Augustana College
Sioux Falls, SD
Stanley L. Olsen
Chair of Moral Values
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History
In 1982 Augustana College submitted a proposal to the National Endowment for the Humanities for a matching grant. This successful NEH challenge grant provided support for two endowed chairs, endowment support for the Library, and support for the Center for Western Studies.
The two NEH endowed chairs were initially designated as the
NEH Chair of Religion and Values,
and the NEH Chair of Regional Heritage. Prof. Arthur R. Huseboe
served as the first NEH Chair of Regional Heritage. Dr. Huseboe
also served as Professor of English, and as Executive Director of the Center
for Western Studies.
Arthur L Olsen
Prof. Arthur L. Olsen was named as the first holder of the NEH Chair of Religion and Values, 1985-90, by Augustana President William C. Nelsen. At the same time, Dr. Olsen assumed the post of chief coordinator/implementer of Augustana's general education curriculum, as the new curriculum moved toward implementation.
Dr. Olsen served on the Augustana faculty 1956-57, 1960-96, and is currently Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Religion.
1951 B.A., St. Olaf
1956 B.Th., Luther theological Seminary
1966 Th.D., Harvard University
As NEH Chair, Dr. Olsen was particularly active in developing and teaching a number of courses related to questions of value. A particularly distinctive example is Biomedical Ethics, taught with Jerry Freeman, M.D. Dr. Olsen was also tireless in his work as Director of Capstone, encouraging and supporting the development of Capstone courses as part of General Education.
Arthur L. Olsen, "How Then Shall We Live: A Household Perspective on Moral Issues," Nov 8, 1990 Convocation address, on the occasion of the official naming of the Stanley L. Olsen Chair of Moral Values.
In a Convocation on Nov. 8, 1990, this chair
was officially named as the Stanley L. Olsen Chair of Moral Values.
Augustana decided to name the Chair for a wise and beloved Augustana Professor,
Stanley L. Olsen, who in his work as a teacher and a faculty member, embodied
what this Chair is all about.
Stanley L. Olsen Chair of Moral Values
Murray Haar, Peter Schotten, Sandra
Looney
1990-93 1996-99 1993-96
Prof. Murray J. Haar
Stanley L. Olsen Chair of Moral Values, 1990-93
Dr. Haar has served on the Augustana
College faculty 1979-present,
and is currently Professor of Religion.
1972 B.A., North Dakota State University
1976 M.Div., Luther Theological Seminary (MN)
1985 Ph.D., Union Theological Seminary (VA)
Dr. Haar served as Director of Capstone, and was deeply involved in teaching Capstone courses.
Events sponsored by Dr. Haar, as Stanley L. Olsen Chair of Moral Values, include:
Murray Haar, on Morals and mammals and telling the truth, Opening Convocation address, 6 Sept 1990
The First Annual Tamar Conference on Gender and Sexuality, 4-8 March 1991.
Dr. Stanley Hauerwas, professor of theological ethics at Duke University, 17 March 1992, speaking on the topic, "Why Academic Freedom is a Bad Idea for Christians."
Dr. Joan H. Timmerman, professor of theology and ethics at the College of St. Catherine (MN), 14-15 April 1993, speaking on the topics, "The Found Coin: The Power of Sexual-Spiritual Connection," and "What Constitutes Sexual Integrity."
Prof. Sandra Looney
Stanley L. Olsen Chair of Moral Values, 1993-96
Dr. Looney has served on the Augustana faculty 1964-present, and is currently Professor of English.
1960 A.A., Worthington State Community
College (MN)
1962 B.A., Augustana College (SD)
1964 M.A., University of Arkansas
1972 Ph.A., University of Arkansas
Dr. Looney served as Director of Capstone, and was deeply involved in teaching Capstone courses.
Events sponsored by Dr. Looney, as Stanley L. Olsen Chair of Moral Values, include:
Sandra Looney, "Unpath'd waters, undream'd shores," Opening Convocation address, 9 Sept 1993
The Islamic World Conference, 28-29 March 1995
Sandra Looney, "Affairs are now Soul Size," presented at the ELCA Region III Symposium, 2-3 June 1994, at Luther Northwestern Theological Seminary, St. Paul, MN; printed as Chapter 5 in What Does It Mean to Be a College of the Church, ELCA region III Symposia 1993-94, Compiled by the T'NT Committee, Augustana College, Sioux Falls, SD.
Prof. Peter Schotten
Stanley L. Olsen Chair of Moral Values, 1996-99
Dr. Schotten has served on the Augustana faculty 1974-present, and is currently Professor of Government and International Affairs.
1969 B.A., University of Washington
1972 M.A., Claremont Graduate School
1972 Ph.D., Claremont Graduate School
Dr. Schotten has been deeply involved in teaching Capstone courses.
Events sponsored by Dr. Schotten, as Stanley L. Olsen Chair of Moral Values, include:
Peter Schotten, "Beginnings," Opening Convocation address, 5 Sept 1996
A public forum, featuring Dr. Michael Uhlmann, attorney and political scientist, Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and Professor of Government in the Washington, D.C. program of Claremont McKenna College, "Is There a Right to Die?" 10 April 1997.
A public forum, featuring Dr. Paul Cantor, distinguished Shakespeare scholar and Professor of English at the University of Virginia, "In Defense of Books: Tales of the Misinformation Highway," 19 Feb 1998.
