Giving List

Spring 2013

Hello and Happy Spring.

Depending on where you live, spring may be happening or may be many weeks away.  But even as I slop through the slushy, dirty remains of winter here in the Midwest, I know that daffodils and crocuses will soon be popping up through the warming soil. Hopefully you have something equally lovely that grows where you live!

Meanwhile at Luther, J-term is over and students have already started spring semester.  Music ensembles are back from tour and seniors are working hard on their senior projects--like our required senior papers, only, thanks to computers, they don’t have to type and retype each page if they make an error, like we had to back in the day. 

With the new season come lots of campus leadership changes as well.  Since President Torgerson is ending his tenure after 14 years at Luther, the college is preparing to select a new president who will be announced soon. The college has also hired a new head football coach, Aaron Hafner, to replace Mike Durnin, who served as head football coach for five years and resigned in November.  The president also named Associate Professor Jon Jensen as the director for Luther’s new Center for Sustainable  Communities.  So in addition to the solar panel field, the wind turbine, and the many gardens providing food for the cafeteria, we can look forward to seeing more ways that Luther will model sustainable practices for students and the community.

As I was reading the newest Luther Magazine, the one with the president and his wife, Judy, on the cover, I was looking for pictures from our 30^th reunion this past fall, but pictures of the great class of 1982 are posted at: www.luther.edu/homecoming.  Check us out!  If you were unable to attend last fall, hopefully we will see you at our next reunion in 2017!  

Included in this letter is a list of our classmates who made a donation this past year. I am thrilled to announce that 26 percent of our class made a donation to Luther in 2012. I think that is fantastic! Thank you so much for your continued support of Luther College.  The money is an investment in the continued excellence that is Luther!

Speaking of excellence, a few of you wrote with updates about your life and ongoing successes, so read on:

THOM DAVIS earned a doctorate in elementary education from the University of Iowa. Thom teaches in the Department of Education at Central College in Pella, Iowa.

BRIAN GILLOGLY is assistant baseball coach and professor in the Department of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Coaching at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

BRIAN LEEPER of Madison, Wis., was named artistic director of La Musica Lirica, a five-week summer opera program in Italy. He is also the president of the Wisconsin chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing.

DAVID MOEN is the president of Bluestone Solutions in Stillwater, Minn.

STEVE MYERS is the executive vice president of commercial real estate for Transamerica Insurance in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

TIM OLSON is president of Lean Solutions Institute, Inc., in Carlsbad, Calif.

BILL SCHROEDER is the pastor at Lakeside Community Lutheran Church in Webster, Wis.

I would love to update the class about your current life, so consider sending me a quick note via US mail (I LOVE getting mail!) or as an e-mail (did I mention I love getting e-mail also?). I love hearing from you, and I will pass along your news in the e-mail class letter I send out next fall.

I hope you have a wonderful spring and summer, full of daffodils and sunshine.

Take good care.

Sincerely,

Katie Hanson
katiehanson@augustana.edu

Don't forget your Annual Fund giving! 
Each year nearly 9,000 alumni, parents, and friends support the Annual Fund with gifts from $5 to $50,000. Strong support from alumni helps Luther secure additional funds from foundations and corporations, and your gift each year helps us reach our goal of 27% alumni giving.  Here’s how your class—and surrounding classes—did in 2012: