Sharing the beauty of molecular biology

Faculty Focus
Dr. Kristin Douglas | Assistant Professor of Biology
Sharing the beauty
of molecular biology
One of the most influential experiences I had as an under­
graduate student was working in a genetics lab during my
senior year. The research I performed verified my hunch
that I had the scientific aptitude as well as the personality
to pursue graduate studies. In graduate school, I found my
niche as a developmental geneticist.
So, what does a developmental geneticist do? I study how
genes regulate developmental processes, such as heart or
limb development. One of the questions that fascinates me
is: How does a cell know what it is supposed to become in
a developing organism? How does it know if it should be
part of the heart, part of the finger or a sperm? Much of
what researchers have learned in the field of developmental
biology demonstrates that cells take cues from within them­
selves and their immediate environment to determine their
fate. As a scientist, I want to understand the molecular
nature of those cues.
In my research lab, we study a tiny non-parasitic worm
called Caenorhabditis elegans. It can be mesmerizing to look
Doing science is quite different from
reading about doing science. dr. kristin douglas
This magnified view shows
the perfect sinusoidal wave
trail of a non-parasitic worm
named C. elegans (elegans is
the Latin word for elegant).
14 Augustana Magazine | Winter 2008
through a microscope and watch numerous C. elegans
silently gliding across the field of view, each leaving a
perfect sinusoidal wave trail in its wake. It is easy to see
how the species was named; elegans is Latin for elegant.
Even though the worms are a mere 1 mm in length as
adults, they are widely used in developmental and genetic
studies because they are easy to grow in a laboratory
setting, and they produce hundreds of progeny with each
mating. Amazingly, all adult C. elegans have exactly the
same number of cells (not including sperm and egg cells)
in their bodies that arise in a very predictable pattern during
development.
You may be wondering why anyone would want to study
these little wormie worms (terminology invented by my
daughter when she was in preschool). Who cares? Even
though C. elegans and humans look very different, we have
much in common. At least 50 percent of the genes that are
known to cause diseases in humans have a counterpart in
C. elegans. Furthermore, C. elegans have numerous cell
types, many of which are similar to mammalian cell types.
Thus, they provide a simpler biological system than
mammals in which to study complex developmental
processes. Much of the understanding we have of human
biology is an extension of research originally performed in
simpler model systems.
The focus of my lab is germ cell fate. I want to understand
how cells that know their job is to be a gamete decide
whether they should become a sperm or an egg. As you
might imagine, this cell fate decision has a genetic basis.
Worms that have a mutation in a gene called fog-1 can only
make eggs, indicating that fog-1 must be required to make
sperm. My lab is currently investigating how fog-1 plays a
role in germ cell fate using genetic techniques. Because I had such a positive undergraduate research
experience, I wanted to provide similar experiences for
Augustana students. My goal was to set up a research
lab to provide an opportunity for students to be involved
in developmental genetics research. How do my research
students benefit from this experience? Doing science is
quite different from reading about doing science. There is
something profoundly fulfilling in performing an experiment
and experiencing, in real life, a concept you learned about
in a course. Suddenly, students are more keenly aware
of the process of science and how scientific knowledge is
discovered.
Of course, students practice a variety of laboratory skills
and learn many “tools of the trade” of genetic analysis.
We read primary literature and talk about how to ask and
answer biological questions. Students have the freedom
to independently design experiments probing at the larger
question of germ cell fate, while I offer advice based on my
experience and expertise.
Working with biological systems is an art in and of itself.
Organisms do not always behave as expected. Students
learn how to be flexible when designing and analyzing
experiments, and they learn that obtaining reproducible
results means repeating the same experiment over and over
with slight variations in the protocol until the results are
consistent. Generating data is only the beginning. Students
also gain experience in data analysis and presentation. Each
year, my lab presents either a poster presentation or a talk
at Augustana’s Celebration of Learning. Additionally, the
students’ research is highlighted at regional and national
scientific conferences I attend.
Being a research mentor is very different from being the
instructor of a course. I find the one-on-one interactions
to be energizing, and I love being around students who
marvel at the beauty of molecular biology as much as I do.
I find mentoring to be one of the most rewarding aspects
of my job. Having mentored many extremely talented and
fun students, I have come to realize that, perhaps, the
most important aspect of my research lab is the mentoring
relationship I have with my students.
Yes, students learn about the science, and they learn
what it is like to work in a research lab, but I think they learn
much, much more. I think they learn that scientists are
regular people who have a life outside of the lab. They learn
that it is okay not to know everything. It is okay to ask for
help—and it is okay to have fun while you are working!
My influence on my students may not be profound, but
my hope is that I have helped to shape their view of science
and the people who do science. Along the way, I have made
some lifelong friends. I am excited to receive e-mails and
phone calls from my former students. I love hearing them
explain their research to me, and I hope they will invite me
to Stockholm when one of them wins the Nobel Prize.
Ashley Caravelli ‘08 researches developmental genetics in Dr. Kristin Douglas’ lab.
Winter 2008 | Augustana Magazine 15
(Book)Mark Our Words
Looking for a fictional work or mind-stretching social commentary to read?
Avid readers within our campus community recommend the following books.
Field Notes from a Catastrophe:
Man, Nature, and Climate Change
by Elizabeth Kolbert
There are very few books I wish
everybody would read; this is one.
A stunning read when it first
appeared two years ago in the New
Yorker, Field Notes is already a
classic. Kolbert traveled the globe to
places where the disruptive effects
of global warming are unmis­takable,
and writes deftly and calm­ly about
what difference climate change is
making to ordin­ary people on the
ground, the coasts, the islands,
the ice. She also hangs with some
of the best-informed, clearestheaded experts. This is never a
gloomy, strident or depressing
book. Kolbert writes exactly the
way we teach students to write:
she shows, rather than tells; she
keeps a low profile; and she lets the
facts speak for them­selves, which
they do, with grace and force. Field
Notes is now often compared (fairly,
I’d say) with Silent Spring. Nearly
everybody paying attention now
understands that global warm­ing is
the defining challenge of our age;
this book is part of how this recent
consensus has formed, and why it
is so energetic and civil. • Dr. Don
Erickson, English department
Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
The book is set in a fictional
town with a statue of the town
founder proclaiming the sentence:
The quick brown fox jumps over
the lazy dog. Townspeople find this
16 Augustana Magazine | Winter 2008
sentence amazing as it includes
all the alphabet’s characters in
only eight words. Problems ensue
when letters start to fall from
the statue’s placard (a possible
omen), and the town council bans
their usage in verbal or written
communication. The book is witty
and interestingly written by a
talented author who tells the story
using the townspeople’s letters and
notes. • Dr. Sarah Lovern, biology
department
topple Chamberlain, make Winston
Churchill prime minister and save
England—and perhaps Western
civilization. Chamberlain’s dictatorial
attitude, extreme secrecy, end-runs
around Parliament and wholesale
wiretapping that Olson documents
parallel current events. The book
provides thumbnail sketches of
every­one of any significance in mid20th century British politics. An
excellent read! • Dr. Kurt Christoffel,
chemistry department
A Man Without a Country by Kurt
Vonnegut
Eating Beauty: The Eucharist and
the Spiritual Arts of the Middle
Ages by Ann W. Anstell
Kurt Vonnegut’s wit, wisdom and
irreverence combine to ask the
kinds of questions that Americans
have pondered for generations. One of those asks why some folks
want the Ten Commandments in
public places like court­houses
and schools, but they never ask
for Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. •
Dr. Paul Olsen, English department
Troublesome Young Men: The
Rebels Who Brought Churchill to
Power and Helped Save England
by Lynne Olson
This book came to my attention as
a recommendation from amazon.
