Augustana College has received official notice that the South Dakota BRIN (Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network) grant was renewed by the NIH (National Institutes of Health) for another five years. This summer, the grant is supporting 24 Augustana students doing research.

Amy (Jorgensen) Caselli, a 2008 Augustana graduate, and her husband Ian are going to spend a year teaching in Tanzania under the guidance of Village Schools International. The nondenominational program sends missionary teachers to small villages in Africa.

The Department of Performing and Visual Arts at Augustana College recently announced 94 arts scholarships awarded for this coming academic year. The scholarship recipients will begin classes for the 2009 fall semester on Wednesday, September 9.

Richard Gregerson, Augustana class of 1957, received the 2009 Marshall M. McKusick Award from the University of South Dakota Student Bar Association during the annual meeting of the State Bar of South Dakota in Sioux Falls.

A new grant program will provide thousands of dollars for veterans working toward a degree in higher education. It's called the Yellow Ribbon Program, and at Augustana, those who qualify will receive up to $18,000 dollars for one year of tuition costs.

David Ireland, class of 1981, is the recipient of a Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, the highest recognition that a K-12 mathematics or science teacher may receive for outstanding teaching in the United States.

Augustana College once again is reaching out to military veterans looking to advance their education. Brenda Murtha, Director of Financial Aid, said the College has joined the Yellow Ribbon Program, a federal effort to help military veterans attend college.

Nora Johnson, a 2005 Augustana graduate and currently a graduate student in physics at Kansas State University, has been awarded a 2009 Fulbright Scholarship to study at the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Garching, Germany.

Four Augustana students have been selected to receive sophomore honors. Sophomore Honors recognizes students who have demonstrated outstanding achievement at an early stage of their college career.

Dr. Reynold Nesiba, Associate Professor of Economics at Augustana, was recently featured on KELO-TV's Eye on Keloland. Dr. Nesiba discusses the realities of South Dakota's economic situation and how it can be improved.