The ideas and viewpoints expressed in the posts on the Ideas and Creations blog are solely the view of the author(s). Luther College's mission statement calls us to "embrace diversity and challenge one another to learn in community," and to be "enlivened and transformed by encounters with one another, by the exchange of ideas, and by the life of faith and learning." Alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends of the college are encouraged to express their views, model "good disagreement" and engage in respectful dialogue.
In 2016, this country experienced perhaps the most divisive election in its history. In this post, Professor Victoria Christman shares how a group known as “Better Angels” was formed to help de-polarize civil discourse in American politics, rebuild community across party lines, and strive to restore a more united nation.
In this post, Professor Thomas C. Johnson shares how news sources play a critical role in public service during this uniquely challenging moment of human history.
In the midst of all of the uncertainty, many of us are experiencing a broad range of heightened emotions. In this post, Meg Hammes shares what Luther College Counseling Service is doing to help students learn how to build their resilience skills and heighten their emotional intelligence.
In this post, admissions counselor Emily Stumpf shares why Luther recently passed a new test-optional policy and what it means for prospective students.
Building community and helping students thrive have been at the forefront for Luther faculty as they've prepared courses for Fall 2020.
What are Luther faculty and staff doing to dismantle institutional racism and pursue engaged inclusivity?
In this post, Professor Emerita Jacqueline Wilkie explains how the woman's suffrage movement proves that the actions and accomplishments of ordinary people, willing to work within the democratic process, can achieve extraordinary things.
Coming back to campus—or starting here, new, for the first time!—to this strange and wonderful new academic year may feel a bit more disorienting than usual. In this post, Pastor Anne Edison-Albright asks us to recognize "come to the water" moments and offers a word of prayer.
In this article, Professor Carly Hayden Foster shares what we can expect from the 2020 presidential election and how we can best prepare ourselves.
How will the COVID-19 virus transform? In this article, Professor Eric Baack shares what factors might affect the virus and how we can play a role in shaping its future.
In this post, Professor Beth Lynch shares how the human population has more or less created the conditions necessary for new infectious diseases like COVID-19 to emerge and how we can best predict and respond to them.
In this post, Professor Gwen Strand discusses the specific challenges involved in the vaccine development for COVID-19 and how critical it is to stop the spread.