com. Minutes into reading the
online excerpt, I was hooked
and knew I had to have it. Lynne
Olson tells a riveting story of
the small group of Tory antiappeasement backbenchers that
battled the stranglehold of Neville
Chamberlain’s Tory party machine to
Written by a Purdue University
professor of English, Eating
Beauty examines late Medieval
Eucharistic devotion through the
eyes of important works of art
from the same period and early
Renaissance. It brings visual life to what at times may seem abstract
doctrinal issues, while placing
works of art into specific religious
and intellectual milieux in a way
that is accessible to the general
reader as well as the specialist (in
particular, providing both original
Latin texts and translations). Eleven
color photographs make a number
of the works immediately available
to the reader. This book falls into the
new Catholic theology discipline also
evidenced, for example, in Catherine
Pickstock’s After Writing, but is far
more easily read. A pen­ul­ti­mate
chapter comparing the aesthetics
of Simone Weil and G.F. Hegel
engages the events of the Holocaust
in a way that brings the discussion
into contemporary application.
• Dr. William Swatos Jr., sociology,
anthropology and social welfare
department
The God of Animals by Aryn Kyle
Taking place on a horse ranch in
Colorado, this first novel is, in part,
a horse story that surprised me with
its intricacy and emotional pull.
Equally enthralling is the inner life
of 12-year-old Alice who struggles to
understand the people in her world
who are leaving her: a drowned class­
mate, depressed mother, run­away
sister, and stubborn, hard-driving
father. Latching on to a teacher who
is battling his own demons, Alice
clings to innocence while coming to
terms with her place in the world. A tough story delicately written.
• Margi Rogal, Thomas Tredway
Library
The Women Who Raised Me: A
Memoir by Victoria Rowell
This is a very moving book about a
woman who was raised by various
foster mothers and is now a dancer/
actress. The well-written story
explores many issues, including
creativity, self-awareness, race,
adoption and mental health. •
Rowen Schussheim-Anderson, art
department
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Cormac McCarthy’s most recent
book The Road is a brilliant, terrifying and beautiful novel—his most
ambitious yet. McCarthy portrays
a world destroyed by nuclear holocaust. A father and son, never
named, follow a road through
this barren, ash-covered land in
which the only survivors of war are
reduced to desperate acts of the
worst sort.
We are drawn to this gripping
story, however, not for the anguish­
ed setting—nuclear winter in
America—but rather for the human
drama at its center. McCarthy posits
a world destroyed by unbelief in
which, through nothing less than
miracle, belief is nurtured and
sustained.
McCarthy’s book is at once
devasta­ting and inspiring. It reminds
me why we read novels in the first
place. We read to understand our
humanity. We read to know our­
selves.
We read Cormac McCarthy to
con­temp­late how we might bridge
the fearful gulf between others and
ourselves. For McCarthy, this is the
way to God. • Dr. Jeff Abernathy,
academic affairs and English
department
The Twelve Little Cakes by
Dominika Dery
Dominika Dery was born to dissident parents in 1975 Czechoslovakia
and writes of her childhood in
communist Eastern Europe in this
memoir. Included are many stories
about the persecution she and her
family encountered because of her
parents’ involvement in the Czech
reform movement that was crushed
by the Soviets in 1968. Through a
child’s non-judgmental perspective,
the book exposes many of the lies
and hypocrisy of the leftist ideology
that Dery and her countrymen
suffered through during the
communist era. • Brent Etzel,
Thomas Tredway Library
Blackhawk: The Battle for the
Heart of America by Kerry A.
Trask Kerry Trask’s book is fascinating
reading for anyone who has spent
much time at Augustana. Our
campus is less than four miles from
the Sauk Village of Saukenuk, which
was the largest village in Illinois in
the early 1800s. Black Hawk noted
that Saukenuk was a place where
people could live “as happy as the
buffalo on the plains.” As I walk
through the campus each morning,
I can only imagine what a paradise
this must have been. This book describes the events
leading up to the Black Hawk War,
which took place less than 30 years
before Augustana was founded. The Sauk sought to preserve
their way of life, first through
accommodation and then through
a tragic conflict. One wonders
about parallels today as our own
culture seeks to interface with longestablished cultures in the Middle
East. Have we learned enough to
avoid the mistakes of the past? •
Steve Bahls, president’s office I’ve been reading Vietnam
literature lately, preparing for a
Vietnam term. I’ve always liked Tim
O’Brien’s best books, The Things
They Carried with its surreal stories
and In the Lake of the Woods, which
is set in contemporary Minnesota
but flashes back to the My Lai
massacre. But I’ve also been read­
ing books from a Vietnamese point
of view, such as The Sorrow of War
by Bao Ninh and Robert Olin
Butler’s A Good Scent from a Strange
Mountain. Bao Ninh writes about his
and others’ combat experiences
with the North Vietnamese army,
and Butler writes about Vietnamese
refugees living in and around New
Orleans. Both are excellent. • Dr. David Crowe, English
department
Harry Potter and The Deathly
Hallows by J.K. Rowling
Interviewers who have asked J.K.
Rowling whether Harry Potter’s
story is Christian have been met
with the response, “Wait until
the end of the seventh book and
you will see.” True to her word, in
Deathly Hallows, Rowling presents
us with an ending in which love is
at the center, a love defined as a
willingness to lay down one’s life on
behalf of another (see John 15:13).
Along the way, Harry faces the
lure of personal ambition versus
the good of the wider community,
the nature of evil is dealt with in a
provocative way, and unlikely heroes
appear and triumph just when
they are needed. • Pastor Richard
Priggie ’74, campus ministries
The Mind and the Brain: Neuro­
plasticity and the Power of Mental
Force by Jeffrey M. Schwartz and
Sharon Begley This book argues that the mind
is far more flexible and able to
develop new abilities, far different
from the pessimistic views of
inevit­able decline that we all have
heard. In fact, Jeffrey Schwartz,
who devel­op­ed effective treatments
for obsessive-compulsive disorder,
argues that conscious attention can literally change the brain’s
structure. Though a later chap­
ter on free will and alleged quantum
effects at the synapse level is less
convincing, the book is thoughtprovoking, accessible and will elicit
a sense of wonder at the human
brain and mind. • Dr. Michael Nolan
’77, academic affairs
The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A
Natural History of Four Meals by
Michael Pollan
People who like to eat should know
something about their food. Those
who eat in ignorance should either
stop eating altogether and leave the
food for the rest of us or read this
book. • Dr. Jason Peters, English
department
Winter 2008 | Augustana Magazine 17
The endowment
advantage
Dr. Tom Bengtson ’75 and Shaun Callighan ’08
A college’s endowment provides long-term
financial strength and creates remark­able
opportunities for students and faculty.
