As our mission states, “The Augsburg experience is supported by an engaged community, committed to intentional diversity in its life and work.” What does it mean to be committed to intentional diversity? With respect to our students, it means that we recruit a diverse student body and create an inclusive, supportive learning environment that enables them to be successful . It also means that we prepare all of our students to effectively work in a diverse, global environment. For ourselves, it means that we recruit diverse faculty and staff, and create an inclusive, supportive work environment that enables them to be meaningfully involved in the work of Augsburg College.
Programming includes the Creating an Inclusive Campus Conference, Focus on Our Neighbors, Inclusiveness Circles, and The Dean’s Internationalization Summer Travel Grant. Key partners include HR, General Education, the Office of International Programs, Student Affairs, and Academic Affairs.
The Feminist Film Series and Brown Bag Lunch Series; the Native American Film Series; Soup, Gender, and Sexuality Series; and Ally Training also contribute to this purpose
Creating an Inclusive Campus Conference
The fifth annual conference will be held May 22-23 and is designed to feature key developments in fulfilling our commitment to intentional diversity and global learning at Augsburg College. It includes a keynote session focused on one aspect of creating an engaged, inclusive learning community, and concurrent session tracks devoted to: respecting all students, embedding diversity and global learning in the curriculum, and developing our community. The conference is co-sponsored by CTL, the Office of International Programs, Human Resources, Student Affairs, and General Education. For more information, see 2013 Creating an Inclusive Campus: Conference Schedule.
Focus on Our Neighbors
This year we will focus on Native American Voices, so check back later for details.
To serve our neighbors and be inclusive of all members of our community, we need to learn more about each other. This year, CTL in conjunction with the Sabo Center and Ethnic Student Services, is offering a series of opportunities to learn more.
Inclusiveness Learning Circle
CTL also supports a number of learning circles or book groups in the area of inclusiveness. Support for book groups is available through Work Culture grant applications on the CTL website. In 2012-13, we sponsored circles related to the following books:
Susan E. Pick and Jenna Sirkin’s Breaking the Poverty Cycle: The Human Basis for Sustainable Development
Eboo Patel’s Sacred Ground: Pluralism, Prejudice, and the Promise of America
Dean’s Internationalization Summer Travel Grant
Two competitive internationalization travel grants (up to $2500 for airfare) are available to support teaching, scholarship, or service collaborations with Augsburg International Programs or Partner Institutions that facilitate internationalizing the Augsburg campus and curriculum. Applications are due January 15. See the grant section of this website.
Recipients of the 2013 grants were Adriane Brown, Women’s Studies, and M. Elise Marubbio, American Indian Studies.
Adriane intends to use her grant to work with CGE faculty in Mexico, Nicaragua, and El Salvador to construct an accessible, internationalized, and interdisciplinary seminar based in Minneapolis but technologically connected to geographic locations across the world. She envisions this course as a combination of traditional study, international dialogue, and on-the-ground experience with Twin Cities activists. One essential component of the course would be weekly videoconferences with CGE faculty and activists as well as with college students and faculty from other parts of the world. The videoconferences would engage people in dialogues about topics that might range from pressing issues in their geographic area, international perceptions of the United States, or an article on a topic of shared interest. The committee believes this could be a model for creating more accessible international experiences for all students.
Elise will use her grant to return to Bolivia as a participant of the Q(C)ollaysuyu Collaboration’s Western Hemispheric Indigenous Collaborative. The Q(C)ollaysuyu Collaboration is made up of community members and organizations that are Indigenous grassroots activists and educators. They work on a plurinational level with Indigenous organizations, grassroots initiatives, and communities to address global environmental issues as they affect Indigenous communities in the western hemisphere. This collaboration will continue her development of teaching, scholarship, and service relationships that will result in: 1) ongoing global curricular development for AIS 105, 364, 305/490 classes as well as the development of an interdisciplinary Global Indigenous Issues of the Americas course; 2) ongoing research into Indigenous film locally and globally, resulting in a book; and 3) continuing service as an American Indian studies faculty and a liaison between Augsburg and our Indigenous communities locally and globally.
Related Campus Activities
The following are other campus activities that contribute to creating an inclusive campus.:
Feminist Film Series and Brown Bag Lunch Series (sponsored by the Women’s Resource Center)
The Women’s Resource Center sponsors a Feminist Film Series and Brown Bag Lunch Series to address diverse issues of concern to anyone concerned with gender equity.
Native American Film Series
The Augsburg Native American Film Series in collaboration with Phillips Indian Educators hosts a free, three-day film festival to celebrate Indigenous film, collaboration across national boundaries, and visual storytelling. For more information, see: http://www.augsburg.edu/filmseries/
Soup, Gender, & Sexuality (sponsored by LGBTQIA Student Services)
This ongoing monthly series is open to the entire Augsburg College community as a dialogue around issues of sexuality, gender, and their intersections. All attendees can help themselves to soup, bread, and great conversation! For upcoming dialogues, check out A-mail or the CAO Events Calendar.
Ally Training (sponsored by LGBTQIA Student Services)
Ally Training is available for all students, staff, and faculty at Augsburg College to gain knowledge, skills, and resources to enable them to be intentionally supportive of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA) communities. Participant will learn about LGBTQIA history and culture, confront myths and stereotypes, discuss heterosexual and gender-conforming privilege, analyze potential scenarios, ask questions in a safe environment, and discus next steps for being an effective ally to LGBTQIA individuals at Augsburg. Training is offered and advertised to the entire campus each semester, and customized training is available to departments, offices, and student clubs and organizations by request. For more information, contact Michael Grewe (grewe@augsburg.edu).