Nominations were accepted for the 2012 Covenant Awards, five honors that recognize students who exemplify and illustrate Augustana's core values: Christian, Liberal Arts, Excellence, Community and Service. Nominations were due Friday, March 9. The 2012 awards were presented on Friday, April 20, as the culminating event of Verdier 2012, a week-long celebration marking the 10th anniversary of the Covenant Awards.

Dr. James F. Krier, D.V.M., a long-time member of the Augustana College Board of Trustees, died on Wednesday, Jan. 25. He was a member of the President's Club and served as a leader for many Augustana fund drives, including the Commitment to Excellence, Augustana Renewal and Sunrise campaigns.

The Black Hills Playhouse in Custer State Park will be auditioning actors and interviewing technicians beginning at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 14, at Augustana's Edith Mortenson Theatre.This year the BHP will present "Run for your Wife," "Godspell," "The Drowsy Chaperone" and "The Three Musketeers."

Augustana President Rob Oliver recently joined presidents from other Lutheran colleges at the LECNA annual meeting in New Orleans. In addition to discussing the higher education industry, the group also picked up hammers and shovels to help residents still suffering the effects of Hurricane Katrina.

Most don't think of the U.S. as a monetary union, but early on in its history, it was. A new Bloomberg online op-ed by Augustana's Dr. Robert Wright explores how the "dollar zone" survived its first few decades without a major crisis and provided the young republic stability as it began to congeal culturally, economically, politically and militarily.

Third-grade teacher Heather Hemeyer, class of 2008, isn’t just teaching math, reading and spelling at St. Joseph’s Indian School in Chamberlain, S.D. She’s teaching children the skills they need to build a better tomorrow. She's also furthering her own education with Augustana’s Master of Arts in Education Online Degree Program.

Augustana graduates find themselves working in positions all over the globe and recent grad Dirk Tedmon is no exception. Following an internship in the White House, Tedmon, a Communications and Government/International Affairs major, was recently named an analyst for the Office of Presidential Correspondence.

Calling freshmen, sophomores or juniors who are champions of peace and advocates for global issues: proposals for the '12 Nobel Peace Prize Forum Scholars Program are due Monday, Feb. 6.

Dr. Susan S. Hasseler has been named senior vice president for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College. She most recently served at Messiah College in Grantham, Pa. Her appointment marks the first time in Augustana's 151-year history that a woman will serve as Dean.

Read the Daily Republic's feature on "The Village on the Bluff,’ the first book on Mitchell’s Prehistoric Indian Village authored by Ron Robinson, professor emeritus of English and Journalism, and Dr. Adrien Hannus, professor of anthropology and director of Augustana's Archeology Laboratory.