By Lee Nelson
18 Augustana Magazine | Winter 2008
T
empowered
hey listened to the brightest math scholars converse about intriguing concepts,
theories and research. They rubbed elbows with top-rated college math professors
from around the country. ¶ A trip to MathFest 2007 in San Jose, Calif., this past
summer gave six Augustana students the opportunity to delve into a side of math they
probably never would have witnessed if not for the power of the college’s endowment.
¶ “They got to see people other than just Augustana professors excited about math,”
says Dr. Tom Bengtson ’75, who holds the Earl H. Beling Chair in Mathematics, one
of the college’s endowed faculty chairs. “They got to see lots of other students also
really excited about math. I’m in an enviable position to be able to bring our students
to these types of events. It’s tremendously empowering.” Augustana’s endowment funds not only faculty chair posi­tions, but also student scholarships (see “Scholarships
help shape students’ experiences,” page 22), facility improve­
ments and the day-to-day operations of the college.
“Your top priority is to have an endowment that supports
your mission,” says Al DeSimone, vice president for devel­
opment. “If we didn’t have a strong endowment, we couldn’t
offer certain programs or launch new ones. We would have
a lot less money for our students. It would be harder to
attract and retain quality faculty. The endowment is also the
foundation of the college’s long-term stability that keeps the
college competitive. This is all central to our mission.”
Augustana’s endowment operates much like a typical
savings and investment portfolio in that the principal is
invested and grows over time. To keep up with increasing
demands, the endowment principal and market value must
continue to grow through donations.
In recent years the college’s endowment has grown by
way of gifts of all sizes designated for a variety of purposes.
Each donation is invested to continue that growth and
income, and only 5 percent of the endowment’s market
value is spent each year. At the end of the fiscal year on
June 30, Augustana’s endowment had risen to $118,483,918,
a dramatic increase from $7.5 million in 1982.
DeSimone is finding that many of Augustana’s donors are
alumni who expect more accountability for their gifts. “They
want to know what is being achieved with their money, and
that’s a good thing,” he says. “The growing trend is that
people want to see results of their philanthropy during their
lifetimes.”
Since the majority of Augustana’s current endowment is
earmarked for scholarships, there are limited resources to
respond to new ideas from faculty for program development
in core areas. Donors, however, may contribute specifically
to an endowed academic venture fund that encourages
entrepreneurial thinking among faculty and gives the
college the flexibility necessary to support the academic
goals of the college’s strategic plan.
Faculty chair positions, such as Bengtson’s chair endow­
ed by the Beling family, are another way donors may impact
the college. Those who establish endowed faculty chairs are
linked in perpetuity to the accomplishments of the succes­
sion of faculty members whose work their gifts support.
These endowed faculty positions honor the achievement,
expertise and seniority of the faculty member selected to
hold each position. An endowed faculty chair is the highest
reward for academic achievement, and often the key to
attracting and retaining senior faculty (see “Endowed
chairs,” p. 21).
“It is definitely an affirmation of your job, and it is an
affirmation of the school where you choose to work,”
Bengtson says.
Earnings on endowed faculty positions support salaries
and provide funding for appointees to develop new courses
or conduct collaborative research with students. These
faculty may help students follow through on innovative ideas
for research, independent projects and presentations. >
Winter 2008 | Augustana Magazine 19
“An endowed chair says that your institution is recognizing
and rewarding you for what you do in your discipline.” Dr. Peter Kivisto
Mentoring students
When Bengtson was awarded the Earl H. Beling Chair in
Mathematics in the fall of 1988, he knew he wanted to help
students become involved in mathematical research. “Now
I can work with students who are doing research for longer
than a term,” Bengtson says. “They can do projects that
they are interested in outside the classroom walls. I am a
facilitator and way more than a lecturer to them.”
Shaun Callighan ’08 was one of the Augustana
students Bengtson took to MathFest 2007 in San Jose last
summer. As one of Bengtson’s Beling scholars, he had
started researching the math-related topic of cryptology,
the science of making encrypted data unencrypted and
keeping data secure. “At some point I became intrigued by
probabilistic primes because encryption algorithms use
large prime numbers, but finding large prime numbers can
be a daunting task,” Callighan says.
Callighan wonders if he would have been able to make
the unexpected change in focus if his research had been for
a regular class. “I also think the amount of time that was
available to do research as a Beling scholar really helped,
and Dr. Bengtson’s support helped a lot in creating a quality
research project,” he says.
Callighan enjoyed attending the national convention
because he was able to present his research and receive
20 Augustana Magazine | Winter 2008
feedback, and also see the results of other mathematicians’
work. “Overall, being a Beling scholar gives you a great
research piece that can be shown to grad schools or even
employers,” he says. “I hope that future students who get
the opportunity to be Beling scholars take advantage of it.”
Connecting with other scholars
In addition to mentoring students one-on-one, endowed
faculty chairs also encourage and support faculty in their
own scholarly research or artistic work. These faculty serve
as models of the intellectual engagement and commitment
the college seeks to promote in its students.
Dr. Peter Kivisto, chair of the sociology department,
serves as the Richard A. Swanson Professor of Social
Thought. Kivisto knew the late Richard Swanson—known
to many as Swanie—very well through the years, and they
formed a bond as a result of the chair. When Kivisto was
bestowed with the endowed chair, he was able to shape and
define it to reflect his scholarly interests. Swanson, who was
campus chaplain from 1966 to 1999, had a strong interest
in many of the subjects Kivisto teaches and researches,
including religion, social theory, race and ethnic relations,
and immigration.
“People who are professionally active—especially those
at small colleges—need to be recognized,” Kivisto says. “An
Reaching out to the community
Endowed faculty members also have a budget that allows
them to initiate academic ventures or community outreach
programs. For nearly 14 years, Dr. Catherine Carter Goebel has
held the position of the Paul A. Anderson Chair in the Arts.
She never met Anderson before his death, but has since
learned much about this 1971 alumnus through his mother
and partner. He had been a successful Chicago Board of
Trade commodities broker and a former member of the
Augustana Board of Trustees. He also was an avid collector
of art, especially contemporary pieces, some of which have
been gifted by the family to the college.
With the Anderson faculty chair endowment, Goebel
has been able to reach out to the Augustana campus and
the community. Three years ago she completed Origins
of Modernity, a project that included an art exhibit in the
Augustana College Art Museum, a catalogue that integrated
first-year students’ research with essays from the
Augustana community, as well as a convocation event.
