Retirees Honored at Faculty Banquet

Ten longtime faculty and administrators retired this year. They have a combined total of 280 years of service to the college.

Shown with President William Craft (back row, l-r): Dr. David Sandgren, history, 42 years; Dr. James Aageson, religion, 28 years; Dr. James Coomber, English, 47 years; (front row): Dr. Alfhild Ingberg, English, 26 years; Dr. Shawn Carruth, religion, 24 years; Sharon Hoverson, library, 32 years; Joanne Cohen, music, 23 years; (not pictured): Dr. Gregg Muilenburg, philosophy, 36 years; Dr. James Specht, Offutt School of Business, 12 years; and Paul Evenson, Advancement, 10 years.

Fradet Receives Flaat Award for Support Staff

Bill Fradet, Dining Services catering manager, received the Ole and Lucy Flaat Distinguished Service Award at the annual Spring Support Staff Appreciation Dinner.

After working for four years in Dining Services as a student and upon earning his bachelor’s degree in 1989, Fradet joined the office full time as catering manager. Largely because of his many contributions and his effective interaction with co-workers and student staff, Catering by Concordia is now considered an exceptional catering company in the Fargo-Moorhead area.

The Ole and Lucy Flaat Distinguished Service Award recognizes excellence in long-term service to the college by a member of the support staff. The recipient must be both outstanding in their professional role and a person who is committed to the mission and goals of Concordia.

New Chief Academic Officer Named

Dr. Eric Eliason has been named dean of the college and vice president for Academic Affairs at Concordia. He succeeds Dr. Mark Krejci, who, after nine years of service as Concordia’s dean and provost, will return to his work as a teaching scholar in psychology.

Eliason is currently professor of English at Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minn., where he has been on the faculty since 1989. He served as interim dean of the faculty from 2005 to 2007, and then as academic dean from 2007 to 2009.

Eliason will begin his duties Aug. 1.

National Book Awards at Concordia

Louise Erdrich and Domingo Martinez were on campus in March as part of the eighth annual National Book Awards at Concordia.

Erdrich won the 2012 National Book Award for fiction for “The Round House.” She has written 14 novels as well as volumes of poetry, short stories, children’s books and a memoir of early motherhood.

Martinez was a finalist for his memoir “The Boy Kings of Texas.” His work has appeared in Epiphany, and he has contributed to The New Republic. He has read pieces from the book on National Public Radio’s “This American Life.”

In a gathering with first-year students on campus, Martinez urged students to establish personal standards of excellence and then keep pursuing those standards.

“Staying true and dedicated to your standards is the trick to finding and maintaining excellence,” says Martinez.

Craft Elected to LWR Board

President William Craft has been elected to serve on the board of Lutheran World Relief. An international nonprofit organization, LWR works to end poverty and injustice in impoverished countries by empowering their people.

“As president of a global liberal arts college dedicated to calling students into lives of service to neighbor and to sustaining our world for the flourishing of all, I enter into board service with excitement and a whole heart,” Craft says.

Craft sees opportunities for collaboration between LWR and Concordia that would encourage students to apply what they discover in formal studies to the problems that diminish human health and well-being. 


“Lutheran World Relief can challenge us to see that sustainability involves addressing the very fundamental needs of our brothers and sisters around the world,” he says.

Grammy Awards go to Clausen CD

A CD of compositions by Concordia Choir conductor and composer Dr. René Clausen won two Grammy Awards in February. The winners were announced at the 55th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

“Life and Breath: Choral Works by René Clausen” is a 13-track album recorded by the Kansas City Chorale. The CD won in the categories of Best Engineered Classical Album and Best Choral Performance.

Blanton Alspaugh, producer of the CD, also won Classical Producer of the Year.

Clausen is currently in his 27th year as a member of the faculty, is artistic director of the award-winning Concordia Christmas Concerts and is conductor of the acclaimed Concordia Choir. He is a renowned composer and arranger, having written dozens of commissioned compositions and is also a frequent guest conductor, composer and lecturer.

Grant Funds Responsibility Seminar

A prestigious Bringing Theory to Practice Seminar grant by the Association of American Colleges and Universities allowed three Concordia faculty members to organize a January seminar on personal responsibility and power.

Dr. Lisa Sethre-Hofstad, associate dean of core and advising, Dr. Elna Solvang, associate professor of religion, and Dr. Susan Larson, professor of psychology, facilitated the daylong event.

Attendees became more aware of the misuse of power in cases of sexual violence and harassment. They will use the tools they learned and discussions they had to guide student conversations on power and powerlessness, especially as it relates to faith and personal responsibility.

