Luther College News

The bee population has slowly been declining across the globe, causing scholars to panic about the lasting impact the decline will have on native plant communities. Nikhil Thacker, Luther College senior of Iowa City, Iowa, researched and observed bumble bees, known scientifically as Bombus, and how to preserve the areas the bees rely on for their survival.

Luther College announces the appointment 10 new faculty members for the 2017-18 academic year.

A grant from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources allowed Luther College and the Decorah Raptor Resource Project to build an autumn migration banding station on campus, giving students unprecedented direct access to wildlife and conversation research.

Working with both student and professional athletes, Luther senior Amanda Gilbertson of Osseo, Wisconsin, assisted hockey and basketball strength coaches at the University of Wisconsin-Madison this summer.

Luther College President Paula Carlson will present the Luther Distinguished Service Award to eight alumni at the college’s annual Homecoming Alumni Dinner, set for 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, in Peace Dining Room on the Luther campus.

Luther College will celebrate Homecoming 2017 Thursday through Sunday, Oct. 5-8, bringing more than 5,000 friends and alumni back to campus to partake in class reunions, sporting events, musical concerts and more. For the full Homecoming schedule, go to https://www2.luther.edu/homecoming/schedule/.

In 1967, former Luther Professor Emeritus of Music Weston Noble took about 100 talented Luther students on tour. Fifty years later, as part of a three-year student/faculty collaborative project, Aidan Spencer, Luther senior of Decorah, Iowa, and Jacqueline Wilkie, Luther professor of history, created a documentary of that historic first tour. An official viewing of “To This Day: Remembering Nordic Choir’s First International Tour” will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, in the Noble Recital Hall of Jensen-Noble Hall of Music on Luther’s campus. The event is open to the public with no charge for admission.

Alumnus Robby Scott, class of 2013, will be on campus Monday, Oct. 9, giving two presentations about his postgraduate work.

After spending a year as a Franklin Fellow at the U.S. State Department, Todd Green, Luther College professor of religion, will discuss his experience at 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 8, in Valders Hall of Science Room 206 on Luther’s campus. Victoria Christman of Luther’s Center for Ethics and Public Engagement will moderate the conversation.

A Luther College collaboration on childhood obesity research shows that community- and school-based interventions are effective in reducing the rise of childhood obesity.