A public forum, featuring Dr. Thomas Patterson, Bradlee Professor of Government and the Press at Harvard University's JFK School of Government, "Media Cynicism: Is It Undermining Our Democracy?", 15 April 1999.
Prof. Arlen Viste
Stanley L. Olsen Chair of Moral Values, 1999-2002
Dr. Viste has served on the Augustana faculty 1964-present, and is currently Professor of Chemistry.
1958 B.A., St. Olaf College (MN)
1962 Ph.D., University of Chicago
E-mail: Arlen_Viste@augie.edu
Public events sponsored by Dr. Viste, as Stanley L. Olsen Chair of Moral Values during 1999-2002, are posted on this web site. Several of these are listed here.
Establishing this web page, Summer 1999.
Arlen Viste, "Homesteading in the Cosmos: Imagination and Integrity," Opening Convocation address, 1 Sept 1999.
Sponsoring Book Discussion Groups.
Prof. David W. Oxtoby, University of Chicago, visited Augustana Colege Nov. 17, 1999.
Dr. Gilman D. Veith, EPA, spoke May 10, 2000 on "The role of science in stewardship and environmental ethics."
Sponsoring Book Discussion Groups.
Prof. William Carroll, Cornell College, spoke Sept 27, 2000 on "The Galileo Affair and the Myth of the Warfare Between Science and Religion."
Dr. Cynthia Moe-Lobeda, Seattle University, spoke April 4, 2001 on "Journey between Worlds: Economic Globalization and Luther's 'Earth Ethics'."
Sponsoring Book Discussion Groups.
Dr. Dawn Adams, President of Tapestry, The Insitute for Philosophy, Religion, and the Life Sciences, Waco, TX, spoke Jan 14, 2002 on "The Power of Story."
The Rev. Dr. Timothy F. Lull, President of Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Berkeley, CA, spoke Monday March 4, 2002 on "What Does God Want From Me? Taking Clues from Martin Luther."
Prof. Ann Pederson
Stanley L. Olsen Chair of Moral Values, 2002-2005
Dr. Pederson has served
on the Augustana faculty 1990-present, and is currently Professor of Religion.
She also serves as Adjunct Associate Professor in the Section of Ethics
and Humanities at the University of South Dakota School of Medicine.
1979 B.A., Montana State University
1986 M.Div., Lutheran School of Theology at
Chicago
1990 Th.D., Lutheran School of Theology at
Chicago
Email: Ann_Pederson@augie.edu
Public events sponsored by Dr. Pederson, as Stanley L. Olsen Chair of Moral Values during 2002-2005, are posted on this web site.
See also Wilfrid.
Community Forums: Visions & Expectations
A Workshop on Augustana's theme: Creating
Leaders for a Changing World
Led by: Dr. David O'Fallon
President of MacPhail Center for the Arts (www.macphail.org)
Ann Pederson, "Living Until We Die, Dying Until We Live,"
Opening Convocation address,
3 Sept 2003
Cultivating a Moral Imagination: Digging Deep Within A Discipline
Prof. Geoffrey L. Dipple
Stanley L. Olsen Chair of Moral Values, 2005-2007
Ph.D. November 1991. Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario
M.A. November 1986. Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario
B.A. December 1982. Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana
Dr. Dipple
has served on the Augustana faculty 1998 - present.
He is currently Associate Professor of History and Chair of the Department
of History.
E-mail: Geoffrey_Dipple@augie.edu
Public events sponsored by Dr. Dipple, as Stanley L. Olsen Chair of Moral Values during 2005-2008, are posted on this web site.
Geoffrey Dipple, "The World is your Oyster: or how not to write an essay," Opening Convocation address, 31 Aug 2005.
Community discussion forums under the title "What is to be Done?";
A series encouraging book discussion groups;
A film series entitled "Films for Thought."
Prof. Richard Bowman
Stanley L. Olsen Chair of Moral Values, 2007-2010
Ph.D., Union Theological Seminary
M. Div., Luther Theological Seminary
B.A., Augustana College (SD)
Dr. Bowman
has served on the Augustana faculty 1981-present.
He is currently Professor of Religion and Chair of the Humanities Division.
Richard Bowman, "Where Shall Wisdom be Found?" Opening
Convocation address:
5 September 2007
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Prof. Janet Blank-Libra
Stanley L. Olsen Chair of Moral Values, 2010-2013
Dr. Blank-Libra has served on the Augustana College English and Journalism faculty since 1988, and has been Director of Journalism since 1996.
Ph.D., Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
M.A., University of Montana
B.A., South Dakota State University
After earning a BA in English and Journalism from South Dakota State University in 1981, Dr. Blank-Libra taught high school and junior high in Mitchell, South Dakota, for two and a half years. In 1988 she finished a master's degree in journalism at the University of Montana, Missoula. While finishing her thesis, she explored life as a newspaper reporter and editor and as a member of a public relations team. She received her PhD in journalism from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in spring 2000. Today, as a member of Augustana College's English/Journalism Department, she teaches literature and writing courses in a liberal arts setting.
Dr. Blank-Libra's dissertation looks at the way in which the press (namely four newspapers) characterized single mothers on welfare during the reform period of the mid-90s. Using ethnographic content analysis, she found that mothers were characterized to varying degrees according to myth.
E-mail address for Janet Blank-Libra: blanklib@augie.edu
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