Happy New Year! As the new year and new semester begin, I want to update you on our Great Returns campaign.
In the last month of 2020, the Augsburg Community’s generosity continued to thrive despite the challenges of this past year. In fact, on the last day of the 2020, Augsburg received nearly 400 gifts totaling about $500,000. I am inspired by the commitment of the Augsburg community to ensure our students thrive. This outpouring of philanthropy has aided us in reaching a new milestone in our fundraising effort to build the Augsburg endowment. We now have raised more than $63 million in gifts and pledges!
We have also reached a new milestone in our student scholarship efforts. As part of the Great Returns campaign, we set an ambitious goal of securing 150 new scholarships in honor of the 150th anniversary of Augsburg’s founding. As of January 1, 2021, benefactors have established 97 new scholarships which make an Augsburg education possible for more students.
As we celebrate these milestones, I would like to lift up a few stories of generous benefactors.
- John Yackel is offering a matching challenge to fund a scholarship in Augsburg’s newest program: Critical Race and Ethnicity Studies.
- Alumna Kristine Pearson ’78 is continuing her family’s tradition of giving through an endowed scholarship.
- Alumni Karen ’67 and David ’67 Haugen are supporting students in the sciences through a science scholarship.
- And finally, my dear friend Lloyd Amundson established a nursing scholarship with the hope that others will establish their own scholarships.
While this has been an extraordinarily challenging year, I wanted you to know that the generosity of the Augsburg community has continued to change lives in powerful ways. I am grateful to everyone who chooses to share their gifts with Augsburg and look forward to a time when we can celebrate this generosity in person.
Warmly,
Paul S. Mueller, M.D. ’84
Chair of Great Returns: Augsburg’s Sesquicentennial Campaign