. She has reported for NPR, BBC, ABC Radio, Fox News and Al Jazeera America.

Sommer is a member of the award-winning cast of “Mad Men,” a cable television drama that centers on the lives of power-hungry men and women in the New York advertising scene in the 1960s. Sommer has also been featured in “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Law and Order,” and several national commercials and theatrical roles. He is a volunteer with Operation Homefront, an organization committed to helping spouses of enlisted men and women get an education, as well as helping wounded warriors upon their return home.

Sommer sang in The Concordia Choir and played the lead role in the Concordia Theatre production of “Fiddler on the Roof.” He has a master’s degree in acting from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. Sommer lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Virginia, and children, Beatrice and Patrick.

Concordia’s National Alumni Board presented the awards to Saberi and Sommer during Commencement weekend.

H O M E C O M I N G O C T. 1 0 - 1 2 , 2 0 1 4

HAR

VESTING MEMORIES

ONE CROP AT A TIME

FAMILY WEEKEND • SEPT. 26-28, 2

014

Lindsay Jacobs ‘15, chair of the Homecoming Committee, and Kayla Bones ‘15, chair of the Family Weekend Committee, welcome you to campus.

Do you bleed maroon and gold? Are you still wearing your Cobber ring? Now is the time to trigger your Concordia College pride and be a part of a new, exclusive program for alumni, students, parents and friends. Now is the time to be a Loyal Cobber! See ConcordiaCollege.edu/loyalcobber

LOYA L C O B B E R C

ONCO

RDIA COLLEGE 2014-2015

Join us for Homecoming 2014Mark your calendars for Oct. 10-12 to join your Cobber friends

and family as we celebrate Homecoming 2014, “Cobbers Together, Now and Forever.” Chair Lindsay Jacobs ’15, Buffalo, Minn., and the Homecoming Committee have been working hard on this year’s events, including the banquet, alumni breakfasts, tailgating and the football game vs. Carleton.

In addition, we will honor four people with Alumni Achievement Awards: A. John Ahlquist ’63, Sandra L. Cartie ’82, Dr. Roger A. Leopold ’62 and Dr. Vernon T. Tolo ’64.

Reunions will be scheduled for classes ending in 4 or 9, but we would love to see as many people as possible. We look forward to seeing you in October! For more information: ConcordiaCollege.edu/alumni


Support


Concordia’sHave you ever wondered what it was like to be a Cobber in the

1920s? Or maybe you’ve heard stories about your grandmother playing field hockey here and were curious what her uniform looked like?

The Concordia College Archives is documenting what student life was like in the college’s past through the Cobber History Harvest, conducted during Homecoming. Alumni shared oral histories of their time on campus, brought photos and pages to scan and items to be photographed. Lisa Sjoberg, college archivist, and Dr. Joy Lintelman, professor of history – along with Lintelman’s History 112 class – hosted the event and spent a semester creating digital records of the artifacts shared.

Sjoberg and Lintelman received a technology grant last summer to compile artifacts into an online database accessible to everyone.

“These are the things that are often not documented, but they are part of our legacy,” Sjoberg says.

Concordia Stuffed DogNiblet, cousin to our mascot, Kernel, may be a popular

stuffed toy right now. But in the 1950s, this gold- and maroon-colored dog was a valued piece of memorabilia for students. This particular dog was bought as a gift from the Cobber Bookstore and given to a relative of a Concordia student.

Composition Notebook/JournalThis journal serves as a record of student life during the 1920s.

Written by an unidentified female student from Concordia, the journal includes study notes on topics such as math, geography and religion. It contains a list of Concordia cheers and an expense budget (candy for a nickel and lunch for a quarter!). The notebook also appears to be a journal for her thoughts and prayers.

By Kaia Miller

Gathering

History


Concordia Silver RingThis silver ring, featuring the Concordia seal, has been the engagement ring,

or pre-engagement ring, for two generations of Bjeldes so far. First, Gerald Bjelde ‘56 gave it to his girlfriend, now wife, Beverly (Meyer) ‘58, to wear until they were married. Their son Scott ‘85 used the ring to propose to his wife, Sarah (Sisler) ‘83, before buying her another ring.

Sarah asked Scott some time before they got engaged, “So what do you have to do to get a ring like that?”

Scott’s reply: “You have to marry me.”

C.C. Hockey Team, 1926This is a portrait of the Concordia women’s field

hockey team from 1926. The photo came from the scrapbook of a student who attended Concordia in the 1920s. The individuals in the photo have not been identified.

Park Region Dorm Council Madagascar Mission

A scrapbook left in the staff room of Park Region Hall for multiple decades contains photographs and letters between Concordia’s 1962 Park Region Dorm Council and the Manambaro Hospital in Madagascar. They appear to be connected through the Abundant Life Church’s World Missions.

The residence hall raised funds for the mission to help a young woman recover from tuberculosis. Pictured is a woman named Sylvia who worked with the young patient, Meline, and communicated with the dorm council through letters.

Photos: Concordia College Archives

Kaia Miller ’14, Decorah, Iowa, studied multimedia journalism and communication.

For more information on items donated to Cobber History Harvest or how to participate in the project, contact Lisa Sjoberg at (218) 299-3180 or go online at concordiamemoryproject.omeka.net.

