Inside Gustavus October 2, 2014 | Volume 47, Number 5

Presidential Inauguration

Gustavus Adolphus College will inaugurate Rebecca M. Bergman as its 17th president on Friday, Oct. 3. Among those speaking at the ceremony include Governor Mark Dayton, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, George Hicks '75, Chair of the Gustavus Board of Trustees, The Rev. Heather Teune Wigdahl '95, President of the Gustavus Adolphus College Association of Congregations, and the Rev. Dr. Harold Weiss, father of President Bergman and former Bishop of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

Here is a schedule of events related to the Inauguration:

• Thursday, Oct. 2: Inaugural Concert at 8 p.m. in Bjorling Recital Hall
• Friday, Oct. 3: Inaugural Tree Dedication at 10:45 a.m. in Linnaeus Arboretum
• Friday, Oct. 3: Investiture Ceremony at 2:30 p.m. in Christ Chapel
• Friday, Oct. 3: Inaugural Reception at 4 p.m. in Lund Center
  

News & Announcements

Parking Restrictions During Inauguration...The Lund parking lot will close at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 2 and will remain closed through Friday, Oct. 3 due to inauguration events. In addition, some rows in the Stadium (Beck) parking lot will also be marked as reserved. All other red and green parking lots will be considered "open parking" during the day on Thursday and Friday. Vehicles may be parked in any red or green parking space without regard to permit color. Visitor parking is closed to students and employees and will be enforced. Specialty marked parking spaces (handicap, 30-minute, maintenance, residential life, etc.) are always enforced.

Parking and Traffic Information During The Nobel Conference...Everyone should allow extra time for arriving on campus and parking during the Nobel Conference, Oct. 7-8. Faculty, students, and staff are asked to please obey traffic directions given at entrances and intersections by College personnel. One-way traffic on Ring Road will start at 7 a.m. on both days of the Conference. The Lund parking lot and one marked row of the Stadium/Beck lot will close at 11 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 6, and will remain closed through Wednesday, Oct. 8. The Norelius visitor lot will be closed both days of the Conference for valet parking. All other red and green parking lots will be considered "open parking" during the Conference.

Book Sale...The library will be holding a book sale from Monday, Oct. 6 through Sunday, Oct. 12 (with the weekend bringing discount prices). All paperback books will be 25 cents, while hardcover books will be 50 cents each. Come in with quarters and leave with books!

Employee Award Nominations...Nominations for the Augusta Carlson Schultz (outstanding support staff employee) and the Eric Norelius (outstanding administrative employee) awards should be turned in to the Office of Human Resources by Oct. 17. Any member of the Gustavus community may nominate a regular support staff employee and an administrative staff employee for these awards. The President will present the awards on Founder's Day, Oct. 31, at 10 a.m. in Christ Chapel. You can download the nomination forms off the Human Resources website.

PTO/Vacation Donations Being Accepted...Employees who would like to donate paid time off hours/vacation hours for a Gustavus employee who will be on an approved FMLA leave and will run out of paid-time benefits should complete and sign a request for transfer of pto/vacation hours available at the Office of Human Resources (x7304).

Tuition Benefit Meeting...Kirk Carlson and Richard Aune will present information about admission, tuition benefit and exchange options for employee dependents on Wednesday, Oct. 22 at 11:30 a.m. in the Board Room. Please feel free to bring your lunch and join the conversation.

Campus Happenings

Nobel Conference...The 50th annual Nobel Conference will take place Oct. 7-8. This year’s Conference is titled “Where Does Science Go from Here?” and will feature 11 invited speakers who have all spoken at previous Nobel Conferences.This year’s panel is headlined by three Nobel laureates including Steven Chu, the 1997 Nobel laureate in physics and President Obama’s former Secretary of Energy; Sir Harry Kroto, the 1996 Nobel laureate in chemistry and the co-discoverer of buckminsterfullerene, also known as “buckyballs”; and Steven Weinberg, the 1979 Nobel laureate in physics for his contributions to the theory of the unified weak and electromagnetic interaction between elementary particles. Students, faculty, and staff should reserve their tickets for the Conference as soon as possible by going online to gustavustickets.com.

Homecoming...Oct. 3-4 is Homecoming Weekend at Gustavus! The College will welcome back many alumni over the weekend as reunions and other events take place. Here is a list of scheduled events:

• Friday, Oct. 3: Free pizza in the Homecoming tent near Hollingsworth Field, 6-9 p.m.
• Friday, Oct. 3: Comedian Ryan Conner in the Homecoming Tent, 6:30 p.m.
• Friday, Oct. 3: Performance by Jessie Erickson in the Homecoming Tent, 7:30 p.m.
• Friday, Oct. 3: DiamondBack Country Concert in the Homecoming Tent, 9 p.m.
• Saturday, Oct. 4: Alumni Resource Fair & Continental Breakfast in Beck Hall, 9 a.m.
• Saturday, Oct. 4: All-Gustie Lunch in the Homecoming Tent, 11 a.m.
• Saturday, Oct. 4: Service of Remembrance and Celebration featuring Alumni Choir in Christ Chapel, 11:15 a.m.
• Saturday, Oct. 4: Football game vs. Carleton College at Hollingsworth Field, 1 p.m.
• Saturday, Oct. 4: Women's soccer game vs. St. Olaf College, 1 p.m.
• Saturday, Oct. 4: Fifth Quarter Celebration in the Homecoming Tent, 4 p.m.
• Saturday, Oct. 4: Class Reunions at various locations, 5:30 p.m.

