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Art Meets Science in Hagfors Center

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Steve 鈥�67 B.A. and Sandy Batalden say they were attracted to the 鈥淎rt and Identity鈥� project when they saw the 鈥渟tunning鈥� work of Amy Rice. Rice鈥檚 series, Six Minnesota Wildflowers to Meet and Know, was commissioned by 绿茶直播 for the Hagfors Center for Science, Business, and Religion. 鈥淲e immediately liked her work,鈥� explains Sandy, who shares with Rice an appreciation for letterpress printing, which is featured in the works. 鈥淣ot only is she using original materials in her paintings, but the unusual botanical subject matter seems to fit perfectly in a building intended for the life sciences.鈥� In a recent donor statement, the Bataldens wrote that 鈥渂eyond botanical accuracy, Amy鈥檚 drawings transport us into an entirely new realm as leaves and flowers become frames for musical scores or other chosen text woven into each piece. What a creative, beautiful expression for the university of the twenty-first century!鈥�

Art and Identity

In her artist鈥檚 statement, Rice explains that she began her process by hand-drawing and hand-cutting stencils of rare Minnesota plants. 鈥淭he plants are 鈥榩ainted鈥� in with a variety of antique and vintage paper: maps and plat books of Minnesota counties (I only used maps from counties where the plants are actually found), Norwegian-language liturgy from the 1870s, sheet music, handwritten letters from early Minnesotans, homework, biology textbooks and early Augsburg ephemera.鈥� She notes that her interest in native plants connects to her Christian faith tradition. 鈥淚t is the sacred trust we have been given to be stewards of our Earth. My Grandpa Ed, a seventh generation Midwestern farmer, knew the names of every plant on his large farm. He didn鈥檛 own them; he was responsible for them.鈥� That, she wrote, was one way he modeled faith in action.

Beauty and Inspiration

Steve notes that the timeliness of the 鈥淎rt and Identity鈥� project captured his own and Sandy鈥檚 imagination. 鈥淲e are living in a deeply troublesome and dangerous Trump era when, especially here in the Arizona southwest, walls are political symbols meant to divide sharply and impose barriers. What a wonderful idea for Hagfors Center to refashion walls as settings for beauty and inspiration!鈥�
Augsburg commissioned Six Minnesota Wildflowers and works by other artists to express its core identity, grounded in durable faith, inclusion, and experiential learning. 鈥淕reat universities manage to nurture creative artistic production alongside scientific discovery,鈥� say the Bataldens, who have spent their careers in higher education. Steve is professor emeritus of Russian history and founding director of the Melikian Center for Russian, Eurasian, and East European Studies at Arizona State University. Sandy is a retired university librarian, bibliographer, and scholarly book editor.

A gift that healed a deep wound

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Merton Strommen鈥檚 fourth-floor apartment offers a glimpse of his long life. In a corner of the living room is a Steinway, an impulse buy from decades back that the 98-year-old still plays daily. Artifacts from Norway commingle with books. Framed landscapes mix with family portraits on the walls. Clearly, he鈥檚 lived a life of music, travel, scholarship, family, and faith. Yet unless you ask about the large painting of the handsome young blond man gazing out over the mountains, you might miss that his life has included tragedy.

The painting is of David, the youngest of Strommen鈥檚 five sons, who in 1985 was struck by lightning while leading a youth group in the Colorado Rockies. David鈥檚 death catapulted Strommen and his wife, Irene, into a grief that included a strong desire that something meaningful come out of their loss.

They wanted to further the work that their son, a seminarian with a passion for youth, had been pursuing when he died. As both husband and wife had attended Augsburg and sent their five sons there as well, they decided to support training in youth and family ministry at Augsburg. As Merton Strommen put it in Five Cries of Grief, a book he co-wrote with Irene, he could envision 鈥渁 thousand young men and women taking Dave鈥檚 place in a congregation鈥檚 youth and family ministry.鈥�

Fundraising began with the 1985 Twin Cities Marathon, as David鈥檚 brothers and friends solicited pledges and ran in his place. In 1986, with support from family and friends, the Strommens established the David Huglen Strommen Endowment to support program and faculty development, and scholarships. The fund later grew dramatically with a large gift from Thrivent Financial (then called Lutheran Brotherhood). Today, the endowment is valued at more than $800,000.