Three Gorges PlaqueIn 2002, a group of students

traveled to China on a May Seminar and left a small part of themselves behind. This plaque, created by the mother of one student on the trip, was placed near the Three Gorges area of the Yangtze River, an area that has since flooded. It reads: “We came as students to hike the Three Gorges. We leave this plaque as a memento of our appreciation of what is being lost and gained by the creation of the Three Gorges Dam – China – Concordia College Seminar.”


CLASS NOTES

1957Calvin Vraa, Bloomington, Minn., published his second novel in retirement, “The Last Pathway Home”; both of his books are set during World War II.

1959Wayne Erickson, Winona, Minn., is retired.

1964James Uselman, Wadena, Minn., owns Uselman/Klein Vocal Studios.

1969Paulette Callen, Webster, S.D., published a novel, “Fervent Charity.”

1971John Smith, Nevis, Minn., earned a Master of Judicial Studies degree from the U of Nevada, Reno, and the National Judicial College.

1975Mary (Ressler) Mueller, Moorestown, N.J., had an oil painting in the Creative Tension juried art exhibition, “Moorestown in the Civil War,” at the Perkins Art Center.

1977Larry Morris, Kirkland, Wash., released a book, “Among Us: Stories of Worship and Faith.”

1979D. Paul Jennings, Sterling, Va., is servicing remedy manager for Freddie Mac, McLean.

1980Susan Anderson, Estes Park, Colo., is a self-employed clinical social worker at Alpine Counseling Services. Timothy Carlson, Bismarck, N.D., is chief auditor for the North Dakota University System.

1981Lorraine Frojen, Gig Harbor, Wash., is a veterans service representative for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Seattle.

1983Becky (Rice) Sullivan, Billings, Mont., is a K-4 art teacher for Laurel Public Schools.

1984Thomas Lehmann, Lake Elmo, Minn., was elected school board chairperson for Stillwater Area Schools.

1986Shekinah Samaya-Thomas, Oakland, Calif., is an adult secondary education instructor for Castro Valley Adult Career Education.

1987Kristin (Troff) Pavek, Rochester, Minn., is a business architect in Information and Knowledge Management at Mayo Clinic. Michael Peterson, Alexandria, Minn., is a hospice chaplain for Knute Nelson Hospice.

1989Sonja Hagander, Minneapolis, was installed as college pastor and director of ministries at Augsburg College. Bruce Hecksel, Maiden Rock, Wis., celebrated the release of his 16th CD, “Terra Guitarra-Dragonfly”; he also released a book of paintings, “Terra Guitarra Art by Bruce Hecksel,” following an exhibition of his work at the U of Minnesota Coffman Union Gallery. Dawn (Klein) Hummel, West Fargo, N.D., was named senior executive of resident care at Bethany Retirement Living, Fargo. Patricia Kubow, Bloomington, Ind., is director of the Center for Social Studies and International Education at Indiana U-Bloomington; she also is a professor in

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies and Curriculum & Instruction. Karyn (Carlson) Nicholson, Laurel, Md., earned a Master of Science in Nursing from Walden U; she was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau International, the honor society of nursing. Steven Storgaard, Auburn, Wash., retired from the U.S. Air Force Reserve at the rank of master sergeant after more than 29 years of active duty and reserve service. Carol (Schotzko) Sylvester, Rosemount, Minn., is a prospect researcher for St. Olaf College, Northfield.

1990Christine (Zimmermann) Thorson, Kenosha, Wis., earned a Master of Education in school counseling from Concordia U – Wisconsin, Mequon; she is a school counselor for Mahone Middle School.

1992Paul Spyhalski, Austin, Minn., published his first book, “The Minneapolis, Northfield & Southern: From Dan Patch to Dragons,” a history of the railroad from conception to ownership and receivership under Col. Marion Savage.

1993Dawn (Waldon) Hegland, Appleton, Minn., is executive director for Upper Minnesota Valley Regional Development Commission.

1994Traie (Kumara) Dockter, Fargo, N.D., is a development professional for the Alzheimer’s Association.

1995Shayne Hamann, Little Canada, Minn., was appointed to the No-Fault Standing Committee by the Minnesota Supreme Court; she also was appointed secretary of the Twin Cities Claims Association; both are four-year terms.

1996Jenny Johnson, Minneapolis, earned a Master of Arts in Teaching focus on ESL from Hamline U, St. Paul, Minn. Danny Porter, Maplewood, Minn., received a Director of Special Education licensure from Hamline U, St. Paul.

1997Eric Nelson, Minneapolis, is senior software engineer for Kroll Ontrack Inc., Eden Prairie, Minn.

1998Darrell Ehrlick, Billings, Mont., is editor of The Billings Gazette.

1999Lissa Meyer, Fargo, N.D., is marketing coordinator for Butler Machinery Co. Kevin Zak, Duluth, Minn., earned a Doctor of Education in teaching and learning from the U of Minnesota – Duluth.

2000Raymond Bates, Sparks, Nev., is scholarship and alumni coordinator for the University Studies Abroad Consortium at the U of

Nevada, Reno. Shane Jensen, Abingdon, Md., is the music specialist for Baltimore County Public Schools, Towson. Jared Nypen, Lakeville, Minn., is senior manager of human resources at Best Buy, Richfield. Marcus Skjervem, Blaine, Minn., is director of marketing and recruitment at the Carlson School of Management at the U of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Zachary Thompson, Northfield, Minn., is lead pastor at Rejoice! Church, Dundas.