“It is through conversations like these that I hope we can move forward on making our campus a safe and supportive place for all its students and employees,” says Larson. “It is also my hope that the seminar improves the way in which we educate our students to use power in their own lives in responsible ways.”

Your Opinion Matters

Concordia College is seeking comments from the public about the college in preparation for its periodic evaluation by its regional accrediting agency. The college will host a visit Nov. 4-6 with a team representing the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association. Concordia College has been accredited by the commission since 1927. The team will review the institution’s ongoing ability to meet the commission’s criteria for accreditation.

The public is invited to submit comments regarding the college:

Third-Party Comment on Concordia College
The Higher Learning Commission
230 South LaSalle Street, Suite 7-500
Chicago, IL 60604-1411

The public may also submit comments on the commission’s website.

Comments must address substantive matters related to the quality of the institution or its academic programs. Comments must be in writing. All comments must be received by Oct. 4, 2013.

400 and Counting

Concordia head baseball coach Bucky Burgau became the first coach in the history of MIAC baseball to win 400 conference games. The Cobbers outlasted St. Olaf 8-6 on May 7 to give Burgau the milestone victory.

“It’s more of a tribute to all of the great players that have passed through the program,” Burgau says. “I have been very fortunate to have been able to coach at a school like Concordia for so long and at a college that produces outstanding student-athletes.”

Burgau, who is in his 35th season at the helm of Concordia, is now 400-269 in conference play. He is also 658-527-6 in all games. This ranks him among the top 25 on the NCAA Division III winningest active coaches win list.

Grant Received for Art Research in South Korea

Two Concordia art faculty members received a grant to conduct research with their students in South Korea this summer.

Heidi Goldberg, associate professor, and Dr. Susan Lee, assistant professor, received one of 13 awards bestowed nationally from the ASIANetwork Freeman Student-Faculty Fellows Program to support collaborative undergraduate research in Asia.

For three weeks, Goldberg and Lee will accompany a group of six students as their travels take them to Seoul and surrounding areas. Students will explore important aspects of Korean traditions in contemporary art making.

“Our students will come out of this experience having learned much about contemporary South Korean art,” Lee says. “They will come away with a fuller sense of what it means to be responsibly engaged in the world.”

U.S. Bancorp CEO Praises Offutt School

Emphasis on ethical behavior and leadership development sets Concordia College apart in higher education today, says Richard Davis, CEO of U.S. Bancorp.

He spoke at the inaugural Offutt School Presents seminar, a gathering of 250 business leaders, alumni and students on March 14 in Minneapolis.

Davis noted that a good number of business leaders in the Twin Cities are graduates of Concordia, which develops future business leaders the right way.

“The Offutt School of Business intends to teach young people ethical behavior and encourage them to do something with it,” says Davis. “This is what clearly separates Concordia and its Offutt School of Business from the others.”

Troy Butner ’90, a partner at Ernst & Young Financial Services, flew in from his office in Zurich, Switzerland, to introduce Davis and participate in a panel discussion with him. The two fielded questions from the audience on specific examples of ethical decision making in business.

Reino Wins Fulbright Award

April Reino ’12 has been awarded a prestigious Fulbright scholarship. Beginning in September, she will spend a year in Vienna teaching English at a secondary school while also studying at the University of Vienna.

She is the 30th student from Concordia to win a Fulbright Award since the college began participating in the program in the mid-1980s. Concordia is among the leading Lutheran colleges in securing Fulbrights.

Reino is currently teaching English in South Korea.

“April is an exceptional student. She’s very deserving,” says history professor Dr. David Sandgren, Fulbright advisor. “Applying for the award is a rigorous process, but because of her fluency in German and her experience abroad, April was a very attractive candidate.”

The Fulbright program provides 8,000 grants annually for graduate study, advanced research and classroom teaching.

Open Doors Report Lists Concordia as National Leader

Concordia is ranked 10th in the nation by the Open Doors Report for students involved in short-term study abroad and 21st in total number of study abroad students at baccalaureate institutions.

While the number of students studying abroad nationally was nearly at a standstill for the second straight year, Concordia has displayed growth as faculty and staff work to control costs while improving academic quality.

“Concordia students have growing expectations for transformative learning abroad. They value the college’s commitment to global liberal arts and challenge our community to maintain and strengthen its national standing,” says Dr. Per Anderson, associate dean for global learning.

