Championships
SPORTS 12
Fish Fry entertains students
FEATURES 6
LUTHER COLLEGE
“Let the chips fall where they may.”
CHIPS
MAY 15, 2014
Serving the Luther College community since 1884.
VOLUME 136, NO. 24
Campus celebrates student research
“EXPERTS FOR THE DAY.” Students presented posters, performances and papers during the Research Symposium on May 9. Toby Ziemer / Photo Bureau SPENCER HODGE STAFF WRITER Luther College gave students the opportunity to present their research at the annual Research Symposium on May 9. Students from across the spectrum of disciplines presented, along with select firstyear students presenting Paideia research papers. Assistant Professor of Religion Todd Green, a member of the symposium advising committee, reflected on the event’s relevance. “[The symposium] reminds us what kind of learning community we want to be, which is not simply that [professors] have a discipline and they teach it to students on a certain Tuesday/Thursday schedule,” Green said. “Instead, we have students teach us their discipline and their research, things
that we won’t be doing with our research lives and agendas otherwise. That is part of what a liberal arts college is about. The type of learning community we are on this day really embodies what we are.” Another committee member, Associate Dean and Director of Curriculum Development and College Honors Terry Sparkes, commented on the benefits of having students present. “We mean it when we say that we are learning along with our students,” Sparkes said. “They are the experts for the day and I think there is something powerful and creative about being in a different environment that asks a different question we have never thought about before. It generates thinking for all of us.” Research presentations were divided into oral and poster sessions that grouped research topics into correlated themes
to attract interested audiences. Oral presentation sessions gave students 15 minutes to present their research, followed by a five-minute question and answer session. Poster presenters were given an hour and a half poster session that allowed them to display and explain their research to passing audiences. Clara Lind (‘14) and Jordy Barry (‘15) presented a project on the relationship between women and United States politics called “Skirts and Sex Politics: A Theoretical Analysis of Hillary Clinton’s Success with the Big Boys.” The presenters noted that though over half of the United States’ population consists of women, only 20 percent of the members of the federal government are women. To complicate this statistic further, they noted that of the women elected, only SYMPOSIUM, PAGE 4
Carlson gives first address BRITA MOORE NEWS EDITOR Luther’s president-elect Paula Carlson gave her first address to the college on May 9. She was the keynote speaker of the Student Research Symposium opening celebration. Carlson and her husband, Thomas Schattauer, also attended sessions at the symposium and had lunch with the community. “Today is a day that clearly epitomizes what Luther excels at: learning and teaching together in community, shaped by a compelling mission,” Carlson said in her address. Carlson articulated an experience she and Schattauer had at the Nobel Peace Prize Forum Luther hosted in 2011. “We were passing through the Union lobby and saw some friends of ours, so we went and greeted them,” Carlson said. “A faculty member walked by and greeted our friends. This faculty member had had one of these friends’ children in a Paideia class and met the parents at a previous event on campus. As we listened to their conversation, we were very impressed by the way this professor engaged with the parents and showed interest in the student’s course of study since Paideia. We told this professor, ‘This is very impressive, your concern for the student.’ The professor responded in a memorable way: ‘That’s the way the faculty at Luther are. We’re artisans. We craft education with our students, one by one.’” Carlson reiterated the importance of the college’s commitment to fostering relationships between faculty and students and the way the symposium exemplifies this. “The Luther community has known for a long time that these things matter: caring, inspiring faculty who mentor students and an engaging, rigorous curriculum that gives all students the opportunity to learn and grow,” Carlson said. Carlson will begin as Luther’s tenth president on July 1.
College pauses hiring for 2014-15 ANNA JEIDE STAFF WRITER
The Board of Regents will meet to establish the budget for next year and face a new challenge on May 16-17. Currently, first-year enrollment is down from the previous year by about 50-60 students, according to Vice President for Academic Affairs Kevin Kraus. This could have an impact on the size of the budget and consequently the number of new hires. To accommodate for the uncertainty of enrollment, Interim President David Tiede has decided to “pause” the hiring process for faculty and staff for next year until after the Board of Regents meets. “We don’t want to hire someone and then have more people than we need for [class] sections,” Tiede said. “Some of our colleague schools are
going through some really hard times and are having to make cuts. We’re trying to not get into that bind by being very careful.” Last year the college received a number of enrollments after May 1, which is national declaration day for high school seniors. “Last year, from when we did the report on May 1, until we started school, we received about 80-89 deposits, including transfer students,” Vice President for Enrollment Management Scot Schaeffer said. Tiede clarified that the decision to delay hiring for next year is only a pause in the process. “We’re learning a lot in this process and no one is panicking,” Tiede said. “This talk about a ‘freeze’ is reflective of the concern that some people are feeling.” If enrollment does not increase, it could affect HIRING PAUSE, PAGE 4
Graphic by Bjorn Myhre