Echo December 8, 2006

              Hockey
enjoys e
MIAC
success
Sports,
Page 6
Augsburg College
Echo
The College's Student-Produced Newspaper
Doom for
Mayans or doo
for Gibson?
A&E,
Page 10
Friday, December 8, 2006
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Volume CXIII, Issue 10
New HOURCAR hub at
Augsburg
Katie LaGrave
News Editor
Augsburg recently entered
into a three-year agreement with
HOURCAR, a self-servicing
transit opportunity sponsored by
Neighborhood Energy Connection.
This new partnership allows
the Augsburg community. Fair-
view University Hospital, the U
of M West Bank, and nearby residents to make a reservation for a
car. run errands, return the car to
the reserved parking space, and
walk sway.
Mary Morse. Executive Director of Neighborhood Energy
Connection, said that Augsburg
was chosen as a new hub for
HOURCAR lor many reasons.
"[Augsburg] is a very urban
campus, it is served very well by
transit, and being a transit-friendly
location is an important pre-req-
uisite to transit success."' Morse
said.
She suspects that many Augsburg community members get to
campus by means other than a
personally owned vehicle. Using
HOURCAR mav offer solutions
to many problems
""HOURCAR gives \ou the
option to leav e your car at home."
Morse said. "You save a lot of
money, and also have the convenience of personal mobility."
With computers that record
trip information, members of
HOURCAR are billed monthly for
their use.
HOURCAR hubs are currently located at 15 Twin Cities'
locations.
Neighborhood Energy Connection is a local non-profit whose
mission is to reduce pollution,
conserve resources, and improve
the quality of life by offering tools
for energy efficient living.
The car used for HOURCAR,
a Toyota Prius, is a hybrid vehicle, which saves fossil fuels and
cuts down on exhaust, as well as
garnering ov er 47 miles to the gallon.
Studies have also shown that
the use of shared cars decreases
greenhouse gas emissions, as more
methods of transportation are then
shifted to biking and walking.
President Paul Pribbenow
said that there are many ways in
a hich the HOURCAR program
contributes to Augsburg's effort
to be "green."
"1 trust that our students might
leam-w hether thev use the car or
not-w hv sav mg fossil fuels, cutting
down on exhausts, and making the
city more accessible and navigable
are good things to do to sustain our
urban env ironment." said Pribbenow.
Pribbenow also said that he is
looking into other w ays to explore
these environmentally-friendly
options, including looking to possibly purchase vehicles for use on
campus (such as campus safety
and maintenance vehicles) that
adhere to these standards.
"Our work to be 'green' will
never be complete," Pribbenow
said.
Pribbenow also cited other
reasons he thought the HOURCAR
program is a good fit for the Augsburg community.
"It allows our campus community an alternative and more
environmentally friendly means
of getting around without brining
a personal vehicle to campus,"
Pribbenow said. "That helps the
parking situation, is better for the
environment, and may occasion
folks to think differently about
transportation in the city.
"It also positions Augsburg
as a resource to our neighbors
who might also like an alternative means of transportation.
Not having as many cars on the
roads, which is one of the possible
outcomes of having HOURCAR
available, is good for the environment and for traffic in the city.
"1 think it is an appropriate
way for Augsburg to be of service-
using one parking spot is fairly
secure to meet the needs of various consumers who might use the
car."
HOURCAR members must
meet safe driver standards, including holding a valid drivers" license
for five years. For more information on hub locations, rates, or
to join online, go to http: www.
HOURCAR.org.
Pribbenow reflects
on first semester
of presidency
CURTISS SCHRE1BER
Copy Editor
As fall term comes to a close,
President Paul Pribbenow reflects
on the past several months and his
experience during his first semester at Augsburg.
With an already established
presence here on campus, Pribbenow has brought change to many
areas of the college and has emphasized a devotion to the school's
mission of service and faith.
"1 am having a great time being a part of the Augsburg community," Pribbenow said. "My family
and 1 have been warmly welcomed
by faculty, staff, students, alumni
and community members."
As part of his transition,
Pribbenow stressed a desire to
understand Augsburg from many
different angles.
"As a new member of the
community, I feel that my responsibility is to learn all about
the college—its history, people,
programs, relationships, and so
forth," Pribbenow said.
Since taking office this summer, Pribbenow has focused heavily on four initiatives: "the One
College conversations about mission; the Augsburg Promise project on our image and experience;
the Common Work initiative on
organizational structure and culture; and the Science at Augsburg
project to consider where science
education fits in the Augsburg experience and what sort of facilities
we must have to support that vision
for science."
While Pribbenow plans to
update the community on these
projects in the coming months, so
far he is optimistic.
"I am very pleased with all the
good work that has been done with
those projects and the foundation
they are setting for our future work
together," Pribbenow said.
Not all aspects of the job have
been easy, however.
"The toughest part of being
a president is not having enough
time in the day to see everyone
you want to see, visit partner organizations, spend time with alumni
and friends, and on and on," Pribbenow said.
Despite a busy schedule,
Pribbenow has made it a point to
be more transparent about the administrative work of the college.
In addition to introducing the
weekly update from his office.
he has tried to involve more and
different people in the decisionmaking process.
Some of the decisions he
has made, according to Pribbenow, have been difficult and have
caused a degree of tension.
"Other tough issues have to
do with introducing needed change
See PRIBBENOW, Page 2
New opportunities for
staff in sabbatical program
Katie LaGrave
News Editor
Augsburg recently approved
a Staff Sabbatical program, which
allows eligible staff employees to
suspend their Usual work in order
to pursue focused study or research
that will benefit the College and
assist in the professional development of the staff member.
During this sabbatical leave, a
participating staff member will be
compensated for 100 percent of his
or her current pay during leave and
will continue to participate fully in
all benefit programs for which he
or she is eligible.
However, the sabbatical period may not exceed three months.
Gaye Lindfors. Special Assistant
to the President, said that the sabbatical program is important to
Augsburg in many ways.
"Augsburg College is committed to the professional and
vocational development of its
staff members, recognizing that
an employee's individual and professional growth strengthens our
service to our students," Lindfors
said.
"Providing staff members
with focused research or study
time will positively impact our
common work and our ability to
keep the promises we make in our
mission statement.
"It is exciting to oiler stall
a benefit that brings such rich rewards to the individual employee,
our working community, and our
students."
The application process for
the program begins with the stall
member and his or her supervisor
discussing the proposed study or
research, and the ways in which
the applicant's work can be covered during the sabbatical period
The application is then reviewed by his or her supervisor.
the President's Cabinet representative, and the Director of Human
See SABBATICAL, Page 2