“One of Paul’s goals was to enrich the college
through art history,” says Goebel, chair of the art history
department. “By building a very solid art history collection
to complement the curriculum, we are reinforcing that
goal through the interdisciplinary nature of art history by
demonstrating its relevance to language, science and other
subjects.”
The Origins of Modernity catalogue project enabled
under­graduate students in various majors to publish their
research and essays. Members of the campus community—
faculty, administrators and students, alike—shared their
expertise by interpreting these works of art. The project
was expanded for two more years after the first successful
undertaking as Liberal Arts through the AGES, a textbook
for all first-year students across the curriculum. Last year,
more than 500 Augustana students from a variety of course
disciplines toured the related exhibition.
“We use these books as textbooks for the next generation
of students,” Goebel says. “It has definitely enriched the
college and allowed me to step outside the box and do
original programming that enhances student learning
and has subsequently received a positive response from
academics across the country.”
Goebel also created an unprecedented kindergarten
through fifth-grade (K-5) art history program at Moline’s
Seton Catholic School that involved Augustana students
teaching children about art history. They gradually intro­
duced artwork from artifacts from the Stone Age through
moderism. “Art history majors while at college don’t
usually interact much with children,” she notes. “This
experience was rewarding in that it reinforced their own
learning through teaching others. They loved relating to
elementary students.”
Goebel coordinated this program for 10 years. Now she
is seeing some of those elementary-school children as her
own students at Augustana.
That K-5 program led to her designing a living art history
program at the historic Butterworth and Deere-Wiman
houses in neighboring Moline where sixth-graders and
Augustana students played out historical characters. Goebel
assembled an educator’s book and CD package to help
teachers facilitate the program; her concept and materials
won a national museum award.
Goebel plans to begin an international project next fall
to continue her ongoing scholarly research on American
expatriate artist James McNeill Whistler and his critics. She
and her students will work with original archival materials
from the University of Glasgow, and collaborate with other
universities, museums and libraries in the United States
and Europe toward constructing an international electronic
archive at Augustana.
Such research and publication opportunities are rare for
undergraduates, but as Bengtson points out, “a college’s
endowment makes special things happen.” Whether it’s
through student mentoring, scholarly research or com­
munity outreach, Augustana’s endowment works to support
the mission of Augustana and empower those who teach
and learn here.
Lee Nelson is a freelance writer in DeWitt, Iowa.
empowered
endowed chair says that your institution is recognizing and
rewarding you for what you do in your discipline.”
Last summer Kivisto attended the “Transnationalisation
and Development: Towards a North-South Perspective”
conference at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research
at the University of Bielefeld in Bielefeld, Germany. The
conference organizer is one of Kivisto’s colleagues, a
German sociologist named Thomas Faist. Kivisto and Faist
published two books in 2007; they co-authored Citizenship:
Discourse, Theory, and Transnational Prospects and coedited Dual Citizenship in Global Perspective: From Unitary to
Multiple Citizenship. They will co-edit the papers from last
summer’s conference in yet another book.
“An endowed chair allows you opportunities to go to more
conferences and to do things that are global and inter­
national in nature,” he says. “Experiences that link me with
scholars in Europe on a more routine basis are a very good
thing for me, and I’d like to think it also is for the college.”
Endowed chairs
Paul A. Anderson Chair
in the Arts
Dr. Catherine Carter Goebel,
Art History
Robert W. Beart Chair
in Chemistry
Dr. Pamela Trotter, Chemistry
Earl H. Beling Chair
in Mathematics
Dr. Tom Bengtson ’75, Mathematics
Conrad L. Bergendoff Chair
in the Humanities
Dr. Karin Youngberg ’58, English
William A. Freistat Chair
for Studies in World Peace
Dr. Van Symons, History
Fritiof M. Fryxell Chair in Geology
Dr. William Hammer, Geology
S. James Galley Endowed
Chair in Accounting
(soon to be named)
Edward Hamming Chair
in Geography
Dr. Norm Moline ’64, Geography
Stuart L. and Virginia
Talbott Harbour Chair in
Economics
(soon to be named)
Violet M. Jaeke Chair
of Family Life
Dr. Larry McCallum, Psychology
Lutheran Brotherhood
Chaplaincy Endowment
The Rev. Richard Priggie ’74,
Campus Ministries
Dorothy J. Parkander Chair
in Literature
Dr. Don Erickson, English
Frank Strohkarck Chair
of Business and Economics
Dr. Janis Lonergan, Business
Administration
Richard A. Swanson Chair
of Social Thought
Dr. Peter Kivisto, Sociology
Henry Veld Chair in Music
Dr. Daniel Culver, Music
Winter 2008 | Augustana Magazine 21
empowered
Scholarships help shape
students’ experiences
Kristin Sentman ’08
Sam Johnson ’08
“The ultimate
beneficiaries will be the
communities
served by our
graduates.”
president steve
bahls
22 Augustana Magazine | Winter 2008
Inspired by their parents’ dedication to community service,
John Dahl ’68 and Robert Dahl ’74 funded the Dahl Leader­
ship Scholarship in 2003 to support Augustana’s efforts to
develop student leaders. Andrea Trafton ’08, in recognition
of her academic achievement and student leadership,
was awarded this year’s Dahl Leadership Scholarship,
established in honor of Arthur and Dorothy Dahl.
Trafton, an education and women’s and gender studies
major, has played an important role in organizing and
promoting student-life programs at Augustana. For the last
two years, she has served as a co-chair of the EXPLORE
Life Skills program and as an active member of the College
Union Board of Managers executive leadership team.
“Andrea introduced herself right away during her first
year on campus and has been a key leader in our office ever
since,” says Ken Brill ’82, associate dean and director of
student activities.
Trafton says her leader­ship experiences at Augustana
have helped her become a better public speaker and work
more effectively with others and taught her the importance
of taking time to care about people as individuals. She
believes these skills will be important in her everyday
life, as well as in a teaching career, long after she leaves
Augustana.
The monetary award associated with the Dahl Scholar­
ship will allow Trafton to pay less in tuition this year.
The Dahl Leadership Scholarship is one of 535 endowed
scholarship accounts established by alumni and other
friends of the college. Some of these accounts award more
than one scholarship a year. In the 2006-07 academic year,
nearly 920 endowed scholarships totaling $2.45 million
were awarded to students, according to Dave Myatt ’80,
associate director of financial assistance.
These scholarships allow Augustana to meet one of its
highest priorities: to attract and welcome a body of highachieving students who represent America’s diversity and
promise. For many of these students, scholarships make
the difference in their decision to attend Augustana over
another school. For others, it allows them to take advantage
of opportunities once they’re on campus.
After receiving the Anderson Swedo Science Education
Scholarship last fall, Kristin Sentman ’08 expressed her
gratitude in the following note to Drs. Greg and Susan
Anderson Swedo, both members of the Class of 1977: “Your
support is greatly appreciated because it has allowed me to
have money to participate in the Nicaragua Service Learning
Trip over spring break this year. This trip will give me and
several of my fellow pre-medicine majors an opportunity to
serve in a very needy area, and I am truly look­ing forward
to the experience. Thank you for the generosity and support
that has helped make this possible.”
Sam Johnson ’08 received the Rock Island Rotary Scholar­
ship this year, and other scholarships during his college
career. “The scholarships have helped me put the financial
aspect of college on the back burner and allowed me to
focus directly on my academics,” says Johnson, who is
studying business and marketing. “The scholarships have
also kept me on a straight path towards graduation. What I
mean by that is I would not want to waste any of the donor’s
funds, so I keep that in mind, and it allows me to put my
best foot forward.”
Many donors request that their scholar­ships be awarded
based on certain criteria. For example, some scholarships
give preference to students from single-parent homes or to
first-generation college students.
John and Mary Thorson Lucken, both 1962 Augustana
graduates, recently funded the Lucken Geology Scholarship
to attract top-quality geology students to their alma
mater. “We love the quality of liberal arts education that
Augustana has always provided,” explains retired geologist
John Lucken. “A geology major coming from this excellent
department who also has a background in the liberal arts
can make great contributions to our field.”
A large percentage of Augustana’s scholarships are
based on financial need and given to those with high
academic ratings. Many of these endowed funds were
established decades ago—some almost 100 years ago—but
continue on because the principal has remained untouched. “Scholarships help us offer an outstanding education
to all qualified students, regardless of their ability to pay
tuition,” says President Steve Bahls, adding that such
gifts often have far-reaching implications. “The ultimate
beneficiaries will be the communities served by our
graduates.”
On the
cutting edge
A new internship program partners Augustana
with one of the top-rated cancer research hospitals
in the country. She expected to be pressed against a back wall in the operating room, squinting
to see the neurosurgeon at work. Instead, Amanda Saraf ’07 was given a stool so
she could watch the procedures over the surgeon’s shoulder. She was allowed
to ask questions and take as many photographs as she wanted. “I even had
the opportunity to see a rare procedure in which they wake up the patient midsurgery and have them verbally respond to questions to ensure they steer clear
of damaging the language centers in the brain,” she says. >
(Above) Amanda Saraf ’07 at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Winter 2008 | Augustana Magazine 23
F
“The true test is
one of work
ethic, in which
you will set your­
self apart from
your peers by the
amount of time
and hard work
you put into your
project.”
Amanda Saraf ’07
24 Augustana Magazine | Winter 2008
ew undergraduates have the chance to experience what
Saraf did the summer before her senior year at Augustana.
She was one of nine Augustana juniors selected for the 10week Texas Medical Center-Summer Research Internship
Program (TMC-SRIP), a collaborative arrangement between
Augustana and The University of Texas M.D. Anderson
Cancer Center, rated one of the nation’s top two cancer
research hospitals since 1990. Developed by Augustana’s
Dr. Heidi Storl, the partnership between the college and the
Texas Medical Center gives students opportunities to work
alongside leaders in the field of cancer research and in areas
of allied health, as well as human resources, pastoral care
and clinical ethics.
Saraf’s internship involved a research project she design­
ed with the help of her mentor, Dr. Jaroslav Jelinek, in Dr.
Jean-Pierre Issa’s lab. Issa’s lab studies the role of DNA
methylation, an epigenetic modification capable of silencing
or shutting off genes without changing the genetic code.
Saraf, a pre-med major, and Samantha Lau, an intern from
MIT, wanted to determine the methyla­tion status of the HOX
genes in leukemia. HOX genes are a particular subgroup of
homeobox genes; a homeobox is a DNA sequence found
within genes involved in regulating development.
These genes are of interest, Saraf says, because aberrant
methylation is related to tumorigenesis, the formation of
tumors in the body.
Although intrigued by the research, Saraf felt compelled
to explore her clinical interests while at M.D. Anderson.
Her mentor introduced her to physicians in her fields of
interest, and she spent early mornings and some weekends
making rounds with these physicians and visiting clinics,
primarily the pediatric leukemia and lymphoma clinic with
physician Dr. Michael Rytting. She also observed as many
neurosurgeries as her schedule would allow.
At the end of her internship, Saraf prepared and submitted
an abstract to the American Society of Hematology for its
annual meeting. The abstract was accepted for a poster
presentation, and as its first author, she represented M.D.
Anderson and the research at the conference. “The experi­
ence was monumental for me,” Saraf says. “I was approach­
ed by experts in the field of hematology that were interested
in the research I conducted. I was able to answer questions
and entertain discussions about HOX methylation.”
The abstract was included in Blood, published by the
American Society of Hematology, and Saraf is now working
with her mentor to prepare the manuscript for publication.
It’s a convenient collaboration because Saraf accepted the
offer of a lab position at M.D. Anderson after she graduated
from Augustana. It’s rare for an undergrad to receive such
an offer. For the past year, Saraf has been working as a
research assistant in a lab focusing on epigenetics, the study
of heritable changes in gene function that occur without a
change in the DNA sequence.
Saraf had planned to work for a year after gradu­ating from
Augustana and before attending medical school. Working
at M.D. Anderson while interviewing has placed her in an
enviable position. “My research has been the number one
point of interest with admissions committees,” she says.
“This is an ideal situation for me because I am able to
comfortably discuss my current research at length during
the interviews.”
Saraf was a member of Augustana’s first group of interns
to participate in the summer research internship program.
Other interns were Christy Belanger (plastic surgery);
Sheena Cunningham (molecular genetics); Madeline
Deatherage and Deanna Rybak (University of Texas Center
for Laboratory Animal Medicine and Care); Juliet Miernicki
(chaplaincy and pastoral education); John Parkhurst
(behavioral sciences); Daniel Pearson (thoracic and cardio­
vascular surgery); and Brigit Ray (general internal medicine).
All of these students graduated in the spring of 2007 and
were admitted to medical and graduate schools or hired for
a position in their desired field.
A
s mentioned earlier, the TMC-SRIP program is
the brainchild of Dr. Heidi Storl, who has taught philosophy
at Augustana since 1989. As chair of the ethics committee
of Trinity Regional Health System and a board member of
Trinity Medical Center, Storl became more aware of the
multifaceted nature of the medical field. And that’s key to
the varied types of internships this program offers.
Storl was interested in setting up a program that enabled
students interested in healthcare to gain a broader view of
the world, includ­ing a sense of the moral and ethical issues
they will face in their professions. She first talked about this
with the Rev. Dick Monson, former pastor of Rock Island’s
First Lutheran Church and a former consultant for Trinity’s
ethics committee.
Not long after, at a conference in 2005, Storl talked with Dr.
Leon Kass, chairman of the President’s Council on Bioethics
at the time, about her idea. He encouraged her to aim high,
and as a result, she began thinking about M.D. Anderson
Cancer Center in Houston, where Monson had retired as the
director of pastoral care.
Storl contacted Monson, and he led her to Dr. Michael
Ahearn, dean of the School of Health Sciences at M.D.
Anderson. Ahearn directs the highly competitive Summer
Research Program for College Students, which involves
50 undergraduates from across the nation. The purpose of
his program is to interest and challenge qualified college
F. Carter Smith
students in biomedical research as it relates to cancer. The
program provides firsthand research experience in various
areas of cancer research.
The heart of the program is located at Houston’s M.D.
Anderson, which employs 1,272 Ph.D.s and physicians,
enrolls more than 4,100 students, spent $345 million on
research in 2005 and now ranks first in the number of grants
awarded and total amount of grants given by the National
Cancer Institute.
Ahearn listened to Storl’s proposal: accept seven to nine
Augustana juniors into his summer program. Students in
Ahearn’s program traditionally come from Duke, Harvard,
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Notre
Dame, Stanford and the University of California-Berkeley,
among others.
After hosting Augustana administrators and then visiting
Rock Island to learn more about the components of this
inventive internship program, Ahearn agreed to accept as
many as nine Augustana students into his program every
summer.
“What made us stand out,” Storl says, “is the series of
seminars we do with our students to discuss clinical and
research ethics and also vocational reflection. Such discus­
sions are invaluable for students planning careers in health­
care, whether it’s in research, administration, economics or
other areas.”
Before leaving for Houston, each Augustana student part­
ici­pates in seminars led by Storl and Dr. Bob Haak, director
of Augustana’s Center for Vocational Reflection. The goal of
the seminars is to prepare students to think about their gifts,
skills and talents in ways that nurture “the whole self,” Storl
says. The normative emphasis of the seminars complements
the biomedical, veterinarian and allied-health internships in
which the Augustana students engage.
Storl and Haak hold a follow-up seminar with the
interns in September to discuss the vocational and ethical
dimensions of their summer training, including a discussion
of the theoretical and practical nature of M.D. Anderson’s
code of ethics.
A
F. Carter Smith
ugustana’s participation in Ahearn’s program
is unique in that, during the summer of 2006, five of the
students were directly involved in his program, while four
were located outside of biomedical research. Storl says the
broader nature of Augustana’s participation reflects the
liberal arts mission, while highlighting the multidisciplinary
goal of M.D. Anderson to consider the body, mind and spirit
of each patient.
Internships are available in most majors supported by
Augustana. Students may establish one-on-one mentoring
relationships in clinical or research medicine, any area of
allied health, as well as in human resources, pastoral care
and clinical ethics. Augustana students who have previously
participated in this program have majored in biochemistry,
biology, pre-med, pre-vet, business administration, psychol­
ogy and art.
Ahearn believes that the 16 Augustana interns at the
Texas Medical Center during the past two summers “bene­
fited enormously from their experiences,” citing that three
of them received offers for full-time employment at the
M.D. Anderson laboratories in which they conducted their
research. “We are pleased with the collaboration and antici­
pate continued placement of Augustana students in the
program,” he says.
Last summer pre-med student Andi Golden ’08 worked
in the behavioral science department with mentor Dr.
Eileen Shinn. She extracted data from medical charts and
administered dozens of questionnaires to obtain information
for her project that focused on the relationship between
swallowing function and swallowing exercise adherence
among head and neck cancer patients.
“Andi had a wonderful bedside manner and level of under­
standing with patients,” Shinn says. “She never refused an
assignment, and her work was meticulous and organized.
She often stayed late to make sure things were done and did
whatever it took to prepare herself for medical school. She
was a pleasure to work with.”
Left to right: In the pathol­
ogy department at M.D.
Anderson Cancer Center,
Sophia Willer ‘08 reviewed
slides of tissue for research
and patient cases. She also
examined excised speci­
mens for intra­operative
reports with her mentor, Dr. Constance Albarracin. •
Haroon Hussain ’08 interned
in Dr. Pierre McCrea’s lab,
which mani­pulates the
embryo develop­ment of
South African clawed frogs
to determine the functions
of certain genes. He was
asked to find genes that
might be regu­lated by
protein. • After returning to
campus, Nicholaus Beristain
’08 shares an anecdote with
Dr. Heidi Storl in her office.
Beristain worked on three
clinical research projects at
M.D. Anderson—developing
sur­veys and databases,
recruit­ing patients and deter­
mining trends.
Winter 2008 | Augustana Magazine 25
From left to right,
Augustana’s 2007 TMCSRIP interns in Houston
are Nicholas Beristain
(pre-med), Dena Haag
(business administration),
Haroon Hussain (pre-med),
Sophia Willer (pre-med),
Andi Golden (pre-med,
psychology), Jared
Holtgrave (biology) and
Jennifer Bock (pre-vet).
Golden’s most memorable experience was being intro­
duced to an extensive cancer research team charged
with developing new technology to screen for cervical
cancer. When Shinn learned of Golden’s interest in the
dissemination and utilization of this technology by Nigerian
physicians, she suggested that Golden focus on this as a
project. The team’s primary investigator invited Golden to
go with the team to Nigeria later in the summer. Golden
immediately began collaborating with a Nigerian physician
via telephone.
“My mentor and I worked quickly with a variety of people
to help create a survey which assessed patients’ experi­
ences with preventive healthcare, their beliefs con­cerning
this screening and vaccinations, and their intentions to
adhere to vaccinations and preventive healthcare behaviors
in the future,” Golden says.
Although the research team’s trip to Nigeria was post­
poned, Golden feels fortunate to have learned how to quickly
complete a project that included reviewing literature, com­
posing a survey and working with admin­istrators from M.D.
Anderson’s Institutional Review Board.
J
oseph Hyser ’99, who lives in Houston, is the
unofficial alumni liaison for Augustana interns at M.D.
Anderson. Hyser entered the doctorate program at
Houston’s Baylor College of Medicine in the Department
of Molecular Virology and Microbiology in 1999, and joined
Dr. Mary Estes’ lab in 2000. He is currently a post-doctoral
associate in the Estes lab, continuing some of the work he
started in his thesis studies. The Estes lab studies rotavirus,
the leading cause of life-threatening viral diarrhea in
children and young animals worldwide.
Interns have contacted Hyser with questions about
research, graduate school applications, good restaurants
26 Augustana Magazine | Winter 2008
close to the campus of Rice University where the interns
live, and of course, the best places to go dancing.
“It may be several years before some of the students
fully appreciate the benefit of working at M.D. Anderson
will have on their careers,” Hyser says. “The Texas Medical
Center is a hub of cutting-edge research in nearly every
aspect of the biological and medical sciences. Students
have the opportunity to experience the difference between a
classroom laboratory and basic scientific research. The two
are very different.”
Hyser has mentioned to Storl, his former advisor, more
than once that he wishes Augustana had offered such
an internship program when he was a student. He was a
biology major and it was Storl’s enthusiasm for philosophy,
especially philosophic studies connected with science and
medicine, that convinced him to add a philosophy major.
“The program at M.D. Anderson emphasizes that science
cannot be done in a vacuum, but must be analyzed from a
philosophical and moral perspective as well,” Hyser says.