2001Amber (Gullickson) Borsch, Forest Lake, Minn., earned a Master of Science in human resources from the U of Scranton, Scranton, Pa. Christina Myers, St. Paul, Minn., is digital revenue specialist for Internet Broadcasting. Brooke (Holden) Schmidt, Kalispell, Mont., is a physician assistant for Dermatology Associates.

2002Joseph Dauner, North Potomac, Md., earned a Juris Doctor degree from George Washington U, Washington, D.C. Colleen Hermann-Franzen, Portland Ore., is communications consultant in community health for Kaiser Permanente.

2003Michael Gerdes, San Diego, Calif., is director of orchestras at San Diego State U. Dustin Little, Silver Spring, Md., was deployed to Afghanistan in August in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, serving as squadron surgeon for the 6th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment; he returned home in January. Tracy (Konickson) Meckler, Fargo, N.D., is membership sales manager for the Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber of Commerce. John Simonson, Killdeer, N.D., is a pastor with his wife, Rachel, at St. John’s Lutheran Church.

A Milestone Every Five Fourteen friends from the class of 1965 have gathered every five years to celebrate milestone birthdays; this November gathering was in Las Vegas for their 70th. (l-r) back: Nancy (Liane) Fields, Carolyn (Smith) Golberg, Karen Nelson, Mary Jo (Groth) Rhodes, Judy (Estrem) Dorwart, Carol Bohnsack; middle: Michelle (McCarty) Jorgenson, Jean (Sillers) Bardwell, Mary (Simle) Wendt, Dawn (Maasjo) Struxness, Harriet (Ritter) Mauritsen; front: Nita (Hanson) Johnson, Betty (Brusven) Torgerson, Phyllis (Sorensen) Lindberg

Happy to be a Future CobberJohn August Tuchscherer, son of Nicole (Knutsen) ‘05 and Mark ‘02 Tuchscherer, was born Feb. 21, 2013.


CLASS NOTES2004Jodi (Gorres) Maertens, Minneota, Minn., is a program officer for Southwest Initiative Foundation, Hutchinson.

2005Patrick Amundson, Bremerton, Wash., is a department head onboard USS Nebraska (SSBN 739). Juliet (Nygaard) Erb, Fort Collins, Colo., is a certified registered nurse anesthetist for North Colorado Medical Center, Greeley. Dana Halvorson, Washington, D.C., is senior director of Not for Profit & Constituent Services at the American Health Care Association. Missy (Jennings) McLeod, West Fargo, N.D., is a family medicine physician for Sanford West Fargo Clinic.

2006Ellen (Mueller) Fox, Washington, D.C., received a Doctorate of Philosophy in emerging infectious diseases, microbiology and immunology from Uniformed Services U, Bethesda, Md. Derek Holt, Hallock Minn., ag and business banker, is vice president of American Federal Bank. Jonathan KenKnight, Duluth, Minn., is a pediatrician for Essentia Health.

2007Jeffrey Klefstad, Monroeville, Pa., received a Master of Arts in music educaton from Case Western Reserve U, Cleveland, Ohio; he is music director of the All University Orchestra at Carnegie Mellon U, Pittsburgh.

2009Rachel Hammerling, Fargo, N.D., is a neonatal intensive care registered nurse at Essentia Health. Alex Kuhn, Nisswa, Minn., earned a Juris Doctor degree from William Mitchell College of Law, St. Paul. Joseph Raasch, Fargo, N.D., is project specialist and message center agent for Xtreme Consulting.

2010Erica Beard, Watford City, N.D., is owner of Petals Floral and More. Sara Grasmon, Kansas City, Mo., is manager of special events and promotions for the Kansas City Royals. Natasha John, Falls Church, Va., received a Master of Arts in political science-international relations from the U of Central Oklahoma, Edmond.

2011Lacey (Thompson) Romie, Moorhead, earned an MBA-Executive degree from the U of Mary, Fargo, N.D.

2012Katie Rotvold, Mankato, Minn., received a Master of Science in elementary education from Winona State U, Rochester; she is a first-grade teacher for Mankato Public Schools.

2013Kirstin (Iverson) Alvarez, Cambridge, Minn., is an elementary kindergarten teacher for the White Bear Lake School District.

Loren Johnson, Moorhead, is a graphic designer for Absolute Marketing Group, Fargo, N.D. Rachel Meier, Fargo, N.D., is a marketing specialist for Pediatric Therapy Partners. Tyler Wahl, Fargo, N.D., is a web project manager at Absolute Marketing Group.

Honors1951Don Lorents, Palo Alto, Calif., was inducted into the SRI International Alumni Hall of Fame.

1958Sharon (Bartz) Boline, Wadena, Minn., was named Wadena County Outstanding Senior Citizen; she was acknowledged at the Minnesota State Fair.

1960Alden Lorents, Flagstaff, Ariz., was inducted into the Northern Arizona University Franke College of Business Alumni and Faculty Hall of Fame.

1966Carol (Fyrand) Lacey, Shoreview, Minn., received the Carol C. Ryan Excellence in Advising Award for 2012-13; she teaches at Metropolitan State U, St. Paul.

1974Dick Knutson, Eden Prairie, Minn., was named the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s National Volunteer of the Year; he is the COO for Larkin Hoffman, Minneapolis.

