Contact: Bruce Conley, Associate Director of College Relations
Phone: (605) 274-5526
Fax: (605) 274-4903
www.augie.edu

May 12, 2005 ...........................................................CLICK HERE for a full schedule of events!

Augustana's 145th Commencement Service May 22

SIOUX FALLS – Augustana College 's 145 th commencement service begins at 2:00 p.m. Sunday, May 22, at the Sioux Falls Arena.

The Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World and Bread for the World Institute, is the commencement speaker. He will also receive an honorary degree.

Rev. Beckmann served for several years on the board of Bread for the World before becoming president of the organization in 1991. He worked for 15 years as a World Bank economist, playing a prominent role in the bank's heightened focus on poverty reduction, and fostered greater collaboration between the bank and private voluntary organizations serving poor people.

A Lutheran clergyman, Rev. Beckmann worked in Bangladesh for a church-related relief and development agency from 1975 to 1976. He has written a series of books and articles on Christian faith and economics.

Bread for the World is a grassroots, Christian citizens' movement against hunger. Its 54,000 members and member churches urge the U.S. government to take actions to reduce hunger, both domestic and international. Bread for the World Institute seeks justice for hungry people by engaging in research and education on policies related to hunger and development.

Longtime Augustana faculty, Dr. V. Ronald Nelson and Dr. Joyce Bargstadt Nelson will receive the Friend of Augustana Award. The Nelsons are graduates of Augustana and returned to dedicate many years of their professional lives in the classroom. Ron Nelson taught for 50 years in the physics and aeronautics department, while Joyce Nelson taught for 29 years in the nursing department.

In addition, the Nelsons have touched the campus in many ways with their philanthropy. They provided the naming gift for the Nelson Service Center and have generously supported endowed scholarships, Mikkelsen Library, and the Center for Western Studies.

The recipient of the Vernon and Mildred Niebuhr Faculty Excellence Award will be announced along with the appointment of the Stanley L. Olsen Chair of Moral Values.

The afternoon commencement services will be preceded by Baccalaureate Worship at 10:00 a.m. in the Elmen Center .