Political Science Lecture...Dr. Amit Gupta, Associate Professor, Department of Strategy and International Security at the USAF Air War College, will give a lecture titled, “India: Emerging Power?” followed by Q&A on Monday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m. in Beck Hall Room 101. The event is free and open to the public.

Shared Governance Open Meeting...Last May, a draft statement of principles was circulated for comment by the joint Board/Faculty/Administration Working Group on Shared Governance. Before the Working Group finalizes that statement for adoption by the Faculty and Board and reporting to the Higher Learning Commission, it invites all members of the community to join us for discussion and feedback. We invite you to an open meeting to be held at 2:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10 in the Heritage Room. The proposed statement of principles can be found online. If you are unable to attend the open meeting, your comments are still welcome. Please address them to the Working Group through faculty members Max Hailperin, Paul Saulnier or Kathi Tunheim, or through administrators Mark Braun or Ken Westphal.

Breast Cancer Fun Run...Delta Phi Omega is hosting the first ever Gustavus Breast Cancer 5K Fun Run here on campus on Oct. 12 at 3 p.m. Registration is $12 and comes with a free t-shirt! The race starts and ends in the arb. Sign up will be at the tables outside the caf, or email clindqui@gustavus.edu.

Daily Sabbath Schedule... All are invited to the worship services at 10 a.m. weekdays and 10:30 a.m. Sundays. Services occur in Christ Chapel unless otherwise noted. The upcoming schedule is as follows.

• Friday, Oct. 3: Rev. Dr. Harold S. Weiss, President Bergman's Father
• Sunday, Oct. 5: Chaplain Siri Erickson preaching
• Monday, Oct. 6: Rev. Richard Elvee, Chaplain at Gustavus from 1962 to 2000
• Tuesday, Oct. 7: NO DAILY SABBATH - Nobel Conference
• Wednesday, Oct. 8: NO DAILY SABBATH - Nobel Conference
• Thursday, Oct. 9: Nicole Ektnitphong '15

Weekend Home Athletic Events

Support the Golden Gusties at one or more of these home athletic events this weekend:

• The undefeated Gustavus football team will host Carleton College for its Homecoming Game at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 4.
• The women's soccer team will host St. Olaf College at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 4.
  

Obituaries

• Former Trustee, generous benefactor, and longtime friend of the College, Florence Sponberg, passed away at her North Mankato home on Saturday, Sept. 27, at the age of 97. Florence was an ardent supporter of education as well as peace and social justice issues. Florence and her late husband, Raymond ’37 (1914-2000), endowed more than two dozen scholarships at several high schools and colleges with which they had connections, including Gustavus.

  In 1981, the Sponbergs made a generous gift to Gustavus to help establish the MAYDAY! Peace Conference, which has become a signature event of the College. In 1989, the Sponbergs significantly enhanced the College’s academic program by establishing the Sponberg Chair in Ethics, which is currently held by English professor Florence Amamoto. Other buildings and programs at Gustavus that benefitted from the Sponberg’s generosity included Lund Center, Nobel Hall, Gustavus Library Associates, Linnaeus Arboretum, Peace Studies Program, Christ Chapel Endowment, Habitat for Humanity, the Gustavus Adolphus College Association of Congregations Scholarship Fund, and many others.

  Florence served as a member of the College’s Board of Trustees from 1986 until 2003. She received an honorary degree from the College at the 2004 MAYDAY! Peace Conference, while she and Raymond were awarded the Greater Gustavus Award for a lifetime of service and support of the College in 1981.

  Florence is survived by four children, who are all graduates of Gustavus: Michael Sponberg ’65, Miriam (Steven) Kagol ’67, Elaine (Morris) Larson ’72, and Ann (Gregory) Peterson ’83. The memorial service celebrating Florence’s life was held at 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 2 at Grace Lutheran Church in Mankato. An extended obituary is available on the Star Tribune website.

To inform the campus community of the death of a current student, employee, or trustee; an emeritus professor or trustee; or an immediate family member of a current employee, contact the Office of the President (x7538 or jolene@gustavus.edu). Death announcements and funeral notices for students, current and emeritus faculty and employees, and trustees will be sent to the community via written notice from the president, posted on community-l, the official campus-wide e-mail list, and published in the Inside Gustavus or Summer Scoop. Notices for immediate family members of current employees will be published in the Inside Gustavus or the Summer Scoop unless they occur during a publication break, in which case they will be posted on employee-l.

Congregational Outreach

Retreats...Church Relations in the Center for Servant Leadership will host a weekend confirmation retreat for St. Paul Lutheran Church of Wyoming, Minn., Oct. 3-5. The retreat program is a resource offered to ELCA congregations that are also members of the Gustavus Association of Congregations.

Photo of the Week

From the perrformance of CIRCULATE. You can view more pictures from this event and other events on campus by visiting the Gustavus Flickr page.

 



---

Inside Gustavus is a newsletter for Gustavus Adolphus College employees produced by the Office of Marketing and Communication. It is published weekly during the academic year (except during the week of Thanksgiving, the Christmas break, Touring Week, and the Spring and Easter breaks). Anyone may submit items by filling out an online submission form. While online submissions are preferred, items may also be submitted typewritten on a letter-sized sheet of paper. Send "snail mail" items to: Inside Gustavus, Office of Marketing and Communication. Items must reach the office no later than 4:30 p.m. on the Tuesday before publication. For more information, contact Matt Thomas (mthomas@gustavus.edu or x7510).

Home | News & Info | Inside Gustavus Archives | Submit an Item Online