News Archives - 2007

Mohamed Sallam joined Augsburg as assistant director of the Pan-Afrikan Center last June, taking over the directorship in January.

Sallam’s family moved to the U.S. from Egypt before he was born. While he spent two years in Kuwait and much time visiting Egypt as a child, Sallam considers Mankato, Minnesota home. He earned his Master of Science degree in the field of ethnic and multi-cultural studies from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

When Sallam was invited to interview at Augsburg, he recalls, “I hadn’t actually realized I was so close.” He had been living near North Country Co-Op for a couple years.

Part of his role is to connect with offices that work with prospective students, such as Admissions and TRiO. He also advises the Pan-Afrikan Student Union (PASU), and just last week brought about 20 members to the annual Pan African Student Leadership Conference in Mankato. “We have a nice mix of underclassmen and upperclassmen.”

One change Sallam has seen in the time he’s been at Augsburg is the formation of the Muslim Student Association, which a group of Somali freshmen began.  He’s noticed that people are more comfortable speaking about religion here than at public universities and has been asked to speak to classes about Islam as well as to get involved in an inter-religious dialog initiative.

“I’ve made a lot of connections and have very good relationships with folks in the community, who have not in the past had access or been comfortable to approach Augsburg,” says Sallam. “They are very eager to work with the Pan-Afrikan Center and Pan-Afrikan Student Union to get the College more interested in the East African community. If I can categorize my role, it’s not only maintaining relationships, but building new ones.”

When asked his favorite things about Augsburg, he answered, “The student contact… And I like the fact that I can walk. My wife can walk to classes [at the U of M, where she’s in a PhD program], and I can walk to work.”