1977Everett Jacobson, Fergus Falls, Minn., was named the 2013-14 Teacher of the Year by the Fergus Falls Education Association. Linda (Paulson) Norderhaug, Brookfield, Wis., was the first winner of the new Héros du Français award from the American Association of Teachers of French – Wisconsin Chapter for the promotion of French in the state of Wisconsin.

1986Scott Lindblom, Verona, Wis., received the Association of Staff Physician Recruiters Lifetime Achievement Award.

1989Steven Storgaard, Auburn, Wash., was honored with the Meritorious Service Medal at the ceremony for his retirement from the U.S. Air Force Reserve after more than 29 years of active duty and reserve service.

1992Dan Leingang, Mandan, N.D., received the Western Region Faculty Member Award from the Association of Community College Trustees, Washington, D.C.; he serves as associate professor of mathematics and chair of the geomatics, engineering and mathematics department at Bismarck State College.

1993Todd Piltingsrud, Minneapolis, received the Unsung Legal Heroes Award from Minnesota Lawyer for his creation of innovative software for Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, where he works as a software developer.

1996Danny Porter, Maplewood, Minn., was named Minnesota School Social Worker of the Year for 2012 by the Minnesota School Social Workers Association; he is the lead clinical social worker for Northeast Metro 916. Brian Weisgram, New Braunfels, Texas, received the Army Medical Department’s highest recognition for professional excellence, the “A” Proficiency Designator for Fiscal Year 2013; he is the Army Nurse Corps branch proponency executive officer in San Antonio.

1999Kevin Zak, Duluth, Minn., was honored as Outstanding Teacher of the Year 2013 from the College of Education and Human Service Professions at the U of Minnesota Duluth.

2000Nicolle (Bettcher) Erickson, Willmar, Minn., received the Legacy Grant from the Southwest Minnesota Arts Council, Marshall; the grant is to start a theatre for a new audience project.

2006Nate Larson, Alexandria, Minn., was nominated by his clients and named one of the Top 20 Professionals in Alexandria by the Echo Press Newspaper.

2008Denise (Anderson) Tollefson, Moorhead, was named one of Provider magazine’s 20 To Watch in 2013; she is the assistant administrator at Serenity Assisted Living in Dilworth, Minn.

Marriages1981Kris Peterson to Sue Haller in October; they live in Clearwater, Minn.

1983Leigh Remick to Jamie Armstrong in August; they live in Louisville, Ky.

1985Kevin Horne to Eric Gustin in October; they live in Minneapolis.

1986Shekinah Samaya to Christopher Thomas in December; they live in Oakland, Calif.

1996Liesl Bell to Christopher Fleming in October; they live in Shakopee, Minn.

Eight at the GlensheenDuring the last 50 years since graduating in 1963, eight friends have been exchanging letters; they held a reunion in June at the Glensheen Mansion in Duluth, Minn. The friends are Estelle (Steen) Winiecki, St. Paul, Minn.; Margaret (Thorkildson) Carter, Red Wing, Minn.; Patricia (Ulvestad) Hampton, Spokane, Wash.; Barbara (Danielson) Daiker, Altoona, Iowa; Carol Jean (Klankowski) Rudser, Viroqua, Wis.; Carol (Kamrud) Naig, Clontarf, Minn.; Bernice (Bugge) Waddell, Ewen, Mich.; and Ruth (Peterson) Thompson, Tucker, Ga.


CLASS NOTES

1997Jennifer Renner to Malee Ketelsen in December; they live in St. Paul, Minn.

1999Allison Haaland to Bruce Abels ’97 in September; they live in Sioux Falls, S.D.

2000Jennifer Abbe to Charles Douglass Jr. in September; they live in Abingdon, Md. Kaira Brekke to David Stewart in November; they live in Alison Viejo, Calif.

2002Kiaja Morgenthaler to Tyker Klabo in February; they live in Shakopee, Minn.

2003Kara Knoff to Michael Talbot in April 2013; they live in Coon Rapids, Minn. Tracy Konickson to Brian Meckler in September; they live in Fargo, N.D.

2004Jodi Gorres to Bill Maertens in September; they live in Minneota, Minn.

2005Juliet Nygaard to Steven Erb in October; they live in Fort Collins, Colo.

2006Erica Idso to Ryan Weisz in September; they live in Mankato, Minn. Jonathan KenKnight to Christina Ackert in August; they live in Duluth, Minn. Allison Lowe to Erick Plummer in October; they live in Grand Marais, Minn. Sarah Ronnevik to Nicholas Barootian in October; they live in Prairie du Chien, Wis.

2009Rachel Hammerling to Calvin Miller ‘11 in September; they live in Fargo, N.D. Stephanie Wikstrom to Andrew Beard in June; they live in St. Paul, Minn.

2010Anna Willard to Steve Moser in June; they live in Fargo, N.D.

2011Laura Laufmann to Sean Otis in October; they live in South St. Paul, Minn. Ryan Wielenberg to Ingrid Jasper ’13 in July; they live in Redwood Falls, Minn.

2012Benjamin Fraase to Caroline McLaughlin in September; they live in Moorhead. Carrie Johansen to Travis Loch in January; they live in St. Paul, Minn.

2013Kirstin Iverson to Charlie Alvarez in August; they live in Cambridge, Minn.

Births1990A boy, Levi, to Monte and Cheryl (Blesi) Wilner, Des Moines, Iowa, in July.