NSF Grant Launches Studio Physics Classes

Studio physics is an interactive way of learning science and, thanks to a grant from the National Science Foundation, Concordia has introduced studio physics to campus.

With studio, students experience a seamless integration between lecture and lab.

“In contrast to the lecture style where students observe the instructor doing an experiment, here students do the work themselves,” says Dr. Luiz Manzoni, assistant professor. “We feel it’s the best way to teach physics.”

Extensive research shows this method improves students’ ability to retain what they learn, Manzoni says.

This method has been well established but requires an extensive initial expenditure for resources, equipment and computers, Manzoni says. Receiving the NSF grant, which was written by physics professor Dr. Heidi Manning, enabled the department to launch studio classes.

President Presents in China

President William Craft spent a week in Zhuhai, China, where he spoke at the Sino-American Conference on Liberal Arts Education at United International College.

The conference is one element of the partnership between UIC and the Minnesota Private College Council, of which Concordia is a member.

UIC is the first sanctioned liberal arts college established in mainland China, with a curriculum dedicated to whole person education and international understanding.

UIC is one of three Chinese universities that have a relationship with Concordia.

Faculty Publish New Books

Concordia faculty members have published their scholarship in several new books. 

History professor Dr. David Sandgren has written of revisiting the students he taught in Kenya during the 1960s who went on to become leaders of their country.

The Irish Film Institute in Dublin honored English professor Dr. Dawn Duncan with the release of her latest book, “Irish Myth, Lore, and Legend on Film.”

Dr. Hiram Drache, historian-in-residence, released a biography of entrepreneur Ron Offutt ’64 to coincide with the dedication of Grant Center, home of the new Offutt School of Business at Concordia. 

Sandgren’s book, “Mau Mau’s Children: The Making of Kenya’s Postcolonial Elite,” recalls teaching when Kenya gained its independence and sent its first generation of students to secondary schools and colleges.

Duncan’s book examines filmed versions of Irish culture, concentrating on stories that encompass a hero’s life journey. The films in Duncan’s analysis include “The Quiet Man,” “The Wind That Shakes the Barley” and “The Secret of Roan Inish.”

In “R.D. Offutt: Success & Significance,” Drache praises Offutt’s ability to see opportunities where others do not and to form creative partnerships to launch new business ventures. Drache chronicles many examples of Offutt’s trendsetting in global agriculture, marketing and philanthropy.

Speech Competitors Place at Nationals

Concordia College speech competitors placed 15th in the overall school competition at the American Forensic Association’s National Individual Events tournament hosted in April by Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College.

A total of 80 institutions qualified students for the national tournament. Thirteen Concordia students qualified for the national tournament and two students won individual awards.

Those participating were Britt Aasmundstad ’13, Devils Lake, N.D.; Joe Anderson ’14, Albany, Ore.; Cristy Dougherty ’15, St. Francis, Minn.; Christiana Hennings ’15, Arlington, S.D.; Meg Henrickson ’13, Yankton, S.D.; Krysta Hovendon ’15, Rosemount, Minn.; Cole Kantos ’13, Waupaca, Wis.; George Kueppers ’15, Spicer, Minn.; Quinn Maroney ’15, Kalispell, Mont.; Amber Morgan ’15, Byron, Minn.; Jenna Nypan ’13, Cushing, Minn.; Kathleen Perry ’15, Redwood Falls, Minn.; and Colin Sullivan ’14, Brainerd, Minn.

Drache Receives Honorary Degree

Dr. Hiram Drache, professor emeritus of history, was awarded an honorary degree at Winter Commencement ceremonies Dec. 14 from the University of North Dakota, where he earned his doctorate.



Drache’s dissertation “The Day of the Bonanza: A History of Bonanza Farming in the Red River Valley of the North” became his first published book and was followed by 14 more books, contributions to another seven and more than 50 articles.

He continues as an author and a historian-in-residence at Concordia, where he retired after 37 years on the faculty.

Winter Sports Highlights

Women’s basketball won its first MIAC regular season championship since 1989 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the past five seasons.

The other winter Cobber teams – men’s basketball, men’s hockey and women’s hockey – all made the MIAC Tournament and advanced to the semifinals of their respective conference tournaments. Women’s hockey earned its way to the MIAC championship game.

The winter season once again showcased the talents of many Cobber student-athletes with four earning All-American honors: Tricia Sorensen ’13, Bismarck, N.D., women’s basketball; Cherae Reeves ’15, West Fargo, N.D., track and field; and wrestlers Tom Bouressa ’13, Alexandria, Minn., and Jake Long ’14, Hoffman, Minn.