Kicking off Viking Days 2015 was the announcement of the Royal Court on Monday, Oct. 5. 

In recognition of national Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Augustana's student chapter of Colleges Against Cancer (CAC) is organizing a "wear pink" initiative to raise awareness about the disease and the importance of early detection. All students, faculty and staff are encouraged to wear pink on Wednesdays throughout the month of October. On Wednesday, Oct. 7, all students, faculty and staff should gather for a "wear pink" group photo at 10:30 a.m. in front of the Ole the Viking statue near the center of campus.

Back from their summer in Norway, 2015 Augustana Peace Scholars Christian Einertson (Marietta, Georgia) and sophomore Kofi Gunu (Tamale, Ghana) reflect on their experiences.

Former Augustana First Lady Elizabeth Balcer, wife of Augustana President Dr. Charles Balcer, passed away on Tuesday, Sept. 22, in Sioux Falls. She was 94. A memorial service is set for 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26, at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 909 W. 33rd St., in Sioux Falls.

Members of the Augustana community will partner with the American Red Cross, the City of Sioux Falls, and the University of Sioux Falls on a Growing Resilient Project, an initiative designed to help local neighborhoods respond to disasters and reduce deaths and injuries from home fires. More details will be announced at a news conference on Thursday, Oct. 8. The Community Resiliency day is set for Saturday, Oct. 10.

Meredith Reynolds '12, a French and Biology major at Augustana who is now in medical school at the University of South Dakota, spent three weeks in Haiti this summer as part of an intensive course examining the socioeconomic, historical, political, and cultural underpinnings of disease. Titled "Beyond the Biological Basis of Disease: The Social and Economic Causation of Illness," the course was taught completely in French.

Augustana University, Affordable Housing Solutions, and the City of Sioux Falls Community Development will host an open house from 4-5 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 10, to celebrate the completion of a project to build a home in honor of former Augustana piano instructor Solveig Steen. The open house will take place at the home at 2129 S. Duluth Ave. in Sioux Falls.

The Center for Western Studies at Augustana University hosted a free reception on Thursday, Sept. 10, in celebration of its new exhibit expansion initiative, "Voices of the Northern Plains," a dramatic re-visioning of the Center's core museum exhibits.

The 2015-16 academic year has begun and Augustana is excited to welcome new full-time faculty members to campus.

Members of the Augustana Class of 2019 arrived on campus on Sunday. The freshmen come from 18 states and 16 countries around the world.