“Some of the most active and exciting areas of research are
also the most morally ambiguous. Research on stem cells
and gene therapy may be the key to curing several chronic
diseases, but is the human cost worth the benefit? These
are questions that the students have to face in this program,
which makes them find a point-of-view that acknowledges
the validity of both sides in those sorts of debates. Had I
been in this program, I would have found that challenge
exciting.”
To Augustana students interested in applying for the
internship program at the Texas Medical Center, Amanda
Saraf ’07 shares an early concern. “I feared that coming
from a small liberal arts college, I would not be able to
compete with the educational backgrounds of other
students in the program from such schools as MIT, Harvard
or Stanford. As it turns out, an Augustana education is with­
out a doubt comparable to those standards, and all your
hard work will shine through with the ease in comprehen­
sion of most scientific concepts. The true test is one of work
ethic, in which you will set yourself apart from your peers by
the amount of time and hard work you put into your project.”
At the end of both the 2006 and 2007 summer programs,
Storl traveled to Houston where she heard all the interns’
presentations on their research. “Our students could stand
up to anybody with their technical and personal skills,”
Storl says. “Our students have the distinction of being the
hardest working.…they’ve done a good job of representing
Augustana.”
DAN HADLEY ’08
Fields of green
Any college is fortunate to have one. Augustana has three.
Winter 2008 | Augustana Magazine 27
Augustana Field Stations
Augustana owns and manages three ecological preserves in
northern Illinois.
Green Wing Environ­mental Laboratory, located 80 miles
east of campus near Amboy, Ill., features 420 acres of upland
forest, wetland habitats and a prairie restoration. Augustana
purchased the property from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA) in 1991. Not long after, a 20-acre agricultural field
near the main lodge was plowed so a tallgrass prairie could be
established. Locally produced
prairie seed was scattered the
following spring, and within
two years, prairie plants were
flourishing, according to Dr.
Bohdan Dziadyk, director
of the field stations. Today
the Kenneth and Florence
Pat Johnson ’58 Olson and
her father, Kenneth Johnson,
Johnson Prairie is a robust
in Green Wing prairie.
prairie dominated by numerous
species of grasses and wild­
flowers as well as insects, birds, mammals and more. Two
buildings on the site can accommodate students and professors
for short- and long-term visits.
The Collinson Ecological Preserve is a predomi­nantly upland
hardwood forest with two high-quality native loess hill prairie
openings on a slope within the bluff. The newly dedicated Josua
Lindahl Hill Prairies Nature Preserve lies in the western portion
of the Collinson preserve. In 1991 Elinor Budelier and Martha
Stapp ’28 Budelier donated the 67-acre site to The Nature
Conservancy in memory of John Stapp. The college purchased
the land a year later with a donation from the Collinson family,
owners of Collinson Stone Company in Milan, Ill. The preserve is
less than 10 miles from Augustana.
The Beling Ecological Preserve, also a convenient drive from
campus, was a gift of the Beling Family Estate to Augustana in
1998. The 100-acre wetland site complements the upland habitats
of the other two field stations. The construction of a major bridge
from Rock Island to Milan over the Rock River was completed in
2007.
Through an agreement with the Illinois Department of Trans­
portation, several hundred wetland saplings have been planted
as a mitigation to replace some of the wetlands destroyed by the
construction of the new bridge.
In addition, after much discussion, Augustana’s Field Stations
Governing Board gave approval to the City of Moline for the
Milan Beltway bicycle path across the new Rock River bridge
to cross the northwest corner of the Beling preserve. Board
members mandated several conditions for both construction and
subsequent maintenance of the bike path to protect the preserve.
Despite the new bridge and bicycle path, the Beling property
remains a valuable resource for teaching and conducting
research on complex wetland environments and their organisms.
Field Stations Governing Board members are Dr. Bohdan
Dziadyk, biology; Dr. Kevin Geedey, biology; Dr. Darrin Good,
biology; Dr. Steve Hager, biology; Dr. Reuben Heine, geography;
Dr. Heidi Storl, philosophy; and Dr. Jeff Strasser, geology.
28 Augustana Magazine | Winter 2008
E
xactly 135 yards inside the
main entrance to Augustana’s Green
Wing Environmental Laboratory is a large
cross hanging in a simple wooden frame.
Engraved in the wood of the cross is a
weathered inscription from James 1:22:
Be Ye Doers And Not Hearers Only. Left
from the days when the property was the
Green Wing Bible Camp, the cross is a
simple but elegant reminder that actions
speak louder than words, says Dr. Bohdan
Dziadyk, director of Augustana’s field
stations and professor of biology.
The mission of Green Wing and
Augustana’s two other field stations—
the Collinson Ecological Preserve and the
Beling Ecological Preserve—is to promote
the understanding and protection of
Illinois native ecosystems through fieldbased education, research and other
scholarly activities. Dziadyk sees the
faculty and students involved with the
field stations as the “doers” in relation
to studying ecology and helping others
appreciate their connection to the land.
Last fall’s dedication of the Josua
Lindahl Hill Prairies Nature Preserve on
the Collinson site reflects this mission.
Dedicated as a sanctuary for native plants
and animals, the site will be maintained
in its natural condition to allow present
and future generations to experience the
Illinois landscape of the past.
Named in honor of Dr. Josua Lindahl,
who taught natural history at Augustana
from 1878 to 1888, the state preserve
features two quarter-acre, high-quality
remnant hill prairies and a 20-acre buffer
surrounding them. State nature preserve
status confers the highest possible level
of protection for natural areas.
As a member of the Illinois Native
Plant Society, Dziadyk works with to
preserve not only endang­ered and
threatened species of native plants, but
also the entire ecosystems of which they
are a part.
“In Illinois today, and in the Midwest
generally, at least 20 percent of the flora
consists of alien species from other
countries and continents,” Dziadyk says.
“This is a concern because alien species
often threaten native species. Josua
Lindahl Hill Prairies Nature Preserve
is designed to help protect the unique
and rapidly disappearing hill prairies of
Illinois.” R
esearch has been taking
place at Green Wing since the mid-1990s,
especially in biology where Dziadyk, Dr.
Kevin Geedey, Dr. Steve Hager, Dr. Darrin
Good ’87, Dr. Dara Wegman-Geedey
and Dr. Jason Koontz have worked
with students on long- or short-term
research projects. Brad Cosentino ‘04,
a doctoral student at the University of
Illinois, is currently involved in a multiyear study of the frogs at Green Wing
and nearby wetlands. In chemistry, Dr.
Mary Ellen Biggen, and in the earth
sciences, Dr. Jeff Strasser and Dr. Reuben
Heine, have utilized the field stations for
classes and/or student research.
Two-week classes have been taught
at Green Wing during most summers
since 1995. Students have studied local
flora, entomology, research methods,
aquatic biology and other courses. The
majority of research projects take place
at Green Wing because of its size, rural
setting and facilities. Its main lodge has
been extensively renovated and includes
a classroom, research space, kitchen,
bedrooms, bathrooms and a fireplace.
