Augustana College

Nine hundred thirty-nine students have been named to the spring term Dean's List at Augustana College for the 2008-2009 academic year. Students receiving this honor have earned a minimum grade point average of 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale) for courses taken during the 2009 spring term. From your area, this includes:

Twenty advanced high school science students from Illinois and Iowa took part in the first Human Cadaver Gross Anatomy Enrichment Program at Augustana's Science Building in early June. This unique program allowed the students to learn about human anatomy in a cadaver lab, an experience usually reserved for Augustana seniors, and a glimpse into what a future career in the medical field may require. Teams of five students worked on four cadavers, two men and two women. The students were taught to identify anatomical structures and were introduced to dissection techniques under the guidance of Augustana professor Dr. Darrin Good, who has been teaching with cadavers for over 20 years. "It is obviously a program that attracts a certain type of student, but we were all impressed with the students' motivation to learn and respect toward the cadavers," said Good. Students had to be juniors or seniors in high school, have completed a semester of human anatomy or Advanced Placement biology and have a serious interest in a medical career. Good is proud to offer this opportunity to young students and hopes the participants appreciate the rarity of Augustana's cadaver lab. "Very, very few schools in the country allow undergraduates access to human cadavers, let alone the opportunity to dissect. Augustana students are accepted to professional schools (medical, dental, physical therapy, etc.) at a much higher rate than the national average. Their superior background in human anatomy due to work in our cadaver lab is one of the advantages they carry with them to professional schools." Kent Barnds, vice president of enrollment and communication, recognizes that Good like many other Augustana faculty desires to work with students and plays a key role to the success of the program. "The only reason we were able to offer a program like this is because we understand the need for hands-on learning and have full-time faculty willing to reach out to interested students-students who are ready to learn in these ways earlier in their educations than ever before," he said. Good is the Chair of the Natural Sciences and teaches anatomy and biology courses at Augustana. He also directs the Nicaragua Medical Service Learning Program, and taught several courses during Augustana's Latin America term. Next year, he plans to lead several Anatomy Enrichment Programs to allow even more students to participate. From your area, the following students participated in this year's program:

The musical artistry of Augustana's premier band, choir and orchestra will culminate in the Augustana Music Festival on Saturday, May 23 at 8 p.m. in Centennial Hall (3703 7th Avenue). This concert brings together the Augustana Symphonic Band, Augustana Symphony Orchestra and Augustana Choir for a final showcase performance. Admission to the concert is free and open to the public. Although the annual Music Festival is in its second decade, band director Dr. James Lambrecht still considers it one of the "newer" traditions in the band's 134-year history. He goes to three or more music performances a week in May, but still believes the festival holds a special place. "It's enjoyable. Energetic. A large packed hall," he said. This year's concert will feature a unique pairing of the Augustana Symphony Orchestra and Augustana Choir to present Vivaldi's Gloria, a 12-movement work for orchestra and choir. The ensembles also will perform the works of composers David Maslanka, Philip Sparke and Jean Sibelius. The Augustana Music Festival is just one of 17 performances happening during the month of May. The Augustana Symphonic Band also will perform at a special outdoor concert on the lawn of Bergendoff Hall of Fine Arts (3701 7th Ave, Rock Island) on Saturday, May 23 at 2:30 p.m. This free public concert will feature ten student conductors who are studying music education. From your area, this includes:

Augustana junior Dana Swanson has been named Dahl Scholar for the 2009-'10 academic school year. Swanson, an English and sociology double-major, was awarded the honor by Dr. Evelyn Campbell, dean and vice president for student services. Augustana graduates John Dahl '68 and Robert Dahl '74 established the scholarship to honor their parents, Arthur and Dorothy Dahl, the Dahl Leadership Scholarship recognizes a student for both academic achievement and student leadership. Swanson is the daughter of Brian and Sue Swanson of Barrington and a 2006 graduate of Wauconda High School. In addition to her major coursework, Swanson has played an important role in organizing and promoting student life programs at Augustana. She has served for the last year as philanthropic chair of the Epsilon Sigma Alpha International Service Sorority has been active on Augustana's Campus Ministries leadership team and recently worked for Wesley Acres Produce, an organic farm in Milan, Ill.,. The farm is partnering with the College's new Farm to Fork food program. In addition, Swanson has been active in Big Brothers Big Sisters and Relay for Life during her time at Augustana. She also has worked as a student ambassador for the Augustana Office of Admissions for two years. "Dana is a hard worker and a deep thinker. She is always willing to work behind the scenes to make an event go well and is increasingly comfortable in more visible leadership positions," said Richard Priggie, Augustana College chaplain. Priggie serves as faculty advisor to Augustana Campus Ministries and noted that Swanson has taken part in the group's spring break service trip to Mississippi all three years of her college experience. "She is a worthy recipient of the Dahl Leadership Scholarship; her caring and commitment demonstrate the kind of leadership that she offers and that the world needs," said Priggie. John Dahl and Robert Dahl, trustees of the Arthur E. Dahl & Dorothy E. Dahl Charitable Trust established by their late parents, provided for the scholarship as part of a $1,500,000.00 donation from the trust to Augustana. The gift, made in 2003, funded the scholarship, in addition to underwriting construction of the Dahl President's Home. Inspired by their parents' dedication to community service, the brothers established the scholarship to support their alma mater's efforts to develop and encourage student leaders. Arthur Dahl was the Senior Vice President of HNI Corporation and served on several boards, including the Iowa Employees Retirement System, the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust and Augustana College. Dorothy Dahl served on the Board of Trustees of Monmouth College, her alma mater, and she helped form a chapter of the American Association of University Women in Muscatine. The Dahls were both active members of Grace Lutheran Church in Muscatine. John and Robert Dahl have also served numerous community and civic organizations since graduating from Augustana. John Dahl serves as an Elder of the Presbyterian Church of Deerfield, Illinois. Robert Dahl, who was elected as a delegate to the Republican National Convention while a student at Augustana, has worked as an attorney with the Federal Election Commission and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Most recently, he participated in the USAID effort to organize the first democratic elections in Indonesia.

Countless hours of student research from all academic areas will culminate in Augustana's 13th annual Celebration of Learning on Saturday, May 9. This on-campus event will showcase a diverse collection of advanced student research projects. Celebration of Learning is a unique opportunity for students to display their academic accomplishments before their families and the Augustana community. Celebration participants can choose to share their research through oral presentations or poster displays. Many students use the Celebration to present the results of their Senior Inquiry, a multiple-term research project required for completion of many of Augustana's academic programs. These projects often reflect months of preparation and extensive collaboration between Augustana students and faculty members. Augustana librarian and event coordinator Anne Earel feels Celebration of Learning fills a gap in many students' college experiences. "Not every student will be able to go to a conference somewhere off-campus. This provides an on-campus opportunity to be part of a professional scholarship community. It's a confidence builder and something Augustana students deserve to do," she says. Because of the advanced level of research involved, most presenters are upperclassmen. However, all students are encouraged to attend the event. Earel believes it is highly valuable that younger students "see what other students are doing and get an idea of what they might be able to do, and expected to do, by their senior year."Senior Ian Fletcher, a political science and anthropology major and 2008 Celebration of Learning presenter, decided to participate in the Celebration as a way to practice his public speaking skills and share his research with his peers. Fletcher feels his experience captures the essence of Augustana's academic community. "The Celebration of Learning shows the excellent caliber of the ideas and research of a school that is not driven by 'publish or perish.' We value faculty-student cooperation along with individual exploration of the questions that are important in today's academic arena." This year's event will begin with a keynote address by Dr. Joseph Hyser, a 1999 Augustana graduate and current mentor for Augustana College's Texas Medical Center - Summer Research Internship Program. The address will be followed by two sessions of student presentations in the morning and one poster display session in the afternoon. After these sessions, guests will be encouraged to visit the Augustana College Art Museum in Centennial Hall, where senior student artists will offer walking tours of their studio art exhibitions. For more information, visit www.augustana.edu/celebrationoflearning or www.augustana.edu/celebration or contact Kamy Beattie, Director of Public Relations, at 309-794-7721 or kamybeattie@augustana.edu.

Rock Island, Ill. - 911 students have been named to the Dean's List at Augustana College for the 2009 winter term. Students who have earned this academic honor have maintained a grade point average of 3.5 or higher on a four-point scale for courses taken during the 2009 winter term. From your area, this includes:

The Augustana Guitar Ensemble will work with world-class musicians during its first trip to the Mid-America Guitar Ensemble Festival in Chicago on March 20 -22. Hosted by Roosevelt University of Chicago, the event allows students to participate in performance workshops, perform an ensemble concert and connect with other students. Sean Ryan, a senior music major from Colona, IL, has been playing guitar for 12 years and values the opportunity to attend the Mid-America Festival. "There are not very many classical guitarists in the Quad Cities, so the festival will be a great chance to see what other guitarists are doing," said Ryan. Augustana's classical guitar program currently serves up to 25 majors and non-majors a term through private lessons and the Augustana Guitar Ensemble group. Randy Pobanz directs the ensemble and has been a part-time instructor at Augustana for 24 years. Pobanz received a master of music degree in guitar pedagogy and performance from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale and specializes in classical guitar. He credits the rise in high school programs and private lessons for the growing program. "The pre-college exposure is critical for guitar programs like Augustana's to grow and to raise the playing level of incoming students," said Pobanz. Mid-America Guitar Ensemble Festival started in 1991 and draws ensembles from as far away as New Mexico, North Carolina and Kentucky. This year's festival features a master class led by the world-renowned guitar duo, the Katona Twins. The Hungarian-born twins, Peter and Zoltán, have given recitals throughout the world including performances at Carnegie Hall in New York and Wigmore Hall in London. "Having the chance to play and be critiqued by two world-renowned artists is very beneficial to our student guitarists," said Pobanz. For more information on the Katona Twins, see www.katonatwins.com. In addition to their performance at the festival, the Augustana Guitar Ensemble will present a campus recital featuring music from the Renaissance to the 20th century. The concert is Wednesday, April 15, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. in Wallenberg Hall (3520 7th Avenue) and is free and open to the public. For additional information or to set up an interview with one of the guitar students, contact Kamy Beattie at 309-794-7721 or kamybeattie@augustana.edu.

Nearly 40 Augustana students will spend spring term studying music, psychology and science in Vienna, Austria as part of the college-sponsored international study experience. The 2009 trip includes three integrated classes that will explore various aspects of Viennese and Austrian culture during the last two centuries, and 70 site visits to historic places in several countries. Augustana professors Dr. Daniel Culver, music, Dr. Pamela Trotter, chemistry, and Dr. William Coker, psychology, will focus their classes around the concept of dream and reality through the eyes of many Austria natives such as classical composer Wolfgang Mozart, psychiatrist Sigmund Freud and the father of genetics Gregor Mendel. "We have a wide variety of student majors going on the trip," said Dr. Culver. "This trip will be a very unique experience for the students and they'll see how as U.S. citizen they fit into the world." Students will live and attend classes at the Kolpinghaus Wien Zentral, which is located in the downtown area of Vienna. They will make weekend visits to Budapest, Hungary; Prague, Czech Republic; and Krakow, Poland. They will see opera performances, listen to a rehearsal of the Vienna Philharmonic, and tour famous churches like Stephansdom. Sophomore Corynn Hanson of Oregon, Wisconsin said this will be her first time to Europe, though she has experienced traveling outside the United States. "I think this trip will give me perspective and help me grow more as a person...in the sense that I have seen part of the world and experienced a different part of the world. I think the experience... will give me an edge for employment and graduate school." To prepare for the spring term in Vienna, students were required to take a three-month seminar at Augustana. The class included language lessons, the history of Vienna, traveling skills. The term ends on May 16. To talk with a student in Vienna, contact Kamy Beattie at (309) 794-7721 or at kamybeattie@augustana.edu. You can also read about their experiences by logging onto www.augustana.edu/blogs/international/ From you area, this includes:

Rock Island, Ill. - 896 students have been named to the Dean's List at Augustana College for the 2008 fall term. Students who have earned this academic honor have maintained a grade point average of 3.5 or higher on a four-point scale for courses taken during the 2008 fall term. From your area, this includes:

A group of nearly 30 Augustana students will spend the next four weeks on a first-ever Augustana international study experience in Vietnam. The South Asian country will serve as the backdrop to an international learning encounter in which students will take three Vietnamese culture-focused courses, participate in a service-learning project and travel. The inaugural trip idea was developed and proposed by business administration department chair and associate professor Ann Ericson, who taught in Vietnam during the summer of 2007 and has visited the country several times. Along with Ericson, Augustana professors David Crowe (English), Mariano Magalhaes, (political science) are accompanying the students and will each teach one course Vietnam. The three courses will serve as a learning community, bringing together knowledge of the country's distinctive history from three different areas of study, as well as providing context for the places in Vietnam where the students will live and visit. Before leaving Augustana, the students took part in a one-credit preparatory seminar to expand their knowledge of Vietnamese culture, history and geography, and to learn expectations for interpersonal interactions while in Vietnam. Crowe, who will teach a Vietnam War literature course while abroad, has visited Vietnam in the past, and is optimistic about the trip. "Already we've seen our students gaining what we want them to gain-they're very interested in the history of Vietnam, the importance of the war for both of our countries, and Vietnam's current struggles politically and economically. ... It's amazing how enterprising and friendly the Vietnamese are, and how much they want to show us their beautiful country," he said. The students will also take part in a service-learning project while abroad, spending a day interacting and playing with local daycare and primary school children, aged 3-12, in the Phu Tho Province. The Augustana group plans to purchase toys, sports equipment and art supplies for the Vietnamese children. From your area, this includes:

Augustana Sights and Sounds returns for a second year to The Bucktown Center for the Arts (225 E. 2 nd Street, Davenport) on Friday, January 30 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The free event showcases unique photography and musical entertainment by Augustana College students. The successful program is expanding this year to include featured photography by area high school students. Augustana students will display a series of photographs that feature student life on the Rock Island campus, exploring the world through international study programs, or their experiences in the Quad Cities. The event will incorporate the photography displayed with several existing galleries, music and comedy groups. The Augustana Photo Bureau along with MidCoast Fine Arts are coordinating the event during Bucktown's monthly Final Friday art show. Augustana Photo Bureau students featured in the show include: Ashley Biess, Corynn Hanson, Bryan Inness, Maren Mathisen, Kelly Morgan, Matthew Peters, Amy Pearson, Kaitlin Sirois, and Dalsem Yang. Senior marketing majors, Ashley Biess and Kelly Morgan, and co-managers of the Augustana Photo Bureau assisted with the planning of the event. High school photographers can submit their work-based on the categories of emotion, reflection, geometry and forgotten places-- by January 19 for judging by members of the Augustana Photo Bureau. Winners of the contest will receive a scholarship to Augustana College or a one-year subscription to an online gallery program. The featured artwork from both The Augustana Photo Bureau and area high school students will remain on display at The Bucktown Center for the Arts through Thursday, February 26, 2009. The Augustana Photo Bureau was established in 2005 to support the publication, events, news and web needs of the Office of Communication and Marketing. Under the direction of their advisor, Marla Alvarado Neuerburg, the group offers the opportunity to learn and apply photography skills. Midcoast Fine Arts is a non-profit agency created by artists to promote regional artists and cultural organizations that advance the quality of life and marketability within the Quad Cities. The Bucktown Center for the Arts opened in 2005 as a creative community for local artists. Sponsors also include The Augustana Alumni Association and TruArt Color Graphics. From your area, this includes:

Rock Island, Ill. - 896 students have been named to the Dean's List at Augustana College for the 2008 fall term. Students who have earned this academic honor have maintained a grade point average of 3.5 or higher on a four-point scale for courses taken during the 2008 fall term. From your area, this includes:

Rock Island, Ill. -Nearly 30 Augustana students will spend the next three months working as interns in Sydney, Australia at various businesses to gain valuable job-related experience. The international study program known as "Augustralia term" matches students in a variety of jobs in Sydney to work independently for seven weeks and immerse them in the new culture. The term begins with a five-week on-campus internship seminar that includes two classes detailing Australian culture and intercultural communication. During the remaining seven-weeks, students intern full-time in four-days and use the remaining time to explore Australia. The experience offers Augustana students a chance to apply what they have learned in the classroom and reflect on how it will benefit them in a future job or graduate school. "This is a very independent program. The students travel together with no faculty from Augustana," said Karen Petersen, business administration and faculty advisor to the program. Students do receive on-side supervision by their internship coordinator, the Centers for Academic Programs Abroad (www.capa.org) and Augustana faculty or staff visit students about half-way through the internship. Students stay at a five-star serviced apartment complex in the Moore Park/Waterloo precinct of Sydney along with Australian and other international students. The city of Sydney is the largest metropolitan area in Australia and is located on southeastern coast. (www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/). "The students will tour the beautiful Blue Mountains, a short drive outside of Sydney as well as the Sydney Opera House, museums, markets, beaches, the Olympic stadium, and then travel to other areas in Australia. This would include Cairns, where they can snorkel or dive the Great Barrier Reef; Melbourne, and Darwin. They may travel to New Zealand for spring break," said Petersen. Students return home March 7. For additional information contact Kamy Beattie at 309-794-7721 or kamybeattie@augustana.edu. You can also read about the experiences by logging onto www.augustana.edu/blogs/international/ for blog postings from four Augustana students. From your area, this includes:

Eight hundred sixty-four students have been named to the winter term Dean's List at Augustana College for the 2007-2008 academic year. Students receiving this honor have earned a minimum grade point average of 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale) for courses taken during the 2008 spring term. From your area, this includes:

Nine hundred twenty-one students have been named to the spring term Dean's List at Augustana College for the 2007-2008 academic year. Students receiving this honor have earned a minimum grade point average of 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale) for courses taken during the 2008 spring term. From your area, this includes:

Eight hundred sixty-four students have been named to the winter term Dean's List at Augustana College for the 2007-2008 academic year. Students receiving this honor have earned a minimum grade point average of 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale) for courses taken during the 2008 spring term. From your area, this includes:

Nine hundred twenty-one students have been named to the spring term Dean's List at Augustana College for the 2007-2008 academic year. Students receiving this honor have earned a minimum grade point average of 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale) for courses taken during the 2008 spring term. From your area, this includes: