Radical Roots

Radical Roots: How One Professor Transformed a University tells the story of Joel Torstenson, a sociology professor at Augsburg University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In the 1960s, Torstenson challenged his university to embrace its urban setting and to design its curricular, co-curricular, and community engagement programs to advance its mission of "Education for service." The compelling story of Torstenson's legacy at Augsburg over the past 60 years offers lessons for colleges and universities across the country committed to democratic engagement in their work at the intersections of mission and place.

Augsburg University's saga as an urban settlement has not always been embraced by the university. Though location and place are central to the university's identity, it is not sufficient to explain the integrative power of the university's character. For that purpose, it is critical that place be understood through the lens of Augsburg's academic mission and work. This integrated view of place and mission required a new way of imagining the university's core work of educating students.

The purpose of this book is two-fold. The first is to document and celebrate the legacy of Professor Joel Torstenson, and to understand the impact of this legacy's inception, evolution, and current manifestations and impact at Augsburg and in the wider world. Professor Torstenson cared deeply about the public purpose of higher education, and Torstenson's model for what this public purpose might look like prompted massive transformation in Augsburg University's trajectory. The resulting experiments in education and commitment to the city flowered into a legacy that has spurred Augsburg University to create an innovative model for 21st Century education. This model has impacted everything from student learning and community life, to teaching and curricular structure, to the public mission of the institution and its presence in the city and world. Torstenson's creative--and even radical--work in the 1960s and '70s has been carried through the decades by continued innovation in teaching and learning based in experiential education, and a commitment to place and community building. This legacy has simultaneously advanced the public purpose and mission of the University.

Secondly, this book shares what are some of the lessons learned from fifty years of innovation following Torstenson's vision, with the hope that these lessons might serve the broader community of colleges, universities, faculty, staff, and students engaged in similar pursuits. Augsburg's innovative experiential education, place-based community engagement, and public and anchor institution work has been and will continue to be a model for other institutions. We believe that Torstenson's legacy, and the lessons learned through the years of its evolution, has lessons to teach and models to follow for our sibling institutions across the United States.

The volume includes discussion prompts and questions after each section. There is also a companion website that includes additional resources related to the volume's themes.

Perfect for course such as: Higher Education and Democracy in the United States; Principles of Experiential Education; Place Matters: Higher Education and Community Engagement; Universities as Anchor Institutions in their Communities; Introduction to Citizen Professionalism: Leading in the 21st Century; Public Work, Social Responsibility, and Vocation in a World of Extremes; Accompaniment: Developing Democratic Skills and Fostering Healing with Communities; Curricular Innovations in Higher Education; and Principles of Higher Education Pedagogy

"Radical Roots is a beautiful tribute to Professor Torstenson and his enduring impact on Augsburg University. With histories that are inextricably linked, the book provides readers with captivating insight into the transformation of Augsburg as a leading national model for the engaged university and how Professor Torstenson contributed to its path in getting there. Community-engaged scholars, students, partners, and all those committed to civic and community engagement will enjoy diving into Professor Torstenson's journey to develop new community-engaged academic programs, high-impact experiential learning, and dynamic partnerships. Today, Augsburg University is on the leading edge of higher education institutions holistically committed to the public mission, and Radical Roots inspires us all to take action!"--Bobbie Laur, President, Campus Compact
"Radical Roots is an important and inspiring book. While telling the unique and compelling story of Augsburg University and the extraordinary impact of a faculty member, Joel Torstenson, on the institution, it has powerful lessons for higher education in general. Most centrally, Radical Roots illustrates the path to becoming a democratic civic university, which is dedicated to its local community and the values of democracy, social justice, and equity. In so doing, it makes clear why Augsburg is a national leader as an anchor institution, galvanizing academic, volunteer, and institutional resources for the mutual benefit of the university, the city, and the community. By vividly describing how Augsburg brought civic and community engagement into the very heart of the university, Radical Roots has made an invaluable contribution to our understanding of how higher education can fulfill its democratic promise."--Ira Harkavy, Ph.D., Associate Vice President and Founding Director of the Barbara and Edward Netter Center for Community Partnerships, University of Pennsylvania
"Radical Roots makes an important contribution to the field of university-community engagement by chronicling and critically reflecting on the history and evolution of one institution's commitment to engage in deep mutually beneficial relationships with its local community as an anchor institution. The powerful legacy of Augsburg University - ahead of its time for embracing its role in, of, and with its urban community, and for embedding this commitment into its academic mission - is one that needs to be shared. Augsburg stands as a national exemplar for advancing the democratic mission of higher education by directly engaging its students, faculty, staff, and community partners in the practice of democracy. A must-read for all who are interested in strengthening university-community partnerships."--Rita Axelroth Hodges, M.S.Ed., Associate Director, Netter Center for Community Partnerships, University of Pennsylvania
"Radical Roots tells the story of Augsburg University and the power of one person to create a movement of transformation by linking education, community-building, and service to neighbors. Read it for the history and come away inspired by what is possible."--Valerie Holton, Executive Director, Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities
"In the midst of fiscal stress and political confrontations when higher education's commitment to the liberal arts and civic practice is fragile and yet so necessary, Radical Roots will provide the leaders and faculty members of colleges and universities with a profile of inspiration, intelligence, and resiliency. The Augsburg University story is a necessary antidote to institutional skepticism and a bright pathway to successful democratic education."--Richard Guarasci, President Emeritus, Wagner College & author, "Neighborhood Democracy"
"When I take stock of the institutions and experiences that have shaped my sense of what matters most, attending Augsburg towers above. This book, which is littered with people and programs at Augsburg that directly shaped my own sense of self and vocation--from Gary Hesser to Campus Kitchen to the Sabo Center--helps explain why I'm far from alone in feeling that way. Radical Roots not only documents the history of Augsburg's neighbor-centered approach to education, it also places it in vital broader conversations about the state of our democracy. There are rich lessons in this book for anyone trying to think through what it means to be a committed and responsible neighbor, and how to support others in becoming the same."--Chris Stedman, Augsburg Class of 2008, former humanist chaplain at Harvard University and director of the Yale Humanist Community, author of "IRL" and "Faitheist" and writer and host of Unread

Green Bouzard is a freelance musician and editor. She formerly worked at Augsburg University in the Sabo Center for Democracy and Citizenship.

Kathleen M. Clark, DNP is an Associate Professor of Nursing and the Executive Director of the Augsburg Health Commons. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire and both a Masters of Art in Transcultural Nursing and a Doctorate of Nursing Practice in Transcultural Leadership from Augsburg University. She began her career at Augsburg in 2009 and has focused her scholarship and teaching efforts on caring for marginalized populations, developing experiential learning experiences to center the learning moments on people with lived experiences voices, and creating changes to address health inequities. She has led and expanded the university's efforts at the Augsburg Health Commons, which are nurse-led drop-in centers located in local communities that care for marginalized populations such as people experiencing homelessness, poverty, and immigration. Katie currently also serves on the Mission and Identity Division at Augsburg.

Timothy D. Pippert, Ph.D. currently serves as the Joel Torstenson Endowed Professor of Sociology and the Executive Director of Augsburg Family Scholars. He holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Nebraska and joined the faculty at Augsburg in 1999. He teaches a variety of courses from Introduction to Sociology to the Senior Seminar and Keystone and has published research on fictive kin relationships among men without homes, the accuracy of college and university photographic representations of diversity in recruitment materials, and the impact of the Bakken oil boom on the residents of northwestern North Dakota. In 2022, he worked with students in the Sociology Senior Seminar and Keystone to envision, design, and fundraise for Augsburg Family Scholars. The program, designed to support students with backgrounds in the foster care system, was launched in September 2022.

Paul C. Pribbenow, Ph.D., is the 10th president of Augsburg University. Since joining Augsburg in 2006, Pribbenow has enhanced the university's role as an active community partner in its urban setting. By identifying and embracing initiatives that mutually benefit Augsburg and its neighbors, the university has achieved national recognition for its excellence in service learning and experiential education, including the 2010 Presidential Award for Community Service, the highest honor possible for service work. Pribbenow serves on the national boards of the Coalition for Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU), Campus Compact, and the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC). He is also active in the Anchor Institutions Task Force, and chairs both the Cedar-Riverside Partnership and the Central Corridor Anchor Partnership in the Twin Cities. Pribbenow holds a bachelor of arts degree from Luther College (Iowa), and a master's degree and doctorate in social ethics from the University of Chicago.

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