SIOUX FALLS – Augustana officially begins the 2009-10 academic year with an Opening Convocation at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, September 9, in the Elmen Center.

Dr. Julie Ashworth, Assistant Professor of Education, is the featured speaker. The title of her talk is “Your Passport to the Augustana Adventure.” In May, 2009, she received the Vernon and Mildred Niebuhr Faculty Excellence Award for brilliance in the classroom.

Dr. Ashworth served as an adjunct professor of education at Augustana from 1997 to 2000, and became a full-time member of the faculty in 2002. She was named the Sioux Falls School District Teacher of the Year in 1992, and the South Dakota Teacher of the Year in 1993.

She is the founder of Augustana FRIENDSLink, an organization designed to provide young adults with disabilities opportunities for continuing educational and social growth. FRIENDSLink is now a full-partner agency of the Sioux Empire United Way.

President Rob Oliver will welcome students back to campus and declare the opening of the 2009-2010 academic year.

A special welcome will be extended to the class of 2013. This year’s new class of 430-plus possesses an average ACT composite of 25, one of the highest entering profiles in the region.

During the program, Dr. Mark Braun, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College, will introduce the Sophomore Award winners. To be honored are Bethany Jochim from Pierre, S.D.; Kimberly Kohlhof from Redwood Falls, Minn.; Jessica Palank from Ralston, Neb.; and Maren Peterson from Cannon Falls, Minn.

Sophomore Honors recognize students who have demonstrated outstanding achievement at an early stage of their college career. These honors are conferred on four representatives of the preceding sophomore class, who have been selected by the faculty on the basis of scholarship, character, personal traits, and other evidences of achievement.

For the Opening Convocation, the Augustana faculty will process from the Chapel of Reconciliation to the Elmen Center in academic robes.

Bruce Conley
Director, News Information
Phone: 605.274.5526
Fax: 605.274.4903
bruce.conley@augie.edu