Fall 2010

Dear Classmates,

Sorting though a box of last year’s Christmas cards and letters, I found myself re-reading and enjoying once again the details of your lives that you share every year.  But as I kept reading it began to dawn on me that this new decade that we are entering is one full of transitions.  Whether caring for frail parents, downsizing from an empty nest, or considering retirement, the decisions that we are making are challenging and sometimes wrenching.  Many of us—though not all—have come to the end of college bills, have watched our children leave to establish their own lives—and in some cases welcomed them back home during this rough economy—and a fortunate number of us have been blessed with grandchildren.  Looking forward at the next ten years I expect them to be as challenging and as transformative as our years at Luther were, full of new opportunities and responsibilities.

Luther College is also in a period of transformation.  In President Richard Torgerson’s homecoming speech to the Alumni Council and Class Agents, entitled A Journey of Transformation, he talked about Luther’s successes and the challenges of the next decade.  Some of the successes of the past year have been: four student Fulbright awards, student support for Haiti relief and local hunger projects, site preparation for a wind turbine, invitation to join the Associate Colleges of the Midwest, and the listing of Luther among the top 50 national liberal arts colleges as recommended by high school guidance counselors.  Major improvements have been made to the campus including the creation of Bentdahl Commons (photos online at Luther’s website), as well as other landscaping and renovations to campus buildings.  Some of the challenges have to do with how to meet the financial needs of students.  The cost of attending college, as anyone who has had to pay a tuition bill in the last ten years knows, is at an all-time high.  Small, liberal arts colleges like Luther, with small endowments, are especially dependent on tuition and annual gifts to the college.  Ninety-two percent of all students attending Luther receive some sort of scholarship and the average grant is $17,000.  However this is still not enough to meet the actual need, so Luther has decided to add 300 new endowed scholarships, bringing the total to 800. 

But Luther is also looking ahead to determine what kind of institution it plans to be in the future.  How does Luther market itself in an ever-competitive market and in difficult economic times?  How does Luther continue to be a community that shapes the lives of students beyond the classroom? 

As alumni we are part of that community.  Much of what we have done in our lives, who our friends are, and for some, even who we are married to, is a result of our experiences at Luther.   As part of the Luther community we need to continue to support the life of the college.  So in addition to all the challenges that I mentioned at the beginning of my letter, I would like to add the additional challenge of your continued financial support for Luther.  We are not the most affluent class to have ever gone through Luther, nor are we the most generous, but all gifts large and small when added together help to support the life of the college. And by supporting the life of the college we continue to be part of the Luther community that was and is so much a part of our lives. 

Wishing you all the best this year and looking forward to your 2010 Christmas letters!

Soli Deo Gloria,

Carol Solheim
1972 Class Agent
[email protected]