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HOMECOMING 2004THE NYDAHL FAMILY honored with the Distinguished Service Award by Lynn MenaThe Distinguished Service Award recogizes “formativefamilies” who have made a substantial and continuingcontribution to Augsburg and to its mission in the worldthrough their vocations, their philanthropy, and their citizenship.Courtesy photoThis year’s recipient is the family of Johannes and Tabitha Nydahl,honoring their Norwegian and Lutheran heritage and theirgenerations-long connection to the College. Over the years, manydescendents of Johannes and Tabitha have attended Augsburg,including their three sons, Theodore, Malvin, and Harold. TheNydahl family members, through their careers and avocations, havelong illustrated Augsburg’s mission of “education for service,” andit is a great honor to recognize them with this special award.Johannes Ludvigson Nydahl was born Feb. 20, 1863, at Sondfjord,Norway, to Ludvig Olson Nydahl and Nille Johannesen Holsen. Asthe oldest son, Johannes stood to inherit the family farm. However,he relinquished this right in order to realize his dream of exploringthe world. He considered going to South Africa or the SandwichIslands (Hawaii), but chose instead the UnitedStates, emigrating in 1882.When Johannes arrived in the United States,he first worked as a lumberjack in northernMinnesota and then as a stonemason inMinneapolis—the First Baptist Church wasone of his masonry projects. By these jobs heearned enough money to attend Augsburg.Johannes’ wife, Tabitha, was born to immigrantson a southern Minnesota farm. She was thedaughter of Torger T. Rygh, who arrived inAmerica in 1845 along with several siblings andtheir parents.Johannes NydahlJohannes graduated from both the College and the AugsburgSeminary, attending from 1883–1891. Although he was neverordained, he was deeply involved with the Lutheran community,and served as a vicar in Watertown, S.Dak., in 1891. He then servedthe College as a professor of history and Norwegian from1891–1920, before beginning in 1920 as Augsburg’s head librarian,a post he held until his death in 1928.During his years at Augsburg he also served as an instructor atDeaconess Hospital in Minneapolis from 1909–14. Among hismany community and church activities were serving as Sundayschool superintendent at Trinity Church, as president of theMinnesota Total Abstinence Society, secretary of the FolkebladetPublishing Company, treasurer and then president of the Board ofthe Deaconess Home, and secretary of the Lutheran Free Church,being listed as one of the 10 prominent men in the church’sdevelopment. An outstanding musician, too, Johannes was amember of the Augsburg Quartette, which toured throughout theJohannes and Tabitha Nydahl pose with their six children. Picturedfrom L to R are: Ragna, Tabitha, Malvin, Agnes, Harold, Theodore,Johannes, and Valborg.upper Midwest and Michigan through thelate 1880s and early 1890s. In 1895, theQuartette toured Norway, the first concerttour by Norwegians in America back to thefatherland.The Nydahls also were members of theSaga Hill community, a colony establishedin the 1880s by Augsburg professors,ministers, bankers, and professional men,most of them being members of TrinityTabitha Nydahl Church who were deeply interested in theCollege and its success. They purchased 40acres from a farmer in the Lake Minnetonka area where they builtsummer cabins.Johannes and Tabitha—who lived on the Augsburg campus formore than 30 years in what was to become known as West Hallwhen it became a girls’ dormitory—raised a family of six children.Ted became a history professor at the University of Minnesota-Mankato, and later head of their Humanities Department; Mallybecame an orthopedic surgeon in Minneapolis after a standoutathletic career in football, basketball, and baseball at the Universityof Minnesota. Harold became a pastor and counselor, and Ragna,Agnes, and Valborg all married Lutheran pastors and Augsburggraduates—Melvin Olson, Clarence Carlsen, and Torgney Kleven,respectively. All six children were great musicians, the three sisterssinging in a much sought-after trio, and the three brothers beingboth singers and choir directors.This award celebrates the contributions and legacy of Johannes andTabitha and the extended Nydahl family.10Fall 2004