1994A boy, Jacob, to Dion and Amy (MacGregor) Schleske, Pelican Rapids, Minn., in August.

1995A girl, Mallory, to Joe and Katie (Lee) Rizzo, West Fargo, N.D., in November.

1996A boy, Leon, was adopted by Danny Porter and Tony McClay, Maplewood, Minn., in December; Leon was born in October 2000.

1997A boy, August, to Andrea Fogderud, Minneapolis, in December. A boy, Quinn, to DeAnne Johnson and Jeffry Misgen, Shakopee, Minn., in November. A girl, Raegan, to Jason and Melanie (Richman) Rechkemmer, Humboldt, Iowa, in November.

1998A boy, Bode, to Brianna and Harmon Bergenheier, Victoria, Minn., in November. A girl, Zoey, to Jim and Julie (Enquist) Conrad, Long Prairie, Minn., in December. A girl, Sutton, to Stephanie and Benjamin Corwin, Fargo, N.D., in August. A boy, Charley, to Michael and Kara (Brick) Hall, Brainerd, Minn., in October.

1999A boy, Levi, to Matthew and Kaci (Kurtti) Cary, Anchorage, Alaska, in September. A boy, Kai, to Chad and Becky (Schilling) Juncker, Minneapolis, in October. A girl, Sarah, to Kevin ’98 and Laura (Reitmeier) Pearson, Fergus Falls, Minn., in October.

2000A girl, Karina, to Erik ’98 and Ingrid (Thompson) Bentley, Lakeville, Minn., in December. A girl, Fiona, to Kelley and Nicolle (Bettcher) Erickson, Willmar, Minn., in June. A boy, Benjamin, to Alyssa (Brandt)

’01 and Trevor Krieger, Billings, Mont., in October. A boy, Xander, to Andrea and Jared Nypen, Lakeville, Minn., in August. A girl, Charlotte, to Matthew and Nicole (Jones) Stone, Dunkirk, Md., in July. A girl, Viviana, to Chad and Kathryn (Backlund) Ulven, Walcott, N.D., in December.

2001A boy, Liam, to Robb ‘00 and Beth (Nicholas) Dohman, Wahpeton, N.D., in January. A girl, Emma, to Matt and Karena (Rau) Hovland, Sartell, Minn., in September. A boy, Nash, to Amy (Scoville) and Seth Johnson, Plymouth, Minn., in May 2013. A girl, Lauren, to Jeffrey and Alisson (Dahlen) Rasmussen, Chanhassen, Minn., in September.

2002A boy, Andrew, to Ryan and Erika (Kroschel) Aga, Woodbury, Minn., in September. A girl, Amelia, to Adam and Gretchen (Olson) Ahlstrom, Blaine, Minn., in October. A boy, Joseph, to Allison and Joseph Dauner, North Potomac, Md., in December. A girl, Rosalie, to Dorothy and Cody Grivno, Slinger, Wis., in November. A girl, Lydia, to Martha (Olson) and Bradley Ragan, Aloha, Ore., in November. A girl, Karys, to Tally (McEvers) ’03 and John Tinjum, Moorhead, in October. A girl, Fiona, to Megan Torgerson and Chris Vitko, St. Paul, Minn., in September. A girl, Vanessa, to Matthew ’99 and Allison (Janecky) Wieser, Fargo, N.D., in January.

2003A girl, Hailey, to Dave and Laura (Raabe) Babbs, Edwards, Ill., in November. A girl, Florence, to Annie Jacobsen and David Waytz, Minneapolis, in September. A boy, Benjamin, to Brittni and Matthew McWaters, Fargo, N.D., in October. A girl, Anna, to Rachel and John Simonson, Killdeer, N.D., in June.

2004A boy, Lucas, to Abby (Wieland) and Matt Johnson, White Bear Lake, Minn., in February. A boy, Isaac, to John and Carolynn (Garcia) Moore, Burke, Va., in September. A boy, Kelby, to Eric and Karen (Miller) Nelson, West Fargo, N.D., in March. A girl, Ingrid, to Michael and Heather (Frank) Olivier, Lakeville, Minn., in January. A boy, Cullen, to Kelly and Scott Orvik, Annandale, Minn., in June.

2005A boy, Cormac, to Emily and Patrick Amundson, Bremerton, Wash., in January. A girl, Emma, to Missy (Jennings) and Matt McLeod, West Fargo, N.D., in October. A boy, Charlie, to Brandon and Molly (Engstrom) Otte, Stillwater, Minn., in November. A boy, Carson, to Kristin (Almjeld) and Aaron Schmeling, Vermillion, S.D., in November. Twin girls, Hattie and Alice, to Karen (Scheeler) and Jordan Talge, Seattle, in February. A girl, Olivia, to Doug and Kara (Klasse) Waldvogel, Nelson, Minn., in November.

2006A girl, Genevieve, to Jeremiah and Angela (Read) Bragelman, Anoka, Minn., in October. A girl, Olivia, to Josh and Laura (Espedal) Caroon, Moorhead, in November. A boy, Connor, to Christina and Jonathan KenKnight, Duluth, Minn., in December 2012. A girl, Adley, to Nicholas and Kendra (Wickland) Marvin, Warroad, Minn., in November. A girl, Ivana, to Maria and Lyle Stutzman, Elnora, Ind., in October. A girl, Dorothy, to Joel and Dena (Hammond) Weinberger, San Diego, in September.

