On Augsburg College's Minneapolis campus stands a brick building that houses the Hoversten Chapel. Across the street is the small, beautiful James G. Lindell Library, which was cutting edge when it was built.
Charles "Chuck" Samuel Anderson, former president of Augsburg, helped raise money for both buildings at the private, urban college, where he expanded diversity in enrollment and offerings, and required community service as part of academics.
"In many ways, those two sides of the street illustrate the connection between faith and learning that was so core to Chuck's vision for Augsburg," said Paul C. Pribbenow, Augsburg's current president.
Anderson, president of Augsburg from 1980 to 1997, died June 14 after a lengthy illness. He was 83.
"He was a great favorite with the students," said Richard Nelson of Hackensack, Minn., who co-wrote a book on Augsburg and two of its presidents, including Anderson.
Nelson said Anderson's "open-door policy" meant students were always dropping by to talk. "He was a good friend to the student body," Nelson said.
Anderson joined Augsburg in 1976 as academic dean after 15 years as a faculty member at Luther Seminary in St. Paul. He was an ordained Lutheran minister who served in the U.S. Marines from 1951 to 1953.
As its eighth president, he led Augsburg to advance its curriculum to draw more on the diverse neighborhood, with its many immigrants, and to view the city as an extension of the college's classroom, Pribbenow said.
