Dr. Paul Nesheim has been named associate professor of music and director of The Augustana Choir, the fifth in the Choir’s 90-year history. Nesheim most recently served as associate professor of music and director of choral activities at Minnesota State University Moorhead.

Sixty area boys and girls basketball teams from fourth grade through ninth grade will shoot hoops for a good cause at the 17^th annual Fighting Hunger and Feeding Hope Basketball Tournament, set for March 16-18 at the Elmen Center.

Augustana freshman Adam Braun, a native of Shoreview, Minn., has been selected to represent Team USA at the North America, Central America and Caribbean (NACAC) Cross Country Championships on Saturday, March 17, in Port of Spain, Trinidad. "This selection is a huge honor and speaks volumes about the fact that Adam is one of the brightest up-and-coming runners in the United States right now,” said head cross country coach Tracy Hellman.

Verdier 2012 is a week-long celebration of Augustana's core values, named in honor of the 10th anniversary of the Covenant Award. The celebration is set for April 16-20 and will highlight service projects by Augustana students, faculty and alumni and will feature panel discussions, a quiz bowl and the 2012 Covenant Awards ceremony.  

The Augustana Women's Association (AWA) has collected 56 dresses for the Cheyenne River Youth Project's "Passion for Fashion" event, an annual event in Eagle Butte, S.D., that provides teenage girls in need with prom essentials such as dresses, shoes and make-up.

Read coverage of the Augustana Thought Leader Forum featuring Dr. Robert Wright, Nef Family chair of Political Economy and director of the Thomas Willing Institute. Wright explored "How Low Will We Go? Long-term Perspectives on a Flailing Economy" at the Forum on Friday, Feb. 24, in Sioux Falls.

In recognition of national "Ban the R-Word" day, a day to promote awareness of the campaign to stop using the word "retarded," members of Augustana’s Student Council for Exceptional Children (SCEC) gathered together to show their support.

Andrew Pole, class of 1994, had just started working as a statistician for Target in 2002 when he was tasked with identifying unique moments in consumers’ lives when their shopping habits become more flexible and the right ad or coupon could prompt them to spend in new or different ways. His work and research into the science of habit formation are featured in the New York Times Magazine.

This student-designed production brings the "fabulous fifties" back to life — and a few other things that should have stayed dead. The show, by John Dempsey and Dana P. Rowe, tells the story of teenage love gone wrong. The show runs March 1-3 and 8-10. Curtain time is 7:30 p.m. in the Edith Mortenson Center Theatre.

Juniors Molly Kokesh (Scotland, S.D.) and Maren Engel (Owasso, Okla.) have been named the 2012 Peace Prize Forum Scholars. This summer, the two will spend seven weeks at the University of Oslo’s International Summer School deepening their understanding of issues related to peace, justice, democracy and human rights.