A scholarly approach

The fact that youth ministry exists as a field of study and a career option is in large part the work of the elder Strommen, who in the 1940s when he was a young seminarian and pastor noted how little was being done in the church for teenagers. 鈥淭here were pastors who believed that God鈥檚 intent was that young people would come to faith primarily by preaching alone,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 thought, My gosh, this isn鈥檛 responding to where kids are at.鈥� Strommen鈥檚 idea was to allow youth to ask questions about the faith, build relationships with adults and each other, and have fun.

Although Strommen decided to pursue graduate study at the University of Minnesota in educational psychology, his interest in youth ministry didn鈥檛 wane. In fact, he decided to make it the focus of his scholarship. His dissertation, a national study of 192 congregations, explored fundamental questions that had never been answered: What did young people need? What did they want?聽 What did pastors and lay adults think youth needed? His study yielded an important finding. Adults had little understanding of where their youth needed help. Moreover, youth weren鈥檛 taking away from the church the most fundamental truths about God鈥檚 grace and forgiveness.

There was much more to learn. Strommen founded the Search Institute in 1958, which pioneered the use of social science research to understand young people. Over the years, he was involved in large-scale studies, many of which laid the foundation for youth and family ministry approaches used congregations in major denominations and in seminary and college training, including that offered by Augsburg.

The ongoing impact

For two decades, Augsburg offered a Bachelor of Arts degree in Youth and Family Ministry. And students like 2016-17 Strommen scholarship recipient Leah McDougall graduated with a major in Youth and Family Ministry. Beginning in 2017, students interested in youth and family ministry enroll in the new Theology of Public Ministry major and opt for a youth studies minor. 鈥淪tudents who sign up for such a curriculum receive essentially the same education and experience offered under the older Youth and Family Ministry program,鈥� says Hans Wiersma, a religion professor long involved with the programs.

Wiersma says an important part of each student鈥檚 course of study is 鈥渄iscerning the nature of God’s call for their lives.鈥� Some, he says, go directly from Augsburg to a congregation. Some do service through organizations such as Lutheran Volunteer Corps or go to seminary, and some work in public schools or youth service organizations.

At nearly 100 years of age, Strommen remains keenly interested in youth ministry. He鈥檚 concerned that not enough are learning that faith is life-changing. 鈥淲hat disappoints me is that there hasn鈥檛 been a focus in so many congregations on a personal relationship with Jesus Christ,鈥� he says. And he鈥檇 just love, if he could, to do one more national study, to demonstrate the effectiveness of the peer ministry approach.

He鈥檚 pleased with what he鈥檚 accomplished. 鈥淲hen I start talking [about my life], I get excited, I get awed,鈥� he says. He knows that he has made a tremendous impact on the field of youth ministry. For indeed, a thousand young people are now taking David鈥檚 place.

 

By Carmen Peota.

Art to inspire: Karolynn Lestrud

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Personal and public. Creative and practical. Forward-thinking and backward-knowing. By sponsoring 鈥淏oth/and,鈥� a custom glass art treatment for the skyway that links the library to the Hagfors Center for Science, Business, and Religion, Karolynn Lestrud 鈥�68 supports artist Teri Kwant鈥檚 effort to bridge disparate disciplines both figuratively and literally.

Kwant鈥檚 art will illustrate the transitional space by etching pairs of words from different disciplines into the glass of the skyway. Think: define divinity, probe force, radiate support, love density. When Lestrud, an English major who did graduate work in linguistics and considers word play a part of her life, first saw the proposal, she thought, 鈥淔antastic! But then I started puzzling over the pairs that didn鈥檛 make sense鈥攁nd thought aha! She got me! She made me ponder,鈥� says Lestrud. 鈥淚 hope students will react the same way, with their curiosity piqued as they stroll through. I wonder if they will write about their experiences, walking through this walkway of words.鈥�

Words on the skyway windows will also make the glass visible to birds, so they don鈥檛 鈥渟mack themselves silly on the glass. I thought this was a brilliant solution to a real concern, and a very thought-provoking piece as well,鈥� she adds.

Lestrud lauds the selection process, too. A resident of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, she volunteers for and supports various art groups, including those charged with choosing art for public spaces. 鈥淚t鈥檚 such an interesting process, because you have people who know nothing about art but 鈥榢now what they like.鈥� It鈥檚 hard to set up guidelines when you hear commentary like that,鈥� she points out. 鈥淢any people want to go for something very representational, very safe, and in many cases, very uninteresting. But that didn鈥檛 happen on this committee.鈥�

She served on Augsburg鈥檚 Art and Identity committee, which began discussing art when the Hagfors Center was 鈥渟till a dream on paper,鈥� working with architects to identify where artwork should go, what size it should be, and how it should be lit. 鈥淣inety-nine percent of the time, people wait until the structure is inhabited before they start embellishing it,鈥� she explains. 鈥淲e seem to have an innate yearning to embellish our surroundings. The earliest people did cave drawings. The Victorians had every surface covered with doodads. So we鈥檙e following a very natural impulse, and I think it鈥檚 wonderful that Augsburg made the commitment to do this in a well-thought-out and big way.鈥�

Once locations were selected and artist proposals solicited, committee members met with artists individually to field questions and fuel the creative mission through a deeper understanding of the building in particular and Augsburg in general. 鈥淭hat was also interesting and not always something that happens in the broader world,鈥� Lestrud says. She was delighted to chat with Kwant, a public artist, director of RSP Dreambox, and frequent lecturer on experience design, environments, and communications for the U. of Minnesota School of Design and the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Kwant will also create one-of-a-kind glassed-topped tables that are available for sponsorship.

Lestrud contrasts the Hagfors Center with the boxy, cement block structure of the old science hall. 鈥淲hen you walked in, all you wanted to do was get out again,鈥� she remembers. 鈥淭he art going into this new building will make it the kind of place that will inspire students, give them a mental break, and, I believe, encourage them to linger.鈥�

Chilstrom Scholarship Inspires Lives of Courage

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Bishop Herb Chilstrom鈥檚 journey from poor, small-town boy to first presiding bishop of the ELCA began with a spiritual awakening at age 14. By the time Bishop Chilstrom 鈥�54 reached college age his goal to become an ordained minister was clear, but the source of funds to pay for college was less certain. 鈥淭here weren鈥檛 many scholarships at the time I attended Augsburg,鈥� he remembers. Knowing that his parents wouldn鈥檛 be able to give him more than a five dollar bill every once in a while, he chose to attend the Lutheran college located in the heart of the job-rich Twin Cities: Augsburg. There, he knew, he鈥檇 be able to find a job 鈥� or two or three jobs (at the same time), as it turned out. That experience and a desire to help today鈥檚 students led the bishop and his wife, the Reverend E. Corinne Chilstrom, to establish the Corinne and Herbert Chilstrom Scholarship for students interested in social work or the ordained ministry. If you give a student some kind of financial support, he says, 鈥淚t means you鈥檙e doing well, and we want to help you.鈥�

A social conscience emerges

When Bishop Chilstrom arrived at Augsburg he began to realize that both his spiritual journey and his view of the world had been too narrow-minded. 鈥淚 had too many pat answers,鈥� he remembers. Augsburg professors like Joel Torstenson, sociology, challenged him to open windows to the world. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 wealthy, but I realized I had the privilege of simply being white, and that opened doors that weren鈥檛 open for others. Joel impressed on us that we have a profound responsibility to those who did not have the advantages we had.鈥� At Augsburg, says Bishop Chilstrom, he learned about Christianity鈥檚 call to fight injustice and how to live a courageous life. He began to develop the radical social conscience for which he later became known.

Those who do not learn from history 鈥�

鈥淭o be an effective pastor you really have to study the Bible and theology and church history, but you also have to have a much broader perspective,鈥� says Bishop Chilstrom. 鈥淪ociology really broadened my world, and I fell in love with history, thanks to Professor Carl Chrislock.鈥� He recalls Anne Pedersen, 鈥渢he best English teacher in the world,鈥� who opened his mind to literature and instilled respect for the English language. He was amazed by President Bernhard Christensen鈥檚 intellect. 鈥淚t was awesome to hear him reach into the depths of his mind and spirit and pull poetry and prose and Biblical understanding together.鈥� He remembers sitting in chapel and thinking, 鈥淗e鈥檚 the kind of person I would like to be.鈥�

Augsburg also provided opportunities to stretch his leadership wings. He became president of the campus youth group his sophomore year, and as student body president his junior year, he led the student campaign to raise funds for Memorial Library. He went on to earn degrees from Augustana Theologial Seminary and Princeton Theological Seminary and his doctorate from New York University. He became a parish minister, professor and church leader, serving as the first bishop of the fledgling ELCA from 1987 to 1995.

Tither turned philanthropist

鈥淎fter I had an enlightening experience as a teenager, one of the first things I discovered is that people who believe put their faith on the line by giving,鈥� says Chilstrom. While still in high school he began tithing 10 percent. 鈥淚 gave at least 10 percent all through my life,鈥� he explains. 鈥淣ow Corinne and I are able to give much more than that, and it鈥檚 a lot of fun.鈥�

Dusty Froyum: “It Felt Like Home”

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The life path of Dustin (Dusty) Froyum 鈥�98 has had its share of twists and turns, but somehow he always manages to find his way 鈥渉ome鈥� to Augsburg. He acknowledges his gratitude with an annual gift to the Augsburg Fund as well as a recent pledge to sponsor a room in the Hagfors Center for Science, Business, and Religion to honor favorite professor and fellow alumnus Dale Pederson 鈥�70.

鈥淎ugsburg runs through my whole family. It鈥檚 a big part of who we are,鈥� says Froyum, citing alumni relatives that include both parents, his aunt and uncle, and a younger brother. 鈥淲hen my older cousins were attending Augsburg during my teenage years, I think I had promised that I was never going to Augsburg. But you know what? I went there on a football visit and it just felt right. It felt like home,鈥� he adds. 鈥淚 turned down some football and academic scholarships to come home to Augsburg.鈥�

Sports and science connections cemented the bond. Like his father and brother, Froyum played football, and like his mother and brother, he majored in science during his upper division years, landing in Pederson鈥檚 notoriously challenging cellular biology class. 鈥淗e is a tough but fair professor. I never tried so hard to get a 4.0,鈥� says Froyum, who managed a 3.5. 鈥淗e is a role model as a person of science and faith famous for pushing students to do their best. My brother鈥檚 zoology class was famously difficult as well. Dr. Pederson famously said that he could write a test for which no one could get a right answer, and I鈥檓 sure that鈥檚 true. He is聽an extraordinarily brilliant person who, quite frankly, could have been successful in a lot of different settings. But he chose to dedicate his vocational life to Augsburg, and that should be honored. With its fusion of science and faith and impact on the community, the Hagfors Center spoke to me. I can think of no better place to honor Dr. Pederson.鈥�

After graduating, Froyum earned a J.D. from Hamline University School of Law, intending to become an intellectual property lawyer focused on biotech and chemical patents. 鈥淏ut I ended up as a summer intern at Wells Fargo and fell in love with it,鈥� he says. He has handled technology transactions there for nearly 17 years. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 an important part of my giving motivation. Wells Fargo is a huge corporate donor and has one of the largest community support programs in the country. It is ingrained in our culture, and they make giving very easy, especially to quality nonprofit educational institutions.鈥�

In his younger years, Froyum adds, he had more time to donate. But today, with two young children, a busy career at Wells Fargo, and side projects dedicated to integrated alternative energy, financial contributions鈥攅specially when matched by his employer鈥攁re what he is best able to give.

鈥淚 feel an overall social responsibility to my Augsburg education,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 attribute some of those values to my grandfather, who was very progressive in many ways. At some point he turned over his farm acreage to conservation interests, and he chose to be cremated instead of occupying a piece of land.鈥� Froyum lives his values at home, too, by driving an electric car, and tending an urban farm, and making his Golden Valley home completely energy-independent.

鈥淭o be part of your community and your world, you need to be responsible. I鈥檝e done well in my career, and this is what I can do,鈥� he says. There is, after all, no place like home.

Estate Gift Supports Future of Choral Music at Augsburg

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The foundation for the career success and generosity of John Schwartz 鈥�67 was laid early, in Lester Prairie, then a town of 1,000, 50 miles west of the Twin Cities. There, long before he pledged a substantial estate gift to fund Augsburg鈥檚 choral music, he grew up in a musical family, singing and playing piano, pipe organ, and percussion. There, to keep school activities such as student government, sports, band, and theater alive, everyone had to participate. And it was there that his parents seeded his commitment to education, hard work, mutual respect, and philanthropy.

鈥淢y father valued education because he never had it,鈥� Schwartz says. His father, Norman, was in 8th grade when his mother died in childbirth; he quit school to help raise four younger siblings. But he was ambitious and built a life as a farm implement dealer, bulk propane distributor, inventor, and manufacturer. Buyers for his patented tip-down truck bed came from as far away as Oregon, Schwartz discovered years later while working there.

