Month: June 2016

We are colleges and universities of the ELCA. Our common calling is to be excellent schools that educate students for lives of meaning and purpose in the world. Our academic missions and institutional identities are grounded in specific geographical, ethnic, cultural, and academic contexts, but have in common a Lutheran heritage that has shaped those…

By attending national or international venues that bring together representatives from a wide range of religiously-affiliated institutions, members of our community are bound to bring back new ideas about teaching, scholarship, faith, and ethical concerns that will serve us all, as we all strive to help to make Gustavus and the world a better place.…

A college like Gustavus, identified as it is with the Lutheran tradition, can freely welcome and encourage the cultural and religious differences that a diverse community of faculty, students, and staff bring, without fear of diminishing the college’s distinctive identity. Mary Gaebler Associate Professor of Religion ### Excerpted from Rooted in a Distinctive Tradition, Open…

What affection I have for the earth, for the meadow already gone to golden, for the burnt-orange reeds of the cattails, for the maple leaves’ yellow pattern against a pale-blue sky, for the black trunk, for the black branches, for the small black twigs. Joyce Sutphen Professor of English and Poet Laureate of Minnesota ###…

Each year new “Gusties” step into the stories that resonate in the college’s halls, guiding and nurturing them, and hopefully strengthening their capacity to contribute in positive ways to this place and to new places beyond graduation. James Patrick Miller Assistant Professor of Music ### Excerpted from Rooted in a Distinctive Tradition, Open to the…

In many ways writing still stands at the core of the intellectual experience in my courses. In writing they experience learning as a more solitary and reflective activity, with many sometimes difficult stops and starts as they read and reread, think through questions, sort through evidence, and slowly transform ideas from the head to the…

Probably the most effective way to engage students is to be enthusiastic about the material. I believe that I am exceptionally passionate about mathematics at all levels and this comes through in the classroom. Of course passion is not enough; it must be complemented by preparedness and materials that allow the students to become engaged…

To remain “alive” and active as a research and scholar is critical. In addition to satisfying my own personal curiosities and commitment to the scientific study of human memory and cognition, doing so provides the energy and enthusiasm I find necessary for teaching. Moreover, it provides a model for students that illustrates among other things,…

Working with students, helping them develop their individual ideas and vision, taps into this fascination and stimulates my thinking about my own work. Discussing their ideas with them opens up worlds of possibility in my own mind. Priscilla Briggs Associate Professor in Art and Art History ### Excerpted from Teaching, Scholarship, and Service: An Anthology…

Giving [students] opportunities to respect and express awe for the mysteries of life is as important as communicating what we know. Learning resolves mystery and reveals mystery; learning is about opportunities to explore ‘new scenes, new things, new Worlds’ and this is one reason I love the academic life. Pamela Kittelson Professor of Biology ###…