2007A girl, Eloise, to Joshua and Jennifer (Dehmer) Anderson, Menomonie, Wis., in November. A boy, Arthur, to Bethany and Levi Andrist, Bismarck, N.D., in January. A girl, Nora, to Ryan and Allison (Spooner) Jasper, Fargo, N.D., in October. A girl, Ellie, to Jenna (Larson) and Brian Knoblauch, Rogers, Minn., in October. A boy, Luke, to Matt ’08 and Rachel (Charpentier) Putratz, Vadnais Heights, Minn., in October. A boy, Everett, to Shane ’08 and Anna (Jorud) Vredenburg, Rochester, Minn., in October.

2008A girl, Katelyn, to Rebecca and Dustin Pattengale, Moorhead, in February. A boy, Crosby, to Brent ’07 and Denise (Anderson) Tollefson, Moorhead, in September.

2009A girl, Addison, to Clare (Dyste) and Dexter Albrecht, Grand Forks, N.D., in September. A girl, Giuliana, to Nick and Alexa (Williams) Kossick, Moorhead, in November. A girl, Mallory, to Andrew and Justine (Regimbal) Pringle, Fargo, N.D., in October.

2010A boy, Tyler, to Matt and Katie (Anderson) Strand, Mitchell, S.D., in November.

Memorials 1941Vernon Mauritsen, 96, Kalispell, Mont., in November. Eleanor (Holte) Rensvold, 93, Fargo, N.D., in December.

1943Lois (Sandven) Barnes, 92, Devils Lake, N.D., in March. Sylvia (Sondersen) Dale, 93, Harvey, N.D., in December. May (Bellerud) Mauritsen, 94, Kalispell, Mont., in February.

1945Edna (Perhus) Hovern, 87, Lester Prairie, Minn., in April 2013. Crystal (Olson) Peterson, 89, North Branch, Minn., in October; she is survived by her husband, Leland.

1946Marlys (Braaten) Anderson, 90, Fargo, N.D., in January. Norma (Twait) Shelstad, 88, Kenyon, Minn., in June; she is survived by her husband, John.

Wake Me When We Get ThereCormac Finn Amundson, son of Emily and Patrick ‘05 Amundson, was born Jan. 11 in Anchorage, Alaska.


CLASS NOTES1948Adolph Johnson, 86, Arlington Heights, Ill., in March 2013. Barbara (Larson) Thompson, 86, Fosston, Minn., in February; she is survived by her husband, Marvin ’49.

1949Paul Ness, 85, Detroit Lakes, Minn., in June; he is survived by his wife, Janice (Dahl) ’59. Gertrude (Smith) Patterson, 85, Fargo, N.D., in November. Howard Paulson, 87, Fargo, N.D., in January. Lucy (Buller) Stromme, 85, Edina, Minn., in January 2013. Tenner Thompson II, 89, Alexandria, Minn., in December; he is survived by his wife, Roma. Patricia (Ludwigsen) Zalusky, 86, Fargo, N.D., in January.

1950Ann Ask, 85, Fargo, N.D., in March. Charles Feste, 85, Fargo, N.D., in November; he is survived by his wife, Carol (Thompson). Robert Sellberg, 87, Worthington, Minn., in February; he is survived by his wife, Virginia (Overvold) ’52. Richard Stromme, 87, Edina, Minn., in November.

1951Doris (Bjerkan) Johnson, 85, Naperville, Ill., in October. Carol (Ysteboe) Lindsay, 86, Fargo, N.D., in January; she is survived by her husband, Wallace. Lloyd Svendsbye, 83, Eden Prairie, Minn., in March.

1952Ann (Gandrud) Jacobson, 83, Hamilton, Va., in October; she is survived by her husband, Gerhard. Alice “Rasty” (Rasmussen) Pierson, 85, Kalispell, Mont., in January.

1953Beverly (Brakke) Carlson, 82, Wolverton, Minn., in March. David Green, 82, Lake Park, Minn., in April; he is survived by his wife, Marilyn (Olson) ‘56. Iraj Niroomand, 84, Annweiler am Trifels, Germany; he is survived by his wife, Lena.

1954Carl Carlson, 81, Fargo, N.D., in February; he is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Rost Urban. Avis (Setnes) Halter, 81, Brooklyn Park, Minn., in January; she is survived by her husband, Cecil. Arthur Malme, 80, Geneseo, N.Y., in June; he is survived by his wife, Ursula.

1955Thomas Bonde, 82, Spicer, Minn., in December; he is survived by his wife, Catherine. Joan (Winter) Magnuson, 80, Andover, Minn., in December; she is survived by her husband, Emil.

1956Joyce (Flatten) Lunke, 79, Bloomington, Minn., in March; she is survived by her husband, Donald ’55. Kenneth Masterson, 79, Fargo, N.D., in March. Darlyn (Albert) Sjursen, 78, Arthur, N.D., in March. Orville Stenerson, 95, Fargo, N.D., in December; he is survived by his wife, Beatrice.

1957Donald Krause, 81, Moorhead, in April; he is survived by his wife, Helen (Oltman) ‘56. Shirley (Larson) Mertens, 77, Devils Lake, N.D., in November; she is survived by her husband, Gerald.

1958Donald Green, 81, Detroit Lakes, Minn., in February; he is survived by his wife, Phyllis. Curtis Halverson, 84, Fargo, N.D., in January; he is survived by his wife, Norma.