Another building on site, nicknamed the
“canteen,” serves as a dormitory that can
house 10 students.
“The immersion into a single biological topic—
such as entomology—at a field station is magical.” Dr. Darrin Good ’87
KIRBY WINN ’94
“The immersion into a single
biologi­cal topic—such as entomology
—at a field station is magical,” says
Good, associate professor of biology.
“The students are freed from other
distractions that compete for their full
attention to the learning process. Closeknit relationships develop due to the
students and teacher living, cooking,
playing and, of course, learning
together. A very common statement on
the course evaluations is something to
the effect of ‘this was the best and most
fun course I have had in college.’”
With the increasing emphasis on
Senior Inquiry at Augustana, those
in the field sciences envision the
field stations as providing excellent
opportunities for more students to do
research individually or in groups with
their professors. Amber Andress ’06 completed a
two-week course on local flora and con­
ducted an independent senior research
project with Dziadyk at Green Wing.
These two experiences comprised only
a fraction of her time at Augustana but
had a major impact on where she is
today.
As an ecologist with Pizzo & Associ­
ates, Ltd., an ecological restoration
firm near DeKalb, Ill., Andress designs
and manages restoration projects.
Her responsibilities include identifying
native plant species, assessing ecologi­
cal integrity and assessing onsite
ecologi­cal issues. “The most important
of these skills is the ability to identify
both native and non-native plants found
here in Midwestern ecosystems—a skill
which was developed partly through my
own interest, but mostly through my
fieldwork at Green Wing,” Andress says.
She encourages students who are
interested in any aspect of environ­­ment­al studies to take advantage of
Green Wing and Augustana’s other field
stations. She appreciated the oppor­tun­­
ity to study living plants in a dynamic,
outdoor setting as opposed to a field
guide or herbarium and “to take scien­­­tific principles from the Science
Build­ing to the real world.”
In addition to taking extended
summer courses, science students
often visit a field station as part of an
outdoor laboratory experience during
Winter 2008 | Augustana Magazine 29
Every two or three years, student and faculty volunteers help with controlled burns of the prairies at Green Wing and Collinson field stations. The fire kills
the woody species that have invaded the prairies, but not the grassland plants. Their perennial parts are below ground, insulated from the heat.
the academic year. Having students visit or live at a field
station is con­sidered not only one of the best ways to teach
and conduct research but also to instill an interest in the
environment and a desire to preserve and protect the
natural world.
The national Organization of Biological Field Stations—
of which Augustana is a member—has found that student
exposure to native ecosystems through field classes or
hands-on research does more than any other single influ­
ence to stimulate interest in conservation and wild lands
protection. “As our population grows and wild lands shrink ever
more, nature preserves and field stations of all types will
become more important to preserve rare plant and
animal species that not only have important ecological
roles but may contain biological compounds that will be
invaluable for future human needs,” Dziadyk says. “Field
stations act as refugia of rare and endangered species.
Therefore the value of our field stations and others every­
where cannot but increase in value for future generations
of students for both philosophical and practical reasons.” Students study the non-native poisonous hemlock plant that has invaded the prairie
restoration at Green Wing. Outdoor lab experiences not only help students learn but also
instill an interest in preserving and protecting the environment.
30 Augustana Magazine | Winter 2008
1
2
3
4
5
6
Augustana’s field stations allow students and faculty to study plants and insects, birds, amphibians and mammals in a dynamic, outdoor setting. For Amber Andress ’06, her Green Wing fieldwork helped develop her ability to identify native plant species. The outdoor labs also attract photographers, such as Dan Hadley ’08 and Dr. Bohdan Dziadyk, who contributed the photos above: (1) white snake-root, (2) field goldenrod, (3) shelf mushrooms, (4) Gentian, (5) Michigan lily, (6) green tree frog on milkweed.
Winter 2008 | Augustana Magazine 31
Homecoming 2007
32 Augustana Magazine | Winter 2008
Photos by the Augustana Observer (Bill Jarrett ’08, head photographer), Augustana Photo Bureau and Steve Woltmann.
Winter 2008 | Augustana Magazine 33
Alumnae Essay
Mary Molen ’62 Wiberg
Inspired by three campus legends
The basement of Old Main…that’s where English 101 with
Miss Parkander met the year I was a freshman. Who can
forget Monday’s classes where we waited in anticipation
—or dread—to see whose papers our esteemed teacher
would read aloud. Yes, there was praise for good thinking,
good logic and content. But it was in those readings and in
Miss Parkander’s analyses that we really learned what good
writing was—and wasn’t.
The term “fine writing” has stayed with me ever since.
No, this was not a compliment. It meant the writer had
used extra words to impress the reader, especially when no
As a freshman, I lived in House on the Hill, and so did
Dean Betsey Brodahl ’44, who was already a legend on
campus. She stood out as the only female member of the
college administration—and a classy one, too.
Without doubt, these three women influenced my career
path. I learned not only communication skills, but also how
to analyze problems and look for solutions, a skill I have
specifically applied in my work regarding women.
While my children were growing up, we lived in Iowa. At
the Iowa Department of Education, I was responsible for
promoting nontraditional occupations for girls and women
I am confident that today’s female students at Augustana are likewise
benefiting from strong role models and quality education.… and I can’t
wait to learn more about their achievements.
value was added to the writing. I must admit I was relieved
when the diagnosis of “fine writing” was applied to someone
else’s work. Although Dr. Dorothy Parkander ’46 was fairly
new in her career when I was a student, she was completely
focused on drawing the most from the literature she taught
and inspiring her students to become better analysts and
writers.
My years at Augustana, 1958-1962, were an important
time for women in our country’s history. President Kennedy
established the first Federal Commission on the Status
of Women, chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt; birth control
pills were introduced; and the issues impacting women,
including equal pay, accessible childcare and an equal role
in the political process were emerging.
Dr. Parkander was only one of the strong female role
models we had on campus at the time. Dr. Henriette
Naeseth, chair of the English department for three decades,
helped establish the Phi Beta Kappa chapter on campus
and was instrumental in having Augustana recognized by
the American Association of University Women. She was an
exceptional professor and administrator.
34 Augustana Magazine | Winter 2008
and for programs meeting the needs of displaced home­
makers and single parents. When welfare reform came to
Iowa, I helped design the plan to deliver education to
welfare participants. As a member of the Iowa Commission
on the Status of Women for 14 years, I worked toward
recognition of the contributions of women to society as
well as on legislation that would provide equal opportunities
and assist those most in need.
As executive director of the California Commission on the
Status of Women for the past six years, the communication
and analysis skills I learned at Augie have continued to
serve me well in working to meet the many challenges
faced by California women—the most diverse population in
the nation.
I am confident that today’s female students at Augustana
are likewise benefiting from strong role models and quality
education—the critical keys to helping girls and young
women achieve equity and success. And I can’t wait to learn
more about their achievements as tomorrow’s leaders in all
aspects of society. Thanks, Augustana!