Spring 2020

Dear Members of the Class of 1978,
 
Like colleges all over the country (and the world), Luther College is experiencing a spring semester like no other. Our students are participating in remote learning, connecting with their professors and classmates online. It certainly isn't the spring semester we imagined, but Luther is responding with resiliency and creativity.
 
Many of us are making adjustments, sometimes daily or even hourly, to these uncertain times but we wanted to connect with you and to send you Julie and Barbara's letter that they wrote to you, the Class of 1978, just weeks before we became immersed in the COVID-19 pandemic. We think you'll enjoy reading what they have to share, knowing, of course, that any events referenced may have been cancelled or postponed.
 
Especially now, gifts to the Luther Fund can make a big difference in supporting students as they navigate all that's ahead. If you can ,   I hope you will consider making a gift today.

We hope you and your loved ones are safe and healthy during these times. For updated information about Luther's response to the pandemic, visit luther.edu.

Many thanks for your steadfast love and support.
 
Mariah Bringer Smith ‘95
Director of Development, Current Gifts
Greetings,
 
Julie and I are pleased to connect with you, dear classmates, in this, our spring letter. We hope you’ll relate to Julie’s story, below, of the powerful connections made through the wearing of an old LC t-shirt. I’ll add a few words at the end. Enjoy Julie’s delightful writing! –Barbara

 I guess it started with a Luther blue, Norse logoed T-shirt.  The one inadvertently left behind after my daughter's post-graduate move from one coast to another. The one that conveniently found its way to a permanent home in Mom's closet. The one I threw on while rushing to make it on time to my regular Thursday night rendezvous with Kurt. The Awesome Kurt: Bee keeper by day; Yoga instructor by night; and Dad 24/7.
 
So I walk into Madison School Community Rec yoga class one night a few years back, sporting my slightly ratty Norse t-shirt, and Kurt stops in mid-pose and says, “Julie. That's a Luther shirt! We gotta talk!!!” Well, I don't know about you, but I'll take every chance I can get to talk about our good old alma mater. So we did. And as it turns out Kurt's niece, a high school senior and Northfield, Minn. native to boot, had just announced her plan to take a pass on the hometown St. Olaf/Carleton options and head to the greener pastures of Luther College. During those first few semesters, I looked forward to hearing post-yoga updates on her transition to campus life and even toted a care package from the Madison Fam to Decorah a time or two. Luther had soon become a sort of second hometown to the Northfield native. 
 
So Kurt is first and foremost a dad. A Dad with a capital D. His love and pride in his family always front and center. Over my dozen or so years of Thursday nights with Yoga Kurt, I and my classmates have been entertained by countless stories of life and times with his adventurous, curious, creative young kiddos. A dozen years go by pretty darn fast and all of a sudden those kiddos aren't quite so young anymore.  
 
So I guess it shouldn't have come as such a surprise one Thursday night last fall when Kurt announced that his suddenly-senior daughter, Rebecca, had just been accepted into the Luther College Class of 2024.  (Whaaaaaaat?  Class of 2024?? How did that happen???). A few months ago it was my great pleasure to submit my first time ever student referral on Rebecca's behalf to the Luther Alumni Ambassador Program. She will receive a $1,000 scholarship each year for four years when she enrolls at Luther. It was an unexpectedly awesome experience. I'm hooked! I'm looking around now for another high school student to refer next year. I encourage you all to do the same. There is no limit to the number of students you can refer as long as you do so by   December   1  of a student's senior year of high school. When you refer, you also get the opportunity to help actively recruit referred students by offering them support throughout their college search process, recommending campus visits and encouraging a whole new crop of alumni. So why not check out the  Alumni Ambassador Program and plan to share a little Luther love?
 
So, as I pen this note to you all on this sunny spring day, I am sharing a vicarious moment or two with Rebecca and her folks as they visit campus for the first time. It's Scholar Recognition Weekend at Luther. And I am on pins and needles back here in Madison. I've shared my whole Top Ten list of great ways to spend a first ever weekend in Decorah with Dad. I've passed along the names of professors and admissions staff and all the folks who might just have some thoughts to share as Rebecca gets ready to make the big college decision. And I can't wait to hear all about the adventure. 
 
So thanks Kurt. Thanks Rebecca for the reminder of that exhilarating, terrifying, wonderful stage of life we enjoyed more than a few years ago. Hope I'll be seeing you soon in a Luther blue, Norse-logoed t-shirt of your own.
 
So what's new at Luther these days? Plenty. Where should we start??
 
Beginning in the fall of 2020, Luther College will offer a program to equip students with the knowledge and skills to improve the health and wellness of people worldwide. The new program,  global health , is an interdisciplinary field that addresses health, health equity, and socioeconomic concerns of people around the world. After students graduate from Luther with a degree in global health , they will be qualified for careers such as health program coordinators or policy analysts in a variety of domestic and international health organizations. They will also be prepared to pursue a master's degree in public health, global health, or another health-related field.
 
So looks like it's not just 'the good old days' these days. There's plenty of change and creative growth afoot. Can't wait to see what happens next! 
 
Soli Deo Gloria,

Julie

Are there any of us who have NOT spoken to total strangers solely because we noticed an LC logo, or saw the beautiful ruby red class ring? Thanks, Julie, for your story and for the great updates on the various innovations at LC. As we write this, we are in the midst of the the COVID-19 pandemic, so I close with my wishes, dear classmates, for good health and safety in travel. - - Barbara Noe Koch
Julie Dahlen
1978 Class Agent
205 Dempsey Road
Madison, WI 53714-3005
608-225-4194
Barbara (Noe) Koch
1978 Class Agent
4303 Woodsmill Court NE
Cedar Rapids, IA 52411
319-310-7344
CLASS NOTES

Ron Behrens is a quality engineer for Dee Zee, Inc. in Des Moines, Iowa.

Jefferson Brown is operating manager at A&M Tours in Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas.

Nancy (Hawbaker) Harms is aquatics facility director and women’s swim and dive coach for the Sun Prairie (Wis.) Area School District.

Donna Novey of Shoreview, Minn., retired after 27 years as band director at Cretin Derham Hall in St. Paul, Minn. At the end of the school year, she received a 2019 Values Award.

Bob Paulson Jr. is president, chief executive officer, and a member of the board of directors at VentureMed Group, Inc. in Toledo, Ohio.
 
OBITUARY

Steven LeRoy Haagenson of Scottsdale, Ariz., died Dec. 9, 2019, age 63.