1959Marian (Huether) Gerntholz, 76, Valley City, N.D., in March; she is survived by her husband, Gereld. Jan (Boyer) Newlander, 76, North Bend, Ore., in November; she is survived by her husband, Ronald. Arlene (Sevald) Timss, 75, Seattle, in March; she is survived by her husband, Arnie. Dale Zieman, 82, Minot, N.D., in July.

1960Sylvia (Germundson) Larson, 76, Mesa, Ariz., in January; she is survived by her husband, Lowell ’57. Marlyn Slettum, 75, Montevideo, Minn., in November; he is survived by his wife, Maxine (Anderson) ‘63.

1961Dennis Albertson, 74, Long Grove, Iowa, in September; he is survived by his wife, C.J. Richard Rosetter, 77, Montevideo, Minn., in February; he is survived by his wife, Joan.

1963Ellsworth Bergerson, 72, Des Moines, Iowa; he is survived by his wife, Ellen (Hexum) ’64.

1964Sandra Fjeld, 71, Duluth, Minn., in March. John “Dave” Pudas, 71, Brooklyn Park, Minn., in February; he is survived by his wife, Anne (Matthees) ’69.

1965Betty Jo White, 70, Milbank, S.D., in March.

1966Donald Johnson, 69, Fargo, N.D., in November.

1967Leslie Braaten, 68, Hettinger, N.D., in October; he is survived by his wife, Linda.

1969James Baker, 66, New Hope, Minn., in March; he is survived by his wife, Olga.

1972Mark McNelly, 63, Battle Lake, Minn., in February; he is survived by his wife, Patricia.

1974Barbara Eiden-Molinaro, 62, Athens, Ohio, in February; she is survived by her husband, John Molinaro. Brian Neugebauer, 62, West Fargo, N.D., in January; he is survived by his wife, Kathy (Klippen) ’83.

1983Richard “Carl” Lee, 52, St. Paul, Minn., in November; he is survived by his wife, Linda. Michael Olson, 53, Coon Rapids, Minn., in January; he is survived by his wife, Lynn.

CLASS NOTES POLICYBecause of space restrictions, we confine our class notes to news submitted within six months. We do not accept announcements of upcoming marriage or acceptance to graduate school; please submit following the wedding or graduation. Memorials should be sent in by family, with an obituary if possible. Photographs should be accompanied by a brief description, including when it was taken and a list of those in the photo (including maiden names if Cobbers), their grad years, and cities and states of residence. Children of graduates should be pictured in Concordia clothing. Emailed photos should be taken in at least 300 DPI resolution in TIFF or JPEG formats. Submission of photos does not guarantee publication. Class notes and photographs may be submitted online at ConcordiaCollege.edu/classnotes or mailed to: Class Notes, Communications and Marketing, Concordia College, 901 8th St. S., Moorhead, MN 56562. Deadline for the next issue is Sept. 1, 2014. Questions? Email [email protected]

In MemoriamThe Rev. Arthur Grimstad, 95, Moorhead, professor emeritus of religion, died Dec. 7. He earned a bachelor’s degree in theology from Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn., in 1946 and a Master of Sacred Theology degree from Dallas Theological Seminary in 1949. During his 38 years at Concordia, he taught religion, was executive secretary of the C-400 Club, director of Deferred Giving and an advisor to the student Christian

outreach teams that traveled nationally and internationally. Grimstad received the Ole and Lucy Flaat Distinguished Service Award from Concordia in 1976. While at Concordia, he also continued his involvement in small town and rural churches. Grimstad was a friend of the Rev. Billy Graham and accompanied him to Finland as his Lutheran consultant. He also was instrumental in Graham holding a crusade in Fargo in 1987. He was preceded in death by his wife, Esther. He is survived by his sons, Paul ’67 (Robbie), Stephen ’67 (Janet) and John ’74 (Laurel Holschuh); his daughters, Ruth (Max) Peters and Mary E. Larson; 15 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Dr. David Green, 82, Lake Park, Minn., professor emeritus of French, died April 27. After earning a bachelor’s degree in English and French from Concordia in 1953, he served in the Army during the Korean War with the Counter Intelligence Service in Tokyo. He earned his master’s degree in French from Northwestern University, was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to France, received a diploma from the University of Paris and earned his doctorate

at the University of Minnesota. He joined the Concordia faculty in 1961 and served the college for 38 years, retiring in 1997. In 1962, he inaugurated Lac du Bois, the French Language Village. In 2011, a fund was established in his honor to support scholarships for Concordia College students studying abroad and for youth attending the Concordia Language Villages. He is survived by his wife, Marilyn (Olson) ‘56; his daughters, Maria Green Cowles ‘84 (Adam Cowles) and Rebecca Green ‘87 (David Zola); and three granddaughters.


Spin with one hand, press with the other. Smoother, warmer, stretchy-er.

It’s the repetitive motion that stretches. That travels miles and years, past and future. The repetitive motion that is also the present, where my family comes together and grows. The present is where flour – simply and magically mixed with water, yeast, sugar, and salt, caressed by my tense hands – stretches, connecting me with my parents and grandparents who bake and break bread.

Close together in the tiny kitchen, anticipating bread, it is the repetitive motion

of her hands that we’re all watching. Many years and miles away, we’ve brought our Bread House to the temporary residence of homeless women veterans. And there she is – a stranger who is also familiar.