BY PAUL S. MUELLER, M.D. ’84Scientific inquiry will reveal truth and lead to more questions“Where truth is, there is God.”—Miguel de CervantesI give thanks andpraise for myyears at Augsburg.I am grateful forthe knowledge Ilearned, the skillsI acquired, andthe experiences Ihad. But I am especially grateful for theprofessors, fellow students, and otherindividuals at Augsburg who encouragedme to think about science and thephysical universe in the context of theChristian faith. Faculty members likeJohn Holum, Earl Alton, Ralph Sulerudand others patiently spent countlesshours with students like me, helping usnot only to understand the universe, butalso the relationship between theuniverse and God. Kermit Paulson andMark Engebretson, persons of faith,encouraged my wife Nancy (Mackey) ’85to pursue a degree in physics, anadvanced degree in engineering, andultimately careers in engineering andscience teaching. To me, these teachersmade physics understandable and God’suniverse more spectacular.The desire for truth at Augsburgcontinues today. I am awed by theinnovative education and researchprograms conducted by the sciencefaculty. Seeking scientific truth atAugsburg is not simply memorizing andreciting facts. Instead, it is learningmethods of scientific inquiry that revealtruth and lead to more questions. Thecycle of hypothesis, inquiry, discovery,and generating new questions andhypotheses about the universe leads tonew knowledge and understanding.Whereas ignorance leads to fear andconflict, knowledge and understandinglead to comfort, joy, and peace. In otherwords, the truth makes us free.A tour of the current sciencebuilding reveals how innovative andvital the science faculty is. Thiseducation is made complete by theAugsburg experience, a liberal artseducation that places scientific truth inthe context of other truths such asspiritual, humanistic, and philosophicaltruths. This milieu encourages theAugsburg science major not to seek justa job, but a true vocation, whichFrederick Buechner describes as “theplace where your deep gladness meetsthe world’s deep need.”A major focus of the currentcampaign, Access to Excellence: TheCampaign for Augsburg College, is a newScience Center. It is widelyacknowledged that the current ScienceHall is inadequate to fulfill and sustainthe vision for science education andresearch at Augsburg College.Despite the limitations of the currentfacility, the sciences at Augsburg havegrown. In addition, the number ofscience majors, education opportunities,and research programs has grown.Indeed, the College and the sciencefaculty have been very creative in usingand modifying the current facility, whichis now more than 50 years old, to meetnew challenges as they arise. Forexample, the site of an active living coralreef on the second floor of Science Hallin the Biology Department is trulyamazing. Yet, this example of creativityreflects the enthusiasm the Augsburgscience faculty has for teaching andresearch irrespective of the facility. Thisenthusiasm has undoubtedly played acrucial role in the growth and success ofthe science departments.Nevertheless, the time has come for anew Science Center at Augsburg College.This center will provide an environmentconducive to teaching and mentoringscience students and conducting research(SCIENCE continues on page 12)Vision is published byAugsburg College, 2211 Riverside Ave.,Minneapolis, Minnesota 55454.EditorLynn JamesGraphic DesignerKathy RumpzaPhotographerStephen GeffreContributing WritersLynn JamesPaul Mueller, M.D. ’84www.augsburg.edu/campaignFall 2004 11
Page 1 and 2: A PUBLICATION FOR AUGSBURG COLLEGE
Page 3 and 4: A PUBLICATION FOR AUGSBURG COLLEGE
Page 5 and 6: Access to Excellence:The Campaign f
Page 7 and 8: SPECIALBROADCASTAdd this special 25
Page 9 and 10: AUGSBURG COLLEGE HOSTSANNUAL NOBEL
Page 11: HOMECOMING 2004FIRST DECADE AND SPI
Page 15 and 16: Director of development namedAfter
Page 17 and 18: THE AUGSBURG CORE CURRICULUMTHE AUG
Page 19 and 20: For more than two years, severalcom
Page 21 and 22: collaborate across departments andd
Page 23 and 24: A Somali community leader, Abdiriza
Page 25 and 26: core curriculumA LESSON IN COMPUTER
Page 27 and 28: Central America, Mexico, and southe
Page 29 and 30: ALUMNI NEWSAlumni NewsFrom the Alum
Page 31 and 32: Alumni events calendarPlease join u
Page 33 and 34: Above: Norman Nielsen ‘44 (left)
Page 35 and 36: CLASS OF 1979(L to R) Row 1 (front)
Page 37 and 38: 1977Laurie (Barrett) Burns,Stillwat
Page 39 and 40: 1997Jacki Brickman, Coon Rapids,Min
Page 41 and 42: AUGSBURG CENTENNIAL SINGERS 2005 AR
Page 43 and 44: CALENDARCalendarMusicFor more infor

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