What a memorable year 2020 has been! As we reflect on the last twelve months, we are grateful and proud of the many ways in which the Luther community has come together (mainly virtually!) this year. Alumni have found ways to participate in new events from afar, staff and faculty have discovered ways to adapt and innovate, and current students continue to find ways to learn, grow, and persevere in the new way of Being Community. This year has certainly presented challenges, but it also has produced an immense amount of hope for the new year.
Right now, things on campus are quiet, as Quarter 2 began right after Thanksgiving with a “circuit breaker.” During this time, all classes are taking place online and students were given the option to remain on campus or return home for the entire holiday season. The current plan is for all students to be back on campus for in-person classes beginning January 4th. From near and far, the campus community is working together to stay connected, engaged, and safe.
Meanwhile the holiday spirit is felt in the area, lights have gone up around Decorah and for the annual Holiday Lights display at Pulpit Rock Campground. The downtown area feels festive, but many area businesses are feeling the economic impact of the pandemic. To help support efforts to #ShopSmall, the Decorah Area Chamber of Commerce is hosting one-stop shopping for Decorah area gift cards. Buy now, shop the next time you visit Decorah! Our local businesses add character and vibrancy to the town Luther calls home.
Thank you, Luther alumni, for the various ways you continue to engage and support the Luther experience for our students. We wish you and your families a safe and hopeful holiday season. We look forward to connecting again in 2021! Soli Deo Gloria,
Sherry (Braun) Alcock '82, Executive Director of Alumni Relations
Kirk Johnson '82, Associate Director of Alumni Relations
Alyssa Ritter '11, Associate Director of Alumni Relations
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Please note that the college, along with the Alumni and Development Office, will be closed from Wednesday, December 23, 2020 through Sunday, January 3, 2021. Considering making a year-end gift? Explore options for year-end giving here.
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Loretta Dooley Wetzel '80
and Perran Wetzel IV '79
Co-Presidents
of the
Black Alumni Association
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Update from the Black Alumni Association
We are actively supporting our current Luther students during these unprecedented times. Retention and graduation are our primary goals. Therefore, we have several Black Alumni Association members participating in the Vocation Inspired Alumni Mentoring Program as volunteer mentors. As alumni, we LOVE to connect with each other via Zoom to share past and present experiences. Some of our recent activities include the establishment of the Black Alumni Association Scholarship fund to financially support Luther College Black students and to recognize the slain victims of systematic racism. During the month of September, members of the Black Alumni Association participated in Luther's Chapel Without Walls series as featured speakers. Our latest project is the 2020 Holiday Treat Bag Campaign. The goal again this year is to provide every student of color a “treat bag” in the form of a gift certificate during the time of finals. The certificates are being purchased through the Decorah Area Chamber of Commerce to support the local economy. Last year, we provided treat bags to 235 students. We would appreciate your support so we can provide even more treat bags this year. Treat bags are $25 per student and 20% of the proceeds will go towards the Black Alumni Association Scholarship fund. Please consider donating here. We appreciate EVERYONE who supports this worthy cause!
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Christmas at Luther 2020: For Everyone Born
On Friday, December 4th, individuals from 26 countries and all 50 states tuned in for the premier of Christmas at Luther 2020: For Everyone Born. Over 20,000 people have now shared in the experience! The traditional Christmas at Luther performance was newly formatted this year for this unique time in history and continues to be available to watch for free from the comfort of your home. Experience the magic here. Learn more about additional television and radio broadcasts here.
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One Team Day recap
Luther's first annual One Team Day, a one-day fundraising event to support the college's student-athletes, was held Thursday, November 19th. More than 2,000 donors contributed to the campaign which raised over $300,000! Funds raised during this day will support Luther's 19 intercollegiate teams and 500 student-athletes. Read more about One Team Day here and explore Luther’s new athletics website at luthernorse.com.
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Phonathon 2020 - Bryan Wendt '21
Meet another one of our student callers, Bryan Wendt '21! Bryan is a music education major from Stoughton, Wisconsin. Not only is he an active member of the Student Philanthropy Council and a lead caller, he sings with the Nordic Choir and the a cappella group Bromatic Progression. Bryan is also a member of the Future Music Educators Association and an RA. Don’t forget, if you see a call from 563-387-1324 this fall, we hope you’ll pick up and chat with Bryan or one of our other amazing callers!
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New award honors Professor Emeritus Fred Nyline
Jaime (Rowe) '00 and Matt Titus '01 recently established the Fred Nyline Distinguished Award in Music. The award honors Fred Nyline, professor emeritus of music, and will be given annually to a junior or senior member of the Concert Band. A matching challenge has been set-up in support of the award. To learn more,
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Luther joins Liberal Arts Colleges Racial Equity Leadership Alliance
Along with fifty other leading liberal arts colleges, Luther has joined the Liberal Arts Colleges Racial Equity Leadership Alliance (LACRELA). Member institutions will have access to a variety of resources and sessions on various aspects of equity. Learn more about Luther’s membership with LACRELA here.
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Upcoming Virtual Alumni Book Clubs - Paideia III |
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For more information and to register for any of the upcoming book clubs, click here.
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A Survival Guide for Today: Boccaccio’s Decameron
A deadly plague arrived, affecting men and women alike. Some people thought living moderately would help them resist the disease and they lived in isolation from everyone else. Still others maintained the surest medicine for such an evil disease was to enjoy life's pleasures. The advice of doctors and the power of medicine was challenged. Would you be surprised to learn this is a paraphrase of words written nearly 700 years ago? Come along on a virtual book club literary journey as we discuss selected stories from The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio. This 14th century collection of one hundred tales, told over ten nights by ten different people escaping a pandemic, is a classic. It has influenced, among others, Chaucer and Shakespeare. Laugh, cry, or be outraged as we explore themes such as love, (mis)fortune, and urban vs, rural values that may resonate with us today. Alumna Moderator Michele Minske '84, is a corporate paralegal who enjoys reading, sports, and classic television. Faculty Moderator Ruth Caldwell taught French and Italian language and literature at Luther from 1971 to 2015. The Boccaccio Book Club will meet via Zoom on Tuesdays from 5:00-6:30 p.m. CST beginning in January, 2021 (January 5, 12, 19, 26, February 2, 9).
The Overstory by Richard Powers
Winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, The Overstory is a sweeping, impassioned work of activism and resistance that is also a stunning evocation of—and paean to—the natural world. From the roots to the crown and back to the seeds, Richard Powers’s twelfth novel unfolds in concentric rings of interlocking fables that range from antebellum New York to the late twentieth-century Timber Wars of the Pacific Northwest and beyond. There is a world alongside ours—vast, slow, interconnected, resourceful, magnificently inventive, and almost invisible to us. This is the story of a handful of people who learn how to see that world and who are drawn up into its unfolding catastrophe. Moderator Team: Alan Lerstrom, Ruth Caldwell, Paul Gardner, and Rebecca Wiese. The Overstory Book Club will meet via Zoom on Tuesdays from 5:00-6:30 p.m. CST beginning in March, 2021 (March 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30 and April 6 [and perhaps] April 13).
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Josh Byrnes '96 has been appointed by Governor Kim Reynolds as a new Iowa Utilities Board member. The Iowa Utilities Board regulates utilities to ensure that reasonably priced, reliable, environmentally responsible, and safe utility services are available to all Iowans.
Jill (Schroeder) Putman '89, Jamf Holding Corp., was named CFO of the Year by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.
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Do you have something to celebrate and share with the alumni community?
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At Luther College, we learn actively, live purposefully,
and lead courageously for a lifetime of impact.
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