Fold and press, fold and press, fold and press, then turn it over, and do it again. We knead differently. And now, we’re all watching her as tension seems to pull away from her face and draw into her arms, her hands, the dough. And there she is, she who doesn’t speak, who doesn’t say what she needs. She kneads. And there we are, we knead together.

All WeKneadIs Love

By Lily Herakova


When I first heard of the Bread Houses Network, I was taken with the idea’s simplicity, naiveté almost, and I was taken with memories. On Christmas Eve we make a round bread with “fortunes” – an old silver coin symbolizes the best of everything one may wish for, there is also a dogwood twig for health, a bean for fertility (both of the earth and the person), and a button for travels. For Easter we bake and braid sweet bread.

Then, there are breads for weddings, funerals, baptisms, to celebrate a kid’s first steps. There are also the breads on cold winter evenings – aromatic, sweating kitchen windows and filling the whole house with the smell of home; warm, liquefying the butter, turning golden. These are my memories, my childhood in Bulgaria. These are also my present, my presence in my son’s childhood in the U.S. When I knead and bake bread, I am here and there, now and then, together and whole. The simplicity turns out to be quite complex and I am even more taken.

So taken, in fact, that we – I and two others, Dr. Leda Cooks and Emily Polk – start a Pioneer Valley Bread House. It is only the second Bread House in the United States, but, around the world, there are Bread Houses on five continents. They serve as cultural centers, as places for learning and community, where people, who may otherwise never meet, come together and knead love. The founder of the Bread Houses Network, Dr. Nadezhda Savova, calls it a “high-touch” way to connect, share knowledge, and learn – to be and become together.

Kneading is a nice metaphor for the not-always-gentle coming together of community. But we also make no-knead and gluten-free breads and they, too, are conversation starters. Bread itself is the metaphor and it is also very materially nutritional. Bread is a process of mixing, of care, of rising, of sharing, of physical and social sustenance. Whether it’s made out of wheat, rice, potatoes, corn, nut flours, etc., bread feeds bellies and imaginations around the world. One does not have to have made bread before to have a bread-story. We’ve all held bread, tasted bread, maybe even hungered for it.

Bread connects us, while honoring the multiplicity of our differences. It opens us up to the telling of stories, desires, unmet needs, hunger and possibilities. During a typical Bread House kneading, we make bread, of course, but this is not a culinary class. A Bread House is a context – for storytelling and creative activities. We make bread puppets and tell our stories with them. We draw and write on paper and in flour. We learn from our children how to let go of our fear of “mistakes” and that playfulness makes bread sweeter.

Out of five basic ingredients – flour, yeast, water, salt, sugar – and a repetitive motion, comes out sustenance and learning. Bread teaches. It has taught me that

transformation needs touch and engagement – under our hands, out of disparate ingredients comes out a wholeness, a loaf, waiting to be shared. Bread has taught me that growth needs patience and interaction with the surrounding contexts – like bread, communities need time to ferment and rise, a process that is always different under

different environmental factors. Bread is forgiving and teaches me to let go – recipe or not, bread always turns out and satisfies hunger. Bread is sweeter when you smile, play, create with it. Bread has taught me to knead both joys (sugar) and tears (salt) into life ...

Then life itselfwill have the shape of bread,deep and simple, immeasurable and pure.– from “Ode to Bread” by Pablo Neruda

Photo above: Reprinted with permission of the Daily Hampshire Gazette. All rights reserved.

Lily Herakova ‘05 is a mother, baker, scholar and writer. She holds a doctorate in communication from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and teaches at Western New England University in Springfield, Mass.

Lily Herakova ’05 (left), who is the co-founder of Pioneer Valley Bread

House, helps Ilana Polyak, Florence, Mass., and Polyak’s children, Stefan

Maitinsky, 3, and Jakob “Kobi” Maitinsky, 2, make bread at B’nai

Israel in Northampton, Mass.

901 8th St. S., Moorhead, MN 56562

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

Non-Profit OrganizationU.S. Postage

PAIDConcordia College

Eric Reynolds ‘89 directs actors on the motion capture stage at Weta FX in New Zealand.

From Cobber to computer programmer to Oscar nominee, Eric Reynolds ’89 has followed a path that, though rewarding, has

been anything but certain.As an animation supervisor for Weta Digital, a New Zealand-based visual effects

company, Reynolds has worked on a range of Hollywood heavyweights from James Cameron’s “Avatar” to Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.”

Along with those major motion pictures comes recognition. His team’s work on “The Hobbit” garnered a 2014 Academy Award nomination for visual effects. And though his success in the industry is remarkable, the road to a digital animator’s dream job was never clear for the Choteau, Mont., native.

Even after finding his foothold in the industry, change was always a familiar companion to Reynolds. Opportunities in television and film brought Reynolds from the Twin Cities to San Francisco to Vancouver, British Columbia, before finally settling in New Zealand with Weta Digital.

For him, it’s always been about the journey.“I don’t worry too much about having a concrete plan – very few people do. The world is changing all the time and the best you can do is find

the things you like that engage you,” Reynolds says, “and try to find a way to work that into your life.” Photo: Robert Catto, courtesy of Weta Digital

By Eric Lillehaugen

An alumnus’ passion takes him on an unexpected journey

concordia magazine: spring 2014

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