鈥淲hen I was in high school, he told me that I should get a business degree because it prepares you for many things,鈥� recalls Schwartz. He remembers sitting at the kitchen table one morning while his mother read a 鈥渉ot jobs鈥� article in the newspaper. 鈥淪he told me that hospital administration was one of them. So when I took my ACT test and had to put down my future goal, I wrote 鈥榟ospital administrator.鈥欌�� The ACT supervisor saw it and scoffed aloud; formally educated hospital administrators were rare then, and what kind of young person would choose such a career anyway? A determined one, apparently.

John Schwartz on campus with Auggie Eagle in February.

Augsburg College was for Schwartz a natural fit: Lutheran, affordable, well-respected, and his best friend鈥檚 first choice. Though the diverse neighborhood initially made him nervous鈥斺�渋t certainly wasn鈥檛 Lester Prairie!鈥濃�擲chwartz learned to love the downtown proximity, riverfront gatherings, and especially singing baritone in the Augsburg choir. The five weeks they spent touring Norway, Denmark, and Germany during his sophomore year were transformative. Continue reading “Estate Gift Supports Future of Choral Music at Augsburg” →

Scholarship Will Welcome Home Next-Generation Students

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鈥淎ugsburg is a second home to me. It always has been and it always will be,鈥� says Patricia A. McNevin, 鈥�90, whose planned gift will be the Patricia A. McNevin Endowed Scholarship, designated for an English and/or art major.

In fact, after a few decades away, McNevin plans to return to her Augsburg home soon to take advantage of reduced tuition for alumni. She needs only a few more art classes to complete a second major in studio art, with a focus on painting and photography. 鈥淟ast year I picked up a paintbrush, which is something I haven鈥檛 done in 30 years. It was very different, almost foreign to me.鈥�

McNevin鈥檚 initial Augsburg journey was a long but fruitful one. She planned to double major in English and art, but health reasons forced a hiatus in the middle of her junior year, creating what she calls 鈥渕y eight-and-a-half-year plan.鈥� She completed her degree in English in what was then called the Weekend College (now Adult Undergraduate) program.

While she was earning her degree, McNevin worked in Augsburg鈥檚 college relations office, where writing projects put that major to good use, and the magazine, Augsburg Now, published her photographs. She enjoyed other benefits, too, such as a biplane ride donated by alumni who owned a farm in Farmington. Even then, with money tight, she found a way to donate $25 for one key in the Foss Center organ.

鈥淭he gifts I received from Augsburg were many,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 even know my name would be on a plaque, but I saw it when I returned for a special event. No matter the amount, leaving some sort of legacy is a way to live on, especially if you don鈥檛 have children.鈥�

Though her career path did not follow traditional routes for English or art majors, 鈥渕y Augsburg degree got me through the door in more places than one, and I鈥檓 using my education in ways that I never imagined,鈥� McNevin adds. As an officer for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, she relies on traditional journalism skills to ask pertinent questions during interviews, and on research skills to learn the constitutional law she must understand to make good decisions.

She hopes that recipients of her scholarship will pursue careers in English and/or art as well as related community or volunteer work. 鈥淚 would like them to not only be doing something in the field while they鈥檙e going to school, but also have a solid plan about what they want to do in the future,鈥� says McNevin, whose volunteer work has included teaching English as a second language in GED programs.

No doubt she will also want them to love Augsburg, just as she admires the many changes that have occurred since she first arrived. She applauds the leadership and direction of recent presidents, the addition of a masters program and nursing doctorate, and the plans for the new Center for Science, Business, and Religion, to which she has also donated.

鈥淚 really don鈥檛 have very much money, but I wanted to give something back to the college. What it was I didn鈥檛 know, but then life changed and this scholarship idea came up,鈥� she says. 鈥淎ugsburg鈥檚 motto when I was there was 鈥榯hrough truth to freedom.鈥� I have spent my life searching for truth, and Augsburg provided that background for me. I ended up in my occupation in response to that search.鈥�

As for that feeling of being at home, she says it is hard to describe. Certainly the fellow students, the faculty, the staff, and the physical campus have something to do with it, as does the solid foundation based in the Lutheran faith. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just a spiritual feeling, I guess, a feeling that Augsburg is a safe place to grow鈥攊n more ways than one.鈥